Mason, Pop-Pop, Mimi & some Cool Cars!

Pop-Pop and I got to spend the day with our #1 “little man”, Mason. His dad and mom were going to a wedding so we told them that he could come with us to Old Town in Kissimmee. Every Saturday they have classic cars come from all over and park. It’s a lot of fun to just walk around and look at the cars, eat dinner and then watch all the cars parade down the main street. So, we went prepared with a stroller and lots of goodies to keep him entertained. Pop-Pop had bought Mason a shirt at another car show that we had gone to. The shirt has Dirty, Loud and Fast printed on it. The minute Pop-Pop saw the shirt he told me that we had to buy that for Mason. Fittingly enough, Joanne had him wearing that shirt today.
There were lots of nice cars to see.....









And then some not so nice "Rat Rods" to see. I truly enjoy seeing the Rat Rods the most. It is neat to see what unique ideas people come up with in their designs.











One thing is for sure.....Mason is truly going to have Pop-Pop's love of cars as he would point to some of the cars and say whoa….. And it didn't hurt if the car just so happened to have Elmo as a passenger!





Even in the heat, he was a trooper. But Pop Pop helped out with that.... well...... Pop Pop's way! At one point I went into the bathroom and when I came out Mason was really enjoying his sippy cup and I found out why. Pop Pop had filled it up with ice cold Pepsi. Mason smiled and said "Um mm"........







I guess that was better than Bud Light!








While sitting in our chairs as the cars passed by, he just watched in amazement. But in the end, it wasn’t because he was so intent on the cars passing us by. It was because Mimi was letting him do what he loves most. Play with a stick!





So, what’s wrong with that? Isn’t that what Mimi’s and Pop Pops are for? What is the harm with a stick and a little Pepsi?

Trick or Treat..... Smell our Feet! Give us something good to eat!

Oh what fun Halloween is when you have little ones around to enjoy it!

Mitch and Amy brought the girls by so that we could see their costumes before going to a Halloween Party at a friends house. Haylee was a Pirate and Rylee was SuperGirl. They sure looked cute and were so excited to go trick or treating.

Here are a few pictures of them trick or treating. Looks like they had fun! Haylee looks like such a big girl.

Michael, Joanne and Mason came over to trick or treat in our neighborhood. So, we got out the wagon and had some fun in between the rain going to a few houses. Mason was Bamm Bamm and wasn't sure what we were doing, but went along for the ride! Oh yes, did you notice that his dog, Louie, was in costume too? I told you before, that dog will let you do anything to him!

Watch out for the Ghosts and Goblins........ Happy Halloween!

Mason's First Haunted House

The DeWitt Family who live in the Trails of Montverde really go all out when decorating. This year they did a Haunted Walk Through.

So, Mike, Joanne and Mason invited Gary and I to go with them. We wanted to see how Mason would react to his first haunted house, so we were happy to go. We made sure to ask if it was really scary as Joanne and I said that we would sit outside with Mason. They told us that it was made for families and it would be fine. It was truly amazing and they had quite a crowd! Outside, they had games for all the kids and they even provided everyone with hot food and desserts. Had we known that we would have not met for dinner first!

Mimi and Pop Pop having fun with Mason.............

It was hard to get photos, but here are a couple that were okay. The black lights were great!

Once outside, Mason was fascinated with the pumpkins.

Bye Bye, Mr. Pumpkin. I will see you next year when I am a little older and just maybe, I will bring my cousins with me.

Beware of sharp objects..... and daughter in laws!

Happy Halloween
How much can 1 costume cost?
For us........
Scissors $35.00
Material $ 6.00
Emergency Co-Pay $30.00
Time (purchasing materials,
Dr. visit and sewing) Approx. 8 hrs
But, after all is said and done......


Mitch carved this pumpkin for me, Thanks Mitch

Cost of Costume........PRICELESS!



Trust me! These Scissors...........









And the Klutz....Uh, sorry Joanne...... I mean the Daughter-in-Law, DON'T MIX!


It started out very innocently..... Joanne sent me a picture of a cute costume that cost $30.00 on EBay. She said; you have a sewing machine, don't you? Do you think that we could make one of these? I said; SURE!


Afterwards, she bought the material and I bought a new pair of sewing scissors. (Which, by the way, I needed anyway)


So, the plan was this. Michael was working at the fire station, I was going to order pizza; Joanne and Mason were coming over to eat and sew. The first part started out great. The pizza was delivered, Mason and Joanne came over, we enjoyed the pizza and the Pop Pop and Mason went into the living room to play. Joanne and I had just started to cut some things out; we were passing the scissors back and forth to each other. We were only 30 minutes into the project when I asked her for the scissors. When she picked them up, they fell and she stabbed herself in the forearm. (At least, I wasn't handing her the scissors...... or she could have said that her wicked Mother-in-Law stabbed her) We left Mason with Pop Pop and met Michael and his partner, Brian at CentraCare. (Fire truck and all)


Four stitches later; along with a $30.00 co-pay - Joanne had a new costume too!



















She was a trooper; even as the doctor was telling her she was lucky to have a medic as a husband. Why? Because, he could keep an eye on her arm to make sure that it was not getting infected. You see..... she was too embarrassed to tell him that she was a Nurse Practitioner and for that matter; she could have stitched herself up if it had been the other arm!




Oh well, it was an interesting evening! Her first time getting stitches and Pop Pops first time babysitting at home by himself. He survived and Mimi made the club, bone and the hat for the costume, that night. The next day Joanne, Michael and Mason came over and we finished it up.


As for the costume, it was PRICELESS!


Bamm Bamm!

Firefighter Mason is turning ONE!

With no time to even breathe, another grand baby is turning one!

Just as I did for Haylee, I took a day off to bake a cake and some cupcakes. With daddy being a firefighter, what other theme could we go with? Here are a few pictures of the cake and cupcakes that I made.....

Mason is not big at eating sweets, so he was not very happy with the thought of eating or even touching the cake. We tried; but it just wasn't happening. That's okay, Mason; Mimi had fun making it for you, anyway!

You had presents galore and let me tell you; if you keep getting things to ride and drive, you will need your own garage. Here you are nice enough to let your cousin, Haylee, do the driving. Let's see if you do that when you get a real vehicle.......

Of course, since you liked Haylee's pink coupe so much, (see below) Mimi had to buy you a fire engine coupe. Your daddy wouldn't have liked it very much if I bought you a "pink" one!

So, little man....... sound the alarm; grab your firedog, Louie and hurry to those fires! You have some big shoes to fill to be like your daddy! Wooooo.....wooooo Mimi loves you!

My Little Firefighter

Aren't these pajamas the cutest? He is such a little Mini-Mike! Not just in looks, but actions as well. Sometimes I catch Gary tearing up when he is playing with Mason or just watching him play. It sure makes you wonder where the years have gone!

On Saturday, Mason spent the night with us. His mommy and daddy took a much needed break and went to dinner and a movie with some friends. I told them since it would be so late when the movie was over that I would just keep him overnight.

His first sleepover and he thought that he could wrap us around his little finger..... he was right! Normally, he is in bed by 8:00. Well, at 11:00, he was still going strong!



He was excited about a new toy telephone. He would push a button and it would sing about the ABC's. Each time that it stopped, he would clap and then hit another button. Eagerly awaiting to clap again. I know, it doesn't take much to keep Mimi and Pop Pop amused!



Finally, I had to just put him in the pack-n-play with his blanket and turn off the lights. Then, he was out like a light! Sleep tight my little fireman, Mimi loves you!

Bath time for Mason

Funny how
the simple
things in life
bring you
such joy......
We called Michael and Joanne today and offered to keep Mason while they went to the movies. It is hard for them to get the time and the day off together to go. Not to mention, it gives us time to spend with our little man!




They brought him over around 5:00 p.m., so we spent some time playing with toys on the floor, keeping Dixie (our basset hound) from licking him in the face, went for a walk and pulled Mason in the wagon, ate supper, played a little more, had bath time, read some books and fell asleep! Ahh..... a perfect afternoon!

After getting in his PJ's, I put him in a walker while I mopped up the floor. He was happy and immediately started blowing bubbles (or spitting), whichever way you see it...... Either way, he is too darn cute!








I tried very hard to keep him awake until they got home. But, it just wasn't happening. Hopefully, he wasn't wide awake by the time he got home. I hope that he had half as much fun as Pop Pop and Mimi had!

Ahh.....Spring Break, some time with my little man

For Spring Break, I took 3 days off. I really needed to take care of some appointments that I have been putting off for awhile. However, I also had some fun time scheduled as well!

I had a lunch meeting with my co-workers and a secretary from our office that retired several years ago. Kathi also took off and we decided to bring along the grandchildren. She has two older grandchildren and brought them both. They were both very well behaved and made their me- maw proud! I have to say that I was reminded of Rylee because after we sat down to order, Olivia, Kathi's 3 year old granddaughter said, Barbara.......Play! She had brought some toys along and wanted to play. I thought that she was cute and did manage to play some with her as well. Donovan, her 5 year old grandson, showed off his reading ability. He really did a great job!

I am not that brave to try and take all 3 of mine. I guess that I need to give myself a little credit as mine are very young with two being only 5 months old and one being 22 months old. So, I decided to bring along my little man, Mason. My co-workers have seen my girls before and this was their first face to face meeting with Mason. As soon as we sat down, I decided to feed him his peas and give him a bottle. Afterwards, he was content to just sit with me. Even though he was full, we all laughed as every time I put the fork to my mouth he looked at me as if to say, hey, what about me???? He did great and never cried or got fussy once.

After, leaving the restaurant, we went to the car dealership to have my oil changed and new tires put on my car. When I bought my car, I received tires for life. It is a great program, but, you really have to be ready to fight for your tires. After a little hassle, I got my new tires.

But, had a little wait. Again Mason was a trooper. I keep a stroller in my car and we walked outside and inside looking at everything. Then we went into the lobby and played. He is starting to really "jabber" and loves everyone stopping to say how cute he is. Boy, he really is just like his daddy! My salesman, Mike, was there and he kept coming over to play with him. Mason just laughed out loud at him. Of course, Mike was sure that it was the color of his skin and his bald head. But, it was because he was crazy and loud. After he left, I am sure that everyone thought that I was crazy as I sang, Five little Monkey's jumping on the bed and other little songs. But, for that moment...... I was making his day and he was making mine!

We met mommy at Pop Pops shop and spent a little time playing there. While walking him to the car, Michael called Joanne to see if we made it back from our little adventure. Always being the funny one, he told Joanne to check Mason for scratches and bruises before she left. After all, remember, I am that "mad woman" that raised him! Don't worry, Michael, he is safe for now. I am sure that the time will come when he sees the "mad woman" as well!