Saturday, July 30, 2011

Tiffany Lucille

I'm an empty nester....my husband travels....my Holly girl is living happily in Jersey City with her super great husband Matt....my Jonathan is living in Redondo Beach with his oh so sweet fiance Stephanie....sooooo, I have this amazing little four-legged girl puppy who keeps me busy and keeps me from being lonely.  I am so in love with this little pup-she is my pal, my punkin, my Tiffy Lu.  I will go to the ends of the earth to take care of this little pup.  She is spoiled rotten (I admit, that's my doing).....so much so that Jon says she is almost human!  She has a ton of toys, really cute outfits and as many hair bows as Holly had when she was little.  I pay monthly pet insurance for her, I make her food each week so she doesn't get sick from processed dog food....ground turkey, brown rice and pumpkin puree....come and join us for a meal - it is delicious - and I pay as much to get her hair cut as I do for my own.   She sits patiently everyday so I can do her hair with a new bow and dress her up in one of her many cute outfits....and she cuddles up at night on her pillow right next to me.  She is worth every penny I spend to take care of her!! Meet my little Tiffany Lucille.
Don't you just want to squeeze that little face
Tiffy had her big vet visit this week.  She was a good lil patient when I dropped her off for her day long comprehensive exam with Dr. Laura.  X-rays, blood work, eye exam, dental cleaning..the works for this little pup.  She is quite the drama queen (I think I made her that way)...giving me the "oh mommy I am so tired from the medicine they gave me when they cleaned my teeth"....."please just let me rest".
Mommy....just let me rest. I've had a very stressful day at the vet.
Ouchie....look at my arm taped up from my IV
Today was grooming day for my Tiffy....she doesn't go the the groomer, he comes to her.  Tiffy has a love/hate relationship with Luis.  She plays the drama queen when his van pulls up but loves her bath, haircut and massage from Luis.
Only in the OC!
Luis and Tiffy....before
Getting ready for my beauty day with Luis....
After...
Don't I look pretty!

76/55

Last weekend was a great celebration weekend for our family. Our amazing dad turned 76 years old on July 20 and our parents celebrated 55 years of marriage the day after.  As our families grow, we try to get together with the "original" Orlando gang-minus Lisa who lives in Washington-to celebrate and cheer on the guest of honor.  This year was no different....so on Sunday, it was off to the Olive Garden.   A couple of the servers recognized us and were so happy to see how well our Dad is doing. It was cool going back there because when dad was in the hospital recovering from his lung surgery, we went to that same Olive Garden to get take-out so we could have an Italian feast in his hospital room... ....picture that...his roommate gets turkey, hospital mashed potatoes, spinach and milk..and we waltz in with a major Italian feast.....jealous!!!   We are always a party no matter where we go...




Happy Birthday Daddy...76 years old and you look amazing!!
Mom, Dad, #1, #2, #3...#4 in Washington but always in our hearts.
What do you give to someone who has everything....
We gave our parents this cool heart with money hanging off of it...Perfect!!
55 years and still acting like newlyweds. 
Dad makes sure mom has all the latest bells and whistles...
he got her an Acer Tablet for their anniversary....how cool is my mom :)




Monday, July 25, 2011

Tiny Dancer



Natalie - 2011
Holly - 1989



















On Saturday I went to my great-niece Natalie's dance recital.  It was fun and she was so dang cute.  Watching the next generation of our family enjoy the art of dance was a stroll down memory lane for me.  We have been watching a tiny dancer in our family since 1985.....when Holly started.  It just never gets old.  It's funny because Natalie looks so much like Holly that being at her recital was a total flashback for me.  Watching a little girl learn how to move her little body into magical and beautiful dance positions is amazing.  I hope Natalie falls in love with dance like Holly did.  Check it out...they both have their ID bracelets on...how cute is that.

Natalie's is Jonathan's God Daughter....of course he would be there to cheer her on. 
Nino, Natalie and Stephanie
Granny and Nanny were there to give Natters a hug when she got off stage (Papa was there too but he was busy taking video to capture the moment).


Memaw loves her tiny dancer
Grantie and Natalie
Andrew sat with Stephanie during the show....there was a lady (teacher or mom??) who did a belly dance...Andrew wasn't too sure about it but watched the whole dance then said..."I no like that one"...out of the mouths of babes.
Andrew and Stephanie
Andrew thinking: what the heck is she doing?
Natalie and Miss Natalie

Natalie and her biggest fan....her mommy.



Sunday, July 24, 2011

Shakes, a little beauty, and the Happiest Place on Earth.

Last weekend was a Grantie sleepover night with Natalie and Andrew....my great-niece and nephew.  We had a super-fun non-stop good time.  They got here after Natalie's dance class and we were non-stop from then on.  I loaded everyone into the car to head out to pay a visit to Papa while Granny was at a baby shower. Grantie, two kiddos and a cute lil' Yorkie headed out to Riverside.

Precious cargo...all safe and sound and buckled up!
After we got to my parent's house, we all headed out for lunch at Johnny Rockets.  We had burgers and shakes that were oh so yummy. Natalie and Papa carefully checked out the menu so they would know which shake was the best...

What do you think Papa??
Natalie's menu art for Grantie
Natalie Anne....such a cutie pie

Andrew and Papa
Grantie and Natalie shared the double dark chocolate shake.  It was delicious!

 I finally got to meet my newest great-niece Peyton Grace. She was born on June 1st, but I was sick, then out of town, and then I just couldn't get out to meet her any sooner than last weekend.  But man oh man...she was so worth the wait.  Take in this beauty and enjoy the cuteness!


Grantie loves you Miss Peyton


After a really long day, we finally got home at midnight.   As I was driving home I kept thinking...how in the heck am I going to get two kids and a Yorkie into the house when all three were sleeping, yes even Tiffy, she falls sound asleep in her car seat too.  We live in a super safe neighborhood but a good Grantie would never leave one sleeping babe alone in the car while I ran the other one into the house. What was I to do? Could I get Andrew out of his car seat while he was sound asleep and carry both him and Natalie in and then leave the front door open and then run back to un-hook Tiffy from her seat and then get her in the house...oh man, I was in a panic. Yikes, it has been such a long time since I have been faced with this dilemma. Alas, these little punkins must have sensed my stress because on cue, they all woke up so Natalie walked in, I got Andrew and Tiffy un-hooked and we we were all safe and sound and locked in for the night. Phewwwww! We passed on baths, those could wait until the morning.  I tucked the kids into bed so we would all be well-rested for our long day out on Sunday, took Tiffy potty, then it was slumber time for all four of us.  In the morning, after baths, but before heading out, the kids wanted to take Tiffany for a walk. Tiffy loves to go for a walk around the neighborhood and loved having the kids join her~Natalie loved being the big girl walking Tiffy all by herself.



Mr. Andrew, being all boy, didn't have a problem when I asked him to carry Tiffy's poop bag home....actually, he thought it was cool. I am quite sure no one will be offended by Andrew holding Tiffy's poop bag because: #1) she is a dog and she needs to poop; #2) she is little so that means little poops; #3) I can use baggies instead of grocery bags so it doesn't look so yucky; and #4) I am a responsible pet parent because I clean up her poop and never ever leave it on anyone's lawn. Sorry about all the poop talk, but it is what it is..hehe :)

Andrew...can you be any cuter.
Being annual pass holders...we love to spend the day at Disneyland...so off we went.  Natalie, Andrew and I headed out at 9am and met up with my mom and my sister Nancy and two of her grandkids, Landon and Bailey, at the Happiest Place on Earth.  We had such a great time.  The kids were great, the crowds were not too bad and the weather was perfect.  Being an ex pre-school teacher, I put together teams for the day which made loading onto rides easy as pie....

Team Cinderella...Grandma Nancy & Bailey
Team Tink....Grantie,  Natalie and  Landon 
Team Snow White....Great Granny and Andrew
Consolidated...Team Cinder-Snow 
We got to go on the new Little Mermaid...Ariel Under the Sea ride...

Ahhh, True Love, Disney style
America's Royal Wedding

The Carousel....
Granny's boys~Landon and Andrew

Grantie's Big Girl~Natters
Miss Bailey aka Diva
Grantie's Middle Girl Bailey
After a couple of hours at Disney California Adventure...
We said good-bye and headed to the Happiest Place on Earth


Landon...where should we go first??
Great Granny loves her punkins so much
Andrew and Bailey were not so sure about the Pirates of the Caribbean ride
Right now these little angels do no not realize how lucky they are to spend memory-making days with a group that consists of three-generations....at least they know how loved they are by all the members of our family. Until next time....
Good night!!