If You're Not Family, You Probably Won't Be Interested in How Beautiful my Grandchildren Are, But if You ARE Family, then Buck Up & Act Interested

For a look at some BEEEEEEEEEEautiful Grandkids, click on this link:

LINK

and then leave me some unbelievable comments. Grandma Margaret, I Hope that you understand that you take the mouse arrow, position it over the word "link" that is just above, and then click. When you get to the page, then scroll down until you see some beautiful blondies in the orchard.

And then you will sigh and say: Mommacita, darn but you're blessed.

Birth of a Texan Sized Goal

Today I went to the park with my grandson Henry. He is 21 months old. We walked the two blocks to the park, and when he finally saw it he yelled park Park PARK and took off running. He climbed and slid and swung and hung and crawled through tunnels. When he had the playground equipment out of the way he hunkered down to the sand.

He squatted on his haunches, knees up like a grasshopper, and sifted his fingers through the sand until he found a Popsicle stick and a tiny rock. The Popsicle stick was old and nasty dirty, and looked like it had once been stuck forever in a grape Popsicle. The rock was small and gray, and had sharp edges. One hand grasped the stick, the other, the rock. And those two hands weren't letting go of them for anything.

I watched that kid sit down on the sand and examine his finds. He used them to poke and dig and write. Then he laid down on his back and compared them to the sky. Then he flipped to his stomach for more sand moving. Then his back. Then his stomach. Then sand was in his hair. Then his shirt. Then I realized it was down the back of his pants. Then the front. Then his shoes and socks were filling up because there was some foot shuffling going on. Nobody but me seemed to care about the disgusting stick, or the sharp rock, or the sand seeping into every crevice.

At that moment, I had to ask myself: Exactly what things in my world would I be perfectly willing to roll around in the sand for? There was no delay in my answer: Absolutely NOTHING. I never want sand down my pants again. Ever. Ever, Never, Ever. For any reason. And I have decided after today, that this is one of my goals.

But in case you are mistaken, let me be clear: I HEARTILY enjoy the fact that there are people in this world who can, without a blink, pick up a stick teaming with bacteria and not flinch. And not only do they not flinch but they obviously see some value going on there that others don't see. And I love that there are people who can without angst pick out one rock from a million rocks and dub it as THE ROCK worth keeping, and then, on top of that, these people continue to party on, even though sand is collecting in their underpants that just happen to be moist.

I envy something in that. I really really do.

PS. Just in case you're wondering. I draw the line at bandaids. Nobody played with, or licked any bandaids in the making of this blog. In fact bandaids were treated with disdain and people were made to feel shameful and embarrassed and guilty if bandaids were even longingly looked at. And if that stifled anybody's growth, creativity, or ability to learn in the future, then so be it. I'm absolutely secure with my position.

The St. Louis: Pics and Pans

I've been to St. Louis for a spell, and right before I left, I told a woman at church that I was spending a good deal of the summer in St. Louis with the Duber-ers. She did not miss a beat, and there wasn't a change of expression on her face (which could or could not have been due to botox...I am a professional speculator) as she retorted "You will hate it."

Geepers. Way to support. I tried to massage away the awkwardness with a smile and some self deprecating humor as I slunk off to be with the 3 year olds who are supportive of my life choices.

Now that my stay in the Lou is over, I've come up with this list of Pics and Pans. You know...a list like they have in some newspapers on Fridays in the editorial section, where the Pics would be something that the editors love, like say for instance, gun control after Columbine. A Pan would be something that they hated, like, George Bush throwing up on the leader of the Japanese nation. Comprend?

BTW, I loved my experience there....both the positives and the negatives, the pics and the pans. So lady at church, guess what? I didn't hate it at all. Take that. And here, take my list of Pics and Pans put it in your oversized handbag.

PIC #1

There's this Pizza Restaurant there called PI. Not only is the name clever, the food was so good we went back twice and dreamed about it in between. The deep dish pi was made with a cornmeal crust and the toppings were done in opposite order: cheese on the bottom, then toppings, and this chunky tomatoey deliciousness on top. The crust around the edge, you know, the part you usually leave on your plate and toss??....the best part. Delish.

Like to hear about the Milkshake bar at PI? You would? The S'mores Milkshake came with the following pretties on top: a chocolate disc with the pi symbol on it, a bucket of whipped cream, chocolate bits, a couple of homemade graham crackers, a skinny skinny wood skewer with a freshly toasted homemade marshmallow on the end, and two paper straws with green and white stripes around them. I apologize for causing you to froth.

PAN #1

Everywhere in St. Louis, and I mean everywhere (CHURCH, (and I put church in capital letters because it was particularly heinous to me because, hello, you're trapped there for 3 hours) the grocery store, the mall, Nordstroms, any restaurant, the beauty salon where you have to drop a payload to get your hair done,) absolutely everywhere you go, the drinking fountains provide water that IS NOT CHILLED. And like a sucker I fell for it every time.

PIC #2

Everything is free, and everything is grand. Zoo? free. Art Museum? Free. Thomas the Train Exhibit and Playland? Free. Natural History Museum? Free. Shakespeare in the Park? Free. La Dee Freakin' Free!!!! I Love.

PIC #3

Everything is Family Friendly. The People are Family Friendly. The activities are Family Friendly. The people you meet and greet are family friendly. The Owner of PI danced with Sawyer in the aisle of the Restaurant because that's just what you do when a darling baby is groovin to your music. And then he gave him a free 'gooey butter cookie' fresh from the oven and he gave us one too. I'm telling ya. Family AND Friendly.

PAN #2

Can't they do something about that humidity thing?

PIC#4

Everything you want is within a stone's throw. Temple? 10 minutes. Pretty great Mall? 10 minutes. Other even better Mall? 10 minutes the other way. Church? 10 minutes. Trader Joes? 5 minutes. Viewing the sun glinting off the ARCH at sunset? OK. 15 minutes. Maybe 20 tops. It was quite breathtaking I might add. The material the arch is made of is silvery and clean and shining. I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did because I'm not much of a touristy gal. Plus I was eating Peanut Butter M&Ms at the time which may or may not have added to the experience.

PAN#3

I mentioned the humidity, right? It deserves an honorable mention.

PIC#5

Lightening. AND Lightening Bugs. Both SO fun, right?

PIC#6

Warm puddles of water. When you're walking along and the rain is pouring down on you (what I really meant to say was dumping down on you) and you are trying to get from Fedex to your car and you accidentally step in a puddle in your new sandals and the water is bathtub warm, well, I've just got to say it was a lot better than it being cold.

PAN#4

It rains a lot for the summer and while you'd think I'd be used to a fair amount of rain, I found that I DO expect the sun to be out in the summer.

Let's review. I like convenience, stuff for free, a good family friendly atmosphere, delicious beautiful food, and I hate anything that makes me uncomfortable.

Any questions?

Class Dismissed.

For the Other Grandma

Announcing:

(with everything underlined because I have no idea why and I'm ready to say bad words which is something I don't do)

Tanzen Margaret

and her blonde blonde hair

She wakes!!

She delights with her delicate delicateness!!

Her brother has turned to the ways of the rock music

Not really, he's been really sweet

As is this little piece of pie.

And let's not forget, MY sweet baby. As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.

You know you are SO wiping away a few tears right now.

They've Multiplied, They've Replenished

First, I have no pictures to share and I am sorry. I left my camera battery at Dubers'.

But I DO have a news flash: Sneebers and Matt have added a pink little bundle to their family, born on August 3rd** at around 11:30 am., 7 lbs, 11 oz, 21 inches long.

She has all her fingers and toes and they are LONG, plumbing is working, eyes are light, hair is blonde for now, skin is flawless.

Name: Tanzen Margaret Williams.

Social Security Number: 529-yum-yum

**Grandma Margaret celebrated her 87th birthday on this very day. Her response to having a great grandchild born on her birthday and semi named after her? I'll give you two to choose from...they both were uttered:

"Mommacita, when are you coming home? I need a pedicure."

"Margarets are jewels"

They are Margaret, indeed, they are.