Babies R Us- Not the Store

So, Day 1 of keeping Baby M for 9 days has ended and Wowza. I need to sleep for at least 2 days. Yeah, I am NOT kidding.

The morning was great! We got up and played and then had breakfast with Great-Mimi. Then we played a whole lot more and had some lunch followed by Baby M napping.

Sounds uneventful enough, right? Just wait for it...

I figured I was doing good by getting my teeth brushed and clothes on this morning so taking a shower could wait until Baby M napped. Wrong.

Baby R's mommy was not comfortable showering without anyone there watching the baby (his daddy was at work) so she came over here to shower. And there went my shower. Ok, at least I did get the fish chowder made for dinner.

But then, Baby M's nap was over and she had some kind of rough afternoon. The kind where something was bothering her but you don't know what because she's 13 months old and can't tell you so you start going through all the possibilities. Well, turns out she was having tummy problems (which she's had since birth, well almost that long) and developed a horrid diaper rash in a matter of an hour. I gave her the tummy medicine and put Twigs and Roots Baby Balm on the rash. The tummy wasn't feeling better. I held that sweet child from 3:30 until she turned the corner around 8:00. No biggie except that Tucker wanted out and I couldn't get up to let him out right then so he went into Mother's room and then the nursery to have some doggy diarrhea. Which I couldn't clean up right away because I couldn't put Baby M down without her crying and screaming and no one wants that so... My sweet girl went down for the count and I was finally able to feed Mother her dinner which boiled over and left a mess so there was that to clean up.

Finally, at 9:00 I was able to call all things done and cleaned up and sit down to write this post all about our first day.

I'm just going to say that it is a very good thing that people my age don't have children because if it was possible I would have only had one and would have seriously considered giving that one back. Middle age

Ok, but when Y'all see these pictures of Baby M meeting her cousin for the first time you'll see why it's all so worth it. I can clean up next weekend. When I wake up from the very large nap I plan on taking.

I'm pretty sure Baby R passed inspection.

And Baby M did inspect him thoroughly--even his toes.

And for those of you who haven't seen the video:

Only 6 more days, Y'all.

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and feel free to FAVORITE the shop
or buy something! 😁💓

Why I Love Breakfast

I know y'all know what's coming but it's coming anyway...because this:

We have officially entered the phase of, 'if it isn't what you're eating then I'm not eating it' or 'I'm so done with baby food.' Yes, that's yard sell stuff still sitting there. They've decided not to have a yard sale so I've got to have one or get this stuff donated. It's driving me nuts but Baby M loves it.

Tucker loves breakfast too.

But for different reasons.

He acts as a vacuum which helps me out with after breakfast clean-up.

Remember the little table I painted and decoupaged for Baby M's room? She was trying to climb the rocker or move it or something and I didn't want her to because the wire from the Foscam runs behind the rocker. Baby M persisted so I blocked her with that little table. Here's what she did:

If you've forgotten, don't even bother trying to fox a baby because the baby will out fox you every single time. That's me calling her auntie at the end to tell her to come see what Baby M had done.

The little stinker.

Happy Monday, y'all!

Please visit my Etsy shop, CoasterDoodles
For some Mother's Day gift ideas!

Stinker Face

Because, why not?

Y'all, this kid is going to be one year old in a little less than 3 months. She is ALWAYS busy. ALWAYS. I think she's even busy in her sleep.

She's also clever. We couldn't figure out why this toy had a button. She did. She pushes it on and off any time she wants to. We have yet to be able to turn it on or off.

You can certainly see the stinker in her eyes in this next one. And that little grin? That comes from my granddaddy and Baby M's mommy.

Her auntie and I decided to try and have a photo shoot but you can't get Baby M to be still EVER so here's what we got---

Never once did she look at the camera. And she was still enough for two whole pictures. Still cute though.

So we decided to follow her around and snap whatever we could. The faces of Baby M:

No photo shoot would be complete without a shot of pants on the baby. When you don't sit still long enough for people to put your pants back on after a diaper change, the people do the best they can. I'm going to put together a book one day called, Pants on the Baby filled with all the pictures we have of Baby M 'wearing' her pants in all sorts of ways. 😄

She's 9 months old, y'all and she is my heart.


Have a wonderful day!

Please visit my Etsy shop, CoasterDoodles!
There's a special running through the month of April!
$10.00 OFF your purchase of $30.00 or more! 

I Survived!

Some of you know that we had Baby M overnight last night. She arrived at 7:30 AM on Wednesday and stayed so her parents could go to a concert in Columbia after work. They came and picked her up around 1:15 AM today.

18 hours with a 9-month-old is not for sissies. No matter how cute they are.

Of course, she did nothing that her sweet mommy said she would do. When you're at Grandma's you do whatever you want to do. That includes exhausting Grandma.

We did survive! And I did have help as Baby M's Auntie Breezy was here all day. But let me just say that the admiration I have for single parents has grown tremendously. I don't know how they do it.

So, the next two pictures mean someone is sleepy. But this is not equal to the act of actual sleeping. Because Baby M is highly allergic to daytime sleeping or, as I call it, napping. Which is very important when you're the grandma because you aren't as young as you once were and tired comes much earlier now.

Auntie Breezy and I figured we'd get Baby M nice and tired by taking her to Shem Creek Park.

We went out around 9:00 while the weather was not yet sweltering and before the people came out. You can see the triangles on the Ravenel Bridge in the center of the next picture.

It was a nearly perfect morning. Why nearly? Because it was still a bit warm for me. Otherwise, gorgeous!

The scenery is pretty nice out there. Can you see the Ravenel Bridge triangles on the right?

We enjoyed ourselves.

So did Tucker who met some new friends in between sniffing and peeing on everything we passed. He thought it was a bit warm, too. Don't worry, I forgot my water but brought plenty for him and Baby M.

But this little stinker never showed one sign of tiring out.

We thought about sticking around and hitting one of the restaurants for an early lunch but the two grown-ups were ready for a nap. Which never happened. Except for Tucker who takes a nap whenever the spirit moves him to do so.

Even though our attempt to tire out Baby M failed, it was quite a nice morning. Shem Creek Park is a good place for grandparents to take their grandchildren. It's not usually crowded out there and the people who do frequent the boardwalk are, for the most part, quite nice and engaging. There are plenty of coastal birds to watch and, on a lucky day, maybe a dolphin or 5. You can watch the shrimp boats come and go depending on what time you go and, since Charleston Harbor is at the end of the boardwalk you might even see some big ships headed out to sea. All of the restaurants on Shem Creek are family friendly and provide outdoor seating which is my favorite because we always see dolphins. There is also indoor seating by big windows so you can enjoy those frolicking dolphins while sitting in the AC. But seriously, every inch of the boardwalk is in FULL SUN (there are two covered areas with seating, though) so remember the SUNSCREEN and know that it will be HOT even in the morning most of the year. Oh, and there is a nice little (and I mean patio sized) 'park' area with seating and vegetation that is nice and cool about halfway between the beginning and the end of the boardwalk.

And yes, I'm still alive. But I'll be tired for a week.

Please visit my Etsy shop, CoasterDoodles!
There's a special running through the month of April!
$10.00 OFF your purchase of $30.00 or more! 

How to Use Boxes and Packing Paper

Spring has not sprung, thankfully. It's not like it hasn't been spring-like all winter so, when winter finally showed up this week, I welcomed it with open arms. We didn't get any of that wonderful snow that others got and we didn't get any of the snowstorms that caused damage to people and/or their homes. While I would love to have the snow, I'm grateful not to have had the blizzards.

When you have horrid allergies that only leave you alone during the winter months, you look forward to those few months. We haven't had winter in two years. However, this week, I'm waking up without the daily sinus headache and it's WONDERFUL. Winter is also kind to me in the energy department. It's the one season here in Charleston that does not zap me of all energy.

But what do you do with your adorable granddaughter when it's 32 degrees outside? The same thing you do when it's way too hot to go outside. You become grateful when the FedEx guy shows up with your Jet order.

Yep. We played with the box and the packing paper. Baby M went inside the box and around the box and on the box. She stood at the box and played with the packing paper.

She took the paper and waved it up and down and round and round. And she did this for nearly an hour.

 When her daddy arrived to pick her up. the packing paper went with them since they're packing up to move to their brand new house! Win-win! And that friends, is the proper way to use boxes and packing paper.

And now, the winner of the comfort jar giveaway is:

Cathy from Tales of the TCKK Family!

Congrats, Cathy!

All I need to know is which jar you want. 
Just hop over to CoasterDoodles and you can let me know on Instagram or here on the blog. 

Warning: Cute Baby Post

Life as a grandma gets better every day. And more interesting. It may be an old cliche but it is true that there is a reason God gives babies to young people. These days, Baby M is still fighting her naps tooth and nail. But once she's out, she's out. Naps last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and a half and you never know what you're going to get.

Regardless, you're always happy when they wake up because that means more baby time for grandma! She loves coming over here and that makes me nothing less than completely happy.

Puffs are magical. 

These are Puffs. Puffs are magical. They can take a baby from calling out to Jesus because Grandma's not doing something right or fast enough to full-out smiles and contentment in a mere fraction of a second. They come in a variety of flavors and are wonderful for working on that pincer grasp. Puffs are so much better than the Cheerios I used with the lovelies not only because they are healthier but they also dissolve quite quickly. They're just like air. Sweet potato is our favorite flavor. 

Oh and, Tucker loves them too:

If you are a soon-to-be new grandma, DO NOT FORGET ABOUT PUFFS.

And now, we're climbing. 

Life was easier mere weeks ago when we were simply pulling up on everything. Baby M has added climbing to her give-grandma-a-heart-attack repertoire.

The bottom two shelves are not cutting it for her anymore.

She studies that upper shelf and tries her best to get things down or climb up there. First she reaches and then that left leg tries to go up.

She's like her mother in this. I thought her mother was supposed to have to live with this as payback. I had no idea I would have to live through another climber. I will say she did climb up on a stack of moving boxes at her house so her mommy has become aware that she does, indeed, have a climber.

Breakfast is my favorite meal.

This face at the table for any meal makes the meal better. But breakfast is my favorite because this is the face that makes my day start on just the right note. Is there any better way to start the day? The answer is, No. There is no better way on earth to start the day.

Whether she's got on one sock or two....

Or lets me put her pants on or not...

Whether she's calling out to Jesus...

Or happy as a clam with a sweet potato face...

Whether she's climbing bookshelves....

Or lying down quietly...

Whether she's quite unhappy...

 Or covered in breakfast from head to toe...

Whether she's gotten herself into a self-inflicted predicament...

Or reading a book...

Whether she's sleeping soundly...

Or studying something new...

This little one fills her grandma's heart to overflowing on a daily basis. 

And yes. I did put a bow on her sweet little head. :)

Did I mention to y'all that Baby M's parents have bought their very first house?! They're having a yard sale so all that junk you see in the background of the pictures is my donation to the cause. Or maybe y'all didn't even notice because of the cute subject of the photos. :)

Today's the last day to enter the giveaway!

Winner will be announced on Friday! 

You don't have to go anywhere. Just comment on this post if you're in! 

If you want extra entries, here you go:

This time, there are several ways to get more entries if you'd like. Each different thing you choose gives you 5 extra entries. Please let me know what you've done for the extra entries so I can give you credit. Altogether, you could end up with 26 entries.  

1. Like Empty Nest on FB.

2. Follow me on Instagram.

3. Follow me on Twitter. 

4. Scroll down and click on the We're on the Fence button which is a vote for Empty Nest. 

5. Visit CoasterDoodles and make it a favorite. 

Oh, and don't forget to leave a comment here letting me know you're in! :)

ALSO- Remind me if you already do those things so I can give you the correct number of entries! 

That's it, y'all!