Sunday Funday

Grandparenting is the most fun thing ever invented. And when you get to take a road trip to take one grandkiddo to visit the other grandkiddo the result is Sunday Funday!

This little cutie misses her cousin so we try to take her to visit him and they bring him to visit her as often as possible because an hour is not really that far away.

I asked Lula Mae if she was excited to see Opie. I'm pretty sure her face said it all:

They seemed quite happy to see one another what with all the dancing around and all.

The big hit of the day was when Opie's daddy (Crisco) made them a fort.

I LOVE how they are so totally delighted with something so simple.

So much fun packed into one Sunday. How much fun? This much:

The trip home was so quiet and I heard that not 5 minutes after we left the other one was passed out, too. And after I got home, I followed suit.

So much truth. 

Please remember to visit CoasterDoodles! 

Y'all can find us on Facebook and 

Instagram (@coasterdoodlessc) and

Pinterest

Use THIS LINK or the code: EMPTYNEST 

for 15% off your purchase!

Football and Babies!

That was our weekend down here. Which means it was practically perfect. It would have been perfectly perfect had the NFL season actually started yesterday but it didn't so, practically perfect will have to do.

Baby M was dressed for the opening day of college football season with the cutest little bloomers sporting her favorite team logo. It was difficult to get her to be still long enough to get a clear picture-

I got these from a cute Etsy shop called, The Bee Garden. I didn't leave Baby R out but his mommy and daddy are not Clemson fans. His mommy pulls for UNC even though she attended Wofford. I'm not sure if his daddy has a favorite college team. But he pulls for the Broncos on Sundays. Which is not that bad. At least he's not a Patriots or (Heaven forbid) a Falcons fan. 😂😇

When Baby R arrives, Baby M has to get in her car seat, too. Because they're cousins and cousins do lots of things together. Even when they are very, very young.

This girl and DrummerBoy came from Nashville for the weekend. She can brighten up the dreariest of dreary days so Y'all can imagine how amazing she makes a really good weekend. She loved spending time with her niece and nephew.

This morning, Baby M had a video message for her mommy and daddy:

Hope Y'all are enjoying your Labor Day!

Please visit my Etsy shop, CoasterDoodles

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

Someone Has A Birthday Today

It's birthday time for someone very special!

I'm just gonna leave this right here:

Oh, and in case you missed this on Instagram or Facebook, she walked for the first time last Friday.

Here's that one:

This week, she's practically running and has not crawled at all. What's more than exhausted? That's what I am. But I'm loving it!

Happy Birthday my sweet girl! Grandma loves you!

Please visit my Etsy shop, CoasterDoodles
and feel free to FAVORITE the shop
or buy something! :)

Food, Fun, and Family

No matter how long you have an empty nest, it's always lovely when you have everyone, or nearly everyone, home for a meal. And that's just what happened yesterday.

I tried a few new-to-me recipes I found on Pinterest and those who live close were more than willing to be my guinea pigs.

Mexican gazpacho fruit salad, fish tacos (made with fresh flounder),
sweet potato fritters, and citrus cake for dessert.  

Y'all, I can't tell you how absolutely wonderful it is to watch your grown kids parent. I look at my girls and I think I did a pretty darn good job raising them but when I watch Baby M's mommy parent, it becomes immediately clear she is so much better at it than I. And my SIL? A most incredible daddy. Baby M is one lucky little girl. She hit the jackpot on parents.

These two are the best parents. I'm so proud of them.

Goobers. That's what this bunch is when they're all together and I wouldn't have it any other way. Remember how one of your most favorite sounds, when your kids were growing up, was the sound of their deep down from the belly laughter? It remains one of my most favorite sounds when they are all grown up. It is impossible not to smile, at the very least, when you hear your adult children laughing hysterically with one another. It's amazing how laughter can take away worry, lighten your load, give you peace, fill your heart...

Three sisters and a baby. We missed Nashville daughter so much but she and DrummerBoy will be with us in July. 

It was just a dinner on a holiday weekend. And yet, so much more.

Please visit my Etsy shop, CoasterDoodles
and feel free to FAVORITE the shop
or buy something! :)

Mother's Day Brunch

What happens when one of your daughters grows up and buys a house? She hosts some of the family gatherings!

She makes us really delicious food.

And has a beautiful, smart, funny, amazing baby.

And a wonderful/wacky husband.

She never minds us coming to her house no matter how nuts we are because she's used to it.

She arranged everything including having Great Mimi picked up and brought over for Mother's Day brunch because no family gathering is complete without the generations coming together.

Speaking of the generations... I saw the cutest teepee online and thought it would be adorable for Baby M. Until I looked at the price. YIKES! So, I asked Mother (Great Mimi) if she would make one. She did.

I'm convinced it's a gazillion times better than the ones at the store FOR A FRACTION OF THE COST.

And then there's the whole, ours was made with love thing.

One of the best things about this Mother's Day? Watching my daughter be a most amazing mommy. 

Oh, the dogs had a good time, too. 

Just because I can because I'm Grandma---

What did y'all do this weekend?

Please visit my Etsy shop, CoasterDoodles
and feel free to FAVORITE the shop
or buy something! :)

Birthday and a Cake Disaster

Yep. We had one of each. Today is Birdie's birthday but we celebrated at our Wednesday night dinner. And there was a birthday cake disaster.

Birdie LOVES all things Halloween. She always has. Her favorite color is orange and she wore the same pumpkin costume for Halloween three years in a row because she loved it and wanted THAT one and wouldn't let Mimi make her a new one EXACTLY like it. Birdie might be a little bit stubborn. Or, she knows what she likes.

The first year she wore the pumpkin costume. 

The last time I took care of little ones and prepared a birthday celebration was way longer ago than I wish to remember so trying to do it Wednesday while taking care of Baby M was...interesting. And exhausting. And resulted in a birthday cake disaster.

I'm pretty sure this was the second year. Year three is MIA.

Because Birdie loves all things Halloween, she often wanted a Halloween theme for her birthday. Well, not often. Always. So I made Halloween themed cakes for her birthdays. She loved the pumpkin shaped cakes. Have y'all made these? You make two bundt cakes and put them together to make a pumpkin cake? They're pretty cool. My first one wasn't the best but the kids LOVED it. Here it is---

And that's the cake shape I intended to have for her birthday celebration on Wednesday night. Didn't happen. Oh, I made the cake. I stacked one on top of the other and I iced the darn thing. HOWEVER, it had been YEARS since I made this cake and I forgot that you have to trim the bottom of the bundts to make them sit flat, one on top of the other. Baby M, Tucker, and I set off to play and read and have loads of general fun---

I tell everyone that Baby M was trying to sound out a word. Ha! 

When I came back, one-half of the top of the cake had split off and fallen onto the kitchen counter. I would have taken a picture but my thoughts were on the disaster NOT on taking pictures. Sorry.

My mind was racing when suddenly I realized when a cake disaster happens, just make a trifle. So I did. And we had trifle cake. And stories. And lots of poking fun at mom. Which I loved. Because, family.

The good news is that, around here, a cake disaster is not a big deal. The disaster was salvaged, there was a funny story to tell, lots of laughs were had, but the best thing of all was sharing this moment with family. What good is a cake disaster without people to share it with? What good is telling a story without an audience of loved ones? What good is being able to have a few laughs without family to share them? It's called- love laughter.

Still laughing at the cake disaster. 

 And what makes a birthday more memorable than a cake disaster?! This will be a stand-out birthday when we discuss birthdays. Which we do from time to time. "Hey! Do y'all remember the time Mom tried to make Birdie a pumpkin cake and it ended up being a trifle?!" Hilarious.

Happy Birthday, Birdie! 

We survived the cake disaster of October 2016!

Family. There's not a single one I'd rather have than the one with these goobers (including the two who were MIA). We love hard. We play hard. We live hard. We laugh hard and often.

How many people do you know who would love your cake disaster more than the original? Call us because we will!

Happy Birthday, Birdie! Somebody loves you. IT'S ME! :)

Head over to Create With Joy and join in the Friendship Friday! You might see someone over there you know. ;)

Let's Hear it for the WEEKEND

This weekend was so hot and humid that I thought this would be the weekend the weather was successful in killing me. But I survived and had the best weekend of the summer. Well, the second best. No, it tied with our Nashville weekend as the best for this summer. Why? Because all four of the lovelies were home! There is nothing in the world better than having all your kids together. Nothing.

Deanie and DrummerBoy headed down from Nashville Friday afternoon and we had some big fun! They had not seen the Divine Baby M yet so we simply had to have a family and friends gathering at least once. Which ended up being twice. 

Saturday was a dinner gathering with my bestie and her hubby and one of the lovelies' teachers, SM, from elementary school who was in town from California for a few days and took the time to come visit us and meet the Divine Baby M. SM is the one who actually coined that name for Baby M. 

 

The Divine Baby M did not seem to mind being passed around. In the pictures below: Baby M and her parents; Baby M and Deanie; Baby M and Bestie; Baby M and Bestie again; Baby M and SM; Baby M, her sweet mommy and the lovely Auntie Breezy. Can you see a theme here? LOL

 

 She didn't even seem to mind the camera in her face all night.

The weekend filled me to the brim and then overflowing joy. One thing that becoming a grandma does is make you more cheesy than you were before you were so blessed but you also don't care because all those cheesy feelings are real.

Most of you know how excited I get when the lovelies are going to all be home at the same time. I can hardly contain myself. And why should I? These are the best times of our lives, right? And, Baby M's take on Saturday evening's festivities? I think she had a good time. 

When everyone is home for the weekend, the fun doesn't stop after one gathering. Nope. You must have at least two. And so we did. Sunday was brunch day with a few extra relatives who came by. When you throw a sweet little baby and the lovely who lives far away and her DrummerBoy into the mix, you get a wonderful weekend. And very emotional- in a good way. 

There truly is nothing in the world better than having all the lovelies together in one place. Top that off with the amazing boys, the sweetest baby in the world, some friends and extended family- it's almost too much to handle on the emotional aspect. I even enjoyed cooking for an army again! On Sunday, if my lovely sister-in-law hadn't been here, I'm not sure I would have gotten it all done, though. I was still tired from Saturday! I don't know about y'all, but I have a sister-in-law who steps in and helps. She knows her way around a kitchen better than I do and without her, Sunday just wouldn't have been nearly as wonderful as it was. Thank-you, Francy, for putting up with my crazy brother because if you didn't, I wouldn't have the honor of calling you, sister.

Ok, enough with the sap. Here's a slideshow of Sunday:  

Customize your own photo slideshow

I hope y'all had a marvelous weekend, too!

Have a great week, y'all!