Oh Happy, Warm, Sunny, November Days ♥

What a great day be outdoors......sunny, 70 degrees,  and November19th. 

You know, I think people are nicer when the sun is shining.  I know I am! 

Our outdoor walks are pretty much controlled by Wyatt, our 4 month old grandson. (Gotta eat, burp, change poopy diapers, etc., then dash to the car, walk, and be back home for the next feeding....phew)
He sure is cute, though, so we do what works.

Wyatt is one happy little baby!

Our usual route is The Roanoke River Greenway. It's beautiful, safe, easy walking, and stroller friendly. Due to lots of rain last night.....Oops, we couldn't go this way:

Wiley Drive

Oh well, turn around and go the other way....NOT TO BE DEFEATED!
Oops, that didn't work either:

Bridge and tunnel near Carilion Hospital

That didn't stop our walk! Over and around we went.(No we did not swim through the tunnel, with a stroller. We are good, but not that good!)

The other side of the bridge and tunnel.

It didn't seem to bother Mr. Wyatt which route we took. He took 

his nap for most of the stroll, and was ready to rock and roll by the time we got home!

Wyatt doesn't seem impressed, does he?

And.... I got my Fitbit steps done for the day!

yippee!!!!!!!!

Oh happy warm sunny November days ♥ 

A.Blast.From.The.Past ~ Virginia Heights Elementary School 1954-1959

A few weeks ago, a Facebook acquaintance posted a few pics of  a crew of urchins from Virginia Heights Elementary School. Talk about reminiscing! GOOD GRIEF! I possess one or two of the following photos (in my storage closet of unorganized photos). The person that shared these photos, however, had the entire pandora's box!) These photos opened up a lot of memories for me, from my childhood...some good, some not so good. Elementary school was, for the most part, pleasant. I found it fascinating to see faces that I remembered and faces that, well...I have no clue. I loved seeing the style of clothing. I vividly remember and will never forget my teachers, and their names! They helped to shape who I am today! I remember learning the states, and capitals and their placement on the map!(need to refresh my memory on that one). I remember getting an orange for successfully printing my ABC's...and oh I remember learning how to square dance....hahaha. I remember biting my nails, and YIKES, I remember where I hid my report cards. And yes, I really did walk to school every day, in the rain, and snow.......and wearing a dress EVERY...SINGLE...DAY... 

First Grade, 1954

  

Second Grade 1955

another Second Grade 1955

Oh my....third grade. I think everyone was terrified to have Ms. Maines for a teacher. Rumors had it, that she had a ruler for slapping you on the hand, for the least little thing. I think that is when I started biting my nails. I've since learned that FEAR is, for the most part, a waste of time! She was a no-nonsense educator, and by golly, we LEARNED!

Third Grade 1956

Fourth Grade 1957

Fifth Grade 1958

Sixth Grade 1959

In the sixth grade, the girls were priviledged to be hostesses.....
(nope, can't remember what we did, but we had a laminated name tag, so it must have been really important.)

Sixth Grade Hostesses 

And the boys were honored to be patrols.......

Sixth Grade Patrols

I'm still searching for the photograph of our 7th grade class. Virginia Heights Elementary School was one of the few schools that added a 7th grade class to the school that year....1960. 
My goodness, some of these urchins graduated with me from Patrick Henry High School in 1966. 

I'm FALLING....no help needed!

I ♥ FALL!

I love everything about the fall season.

I love the leaves.....the warm colors, the cool, crisp air.

I love watching the leaves, in motion, falling to the ground.....and boy do they fall.

It's kinda like watching snow flakes...... until you have to shovel rake. 

OK....so maybe a few more leaves must FALL. But waking up to the sun's rays in the yard, makes it worth the rake.

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns~~~ George Eliot

I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air~~~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

HAPPY FALLING!

You makin' me hungry :)

I'm love these playful fashion illustrations by artist Gretchen Röehrs.

Roanoke Mountain

Warm colors, blue skies, gentle breeze........seems like the Fall season is rushing by faster than my heart's desire. SERIOUSLY! 

PLEASE SLOW DOWN A BIT....PLEASE?

Fall is my favorite season. When the leaves start falling, I could  sit outside all day. In fact, I could probably lay in the leaves and be content!  

Roanoke Mountain is in her glory right this very moment! 

This past weekend, we drove the 4 mile one-way loop. Many people, however, use this place to walk, run, and bike (uphill)! The views are magnificent, the winding road is curvy, and the sunset...OH MY....the sunset. At the summit, there is a trail leading deep into the woods (uphill again). 

Roanoke Mountain is a treasure. 

Go visit soon! It's worth the trip.

 

Eastcoast Predictions and such

We've had a lot of rain.....not just a little ------> A L.O.T.

It's been raining non-stop for 5 days. 

"I'm still looking into this 'FALL IS HERE' theory."

We had a break in the weather pattern today.(oh blessed SUN)

Looks like we might be fortunate to see a little sunshine tomorrow.

But then.....Wham, bam, double wham. Hold on Sally. 

Here comes Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. 

(I've stopped trying to straighten my hair, and everything in my house is sticky..ewwww)

Joaquin is now a hurricane.

The rainfall totals since September 24: 

AND..... for the next several days:  from WDBJ7 Weather

Here are a few hurricane Joaquin predictions:

1.There's a 90% chance the name will be pronounced right, except in Portugal.
2.Even though we know it's too early to predict its path and strength, we also know we're in deep doo doo.
3. No matter what the storm does, reporters will stand out in it.
4. Surfers will go surfing.
5. Gas prices will go up.
6. Children named Joaquin will be born 9 months from now.

7. The stores will have no milk, water, bread, eggs, or peanut butter.

8. Generator sales will increase.

9. People will drive through the flooded roads.

10. People will be calling APCO and arguing that are not working fast enough to get power restored.

11. Duct tape, batteries, and plywood sales will boom.

12. The local meteorologists will get over excited and their voices will get slightly higher in pitch.

TRY TO KEEP A SENSE OF HUMOR, AND HELP SOMEONE WHO MAY NEED HELP! NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO EXECUTE SOME COMMON SENSE!

*****On a more serious note***** 

Click here ---> ready.gov/kit  <---- for the basic disaster supplies kit, and be prepared! 

Houdini and the Swaddler

Swaddling is a lifesaver for most Moms/Dads these days.
Oh, I'm not talking about rocking and holding (circa 1974, 1977, and 1987). This is about THE  SWADDLER.

This 'thingie' has been around for years. How could I have missed it? '...Swaddling is an age-old practice of wrapping infants in blankets or similar cloths so that movement of the limbs is tightly restricted. Swaddling bands were often used to further restrict the infant. Swaddling fell out of favor in the 17th century...'.
Fast forward to 2015, the BabyCenter site explains 'it' in more gentile terms: '...It helps your baby feel safe and secure. It can stop your baby from being disturbed by his own startle reflex. It helps soothe a baby who is fussing. It helps to settle him down when he's over-stimulated...'

I first saw 'it' used on one of my older grandchildren, but quite frankly, never paid much attention to it. Who knew there were so many makes and models. There's the Miracle Blanket, the Halo, the Easy Swaddle, the Nuroo, the Woombie,  the Swaddle Me...............are you kidding me????? it's a B.A.B.Y. B.LA.N.K.E.T. It comes fully equipped with Velcro and a zipper.

OK. I admit. My first thoughts on the swaddler were not very nice. In fact, well....never mind. But after a week of taking care of this little Houdini, I'll tell you a secret. (shhhhhh.....) It works! HONEST! Just One Problem:  Little Houdini keeps busting out. His tiny arms and hands work their way up and out. It's like a magic act. First class! He wakes himself up, touching his face. Talk about #grandparentfail! His naps are not that long, so it's important to know how things work! After numerous tries, and watching a u-tube video (yes, a video on how to do this), I'm good to go! Just wrap that sucker swaddler like a tight burrito, Chipotle style! Houdini's eyes close, and he wanders off to lala land.....and so do I!

 All is well in Swaddleville....

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!

Good Morning Fall! Happy September Equinox 2015 :)

The earliest humans spent more time outside than we do. They used the sky as both a clock and a calendar. They could easily see that the sun's path across the sky, the length of the daylight, and the location of the sunrise and sunset all shift in a regular way throughout the year.

We have an equinox twice a year--spring and fall--. Night and day are approximately equal in length.
The name equinox comes from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). Equinox also means that the sun is directly over the equator!

After today, the days get shorter and the nights get longer.
The shorter days are bringing cooler weather. All around us, trees and plants are ending this year's cycle of growth.

Fall is one of my 4 favorite seasons!

DAY IS DONE....

Day 1. 
Done! 

The King and Queen have successfully kept an 11 week old baby boy alive for 9 hours. 

It took both of us.  

We took 2 naps, totally missed lunch, and seriously can't remember if this is Monday or Tuesday. Don't ask how many times we left our coffee cups in the microwave to re-heat!

We are currently looking everywhere for chips, candy, pretzels, popcorn.... Anything. 
Forget dinner.

Is it too early to buy Halloween candy?

Wyatt was delivered bright and early this morning by his Daddy.

He came with 2 pages of instructions:

Batteries were not included, but it was highly recommended that we get OUR batteries recharged.
Simple right? Easy Peasy! After all, we are parents to 3 adult children. There's been no time to make dinner, wash clothes, clean, watch tv, take strolls on the Greenway, play or FB, or work in the garden. We are loading up on our vitamins and going to bed as soon as it gets dark!

We did, however, spend an entire day cooing, rocking, feeding, singing, and loving on our newest grandchild.

Counting it all joy ♥

Sept 20, 2015 Wyatt Practice Makes Perfect

Trial run : 

1. Place Wyatt in infant seat.
2. Place Wyatt in infant seat, into stroller.
*MAKE SURE DOORS ARE LOCKED, EXTRA BOTTLE, DIAPERS, KEYS AND PHONE IN POCKET.*
3. Stroll to car.
4. Open up car door, and get Wyatt out of stroller.
5. Place Wyatt into car seat.
6. Fold stroller and place into back of jeep.
7. Take a deep breath, because I forgot already where I was going!
8. Drive the back roads to Richfield Rehab Center to visit with my Mom. 
9. Drive very slowly, and carefully. Watch for bikers, walkers, and cars, and stop signs.
10. Park car, get out, unload stroller, and figure out how it unfolds.
*MAKE SURE YOU HAVE KEYS (Now would be a good time to begin wearing a neck halyard around my neck)*
11. Remove Wyatt from car seat, and place in stroller.
12. Lock car. 
13. Stroll inside Rehab. Thank goodness for handicapped doors that open automatically.
14. Visit (Mom sure does look great ♥).
15. Return home. (remember all of the steps from above, and repeat several times)
16. I'm ready for my nap.
17. Lauren: what did I forget? 

4 generations ♥

T-minus til Monday morning

OUR NEW ADVENTURE BEGINS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2015
 At 7:30AM
Did I say 7:30AM?
Until 4:30PM?
Monday-Friday?
Where did I put that alarm clock?

Dear Wyatt Andrew Hartman, 
Are you 11 weeks old already? We are so excited to begin our  daily adventure with you.  Papa and I are beaming that your Mom and Dad are trusting us with your care for a few months. We have the unconditional love for you.  We also have 2 rocking chairs, and a crib, and diapers, and formula, and stroller, and clothes, and books, and carseat, and pack n play, and  Rock N Play, and Boppy, and toys, and bibs, and changing pad.  See you early Monday morning. 
Love Papa and KK

Papa is already searching for your bike!

KK is having a hard time putting you in your crib ;)

Did you know?

DID YOU KNOW THAT...........
All fifty states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial?











The fifty states are ALSO listed on the back of
the $5.00 bill!

Check it out!

The Real Story Behind Rudolph

Article written by Farmers Almanac Staff:

This pamphlet was used by Wards for several years. In 1947, the chairman of Wards made an outright gift of the copyright of the verse to its creator, May. May found a book publisher for it, and 100,000 copies were sold that very same year.

In 1949, May’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, put the story of Rudolph to music and had the song published. However, finding the right singer for the quaint little song was not easy. Marks thought he had Perry Como lined up, but Como wanted a line in the song changed. Marks refused to even change a comma; he was certain that he had a hit, so he looked elsewhere.

Gene Autry, the famed cowboy and country-and-western singer, was approached, but he thought the song too childish for his image.

Marks had a demonstration record made up by another country singer and sent that to Autry, who liked what he heard. With an added push from Mrs. Autry, Gene grudgingly agreed to record Rudolph. It was one of the best decisions he ever made: the sales of  “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” surpassed any other song Autry recorded.

And then, there is OLIVE....the other reindeer :)