Abby is proud to announce the birth of her baby brother…

Benjamin Baron

Ben was born in the early morning hours of August 8th.  We got a phone call at 3am (we got a phone call with Abby at 2:30 am).  Lindsay was in labor, Ryan was away on an overnight company trip, as Lindsay’s due date wasn’t until August 24th.

Thanks to good neighbors, Lynette got her to the hospital in record time while her husband, Tim, came over to be with Abby. Ryan broke speed records and thankfully arrived five minutes before the birth, about 5:30 am.

Grammie and P-Pa left at 5am, no I wasn’t packed, and arrived at the hospital about four hours later.  There is nothing like experiencing a new life, especially when it is your grandchild.

He’s precious beyond words, all 6 lbs., 1 ounce of him. 

Mother and baby are doing great, they will be home in the morning.  Uncle John and Auntie Dee will also be here tomorrow, and then Lindsay’s family will arrive on Tuesday.

This is a picture of Ben’s big sister, who picked out her clothes and “accessories” for her hospital visit this afternoon.  She loves to wear jewelry, and loves for Grammie to fix her hair, so she can run and look at herself in the mirror.  I do believe she is going to be girly.  Oh, Deanna will love it if she is!

The first question everybody asks is “what does Abby think of her brother?”  Well, I think she’s warming up to him and starting to understand that he’s part of the family.  She said today that she wanted “Mommy and Ben to come home.” 

As for us, we’ll be returning to Heavensville next week, but for now we’re just enjoying this whole experience and hopefully, helping out, to make the transition smoother for them. 

I would have blogged sooner, but I was waiting for a name.  They picked a good, strong name for him.  Ben, my latest grandchild…

The name Benjamin is taken from the Hebrew name "Binyamin" the name means "Son of Right", this name is also in general stands for "Son of my Right Hand". However in many rabbinical traditions, the name stands for "Son of the Right Side of the Body" or as the "Son of the South". Some of the famous people who have their name as Benjamin are; 'Benjamin Agosto', Judah P. Benjamin and Pope Benjamin II of Alexandria.

The name Benjamin was also the name of Jacob and Rachel's son. He was born on the road which lied between Bethel and Ephrath; this is now identified as Bethlehem.

My early mornings….

Maggie and I head for the woods most mornings, where I drink my coffee, and eat breakfast, yep, that’s my bowl on the floorboard, while I commune with nature. Maggie dreams of getting off the cart and running through the fields but I won’t let her because I don’t want her to get ticks and sticks in her fur.  I know, I know, geez Jan, let her be a dog!

Then I take a lot of pictures, most of which I delete.

And a lot of which bores everybody to tears, but Mikey likes them!

Hope Springs, finally a movie worth watching

I’m a huge fan of both the talented Meryl Streep and the craggy faced Tommy Lee Jones.  Their new movie comes out this week and it looks like it’s going to be really good.  I’m hoping even better than It’s Complicated, a hilarious movie she did in 2009 with Alec Baldwin.  If you never saw that one, you missed out, here’s a link to the trailer for It’s Complicated. 

We seldom get to see movies that appeal to our age group, and when we do, it’s a real treat.  This is a must see for LC and I, it’s gonna be a great old(er) couple date night movie.

Here’s the trailer, and here’s a interview they both did with AARP.  I know, AARP, sad, huh…

Note:  Wow, I just went to rottentomatoes.com and the critics love this movie, 100% thumbs up.   This is a nice surprise, usually they are really negative when they review comedies.

Read their reviews here.

Happy Anniversary to us…

Hubby and I were married 41 years ago today.  He brought me roses, a nice surprise, and yes, there are a dozen, I know you’re counting them, or I would be if I were reading this post.

I know, I don’t have a filter, I ‘m just out there with it.  But I bet you’re giggling.

So far our day is turning out much better than the people celebrating their anniversary on the video I’m posting.

We went to dinner last night to Angelo’s, our favorite Italian restaurant, where my low carbing bit the dust and I managed to inhale almost an entire basket of warm, yeasty, buttery, garlic knot rolls.  Oh, you can only imagine how good these were.

Then I went on to devour half a plate of this spaghetti and meatballs.  I know, I know, I had spaghetti and meatballs.  I almost had scampi with white wine and lemon sauce, but every time I go there and order something different, I’m always sorry I didn’t get spaghetti.  It’s always been my favorite and theirs is always amazing!

LC always gets the same thing, too, chicken cordon bleu in a creamy wine sauce.  Meh, it’s not my thing, I’m a red sauce kinda girl.  I love to post pictures of what I eat, can you tell???  This is kinda blurry, but he’s patiently sitting there while I’m snapping pictures of our food while people are staring at us, and I was trying to hurry!  You have no idea how bright the flash was on my iPhone in that dimly lit restaurant.  Geesh!

Now back to that video.  Carlene sent me this, and it’s hilarious, subtitles and all.  The poor old guy really steps in it, this is so funny…

My Pinterest boards…

I don’t know how many of you check my Pinterest boards, but I have some really neat stuff pinned.  I especially like the craft section, with the techniques for painting and aging wood.  And of course I have a badzillion food pins, and my low carb board is pretty darn awesome, if I do say so myself, and the homes and gardens, oh my...

My friend Jean sent me a link this morning to Martha Stewart’s 10 Top Pins.  Heck, I have her beat, I have lots better pins than hers!

Look at Jan’s 10 Top Pins and see if you don’t agree…

First of all, this is just a snippet of my Pinterest boards.  I have a total of 90 boards, so obviously I can’t show a picture of the entire menu.

And now for my top 10, well how can you really choose, I have so many pins, but these are some I really like.  Each caption under the picture is a hyperlink that will take you to  the specific board.

Favorite Places and Spaces

Things That Make Me Smile

I’m Such an Animal Lover

Snips ‘n Snails & Puppy Dog Tails

Sweets for my Sweet: Pie

Kitchens

Cottages

Libraries and Offices (had to showcase my own bulletin board ;o))

Gardens & Outdoor Spaces

Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice

And there you have it, 10 of my favorite pins.

I would love it if you would follow me on Pinterest.  Here’s a click to get you to my boards.  Spend some time this cloudy, hot Sunday, browse around my different areas, you will be inspired.  Pinky swear you will ;o)

~ Happy Pinning, Jan