Family | Peaches Prattlings

{April 28, 2017} Never a dull moment!

Thursday travel was uneventful, thankfully!

Delta has my heart again, not that they actually lost it, they spoil me, you know. But after the kerfufel the last time I flew to Atlanta, they gave me 20,000 sky miles, sounds about right. I was only inconvenienced by my flights getting bumped around, other people never got where they were going or very delayed and lost luggage.

I arrived in Atlanta, got the rental car, did you know some Avis locations have a concierge? This one got my car and brought it to me, nice. He noticed the gas was not full, so we loaded the car and went to fill ‘er up.

Then I was on the road, very uneventful. Made it to SDL’s, CKM was there as well, SDL has just gotten home. We all caught up, talked about passports and our upcoming trip.

CKM headed home then it was me and SDL, kisses for Miss A, more chatting and then work and zzzzzz.

This morning Miss A went off to school and so did her mom. I worked until 2pm, then went to pick up Miss A from school. I was on one side, she was on the other, oops. Home for a snack and a tickle fest, then dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, where they love her, of course!

Veronica is her favorite waitress, who just adores Miss A, well, who doesn’t? After a bit a little bit came in with his parents and was dancing and flirting and I thought he looked familiar, but I wasn’t sure. A bit later, his dad came over with him to say hello, turns out they’re in the same school. That’s where I recognized him! Later Miss A went to dance at his table to say hello.

If you know Miss A, you know when she’s happy, the screaming, squealing and laughter. And it can get loud! We were in the restroom and she was doing her thing and people started knocking on the door, was everything alright? We heard noises. Yup.

Back to the house for bath, snuggles and bed. SDL came home, catching up, work and zzzzzz.

She did give me this fabulous picture. It is from 2011, the year she came home and into our lives. Its her first menorah, for her Auntie George!

Never a dull moment!

{April 23, 2017} Ended on a positive

Today we flew back to Oahu since I have to fly back to Chicago for work.

Here’s the crazy thing… I’m flying home next week! I’m only going to be gone for a week, what? Like a ‘normal’ traveling consultant! And I get to be there for two weeks, I won’t know how to handle myself!

This morning we woke up, uneventful, thankfully. We got motivated eventually and went to Kihei Cafe, a local, cash only breakfast place that PSM liked to go to when he’s on Maui for more than a day.

Beautiful view, had company in the snail on the wall, chickens and other birds walking all over the place. We had the veggie scramble which looked like a mountain of eggs, a very colorful mountain and French toast. Tasty.

Then we went back, packed, hung out and then headed to the airport. Car return, check bags, security, board flight.

Land, get bag… eventually, check in bag for next flight, get car, find food. We ended up in Chinatown, looking for one place and ended up at another. The first place didn’t have any space, so we went to Grondin, a Latin/ French restaurant. I don’t even know what mine was called, but it was tasty. PSM was happy, they made him a spicy bloody Mary, even brought extra chili powder.

Back to the airport, say goodbye, now I’m on my flight heading back to Chicago.

After everything, ended on a good note, or at least a tasty one!

{April 15, 2017} No rest on a Saturday, well, a little

It started early for a Saturday and went on from there.

Soccer game for MGS, so cute, all those little people! GES is the assistant coach for MGS’ team, ACS is EJS’ coach. The entire family is soccer proud.

Then it was the first lacrosse practice for MGS, ACS stayed and the rest of us went on the drink run. After practice, two friends of EJS and MGS came over, their mom is one of the lacrosse coaches, score.

Back at the house, lunch and then a sneezing fit began and knocked me out! I conked out for about two hours! Ahhhh…

When I finally got up, ACS had taken the girls out for dinner and GES and I had some sister time. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant, good conversation, time to catch up and one -on- one.

Then… next door for a foot massage. An hour massage, about 20 minutes on the back and shoulders and the rest…sweet footsies! $35 for an hour?! Let’s just say…Ahhhh… Wait, I have to stand up again? Nooo.. this feels too good!

What a day! What’s tomorrow going to bring?

{April 14, 2017} Movie, dinner, dancing, oh my!

Today was quite the day!

Good Friday so the girls had a school-free day, beginning of Spring break. What did that mean? A date with auntie!

I got up, we got dressed and went out for breakfast, then back to the house and I got some work done and then it was on! We headed to the movie theater to see Boss Baby, we really liked it.

Then a little shopping, we got sunglasses and matching necklaces and then lunch at PF Chang’s, we don’t mess around. It was such a great afternoon!

Then it was off to ACS’ office to drop the girls off then I headed to K&DN’s house for dinner. And after dinner, DTN and I went contra dancing. I know, what?

Contra dancing was interesting, it’s like square dancing, folk, lots of spinning, swinging, do-si- dos, switching partners.

I loved the outfits and the different footwear. And there were no age limits or one group, there were high school, college kids all the way to much older! On the dance floor, no ages pairing off, you dance with everyone!

Everyone was very nice and patient, guiding me, apparently this is one of the better groups to be a newbie with. DTN made sure I had good partners to dance with and I was asked to dance each dance, very inviting. I would definitely do it again!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_dance

A pretty good Friday, wouldn’t you say?

What does tomorrow hold?

{April 13, 2017} Gymnastics, soccer, swimming, oh my!

Wednesday it was back to normal.

What does that mean? It’s work and school and sports, the usual. Wednesday morning came and there was get everyone on the bus, mommy and daddy back to school and that left dad, LaLa and me.

I got some work done and then it was go to the girls school to see MGS in a gymnastics extravaganza! The first graders, towards the end of the year, do a gymnastics exhibition to show what they’ve learned throughout the year.

They have to tumble, balance, climb, jump, incorporate literature, like making an A or a period, they can do all or a combination. It was great, I remember watching EJS during hers. After, we took pictures with her, big cheers.

After dead, LaLa and I went to breakfast and then they headed home and I got to work.

I picked both girls up from school, home for dinner and then took MGS to soccer practice, so cute! She had some great moves, passes and turns!

Today, after school it was swim lessons, she’s becoming quite the little fish! Can’t wait to swim with her in Hawaii!

What a busy two days! Tomorrow, it’s Good Friday, both girls have off and I get to spend the day with them, I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow!

{April 11, 2017} A zissen Pesach

A sweet Pesach or Passover to all!

I am a day late in my wishes, but it’s been a whirlwind!

I arrived yesterday, Monday, morning and hit the ground running. This was tough, the first year I wasn’t here cooking all weekend with GES, but she’s such a rock star it all got done of course!

I set about making the veggie pancakes, veggie matzo ball soup, matzo brittle and macaroons, the last two are my Passover tradition and responsibility, which I love, of course.

People began to arrive at 530, the kids played outside because it was hot, 85/90 degrees hot! Both yesterday and today, can you believe it! None of us could remember it being that hot for Passover! I even remember it snowing one year in New York City for Passover! Go figure!

Everyone arrived and we did the Sammy Spider’s seder. This is an abridged version of the seder, but it does cover all the main points, the pharoh, the four questions and the plagues. This is great to have when there are a bunch of wee tots. The kids were great, read from the haggadah, the Passover prayer book, thet read the four questions and the story of the exodus grim Egypt.

We have plague finger puppets and masks, they love that and dad gave his alternate version of the plagues, arthritis, back pain, ha ha!

Lastly, the kids hunt for the afikhomen, their favorite part, I think. There’s the challenge, the hunt and the reward, Papa D gives cash!

Tonight we even had a double birthday celebration for S&A G. Where did the time go?

It was a special time, both nights and we’re all looking forward to all the kids getting older and more involved.

A zissen Pesach to you and your families. And as we say, next year in Israel.

{April 9, 2017} She’s seven! A day with Miss A and a day for Miss A

Can you believe it! Today Miss A turned seven!

Where did the time go? Seriously! It was just yesterday SDL and I were talking about the adoption process, all the forms, procedures, etc and the next thing we knew, there was this fabulous bundle in our lives! I remember asking SDL a few times what our lives were like before Miss A was in it, couldn’t tell you.

What a precocious, smart, sassy, funny, silly little girl she is. Not so little, she’s seven and I get to celebrate with her! I made the same promise to Miss A that I did when EJS and MGS were born, I would be there every year for her birthday, either on her birthday or birthday dinner and I haven’t broken that promise and I don’t intend to start any time soon!

Saturday was riding lessons, helmet accented with a birthday tiara, of course! Then breakfast at Waffle House, a trip to Inman Park to see all the people walking around and meet lots of fury kids, especially puppies, most under 8 months old, love! And did they love Miss A!

We drove around Atlanta a bit and then it was time to go home, dinner, bath and bed or more fool auntie G into thinking you’re going to sleep, at least three times!

This morning was a bit of a sleep in, breakfast, then we got dressed and headed to meet CKM at the Grant Park Farmers Market. We walked around, looked at all the good stuff that was there and then lunch.
After lunch, since we were there, Miss A and I went to see lions and tigers and bears, oh my! And snakes and frogs and turtles and monkeys and apes and pandas and birds and flamingos and… And… so much fun to share that together.

Then it was time to meet mommy, otherwise known as SDL, and CKM at the Cheesecake Factory for a birthday celebration and what a celebration it was! This included a quick change in the parking lot into her fabulous birthday party dress, a little pink velvet number.

After dinner it was presents and then off into the wild blue yonder for bath and bed, oh, picking tomorrow’s fabulous outfit for celebrating her birthday in school. It starts with CKM’s present, an awesome tutu with pom-poms and happy birthdays in it!

I leave very early tomorrow morning so I got in as many giggles, hugs and kisses to last me until next time.

Happy happy seventh birthday Miss A! I love you!

{March 28, 2017} It’s never easy to say goodbye.

My very dear friends lost a furry treasured member of their family.

I say friends, they’re my family and my heart hurts for them tonight. Divit was a very sweet dog, he came to A&L K’s family eleven years ago. I still remember the day he came home, he was small and brown and scared. But curious, loving and wanting to fit in to his new family.

He was joining Jazz, his new older sister, a very sweet black lab and three two legged sisters who adored him immediately. This dog could jump! He used to drive the family crazy, jumping over the fence, the fence being over six feet high! Think this made his new prayers nuts!?

But he settled in quite well and loved his new family, including yours truly, Auntie J. He would greet me when I came to the house, didn’t bark, would snuggle and even say for me when I had to help remove a tick!

He was a great comfort to his family when Jazz passed and welcomed his new sisters, Twinkie and Yoohoo a few years later.

A while ago, the family received some sad news about Divit, he had a tumor. He was given a few months to live and the family made the most of that time. Trips to the beach in Florida, walks as long as he could take it, ice cream and all the love he could handle.

When I was down in GA the last time, we snuggled, hung out and had long talks and I told him that the family would be ok, they had his sisters and I would keep an eye on them for him. I had a feeling that would be the last time I saw him and it was.

The other ready, LK texted me to let me know, I had asked her to. It was going to be at 4pm yesterday that he would cross over the Rainbow Bridge and when I texted a little while before then, she told me his last meal was French fries and ice cream and I’ll bet he was happy. He looked it in the pictures she sent.

The vet gave each family member a Hershey kiss to say goodbye.

And then he was gone. I’m glad I had the chance to say goodbye and give him some auntie love.

Divit will be missed, remembered and loved. Right now, he’s probably chasing Jazz around. Hugs to my family.

{March 22, 2017} Double digits?? A TEN year old?

March 21st is one of my most favorite days of the year. Wanna know why?

It’s EJS’ birthday! This year… she’s TEN!

What? Think I think it’s crazy? How do you think her parents feel!

I remember the day my sister told me she was pregnant, oh man! I remember asking if I could get the Halloween costume, “yup, because if you don’t, it might not happen!” And that is what started my quest of all the Halloween costumes, did I love that? You bet!

This weekend was EJS’ birthday party and it was ‘Cupcake Wars’. She doesn’t even like cupcakes, but loves baking and baking shows and watching baking competitions.

There were three teams set up with four girls on each team. MGS was on my team, EJS floated from team to team each round. The aunties, AS, BS and myself all had a team to work with. Dad, ACS and his brother, JS, were judges.

The cupcakes had been made prior to the party, there seemed to be about 100! There were vanilla, red velvet, chocolate and fun-fetti.

Each round had different themes. The first was to make frosting and the judges had to decide based on the icing and pairing with the cupcake.

The next round was Spring and the judging was presentation, pairing and taste. The final round was in honor of EJS and strictly based on presentation.

Each team won a round. Any guesses which my team designed for final presentation? I do live on an island…

I can’t wait to find out what next year’s theme will be!
The girls eventually left and four came back and we all went to see Beauty & The Beast, loved it!

When a preview for Despicable Me 3 came on, EJS turned around to look at me to promise we would go together, MGS said the same thing when we were leaving the theatre. How much do I love that! Back to the house for dinner, two girls left and two spent the night. I’d say that was an awesome birthday celebration!

I talked to EJS tonight and I asked her how it felt to be double digits. Her answer, “Fun”, what a great answer!

What an amazing person my niece is! She’s smart, funny, silly, witty, clever, independent, fierce, caring, oh, I could go on, but you might think I’m biased…

It’s been such a treat to watch her grow up into this fabulous human being. She’s a special daughter, great big sister, fun granddaughter, fantastic friend and of course, awesome niece. I love when I first see her after being gone, the look on her face and then the hug, love.

I made a promise to her when she was born, I would be there for her birthday or birthday party and it’s not one I plan to ever break. How could I?! This is such an amazing kid!

Happy happy birthday EJS! I love you!!!

{March 14, 2017} Happy first birthday!!!

March 13, 2017, someone turned one!

My beautiful, smart, silly, fearless, curious, adventurous, happy granddaughter, Baby EB, turned one today!

Oh, how I wish I could show you a picture of her sweet little face! She is a wonder! Every day holds new wonders, excitement, joys, experiences, curiosity and so much more.

Each time i get to see her it’s a new experience, there is something new and exciting that she just learned or discovered.

I can’t wait to see where the next year and the next and the next takes her.

Happy birthday Baby EB. JJ sends love, hugs and kisses for your first birthday!

Email Subscription

What was I thinking?