Jane - congratulation - your going to be grandma - how exciting. I know exactly how you feel. I only have 1 granddaughter and when they told me I couldn't believe it - I was over the moon. Your fun is just beginning. Sounds like you had a wonderful 4th of July and all your decorations were great. Thanks so much for sharing - the photo's are great. Have a wonderful relaxing week. Hugs, Mary
Promise I didn't jump to the end of the post for your amazing news ~ though I was tempted! Perfect summery family fun at the lake and NOW a grandmother? This is the best news, ever!
Hello Jane, When I saw BIG NEWS...I knew it was a GRANDCHILD...congrats to all!!! I'm so happy for you and look forward to following along for the next few months.
Oh---boy----you are going to love being a granny!!!! I'm so excited for you Jane! Your holiday looked and sounded like the perfect weekend sweetie!!! sending hugs...
Such exciting news! I just knew that you were going to announce something like that. Sounds like your holiday was full of good food, good times, and good friends & family!
Congratulations, Jane! What a wonderful capstone to a great family stay at the lake. Your little slice of heaven looks very inviting - loe your MB and that fish on the tree is way cool! Rita
A fun holiday with family topped off by such good news....what could be better than that! Your daughter getting right into the cleaning isn't bad either.
I WONDERED if that was the news / OH YAY so happy for you all! :)
Looks like a wonderful celebration there and I like the fish decoration and the food and all of the pictures but I kept wondering "WHEN is she going to say the news and is it a baby" :):) :)
Yay! So excited for you Jane! You are going to love being a Grandma. : )
It sounds like you and everyone had a great time. I love the straw hat your daughter is wearing. I have a floppy thing I picked up just for sun protection for my face when we are at the pool that is fabric and actually folds up to go in my little pool carrier.
I will have to go back and read the rest of your post. I fast forwarded (is that a word) because I knew it was about a grandbaby. YEAH. Hold on because you are about to go on a ride of your life. It is so amazing. Congratulations. So happy for you.
Congratulations on becoming a grandmother:) That is SO exciting! Sounds like you all had a great time with lots of good food! Have a blessed and beautiful day dear friend, HUGS!
I KNEW you were going to say you were getting a grand baby!!! Congrats to all of you! Sounds like y'all had a perfect 4th. Lots of good memories made, for sure. :) Your bedroom looks fantastic and I love the color on the walls. :)
Blondie, I am happy for all of you. A baby to love on. That was a lot of people and it's nice everyone helped out. Your sweet daughter Emily, bless her heart...helping to clean the whole place. Thinking of you and your loving family, blessings, xoxo,Susie
Hi Jane, I'm so excited for you. I know that soon we will be hearing all about the new baby. You will be a wonderful Grandmother! I'm also glad that you and your family had such a wonderful weekend. My brothers and sisters and our families all got together this year for our first annual family reunion. It's the first time in seven years (since our Mom passed) that we have all been together. It was wonderful!!
YAY that's wonderful news Jane congrats!! Sounds like you guys had a fun filled and relaxing weekend! We need to learn to do that more often :-) So cool to be able to pull your boat right up to a sandbar and jump out! Growing up we spent our summers in Florida and I remember always swimming out to the sandbar with my dad and uncles...great memories!
Jane, congratulations on the new addition to the family. How exciting! Glad you and the family enjoyed a wonderful holiday at the lake. Making memories!
We do the same thing here. We go out to the sand bar with the kids. There were over 100 boats out on the 2nd. I can't imagine how many there were on the 4th!! I'm glad to hear you had such a good holiday weekend. congratulations on the blessed news, Jane!!! Being a gramma is the BEST!!! How exciting for your whole family! Love being sent to you, sweet friend. Debbie xo
Congratulations! Kevin and MC are a beautiful couple! You will adore being a grandmother. :) Looks like an absolutely fantastic time at the lake. Beautiful decor - love the Mason jars with colored water. Love your master bedroom too. It is truly beautiful. Have a wonderful weekend. Hugs, Beth
Looks like you had a wonderful holiday weekend, the best kind with lots of friends, food and family! And a BIG congratulations on being a grandma...how exciting! Happy Belated Birthday to your hubby too!
There couldn't be a better way to cap off a great weekend! Congratulations to you and your husband and the happy parents-to-be. Your lives will change!
OH Jane, I am sorry I am just getting over here! OMG congratulations!! You are going to be over the moon with that new grandbaby! You know how Dan and I love being grand-parents! I bet Al is thrilled too. I kind of hope it's a girl so I can make her some dresses! But either way, it will be amazing. Your lake house looks wonderful, love the bedroom! Can't wait for our get together too. Hugs friend, happy, happy for you, Cindy
Oh, Jane...I am so thrilled to hear your fabulous news. You will make a fantastic grandmother.... sit back, hold on tight cause it's the best ride of your life. :) xoxo
Oh, Jane. Everything looks and sounds fantastic, but when I read the news about your becoming a grandmother, that is the best. You will absolutely love it..Happy Tuesday..Judy
Oh Jane, what a great post and I'm just thrilled for you! Being a grandmother is the best thing ever, life's wonderful blessing!! Have a wonderful day and enjoy being up in the air! Nancy
Wow! What an incredible 4th you had. So happy for you on the grandchild too! Loved the photos and always enjoy hearing about your lovely family. :) Enjoy the end of July! Kit
I can't believe I missed this! What a wonderful post with BIG NEWS! (MY computer has not cooperated with me most of the summer.The rest of it has just been so busy.) You're going to have the most wonderful "change" in your delightful family! I can't wait to hear what you think about seeing that new little one that's on its way, Jane. There's nothing like a grandchild!
August 16, 2014 at 2:26 PM
[Image]This is a post that will not be all over the place as per usual. In fact, we will be at the lakehouse and I hope I can make my 4th of July celebration be a little more interesting to tell other than the usual hamburger, hotdogs and fireworks recap. But first...it was The Husband's birthday on July 2 and I made him a special breakfast. Actually, I made a very simple breakfast with what I had on hand...Fried Bananas. It's very simple. Heat up 2
Tablespoons of butter on medium heat in a non stick pan. Add 2 sliced bananas (about 1/2 inch thick...I did my mine on the diagonal) and sprinkle over 3 tablespoons of brown sugar. Cook until slightly soft, tossing bananas occasionaly to get covered in butter and sugar. Serve with a squeeze of lemon over them. Heaven! Happy Birthday to the love of my life!
[Image] Now I take you to the lake. I left on Wednesday with daughter Abigail and her boyfriend Tom. We made a pizza and sat around and talked, got to bed early. Thursday we made an early morning run to the grocery 3 towns over. Veggies for salads, fruit, ingredients for appetizers and side dishes and breakfast sweets. The fridge and cabinets were stuffed and that didn't even count what everyone else brought!
This is the tablescape I worked on that day. I know, it's very much like last year (and the year before, ha!). I save everything. The daisies are blooming big time so I had them everywhere.
[Image]I found this tray at Michael's a few weeks ago for a couple of dollars. It will work all summer long. Almost everything was found at The Dollar Store and another one called Deals. And I was able to save everything. I actually have a cabinet in the garage just for 4th of July decorations!
[Image]As always, I do my red, white and blue in mason jars, just simple food coloring in water with...yep, daisies! They are blooming like crazy but I'll save some flora and fauna for another post. :) I have two jars, one on the right which were gifts from my SIL a few years ago. Filled with sand, you put a tea light candle in them. So pretty.
[Image]Nothing escaped my patriotic enthusiasm. I found these paper fans that open up into circles of red, white and blue and they were hung everywhere. I found the fish (which looks like its been filleted) at HomeGoods last year.
[Image]Okay. The food. Not many pictures here because we all dig in fast. This is a half eaten tray of bruchetta that my daughter in law Mary Clare (MC) made. Gone in 5 minutes flat. We pretty much had sweets for breakfast and one day some lovely people actually made eggs, bacon and pancakes for the crowd. Lunch was simply hot dogs and hamburgers, and dinner was always something different. One night we had a great dinner that daughter Emily made with a pork shoulder over onions and garlic, sprinkled with brown sugar and then, get this, a can of Coke poured over. It roasted in the oven for 6 hours and the delicious smell filled the house. She shredded the juicy, flavorful pork and we had it on rolls with potato salad and pasta salad. I can go on and on about the memorable food. And I'll include that shredded pork recipe in my next post. Make it for your family or double it for a crowd. You can even freeze it. Delish!
[Image]We try to come up with a signature drink every summer. This year it was a sort of margarita that included orange juice that gave it kind of a sweet rather than tart bite. Abby's friend Ashley also made a great concoction of orange juice, lemonade, cranberry juice and vodka. She went light on the vodka and it could have made a really nice punch.
[Image]Of course most of the fun was on and in the water. Here's the captain (The Husband) overseeing the departure of the S.S. Blndy. As you can see, the boat is tied up under a canvas awning and up out of the water on lifts. This is what I'm referring to when I say our boat is in a "shore station".
[Image]And off they go. You're looking at the front end of the boat, or the bow. Because of the tight quarters in our little cove, we have to back out first. Boating isn't the easiest of things to do. I'm pretty confident at this stage of the game, but I still don't have the skills of dealing with mechanical issues as The Husband does.
[Image]For the most part, son Kevin filled in for The Husband as they cruised out to the sandbar for some fun in the sun. The Husband and another person would take the wave runners out to give the kids a ride or take anyone back to the house. And sometimes, beverages had to be replenished. Sort of a pony express system. :)
[Image]And here we are at the sandbar (I actually wasn't there, I like to leave room on the boat as I can go out any old time. Here's Abigail and her longtime love, Tom. Interestingly, this was the 'Year of the hats'. At least five of us had them and they are not only cute, but very forgiving when you've been swimming and neglecting your hair. I'm a little surprised that I'm not in one single picture!! I guess that's a good thing, I would have fretted over posting myself in a bathing suit with bedraggled hair and little if no makeup! Ha!
[Image]Sister in law's Karen and Meg, and DIL MC and her Mom, Peggy. Peggy and I are the matriarchs of the group. We get along famously.
[Image]I'm including this pictures of my two cutie pie nieces to show you how the sandbar looks with so many boats anchored. You just hop off and you are in water as low as your knees. It's really fun, very social (you meet a lot of people), and we always loved to bring our dogs out to teach them to swim. Great times.
[Image]Switching gears here. The masses left on Sunday. We had a total of 24 people, 14 who stayed at our house and the rest at a Hilton in a town a few miles away. I won't bore you with the rest (lots of eating, swimming, boating, kayaking, games of bean bag, basketball, and sitting by the outdoor fireplace at night). Wonderful memories and you know, I was truly relaxed this year. I didn't strive for perfection, I let others take over and yet I kept busy and did my fair share. I chilled a lot and just had a ball.
We (The Husband and I) stayed until Monday morning but daughter Emily and her husband Mike stayed until Monday night. Of course Emily cleaned the house from top to bottom...that's just her bag. Washed sheets and towels, swept up the sand, and cleaned the bathrooms. But she did a really great thing for me, something I had neglected for so long. She cleaned and dusted and rearranged the furniture in our master bedroom. Remember the antique trestle table The Husband found to use as a desk last summer? He also found these gorgeous stained glass windows. We had some help from the guys to carry down an old and heavy chest that sat in the corner of our bedroom with an outdated TV on it that didn't work...that's where the desk is now. The Husband hopes to do some work from the lakehouse so we can have more days there. Doesn't it looks great?!
[Image]Here's another view. We are so lucky to have such a large room. I think it's twice the size of the one we have here in the city. Thank you Em! I owe you a lunch or a little shopping spree (within monetary limits!).
[Image]Finally, last year at this time I was bowled over to see a little blurb about my teeny little blog in Romantic Homes magazine. This year is a whole different sort of happiness. I'm going to be a grandmother!!!! Yes!! My son Kevin and MC are expecting a baby! The Husband and I are beyond excited. Everyone is excited!! This was the icing on the cake of a great holiday. I am walking on air and I just can't wait to get my mitts on that little creature. I may never give him/her back!! :)
I have some free time over the next few days and I am definitely going to do some serious catching up on my blogging. I recovered from the festivities on Monday by not doing a darn thing. Yesterday I did a lot of errands and grocery shopping. Today I alternated between putting this post together and tidying up my garden. Can you say Burdock weeds? Ugh...
Happy Summer Days to all of you!
XO,
Jane
posted by Blondie's Journal at 9:48 PM on Jul 9, 2014
"HAPPY BELATED 4TH OF JULY AND SOME "BIG NEWS""
66 Comments -
Do I get to be first to congratulate you?! How exciting for all of you. :)
July 9, 2014 at 10:01 PM
That's wonderful news!! You're going to be am awesome grandmother, and that will be one lucky baby :).
July 9, 2014 at 10:14 PM
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WITH BAITED BREATH!
C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S and LOVE to you and your beautiful family!
withLove!
July 9, 2014 at 10:16 PM
Big congrats, Grandma!!
This little one will have a ball with your family!
:)
July 9, 2014 at 10:17 PM
Congrats! How exciting. I am exhausted just reading about your holiday!! What fun! Looks like everyone had a wonderful weekend.
July 9, 2014 at 10:29 PM
Jane - congratulation - your going to be grandma - how exciting. I know exactly how you feel. I only have 1 granddaughter and when they told me I couldn't believe it - I was over the moon. Your fun is just beginning.
Sounds like you had a wonderful 4th of July and all your decorations were great.
Thanks so much for sharing - the photo's are great.
Have a wonderful relaxing week.
Hugs,
Mary
July 9, 2014 at 10:40 PM
Dear Jane,
Promise I didn't jump to the end of the post for your amazing news ~ though I was tempted! Perfect summery family fun at the lake and NOW a grandmother? This is the best news, ever!
Helen
July 9, 2014 at 11:05 PM
Fun to read about your 4th of July celebration (24 people - wow! - glad you were relaxed)...but the best news was the Grandma news! Congrats!
July 9, 2014 at 11:06 PM
Hello Jane,
When I saw BIG NEWS...I knew it was a GRANDCHILD...congrats to all!!! I'm so happy for you and look forward to following along for the next few months.
Blessings,
Linda
July 9, 2014 at 11:12 PM
Wonderful news!! You'll be the best grandma!! Congratulations!
July 9, 2014 at 11:14 PM
Oh---boy----you are going to love being a granny!!!! I'm so excited for you Jane!
Your holiday looked and sounded like the perfect weekend sweetie!!!
sending hugs...
July 9, 2014 at 11:24 PM
Such exciting news! I just knew that you were going to announce something like that. Sounds like your holiday was full of good food, good times, and good friends & family!
July 9, 2014 at 11:56 PM
Congrats Jane, these are very exciting times for your family-enjoy:@)
July 10, 2014 at 3:00 AM
Congratulations!! You will be a wonderful grandma. There's nothing like it!
July 10, 2014 at 5:13 AM
Congratulations on your wonderful news, my sweet friend. xo Laura
July 10, 2014 at 6:00 AM
Congratulations, Jane! What a wonderful capstone to a great family stay at the lake. Your little slice of heaven looks very inviting - loe your MB and that fish on the tree is way cool!
Rita
July 10, 2014 at 6:17 AM
Loved reading about your 4th celebration.....but most of all congrats on the new baby. You're going to love being a grandma.
Balisha
July 10, 2014 at 6:33 AM
I just knew it!! I had a feeling this was your news, I am so happy for you all!!
And, what a great celebration you had!
July 10, 2014 at 6:41 AM
A fun holiday with family topped off by such good news....what could be better than that! Your daughter getting right into the cleaning isn't bad either.
July 10, 2014 at 6:47 AM
So happy for you, Jane! I can't imagine how much fun you will be as a grandma and how much joy this little one will bring to all of you.
July 10, 2014 at 6:56 AM
I WONDERED if that was the news / OH YAY so happy for you all! :)
Looks like a wonderful celebration there and I like the fish decoration and the food and all of the pictures but I kept wondering "WHEN is she going to say the news and is it a baby" :):) :)
July 10, 2014 at 6:56 AM
Yay! So excited for you Jane! You are going to love being a Grandma. : )
It sounds like you and everyone had a great time. I love the straw hat your daughter is wearing. I have a floppy thing I picked up just for sun protection for my face when we are at the pool that is fabric and actually folds up to go in my little pool carrier.
July 10, 2014 at 7:02 AM
congrats, Jane! What a wonderful vacation too.
July 10, 2014 at 7:14 AM
I will have to go back and read the rest of your post. I fast forwarded (is that a word) because I knew it was about a grandbaby. YEAH. Hold on because you are about to go on a ride of your life. It is so amazing. Congratulations. So happy for you.
July 10, 2014 at 7:18 AM
Congratulations...so excited for you all!!!
Blessings,
Cindy
July 10, 2014 at 7:32 AM
Congratulations...so excited for you all!!!
Blessings,
Cindy
July 10, 2014 at 7:32 AM
How exciting! Congrats!!
July 10, 2014 at 7:38 AM
Congratulations on becoming a grandmother:) That is SO exciting! Sounds like you all had a great time with lots of good food! Have a blessed and beautiful day dear friend, HUGS!
July 10, 2014 at 7:54 AM
Congratulations on your big news.....how exciting!!!
~Des
July 10, 2014 at 8:03 AM
Wonderful news for you and your family! We were on the west side of the state at a lake on Saturday - beautiful day to be on the water :-)
July 10, 2014 at 8:25 AM
How wonderful Jane, congrats to you all. You will be a great Grandmother. Looks like a fantastic holiday at the lake, Blessings Francine.
July 10, 2014 at 8:38 AM
I knew your news was baby news, but I thought it would be Emily having the baby. Congrats to all of you! xo
July 10, 2014 at 12:17 PM
oh, congrats, jane...or is it grandma?!
July 10, 2014 at 1:39 PM
I KNEW you were going to say you were getting a grand baby!!! Congrats to all of you! Sounds like y'all had a perfect 4th. Lots of good memories made, for sure. :) Your bedroom looks fantastic and I love the color on the walls. :)
July 10, 2014 at 2:25 PM
congrats Grandma!!
July 10, 2014 at 3:28 PM
Awwwww, congratulations Grandma!!!
July 10, 2014 at 3:54 PM
Congratulations!!!!! oooh, the shopping can commence! :-)
July 10, 2014 at 4:46 PM
Blondie, I am happy for all of you. A baby to love on. That was a lot of people and it's nice everyone helped out. Your sweet daughter Emily, bless her heart...helping to clean the whole place. Thinking of you and your loving family, blessings, xoxo,Susie
July 10, 2014 at 4:47 PM
Congratulations! What happy news! I enjoyed catching up on your blog.
July 10, 2014 at 5:19 PM
Hi Jane,
I'm so excited for you. I know that soon we will be hearing all about the new baby. You will be a wonderful Grandmother!
I'm also glad that you and your family had such a wonderful weekend.
My brothers and sisters and our families all got together this year for our first annual family reunion. It's the first time in seven years (since our Mom passed) that we have all been together. It was wonderful!!
hugs
Sissie
July 10, 2014 at 5:41 PM
YAY that's wonderful news Jane congrats!! Sounds like you guys had a fun filled and relaxing weekend! We need to learn to do that more often :-)
So cool to be able to pull your boat right up to a sandbar and jump out! Growing up we spent our summers in Florida and I remember always swimming out to the sandbar with my dad and uncles...great memories!
July 10, 2014 at 6:49 PM
Jane, congratulations on the new addition to the family. How exciting! Glad you and the family enjoyed a wonderful holiday at the lake. Making memories!
July 10, 2014 at 7:17 PM
We do the same thing here. We go out to the sand bar with the kids. There were over 100 boats out on the 2nd. I can't imagine how many there were on the 4th!!
I'm glad to hear you had such a good holiday weekend.
congratulations on the blessed news, Jane!!! Being a gramma is the BEST!!! How exciting for your whole family!
Love being sent to you, sweet friend.
Debbie
xo
July 10, 2014 at 7:36 PM
Such exciting news. You know all the grandparent fun we are having with our little Lily. You are in for a delightful time.
Fondly,
Glenda
July 10, 2014 at 8:13 PM
I can't imagine hosting that many people! Grandmother? You'll be the best.
Brenda
July 10, 2014 at 8:23 PM
Congratulations! Kevin and MC are a beautiful couple! You will adore being a grandmother. :)
Looks like an absolutely fantastic time at the lake. Beautiful decor - love the Mason jars with colored water. Love your master bedroom too. It is truly beautiful. Have a wonderful weekend.
Hugs, Beth
July 10, 2014 at 8:52 PM
Congrats to you Jane! You will never be the same once you finally hold that baby...it's wonderful!
July 10, 2014 at 8:56 PM
Congratulations! How wonderful. Your news made me smile so big. :)
July 11, 2014 at 7:02 AM
Yay! What a great surprise.
This will be a fun adventure to share with you.
I also do daisy's in food coloring for the 4th. :-) It is so fun and the kids love it.
July 11, 2014 at 9:47 AM
Looks like you had a wonderful holiday weekend, the best kind with lots of friends, food and family! And a BIG congratulations on being a grandma...how exciting! Happy Belated Birthday to your hubby too!
xo Kat
July 11, 2014 at 7:03 PM
Congratulations Jane! I know how thrilled you must be to be a new grandmother! (Your new bedroom is dreamy!) Glad you had such a wonderful holiday!
July 12, 2014 at 1:02 PM
What a great weekend you had Jane and your news is just perfection! You are going to make a fantastic grandmother Much love to you and yours xo
July 12, 2014 at 3:55 PM
There couldn't be a better way to cap off a great weekend! Congratulations to you and your husband and the happy parents-to-be. Your lives will change!
July 12, 2014 at 5:13 PM
Wow! How very exciting!!!! Aw! Yay for all of you! hugs...
July 12, 2014 at 9:44 PM
You will be a wonderful grandma and you are going to love every single second of that honor!!
July 13, 2014 at 7:26 PM
Congratulations, Jane! I am so thrilled for you! You will be amazed at the wonderful feeling of holding that little bundle the first time.
July 14, 2014 at 10:02 PM
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July 15, 2014 at 8:22 AM
OH Jane,
I am sorry I am just getting over here! OMG congratulations!!
You are going to be over the moon with that new grandbaby!
You know how Dan and I love being grand-parents!
I bet Al is thrilled too.
I kind of hope it's a girl so I can make her some dresses!
But either way, it will be amazing.
Your lake house looks wonderful, love the bedroom!
Can't wait for our get together too.
Hugs friend,
happy, happy for you,
Cindy
July 15, 2014 at 1:26 PM
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July 15, 2014 at 8:20 PM
Oh, Jane...I am so thrilled to hear your fabulous news. You will make a fantastic grandmother....
sit back, hold on tight cause it's the best ride of your life. :)
xoxo
July 15, 2014 at 10:18 PM
Oh, Jane. Everything looks and sounds fantastic, but when I read the news about your becoming a grandmother, that is the best. You will absolutely love it..Happy Tuesday..Judy
July 15, 2014 at 11:52 PM
Oh Jane, what a great post and I'm just thrilled for you! Being a grandmother is the best thing ever, life's wonderful blessing!!
Have a wonderful day and enjoy being up in the air!
Nancy
July 16, 2014 at 5:13 AM
Oh congrats! How very exciting for you and your family!
Jen
July 16, 2014 at 8:47 PM
Wow! What an incredible 4th you had. So happy for you on the grandchild too! Loved the photos and always enjoy hearing about your lovely family. :) Enjoy the end of July! Kit
July 16, 2014 at 10:43 PM
congo grandama...
Led Lures
July 30, 2014 at 12:08 PM
I can't believe I missed this! What a wonderful post with BIG NEWS! (MY computer has not cooperated with me most of the summer.The rest of it has just been so busy.) You're going to have the most wonderful "change" in your delightful family! I can't wait to hear what you think about seeing that new little one that's on its way, Jane. There's nothing like a grandchild!
August 16, 2014 at 2:26 PM