maudlin old fool...

I seriously had tears in my eyes, and this is true: The new Hess truck commercial. "The Hess truck's back, and it's better than ever..."

Why? Because my Samuel, who is 24 years old, was in LOVE with Hess trucks. His gramma would get him one every Christmas, and he kept them all nice...then Jonathan came along, born when Sam was nine, and was soon obsessed too. He was allowed to play with Sam's trucks, but he used to bite the tires off. As he grew older and inherited all of Sam's old trucks, he would get a new one every year from Gramma...a few years ago, he was actually counting the days until the season's new model was revealed. It was a big deal.

Now, Jonathan is 15. He remembers those days fondly, but is no longer interested in having the new truck. He is more into hunting, and fishing, and hiking, and playing hockey.

So why tears? Because the little boy grew up, the sweet innocent little boy. And, being the youngest of the five boys, it magnifies that they all have grown up.

That's not supposed to be sad, but it is, to me.

I know I have been extremely blessed to have shared in so many childhoods! I mean, years and years of making forts, and playing play dough, going sledding, and getting new coloring books. I have been extra blessed, this went on for so many years, I thought it would last forever.

Now, Camille is 12. She doesn't care for toys anymore. She got her nails done, as a birthday gift this year.

Don't get me wrong, I am not walking around crying. Ha, I'm sitting in my chair crying! No, seriously, I am happy, but sometimes it just hits me, the way they grow up so quickly.

Last night, we went to the pool...Suzanne, Sonja, Jonathan, Charlotte Claire, and Camille, the five youngest. Sonja does independent gym now, and has to get her 90 minutes a week. We were in the water for almost an hour, and it felt fantastic. I always say I need to go more, and I do.

We've been watching (re-watching) Downton Abbey. What is more cozy than that? Christmas lights, the fake fireplace humming, a hot cup of tea...

So weight loss is slow, but I did try on some clothes this morning, and they are fitting better, looser. It's not fair, of course, I read the success stories of other people who do intermittent fasting, Keto diet, ect., and oh the results they get! I think I've ruined my metabolism over the years, I seriously ate a big bowl of popcorn the other day, right before dinner, and gained two pounds. That was a funny story. While I was in Ottawa that Friday night, Evelyn made homemade popcorn, with lots of butter, for the girls. They only ate a little of it. Now, popcorn is my absolute favorite, especially stovetop popped homemade like that, with lots of butter. Anyway, it was in a pan with the lid on it, and someone was cleaning up, and put that pan in the cupboard with popcorn in it. I needed to use that pan on Sunday when we were having the surprise baby shower, imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered that popcorn!

Two days old, everyone else said to throw it out. Um, I could not resist it. I haven't had popcorn since the night in California when I shared some microwaved stuff, and before that, a while. I used to have it every week, but have cut it out. So I had just one piece, then dumped a bunch in a bowl, threw away all the rest, and sat down and enjoyed the heck out of that bowl of popcorn. And I did gain two pounds.

Anyway. Now I want popcorn, ha.

I went threw a bunch of clothes today, found a skirt I wore a few years back...I slipped it on, and it was HUGE on me. Then I tried on a pair of jeans that I wore just a few months ago, and they are too baggy. That's not too shabby, right?

Jonathan and I are leaving in two weeks for our trip to Oregon. I am very excited to spend some time with Kathryn and Darius, and to be there to welcome their new baby into the world. I hope he is born right when we get there, so we have maximum newborn snuggling days before we have to fly the 2,783 miles back home. If I were smart, I'd be booking another trip out there in like February, I can't go so long without seeing that little baby boy.

Being a Grandma is a double blessing! My five grandchildren all live pretty close, Grant is in Virginia but they are planning to move to this area in the summer:)

Yesterday we went out to the craft store. I picked up a few Christmas presents, and some black and white checked ribbon, plus an unfinished tree to paint...plus some unfinished wood hearts to paint and make into tree ornaments, despite knowing we don't need any more Christmas stuff. We went to Bed Bath and Beyond, and I got a new little rug with a red truck with a tree in it, for $7.85. Then to Dollar Tree for $13 of stuff we "needed". I did get Anne two cute little bird ornaments. She fed them and sang to them all the way through the next stop, Aldi. We got beef for Carne Asada, cilantro, a bag of limes, tomatoes...tonight, fajita night! The beef is marinating in a mix of cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper, vinegar, olive oil...there is a bag of chicken breast marinating, too. Dinner is going to be good.

Anne will be here soon...