cheeks and toes:)

i cannot get enough of these yummy babes...

they make me excited for every single day!

bye...

more later...

#bennyandthejets

jack evan thomas

5lbs 13oz

19 1/2 inches

5/23/2013

2:38pm

we have a new little boy baby...

he is the cutest little thing...

already raises his arms 

"touchdown" 

his parents think he is pretty cute...

ben and matt are not sure he is that much fun yet...

he just sits there...

doesn't grab his toes or anything...

they think they will wait and see if he gets

to be more fun when is 3 1/2 months...

according to benny blue he has a lot to learn between now and then...

he's kinda hairy...

pretty sweet...

i think benny will like him...

we kinda do:)

dallys and i have decided we are not allowed to to go anywhere with benny and the jets unless we have parental supervision...

(all the new baby paraphernalia is freaking heavy)!!!

(and we are in our 50's)!!!

now i know what all the fuss is about:)...

you guys were right...

thanks...

bye...

more later...

ps...

jack's feet!

they are ridiculously cute:) 

and benny's cheeks!

oh my...

i could just die...

“It's a terrible thing, isn't it, the way we throw people away?”

“But it is human, is it not, to long for that from which we are barred?” 
― Kate Morton, 

The Secret Keeper

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the following information was taken from

here

THE SECRET KEEPER 

This picture of a Tunbridge Wells farmhouse was one of a few that sat on my pin board while I was writing The Secret Keeper

1961: On a sweltering summer's day, while
her family picnics by the stream on their
Suffolk farm, sixteen-year-old Laurel hides out
in her childhood tree house dreaming of a boy
called Billy, a move to London, and the bright
future she can't wait to seize. But before the
idyllic afternoon is over, Laurel will have witnessed
a shocking crime that changes everything.

Dorothy and Vivien, as imagined for the endpapers of the Mantle, UK edition

2011: Now a much-loved actress, Laurel finds herself overwhelmed by shades of the past. Haunted by memories, and the mystery of what she saw that day, she returns to her family home and begins to piece together a secret history. A tale of three strangers from vastly different worlds--Dorothy, Vivien and Jimmy--who are brought together by chance in wartime London and whose lives become fiercely and fatally entwined...

i loved this book...
it was so good...

here is my review from goodreads

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to the audible version of this book and I thought the narrator was fantastic! At times I thought the long way was taken to get to the point but at the end realized that was the perfect way to tell this story. It reminded me of those old WWII movies. The pacing of the end was brilliant and I absolutely loved Jimmy. He was so unbelievably lovely and heroic. Vivian was mysterious and fragile and Dolly was so likable and frustrating and at times so hard to read. I loved it! It will make a great movie!

View all my reviews

i would have loved to get together and talk about this one...

i would have served...

Discussion Questions
1. Each of Kate Morton's four novels are securely anchored in their strong sense of time and place. In The Secret Keeper, World War II is a rich and realistic environment–close enough for memory but a long way from our twenty-first century lives—which allows the author to show both the frailty and courage of human nature. Discuss.

2. The rusted-on loyalties of family members to each other are key in this novel. Do you think Dolly's feelings of unease about her own family contribute to her love of playing make-believe?

3. Laurel had never thought to ask her mother about her life before Dorothy met Stephen Nicolson. And it's impossible for Dolly to imagine Lady Caldicott being young and beautiful wearing those glorious dresses now going musty in the dressing room. And Jimmy's dad loves to tell his stories of the past. How is ageing portrayed in The Secret Keeper?

4. Many readers have commented on how extremely likeable Jimmy is–how has Kate Morton developed his character to make him so?

5. Do you think that The Secret Keeper's characters live the lives they deserve? Were you satisfied and surprised at their various outcomes and their influences on each other?

6. Once you understood Dorothy's reasons for committing that violent action at the end of chapter one, did you find any moral ambiguity in her behaviour? Did she really have a choice?

7. Everyone has their secrets. The Secret Keeper, some more than others! Do you think Laurel is justified in upturning her mother's carefully laid secrets? When is keeping a secret within a family justified?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

maybe had some of these while we talked 

drank

blood orange tea...

mom...

you will love this book!

p.s.
on baby watch for baby boy thomas:)

bye...

more later...

bootie call:)

mr. blue bug...

okay...

so i am the last to be a grandma...

i can live with that:)

meet benjamin blue...

(i think he's pretty cute)

i have spent the last 10 days watching my chloe` bug

learn how to be a mommy...

to this little bug...

reminded me a lot of this

grannygrumpasaurus...

and this one...

this one too...

hope you had a happy valentines day...



bye...
more later...

how do you like them apples?

i am about to become a granny:)

it seems fitting that i should do something with my favorite kind of apple...

the granny smith...

this is a made up recipe by me:)

really...

i found some cranberry cinnamon goat cheese

at costco,

and it is fantastic! 

(but actually any cheese would be fine.

brie would be delicious with the honey.)

 it also took only 5 minutes to prepare...

i have decided that puff pastry is my new best friend 

(seriously, have you ever used this stuff? it's impossible to mess up and tastes like you really know what you are doing)

and one of my new years resolutions was to learn more about how to pair cheese with fruit and other things

because i love the combination so much!

this is what i came up with.

fold the edges of the puff pastry in to form a pretty edge...

you could add toasted pecans or sliced almonds as well...

it is very light and really good!

honey and cheese?

so, so, good...

one of my favorite ways to warm up my house in the

freezing temperatures that we are experiencing 

right now, is to cook something...

i am learning to cook:)

really...

i hope you are enjoying our book...

have a great week...

i will keep you posted on my little blue bug...

bye...

more later...

baby blue brunch

so...

we had a party...

fyi....

don't do a search on pinterest for

"baby shower for boy"

because there is no way to ever measure up to the amazing things people come up with and you will just feel like a failure...

my advice is keep it simple:)

but ohhh we had some fun!

we had an open house and served brunch...

in spite of the fact that we are living in 

"flu central"

and it's -6 degrees and we had a ton of snow over the holidays,

(it's basically the frozen tundra with a lot of coughing)

we had a great time...

here are some pictures taken by maddie... 

we served breakfast casserole

(recipe at the end of this post)

and french toast bites.

i would love to take the credit for these amazing treats because they were definitely the hit of the party.

my idea was to make them and serve them in little cups with maple syrup like on pinterest.

however,

that's just insane!!!!!

i ran out of time and instead went to macey's and got my favorite

french toast bagels and toasted them and put butter and powdered sugar on them and cut them into bite size pieces with a pizza cutter...

easy peasy...

i cheated,

 as per usual:)

and every last one of them was gone...

                             

we also had granola in snack cups

                           

cinnamon rolls

delicious fruit and cheese

no winter brunch is complete without

delicious homemade hot chocolate to warm us up...

courtesy of grandma dallyne...

thanks mom!

i served the hot chocolate with yummy

biscotti

~~~~~~~~~~~

here is the recipe for the yummy egg casserole we ate...

i also make this every christmas morning!

it's always a hit:)

it does tend to bubble over so i suggest putting a cookie sheet under the casserole dish.



next up?

BABY!!!!!

p.s.

i wanted to look pretty for my new grandson:)

i am extremely weird...

have a diet coke on me:)

bye...

more later...