I am absolutely awful about getting on this blog as of late. Between doctors, physical therapists, and other appointments to figure out what is wrong with my neck and arm, as well as work commitments, there are not enough hours in the day. I cannot wait for the end of the month and NCLA and AASL to have come and gone. I always have fun presenting and attending sessions, but two conferences back to back right now is just too much for me. By the time I get back I won't need to wear a Halloween costume - I will look like an old crone!!

But, I am so excited I had to blog. IT'S A GIRL!!!
Mary just called me right after they got out of the ultrasound and told me the good news. Not until she had to give me a rough time by sadly saying, "Guess we will have to try again." I cried, "No!" in dismay and then she started laughing. So I knew she was kidding, but she had to reaffirm to me at least twice that my next grandchild is a girl!! I shrieked so loud in delight I think the guys working out on the street heard me. I know my son in law did as I could hear Scott laughing in the background too. All I wanted to do is call Mom to tell her but then I realized that she knew from conception that it was a girl - great-grammas know these things from heaven, I am sure of it. :-) We grammas on earth have to wait until the doctor tells the mommy. And to think that I had to wait for the full 9 months to find out what both of mine were. So, I can start little girl clothes shopping already. :-)

In anticipation I set aside I'm Going to Grandma's by Mary Ann Hoberman for the first time my new granddaughter comes to stay with us by herself. What a lovely book about the little girl who is excited about spending the night with her grandparents, until it is bedtime. She fears the bathwater might be too hot, but it's not. Even though she has her most favorite pair of pjs on she still feels funny and so does her bear. So her grandmother tells her about the first time she spent the night with her own grandmother and how the very quilt the little girl is laying under has a square of cloth from the very first dress her grandmother made for her when she stayed with her so many years ago. And, there would be more stories for her to tell each time she came to stay, one for each square in the quilt. I almost cried when I read this book as Mary has the quilt I made for her brother Mic when he was moving from the crib to make room for the new baby and into his own bed. He helped me pick out the squares from the leftover fabric from his clothes and from my maternity tops that I had made. I can touch each square in that quilt and a memory comes to mind and Mic does not seem so far away. As he would tell me, "Touch your heart Mom, I'm right there."

And, on that bittersweet note, I shall end this posting.