The Grenadier--An Unusual School Mascot

 The Grenadier, a brave, French soldier, is the mascot of the high school where I worked for 25 years.  Yes, there are Elks in the village, but the animal is the mascot of Grove Junior High which  opened prior to the high school.  As a result, an unusual mascot for the secondary school.

Three years ago when I retired from Elk Grove High School, I packaged dozens of cookies as farewell gifts to my co-workers.  My first design idea was to make the school mascot, however, it was a busy time so I opted for an easier design.

This summer I finally had the opportunity to create the Grenadier in cookie form. I have given them to:

-a former colleague who retired,

-a former colleague who recently became the Principal of the school,

and

-some children that will be new students at the school.

Turns out this guy really wasn't that hard to make once I realized what cutter to use--candy corn did the trick!

To see another version of the Gren check out my cookie friend and former colleague, Donna's photos.  She made her version of the Grenadier for her class reunion and she is a very creative photographer.

Go Grens!

Happy 65th Anniversary to Mom and Dad

Simple hearts and flowers, a few cakes on a stand and vintage cars that were fun to make thanks to Lila Loa's fantastic tutorial.

Happy 65th Anniversary to my wonderful parents, I am truly blessed to have you in my life.

Happy Birthday Beth

Cookies for a beach loving friend.  The silver and white colors were inspired by plates that I found at a discount home furnishings store, but I had to include a beach cookie in traditional colors because I love making them and it's one of her favorite designs.

Happy birthday friend, I hope you have a wonderful year ahead of you.

Mary Grace is Eight

  

Turtles for 5, Pigs for 6, Gumball Machines for 7. . . this year Mary Grace is celebrating her 8th birthday with an Ice Cream theme. ( Photos of prior birthday parties)

My niece, Jody, is the Coordinator of her block party, so she invited a few of Mary Grace's friends to attend the block party for a birthday celebration.  Neighbors, friends and relatives of all ages have fun at this annual event.

Mary Grace turned a bicycle into an ice cream cart, Grandma made her a special hat, and Mary Grace passed out ice cream treats to all the children at the end of the bike parade.  

The fun continued with a dunk tank and lots of other fun activities on a beautiful, summer day.

Happy Birthday to a very special girl!

Courtney's Having Twins

 One Girl + One Boy = The Perfect Pair

Diamond Earrings, Aces & High Heeled Shoes. . .

The best things in life come in two's. 

 

A fun cookie to make for a baby shower!

This cookie was larger than the ones that I usually make but they looked very nice in the bags with a sheer green ribbon.

Elliot's Amazing Adventure

The first time I made cookies for baby Elliot he was in the NICU at the hospital.  He arrived 3 months early, long before the planned date for his baby shower. 

Since then I have moved out of my cookie comfort zone to make character cookies for the amazing theme parties his Mom has planned for him. Creating stencils has been useful for these designs.

 

 The theme for Elliot's 3rd birthday party was a "Jungle Adventure."  It seems that Elliot's life has been an amazing adventure. . . arriving 3 months premature, living in the NICU for 2 months and growing into a healthy, happy toddler.










From the time he was very, very little he has enjoyed spending time with family. . .

 

 wearing costumes
. . .







reading books, playing various musical instruments and traveling . . .

His latest passion is hockey!  I've even heard him singing himself to sleep with "Chelsea Dagger," the song that is played after the Chicago Blackhawks score a goal.  

Uncle Billy's gift of a personalized jersey was a big hit. 

Although horses were not part of the planned "Jungle Adventure" birthday party, a neighbor who is a Chicago Mounted Police Officer, kindly
offered to bring the horse over for the kids to pet.  At first Elliot was afraid to get close to the horse, but cousin John convinced him to pet the animal.

It has been a blessing to watch my great-nephew grow into a healthy, happy little boy.

Love and Hugs

to 

my little buddy!

There's a Mouse in the House

As the school year draws to a close, the Preschool classroom pets need a new home.  Leann and Christopher were the only children who had parental permission to enter the drawing to take one of the mice home.  

 Leann lost, but Christopher gave the mouse to her and said, "I know how much you want it and I already have lots of pets at home."  Such a generous gesture from a 5 year old, I'm sure that Leann will always remember this special boy.

 Leann is thrilled to have Whiskers as a member of the family.

Leann invited me to join her at Preschool on a day when "special treats" were allowed, so we celebrated the day with some mice cookies for her classmates.

Leann with Grandma Rita, Mary Grace and Whiskers