Freedom Isn't Really Free

Memorial Day is here once more,

We fly the flags above our door,

We plant our flowers that mark the grave,

Of every solider that was so brave,

They fought for freedom for everyone,

Many lives snuffed out by a sniper's gun.

We proudly march in our little bands,

As daybreak filters across our lands,

But I wonder if we can truly see,

What cost it was to make us free.

Confederate soliders fought the Yanks,

Some brothers fought brothers in those ranks,

To free the downtrodden that were lost,

To free all men at any cost.

My father was part of World War One,

A war not talked about by anyone,

Some men lost limbs and some were gassed,

Some were picked up by comrades, others bypassed.

World War II! How tragic indeed,

People standing by watching others bleed.

Souls thrown to the winds with no remorse,

Foreign government standing on their own course.

Vietnam was not a war they said,

Then how come so many soliders ended up dead?

No heroes welcome for them in sight,

They slunk home in the dead of night.

Should I go on-with the Desert Storm?

Iran? Afghanistan? Are you getting warm?

Do you feel the pain you see in their face?

Does it make you squirm in your warm, safe place?

I've just one more thing I'd like to say,

It's about celebrating Memorial Day,

Look around and everything you see,

Was paid out in blood so that we are free.

Put your hand on your heart,

For the blue, white and red,

Raise your eyes to the flag,

Say a prayer for the dead.

Because of a solider I can have my say,

So ~God Bless you this Memorial Day~

© Diana Kosmoski 5/31/10

Hers Here-Hers There-Hers Everywhare

As some of you know, a few weeks ago we took little Miss SweetCheeks to Dizzy Wurld by herself. The check in process is never an easy one. It was a long wait...but the entertainment (SweetCheeks & Co) made it bearable. I sat down to wait. SweetCheeks is not much of a sitter.

I looked over at her. She was resolutely staring down at her shoes.

"What's the matter?" I asked her.

"My fwriends have all runned away and hided on me!"

"Where did the go?"

"NANA! If they hided I doan know whare dey are. If you iss hided nobuddy knows whare yoah are!"

Of course they don't! What was I thinking?

"Bob! Bob! Whare ARE yoah? Yoah is SUCH a sassy boy foah hiding on me and now yoah iss nott gonna haf any twreat latah eiffer!"

Now she is calling for help. She is calling to "Rainbow". Rainbow is her BFF at the moment. Rainbow is ALWAYS good. After a small confab, SweetCheeks informs me that Rainbow knows where Bob is hiding.

"Nana! Stay wright hearh! I gonna go find dat Bob and bwring him right back hearh. And I wannt yoah to tell hims that hims iss nott getting any twreat tonight eiffer!"

Aye! Aye! Little Miss Boss Of The World Of Imagination is off an running....and, trust me....I am not far behind!

Yep! Just another day in Paradise! How lucky can I get? A child with Imagination in a place where Imagination never ends. I am blessed!

Night With Nana

After school three hungry little girls arrive at my house!
Yummmm...baked ham! Mashed potatoes! Baby Carrots! Let's eat so we can go out and play.

Let's change into our swim suits and go run through the sprinkler.

Hey Papa! Whatever happened to that old shwrimming pool we usta habe? Der it isss!

Lulu! You chan't sit ober der cuz dat iss nott

the place to sit. Mobe ober cuz ders not berry much roohm foar me!

SweetCheeks says~Hey! It's crazy MamasBoy-hims supposta be mowing but hims jusst playhing~ Yoah is shure a crazzy boay & yoah is my godfathah~ yoah know dat?

It's been a long day! The sun is starting to set.

Who else besides my Nana has a bathtub outside her house? We love taking bubble baths outside after we are done playing. Nana, I think you need to watah yoah plant!

How do we end the night? With a Veggie Tales movie, of course! Papa is sitting behind us reading the paper! Papa! Put yoah slippahs on! Hims crahzy too, isn't hims, Nana?

No crazier than I am for saying YES when Mama asked if you could spend the night! The End! Thank You and y'all have a nice day -er- night!

My Aunt Bessie

My father had 3 sisters and one of them lived right next door. Her name was Aunt Bessie. She had 4 children and was widowed when her youngest was 2 years old. I spent a lot of time with her those first few years of life. My father told me that I called her Mama sometimes. All I know is that she was a wonderful influence in my life. I also know that, like me, she did not like having her picture taken so this is one of the two that I have in my possession.

Looking back, I realize that she did not have much money. She, with the help of her oldest son and daughters, ran the dairy farm and eked out a living as best she could. No matter that she lacked money~ she was richly endowed with a big heart and an abundance of love. She was not a kissy-kissy sort of person, nor was she one to say "I love you". However, when you were in her presence you KNEW that you were deeply loved.

Her youngest, Lorraine, was 4 when I was born. I became her "baby" of sorts and she was always willing to play with me. In the picture she is 6 and I am 2. One of the highlights of our summers was when Lady, the family dog, had pups. Somehow, somewhere, way out in the wilds of the country, Lady always managed to find a boyfriend every year and would show up with a smile on her face and babies in her tummy. When the pups were old enough to play with we would take them into the cellar and play house with them and Aunt Bessie would pack up a tea party for us. (You can see the cellar door opening behind us in the picture)

Oh what a wonderful tea party that was. She would cut the crust off her homemade bread and take butter (that she had churned) and color it (the butter) with food coloring. She would then layer the bread together with different colors of butter between the layers and cut them into small "stacks". On another day she would layer in a bit of her homemade preserves and we would dine in "high tea" style.

I loved to tag along with her as she checked the flowers she had blooming around the farm place. She would make me hollyhock dolls and tell me stories about when she was a girl. I used to tell her I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. She always told me that I didn't want to grow up to be an old farm woman like her. I assured her that I did. I'm afraid that I didn't turn out much like her at all. I was called away from the farm life and became what she would have called "citified". As I compare our lives I realize that I am a bit like her. I love the children that surround me and this summer I am teaching my granddaughters to make Hollyhock dolls-a pure and simple pleasure that should not be forgotten.

Pants On The Ground-Pants On The Ground

In honor of Wednesday night's American Idol (repeat performance of Pants On The Ground) I am repeating this blog for my newer readers!

Hey! Long before that became a popular saying/song (thanks American Idol) we knew what that meant! And it DIDN'T mean the generation that lets their pants bag til the fly is below the knees. How DOES that work anyway? Sorry, I digress. I started to tell you what it USED to mean when there were Pants On The Ground. It meant POTTY TRAINING TIME. Remember those days? huh? huh? Sure you do-reach waaaaay back! Ah! Yes! There are those memories.

Today Dr.Phil teaches YOU how to train YOUR child by throwing a party. Yes, you heard that right-You pee- you party. If that's how it worked for adults most of us would be partying our pants off once we hit oh-lets-say-about 55! Yes! That's a good age~ 55 or so- It just DEPENDS!

Anyway, back to the potty training business......Here's how his theory works- You spend ONE WHOLE DAY in the bathroom with your pants off....No-not YOUR pants- The kid's pants. You put the kid's pants on the ground and have him/her/it sit. Guess where they sit? Hooray-Good guess! -I may just have to throw a party for you! The KID sits on the TOILET. You better bring a chair in with you because it is going to be a LONG day and the only real seat is already taken. So, every time little Miss/Mister does the deed you blow up a balloon and let them pop it...you sing, you shout, you praise Jesus...the kid has peed~ NOW- If they drop a bomb-the party really explodes......someone (who shall remain nameless) is at a remote location - (let's say their car phone outside just so you get the picture)....When the BOMB is dropped- You (somehow manage to) notify someone to CALL the house and pretend they are a character- you know - like Mickey Mouse or Barney (the big purple guy) or Dora The Explorer and you CONGRATULATE your little pooper for the dropping of the doo-doo. Hooray! Hooray! I pooped today! Yes, indeedy, this method is supposed to completely potty-train a child in one day. Say, maybe the character you should call would be Dr. Phil being as it was his idea in the first place.

Now....if all this hoopla doesn't work I will give you MY OWN PERSONAL METHOD FOR POTTY TRAINING. Bribery! Yes, bribery...don't turn your nose up...I'm sure you have done worse. Candy bars! Crayons! Coca-Cola! My personal favorite? M&M's ~ They don't cost much and you only have to dole them out one at a time. My own son would push out 40 little tiny turds a day to get an M&M. It worked-Look how he turned out....oh...never mind... (apologizing to my son who knows this is true but is going to deny it anyway-kind of like he denies he used to pee on the ficus tree in the living room-Well, someone was peeing in there and it wasn't me). Well, that wraps up this lesson and I am off for M&M's.....you never know when there is going to be a pooper-in-training in the house.

Breeeahna-Whare Arhe Yoah?

The Drama Queen has arrived at Starbucks. Big sister got a Purple Card today at school. SweetCheeks is not impressed. That is a prize that is only dreamed about and seldom seen. It is given out when someone goes over and above what is expected of them. It is given to someone that helps without being asked...that is kind without demanding anything in return...that doesn't talk during work time (when everyone else in group is rattling away). Yes! Our Little Lulu got her first purple card today. And WHERE do you go to celebrate a Purple Award? Not any of the usual childhood hangouts. Where DO we go? Well, Starbucks, of course! Where else?

The three older girls get their smoothies and head off to sit at the long counter in front of the window.

SweetCheeks decides she is staying by Mama & Nana. SweetCheeks is talking to her "friend". This friend is named BREEEANHA. Breeeanha is in jail. Why? Not sure but apparently she did something wrong. She also was caught with a sword! I ask how old Brianna is now. She is six-all of six-and already in jail for carrying a sword. (See side bar for "sword"-it looks suspiciously like a length of crumpled straw to me)

Suddenly, the clock strikes mudnite and WE collapse into a heap onto the (we hope kinda clean) floor. Oh dear...Oh dear....Oh dear.... Whuteber should I do, Nana? Isss gonna be cwrazy around here in a minnut! Oh No! Now Breeeanha has runned away!

Craziness? Absolutely! Mr.Businessman that was sitting here trying to read a report has left this wacky establishment. He was looking all over for this "lost" child. I guess he couldn't see Brianna and thought he would leave before he was blamed for kidnapping.

As we were leaving SweetCheeks asked if she could come home with me for the night. Do I look CRAZY? Er...I mean...No-Not tonight-I have a headache. Oh, wait...that's the wrong nighttime excuse, isn't it? I mean...not tonight-I have to work tomorrow...and the next day....and the next day....and the next

The Front Porch

Ever have that place that you know needs some attention but for some reason it just gets shoved to the back burner? Well, the front porch has been on my "to do" list for quite a while We finished the house about 3 (or was it 4) years ago. Anyway, we put up a porch swing and I threw a couple of things out there and everything just kind of SAT (or in our case- NO ONE sat).

I decided to "prettify" it because I like to sit outside in the morning and drink my coffee and read the paper. Wisconsin, as most of you know, is a chilly state....even in the summer...even when the sun is out.....even when I WANT it to be warm. The patio that faces the Bay is on the West side of the house. You know what that means....NO morning sunshine. Now I do love the sunsets we get but by then the air temperature is usually (and you notice I said usually) above the ready-set-freeze your butt off mark on the thermometer.

But NO, sitting out there in the morning is NOT a warm and cozy experience. It is downright cold most mornings and I either freeze and complain or sit inside. Yesterday the light bulb went on over my head (did you see it?). Why not sit on the front porch because (idiot that I am finally realized) it faces East! MyHero says, "But we can't see the water". Can't see the water? Do I CARE at 6:30 AM? No I Do Not.

Now, did you ever notice that when you spot something it can alter the river of your life? Yeah? Well, I am not usually a yellow plant person but I saw this beautiful YELLOW double begonia and I had to have it! That's what started this whole transformation. Now I need a place to put it! Aha-front porch is ready and waiting for SOMETHING! So, I grab the old brown wicker chair and I spray paint that sucker white. My friend, Gloria, and I ? We are the Spray Paint Queens! She and I love our spray paint (don't we, Gloria)....Anyway...I paint the chair white. Wait...wait....I have some soft yellow floral shams I have never used. They are upstairs hiding in the closet (that's where I put them so MyHero would not complain about me buying something we didn't NEED-like THAT matters- What do we really NEED anyway?-Okay-I am off point here) I pull those shams out and stuff some pillows in them. Hmmm....okay...better wash the swing down...AND...wait I have some cherubs (left over from my Romantic Victorian sun room 3 houses ago) that are just dying for a glass shelf.....okay better wash EVERYTHING down including the siding and the window sills, etc. Ah....it looks sooo nice now. I grab the potted palm and throw that out there for good measure.....oh yeah...guess we better throw a bit of outdoor carpeting down (not exactly what I wanted but it will do for now) oh...and a lamp...we must have a little lamp of some sort...Ahhhhh...Home at last and I finish just before night descends.

Morning dawns...I pour my coffee...I coax MyHero outdoors with just his skivvys on...you should see him.....sooo cute......I am reveling in the sunshine...he is whining cuz he's cold AND he is wrapped in a blanket.....and guess what? He can't see the water! Guess what else?

I. DON'T. CARE!!!!! Thank you and have a nice day!

The Shredder

I know that today lots of us have shredders at our houses to take care of all those letters and papers that we don't want anyone to find for fear they will use our information for illegal purposes. (Wow-that was a really l-o-n-g sentence)

I thought you might like to see my own personal shredder. This is the super duper pooper model and, unfortunately, cannot be duplicated. He is quite user friendly until you try to take away whatever he is shredding. At that point he is apt to throw what I like to call a "hissy fit".

I was throughly enjoing watching EeeMan's (remember PacMan that ate everything in its path? yeah...well this is his brother)-where was I? Oh, yes I was enjoying his chomping abilities until I realized that it was NOT yesterday's paper. No, indeedy, it was today's paper and if I couldn't read it, HOW would I know who died? Did you ever wonder who reads the obits? Yeah, well it is people like me...hoping that we outlive our enemies.

EeeMan has gone home now. He was still eating the last time I saw him~although I think it was cottage cheese at that point. Did you ever know a 9 month old baby that LOVED cottage cheese AND tomatoes? Well, feast your eyes (get it? feast?-never mind) on Baby E. I told his Mom to just wait until he turns two and decides he only like jelly beans....that will serve her right. As a child (and I think still although she won't admit it), she would NOT eat leftovers. She said she only liked NEW food.....hahahahaha...and now she has a kid that eats newspaper. God is good!

Are You A Good WHITCH or a Bad WHITCH?

Today the Good Whitch has come to visit. I ask if she is Glinda the Good Witch...Nooo...She is Cassandra the Gud Whitch, a sistah to Glinda.

I wonder what kind of spells this magical miss can work. Hmmmm...lemme chechk in this box an see if der's sum mahgick in dere. Ohhh..there iss...there isss some mahgick in heah.

What kind of magic, I wonder...Seacrut mahgick..iss so seacrut that effen I cahn't see it!

I gonna put the top bachk on the box now, Nana.

HEY! Where did my phat baby go? Hers was here just a minute ago! Dos ellffs takeded her!

Those darned elves are always playing tricks on the Princess when she is deeply engrossed in her special "business"!

Someday soon I'm afraid she will figure out that Nana and the elves are on a first name basis and always seem to be up to the same tricks!

But~just for today~she is a believer in all that is marvelous and magical.

Which One Is Whicth?

I love my conversations when SweetCheeks and I are driving along. I always learn something.

Lasterday I learned that I am a WHITCH. The good news is that I am a GOOD whitch, as opposed to a mean whitch, I suppose. She said I could be Glinda cuz hers a good whitch too an'we doan lwike ugly whitches. "How about Papa?" I ask her. "Is he a good witch or a bad witch?" Pfffttt...her new favorite noise that flies out of the side of her mouth which is skewed into a sideways exclamation point shape, "Hims NOT a whicth! Hims a boy! Boys chan't be whitchs!" "Well, what is he?" I want to know. "Hims just a sassy boy!" Of course he is-He has always been a "sassy" boy-you could ask his mother if you have a phone line to Heaven...SweetCheeks & Mom -they both had him pegged!

Leaning forward in her car seat a bit she stage whispers conspiratorially, "Nana, Deed is back!" REALLY? I thought Deed was gone. (For new readers DEED is her invisible naughty friend). Read about DEED here. Hmmm...last week she said he was gone. So now I want to know...where is he? "Oh, hims wif Rainbow! Der ober by the shwings (pointing at the park we are passing) but ya gotta whacth Deed cuz hims might pushet Rainbow too hawrd and make hers cry!" Ohhhhh...what a naughty boy HE is! "Is he always naughty?" YESSS!

My theory is that she has developed invisible "naughty" friends because she has no one younger than herself on to tattletale on. Anything that happens at her house is usually her fault. Trust me~she deserves the honor~if there's naughtiness afoot you can bet she has all 10 toes planted in it.

Later, we are taking a little ride. I am looking forward to my next informational session. I'll report back!

Hanging Out

You probably thought I was talking about laying around and doing nothing, didn't you? C'mon...you KNOW you did! You thought-Yep-she is talking about sitting around on her lazy butt and doing nothing except exercising her jaws. Well, baby, you are WRONG...DEAD wrong! I am talking about hanging the clothes out...on a clothesline. A real honest-to-goodness clothesline! Not one of those wimpy cotton cords tied between 2 trees that let me down every time I hang sheets on them. Not the ones under the trees that allows the birds to play tricks on me...like...guess what I ate today-blueberries or corn...Yep...gonna fix those little suckers good...they can take their games next door where they dry their sheets on a deck post..yes..you heard me right-a deck post. I, personally, want a post-in-the-ground whoop-de-doo REAL clothesline!
As you can see above, X marks the spot where this baby is gonna go.
Let's see-what else do we need? Oh...a digger-yes...we need a digger....any old digger would do but MyHero seems to have been drafted (er-I mean volunteered) to dig! He is a good digger.

I wish he would dig me up a little gold whilst he was digging cuz I sure would like a new car...huh...what...oh...back to the clothesline.


Next we need cement. What? You can't find the cement? It was waiting in the garage for you for 3-1/2 years. Perhaps it got tired of waiting and ran off with a mixer. Too bad...so sad...off to our favorite (sometimes) handy-dandy pick-it-up-cuz-you-need-it store.

There she is- The Home Depot...
waiting...ready...and full of everything you might never need.


What next, you ask? Why an inspector, of course! One dressed as a Princess might do. She is a good inspector. Hmmmppffff....something is not quite right here. Papa, you lefted sum durt in dat hole buut I gonna fhix it foar yoah!

Wait-Yoah using the lwittle shoahvel..das whass wrong...yoah gotta use the BIG (holding hands about 4' apart) shoahvel- See-lwike dis! (See instructor below)

Let's not get our Princess dresses dirty! "Nana.we bettarh go inside while Papa mixtes up the SEEment".

Good idea...maybe we could have some

Octopus on the Rocks for lunch, huh? (please check this recipe out-it is to die for)

Princess-Who-Knows-Everything and I troop inside to keep our beautiful gowns clean and dry. You can picture me in my Cinderella gown..sorry no pictures available but I look SOOO much like that all of the time.

MyHero got the cement mixed up and poured in the hole. It is leveled out and good to go...wait...wait...we almost forgot the most important thing-we have to leave our handprint...otherwise how will anyone know who supervised and helped make this dream a reality?

As Annie sang...Tomorrow, tomorrow..is just a day away...and tomorrow I shall have line-dried sheets...Ah...the sweet, sweet smell of line dried things. I will bury my nose in them and inhale for it is a smell like none other on Earth. It is the smell of fresh air & sunshine -Heaven on Earth- Amen!

Meet Me In The Morning

Lulu & Ria spent post recital night at
our house. We woke up early, had our 3Bears Cereal and played outside for a bit. We were meeting Mom & Daddy (TPot & TheBrawnyMan) at Starbucks in about an hour. Oh, yes, lest we forget-SweetCheeks will be in tow. Lulu spotted the lilacs and wanted to take some for her Mom so we picked a nice bouquet, loaded ourselves and whatever else that was at MY house (that belonged at THEIR house) in the car,and headed off.




SweetCheeks is always SO happy to see her sisters when they have been away.
She has a special close bond with Ria~maybe because they share a room~maybe because Ria
thinks she is cuter and funnier than Lulu will admit.
We get our coffee and head to the outside patio...we have to enjoy this Wisconsin weather while we can~by afternoon we could have snow...you just never know.

SweetCheeks has spotted the freshly planted pansies. "What's dos?" she asks. "Those are pansies. Look they have little smiling faces" See them?

Wait.....wait....wait...where is the flower on the one in front of you?

Ummm..."I picketed hims head off cuz hims wassn't smiling, Nana."


See-Hims has a berry sad face..

(Yeah, well he does NOW cuz he's
missing his head!)
Look, Papa! It's a flowearh face head wif no shmile.

Meanwhile-we have a little spill...Or I should say a BIG spill. My whole coffee has been dumped on the ground when someone who shall remain nameless (RIA) reached too far. No pictures, folks, too busy cleaning up the mess and getting wet wipes out of the car.

Uh...oh...SweetCheeks does NOT like

this turn of events because SHE has

been splashed! Quick, quick..Wet wipes to the rescue!

We have been here about 10 minutes.

I am ready to go.We race for our car.

Too late...SweetCheeks has

beat us to the car.

She has jumped inside.

She (who says she can't"do it myshelf" on any other

day) has fastened herself into

her car seat and is ready to go.

Sorry-You can't go, SweetCheeks.

You have to go with your own

little family group.

"But I wanna go wif you".

Maybe tomorrow, okay?

Tears roll. Okay...Maybe tomorrow.

It IS tomorrow.

She IS here. She is watching DorahTheExploahrah for about the 100th time. I, too, have seen it almost as many times. I am tired now.

Can I come to you house for some rest? Please? Please? I'll be ever so good!

I've Been Zapped...or Zipped...or Something...

My daughter, Mimi, (author of IfSheCanFigureItOut) has zapped me with this little thingy over here. Not quite sure WHAT it is called...but I am now supposed to humor her (and you) with 7 FACTS about myself.

Fact#1- I am too skinny to take a nice photo of...the angles of my cheeks leave a sharp line to the jaw and shadow my face down to nothing so I look like skin and bones.......OKAY-OKAY- I LIED~

TRUE fact #1- It is hard for me to take any time for myself. If there is something that I feel needs to be done, around the house or for someone else, I will do that before I allow myself time just for me...does that make any sense? I feel guilty just sitting down to watch TV or read a book. AND...as soon as I DO sit down MyHero walks in and says..."Oh! Looks like you are having a nice relaxing day. What did you do?" Remember the sharp stick? Yeahh...that one...poke in eye.....

#2- I love being by the water-lake, river, ocean...however, I do NOT like being out ON the water where I am not close to land. I do love a big boat but I like it moored to a pier...no motors? Perfect! (I have had several VERRRY interesting boating experiences-that involved being stranded)

#3-I work in a hospital and I love my job~even though I sometimes have horrendous hours and work 6 or 7 days in a row...I love it. I thought that I would be retired by this age but...here I am...plugging away.

#4-I am finding that I love to write. I wish I could write something that would touch people and make a difference in their lives.

#5-I have a hard time admitting that I don't always feel 100% okay (physically). That means that I do not like to have people "do for" me. I love helping others but I hate to ask anyone to help me.

#6- I love life. I know people say that all the time but I truly FEEL it. I love waking up in the morning to see what the day holds for me. I love the beauty of the sun coming up and moving across the sky. I love to watch the waves ripple across the water-the birds that fly and swoop between house and feeders. I love the beauty of the flowers and the sun setting over the Bay. I love the interaction between children and grandchildren with all the ups and downs of daily life.

#7-I don't like to share sadness with people. Happiness? Get your rubberized underwear on & prepare to laugh so hard it hurts.....but I like to grieve privately and I think sometimes people might take that for indifference. It isn't-it is just the way I cope with loss. One of the biggest joys in my kids' lives is to try to "make Mom cry" ~I should have beat them more when they were little~!

So, there you have it...you now know me better than many of my intimate friends do! I have to figure out now how to pass this thing on to other bloggers. Bear with me while I learn my way around BlogWorld!

Post Recital

The morning after recital dawns bright and early...like 6:15...and I am tired because Lulu has seen fit to share my bed since sometime around 2-or was it 3? Anyway....We made our traditional 3BearsCereal breakfast and then went out to enjoy the fine day. Isn't it funny that when there are only 2, (of 3) siblings around they get along and play together pretty peacefully?

First, Lulu & Ria have a little sit about on an old beached boat that we keep for that purpose...just to sit on cuz, trust me, this baby ain't gonna float.


By the strange hand of Fate, we have NO clothes at Nana's house other than the ones we wore home from the recital. Oh...wait...we have a DRESS that is NOW a sleeveless SHIRT and a mini skirt that belongs to SweetCheeks. Put them on over your leotards....works for me! Look how cute we are~


Tired of sitting they decide to do cartwheels and head stands. Ria decides that she wants Lulu to HELP HER stand on her head. Can Lulu do it right? NO WAY! I hear the screechy little voice, "LULU-NOT LIKE THATTT! "Ria~! That's the ONLY way I CAN do it," comes the reply! NO-DO IT RIGHT!









NOW LOOK WHAT you made ME do!



Isn't it amazing how that works?

If I can't do it-it MUST be YOUR fault.





Personally, that train of thought has





ALWAYS worked for me!





Oh-Wait- Nana has a great idea...





Let's go down by the water and skip some stones...Good idea, Nana





Because ...NOW.....


AND....Forevermore....





Praise the Lord~








We are BEST FRIENDS AGAIN...

Until we have to share the bench at lunchtime....