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....

I'm Havin' SOOO Much Fun!

I spent almost the whole day in bed on Friday...ugh...I had a headache that make me want to knock myself out with a hammer....a jack hammer....and that headache, of course, made me nauseous. I hardly ever get headaches but boy..when I do...it's like the Headache God wants to get me while I'm down & pay me back for anything I've EVER done wrong.

Anyway, I felt much better by late Friday night and got up Saturday feeling pretty good. Too good...MyHero called from Door County (Lighthouse capital of the Midwest-beautiful-God's county)~would I mind running up there to help him out for a bit~ Is it going to take long? Nope, he says, not long at all-After I'm there I find out that it is not much more than 5-1/2 hours (that's NOT LONG????)

However, that made me right on schedule to get to the little girls' recital on time.

Whooppsy....phone call-could I make a run into town to get black tights-the ones adorning the 7 year old had a hole in them and that wouldn't do for stage-run into town-pick up the tights-hightail it back 18 miles to the place where the recital is. Sit there until 10:30 & thoroughly enjoy the recital. It's so much fun to see these little ones present themselves on stage. Oh....but wait....the recital is over....tomorrow is Sunday....No School....HEY! You know what, Nana? Can we come home and spend the night because it is now tradition because it has happened the past two years. Of course it has!!!!Home we go-quick wipe-down, jammies on...and off to bed. I awake at 2:30AM to find Little Lulu in bed with me (after having a dream)....up at 6:15am...feed them Three Bears Cereal (oatmeal with Cinnamon and raw brown sugar)...meet Mom & Dad at Starbucks....that's a whole story for another day! It involves SweetCheeks and pansies and spilled coffee and a locked car door.

Back to Door County to finish what we didn't get done yesterday. We get home at 5:30-I tell MyHero - I don't feel very good right now...he asks- "So what do you think is wrong with you?" I wanted to poke him in the eye with a sharp stick! Do you think that is illegal in the State of Wisconsin?

Am I Dreaming? Breakfast In Bed?

Wow! Breakfast in bed? For me????

As you know if you read yesterday's post I was really miserable. I had such a headache I could not raise my head without feeling like I was going to- well, you know....retch.....retch....retch...

Anyway, today is a whole new bright and beautiful beginning.

What better way to wake up than to have breakfast in bed?

Can you believe it?

Can I believe it?

MyHero serving me breakfast in bed?

While I recline and read the paper?

While I recline and watch the news?

While I arrange myself on freshly plumped pillows

and smell the lilacs that accompany my bed tray?

Can this be true?

What?

This IS a dream? This IS a dream! This is a dream.....

OHHHH NOOOO....................

NOW I'm awake!

MyHero is not!

I'm getting myself dressed.

I'm getting in the car.

I'm heading to Starbucks!
I'm stopping at McDonalds~I am too lazy to make my own breakfast! (And don't tell me how BAD McDonalds is for me-I KNOW that-but....but.....)
But...guess what?

I'm feeling good this morning!

And Starbucks-Here I come!!!!

I Bragged That-

I NEVER GET SICK!
I was wrong-dead wrong

I have the flu,

Or maybe a bug.

But don't get close,

Cuz you won't want a hug.

I'm feel rotten~

Like I've been beat up,

My head ache is awful,

& I'm sipping water from my cup.

I'll be back later~

Or maybe not.

I think I will lay down,

In my warm nesting spot.

I'm sorry my readers~

Will not get their smile.

I promise you'll laugh later,

So hang in there a while.

Ching Ching Champ

The last two days I told you about MamasBoy slapping himself with MrT's colonge and then giving away all the Christmas watches.-You did read those, right? Because if you didn't you are going to be lost now. If you read the previous two posts I know that you are wondering....What else can this kid take to school, aren't you? You KNOW you are! Well, I will tell you!

What do most men need to get a girl (besides a sweet, adorable personality, good looks and a nice car)? Come on-you know the answer~it's MONEY~ Of course it is. Oh-you can lie and say that you loved the poorest boy you ever dated because he was poor...but if he was too poor to buy underwear I will bet you that you went on to date someone else. There is just something about a man with no underwear that....oh never mind...glad I am not the laundress of one of THOSE guys!

Ok- forget day one and day two of our little miracle's school tales. We are now on Story #3! I drop by the school on the dot of 3 to pick my mini-hero up. His teacher meets me at the door with an envelope. MamasBoy has worn Mrs. Long's patience just a tad thin on this particular day. She hands me the envelope. I start silently praying, "Please, please God, don't let them kick him out of pre-school. He is just a little boy. I know he's a bit naughty but then so was I (er-I mean-I never got in any trouble) I KNOW he is a good boy so, please, please God let his teacher be patient with him." As I end my selfish prayer I see that Mrs. Long has a sparkle in her eyes. Whew! Dodged another bullet. Dare I ask?

"So, Sue (we are on a first name basis by now)~How was MamasBoy today? Did he cause any problems?" Out of the corner of my eye I see The Boy's head shaking violently back and forth...and I am thinking....liar...liar...pants on fire! "No! No problems", Sue says. "But", she continues, "Are you missing any credit cards?" Huh? What? Uh...noooooo-I don't think so...
"Why?" I foolishly ask, falling into the trap that has been set for me. "Well", Sue says with her nicest little I'm-a-wonderful-teacher-smile, "Because MamasBoy brought a dozen of them to school and handed them out TO THE GIRLS!" WHAT? I want to laugh but I don't quite dare because now she has her "stern teacher" face on. "I'll take care of it", I tell her as I take the envelope and haul my precious bundle of enthusiasm out the door.

Picture this-a hot car-a hot kid- and a hot Mom rifling through a sticky envelope finding 2 or 3 credit cards, 2 gas cards, a diner's card, a Publix check cashing card, 2 or 3 store cards, etc.. "What's this?" I ask. "Cwedit Cawds", comes the answer. "And WHY did you hand out credit cards to all the girls in class?" "I told them to buy yourselfs sumthin nice gurlhs". And WHY would you do that I asked him....."Cuz gurlhs like nice things!" Well, of course they do...why did I even ask! After telling MyHero what happened he said...and I quote...."That's my boy!"...and so it is!

How Sweet The Sound

Yesterday I told you about our sweet smelling lad, MamasBoy. Remember him? The charmer of pretty maidens in the pre-school? Well, this little snake oil salesman had two more little tricks up his sleeve. Well, there was certainly more than TWO but I am going to feed them to you slowly so you don't gag on your coffee whilst you are reading.

The day AFTER my little man slathered himself with Polo cologne he became even more of a chick magnet. (I tell you, even after all these years, I still can't stand the smell of Polo-no matter how good the guy wearing it looks-yeah, yeah...I know...I'm old but I'm not dead yet, am I?) Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah...Back to school. Day 2- I drive in to pick Mr. Suave and Debonair up. TWELVE little girls come crushing around me. I hear, "Thank you Mrs.K, Thank you Mrs.K, That was really nice of you Mrs.K". uh-huh...say what?...I lift my eyes toward the teacher, Mrs. Long, for help.

Ummmm...what are they all thanking me for I want to know. For the watches. What watches? Those watches! Huh? What??? Now, this is just after Christmas, remember? That was the year that McDonalds gave out watches for $1.00 if you bought a Happy Meal. How Happy does that make you? I bought one for each child (start counting) and secreted it for Christmas, the

grandmother bought one for each child (still counting? we're up to eight now) and the neighbor bought each child one (NOW we are at the magic number of 12-that's how I remember how many girls were in MamasBoy's class because each girl got a watch).

In the morning, before he went to pre-school, MamasBoy asked each of his siblings if he could borrow their watch (I don't think he made it plural-as in watches-I think he just said watch) and take it to school. They all said yes. He gathered them ALL up, took them ALL to school and gave them ALL away. He was the most popular boy at school and the most hated family member when he got home.

When we asked him why he gave all the girls watches that didn't belong to him he had a very simple answer- "I like girls". Ah...yes....so he did...Hmmmm....I must check with TheSecretAgent and find out if he slathered himself with Polo and gave her a watch to seduce her.... Oh, yes...and if he did....did he buy it or "borrow" it?

Now, if you are very good, and promise not to spit on your watch face to clean it off, tomorrow I will tell you the story of MamasBoy and ChingChing!

How Sweet The Smell

MamasBoy (yes, it's all one word) was the hit of his pre-school class. Why you want to know? So glad you asked~ None of our other kids ever had the opportunity to attend nursery school but financial circumstances forced me to go back into the work field. His response to that was, "I dunno why ya even have a Mama if she's not gonna be home waitin' fer ya" (yep~we lived in Florida and he was just a lil' bit Southern).

He was a Southern gentleman at 4. One warm & humid pre-summer day I went to pick him up after school. He was in a small class; probably about 18 kids and 12 of them were girls. I remember the number of GIRLS and soon you will know why....but that is a story for tomorrow.

First things first....I went to pick him up and I could smell this strong cologne odor wafting down the hall~ wrapping its invisible tentacles around me. I opened the door and his teacher, Sue Long, gave me "the look"...y'all know the one that says..."Doya know what your kid is up to?"...yeah...THAT look. "Sue, what's that smell in here?" I asked her. She stepped closer and stage whispered, "I THINK it's MamasBoy!" "Really?" "REALLY!!!" "Oh, my!" I haul the little sucker out to the car. He's smiling, happy as a clam on the shore. As soon as we are IN the car my eyes start to smart from the fumes. (Remember it is Florida AND hot AND this was before everyone had air conditioning in their car-Get it now? Yeah-I knew you would! )

"MamasBoy~What IS that smell?" "Mama, that's MrT's perfume." (don't call it perfume around the big boys-doesn't go over well). He proceeds to haul out the empty bottle that his brother had received as a Christmas gift about 3 weeks prior. I look at him in the rearview mirror. "Why, pray tell, would you put that whole bottle of cologne on?" "Mama," he said ever-so-sweetly with his baby innocent face, "It drives the chicks nuts!"

Almost as nuts as he drove me before he was grown....almost as much as he drives me nuts now....almost as nuts as he drives TheSecretAgent........almost......

I'm Not Arguing- Yes You ARE!

"I love my Papa", Ria says. "Nooo....Isss MY OWN Papa and I luv hims moah!", SweetCheeks responds. Ria decides this needs a bit of deep discussion. "SweetCheeks," she informs her, "We can BOTH love Papa. He's every body's Papa!" SweetCheeks responds with great conviction~ "Noooh hims not! Hims not Nana's Papa and hims not Daddy's Papa, so hims not everybuddy's Papa, Ria!" This response is accompanied by a toss of the head and a swing of the hair to one side.

Ok, Lord, as I listen to this logic I am almost positive that this kid is going to grow up to be a lawyer. She has her twist on everything and she doesn't miss a trick.

Ria looks over at me and giggles. SweetCheeks doesn't see anything funny about the whole situation. "Whass so funny?" she asks, scowling slightly. "Nothing," comes Ria's reply. "Then why isss you laffing?" SweetCheeks asks. "I'm not laughing at you SweetCheeks!" Ria replies. "Yesss! YOU! ARHE!" I see the heat rising in both faces and quickly distract them with crayons and paper .

Does this sound familiar? Hasn't every Mom in the world listened in on these conversations and chuckled (or groaned) to themselves? For me, it is like listening to my kids when they were little...only then I was rushed and exasperated that they were fighting AGAIN. I know now that it is these little things that make up the fabric of every day life and that I should enjoy each and every drama as it comes. At this age I am better equipped to deal with the little "bickerings" because I don't have a stack of baby clothes that have to get folded before I fall into bed. I don't have to fix school lunches as I rush everyone out the door in the morning. I don't have to listen to this everyday. Today, I am just a privileged visitor that comes to observe and enjoy. Today I will take the giggles and the frowns and fold them to my heart for tomorrow these precious little "arguers" will be grown and arguing about bigger, and more important things......like........Who's gonna get Nana's diamond ring when she dies?

Don't Monkey With Me~

Don't ever try to argue with a 3 year old. You can't win-and even if you DO win-it feels like you lost.

I show SweetCheeks this cute little picture of herself on a monkey. It was taken in one of the "countries" at Epcot Center. "Look how cute you look riding on that monkey", I tell her. "Isss NOT a muhnkey, Nana". "It's not?" I ask. "NO! Isss NOT a muhnkey." Well, then, I want to know WHAT it is~cuz it sure looks like a monkey to me!

"Das a pony rhide I wus on", she informs me. "Yes, but SweetCheeks. it's not a pony~it's a monkey ride." She gives me one of those looks that she reserves for idiots (and Nana). "Nana, das a muhnkey powny and it dussn't go enyplwace cus isss just pretent so's iss not even a rweal rwide! So, I wusn't rweally rwiding it I wus juss sitten onit~" Of course you were-what made me think you were riding that baboon in the first place?

I love three year old logic. It makes so much sense to her. I can't wait until she gets to school and the teacher tells her to take a seat. I can hear her now~"NEAVAH! (Her most favorite word to use right now- NEVER-or as she says NEAVAH) Iss not a seet-iss a desk and I like shtanding!" What a charmer~That's my SweetCheeks!

Mother''s Day-Part One

Some of us have been blessed with wonderful Mothers.

Some of us have Mothers that were not quite so admirable.

Some of us have Mothers that praised us and adored us.

Some of us have Mothers that never said a kind word.

Some of us have Mothers that loved us uncondionally.

Some of us have Mothers that loved us only if we met all her expectations.

Some of us have Mothers that smiled readily.

Some of us have Mothers that never found much to smile about.

Some of us have Mothers that~ whatever we did~ it is more than they hoped for.

Some of us have Mothers that no matter WHAT we did-it was never enough.

Some of us have Mothers that had a charmed childhood.

Some of us have Mothers that were raised in pain & shame.

Some of us have Mothers that need us & want us in their lives.

Some of us have Mothers that are needy and we seldom see them.

Some of us have Mothers that complete our lives.

Some of us have Mothers that leave us aching, wanting and empty.

Some of us have Mothers that stand on this side of the Great Beyond.

Some of us have Mothers that have passed over this earthly barrier.

Some of us will emulate our Mother.

Some of us will vow to never be anything like our Mother.

Some of us are happy and fulfilled, no matter what kind of Mother we had.

Some of us will never be happy even if we were nurtured by an amazing Mother.

Today I am blessed to be a Mother. My daughters are blessed to be Mothers, too.

Today I vow that I will be the best mother (and grandmother) I can be.

Today I vow that I will love as deeply as I can those that share my life.

Today I know that I am blessed indeed~

Today I hope that you find blessings in your own life-and love your Mother even if it is just because she gave you life.

Happy Mother's Day from Me to You~

(See pictures that follow-Mothers'Day Part Two)

(Ya won't want to miss those-;>)

Mother's Day Photos~ Part Two ~ ~A Trip Down Memory Lane~

MyHero's Mother, his grandmother, me & my oldest son (hiding)


MyHero's Grandmother that loved her great-grandchildren unconditionally. (MamasBoy/TPot/Mimi)

My oldest son & TheGreatHairDo (me){& wedding day hair stylist that freaked out when she saw ALL THAT HAIR-OMG} @ my oldest daughter's wedding. Not many pictures of us together....

My oldest daughter TPot (wife of TheBrawnyMan)& her 3 little girls (the oldest one(Lulu) just got her hair cut by her "friend",our little thumbsucker, Ria & Baby SweetCheeks.





My youngest daughter, Mimi (wife of TheIslandScout), with BabyE









Mama'sBoy (hubby of
TheSecretAgent)



No spouse pictures this time-You'll see those around Father's Day (or before...or after...just depends on what's happening...what's up....what I'm gonna blog about...so there ya have it) Thank you and have a nice day~

Tornados & Witches & Wind-Oh My!

There are tornado warnings on TV-American Idol is delayed while we watch the series of storms flash over the screen again and again~and again. I know that my daughter, TPot (read the cast of characters to know why we call her TPot), is on the road close to the heart of the storm.

I call TheBrawnyMan to see where TPot is and when she is expected home. He assures me that she is racing ahead of the storm and will be home soon. In the background I hear SweetCheeks, who is blowing bubbles, saying, "I wanna talk wif Nana!" I hear the fingers fumbling over the #pad with only 2 or 3 slight squeals of mis-pressed numbers. "Nana," comes the breathless voice, "Didja know dere's a biig storhm commen?" "I heard that, SweetCheeks, it'll be okay~you're safe with Daddy!" "Nooh~Nanee yoah bettehr getaway frum yoah house cuz iss gonna be ghone!" I assure her that we are safe and our house will be safe. Now she starts sounding a bit panicky..."NOOOH-Naneeee-dere's da mean ole whicht is sturring eberthing upp and the wind is gonna blow yoah away!" {slight little ohno scream}"Did yoah seedat, Nana? Did yoah seedat likening? Dass scary and I doan lwike it!" I again reassure her that she is safe and has nothing to fear...her Daddy is there and Mama is almost home.

"Noooh.. I purty sure my Mama iss deahd and the mean ole whicht throwed a house on her or sumthin!" By now, I realize that she has heard the word tornado and is reliving The Wizard of Oz on her own terms. I tell her that Mama is just fine and will home any minute. "Dat storhm~Iss almoss here, Naneee-"......(by now she is into play acting and not scared anymore)

"Quick, quick," I tell her. "Grab Toto and get down to the storm cellar!" "Thass whut I gonna do, Nana!" Click-phone is hung up and disconnected. I begin to laugh as I imagine my son-in-law explaining that they don't have a storm cellar. I am SOOOO bad~

Baby Kisses

There is nothing sweeter in the world than baby kisses....unless you are 6 or 7 and discover that connected to baby kisses is a bit of drool.....AND....you never know where that drool will land! As you can see, Lulu is trying to avoid a full lip-on-lip kiss from BabyE. As soon as he "kisses" she wipes her beaming, but red, face. "Nana", she calls, "Do you see what he's doing?" "Sure do, Lulu, give him a big ole kiss on the lips!" Nooooo......she's going to avoid that at any cost!

Lulu is sooo in love with BabyE. She is just fascinated by him. He is just old enough to be a good audience. He likes to watch Lulu as she animatedly tells us stories and songs. He claps and laughs as he studies her. She often gets the giggles as she is doing her little "show" and that makes BabyE even more smiley.

The other night she was dressed in her pjs and all ready to settle down. BabyE was crawling around and she started crawling around following him. He was startled for a bit but then caught on that someone was playing with him. I think it is his first real interaction with his cousin where we knew he was playing. He would charge ahead as fast as his little hands and knees would take him and then stop and look back to make sure his entourage (of one) was following.

Soon, all too soon, it was time for bed. As Mimi was gathering BabyE up to give him his bottle I looked over and noticed that Lulu was ready for bed too! Wow! Just imagine how tired she will be when he starts walking!

Mrs. D's Dance Emporeum

Welcome to Mrs. D's Dance Class. She is kind of a shirt tail relative but it is too complicated to explain so you'll just have to trust me on this fact! Anyway~Here you will find the sweetest dance teacher in the world. She not only teaches dance, she teaches young ladies how to act in public. She teaches them modesty and manners. But the most important thing she imparts to these blessed little ones is that they are loved unconditionally. She has seen fit to make teaching dance her life's work. I wish I knew how many young ladies (and a few young gentlemen) whose lives have been enriched because of her. I will probably never know but I'll bet she could name every child that passed through her doors in the sixty some years she has been dancing.

You're wondering if you read that right, aren't you? Did I really mean she has been teaching for SIXTY years? Yes, indeedy! She is in her 80's and still gets out on the dance floors to show those young heifers how to hoof it! And, she does it with a smile and a sense of fun. She makes dancing an awesome, wonderful and uplifting experience. She doesn't believe in spending a ton of money on costumes because she doesn't want cost to be a barrier that would prevent some from attending class. Your class fee includes your costume. So, each year, a different mom (or Gramma-God bless us) steps up to the plate ...er...the sewing machine...and whips up enough costumes for the class.

At Christmas time the girls are allowed to bring a sibling to class. SweetCheeks went with Lulu & Ria. She "galloped" when she was supposed to skip. She "leaped" when she was supposed to hop. She spread-eagled on the floor when she was supposed to be squinced up like a mouse. Mrs.D said that she only hopes she lives long enough to teach one more year so she can have SweetCheeks in class. She says she has never had anyone quite like her "visit" class before. She is waiting for the Fall term------so am I!

Your sink or mine?

Our house has a bath with a view. It is called the kitchen sink- or as we like to call it- The Sink Bath. As long as you are little enough to fit in the sink (and get all your limbs inside) you have the privlege of being able to take a Sink Bath in Nana's sink. As you can plainly see, Ria is clearly PAST the point of sink baths. She tried vainly to cram all of her fingers, toes, arms and legs in there, but I think her sink baths have come to an end.

SweetCheeks is still young enough to fit in the sink and now that BabyE sits up all by himself he can take a sink bath. It is something I always did with my own kids. It started when they were babies at a summer cottage. The bathtub was big, deep, old and ugly-looking. TPot was scared of it. There was a big, old kitchen sink with the drainboard built in located in a back room so I started bathing her in there before she went to bed. This worked out famously! It was the right height (no bending for the pregnant woman- ME) and it filled quick and drained fast. A nice rinse out with bleach water afterwards and the sink was set to go for the breakfast dishes.

The precedent was set. All future babies could, and would, have sink baths until they got to be about 2 or 3. TPot graduated to the tub readily. So did Mimi. Uhoh...here comes MamasBoy....he did NOT want to give up his sink baths. As you will see by the picture, he has just been informed that he is too big for sink baths. Sad, isn't it? I could hardly bear to tell him. MamasBoy had a hard time growing up and giving up the toys and joys of childhood. He is still a "kid" in many ways. Only his toys are bigger now and he gets dirtier playing with them.

He just finished working on his latest "toy". I think I better call his wife and tell her he is on his way home. She might want to clean out the sink.

Who's your friend?

Our Little Lucy doesn't like it when I call her Lucy. She likes Ria (prounouced REE-AH). That is part of her name and that is what SweetCheeks calls her. So, from this point forward, Lucy will be Ria. I was going to be stubborn and stay with Lucy-but I want Ria, who doesn't ask for much, to be happy so---Here she is- Princess Of The World- Ria!

Ria is SweetCheeks' favorite person in the whole world-including (or exclusion on her part) me. Ria can do NO wrong according to SweetCheeks.

Sometimes I feel a bit sorry for Lulu because she will say, "SweetCheeks, do you want to play with me?" SweetCheeks normal response is...."NOOOOah-I lwike playing wif Ria cuss hers my friend." Lulu's comeback is always the same-"But I'm your friend, too, SweetCheeks" SweetCheeks gives her "the look"...NOAH...yoah NOT- Yoah iss not my frihend, Ria is my own frihend!" Lulu then looks a bit woebegone and one of us takes pity on her and scolds SweetCheeks for saying mean things. "Isss NOT meahn things....I jusss sayen that Ria is my frihend and I doan wanna be Lulu's frihend and dass all!" By the time she gets through her whole little speech, Lulu has started to giggle. "Isss not funnee eifer and now I rweally NOT gonna be yoah frihend!"

Ria is sitting to the side smiling her sweetest smile because she is in the Winner's Circle. SHE has a friend; she is happy. She gets to play with SweetCheeks. Ria asks SweetCheeks what she wants to do next. SweetCheeks looks at her very seriously and says, "Less play wif Lulu!" Ria rolls her eyes and says, "SweetCheeks, you are crazy!". SweetCheeks smiles her biggest smile, hugs Ria and says, "YOAH RIGHT, Ria-I iss cwrazy!"

InDeed?

SweetCheeks comes running to her front door and hugs me and kisses me with a big "Isss Nana!" She is always so excited to see me. While the other two older girls are always glad to see me, SweetCheeks is still little enough to LOVE seeing me walk through her door.

I ask SweetCheeks, "Whatcha doing~what's going on?" And she knows, in her little heart, that I really DO want to know what she's doing and what is happening in her life. "Nana," she says oh-so-seriously, "Deed iss dead". "What?" I ask her, looking at TheBrawnyMan for confirmation. His head is nodding up and down. "Yep, I guess Deed is dead", comes his response. (For any new readers-Deed & Bob are SweetCheeks' two invisible friends).

I ask SweetCheeks what happened to him. She said , "Hims wus a berry bad boy-hims wus rweally, rweally sasssy and now hims dead?" Probing a bit further I get to the bottom of the Deed Is Dead story. "Hims throwded the phone and hims wus rweally, rweally mean to Bob (who's only a little naughty-she added) and now hims dead and in Heaven." Lulu quickly jumps into the conversation to inform me that SWEETCHEEKS was the one that threw the phone. SweetCheeks gave her what we like to call The FireStarter Look. "NOOO-WUS DEED", she counters. Lucy, who has been taking the whole conversation in just rolls her eyes and starts laughing. Lulu wants to argue about it. "Never mind," I tell them. I want to hear the rest of the story.

Lately, she has been talking about Heaven and who is there. Her big sister, Anna Bella,(who would be 4-1/2 is there) and her great grandparents are all there so, to her, Heaven is as real as the tree in her yard. I tell her that it's good that Deed is in Heaven if he is dead. I said he could keep Anna Bella company. "No! Hims cahn't, Nanneee, hims not by her in Heaven cuz hims was a BAD boy-hims is in da naughty part!" Alrighty then...I think I will end this line of questioning and move on.

"So," I ask her, "What else is new?" She looks at me with her little, side-slant smile and says, "I gotta new fhriend. Hers name is Cahlista and hers REALLY naughty too!" Great! I can't wait to meet her!