Nana's Big Adventure

Mom! Mom! Come Out-

Come out and see my toy~

It's not quite done yet-

Inside-

But she runs smooth as silk

And Oh-So-Fine!

But...but...why are you washing her?

It is ready to rain.

Come on-I'm taking you for a ride!

WHAT????

Isn't she a beauty?

Wait until she is fully restored.

Wait until you see her with her

chrome wheels on-

Wait til you see how she runs!

Come on-come on-

Get in-

Quit your whining-

What do you mean there's no handle?

I told you-she's not done yet.

Didn't you ever hear of bungee cords?

Well, of course I have!

Just not to hold a car door shut.

Don't we need seat belts?

NAH!

We start off merrily down the road,
We're off the see the Wizard-

The Wonderful Wizard of...come on...sing along...

Whoooppps...stop singing...

When the car stops..

We all stop...

Hmmm..

What

Now?

Hmmmm...

Not sure-but we're only 4 miles from home.
Can you fix it?

Maybe?

Maybe!

But first we have to cover the car.

And then?

Go home!

Home? How?

Why~Call TheBrawnyMan, of course!

Fly us home-oh great Super Hero.

Fly us home so I can pick up my car.

I will take MamasBoy to get...huh?

Get what?

A fuel pump, Mom!

It's a fuel pump!

Of course it is!

And

An hour later-

We are good to go..

But my partner in crime,

my son,

my friend,

Shall take this trip alone~

For-I am not nearly as daft as I look!

Lunch Time Drama

What's that I hear?

Is that the dinner bell on Nana's Deck?

Is it calling us for a special

Princess Lunch?

It is! It is!

Oh! It is our favorite!

Octopus On The Rocks!

We never tire of Octopus On The Rocks!

Princess Ria is SOOO hungry~

She fills her mouth so full she can hardly chew!

Princess SweetCheeks is dissecting her Octopus!

Princess Lulu has informed me that

"This is NOT real octopus-it only has six legs"

Princess Ria offers to help Princess SweetCheeks~

She will count the legs for her...

Wait--wait---what has happened here?

Princess Ria has chewed off the Ocotopus head

And

Sadly

Has left only the legs!

As you can plainly see~

Princess SweetCheeks is NOT happy!

She leaves the Royal Dining Table

And

Goes

To plot her revenge!

The End!

Summer~It's Official

ONCE UPON A TIME

There were 3 little Princesses who left Winterland

And went to their Summer Residence,

Which happens to be in the yard of

The Enchanted Witch

(who shall remain faceless)

The first and most important thing to do?

Why~Bring in their summer wardrobes, of course, you silly!

Every household needs one Working Princess

To hang the clothes so they stay oh-so-fine.

Good job, Lulu!

Everything is hung so very neatly...but wait..

You are missing a couple of fancy dresses~
Never you mind,

I see that the two non-working Princesses

Have donned their gowns and are ready

To have their pictures taken.

Soon, all three are sitting on the lawn

Of the Enchanted Witches Castle.

Ria is telling a story

Of diamonds and rings

And necklaces made of candy

Someone has decided that is enough story time...

It is time to run and skip and play...

With the fairies.

And off she goes-Into the magical world

Of Childhood~

The BrawnyMan

Last night we went to Lulu & Ria's ball game. They

are having so much fun playing softball. Their Mom is one of the coaches and they play for fun-not for blood.

Afterwards, we went to a place called Happy Joe's for pizza. Happy Joe's is their sponsor so they try to reciprocate by buying their dinner there after the game.

THAT dining experience will be a blog for another day...but...after we finished eating TheBrawnyMan said that I hadn't featured HIM in my blog (lately, if at all). I told him he needs to read back through...but because I don't want him to feel bad (or think that he is not blog worthy) this

blog is ALL ABOUT HIM!

He's 6'4" and has "big guns" (you know-muscles-naughty girl-what DID you think?)

He's a contractor by trade. He says if his client is a COUGAR, he always gets the job! Hmmmm? What does THAT mean?

My friend, Laurie? She knows what that means! She is now drooling...she always does...we can't let her near him.....

That's him with TPot (my daughter). TPot was pregnant. There he is again with TPot and Ria (yep! pregnant again)

AND- there he is-proud Papa of 3 beautiful little girls-watching them find Easter eggs.

The best part about him? He loves his wife and little girls...As for me...what more could I ask for? Well, except maybe we need another grandSON? Just think about it..you know.....

A LittleBrawnyBoy...I'm just sayin....

ISS THE RULE-Dass Why!

Come on SweetCheeks. It's time to go to the babysitter's house. No-ah! I not wanna go see WENNDEE KINGAH (read that Wendy King).


Sure you do, SweetCheeks, she is waiting for you!



But I not wanna go, Nana, I wanna shtay wiff yoah!



Sorry, Princess, that ain't gonna happen (I love to say ain't here-because I never say it anywhere else)! Leave your book in the car for next time!



Uh-oh...let the lip tremble...let the tears well in the eyes....BUTT, Naneee (she thinks calling me Nannee is especially endearing) I doan lwike going to WENNDEE KINGAH'S house. (Liar, Liar, pants-on-fire! Before I have even pulled out of the drive you are laughing and getting a game out)



Go knock on the door!


Turn around so I can see how cute you look! Ooops-lost the bow you had but we aren't gonna talk about that now, are we?



OH! Look! Look who loves SweetCheeks! It is the bestest baby sitter in the whole world, bar none!


I am almost out the door...wait for it....wait for it....Hey, Nannee..doan forghet to pick me up at free oh-clock! Hmmm...How many three years old even know what time they are going to be picked up? Ummm...I think Daddy is picking you up, SweetCheeks! Hmmppff...Nannee..heres da rhule....if yoah gonna drop me off yoah gotta pick me up...and dats the rule!

Hmmmm...as I slip out the door I am thinking one thing....Rules are made to be broken!

Devilishly Delightful

SweetCheeks descends on a house with a flurry of activity and an abundance of energy. She is not a child to softly pad across the floor and play quietly with her toys. No, she is the child that brings with her a host of imaginary friends and grandiose ideas and leaves a path of disorder and mini-messes. Gotta love a kid like that!

A few weeks ago she went to visit Auntie Mimi to play with BabyE for the day while her Daddy did some work on the house. I look at this beautiful child and can hardly believe he belongs to us. He was a long time coming....

A few doors down lives Auntie Mimi's new BFF. This BFF has a baby (Eli) that is just a few weeks older than BabyE. The BFF also has a cat. I don't know his name so we will just call him CAT. Mimi took SweetCheeks on a walk and they stopped for a short visit so that SweetCheeks could meet Eli. Upon entering the house, CAT came near to "inspect & approve" SweetCheeks. This cat is docile, quiet and quite aloof (imagine that). SweetCheeks turned her gaze on CAT and "growled" CAT growled back. SweetCheeks growled louder. CAT's growl became a deep yowl-growl. SweetCheeks gave him a look that we fondly call "The Firestarter Gaze". CAT turned tail and ran.

BFF looked at Mimi. Mimi & BFF looked at SweetCheeks. BFF asked if her Mom & Dad were Catholic. They are. Mimi wondered WHY the BFF wanted to know if they were Catholic. I thought he put it rather nicely when he replied, "Because I don't know of any other church that can perform an exorcism!!"

WHAT? Take the devilish playfulness out of THAT child? I say NO WAY! I, personally, like a little naughtiness....perhaps because she reminds me of my brother. He was the naughty one in my family. Okay, okay....don't send me one of those hateful e-mails, Charlie. I'm just kidding! We both know that the naughty one in our family was my invisible friend, Felicia! Yep! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

BabyE Beloved

There is nothing in the world like seeing two older girls doting on the newest member of the family. Little Lulu & Ria think their new cousin, BabyE, is the cutest thing in the world. They love him unconditionally. He is little enough to capture their hearts and souls with his antics. He is not yet old enough to be a pain by destroying their artwork or taking away one of their prized possessions. As the newest member of the family, he holds court just by being present.

However, there is one member of the family that withholds full adoration of this newest family icon. She is less than pleased that someone has usurped her position. Although she is somewhat entranced by his antics she is not fully given over to outright admiration. When he does something funny she will give out with her deep, little chortle before catching herself. She also likes it when he dresses up........as long as we don't think he is cuter than she is~

One day I asked - "SweetCheeks, don't you LIKE being the big one now...and being kind of a big "sister" to BabyE? She gave me one of her looks-y'all know the one-the one that says~Nana. You. Are. Crazy.

"NO! I doan't lwike be-in the bighest one cuz I'm shtill jus a lwittle gurl my own self! And (she added just for the record) remember, Nana, hims chan't use my own spoon and forkie or sitt in my own chairh effer...cuz I am still yoah baby too!" Ah..yes...so you are, SweetCheeks! And you will always be a little girl to me-even when I am old and you are walking down the aisle on Daddy's arm- I will whisper, "There goes our baby girl"! Let the crying begin......

Say What?

I am constantly amazed by the difference between children~even children from the same family that are only one year apart in age. Lasterday (as Lulu always said for yesterday) we were driving home with Lulu & Ria. We had been to a ball game and it was pouring-not raining gently-pouring!

As we were approaching a stop sign we came alongside a young man that was pedaling a bike by using his hands. I could see that his legs were somewhat atrophied and, because of a back support he was wearing, I assumed he was paralyzed from the waist down. The girls asked why he was pedaling a bike with his hands. I gave them a simple explanation based on what I could see. Ria kind of sighed with that "Oh-poor man caught in the rain" expression. Literal Lulu, on the other hand apparently missed the sympathy gene implanted in her sister. She looked over at the man and asked, "So, he's paralyzed from the waist down?" "I think so," I replied. "Well, then...how did he get on the bike in the first place?" I was fully expecting a -Oh! That's too bad-what do you think happened to him? Nope! Nothing like that-The facts, ma'am...just the facts!

I told MyHero, when we were out of earshot, that she has the funniest "take" on things of anyone I have ever known. A little later, as she was getting ready for bed, she told me that she needed to wear old clothes to school the next day. I asked why (they have a pretty strict dress code). "Well," she said, ever-so-seriously, "It's the next-to-last day of school and my teacher says we're going to be using elbow grease and I don't want to get it on my clothes!" I whipped my head around to see if she was kidding me. Guess what? She wasn't! Okay...I'm gonna explore this now and see how far it goes. "Well, how are you gonna use the elbow grease?" "Nana, (sighing like I am an idiot) I don't know, I guess it just goes down your arm from your elbow!" I couldn't bear to break her bubble of trust in her teacher. I walked into the other room and laughed until I felt I could control myself in a Nana-ly manner before kissing her sweet little face off to bed.

Every day I spend with my grandchildren I learn something new. Every day I get a child's eye view of the world. It is a place of Fact and Fantasy. Fiction and Foolishness. Fun and Fairies. Every day brings me closer to the child that I used to be. Every day, in every way, I am blessed!

Tharhes No Phlace Wlike Home!

Open the door and-Welcome Home Fairy Friends!

Yesterday- Summer really began!

Yesterday the playhouse got cleaned! What fun! As you know those darned elves left all their Christmas stuff in heaps and piles. They also forgot to wash their windows....and their curtains.....and they left the carpet dirty...and they didn't mop the floor....they were decorating with cobwebs and dried up bug husks. What WERE they thinking?

I don't think these were our usual elves who seem quite orderly and mannerly...living in their toadstool and acorn houses. No...I think it was the pinewood elves who hide and remain unseen-coming out only at night to naughtify the world.

Nana has swept them from the house! OUT with the pinewood elves and IN with the Summer Fairies!

One of the good Fairies did a lot of work yesterday!

The curtains are washed. The windows now shine. The carpet is clean. The floor is mopped. The bed is made. It smells Murphy's Oil clean and sweet in here.

The PlayHouse is waiting for visitors with hushed anticipation.

Two little school girls spent the night. When they awoke I told them the fairies had cleaned their playhouse. Off they rushed in nightclothes and bare feet before they touched their Three Bears Cereal. They are happy little girls. Tomorrow is the last day of school and the PlayHouse is officially open for summer fun and tea parties!

But wait!!!! WHO hasn't seen this yet? It's our little SweetCheeks!

Hurry! Hurry! Bring some flowers...the fairies are waiting!

Hi Ho-Hi Ho-It's Off To Work I Go

This, however, is not a usual day's work. This one is HOUSE
CLEANING! Not your normal house cleaning- Oh No It's Not! Look How Sad SweetCheeks Is!

SweetCheeks informed me~ Ourah pwlayhouse is durty and dere's bugs an' shtuff all ober...an'them elffes foarhgetted to put thair own Chwristmass stuff away an' now iss jusst sitting hearh an' dere's no place for no buddy to pwlay! (Okay-take a breath-take a breath-inhale) I thenk dos ellffes hafta come bhack hearh and get diss mess cleaned up.....Right, Nana?
Right!

Just let me slither into my sweet little green
elf outfit the minute you leave and I'll get right
on that!

Here's what I need!

One dirty playhouse- Check-

Cleaning supplies- Check-
Ambition- Check-

Now where did that supahvisor go? Well-it's out the door for me! I'm off to wurkh in my pointy toed shoes!
See ya all tomorrow!

SOMEONE SPECIAL

SOMEONE has her own little table!

SOMEONE likes to eat sitting on the floor!

SOMEONE waits ever so patiently to be fed!

SOMEONE likes to watch Dorah The Exploharah (for about the 100th time) while she eats.

SOMEONE is such a sweet little girl....(sometimes)

SOMEONE is called SWEETCHEEKS!

SWEETCHEEKS is SOMEONE special - to me!

The Recipe Book

I was reading Mommy of a Monster's bucket list and she was talking about a recipe book. Check http://www.mommyofamonster.com/2010/05/my-bucket-list.html. I'm sure there is a nicer way to post that but don't ask me how. I just type- I don't "DO" things. Like- I wish I knew how to make my blog all pretty like some (most) of them are. I wish I knew how to draw a line through things (haven't figured that out-wait a minute...gotta try something....nope THAT didn't work either so that wish remains). I wish I knew how to add music to my blog...oh, and that side bar thingy with everyone's blog listed on it...and...the people I follow...I'm sure there is a way to do it and if I can ever get the TPot over here for a day she will show me how. But as of now, I just keep typing and Thank You God!-I finally learned how to get pictures in my blog...and then scanned back through and put pictures on all my previous writings...I know...I know...it's a sickness!

So...this started out to be about recipe books. I have one that I have used since I got married and it is full of stains-some of the pages are stuck together-some of the pages are missing. My Mimi found a copy on eBay and bought it for me. Strangely, neither girl wanted the old one-I don't wonder why!

I have a box with MyHero's grandmother's recipes in it....and I have an old cookbook that belonged to my mother. I have a special recipe book from MyHero's other grandmother that has her family name on it.

BUT-the recipe book I DON'T have is the one my mother-in-law, Betty, (God rest her soul) gave to her youngest son when he left for college. It was formed of 3x5 index cards. Betty, in all her goodness, was not a very good cook. As a matter of fact, she was an awful cook....(sorry, boys...tired of lying about your Mother). One of the recipes was for Pork Chops. Huh? Hard to screw up porkchops you say? Read the recipe below:

PORK CHOPS
Heat oven to 350º (ok so far)
Put pork chops in pan (ok-still ok)
Bake until hard! (HUH?) I guess that is so you don't get pinworms?

Her other favorite was a casserole. Any kind of casserole will do. Just add a can of soup and tater tots on the top. Yep! She loved her tater tots. Chicken casserole? Tater tots! Turkey ala King? Tater tots! Scalloped potatoes? oh...wait...we don't have those because we have TATER TOTS.

Well, I have places to go and people to see today. Today would be a good day for a casserole, wouldn't it? Nah...never mind~ I am fresh out of tater tots!