Nurswey Skool Heah I Chome!

The day dawns bright and cold.

The pretty little dress she was going to wear

was discarded for something

warm and toasty.

She was so excited she ran out

to the car to meet me...

Hwurry up, Nana...

I gotta get my hairh rweady yet.

An' I doan wanna be late.

She cut her bangs herself for the occasion.

Cute huh?

When I told Mama the other day that

SweetCheeks cut her own bangs..

she blanched a bit..

and said...OH NO
She didn't?

SweetCheeks proudly confirmed..

Yeash I did- wiff my very own

little kid's shcissors.

I lwooks good, huh?

Yeah..realllly good!

Mama suggested a nice bow for her hair.

SweetCheeks favors a big flower that

will cover half her head because

It mhatches my own bhackphack.

Well....yes. it. does!All the kids get their pictures

taken on the front stoop of their house

on their first day of school every year.

Here she is-spit shined and ready to go.Lulu & Ria get together for a

group hug.

They both love school and are glad

that SweetCheeks is joining them.As soon as the car stops

Ria jumps out and runs to join her friends.

Lulu, a bit more sedate, walks
with Mama & SweetCheeks to her line.

The school bell rings and the older kids

file in.SweetCheeks nursery school starts 15 minutes later.

She tugs on me and says,

Nana, I dhin't know I wuz so tall.

Huh?

Lookit...see dere's my shadow..

See how thall I am..

Yeah..and you got a pinhead, too.

But we won't talk about that

because SOMEONE won't think THAT

is funny.C'mon SweetCheeks~

Time to go in now.

I jus' gonna whear my bhackphack

bhackwads cuz I lwike it dis way.

Okay, Nana?

Okay-SweetCheeks...

Move your butt!Here is her nursery school teacher.

She is totally awesome!

The other girls had her when she

taught kindergarten.

Now she "teaches" nursery school..

She is one of our very favorites.

SweetCheeks already adores her.Can you find your piece of carpet

with your name on it?

Of corwrse I can..I know myah name!

Quick sit down..so nobody

sees your real name..

cuz you will always be

SweetCheeks to me

(and to BlogLand!)

Notice Mr.Hyper behind her..

Yeah...kid never quit moving.

God bless the teacher...

God bless his Mom..

God bless him!A hug good-bye before we go..

Shhh...to Starbucks, of course!The three hours fly by..

We have enough time to do a quick

little shopping and it is time

to pick her up.

Can you tell she came flying out?

This is the best picture I could get..

Uh...huh...she was happy to see

her Mama & her Nana!After she got buckled into the car seat

she thought we ought to have some lunch.

Where to, SweetCheeks?

Can you guess her favorite place?

Nope! Not McDonalds..

Nope! Not Burger King..

Nope! Not Pizza Hut...

Her favorite place

isDuring lunch we were

highly entertained by her version

of

Two Little Birdies..

that never seem to

fly away when they are supposed to..

All too soon the day is over..

and our little SweetCheeks

is home again.

She hugs and kisses me good-bye..

and, tired to the bone,

is off to watch Nemo.

Happy first day of school, baby..

You did good...Very Very Good!

The Puzzle

The day is cloudy, rainy, dismal.

A good day to put together a puzzle.

First we must pick a puzzle.

Love these floor puzzles.

This one is called Farm Animals..

Not to be confused with

House Animals

(otherwise known as grandchildren)

So we have our box and remove the top.

Under the cover lies this mess...

This one says Ages 3 & Up..

SweetCheeks informs me..

I'm three, Nana.

I can do dis all by mysthelf.

Of course you can!Ok-I tell her..

Take the puzzle pieces out and lay them

all face up so you can see them.

"Noah, Nana... I jus' gonna takem

outta the box an' usshe dem that way.

Hmmm...I see the frustration building.

The shoulders are hunched and slumping a bit.

"Nana, dis is too hward!"

Do you want some help?

Noah! I not wanna eny hulp. I gonna do it!

Okay then...I am leaving you alone now...

"Nana, dis puzzle is all messy ahnd

the peeaces doan fit rwight."

BabyDoll has been thrown to one side.

This is NOT good!

Do you want some help, SweetCheeks?

NO! I sayed I gonna do it.

The plot now thickens because

Ria has joined in the

Puzzle Party.

She quickly helps SweetCheeks

form the outer edges and helps

her put the other pieces in place.

I look over at the two little girls

with the now completed puzzle.

Good Job, Ria! I tell her.

SweetCheeks smile turns upside down.

Oooops-I should have said..

Good Job GIRLS..

uh-oh- too late now!

No-HERS didn't dood it Nana.

I dood it.

Ria, of course, being only a bit

older herself, rebutts..

No, SweetCheeks...I did it..

You are too little to do it.

NOAH I NOT! I dood it too!

The tears now start to course down

the ruddy little cheeks.

I tell them they BOTH

did a good job..

Ria you HELPED SweetCheeks..
that was really KIND of you..

And...SweetCheeks...

You did great putting that puzzle

together, right Ria?

You BOTH did it!

SweetCheeks head begins to nod

up and down vigorously...

"Yeah..we bofth dood it, Ria!"

The squall has passed, the tears have dried.

The sun is out..

All is right with the world.

Wait for it...wait for it...

SweetCheeks picks up her baby

and holds her while she starts putting the puzzle

back into the box.

Ria looks at her with those big innocent eyes,

smiles slightly and says,

"SweetCheeks, next time you get the puzzle out

I will put it together for you AGAIN...

just like I did today...

Let the crying begin.....

Forever Frozen Faces XII

The Family Secret

Now Ma, I know you

ain't gonna take this too good

so's we waited a coupla days

to tell ya...but..

Me & Molly...well, we got hitched

and took a 2 day honeymoon.

Whaddaya mean..

where'd I meet her?

Well, I met her at the

cousins reunion..

Where'd ya think I met her?

Forever Frozen Faces XI

Sunday morning madness...

Mom sleeps in and

Dad takes over

I see you kids are all dressed for church!

Suzie-go put some patent leather shoes on..

And, Steven....You already KNOW

you can't wear sneakers!

Frozen Faces XIII

Senor' Idiotto?I think there must be a little

communication gap here somewhere.

I said show us your

PONCHO..

NOT your

paunch!

Whut About Me?

Yesterday was not an ordinary day for

our little SweetCheeks..

No, indeedy!

It was the day both her big sisters

started their school year.

She thought she had a 1 hour

nursery school orientation..so...

she got all dressed and combed her hair

and brushed her teeth..

But, alas, it is tomorrow.

Yesterday was for the 4 year olds

and she is only 3.

She looked at her Mom-

Whut About Me?

Whut Am I Gonna Do Today?

Guess what she did?

She called Nana!

Nana to the rescue!

We met at Starbucks.

I got SweetCheeks and a latte.

My daughter got her FREEDOM

for a few hours.

First up is the swing on the porch.

Can you see she is holding her

new Hello Kitty sandwich keeper and water bottle?

Yep-they are both empty but she doesn't care.

She has a great imhaginashiun

She will pretend they are full of sumthin'.

Sit Up-I tell her-so I can take a NICE picture.

I am..she says..smiling ever so sweetly.

Nana-Lookit my fairy ribbons in my hairh!

Aren't dey bedyootiful?

And Mama gaved me sum Mimi braids too!

I see that! I tell her..

Then she looks down..

I see a slight scowl forming....

What's the matter, SweetCheeks?

My Mama forgetthed to paint my toenahils

and hers was supposed to paint them pink

and sparkly too!

That's okay, SweetCheeks..

Let's go inside and you can put your

princess costume on.

Well sumbuddy has to hewlp me wif my buttons!

And doan't look at my pwrivate parhts, Nana!

I won't, SweetCheeks!

Promise?

I promise!

What ARE your private parts, SweetCheeks?

Yoah know dhat! Dey is da parhts whare

yoar baffthin suit is! Oh-yeah!

Now! Whatch me dance..I am dancing just

like Cinderellha at da bawll.

Yoah know whatss sad?

I doan't haff eny ghlass slippers.

I whish I had sum ghlass slippers, doan yoah

whish yoah had sum too, Nana?

Yep!

Nana? Yoah is probarly too old to have sum

ghlass slippers enyway cuz yoah

would probarly break em or sumfin.

Yeah! Good thing I don't have any of those old things!

Do yoah know whut happened afhtar the bawll,

Nana?

Uh? Did she marry the Prince?

Noah! Cinderellah wus so tihred her

setted down and fell asleep for

a hunthdred years and

then the Whicked Whitch gived her

a good apple and now her lives

in the forest sumwheres with

sum little people.

Oh- I see..

And, Nana?

Yes, honey?

Her knowhs that Dorfee too!

The one that whent to see da

Whizard of Oss...

And member the lion? Hims went wiff her.

Know what else?

Hmmm? Hims kinda gooofee cuz hims

asked Dorfee if hers had any sisters.

Yeah?

Well...yoah know dat..

I know? What?

Dorfee was an only child!

(Hmmm...I'm thinking that if your Mama

had YOU first-You might have been

an only child too)Bye-Bye-SweetCheeks-

Time to go home now..

Your carriage awaits you....

And tomorrow will be a whole

new adventure!

A Friend's A Friend Forever

Remember that song by Michael W.Smith?

Yeah..well if I knew how to plug that

music box thingy into my blog

that's what you'd be hearing right about now.

Instead..I will write about

a special friend...

Sometimes you meet someone

along the walk of life that

touches you and makes you

realize what friends really are all about.

I recieved the card shown below

from my friend, Connie..

(and she signed her hubby's name to it too-

maybe because he can't write?-hahaha

just kidding Roger and now I have one coming,

don't I?)

Anyway...she is wonderful, warm and caring..

and Roger....well, Roger is just Roger..

He always can make me laugh..

he's ALMOST as funny as I am...

(looking that is)

Wait! Is that an insult to ME?

Anyway...because people say that sometimes

when they are writing a blog they wonder

if it's always worth the time and effort it

takes to do it-if anyone really even reads it.

That's why I do it just for me..

Anybody else that pops in is

just along for the ride...

Remember I warned you..

fasten your seatbelt before

you start reading.

Anyyyywayyy..

I opened my mailbox a couple

of weeks ago to find this!

Inside was this:

(I will type it out below because it is scanned in

and not of the best quality)

Hi, I read your blog everyday at my desk-

I know I'm supposed to be working.

It starts my day off on a good note.

You have such a way with words it's like

having you sitting here talking. That's

what makes it so enjoyable + the

great "subject matter"! Take care

and hope to see you soon. Here's a slip

for your memory box. Sorry- I didn't have a

fancy scissors. What a great gift from the kids.

Love, Roger & Connie

Now I ask you ladies...WHY do we always

sign our hubbie's name first when

he usually has no clue that we

even OWN a card-let alone that

we are sending one? Yeah..just wondering..

Anyway...
We became friends with these guys when we lived in

Door County. And, although we felt called to

move back to Green Bay, we have very

fond memories of some of the special

people we met during the 5 years we

were there.

So, Connie...I love you...and miss you...

and wish we saw you more often..

and thank you...thank you..

thank you...

I will try to give you a smile

every morning...cuz I know

what it must be like to wake up

next to Roger every morning.

Wait! NO I DON'T!

For those of you that are wondering...

I NEVER woke up next to Roger!

Amen...Thank You, Lord!

Are ya smiling, Connie?

Pearl-Up Close & Personal

Now my friends...

If you remember~ I said I wanted pearls

for my anniversary...

Lovely, glowing, lusterous,

luminescent pearls.

MyHero chose to present me with

something that he says will

GLOW like a pearl

after THE ORANGE

is covered and/or gone.
Then, he says,

She will have earned her name...

THE PEARL

Come along to the garage with me..

which he insists he built with her in mind.

10' high clearance (most of THEM are higher)

And no more than 28' long..

so that he can walk behind her.

(He has already walked behind her ONCE-

you can find that story HERE)

But I don't think that is exactly what he meant

when he was talking about walking behind her.

There she is...oh be still my beating heart.

She was the MacDaddy of her time.

The be-all/best-all ever made.

Her wood cabinetry was hand polished and

oh-so-fine...still is...

Here's the door latch...

a bit smudged from the dreaded

Mechanic Fingers.We grasp the handle,

open the door,

and what do we see?

Well...carpet on the door.

How clever is that?

It is to "dull the road noise"

I am told.

Hmmm...thought maybe it was so my

footprints wouldn't show the KICK marks.

Upon entering I notice that the

ORANGE SHAG CARPETING

is in almost perfect shape...

because it has always been covered by this:Cool! No need to replace something

that is just like new...(MyHero's idea)

Right? Wrong-o!

Can you say Pergo?

Ooooooh...what is THAT?

Well, that is a STOVE

cleverly disguised as a stainless

steel countertop.When you raise the lid you see this:Oh great-Now I can go on vacation

and COOK...just like I do at home.

Whoooeeeee-can it get any better than this?

Oh. yes. it. does. because

here is the countertop and under those two

little cut outs are two sinks.

Wow! I can COOK AND

wash dishes...What fun for me!Not to worry...Whilst I am

washing dishes I can watch TV

and use all those VCR tapes

that I have so thoughtfully packed away..

Did I know this day was coming?>(AND...while watching TV I can

pop my popcorn in the

handy-dandy Radiation leaking,

tumor curing MICROWAVE~

All this for no extra charge!Glancing to my right I see

a dinette-where I can serve

each gourmet meal I prepare.

This little beauty adroitly folds down

into a BED -just in case we have

company. I hope they are not tired

when I am hungry or we are gonna have

BIG problems!Straightway ahead of the dinette is

the passenger seat where

MyHero will ride...

because, if you remember,

I like to drive...

and he likes to ride.Notice how he has hidden the FOR SALE

sign under his chair?

We would not want anyone else to have

the chance to own this beauty!

I will sit here.

I will drive.

I will drive with

a brown bag over my head

until this baby is NOT orange.

Turning around we head down the hall.

Refrigerator is on the right-past the stove.

Are ya LOVING that wallpaper?

Honey-it ain't never gonna be

1975 again! It's gotta go!Put your sunglasses on cuz

next up are the COUCHES.

Now, I want you to remember something.

This is INSIDE a garage...

There are NO interior lights on in here.

Look at this baby GLOW!The back of this little honey flips up

to make a bunk bed above

the lower berth...

Speaking of which...

do you suppose any berth making went

on in here? Oh..I see...it's spelled

birth-English language is funny like that, huh?

But now that I have thought of it....eeeew

Spray those suckers with Lysol fast~
Walking straight down the hall we

walk into the bathroom!

I see this....What IS this?

I dunno...but I'm betting I can

spray paint this little gem white.

Oh! Now I see...how VERY ingenious.

A toothbrush...cup...toothpaste holder.

What? No used toothbrushes? Really?

Did you notice the lovely blinds

up behind the counter here?

Ohhh...loooook...how.....cute...

It's a sink for midgets!

I can get my whole right hand in there

at a go. Whooopee!

Oh crap! The sink picture deleted

by mistake...trust me....it's tiny!

On my immediate left is a

toilet...no pretty way to say it...

it's a toilet.

Well, it's the right color

at least it won't show any pee.

And haven't you always just

LOVED CARPET

in a bathroom? uh-huh

Sitting right up close and personal

is the bathtub.

Now I'm not saying it's small..

but I have long legs..

I figure if I get my legs in there

and bend over

I can moon the people that are

directly behind me.

Whaddaya think?

Hope we're not moving at the time

I want to bathe. Now that I'm looking at it

I think the grandkids could probably pee

in there and I'd never know...

we have ONE that would...

And are you loving THIS special wallpaper?Well, that's our Pearl.

When she is all prettified

I'll come back with an update..

but meantime..

I'm thinking with all her

special things..

and all her sweetness..

and her coloration..

maybe we should call her

THE PEACH!

Whaddaya think?