Happy Birthday Tara!

As most of you know by now

this blog really started out for my family...

and I got a little sidetracked along the way..

Soooo...

If you don't want to see someone's past

in pictures please feel free to

come again another time.

Now...without further ado...

I present the life of

Tara Lynn

(known in Blogland as TPot)

Here is the little hippie house

we bought from a cute hippie..

right after we were first married

and I got moved to this

God-forsaken frozen tundra...er...I mean..

to Wisconsin.

See that little window above my head?

Yeah? Well....that was the

Magical Room where you

came about...

Forget that other story about the

furniture store I told you..

Yeah..ONE of those stories is

just a joke. For your first birthday MyHero

(your Daddy) was walking across

the kitchen floor and fell down

SPLAT! You laughed and clapped..

He moaned and groaned.

We celebrated with a cake for you

and traction for him..

I don't know which one got

spoiled the most...

but he didn't want to come home.Your next birthday came and went

and we found Santa Claus that

December...

You pulled something out of his beard..

Not sure what it was...

Don't really WANT to know.

Your big brother thought you

were pretty cute...Pretty soon you were joined by a little

sister. You were SOOO naughty that

if I hadn't already been pregnant by the time

you were one I would have stopped having kids..

Yes..indeedy...You were REALLY

naughty- Throw the milk down the

laundry chute naughty..

Write on Mimi with a

magic marker naughty..

N-A-U-G-H-T-Y
Not sure WHAT you were feeding Mimi...

Hoping it wasn't dog food...

which you were wont to do.

The next year finds you and

Mimi dressed for Trick or Treating.

Notice the face hanging over the back of your

chair? Yep-that is BIG BROTHER..

who doesn't think you are quite so cute anymore.You loved to swing..and run...and play...You also loved to dance.

Your Dad rented out a building to a

Dance Studio and lessons for you

were part of the deal.

However...he forgot how expensive

costumes were and grumbled

and moaned when he had to

pony up for this one.You were Grandmother Clare's first

great grandchild and the only

one she ever had any

real hands on with.

She adored you.You loved pumpkin picking in the Fall...And, after a long hard day of

Pumpkin picking you came home

and fell asleep like a bookend

with your baby brother,

MamasBoy.Another Christmas rolled around..

I made you all matching outfits

for pictures with Santa.

Each year you got taller and taller

as you stood next to Santa.Soon you were biking to school

all by yourself when we lived

in Palm Beach Gardens, FLLike magic you went from

singing in the backyard

to singing at a Christian

gathering. You had a wonderful

voice and it blessed people

just to hear you sing.The years flew by and soon...

you were old enough to graduate..

Your Senior year was one of

fun and promise..

You, who had been so naughty

as a child, turned out to be

a good girl as a teenager.

(Well, pretty good...except for getting your

friends in trouble by encouraging them

to short cut the school walk by sitting under

a tree and cutting through some back yards

to be close to the head of the pack)You attended a ball and are

flanked by two friends that went

with you.

I see that you thought you looked

like Madonna or some

slick chick in this photo.And even though you were classy enough

to go to a ball...

you could still have a ball

with your younger sister.You met TheBrawnyMan by chance..

when you were least expecting it..

He hung around you even when

it meant freezing his butt off..And then...how could it be?

You and TheBrawnyMan had a softly beautiful

magical wedding.....Even after you got married

you did not forget how important it was

to attend a Packer Game with

your sister...

your friend...

your Mimi...

because, as you know, family is

one of the most important

things on God's green Earth...

And now...NOW...now...

you REALLY understand...

because you have gone

from baby to

child...from child to woman

from woman to wife..

from wife to mother..

Now you know..

know that you are blessed

in this life...

blessed to have

a family to call your own.And even though you are grown up..

and a woman..

you will always be

my little girl.

Happy Birthday...

Little Girl...

I love you!

And what better way to show it

than with flowers

and Starbucks?

ps...just wondering....while you are reading this...

uh...what is SweetCheeks doing?..

She is ALMOST as naughty

as you were!

The Birds-Alfred Hitchcock-Are You Out There?

We woke early and sat

sipping coffee.

Looking out our bayside windows

we saw quite a sight.

Birds!

Birds and more birds!

Headed NORTH?

Seriously?

Aren't you guys supposed

to be headed

SOUTH?

It's a bird...

It's a plane..

NO-

It's definitely, definitely, definitely

(remember Rainman)

BIRDS!

The film is about 40 seconds

long and you will notice

that there are a couple

of

SMART BIRDS

headed South!

I heard THAT!

Who said

Duck Soup?

So....if there was a hunter

out front with a gun..

could it be said

he was

Shooting A Bird?

SweetCheeks Goes To KittyGarten

Someone came to the hospital

to vist me and Papa.

It was her first half-day

of 4 year old Kittygarten.

She was happy to share the

"news" of her day with us.

This conversation is word for word

as best as I can rememeber it.

So...how was school today?

I gotta bohyfrehnd now.

You do?

Yup! Hiss nahme is OHWEN!

Really?

Yup!

What did you do today?

OHWEN and me wehnt up to

the rhoof!

You did not!

Uh-Huh- Yess Ih dihd!

Really?

Seerussly, Nana..

Hmmm.

How'd you get up there?

Threhe's a secrut phassaghway

and we arhe spies!

Really?

Uh-huh.

An' I couhld see yohu ovah hereh

wurking.

Really?

Uh-huh.

(I am about 4 miles from her school)

I think you are making up

stories.

Noooooh..

An' Nana...I cohme here

nights to wurk at the

hosspitahl as a spy too.

You do?

Yup!

How do you get in?

I cahn't tell you that cuz

then you wouhld haffta be a spy

too and you don' wanna do that

cuz then yohu might get invihshibul

cuz yohu are a grown-up!

Sigh...

Wish I could be a kid again

cuz I would LOVE being a spy!

Guess I will just have to

live vicariously!

By the time she leaves

the hospital

everyone that has come

in contact with her

is smiling.

Including Mom!

4 years old?

Kindergarten?

I'm just not ready, Lord!

But SHE is..

and that is what really matters,

isn't it?

(and that OH-WEN better be a nice boy-

that's all I gotta say)

Happy Labor Day-A Poem From Me

Did you ever wonder why Labor Day

Was formed to give us rest?

Did you wonder how it happened,

Why someone formed the quest?

The year was Eighteen Ninety-Four,

The railroad union took a stand,

They refused to switch Pullman cars,

Throughout this grand old land.

They struck for higher wages

When their income was reduced.

Their cost of goods still stayed the same,

And they couldn't be seduced.

George Pullman talked quite loftily,

Something they didn't like,

It finally took  US Marshalls

To step in and end the strike.

When George Pullman later died,

His wife and children sobbed,

As they encased his coffin in concrete

So his grave would not be robbed.

After the strike was ended,

Grover Cleveland had his way.

He declared a day to honor workers,

And they called it Labor Day.

Thank you to my forefathers,

Who worked all morns and nights,

To create an easier world,

To ensure I had my rights.

I am so very grateful,

That I can have my say,

I know that working is a privilege,

As is celebrating Labor Day.

©Diana Kosmoski/2011



Give Me Some Sugar

I don't give the kids much
sugar when they visit me..
but we do use
RAW BROWN SUGAR
on their
Three Bears Cereal
in the morning.

Well,

SOMEONE

says she hears noises...
(in her head)
as she is eating the sugar
off her cereal.
She must be operating on

 SUGAR POWER

Personally, I think the
"noises" are just her,
talking to herself.

And because she gets
 very little

SUGAR

most of the time,

she needs

SUGAR !
(ps..listen for my husband scolding
me in the background- he is very good at it)

I love that sister, Ria, tells

SweetCheeks that she

needs to brush her

teeth after she eats sugar!

She's going to be a great Mom someday!

Someday SweetCheeks
 will be whispering
SWEET NOTHINGS
in someone's ear and Dad is
already worried that she will
tell some poor smitten fellow..
Give Me Some Sugar!

Baby E At The Park

I drove to Milwaukee to

watch BabyE while Mom

went for her pre-natal

appointment.

I brought a surprise

with me!

Little Miss Ria

BabyE was SO excited

to see Ria.

However- He did NOT

want her to touch HIS blanket

and would wrestle with her

to get it back.

BabyE lives right across

the street from a park.

And he

LOVES to swing.

Look how sweet he is looking

at his favorite thing in the park.

He loves his cousin, Ria,

and can't take his eyes off her.

And he loves the slides.

And he loves to

DRIVE the

"ruck" in the park.

Ria is so good to him.

She "mothers" him.

She is training to be a

MOM

someday.

Time to go home, BabyE..

Let's go...

He has learned to say NO

and to turn away

and pretend he doesn't hear you.

He is training to be a

HUSBAND.

Hmmm..

Wonder how this boy

will do when the new baby

comes in November?

I think he'll be okay as long

as we keep drawing for him.

My daughter draws picture after picture

for him.

Time to go home, Ria.

It was a fun day, wasn't it?

A special day with Nana

and BabyE.

A day to remember.

And the best part of the drive home

for me?

Ah-Yes...

Thank You, Lord, for these

precious children that You have

blessed my life with..

and ..

Oh Yeah-

Thank You for Starbucks!

AMEN!



Rocks In Place And Plants Are In!

The Rocker

ROCKS!

Remember when the front

of MamaBoy's & TheSecretAgent's house

looked like this?

You know..

Like last week?

You can see more here

But this is basically what

you saw before.

Now when the boy is on

a ROLL-

this is what happens...

They aren't done yet..

but it is moving along~

They have some bigger plants coming

for along one side.

I suppose you don't want to know

that they paid $5.oo per plant?

$5.00!!

Another view..

that's the Bay off to the far left~

Here's the front today...

Here it is two years ago..

When you walk around to the side

that faces the Bay

this is what you see..

This is what they started with

almost 2 years ago..

Hard to believe it is the same place,

isn't it?

Looking from the house towards

the Bay this is the view.

They have lots of cranes in

front of their house..but they are shy..

so I only got a picture of one.

I have to say that I am very

proud of Mama'sBoy AND

my daughter-in-love.

You see it was MY idea that they

look at the house to begin with...

Mama'sBoy was over-the-moon excited.

She was ready to tie me to a tree out

front and shoot arrows at me.

To buy it they had to sell their

darling little house in town that she had

all fixed up and it had multiple

offers the first week on the market..

in a DOWN market.

I told her it was meant to be.

She XBLEEPX( or something like that)..

but, guess what?

She loves me anyway.

I am no longer on

THE LIST!

You know THE LIST!

Yeah- I am OFF THE LIST

because she loves the house

NOW!

Whew!!!!

And, as for MamasBoy?

Well, he is done rocking

and onto his newest

adventure!

And, guess what?

I had NOTHING to do

with THAT purchase!

Wearing Flowers In Her Hair~

Anyone remember that song

from the 70's

San Franciso Be Sure To Wear

Flowers In Your Hair?

Well, they say everything old

will become new again.

(I'm kinda waiting for all

MY OWN new parts).

And it looks like these

girls have caught the

"fever".

They are at a park

and SweetCheeks is waiting

for the ride to start.

She's a little nervous before it

begins...

But not scared at all once it

starts to move~She looks at Mama

and smiles...

Ria is sitting with TheIslandScout

(Hello folks sitting behind us that we

have no idea who you are...bet

you never thought you would be in

someone's blog, did you?  I see you

are sniling though but your wife must be

a little shy -either that or she is your girlfriend

and doesn't want to be seen with you)

And Lulu is sitting with her Daddy...

At the end of the day they head

to the water to have their pictures taken..

Line Up Girls!

Wait a minute!

Who is missing?

Where is SweetCheeks?

Ah yes!  BabyE thinks he is at

the zoo so he is feeding the animals.

SweetCheeks!

What are you doing?

Nohthing!  Ih'm just stahnding hehre!

(and looking goofy, I might add)

Well, get over here so I can take

your picutre with your sisters.

Ohkay- Ih'm reddy!

SweetCheeks!

Sit down with your sisters.

OhKay!

Girls!

Just one nice picture, okay?

OhKay!  How's this?

Good enough for me!

Finally!

Let's go home now!

YES! LET'S!!!

Whew- That makes me tired

just looking at this again!

Gotta love a day with those kids!

It'll keep you young...

or kill you..

take your pick!