All the babies I've loved....

Alyssa and I were sitting at the computer, reading all the blogs this morning and having our girl-chat. Alyssa is 4 months old but holds a good solid intellectual conversation. She does her best analytical thinking after a change of undies and a slurp of formula or pureed mystery fruit. She's quite advanced for her age. We took a break from reading to have just a little more slurp. I was telling her how much I enjoyed her company and her smile and her LOUD conversations (had to turn up the radio yesterday as she was drowning out CCR). Then I got to thinking about all the babies God's put in my life over the years. There's been lots. Not only my 3 biological blessings. Cute, ain't?

When GrumpyCrazyUnk and I were starting out, a long long time ago in a world far far away, he was a carpenter. And in that universe, circa 1983, nobody had money to build or remodel or build add-on, thus the work was slim pickens and in turn, so was the money. I started adding children to the mix to be able to eat. My first additions were a pair of brothers, Adam and Mark aged 2 and 6 months. They were alot of work as I also had my oldest two biological babies aged 2 and 3 to chase. "Chase" being the operative word. I then added my darling bestest friend's 2 girls, Amy and Corey, aged 2 and 2 months. Now we're talkin CHASE.That makes 6 kids under the age of 4. I've never slept so good as I did at the end of those days. But we ate! Amy and Corey are beeeuuutiful women now living in NYC and Chicago and setting the world on fire.

After Army life came and went Unk went on to nursing school. Again, no moola and now 3 offspring. I needed me some babies. There came, duhn duhn duhnnnnn, MEGAN. Afraid of everyone and everything. Cried at everyone and everything. Dared not look at her, speak to her or heaven forbid! touch her! oyy.
In there somewhere was Kyle a 2 y/o crrraaazy boy. I found him on top of the fridge one day if that tells you anything. Only time I've ever told the mom that I just can't watch him anymore.

That's about when we got our Sam arama Ding dong. This darling little 1 y/o with black, black curly hair, big blue eyes, with his beloved blanket in tow. He stayed ours for 3 years, even though I fed him pepper on his doughnuts and kept him in a closet "for no apparent reason", so he told his Daddy. When we moved to beautiful south central Indiana he went on to stay at my sister's house and is still our family.

Then came Alicia. Our darling friend's 2 y/o daughter. Mommy worked at the hospital w/Unk and needed me. Needed me, that's all I needed to hear. She joined our family and blended like nobody's buisness. Unk taught her good wholesome words like moron and numbskull. She's all grown up and taller than me and durn it, lives in far away Canada.

Our neighbor had a beautiful little 4 y/o redhead ,Ralphie (our name), Rachel (real) who needed someone to play with her before and after school. How fun was she?!! She'd lip sync and gyrate around on the back porch to Spice Girls tapes and just couldn't figure out what we were laughing at. She's a senior now. sigh...

We moved to the country. The biobabies grew up and moved out. I needed me some babies. Daughterunit's best friend was kind enough to have one for me. Aren't friend's the best? Our darling dearest sweetie pie, insert ahhh-music here, Kaia. Sadly her Unk named her Poopypantswhineyfacewaterhead girl. Don't ask.

Kaia joined our life when she was just 8 weeks old. Unk bought me the Happy Chair so I could rock her properly. And nothings been the same...for Hank either. From day one they've been best of pals. He'd gently take her socks off, share his food, his crate, toys and has spent countless smiling hours chasing her and vice

versa.
Mama isn't working right now which is good news for Kaia and Mommy. Baaad news for Unk and the Queen. She comes to play as often as possible now. I talk to her on the phone, she knows speed dial. I can see years and years of Kaia blogs ahead.

When Kaia had to go home we got Beanie Boy aka Corban. I dunno why they all have regular names. Mom and Dad should just wait to fill out the birth certificate till Unk or I dub them w/something much more fun. Poor lil Beaniboy was a preemie. He had some tummy issues and spent most of his days hurting and crying. Never held it against him. He'd smile when he felt good. Mommy got to quit her job she hated anyway and now they are sooo happy together.

Baby George moved in for a short while this summer. Mommy and Dad thought we lived too far to treck. Even though we buy only the best baby equipment for them to play in. hmmm?..

Now we have our sweet lil Tator. Her family calls her Alyssa but, what can ya do? She is one of the easiest and happiest babies since my own 3 happy campers. Just a pleasure. She's rarely unhappy and when she is it's a blowout fit. Gonna do, do it right!  She loves her some Unk and he feels the same way. She's darling, darling.

 Our lives have been enriched beyond measure by these little souls. The money was a bonus, not the goal. I can't wait to see if God has more for me!

Moments of Grace

When a day starts off looking like this!

When a baby laughs AT you.

When your kids like each other.

When your little sister is still your bestest friend.
When even making bacon is an adventure.

 When hangin w/the boys is the best thing ever!

When you get a new "do".

 

When babies and dog's collide. 

When the nephew gets a new "do".

When they make you laugh more than anybody you've ever met.

ditto

When you remember, again, that he's the best.

Ain't???

And now for something completly different...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhUeAy35qc&feature=player_embedded

Hank the Cow Dog

Hank the Cow Dog is a marvelous little creature. He got his name from a really fun series of kid's books. Find 'em. Even if you don't have kids around they will make you laugh!! Here's his official site http://www.hankthecowdog.com/

When Hank came into our lives GrumpyCrazyUncle wasn't so keen on having a poodle. I think it was a "manly" issue and Grump encouraged me to name him something tough and macho. Spike just didn't cut it. Once you read one of the books, you'll see why HANK had to be this guy's name. Both Hank's are full of fun and attitude. Grump says he's more like Hank the Woosdog but that's just cause Grump's jealous.

I chose the poodle breed because of their intelligence, sweet temper and lack of major health issues. I'd just lost my best friend Boxer of 10 years, Magie, to cancer and didn't think I could do that again anytime soon. I struggled with grief over Magie's death but really wasn't thinking I'd get another dog for quite awhile. Afterall, we did have Pete (another wonderful boxer) and Egar (a goofy little terrier) for me to love on. After about 2 weeks, Grump said, "don't fight the funk, Queen. Just go find yourself another friend". Bless him.

The Daughterunit and I went to go see some puppies advertised in the paper. No fancy papers, no champion bloodlines and no big moola either. I don't care about all that stuff. I just wanted a friend. We drove waaay out into the boonies, always a good sign in my book, and finally found the place. The folks were very friendly and when they opened the house's back door all these little white fuzz balls literally came falling out onto the lawn. Remember that Pepsi commercial with the puppies jumping all over the little kid on the ground? The one that made you laugh no matter how many times you'd seen it? Yeah, it was just like that! There were 4 or 5 little ones and a couple grown dogs. We sat on the ground and loved on all of them. But one, a little boy with a peach colored spot on his back and peach ears, wouldn't leave me. I'd get up and run around with the others but he'd always be right on my heels till I sat down again, then phloomp, into my lap and stretched out like he'd been waiting for me to show up so he could take his nap. We stayed for about an hour and I never could shake him. We left puppy-less because I promised myself to take my time. Pick just the right one or wait till the next litter I saw in the paper, take my time. I took a whole 12 hours.

I went back the next day to see if the same little guy would attach himself to me again. There was zero doubt. The other pups ran around like puppies do but this spotty boy was superglue. Hank spent his first 2 days here in bed with me. I get monster migraines and had one that knocked me out. He didn't seem to mind. We just cuddled and slept. sigh. When I told the oldest Sonunit that I'd gotten a poodle he channeled his Dad's sentiment re:poodles. When he came over later that day and saw Hank sprawled out on my bed, he said, "Oh, I get it now".

Every single day I'm grateful my superglued, Siamese twin came to live on my farm. More Hank posts to follow cause he's too fun to ignore.

Sickness in the Bunker

GrumpyCrazyUncle's fallen under the Zombie bus. Sore throat, coughing and general malaise (great word, ain't?)

He's staying in bed as long as possible this morning. Babysitting baby isn't coming cause mom and pop are skeert of us. Is it the-dun dun duuuuunnnn-H1N1? Could be. He does work in an ER in southern IN, one of the first places in the country to get the "shot". He got the regular flu shot already but it only covers specific varieties, not all. His hospital didn't offer the H1N1 shot to it's employees. strange. Or should I say, cheap. Am I worried about getting it too? Nah. If I do, I do. I HATE  the hype over this flu. Yes, we should be aware. Yes, we should be good stewarts of our bodies and health. NO! We shouldn't panic, hide, run, talk incessantly and freak about ANYTHING!!  Life's too short. Take care. Be smart. Eat right. And change your underwear before you leave the house.

Why?

Why does the 30th chocolate chip cookie tast so bad when the first was soooo wonderful?

Why do dogs have to wander around for 30 minutes to find "just the right spot" to poo if it's raining?

Why do 2 year olds ask so many questions and then when they're 15 know ALL the answers to any question ever asked.

Why does it rain on John's day off?

Why don't my loaves of bread turn brown when all I forgot was the sugar?

Why do only 2 people STILL generate so much laundry?

Why do dogs choose the carpet and not the tile to puke on?

Why don't people use their turn signals?

Why do vacations go by so fast and work days drrraaaggggg?

Why do washing machines "eat" new socks and not the old holey ones?

Why do sermons last so long if you're reallllly hungry?

Why are there infomercials?

Why can't summer be 9 months and cold be three??

Why do WalMart shoppers think that wearing pj's that are 2 sizes too small to shop is sexy?

Why do friends have to live so far away??

Junkaholics meeting at 7p in the church basement

I'm an addict. I admit it. I'm going to be on one of those shows..."My Mom was last seen in her house in 1982 near the pile of old Christmas ornaments that she hasn't used in 30 years. We haven't seen her since."

These pics are what happened to my house when I emptied ONE room and closet. ONE.

The Daughterunit is moving home to go back to school full time in November. There was no room at the Inn for her. We talked about buying a camper and hooking up water and electric for her out the back door. But I buckled down and moved crap out and around. There's probably 4 trunkloads for Goodwill. 1 load for my friend's antique shop and about that many for Freecycle. WHAT WAS I THINKING???

I babysit and have lots of toys, playpens, tables, highchairs, clothes, diapers ad nauseum that I actively use but just as many that I don't. OY.

And the closet pic, with clothes and clothes...no excuse. I have a heaven-made closet and thought my mission in life was to fill it to the overflowing stage. I have succeeded. Plus, I'm too fat for half of them. sigh

Night before last I couldn't sleep because of all this weighing on my mind. I've been given this wonderful home to share with friends and to keep my family safe and secure and loved. I've filled it up with junk that was a "great bargain" or "too cute" or "I might use that someday" or "I had one of those when I was a kid" instead of focusing on making the place clean, organized and peaceful. I'm ashamed. I truly am.

I shared what was on my heart with dear GrumpyUnk and he said, "I'm behind you all the way, Just don't touch my stuff".

Nice nice weekend

This was  Oktoberfest weekend in our little town. This is a very large German community and tradition runs deep. There are about 40billion people, 30billion food booths, a sweet parade complete with horses and dancing children and 1 little old man on his 3 wheel bike with flags attached, the gratuitous lovely waving girls in convertibles and about 100 booths of lace-glued-on-wood "art". This year the weather held up, no rain, but it was cool and windy. LOTS of whining heard from teens. I'm betting it because they had to cover up their new clothes with jackets and that meant less to show off.

The main reason I love this weekend is because I usually get to see my kids. They try to come home to see old friends. This year I was only a 1 in 3 year. The boys had to work. The daughter unit came for a whole week though!! She seemed to have a good time at the fest. She had to buy hat/gloves and scarf cause she was freezing!

I took my Kaia to her first Oktoberfest! She seemed overwhelmed. I loaded her in the stroller and wrapped her in a blanket and away we went. She LOVED the parade. Waved only at the horses and was truly puzzled by the dancing little girls. She would look at them with a wrinkled brow then back at me and said, "What?". I shared her opinion. Her big thrill though was touching. Touching the pumpkins, the fire hydrants, the signs, the flags, Oh, and touching people's behinds walking if front of her. LOL. I figured I'd load her up on junk food and take her back to Mommy to run it off but she didn't like anything I bought her. Poor me, had to eat it all myself. Don't want to be wasteful, ya know.

Her Ninja is strong tho. We're standing in line to get a soft pretzel, I looked away and I heard a man say,"My! You're starting a life of crime kinda early!" I turned back around and she had apparently pulled his wallet out of his pocket by the attached chain! We had a good laugh then he picked up his food at the window, turned around and Kaia opened her mouth super wide waiting for him to shovel it in there!! He laughed and said, "She'll get my money one way or another, eh?" Taught her everything she knows.

Finer n Frog hair

Major and "Puppy"

What was I THINKING???  I have had children in my life for a hundred years. Daycare, babysitting, my own homeschooling of 3 beautiful kids, over 20 nieces and nephews and the list goes on...but what did I do this morning? I traumatized my favorite 20 month old. I washed her Puppy. As I type she's standing and at the laundry room pointing at the dryer, reaching for the door and soooobbbbing , PUPPY!  Oh I've lost it.

My precious Kaia spent the night last night and slept with me. sigh. My back will never be the same. She used to sleep in her own bed but for some reason she freaks out lately. We tried to sleep with her in our bed, 2 adults, one 2y/o, one Puppy and one real live poodle. Not cool. Thinking King size bed in the future...........

Throughout the night I kept waking to an awful, sour, stinky, rotten egg smell-Puppy! She loves this big stuffed dog like only a 2 y/o can. Holding poor Puppy's nose and ear while she sucks her thumb, falls asleep, drinks her milk, juice and sneaks him bites of yogurt and oatmeal. Needless to say the bath was called for!

He's almost dry. I figure another 15 minutes and voila! new Puppy. She keeps pulling my sleeve and crying, "done? done?" Oy.