Fairies

A few months back Piper got a "Fairy house" in one of her Highlights magazines.  We cut it out and put it together with the help of a little glue and tape.   She hung it on my fireplace screen and  waited patiently for a Fairy to appear. (It's been hanging here for quite some time.)  I told her Fairies only come out after dark, when she's in bed.  Even though she didn't like it, she accepted it.

Piper's Fairy House

Today she was playing around with it and this is somewhat how the conversation went:

Me:  Mopping floor
Piper:  Playing with her Fairy house.
Me:  Listening to her chatter.
Piper:  "Mom-mom, I need some bait."
Me:  "What kind of bait?"
Piper:  "Fairy bait."
Me:  "What would that be?"
Piper:  "A tooth."

Alrighty then. 

So, me, being a very quick and bright Mom-mom, sent her to Uncle Ben to ask for bait, telling her to tell him what she needed it for.  Little did I know she had already been to him asking for bait and he, being all knowing, was the one who suggested she use teeth. He said she politely told him, "Well, you've got teeth."  "So do you." he says to her.  This must have been the "chatter" I heard and where I came into the conversation.  And since neither of them were willing to give up their teeth, she resorted to me ~ the problem solver ~ only I couldn't solve this one! She had gone full circle with no resolve.  She hung the little house back in its rightful spot and moved on.

She already has her little treasure box for her teeth for when the Tooth Fairy does come ~ which, given today's conversation, makes me worry that there may be premature tooth loss.  That, or, Helena or Zoe's lost teeth will become just that, L. O. S. T. Lost to the Fairy house for bait.  And they would be none the wiser. 

September Summary

I can relate to the poor cat chasing his tail.  I feel like that's all I do anymore ~ 'round-n-'round we go!

September arrived quickly and now it's almost time to say goodbye.  A quick month for sure.

I guess that's what happens when you get busy.

Busy finishing up projects purchased in the spring:

 

This is the heinous coffee table (bottom) I purchased at a flea market for three bucks . . .

 I think I over paid.  It was rickety and glue laden.

Not to mention, filthy.

 

 

The boy taking it apart and bracing it up.

It needed to have the glue scraped off, a couple bolts and

the drawer re-glued.

 

 

 

Top sanded and polyed.

 

 

Bottom primed.

Like my workshop?

 

 

First coat of paint.

Really liked the color but it was just a little

too "beachy blue" for our living room.

 

 

Second coat - in a pale green. 

Um . . . . no.

Not quite.

 

 

The same green with a dark glaze, polyed and

waiting for knobs.

Tricky, tricky ~finding just the right accessories.

 

 

Then we have this:

 

Itty Bitty and pre-school at Mom-mom's house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course there was the bazillion birthdays and all the every day stuff that happens in life.  There is quite a bit of truth to the notion that the older one gets the faster life gets.  No pause.  No rewind.  And thank goodness, no fast forward! 

 

Toodles for now!

 

 

Happy Birthday, Itty Bitty!

 

Happy Birthday, Piper!

 

Oh, my.  You're four years old today

It's time to run and play

Sing some songs and dance around

You're four years old today!

 

I love you to bushels and pecks!

Love,

Mom-Mom

A Look Back at September Through Pictures

This month has flown by ~ way to quickly.  So here's the "lowdown" of how our life "went down" during September:


Our South Paw had to come to Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop's just to rest

Itty Bitt is really itty bitty!

Squashing the ants (long "A" sound here) on Uncle Ben's boat

Audrey Dog thinks my sewing space is her window to the world!  Get.  Off. Now.

A Sweet Pea named Missy gave ME raspberry jam and a bouquet of flowers
from her very own yard!  Thank you!

My washer went up so I was able to snag these from Kellifer.
Again. . . . Thank you!

We've confirmed Itty Bitty is a klepto thief.

I got to go to an estate sale as well as a barn sale!
Scored big time!  These are only a couple of goodies from
the estate sale.

We got to watch our South Paw play some fall ball!

Of course,  there was some playing with cotton, some birthday stuff, some a LOT of school and the everyday mundane stuff ~ you know ~ laundry, cleaning, cooking. . . . . .

So that pretty much sums up September this year.  Hopefully October will just casually stroll along.  Hopefully.

Just When You Think It's Safe. . . . .

. . . . to go back in the water . . .

In my case, just when I thought it was safe to blog again.   Things can go awry terribly quickly around here.  Case in point:  On Friday afternoon I thought since Itty Bitty was watching TV with the girls I could steal a few moments and blog over in the Land of Cotton.  It wasn't a terribly long blog.  All seemed fine in the living room.  I could hear voices and the movie they were watching.   No worries.  There in lies the problem.  I assumed (and you know what they say about ASS U ME) all eyes were glued to the boob tube.  WHAT was I thinking?  Not much of anything apparently.  It's not until I finish my blog and go check on the girls that I notice Itty Bitty holding her hands behind her back ~ 1st give-away ~ and she's got a s**t eating grin on her face ~ 2nd give-away ~ and . . . she tells me as she moves toward the sofa that she doesn't have anything ~ 3rd and deadly give-away.

No, no she doesn't have anything in her hands.  Nothing.  So. . . . what's hinkey here?  Nothing looks out of place except for her occasional glance at the pillows on the sofa.  Hmmmm . . . . .  "There's your sign".

 I go to lift pillows, she squeals with delight and anticipation at what she doesn't have.  This. Cannot.  Be.  Good.    And it wasn't. 

 

She had collected:

deodorant

toothbrushes

energy spray

chap stick

lip balm

She had visited everyone's room!

And I realized after I put the camera away there were things under the other pillow as well.

She had snagged both Kelly and Ben's deodorants earlier in the day and I made her put them

away herself thinking that would teach her a lesson.  No ma'am. No way, no how. Not her.

 

Note to self:  Never take eyes off Itty Bitty.  EVER.

 

She's a force to be reckoned with.

 

Help. . . .

Anybody?     Anybody?

We Have A Tadpole!

We've only had the pool open a couple of weeks. 

At first Itty Bitty wasn't so sure of herself. 

She had to be held by someone.

Then it was okay to be led around in an inner tube.

Next she would float along by herself in the tube if someone was nearby.

Finally she was confident enough to float around by herself. 

She even slid into the inner tube from the ladder.

But today ~ today Pop-Pop taught her a little about doggie paddling.

And it was on like Donkey Kong!

Now she can "swim" around like the big girls.

She can even jump scoot from the ladder into the pool and swim on.

There's no turning back now!

 

I surmise by the end of the summer she will be holding her own.

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

 

 

I guess we are going to have to stick with Itty Bitty. 

You are no longer a baby.

Three. Years.  Old.

Let's put a brick on that head!

 

Happy Birthday to you!

 

Love,

MOM-MOM

OXOXOXOXOX's

Yes, this is our Itty Bitty, in all her glory!

 

"One Little Monkey. . . ."

 

. . . . rolled out of bed.
This little monkey bumped her head.

 

 

She went to the Doctor. . . .

 

. . . . and the Doctor said. . . .

 

Two little staples

for your tiny little head!

 

 

Yea, it was one of those days for Mama Monkey.  Her littlest monkey rolled out

of bed first thing this morning and left a gash in her nugget! 

Off to the ER they went.  Got her all stapled up and back home by 10:00.

Baby Monkey's Mama did what any respectable Mama would do ~

she read her One Little Monkey!

And then, like any respectable (cough, cough) Mama, she brought her to Grand-Mama to wash

her little nugget, 'cause Mama Monkey's stomach did flip flops!





 

 

All's well.  Hair and body washed. Scary!

Mostly because they stapled her hair right in

that mess because Mama Monkey wouldn't let them shave it.

Can't really say I blame her there.

Movie on TV with Pop-pop and then lunch.

What more could Baby Monkey ask for? 

No ~ those aren't band aids on her legs.  They are the price stickers from the "reward"

outfit she is wearing.  I was told she was a very good girl for the Doctor.

Now. . . . to be a very good girl for me!



Things ~ They Are a'changin'

Life with a two year old is, and will always be, unpredictable.  We just crossed the potty-training hurdle.  I said before Baby Girl had an agenda all her own and she stuck to it.  We are done ~ literally and figuratively.  That girl does me in on a daily basis.  I have learned to pray every day to just be able to go with the flow, pick my battles and hunker down for the long haul.  When I remember to do that my day goes smoothly.  And by smoothly I mean I'm not the one crying at the end of the day!

Today was, for the most part ~ and I say that because the day isn't over yet ~ a good day.  Not much grief on the food issues.  Not much grief about obeying.  Not much grief about anything actually.  Our routine was smooth as glass.  

Baby Girl's new favorite "show" is Max and Ruby.  It was Helena's as well at one time.  I have a DVD of Max and Ruby and it lives in the player.  It plays whether she's watching or not.  I try not to listen.  Try. With all. My might. 

Anyway, we eat lunch anywhere between 11:15 and 12:00 depending on how starved Itty Bitty is.  I usually don't put her down until around 1:00.  That's what works for me. Or it had.  Until today.

After lunch, Baby Girl played with her stuff a tad and then crashed on the love seat to watch Max and Ruby.  Ruby and Max.   See, the song gets stuck in my head.  I walk in to get ready to prepare her for nap time and she has all her bedtime buddies in a pile on the love seat with her.  She asks for the blue fuzzy blanket and informs me she is going nite-nite, turns her head away from me and acts as if she's sleeping.  (I'm thinkin' ~ um, no.  You are not.  You are going upstairs.)  But, I humor her and leave the room for a bit.  Lo and behold, when I return she is out like a light. Out.  Out.  Out.  Good Night Nurse.  What's a body to do?  I just  pushed the ottoman up against the love seat and let her be ~ 'cause Mama said:  "You never wake a sleeping baby."  Not. For. Nothin'. 

And to add insult to injury, I look over at the sofa and there lays Audrey, upside down, giving me the stink eye because I had the nerve to flash the camera and interrupt her "nap time".  There's something terribly wrong here.  Terribly wrong. 

So, I'm thinkin', things are a changin'.  Yep. Yep, they are.

Blueberry Babe

Sometimes Life gives you a bowl full of cherries ~ well, in this case a bowl full of blueberries.  Baby Girl is developing quite a fondness for fruit ~ most specifically (right now, anyway) apples, raisins, bananas and frozen blueberries.  She adores frozen blueberries and I need to be prepared to share my oatmeal if she realizes I have them.  This morning I opted to give her her own bowl of berries, to which she added her remaining raisins, while I ate my grub.  We chit-chatted about this and that as she savored her delicacies.  Then I look up from my bowl to see her smearing the blues on her finger tips.  When she saw me looking she nonchalantly informed me she was "painting" her nails.  Alrighty then.  And she was proud of her handiwork to say the least.  She didn't mind the photo ops this morning because her very own creation was center stage.


Painting of the nails

 

Let's show them off

And now ~ to enjoy the "fruits of our labor"

By the time she was done she was a lovely shade of blue!  I have this nagging feeling that she would have done very well in Biblical times using natural elements for beautifying herself.  Very well, indeed!

It's the Middle of the Week

It's the middle of the week.  A middle pretty much like any other.  Today, like many other middles, is beautiful.  The sun is shining, the wind's a blowin', the temperature is comfortable and all seems right with the world.  It is Fall, after all.

I say that now, as I sit here with my third cup-o-joe (the gnats claimed my second cup ~ sly little buggers!) and my oatmeal.  I know from past experience that that can change in the blink of an eye, or, by a puddle left behind by Baby Girl.  Oh yea, we are ~ dare I say it ~ potty training.  She seems to have her own agenda for this task and has yet to clue me in.  Some days are easy-peasy, others ~ can I just say ~  "I'm tempted to bang my head into the wall."?   Yes, yes I am.  But then things settle ~ only after I have a chat with God and am reminded that she's just itty bitty and that this too shall pass (hopefully in the toilet and not on my floor).  I know all too well that tomorrow I will look back and she will be in school, and a week from now, going to college.  I know it.  I see the evidence every day.  Sense a little nostalgia here?  Yea, me too.

Well, going to finish me eats, and me java, and go look at quilt pieces and ponder what to do and ask twenty-one million times:  "Do you need to go to the bathroom?". 

And. . . .

I'll see YOU in the funny papers!

Aunt "Ninny"

So, I'm taking a break from Summer blogging for just a few.  Life is running past me at blinding speed so I better keep up with the current events and fill in the past events when I can.  It's kinda like scrap booking ~ you do current pictures first, then tackle the older ones.  Makes no sense to me, but that's what I've been told works best in order to get things done.  And . . . I want to get things done, now don't I? So, that's what I do.

Any who.  Today my phone rang while Baby Girl was eating her lunch.  Every single time it rings she thinks it's Aunt "Ninny" because that's who she talks to on my phone. And it's usually around five o'clock  every day, so she usually gets to answer it herself.  But it becomes a battle of the wills if I get the phone first.  I'm talkin' wailing, flailing, rolling on the floor temper fit!  Thank you, Jenny.   But when she has her way and all is well, she will "talk" non-stop to Aunt "Ninny", filling her in about her day, I'm supposing.  It's mostly gibberish that only she understands but sometimes a familiar sounding word makes itself known . It doesn't help that she walks around like a teenager ~ doodling with things, staring blankly out the front door, leaning on a chair ~ the whole while saying her two cents worth. Me?  I'm waiting patiently for my turn.  Um. . . who's in control here?  Anybody?  Hello?   

Today, however,  she was eating her lunch and couldn't get to my phone.  I could see the anxiety on her face.  So, being the pushover good Mom-mom that I am (tee-hee), I let her answer and talk to Aunt "Ninny" (Baby Girl had to leave in a short bit and wouldn't be able to get her "5:00 call"). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She even talks to Aunt Ninny on her "play" phone.  All. The. Time.  She has even figured out how to charge her phone to make it "work", but then realized that she was tethered to the wall.  No to worry.   We'll just have a seat and talk while we wait!

 

 

It makes for an interesting day.  I have to watch her like a hawk.  We've had to hide the chargers and I have to put my phone up high. 

She's busy.

I'm tired!

Accomplishments, Relaxation and Discoveries

Last week Rease secured a coveted spot amongst the 5th graders.  Safety Patrol.  She has talked about this all year ~ she wanted it badly and by golly she got it!  She is so excited.  That belt and badge have become a part of her attire, both at school and home!  I wonder if she sleeps in it!  I can remember wanting the very same thing when I was in 6th grade (that was the last year of elementary when I was in school).  Our belts were white cotton and we had to learn to fold them a certain way.  I didn't become Safety Patrol until the fourth marking period ~ as did Rease. What a way to end elementary years ~ by achieving such a sought after goal!  I am so proud of her!

Baby Girl has found a new way to watch TV.  Yep, she's laying on a footstool, with her blankie, sucking her thumb and watching 'toons.  To be so little and so content ~  ahhh.  

Baby Girl is good at helping pick up her toys. She puts some of her own things away when she is done and will help when asked to pick up the rest.  She's gotten clever on me.  She has a toy stash in every room of the house. This morning when I went to put away my loaf pans (that she thinks are hers) this is what I found:

Hm. . . . . what can I say?  She put them away. . . .

Talk About Cheap Entertainment. . . .

I don't think it can get any cuter than this!

1 - "Piggy-tailed" girly

1 - Empty "Luv's" box

1 - Batch empty "Playdough" containers

Viola!

Baby Girl. . . .

. . . . . she's a growin' up.   It seems like overnight that she openly, up front declared her independence.

She takes me by the hand when she's hungry and leads me to the pantry.  She will ask for her "joose" instead of waiting for it to arrive.  She is wanting less and less help at meal time ~ or snack time.

 "If I could put time in a bottle. . . . ."

She's been using her fork for pancakes for a while.  She's got the "stab" down pretty well.  She won't however eat her sandwich by herself ~ too squishy. 

Now, all  of a sudden, she won't let me help her with the muffin ~ nope ~ had to do it herself ~ well, of course she's old enough ~ but she can't stand the feel of "squishy" in her hands ~ remember?  But, alas, here she is.  All's well initially ~ until most of the muffin consists of the squishy insides ~ then it becomes play dough. And she wants to pick the crumbs up and have me throw them away, or she realizes there's chocolate smeared on her hands, or her fingers have become slimy from the bananas and all the squishing she's doing and it begins to annoy her.  And of course, we will have none of this "let me help you eat it" stuff.  She'd rather abandon all efforts and go find something else to do ~ which is exactly what she did.  Hmmm . . . . I say. . . . . . . what's a Mom-mom to do?

~ Baby Girl ~ Heart Breaker ~ Dream Maker ~ Smile Maker ~ God's Precious Gift ~

Thank You, Liam!

Everyone knows how "challenging" toddlers can be.  It doesn't  matter how many times you say "No!", "Stop!", "Get down!".  You may as well be talking to yourself.  I know there are other "challenging" younin's out there, I've seen one for sure on Christie's blog.  I remember thinking:  "I'm soooo glad I don't have a pantry with a 'built in' ladder!"  That'll teach me not to be so comfortable in my "short" adventures with Baby Girl.  But I was grateful she wasn't scaling to unspeakable heights.  Baby Girl climbs ~ short distances ~ but on this particular climb I might have opted for unspeakable heights. How do I lock away my stove?  Anyone?  Please?    It makes me fearful of things to come.

So thank you Liam for connecting your kindred spirits in the world of "high stakes" climbs!

And. . . . Mama of  Liam . . . . . H. E. L. P. ! ! ! ! !

My Poetry

"Pitter-patter"

The pitter-patter, pitter-patter
Of tiny feet and "baby chatter"
Comes my way in a scurry
The pitter-patter, in such a hurry.

The noise stops right in front of me.
I look down and at my knee
I see staring up into my face
The pitter-patter ~ she's found her place.

And as she smiles, her eyes so bright,
A little fire in my heart she lights.
I feel there's no other love so true,
As a baby smiling up at you.

Then as quickly as she scurried,
From my knees she then hurried
Back to her world full of wonder,
Leaving me there, yet to ponder.

I stand there listening to her feet,
Pitter-pattering to the beat
Of life's adventurous, melodic song
Just the sound ~ it rights all wrong.

So as I hear those little sounds
That pitter-patter across the ground.
And chatters made for no special reason,
I know these days too, are but a season.

Crickett

How Many Ways Can You Watch TV?

Let me count the ways:

1.  You grab a cup and hit the floor for Mickey!

 2.  You get "ticked" because you can't do what you want, so you do the next best thing:

     lounge, pout and watch TV.

3.  After your morning nap and lunch, you get up and dance with Jungle Junction!

4.  You get miffed because you can't do what you want, so you lie on the floor, prop your

feet up, suck your thumb and snuggle with your blankie

 and do the next best thing:  watch TV

5.  Once you get over your "spell", you decide all's right with the world

and sit on your pony, and you guessed it:  watch TV

Now, lest you think that's all Baby Girl does, just let me enlighten you.  All the above, added together,

maybe topped out at ten minutes. (all day long)  The remaining eight hours and forty-five minutes included, but were not limited to:

1.  Get down

2. Don't touch that

3. Sit still in that chair

4.  Don't stand in that chair!

5.  No

6.  I.  Said. No.

7.  What did I say?

8.  Stop that before you get hurt.

9.  Put that down.

10.  Leave those things alone.

11.  What are you doing?

12.  Wheeeerrre arrrre yoooou?

13.  Piper!

14.  Put.  That.  Back. 

15.  NOW

16.  Don't throw your cup.

17.  Piper Riley.

18.  It's naaap tiiiiime! !

Oh, and there's lunch in there, and two naps.  And the angels sang!

We are planning to drop cable.  What will Baby Girl do?  Aside from the fact that she only watches minimal TV, she will be doing the following:

Developing her imagination, not that she needs much help in that department, but, hey, I can try!