Tater Tot

Happy Birthday Tater!!  The littlest Goover is NINE tomorrow!  Time has flown so fast.  Tooooo fast.

This summer I had hoped to have lots of Goover adventures, but Tater had one of her own, and that has curtailed things a bit for now.  She's still her spunky self, just with a new scar, and another story to tell.  When she's all healed up we'll see about a birthday sleepover.

One thing about the youngest ones getting older is that we can play more games!  I really enjoy teaching them how to play different card games.  We learned Skip Bo a couple of weeks ago, and a rematch should be on soon!

 Tater has been a bit confined this summer, so she has turned a lot of attention toward her artwork.  She is absolutely amazing for a nine year old, and I'm not just saying that because I'm her Aunt.  I'm saying that because she is a better artist than I am at forty-four.

Caitlin's art (A Dryad....she'll have to tell me what that is.)

This year Ashlyn and I picked the Goovers up on their last day of school.  We had to wait for Tater to watch the buses go around the "circle" and wave to everyone.  (three times)  Then we headed off to the Ice Cream parlor, and the Library.

Last day of third grade.

Cooking at Auntie's

Hopefully the girls will be able to come over soon and we'll cook up some more delicious treats!  Although I have a sneaky suspicion that Tater is after my "man friend" whom she just loves to pieces.  He thinks she's pretty neat too. Until then, I will go over and visit at their house.  We will have to get a library trip in soon though, I can't renew the books any more. :)  I also wont put the kids in my car til it's fixed.  (hope next week)  Definitely not the summer I had planned, but we'll make the best of it.  Just so thankful that Tater is alright.    

Happy birthday to my Caitibug.  So sorry that you are having a "bummer summer".  We'll try to make up for it when you are all healed up!  Love you to pieces!  I will be over for another Skip Bo challenge soon!

                                                                          ♥ Aunt Joanie

Happy

♫ Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Cee-Cee (butt) Happy Birthday to you! ♫

My plan today was to take a lunch break and go have a bite with CeCe on her 9th birthday.  Instead I am home sick with a cold, and pushing it to sit up here and write.  I try to stay away from folks when I'm sick, and Ce especially.

Christmas 2013

This year CeCe has made a break through in expressing emotion.  Oh, she can get it across quite easily if she's peeved about something, and she has a great belly laugh when she's happy, so you can usually tell what she's feeling, but this year at least twice she has reached out farther.

There was an incident at school where she bit one of her para's.  The gal was feeding her some ice cream they had made.  Whether an accident or not, we'll never know, but I happened to be the adult in charge when she was done with school that day.   Cece and I were in her living room, and she was looking out the window.  All of the sudden she put her hand in her mouth and bit it. (Something she doesn't do.)  I looked at her, and said "Did you bite someone at school today?"  She shook her head yes.  Then, using a very disappointed voice,  I said "Oh, Cierra, that's not o.k.  Biting hurts.  We do not bite people."  As I was talking her head went lower and lower.  Then I asked if she was sorry, and she did the sign for sorry and gave me a hug. 

A few months later she and her Mom were in the living room watching some CeCe movie together and Cierra walked up to my sister and said "happy".  That's not a common word for her to use.  Kate wasn't sure if it was a fluke, so she said "Mommy is happy, is CeCe happy?"  Cierra said HAPPY and gave Kate a big hug.

Tiny milestones, that are so huge when they come from Cierra.  It is such a blessing to have her in our lives!  Happy Birthday Cierra Ruthmarie! 

Slice O' Heaven

I keep saying that I feel like an eight year old.  I come in most evenings with at least a little dirt on me, and when I came in the house to get cleaned up for a grad party yesterday I looked just like I did when I was a kid.  Pony tail in my hair, mud from head to toe, bug bites, a little red from the sun, scrapes and bruises on my arms and legs.  I have three skeeter bites on my neck today that are HUGE. 

I guess you could say that I am a "throw yourself into it" kind of gal when it comes to the garden.  I mostly forget to put on my gloves, but I do always remember the  sunscreen!  I'm just so happy to have dirt to play in again!

My brother Jerry has an old bat neighbor lady who always has complaints about one thing or another.  Lately it's the fence that borders their property.  I saw it on Friday, and yes, it has a little bit of a lean to it, but SWEET PETE lady.  You should thank God every day for the neighbors you have in that area!  Some people ain't happy unless they have something to gripe about.  So, long story short, that portion of the fence is being replaced (on the actual property line.......boy is she about to get a nasty surprise, and I don't blame my brother one bit).  Several hosta border that fence line, and my brother didn't want to just chuck them, so his irritation has become my gain!  Yesterday (which was slated as a non gardening day) I spent two hours digging in a new hosta garden under the blue jay tree!

Friday after work I went by their place and he and I dug up 15 hosta and a handful of lily of the valley.  I tried to drive home as fast as I could to beat the rain, but I missed out by about five minutes.  The Brown Eyed Man and I got soaked getting the plants out of the car, then he went inside, and I grabbed my rain coat and planted a peony that came from my brother David's mother in law.  He dropped it at Jerry's earlier that day.  It was looking rough, so I didn't want to wait.  Then, since I was soaked to the skin anyway I set the hosta where I wanted them under the blue jay tree.

The veggies (minus the tomato, the cold wet weather is B.A.D.) are looking great, and we will have green onion from the garden in the potato salad I make for this coming holiday weekend!  I have a few herbs planted too, and a couple container flowers.

The big work has been the rock garden that we are digging out on the hillside.  Slow but steady we are gaining ground.  Picking out perennials has been a lot of fun.  Planting bulbs and roots that don't grow, has not.  I have daylillies, bleeding heart, and some tiger lily that are doing absolutely nothing.  Something I planted, called "Blue" (doncha know I can't find the little planter card) are the only thing coming up, and they are just about two inches.

Ugh.  All this talk about gardening has me itching (literally)  to go and put in another set of green onion, and pop out some more of the big weeds in the flower garden.  Well, maybe later.  I have a date with my new reclining lawn chair, an iced tea, and a book!

I have dreams of a strawberry patch, and an herb garden too.  Last night we sat out back in our adirondak chairs, overlooking the valley, talking about the gardens, and life in general.  To me, it's a little slice of heaven, and there's no where else I would rather be. ♥

Oh, and we also solved the "what the heck is digging that hole under my peony" mystery.

Gotta love the trail cam....... damn chipmunk! 

I Wish You Enough (Ashlyn's Graduation)

Ashlyn is graduating today, and we are all so proud!  The years have gone by too fast, and since we obviously can't keep her little forever, I choose to embrace the wonderful woman she is growing into. Looking forward to all of your adventures!

I have been trying for about six months to write this blog, and I think this about covers everything I want to say, so I will use it instead.  Not sure who the author is.

 I wish you enough:

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye."


I love you first~ Auntie Jo

Pitter Patter

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!  I don't usually comment on religion, but since this is aimed in my general direction, I believe it's as good a time as any.

http://nypost.com/2014/06/03/pope-warns-married-couples-against-having-pets-over-children/

OK, let me breathe before I rant.................

1.  I was raised Catholic, but because of nonsense like this I am not, and haven't been, a practicing Catholic for (lets see, how long since the divorce......) eight years.

2.  I really liked this guy.  (note the past tense)

3.  I can not tell you how many families I have dealt with over the years, easily over 500.  Some people should not be let within 50 feet of a child, let alone be allowed to have one to mess up.

4.  If a woman realizes that motherhood it isn't the path for them, why should they have a child?  Just to end up resenting the kid and send said child into years of therapy?  How good will she feel in her old age when her child hates her?  Not the best basis for a healthy relationship.

5.  So since I have made the decision NOT to have children of my own, I should just crawl under a rock somewhere?  I guess I might as well end it all before I'm 50, since my later years are going to be filled with woe and loneliness. (What a bunch of crap.)

6.  I was married.  I don't talk about it a lot.  I still deal with baggage from the experience, and I can't imagine how screwed up our kids would be.

Yes, I have pets.  Milkie the cat, and Jacob the dog.  They are not my pseudo children. (That's what Goovers are for.)  I love my Milk, and Jake Barker, just like I loved Misty, and Pepper, and Sam.  I haven't totally given up the notion of Foster Parenting, but honestly, I love my life the way it is.

The words HOW DARE YOU, just keep blasting through while I'm writing, because really.  REALLY?  Let me just run right out and get pregnant, because you said so.  Wait........ how many children do you have?  Oh, yeah......... I forgot.

End rant:

However, I do have one more thing to say.  My real concern (besides the Catholic church dragging everyone  women back into the 1950's) is the poor devout Catholic woman who CAN NOT have kids.  What the heck kind of message is this sending her???  Shame is something the Catholic hierarchy understands quite well.  So this should make sense.  Shame on you!  Shame on you for trying to make women feel less.

Real end of rant.  :)   I love hearing the pitter patter of paws in the morning, and I look forward to a lifetime of it.  ♥

P.S.  I'm not past the kid window, but if it happens, it will be because WE decided, not because a man who doesn't have children thinks it's a good idea.