Wait!

Lately, during our FaceTime chats or when T sends me a video of Carlotta, there comes a time when it is necessary to end the call/video & say "good-bye."

Carlotta does not like to say that word to anyone, so she screams, "WAIT!"

I know she says "WAIT" with everyone, 

but when I see/hear it, I like to think she says, "WAIT" to only me!

And only because she really doesn't want to see me go!

A "WAIT" from Carlotta has become my favorite word!

I Smiled & Laughed a Little, I Mean, A Lot

I've discovered a few funny pics this week which helped bring me out of the doldrums.

Please, enjoy & smile too!

Bebe Jorge & Miss Jen

On April 4th, as I've mentioned, the newest group of kids I care for was increased, by ONE!

His mom is on maternity leave until mid-June & doesn't need me (but doesn't want to lose me either) so she's been having me come over a couple days a week to "ease" back into caring for a tiny baby while also caring for his older siblings. She's uses the time I'm there to run errands or take a nap.

I've cared for babies all my re-collectable life. Except for a few days last year w/Carlotta, it has been 5 years since I've done so on a regular basis. It's like learning to ride a bike, right? Once you can do it, you know how to do it for life!

Bebe Jorge decided to test that theory w/me today! 

I woke him up this morning for his breakfast. He had soaked through everything.

During breakfast, he was so hungry, he gulped in more air than usual & had BELCHES (not burps).

No sooner had I dressed him for the day, when his rear end began to make noises! 

And those noises weren't alone! 

All up his back, over his onesie & the changing pad! Just as I was putting on the new diaper, he let me know... he wasn't done! UGH!

Finally, I got the situation under control w/o too much trouble. His older sister was in stitches watching me deal w/the poopy diapers!

Ahh! He fell asleep.

Three hours later, why not do it all over again?! 

Just to make sure Miss Jen knows what to do.

 So, he did!

Sorry about the extra laundry, Bebe Jorges mom! And so much for me "easing" into baby care!

Two Short Videos of a Short Two Year Old!

How Do You Install This F*?!#% Car Seat?

Today I met Bebe' Jorge.

He is 2 weeks old & the little brother of Sof & Ana.

So cute, tiny and relaxed! 

He gobbled down 3 oz in no time at all & 30 minutes later, chugged another ounce!

Boy... can he ever burp! And his toots sound like a tiny machine gun!

Since I'll be picking his sisters up from preschool & in the summer, transporting them to & from their swimming lessons, I needed to be sure I had car-seats in my car, for all 3 kids!

It took me a while & I did have several curse words go through my thoughts until I finally got them all figured out & installed correctly!

NONE OF THESE THREE  CAR SEATS ARE COMING OUT OF MY CAR UNTIL I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT I WILL NO LONGER BE CARING FOR CHILDREN! 

What a pain in the neck this task turned out to be!

Brings me back to a childhood memory of our newly blended & expanded family traveling out to Utah in a van, w/o seat belts for any of us. My parents laid the babies on the bench seats, rolled up a small blanket next to them, to deter them from rolling off onto the floor. My younger siblings are still alive & kicking!

Chanticleer, the Rooster!

Once more, one of my daughters has come through in choosing an awesome name for an animal.

As you know, I like observing my neighbors flock of chickens just as much as they seem to like coming over for stale bread & the bugs in my yard!

Here is CHANTICLEER!

He is named after the main character, a singing rooster, from a film both of my girls loved back in the day, called... Rock-A-Doodle!

Of all the fowl in my neighbors flock, he is my favorite. 

He looks like a rooster should look & he thinks he looks even better! He protects his chicks well & makes sure they all get some crusts before he eats any. He crows under whatever window I'm near when he wants me to come outside & feed his flock. He'll run very fast to herd a chick back if should she wander too far from him. He must have some chickens laying on eggs today. He is a nervous wreck trying to watch over the ones in my yard & pay attention to the ones calling for him back in the coop, in his yard.

Very fun & interesting to watch this guy!

ps... 

it drives him crazy when he hears himself crowing on this video! He thinks another rooster is infringing on his flock & territory!

Enjoy!

Podaydah Salad Recipe

Summertime!

Heat & humidity making us NOT want to cook... much!

I found a recipe from Hellman's Mayonnaise (yes, I spelled mayo correctly!) and tried it out on S & G tonight with our BBQ ribs & chicken.

It was a winner, so here it is for you to try!

Original Potato Salad (serves 8)

2 lbs of potatoes, peeled & chopped into 3/4" chunks
     (though I found using red skinned potatoes w/their skin on & cut into 3/4" chunks tasted best!)
1 cup Real Hellman's Mayonnaise (can use cheaper mayo)
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion (Vadalias have a milder flavor than others)
2 sliced, hard cooked eggs, OPTIONAL

Cover potatoes with cold water in a 4 qt saucepan.
Bring to a boil over med/high heat.
Reduce heat & simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. DO NOT OVERCOOK!
Drain & return to hot pan for a few minutes to "dry" the potatoes.
Spread out on a cookie sheet & allow to cool, slightly.

Meanwhile, mix together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper in a large bowl.
Set aside as potatoes are cooling.
Add the warm potatoes, celery & onions (& eggs, if desired).
GENTLY stir together. Try not to mash the potatoes!
Cover & put in fridge.
Serve chilled.

notes:

• Waxy potatoes like red skinned or fingerlings work the best in my opinion.
• It's been scientifically proven that cooking potatoes for potato salad works best when starting with COLD WATER, then brought to a boil, then gently simmered until tender.
• Setting the mayo mixture aside allows the sugar & salt granules to dissolve.
• It's best to stir the mayo mixture with the slightly WARM potatoes! The chunks will absorb the flavor making your salad the best it can be. 
• Vadalia Onions are a seasonal onion & their taste is very mild, as far as onions go. Purple or red onions have a super strong flavor, so use those varieties sparingly.
• Next time, I'll add a few more potato chunks to soak up the excess mayo mixture, but people may like it, as is! G & S did!

Hansel & Gretel

Carlotta... doing her best Gretel impression! I guess the witch already gobbled up Hansel?

Actually, she & her mom are playing a good game of Hide n Seek.

Carlotta believes she has found the perfect hiding spot!

Judging by her attire, it must be even hotter in VA than it is here in NH where it has reached 80 degrees

 and it's not even noon!

Cats Are Not The Only Things That Purr!

Carlotta is at church today. Here, she is drawing in her sketchbook. 

I LOVE that she has such a good grip on her crayon! That is hard to get @ only 2.02 years of age! 

But I especially LOVE her "purring" sound, which she does when she is happy and busy. 

She's done it forever & I love it!

The Running Girl

I sure wish I could be with this little girl @ the park!

She does have the "L------ Lope" downpat! (a lame way I'm trying to keep real names out of my blog posts!)

For C, Love Zee!

Since C isn't on FB right now, this is for her! Good luck w/finals!

Oh, The Drama!

Forget watching the soap operas!

Never mind the stuff going on in high schools!

The best drama of all time happens in... 

PRE-K!

I'm about to relay (to the best of my recollection) todays happenings in school according to my 5 yr old friend, K!

To get the full effect, imagine yourself outdoors, swinging on a swing, not taking a breath until the entire story is told & telling the story at warp speed!

"Miss Jen, guess what happened at my school today? Someone cutted in front of me. I was first in line because the teacher told me it was my turn but this girl kept pushing in front of me. I told her I was squished & she shouldn't be cutting but she didn't listen to me, Miss Jen. The teacher told her to stop & get back in line but she didn't listen. Her name is Lily. She used to be my friend a long time ago but she's mean now. Do you like my jeans? I like them very much. Lily also kneeled really high in front of me & I couldn't see the morning message from my teacher. The teacher told her to sit down so others can see, but Lily doesn't do what she's told. Did you know I can ride a bike now? Yeah, I'm bigger now, huh? Lily bullies me sometimes. When all of us play, she tells us what to do. I don't like that & my friends don't either! And you know what Miss Jen? A girl named Lily cutted today! We aren't supposed to cut! I didn't want to change spots in line. We are not supposed to cut in line at school. Lily is meaner than Cathy. She really annoys me. And I don't want to be her friend. 

The story went on for about 5-10 minutes!

Phew!

And to think... I used to think C came home with a lot of drama to tell me about!

Hmmm, Let's See...

Last Wednesday, the 2 little girls I care for became BIG sisters to a baby brother!

Good news for them! I'll meet him soon.

It has given me a few days off as a result.

I'll get a call on 4/18 to let me know when I can take the girls to give their mom a break!

I used some of my time off to watch my original 3 kids.

I even got to pick up the 5 yr old from her school.

I thought she'd be happy about it, but she was not!

I got the silent treatment from her for a while when we got home.

I guess she had been hoping her mothers sales meeting would be cut short & would pick her up as she usually does!

Thankfully, she got over it & we had a good afternoon. I'll watch them tomorrow night too.

I've done very little during the rest of my time off.

My cats are being a bit spoiled. We have play time & outside time (in their tent).

Gracie has discovered she likes to curl up on my chest like she did as a kitten.

Only she's so big now, she can't curl!

It's more a long diagonal stretch w/her head on my shoulder.

I've cooked some meals which I think B enjoyed. Did some laundry & dishes, but with no kids around, my house doesn't get messy so there's not much else to do!

Yard work, maybe, but the on & off showers (mixed w/hail & thunder) have kept me indoors.

And my allergies... ARGH! won't stop bothering me!

Our heating oil shortage crisis over the weekend took my spending money, so no shopping until I can get back to watching kids! Wish I had a good book!

Hmmm, what else?

I downloaded the app "Bejeweled" on my phone & have become just a bit addicted!

C has temporarily shut her FB page down to concentrate on her last few weeks of school (finals soon). She won't be able to check on my FB posts about the neighbors chickens & other nonsense I post on FB, so I will ramble on & on in this forum, just for her!

I'm tired now so this will have to do, C!

Have a good nights rest & I'll see you soon!

Love You! MWAH!

Phobia

Yesterday, a Navy jet crashed into a complex in Virginia Beach shortly after take-off. Amazingly, and thankfully, it appears as no one, not even the pilots, died!

The building burned & the pilots are injured, but no fatalities!

B & I lived in Virginia Beach for the 1st 3 years of our marriage.

I was interested to know if the crash was even close to wear we lived.

I looked up our old address on Google Earth & zoomed in with the satellite feature.

Not much has changed in that area since we left in 1989!

Continuing to be curious, I began to check out the areas I used to go to for shopping, movies & such. I saw the main boulevard, Food Lion, Carvel Ice Cream & the Lynnhaven Mall.

Ah, memories!

Then, I got to the actual beach! I became very scared!

With the satellite view, it appeared to me that I was flying over the ocean & if I fell, I would surely drown!

My heart was racing!

I kept telling myself this wasn't real.

This is only a picture from a satellite taken many months ago!

I could not & would not get hurt!

But to no avail!

I zoomed the picture back to solid ground & turned off my computer.

Phew! Safe!

It took several minutes for me to calm down. I was nervous & edgy for a while!

Then, I felt stupid. I mean, it was only a photo of a lot of open ocean water!

I'm afraid of frogs, snakes, lizards & turtles, yet... I can look at them in videos, pictures and even real ones (in cages) without getting so nervous!

Weird!

Ready, Aim...

This is C!

She spent the past weekend in VT with some of her friends, getting "country-fied" or perhaps, looking into a future as a "red-neck!"

She has pretty good aim, actually! It's the recoil she needs to control! She tells me she hit all of her targets! You go, girl!

Slow as Cold Molasses, Going Uphill!

I cannot tell you how many times in my youth, my mother would say this saying to me during Saturday morning chores!

I never did my chores fast enough for her!

I drove w/B for the first time since his "warning" about going too fast in his vehicle.

OMG!

He gives new meaning to this saying!

This is going to take some getting used to, especially since I thought he drove too slow BEFORE!