I'm in Love

My 6 year old niece and I have a little game we play. She will say, "Guess what?, that's what!" Then I usually say, "Guess what? I love you."

Today she came in and started it. When I said "Guess what?" She said "you love me. Guess how much I love you." I said, "how much?" And she said, "a million, google, drillion, trillion, billion, zillion, frillion, thousand, mousand, doodle, froodle! All the numbers, that's how much I love you."

Well, I was totally melted. I still am. I guess I will always be. And you know what? I can't even describe how much I love her. I want to keep her forever, to kidnap her from my brother. It's been so fun to have his children here with me every day. I've learned so much from them. They've taught me the true meaning of love.

Brotherly Love

My husband is very creative. He thinks outside the box. He thinks big.
He has been putting together his own custom design trailer. It will carry all the tools he will ever need for a lifetime, and then some.
Now, I personally think he is very talented. Talented in managing this trailer. You see, he doesn't have a big truck. Just a big trailer. So....the talent comes in when he bribes his little brother to pull it with his big truck.

Listen to this talent.
Big brother: "Hey, I need you to pull my trailer home for me."
Little brother: "....long pause..hesitate...hesitate...long pause..."
Big brother: "It's ready to go, all you have to do is hook on, and drive away."
Little brother: "It's all ready? Well, maybe I can."

Big brother leaves. A few minutes later, little brother calls.

Little brother: "Hey, did you want this level off your trailer, or should I just hook on and let it fall off on the way?"
Big brother: "Oh, put it in that toolbox, will ya?"
Little brother: " Okay, just checkin'. Hey, is this thing gonna blow a tire?"
Big brother: "I don't think so."
Little brother: " Do you promise it's not gonna blow a tire?"
Big brother: "Well, I don't want to make promises I can't keep. I really don't think it will blow a tire, but I'll promise you this, if it does, I'll be there to help you fix it."
Little brother: "Alright."

About 15 minutes later, little brother calls again. He just pulled off the freeway, and he has a blown tire. You've got to be kidding! I thought maybe it was a joke. Little brother is just pulling a fast one on you, just to get you back. But no, Little Brother insists that he needs help, and you'd better keep your promise.

So here we are, sitting off the freeway, with a real, true to life blown tire on this very special trailer.

But look at the bright side, I have a few minutes to blog!

Chickens, and a 7 year old

I like to take my little friends to visit their grandparents' barnyard. We walk out into the chicken yard where there are about 200 chickens and countless chicks. Their pens are designed in a way that allows the chickens to go in and out at their will, so there are always chickens running around the barnyard.
My 7 year old nephew remembers all their names, too. As we walk around the barnyard, he points them out to me.

Him: "Hey look, there's Treck. And over here is Carmel and Ruffle."
Me: "How can you tell them apart?"
Him: "If you look close, you can see that Ruffle is a little bit fluffier. Oh, there goes Blackie. And those ones are Tony, Tuffy, and Sparky."

We peer into a pen that has 1 hen, and 5 rooster chicks. One of them strains his neck and begins to crow. It sounds awful. Nothing like a real rooster crow. He sounds like he needs to clear his throat, I think.
Just then my nephew comes over. "Oh, that's Scuffy, the pubert rooster," he says.

Breakfast in Bed

Good morning to another beautiful day! I woke up this morning to a commotion outside my bedroom door. It was my niece and nephew squabbling. Okay, I really did come back to the real world. I lay there and listened for a minute, hoping they would resolve their issues on their own. After a minute, my door burst open and they raced to my bed. Each of them had a slice of banana bread, and they were racing to bring me breakfast in bed! I took both slices and told them I was glad both of them had thought of me. (Two slices is always better than one!)

Aren't Children Wonderful?!

I just announced to my four little friends that I would be leaving in a little while for a weekend trip with my hubby. Of course, they just assumed they would be coming too, and immediately started making preparations.

The 3 yr old got two rolls of cookie dough out of the fridge, because we would definitely need something to eat on the way.

My 4 yr old niece started packing her suitcase. This is what she put in:

1 pair of pajamas
2 aprons
1 pair of leggins
1 pair of panties
1 pair of tights
1 pair of socks

and what's that?

half a banana in a ziploc bag!
We couldn't live without that, for sure!


Well, I decided it was time to tell them they wouldn't be coming along this time,
but they would have a wonderful time with their father.

They took it in stride pretty good. (They've grown accustomed to predicting the unpredictable when it comes to their consistently inconsistent aunt.)

I went into my room to finish packing. A few minutes later, my 6 yr old friend came in. She had tears in her eyes, and I could tell she was trying to be brave. (She always gets a little emotional when I leave her.) But she managed to say, without her voice cracking, "I'm gonna miss you, and I made a snack for you to take with you."

Oh, how can I leave her now? It makes me want to cry, too.
But I just know they will have a wonderful weekend with their father. As soon as he walks in the door, they'll be all right. I've always been second place to him.


Oh, and I just about forgot to show you this snack.


1 apple
7 baby carrots
1 string cheese
9 sausage links (heated to perfection)

Bubbles, Bubbles and More Bubbles

I started breakfast dishes and was determined to get them done as quickly as possible. I always tell the children that jobs get done a lot faster with 10 hands than just 2. But this morning, things went a little too quickly. I started loading the dishwasher, then noticed the 3 yr old trying to carry the pitcher of orange juice from the dining table in a frightening position. I raced over to catch it before it dumped, and managed to get there just in time. I walked back to the kitchen triumphantly, then realized the 7 yr old had just filled the soap compartment on the dishwasher with Dawn dish soap! I told him that was the wrong kind of soap, and handed him a spoon to scoop it out with. I was just glad that I caught it before he started the dishwasher. The only thing is, I didn't realize that he had filled the jet dry compartment with dish soap, too. So naively, I started the dishwasher, and went off to start school in the other room. About an hour later, I walked into the kitchen, and stood in amazement as bubbles oozed out of the dishwasher and flooded the floor. I hollered for the little ones to come in and see. I thought, "they need to learn this lesson, so they will never do this again." They all stood soberly and looked at the mess, and listened to my lecture, nodding their heads in agreement that this was a terrible tragedy. At the end of my sermon I said, "Well, we'd better clean it up." and headed out to get the mop. As soon as I was out of sight, the little ones had a heyday! I peeked in the window to see them gathering great scoops of bubbles, and tossing them into the air. They plastered bubbles on their faces and started shouting, "look at my beard!" Soon, the counter top and stove were covered with bubbles, and there was still a steady stream coming from the dishwasher. I opened the door, and walked in. They all looked at me and put on their "this is a terrible tragedy" faces. I couldn't help laughing. "Oh, chill out!" I said, scooping up an armful of bubbles and plastering it on my face. "If this is the last time we're ever going to put Dawn in the dishwasher, we'd best enjoy it while it lasts!"

My 6 Year Old Niece

This is my beautiful 6 year old niece. She is very active and keeps me going a lot.


I truly enjoy working with her every day. It often scares me how much she looks up to me.
She really tries hard to please me,

and I can see that she is becoming like me in a lot of ways.