Wordful Wednesday

This week's words come from Ashton, my six year-old grandson.

A little background:

I had gone over to my daughter's house for a "Taster's Table" evening of fondues and sauces with some of her friends. When I arrived, my son-in-law, Joseph, was getting ready to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheeze for the evening to get them out of the house.

So here's how it went...

Ashton: "Yaya, have you ever been to Chuck E. Cheeze?"

Yaya: "Yes I have! I used to take your mom and Uncle Hunter there when they were little!"

Ashton: "Was it in BLACK and WHITE??"

Hahahah........ Gennie had to explain to him that "black and white" is only for old movies and television, etc. - not for real life!

Every now and then it's fun to be able to get glimpse inside the minds of the young ones!

Yaya loves you, Ashton!

Sisters

Memories of childhood may someday fade
But never the special games that we played…
Though our tea party days have come to an end
You’re always my sister - forever my friend!
My big sister, Lynda, and I

The Best Investment You'll Ever Make

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18

and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family.

Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down.

It translates into:* $8,896.66 a year,

$741.38 a month,

$171..08 a week.

A mere $24.24 a day!

Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is :

Don't have children if you want to be 'rich.'

Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?

Naming rights: First, middle and last! * Glimpses of God every day. * Giggles under the covers every night. * More love than your heart can hold. * Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs. * Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds and warm cookies. * A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate. * A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites. * Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to: * finger-paint, * carve pumpkins, * play hide-and-seek, * catch lightning bugs, * never stop believing in Santa Claus.You have an excuse to: * keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, * watch Saturday morning cartoons, * go to Disney movies and * wish on stars.You get to frame rainbows, hearts and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof * taking the training wheels off a bike * removing a splinter * filling a wading pool * coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs and * coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.You get a front row seat in history to witness the: * First step * First word * First bra * First date * First time behind the wheel

You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications and human sexuality that no college can match..

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God.

You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever...

and love them without limits, so that one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

That is quite a deal for the price!

Love & enjoy your children, grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!

It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!

Temecula Time - at last!

Doug and I *finally* got to have a little get-away day today! After errands and must-do's, we headed for Temecula... a lovely old-timey town with plenty of antiques and funky junk stores. We ate lunch at Mad Madeline's, and wandered the antique stores and shops for hours. We found a few goodies, enjoyed our time together, and had a great day!

Pretty in Pink

Little Mitzi had her spay surgery on Tuesday, and they sent her home with a cone collar so she cannot bite and lick her stitches. She was supposed to wear it for 10 - 14 days!! The thing is, she has skin allergies and issues, so she is a professional tummy scratcher. She rubs her tummy on the carpet, she is an expert at using her hind legs to scratch just the right spot on her belly, and she ingeniously drags herself down the stairs on her stomach to get in a little extra scratching! Obviously, the cone collar was NOT going to stop this schnauzer from putting her stitches in jeopardy. We decided that a little onesie might at least shield them from the worst while allowing them to "breathe" and heal properly. So here she is in her size 24 months cute pink onesie! It came with a little skirt, but we decided to spare her the further humiliation of that! She has not worn the collar at all because licking and chewing have not been a problem.

Doesn't she look pretty in pink?!

(By the way - the human red eye removal feature won't remove doggy blue eye!)

Wordful Wednesday

RAIN MUSIC

On the dusty earth-drum
Beats the falling rain;
Now a whispered murmur,
Now a louder strain.

Slender, silvery drumsticks,
On an ancient drum,
Beat the mellow music
Bidding life to come.

Chords of earth awakened,
Notes of greening spring,
Rise and fall triumphant
Over every thing.

Slender, silvery drumsticks
Beat the long tattoo--
God, the Great Musician,
Calling life anew.

Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr.

Oh how I loved the wind and the rain and the THUNDER! So rare is it here in Southern California, that many of us, upon hearing the Rain Music, were completely startled and caught unawares! But what a wonderful concert it was... especially the clash of the thunder cymbals!