Finally!

So, every night now since that awful day back on May 3rd, I'd crawl into bed at night & say, out loud, "Ebby, come visit Momma tonight in my sleep buddy, come say hi to me cuz I miss you SO MUCH and I just want to hold you & hug you one more time...".

And every night, I had high hopes, but every morning, I'd wake & nothing. Oh, I had dreams, silly ones of ridiculous stuff that made no sense, as most dreams usually are... but no Ebby.
No Ebby that is, until this past Tuesday Night when, again... upon crawling into bed, I asked him 'again' to "...come visit me in my dreams, please... I just missed him SO MUCH!"

My dream that night was the most vivid ever, and it was one of those dreams that I knew he had already passed & KNEW it was a dream, but was so happy that he had heard me & stopped by for a snuggle.

I was downstairs at my parents house doing something in the kitchen, (my parents were both in the yard doing yard work as it was a beautiful day and Ruby was sound asleep in her pack & play for a nap so, why was I in my Mom's kitchen? Don't ask... )

So, I'm there & I hear the ever familiar SCRATCH SCRATCH at the back hall door.... 'OMG WHAT THE HELL IS OUT THERE!?#$%#" I thought there's a critter or something, holy crap! I was TERRIFIED to open the door cuz my first thought was "it CAN'T be Ebby, he's gone so what the HELL is scratching at the door?"

I gently & hesitantly open the door & who should come bounding in, but Ebenezer. I was dumbstruck!
"OMG EBENEZER!! IS IT REALLY YOU? IT CAN'T BE BUDDY! OMG!"
I immediately dropped to the floor & scooped him up in my arms to make sure, yes it really WAS Ebby! I inspected his ears, his face, that pink spot on his bottom lip that was uniquely him... and after doing a thorough 'once over' OMG IT REALLY IS YOU EBBY! OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!! OMG!
"OMG BUDDY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FINALLY VISITING ME IN MY DREAMS! I'VE MISSED YOU SOOOOO MUCH PAL! OMG LET ME JUST HOLD YOU BUDDY, COME HERE TO MOMMA!"
and he came & curled right up in my lap like he always used to whenever I sat indian style on the floor... and I was in heaven.
I scratched his ears, and they were solid & real & fuzzy & soft & smelled so familiar and I loved every second of this dream!
I held him so close & told him over and over and over and over how much I loved him & would always love him & that he can visit me anytime he wants in my dreams, cuz he made a wish come true that night. I woke up with tears in my eyes, but they were HAPPY tears.
Yes I'm sad I miss him, yes as I type this tears are streaming down my face, but I know I did right by my boy and I know he knows that too and now I know he LISTENS to me cuz he made a special trip to visit his Momma who had a hole in her heart.
And for just a short while tuesday night, as my physical body slept, my spiritual energy got to snuggle once more with my best friend, my fuzzy son... my four legged soulmate... and that has got to be the definition of 'HEAVEN ON EARTH!' It HAS to be!

Dreams are amazing things... I didn't have another one of him last night, and I wanted to share this with everyone right after it happened but life got in the way for a bit, you all know how that goes.

So, there you have it, my precious little friend finally stopped by for what I can only hope will be the FIRST OF MANY visits to me while the moon & stars light up the sky.

Thank you Ebenezer for knowing how much that meant to Momma... I miss you more than I have words to describe it here but it was so good to get to hold you again buddy, you felt so warm & solid & soft and I will hold that dream so close to my heart until you visit again old friend.

I love you!

PS. Just now after I thought I had finished with this post, I called Ruby over up into my lap to look at the picture of Ebby. I asked her " Who'se that baby girl, who is that? Is that Ebenezer?..." then I said to her "I'm sorry that you probably won't remember him, it makes me so sad that you'll never know what a great Dog he was..." and as I sat there with my Daughter on my lap, she looked at the picture quite seriously & started (on her own, with NO prompting from me) to howl. She knows! She remembers! OMG! You think the tears were streaming down my face when I first typed this thing, OMG NOTHING compared to the crying I just did upon the realization that my little girl, as young as she is (21 months yesterday) REMEMBERS HER FRIEND EBBY WHO TAUGHT HER HOW TO HOWL! I said to her, through shuddering/shaking tears, "OMG BABY, EBBY IS SO PROUD OF YOU RIGHT NOW, YOU REMEMBER! YOU HOWLED BABY, YOU REMEMBER YOUR EBBY!!!"
And that's about all I can type now cuz I just honestly can't see the screen & want to go snuggle with my smart, beautiful little girl who I don't nearly give enough credit to. I love you Ruby!

Love,

-Momma
XoXoXoXo

Scenes from a Sailboat...

Look closely, can you see the puppy playing in the water at the beach?
SO CUTE! THAT ONE'S FOR YOU EBBY!!

Again, look very close... can you see the little black duck swimming in the upper left hand corner of the image by the white mooring?
He was cute & quick, I'm so psyched I actually snapped his pic!

A beautiful overpriced home on Beverly's Sea Coast...
(don't even want to THINK about the property tax on this bad boy!)

A SEASIDE VIEW of Salem Willow's dock in Salem, MA...
(so DIFFERENT to see it from this point of view, rather than being the one sitting ON the dock looking at the boats passing by me... LOVED IT!)

I'm sure you can all see why I LOVE living here, it's just breathtakingly beautiful!

Sailboats patiently waiting for their owners to return & take them out to play...

Sleeping boats dying to be woken up by a strong wind...


Beverly's Hospital Point Lighthouse...


A Seagull's view of Beverly's Lynch Park...
(that blue building is where, when you're a kid, you BEGGED your parents to stop so you could get some YUMMY ICE CREAM! Hell, who am I kiddin, even as an ADULT I STILL LOVE THAT BLUE SLICE OF CHILLED HEAVEN!)


More houses I could never afford...

This house was just so pretty with all those windows,
I could not resist day dreaming a bit as my finger snapped the shutter...

Maybe I should rob a bank? LOL

Oh My God, can you imagine waking up every morning
to such a glorious view from your window?

... beautiful, isn't it?

Thank you so much Scott for taking me out today on your beautiful sailboat...
and for your patience in trying to teach me how to sail!
(aw, ok let's get real- so I just held the steering thingie but hell, it was harder than it looks AND LOTS OF FUN TOO!)

Thanks for an amazing day, I can't wait to do it again real soon.

XoXo...

-Amy

Cheeks the RED Monkey!

To your right, you will notice our new little friend:

CHEEKS the RED MONKEY!

Ruby & I felt that since she was born the year of the Monkey & since losing our dear pal Ebenezer... that we needed a new little friend 'hanging around'.

So, although he's virtual, he's ours and Ruby is tickled pink that her new friend is:

"RED MOMMA, RED, RED!!"

Perhaps in time we may venture into the 3 dimentional fuzzy friends again, but for now Cheeks is gonna have to do.

To adopt your own little friend, click on the link & enjoy!
(be sure to share with us if you adopt any of those fun little friends...
we'd love to meet them all!)

Day of the Dead...

... they say that 6-6-06 or '666' is the day of the dead.
(I always thought it was Halloween... but what the hell do I know?)

Anyway, so if that's true, what better day than today to have myself looking like some freak show from a bad 80's horror flick after having just had my annual eye exam where my pupils get dialated. That's right, check em' out... they're like FIVE ZILLION TIMES THE SIZE THEY NORMALLY ARE & IT'S JUST WEIRD LOOKING! Thank christ I have 'transitions lenses' for my glasses, they automatically turn into sunglasses cuz I can't see A DAMN THING!


It's just SO FREAKY to actually SEE what my eyes LOOK LIKE!!!
Taking this picture of them with my cam was my only way for me to see them cuz I can't see in a mirror right now, anything that close is all just a blur. Far away stuff? No problem... so I'm sitting like 8 FEET away from the computer & I can so see that I look like a FREAK OF NATURE!
Saucers for EYES! hehehe Oh well, they say it'll wear off in about three hours, which is good since I'm going out on a sailboat today with Scott.
Little Miss Ruby will be home enjoying her afternoon nap while in the care of her Nanna.

More later after the sail, I'll bring my camera, don't worry... pictures will follow. ;)



CREEPY ASS SHIT!

So, I guess I fit RIGHT IN on 6-6-06...

Maybe tonight I'll pull out the old 'OUIJA' board for shits & giggles ;)

JUST KIDDING MA!

*grin*

STOP...

... & PHOTOGRAPH the FLOWERS!
hee hee


Ruby & I just went for another lovely walk to the library and saw
many beautiful flowers along the way.


Lots of pretty colors, although Ruby loves 'RED, RED MOMMA, RED!"


Here's some of what makes Beverly, MA. a Beautiful place to live:










While at the library, there was a stack of 'books for sale', many just 50cents or a dollar.
I stumbled across this one book that caught my eye & had me smiling from ear to ear...


It's a collection various answers from children of all ages concerning 'love'... all aspects of it.

The following are just a few of my favorites:

Concerning How to Tell if Love is Real...

"Love is real if you and the other person stick together like peanut butter and jelly."
-Janet, age 10

On What Falling in Love Is Like...

"If falling in love is anything like learning how to spell, I don't want to do it. It takes too long."
-Glenn, age 7

Reflections On The Nature Of Love...

"Love is like a crayon because it comes in all colors."
-Janet, age 10


Confidential Opinions About Love...

"Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I been trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me."
-Dave, age 8

Some Surefire Ways to Make a Person Fall in Love with You...

" Tell them that you own a whole bunch of candy stores."
-Del, age 6

There's a TON more in here but those are just a few of my favorites...

If you are all in the mood for a smile or two, I suggest picking up this book & reading till your face hurts from smiling. It's wild, kids are alot smarter than we adults give them credit for.

~*~

Ruby's got a NEW RIDE!

Introducing Ruby's New Go & Grow Rider by Little Tykes.


It was only 24.99 and SUPER EASY TO PUT TOGETHER!
Momma did it ALL BY HERSELF!
*grin*

And let me tell you, this thing is REALLY ROCKIN'!

Ruby & Bear give it 2 PAWS UP!

And Nonno just can't get ENOUGH of his GIRL on her new wheels!

My little girl...

... who thinks she's a doll.
At least, that's what I'm guessing seeing as how she's thrown EVERYTHING out of this little doll crib that my father made for me many years ago & was mine as a child, and has decided that SHE'D look much better laying in it than any cabbage patch kid.
What do you think?
LOL

How do I look Momma?

Ruby in Pictures...

Wooooo Hoooooooo!
I love this wooden horse!

Me playing at Great Grandma's house,
she's got some REALLY FUN TOYS THERE!

Me and Momma visiting at her good friend Erik's house...
(She says I get to call him Uncle Erik!)
I was busy chewing on my blanket,
and Erik was super nice & put on Noggin for me
and even let me play on his WATER BED!
THANKS UNCLE ERIK!

After all our visiting... Momma said that I was such a good girl that we'd stop at Toys R' Us and get me a 'ride on toy' for inside our little apartment.
After we picked the one we wanted, we paid for everything & Momma ALWAYS lets me ride the mexican donkey ride before leaving, it's SO MUCH FUN!

Oh, we even got MOON PAJAMAS for me at the toy store, can you BELIEVE IT?
Momma saw them & screeched, showed me & then I was yelling
"OOOOH IT'S DA BOOON MOMMA, IT'S DA BOOOOOON!!!!"
Aren't they cute?
hee hee

I LOVE MY BOON JAMMERS MOMMA!
THANK YOU!!!

Ebenezer's Last Howl...

One month ago today was the day before I did the hardest thing imaginable... out of love & respect for my best friend, I was selfless & said goodbye.

One of our favorite things to do was howl whenever we heard the 'meow' of a kitty, even a 'fake' kitty... didn't matter, "MEOW" = HOOOOWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL! Every time, without fail.

So, one month ago, knowing that my time with Ebenezer was coming to it's end, I wanted to capture his glorious voice forever, so I called into my own voice mail, and Ebby, Ruby and Me all made our last 'howl' together & captured it forever.

I hope hearing my beautiful fuzzy son and my adorable daughter Ruby HOWL together, makes you smile just as much as it does me.

I miss you Ebenezer, we all do.

*tears*

CRAZY is as NANNY does!

Yep, that's right, my house right now?

C-R-A-Z-Y!

First, there's my precious little weasel, Ruby Cate. Always toddling around everywhere and having herself a GRAND OLD TIME regardless of where we are or what we're doing.
She thought life was grand but little did she know that things were going to get a WHOLE LOT MORE INTERESTING!

She's now joined, every day, by her short loud cohorts who we'll call A. and O.!


A. is a FIESTY little cracker, she is LOUD & IN CHARGE!
(oh, and just in case you didn't hear her the first time,
SHE'LL TELL YOU A SECOND TIME EVEN LOUDER
JUST TO BE SURE WE'RE CLEAR ON THE MATTER!)

Her twin O. is more of a laid back fellow, very much an easy going guy, just wants his bottles, the occasional handfull of 'puffs' and he's good to go.
What's that Amy? What? You want me to smile? NO PROBLEM!
*imagine huge cheezy grin here*
HOW'S THAT? Thought you'd like that one...

Anyhoo... so let's do a little math shall we?

Ruby + A. + O. = ONE BUSY NANNY!

It's fun, it's tough work, it's lots of patience & love & the biggest key to it all is to have a HUGE SENSE OF HUMOR because if you are the type to sweat the small stuff in life, you'll never make it as a Nanny, ever.

LOL

So, with that said, my days are great here, BUSY, but great!
I love that I can be home with Ruby & that she's getting the social interaction of two very different, very cute little babies who happen to be LEO'S!
*God BLESS their mother!* LOL

It's cute but it'll be cuter next year when they are nearly two and Ruby will be nearly 3...

... A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME!

But I say, PLAY BALL!!!!

=)

(Someone wanna send some chocolate my way? I think I'm gonna need it!)

" The Story Of An Adopted Child..."

(The following poem was a favorite of Mother Teresa.
She would give a copy of this poem to each mother who adopted a child from the orphanage from which she worked.)

There were two women who never knew each other,
One you do not remember, the other you call Mother.

The first one gave you life,
The second taught you to live it.

One of them gave you your nationality,
The other one gave you your name.

One of them gave you the seed for growth,
The other gave you a goal.

One of them provided you with emotions,
The other calmed your fears.

One of them saw your first smile,
The other wiped away your tears.

One of them left you, it was all that she could do...
The other prayed for a child and the Lord led her to you.

And now you ask the inevitable question,
"What molded me, heredity or environment?"

Neither the one nor the other, but only two different loves.



(This poem is dedicated to anyone & everyone touched by the miracle that is adoption.)
XOXOXO
-Amy & Ruby Cate.

Quilt Squares...

... are ON THEIR WAY!
(finally)
I'm SO SORRY that Ruby & I are TOTAL SLACKERS & haven't sent them until NOW, but they are ON THEIR WAY!!!

So, be on the lookout:
Little Miss. Abbey W.,
Little Miss. Tess W.,
Little Miss. Abby L.,
and
Little Miss Tate R Bug...

SQUARES ARE A'COMIN!
We PROMISE!!

=)

So, here's the deal, I have a TON of leftover fabric from Ruby's quilt, the design is this:
(the blue with the chinese children celebrating Chinese New Year on it) that I used for the backing of Ruby's quilt...


...if anyone is interested in receiving some squares from us, merely send us your address & tell us the name of your soon to be Little Miss or Mister, and we are MORE THAN HAPPY to send some squares your way! =)

So, don't be shy, LET ME SEND YOU A SQUARE OR TWO!

Amy's: Everything BUT The Kitchen Sink 'MEATLOAF'

Oh My GOD this was SO GOOD TONIGHT I haven't even picked up from dinner yet I had to put this recipe IMMEDIATELY on the blog because HOLY SHIT IT WAS GOOD!!!!!!!!

Ok, here's how things happen in my house... normally, I make 'old standby' recipe's passed down from this one & that, but occasionally I have to bust out of that 'same thing different night' rut & get creative in the kitchen! Tonight was one of those nights & I ALWAYS have fresh produce handy so it's easy to cook great when you have great fresh ingredients at your fingertips...

I decided to get wild with 'MEATLOAF' tonight and the end result was just pure HEAVEN!

Here's the deal on my newly created 'EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK' Meatloaf:
(preheat oven to 375)
Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef
1 small spanish onion diced small
1 small red bell pepper diced small
1 large clove fresh garlic minced
1/2 package of sliced mushrooms diced small
1/4 cup ketchup
1 large egg
1 cup Italian Style Breadcrumbs
1 cup freshly grated Imported Parmegiano Regianno Cheese
2 heaping tablespoons of sweet pickle rellish (I use Claussen)

Combine ALL ingredients until well mixed. (BEST WAY IS WITH THE TOOLS GOD GAVE YOU, YOUR HANDS!) Plus, it's fun & messy & just feels FUNKY!
Once mixed, form into a loaf (or in my case, a half moon) and put on stoneware or glass baking dish.
Cook for one hour & let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Best enjoyed with loaded mashed potatos and corn on the cob!

OMG YUMMY! *I'm so fat tonight!* LOL

Cup-A-WHAT? ...

No offense Ma, but these are SO BLOCKS!!!

I can't BELIEVE you thought you were gonna do something with cupcakes?
NO WAY!
I'm having TOO MUCH FUN!

June Book Club Selection...

Ok, so the newest book has been chosen & the winner is: Madeline's Ghost by: Robert Girardi

Last month's book was: What Comes After Crazy by: Sandi Kahn Shelton and don't you know I'm still NOT DONE with that one? LOL Nearly... but just not done yet! It's funny, I always swore up & down that once I became a mother I'd not ever let reading become a luxury, that I'd make time to read, I love to read, I need to read and I want Ruby to see her Momma reading & enjoying a book for more than just pictures. I read when I was a nanny to twins, & then three kids, and special needs kids, and every type of kid you can think of under the sun, and I ALWAYS made time to read...
so what changed? Why is it that now, I want to read but, I have things to do, Ruby to play with, laundry to get to, dinner to fix, grocery shopping to accomplish, friends to catch up with via phone & email etc...
Life happened & it's not a bad thing, it's actually a wonderful thing but I would be a liar if I said I was happy that it's taking me so damn long to finish a book that I would've been DONE WITH AGES AGO pre Momma Days. Now I need more than a few weeks to read a book, hell I'd prefer a month or more so that I KNOW I'll finish it on time right? I mean, what good is a book club if I can't even finish the book in time to actually get my ass to the meetings to discuss it, right? LOL Wish me luck on this one, I need to finish the other one first because I am not one of those types that can have several books open at a time. I'm a one book kinda girl... always have been. hehehe
So, if any of you would like to join in reading Madeline's Ghost with me & my book club run by my best friends Mom (otherwise known as CAC... don't ask) then feel free to get yourself a copy & read along with us! But please don't rub it in when you're finished & I'm still trying to get through chapter two, k? LOL

As Promised...

Her FAVORITE TOY was still here when she woke up just now...

Ruby immediately got busy with her giant MAN SIZE ring of KEYS and started opening doors left & right...

Man, I really need to put a bow in that hair!

Introducing: Ruby's FAVORITE TOY HANDS DOWN!

This is the Gazooboo Shape Sorter by Chicco and Ruby CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THIS THING! It was a gift from our dear friends Hanna & Anders their Mom Nancy... THANKS GUYS! Ruby literally sits for HOURS opening all the doors using the color coordinated keys and takes the shapes and animals out, then locks all the doors back up & puts everything back inside etc... this goes on UNTIL I BREAK UP THE PARTY (like tonight) because sometimes, other things tend to get in the way, like BEDTIME! hehehe She was slightly ticked off with me for stopping the fun but she knows that her beloved shape/animal sorter will still be here in the morning... *grin* I love this toy because not only has it won the "Parent's Choice Classic Toy" award, but Allison, her speech & physical therapist, approves as well! We here at "Ruby In Her Own Time..." Give this toy 4 stars! ****