Table for two? (& early Mother's Day Wishes...)

Simplicity at it's BEST! (& shortest!!)

This is a table & chair set from IKEA, courtesy of a very generous 'Mother's Day Gift'
from a very generous & wonderfully thoughtful friend...
... I'm sure Ruby and Momma are going to have MANY LOVELY TEA PARTIES
at this adorable yet simple table for two.
I can't wait, because the first thing we're going to do is to propose a 'toast' to one very special lady who lives half way across the states, but is very much alive & well right inside our hearts.
THANK YOU THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

And, I know it's a bit early but...

A HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO EVERY MOTHER ON THIS EARTH!!
To those who are grandparents & basking in the joys that their grandchildren bring them...
To those who are veteran's with grown children out of the house...
(or perhaps still hanging around just a few feet up...)
To those who are dealing with the very tricky 'teenage' years...
To those who have small children be they adopted or biological...
and ESPECIALLY to THOSE OF YOU STILL WAITING and WAITING and WAITING some more, for that most precious of gifts... your referral!
To those about to embark on the journey to motherhood, either through international/domestic adoption or biological means...
And to those biological mothers in China, the ones who'se bodies carried & nurtured our daughters... the ones who found the courage to be brave enough to leave these precious bundles in a place where they were sure to be found...
To every woman who has ever had to give up a child...
And to those who have lost a child, & are still hoping to one day start that family...
You are ALL mothers and today, (albeit a tad bit early...)
today is ALL MOTHER'S DAY!
So, to every MOTHER everywhere...
Ruby and I wish you all a VERY HAPPY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

*I need some tissues...*

A work in progress...

You may have noticed that a previous post is now missing... it'll come back eventually, don't worry. I'm just working on adding more pics from when I was in China. I don't have a ton of them but the ones I wanted to share weren't ready for immediate upload, so your patience is requested for the time being until I can get my act together & get everything ready for it's public viewing.

Until then, let's all just bask in the glory of lil'miss Pickler getting booted tonight. She's cute & yes she can sing but it was TIME! THANK YOU AMERICA! And than you too for keeping my adorable Elliot still there, although I'd like to single handedly take credit for him being safe tonight, after all... I'm pretty sure I called over A HUNDRED TIMES last night to ensure the boy stuck around for the duration! ;)

WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO GO ELLIOT!!! THIS BOSTON GIRL LOOOOVVVVVEEEEEEESSSSSSS YOU!

Beyond worried...

... officially at scared shitless now!


No work anywhere... and I'm now nearly a month into being completely without unemployment benefits. Scarey? To say the least...

To top it off, the family I fell IN LOVE with, who seemed to adore both me and Ruby too, are just too far to make a serious commitment with, it wouldn't be fair to anyone sadly, I just wish it could've worked, but the good thing is I've made a wonderful new friend who feels like a sister to me, I adore her & her precious daughter. Ruby loves her too so it wasn't a lost cause at all, it is wonderful to make new friends.

Now if I could just find a new family to work for, I'll be back in Nanny heaven & in my element again. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a mother... and being Ruby's Mother is hands down the best gig in town, I am truly blessed... but this 'blessed Mother' is SCARED OUTTA HER WITTS (did I ever even have any witts to begin with? really??) that if I don't find work soon, I don't know WHAT I'll do!

Please pray for us everyone ok? The louder the better, cuz I'm convinced that God enjoys his time up there in heaven & he probably is a big fan of music, therefore he's blasting his tunes perhaps a LITTLE TOO LOUD to even hear my prayers to him every night... but maybe if we all do it SUPER SERIOUSLY LOUD he'll HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO LISTEN, right?
Humor me... please just do this, it would mean the world to me & to one very sweet little girl who hasn't a clue what I'm facing.

I hate feeling like this... and hate is a strong word that I don't use often, but I'm using it now.
This just sucks.

=/

Candycane Kid & her bestest sidekick Bear...

... ride into a town called 'morning hair',


atop a wooden horse with no name.
(only a licence plate)

LOL

True Love...

... is when you know in your heart that you could quite possibly spend
the rest of forever staring at that beautiful face & not budge once.

Ruby's adventures in spoon feeding...

These photos are brought to you by:

Mott's Cinnamon Applesauce...

With spills courtesy of Sir Isaac Newton...

First SPOON experience, provided by Sassy Less Mess Self Feeder Toddler Spoons

Also making an appearance: Toddler Friendly Dinnerware

And one very happy (yet messy) Ruby Cate...

Proud smiles were seen all around...

And this EXTREEMLY PROUD Momma could not be HAPPIER!

Little Hand...

... BIG history.

Teach em' YOUNG! *grin*

Some teach their kids how to eat with a spoon,
say certain words, perhaps how to throw a ball, etc...
ME? I taught my child THIS!
AND WE'RE DAMN PROUD OF IT!!! hehehe
(Ruby is walking with her beloved Nonno and her Uncle Adam was the camera man...)

Peenie Men & Hoochie Noonies...

While talking with a friend of mine today, she asked me what, if anything, I use to refer to my child's private parts. I said at first, nothing really, then remembered that over all the years of nannying, I've always used the following terms for those parts: Boys have a Peenie Man, and girls have a Hoochie Noonie. Don't ask, just listen.
I don't know how it is I came up with those names, I only remember years back having families I've worked for be uneasy with me calling their children's parts by the actual names, thus, the silly made up name courtesy of Moi!

After telling her this she proceeded to tell me THE MOST HYSTERICAL STORY about how one day, while babysitting their friends' 3 & 1/2 year old son, her husband was pushing said boy on the swings outside, and apparently started pushing a little too hard & little boy piped up & said to her husband:
" Mr.Husband, please don't push me so high, you're making my penis nervous..."

HAHAHAHAHA I LAUGHED SO HARD & AM STILL LAUGHING AS I TYPE THIS!!!!!!!!!

It got me to thinking, what do all of YOU do or what have you DECIDED to do when it comes to referring to your child's private parts & am I the only one who has come up with ridiculous names for the real articles? LOL

C'MON PEPOPLE, SHARE YOUR STORIES!!!

=)

Only six?? HA!

Ok, so I've been tagged by both my Aussie blogger buddy Lee-Anne and a faithful lurker Maggie, to list six weird things about me. It sucks being limited to ONLY six (trust me I could fill this page UP) but here goes...:

-I ONLY drink PG Tips Tea.

-I ONLY use TEDDIE brand Peanut Butter as it's all natural ingredients make for a delicious sandwich! (also great on apple slices!)

-I sometimes read Ruby's books when she's sound asleep & has no idea I'm in there curled up with a smile on my face. Don't get me wrong, I love to read them to her & am CONSTANTLY reading to her but sometimes, it's just nice to read her books to myself when I know she's cozy & warm & sound asleep in the next room. =)

-I NEVER go anywhere without my pink water sippy (sports bottle) and am CONSTANTLY drinking water 24/7. Even brought it with me to China!

-I shower every day but only wash my hair every other.

-I am constantly tweezing any & ALL stray hairs that I find that should NOT BE where I find them! I will literally sit in front of that mirror for a half hour or MORE if that's what it takes to get that ONE STUBBORN HAIR that's PISSING ME OFF! It's a sickness & I'm sure somewhere there's a group just WAITING FOR ME TO JOIN!
lol


-I sometimes stop & think about how my life is now and I realize how happy I am that Ruby is here... that if I look at her too long I start to cry.

-I ONLY use Kleenex Cottonelle Flushable Folded Wipes instead of toilet papaer. (just buy the occasional roll of TP for when guests come over.)

-I NEVER wear any type of flip flip with a TOE VIOLATOR! You know what I'm talkin' about, that nasty little strip of plastic that gets wedged between your toes! OMG! GET IT OUT OF THERE!!!!!!!!!!! Only will wear SLIP ON type sandals with NOTHING between my TOES! Yes, it freaks me out THAT MUCH!!

-The hour before Ruby goes to bed is my FAVORITE TIME OF DAY cuz she's the silliest at that time & we spend most of it playing fun little 'kissing' games & she gives me a 'squeeze' (hug) and over dramatizes the 'squeezing' sound as she hugs me & then laughs, smiles up at me and holds my hand as we snuggle. Always, after I put her to bed & the 'silly time' is over, I get teary because I miss her. Yes, I know she's in the same house as me but she's in her room & I have to leave to let her sleep, so I'm a dorker, I miss her & usually shed a tear or two.

And finally last (for now) but certainly NOT LEAST (and probably T.M.I.):

-I ALWAYS have to wear a Poise Pad daily courtesy of my MS & the fun joys of bladder control, or more to the point, loss of. I seldom actually end up using them for their intended purpose but I HAVE to have them to be on the safe side as there isn't always a bathroom nearby when nature calls & for me, if I don't find one asap, I end up with just p & leave the asa behind.
It's fun being me... *UGH*


Now, I have to tag some people, not sure how many but I'm picking the following people:

Karen
Carrie
Sherrie
Lisa
Julie
Shannon
Sparky
Tink
and
Izi

That should do it for now, I could tag ALL OF YOU but that woud be highly annoying so let's not go there shall we? LOL

Ruby's 1st Easter...

Ruby sits with her Nonno while the two of them
open her very 1st Easter Basket!

Little cousin Isabella has a basket too, but from the looks of things
she's more exicted about that shiny stuff all over it
rather than what's actually in it! hehehe

Morning naps...

... are always better with a friend.

Pupper...

... makes a nice pillow.

Joely & Me...

Great Smile Joely!!!

Too bad I'm too busy stuffing my face with O's to smile LOL

Joely has some of the KEWLEST TOYS EVER!

She's my new friend, and I love her!
*HUG*

Head over the MOON in LOVE...

... with the prettiest little girl this side of China!
How DID I get SO BLESSED?
*tearysmile*

Howling buddies...

Grandparents are the best...

Nanna, Me and Nonno out for a little 'after dinner' walk...
*smile*
I love them SO MUCH!

LMFAO!

This just struck me as SO FRIGGEN FUNNY I could NOT resist sharing it with everyone!
And literally, I'm STILL LAUGHING AS I TYPE THIS!!!
HAHAHAHA

Who needs a pillow...

... when you have a Bear?

Did you guess correctly?

Here are the three unique squares that STAND ALONE:


1st- Top row: 6th square in from the left, was a piece of a cloth bag that held the contents of a DELICIOUS 'raspberry muffin mix'!! It was sent to me by my fantastic Secret Buddy, Anne!
Made those bad boys & had them with TEA!
YUMMY!!
So, although it wasn't an original 100 good wishes quilt square, I still wanted to include it in Ruby's quilt because it's unique & I love it!
(plus it always reminds me of those amazing muffins that brightened my day when all there was to do was 'WAIT'... trust me, waiting sucks, but MUFFINS made it a little easier!)



2nd- Top row: 7th square in from the left. If you look closely, this square DOES have a mate however, it's the 'square within a square' that is the UNIQUE ONE.
It's a little teenie blue birdie square in the bottom left corner. I can't remember exactly who sent me this bird, shame on me because I SHOULD know, but sadly, I don't.
WHAT I DO KNOW is that I LOVED IT and that even though it was teenie & not the same size as the other squares, I was DETERMINED to include it!



3rd- Second row: 4th square in from the left; the WHITE SQUARE! There is only one of this as well, and it was added by Ruby's Aunt Emily (the one who put this gorgeous quilt together for us!) so OBVIOUSLY THIS SQUARE IS EXTREEMLY IMPORTANT TO US as it's a piece of Emily, who we love VERY MUCH! Thanks EMILY!!!

And to our Auntie Patty (Emily's Mom) who brought the quilt over to us yesterday, a big huge THANK YOU! We LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!