Well, Chewlee went to bed last night with no problems. I stayed up a little later than I planned and I am glad I did because I suddenly heard a *thump* and then a heck of a lot of crying. Chewlee fell out of bed! I went in, retrieved her from the floor and comforted her. I hugged and kissed her until she calmed down and was starting to fall back asleep. I repositiioned her on the bed and put a big pillow on either side of her to keep her from falling off the bed again. After I kissed her, brushed her hair off her face and covered her up, she fell back asleep almost before I left the room. She slept until 8:15am and came into my room to wake me up with her bright, cheerful little kisses and a laugh when I opened my eyes.

After she ate breakfast, we went outside for a while where she played with Baron in the yard. She just loves walking up and down the stairs. The two of them started playing run around the trees until they both came up on the deck, sweaty and tired. It was cute when Baron plopped down in the shade and she laid down next to him.

I started watering the flower boxes and that interested Chewlee. She came over and started putting her hands into the water from the hose so I sprayed her. She thought that was fun so then it became a game. She would retreat a few steps and I would go back to watering the flowers and as soon as she took another step, I sprayed her. She laughed and laughed at that. When I just sprayed over towards her, she started putting her head into the water and laughing. Then she stepped directly into the spray and turned around until she was dripping wet all over. It was 86 degrees outside so I am sure it felt great. Made me want to spray myself....LOL.

I stripped off her clothes and dried her off before we went back into the house. I changed her diaper and put her back into some dry clothes, fed her lunch and she was ready to be picked up by Johnnycakes. She didn't want to nap so I told Johnnycakes about that because I knew she would want to nap when she saw her own crib. Sure enough, she asked to go night-night when they got home.

Tonight was a different story. She fought going to bed like a little demon. I let her stay up later than I normally would because I had a feeling she was afraid of falling out of bed again. When she was finally so cranky that it was unbearable, I put her into bed. I tucked the pillows in next to her and settled her in. She cried at first but then settled down. She seems just fine now. I looked in at her and she is sleeping on her side (which means she is in a deep sleep I have found from when she and the Princess lived with us). She looks like a little angel. Oh yeah....don't they all look like that when they are asleep.

I meant to water my garden when it began to cool down but got busy doing other things and forgot. Now I am hoping that we get some of the rain they predict for tomorrow (but it may rain everywhere BUT here). Thursday we are definitely getting rain....and thunderstorms and possibly tornadoes. This area sees more of those than I like.

The baby has learned how to unlock the door in here. She just had to show off and open it for me to see. She looked so proud when she opened the door and then came over to where I was sitting with a big grin on her face. What's funny is that she LOCKED it when we came back into the computer room after she ate lunch. THAT struck me as really funny because the point was to keep her IN. So who was she keeping OUT? She pushed her little car over to the door, stood on it and locked it.....just like that. I just couldn't help cracking up when I watched her do it.

The Princess called during the lunch break to talk to Chewlee. Chewlee sat down in her little Dora chair and was just chatting away with her for what must have been about 5 minutes. Then she handed me back my cell phone. I had to charge it up because I wasn't sure if the conversation ended or the phone died. I had forgotten to put it on the charger at bedtime. Oh well.

The Beast finally loaded up all the trash from the bedroom floor (rug, padding, boxes from the Pergo, some plywood pieces, etc.) and took it down to the dump. That has to be the nastiest smelling place I have ever been around. It's enough to gag a maggot. He complained when he came home that he couldn't hold his breath long enough and he actually had to SMELL that stuff. I tried to tell him to just breathe through his mouth but I guess he just doesn't *get it*!

He took Baron out for a run down by the river. AGAIN Baron found a dead fish and the Beast found him rolling all over it. I think he also took a bite out of it because even his breath stunk. The Beast called me to forewarn me so I got some warm water ready, a couple of rags and the new shampoo he bought so he could just bring the dog out on the deck as soon as they got home. It was the worst smell. I couldn't WAIT to get it off him. Baron was great while we got him wet and soaped him all up. He was even great when the Beast hosed him down when we were all done. I remember when it was a real chore to bathe him. I got out some of the dental bones for his breath when we were done. I did NOT check his breath to see if it worked, tyvm.

That's pretty much the day here at the Brat Farm. I'm tired now and heading for bed right after I get this posted. Love you all. I leave you with this thought: Consciousness--that annoying time between naps. Smile. Life doesn't have background music but you can always let music run through your mind and dance like no one is watching. Earth is, after all, the insane asylum of the universe. Have a great day all!

The Princess dropped off Chewlee early this morning and I was up waiting for them. Chewlee just wanted to sit in my recliner with me for a while and then told me she was hungry. When we went out into the kitchen, the Beast was there and she ran up to kiss him and chatter at him for a bit and then she grabbed the dog around his neck and gave him a big hug and a kiss on his snout.

She ate some cereal, a half a banana and then some fruit salad. She's starting to do really good with both a fork and a spoon although she will still grab some things with her fingers. I knew the Princess had gotten her up early but when she started to nod off in my lap around 10:30am, I knew she was REALLY tired. She slept for about an hour and a half and got up hungry again. This time she asked for a hot dog so I gave one to her (she didn't want it cut up) and some potato chips, which she also had asked for in her cute little voice.

Johnnycakes came about 1:30pm to pick her up for a few hours so she could play with her stuff at home after they went back to the place they camped out (he lost his wallet there, he thought). It was on a friend's piece of property and is pretty isolated so he wasn't really worried about some stranger finding it and keeping it. Can you believe I forgot to ask him if he found it? It just occurred to me this second. Sheesh.

He said he put up her little *pool* that has the sprinklers built into it and let her play in it for a couple hours. He said she had a ball and he had a hard time getting her out of it. When he DID get her into the house and dressed, she then spent time in her bouncing house. When he brought her here, around 7:30pm, she was tired but still running on adrenalin. I let her play with the dog and run around until I could tell she was winding down. We got her a bedtime bottle (that's one with a soft nipple on it, otherwise she has sippy cups) and she was ready.

She climbed into the bed and had to make sure she had her blankey and her bottle and settled down nicely. I gave her a kiss and wiped the hair off her forehead (a regular thing I do when she takes her nap) and I closed the door. She was very quiet for the first few minutes and then she started to cry. I let her cry since she did that a couple times when she first started taking her naps in the double bed instead of her crib. After a token two minutes at most, she got quiet and stayed that way. When I checked a half hour later, she was sprawled on the bed, sound asleep.

The Princess called me about a quarter to ten and asked if the baby was still up. All I could think was, *Huh? Why in the world would I keep that baby up this late?* When I told her no, she asked me to call her if the baby got up before 8:30am (when her class starts) so she can talk to her. Sheesh. One night and she's missing her already? It must be lonely at the hotel. She has a two room suite, cable TV and internet access and she's got nothing to do? Some things are just wasted on people, I swear.

The Beast finished the bedroom floor. That is the quickest project he has ever done and all because he didn't want to have to share a bed with Chewlee. Especially a much smaller bed....LOL. It looks wonderful and feels so much...well, cleaner. I'm beginning to think that rugs are not healthy. Warm but not healthy. Comfy for the feet but not healthy. I think you get it.

Okay, time to stop this for now. I will leave you with one final thought. Children can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer....author unknown. Love you all. Hope you had good weather and you have more of the same. It was hot as hell here today (93) and is still very warm for this late at night (73). But no storms, thank goodness. If you live in some of the areas that had bad weather, I hope you got through it with no damage. Sending hugs to all.

I futzed around during the morning until about noon and then I got ready for Chewlee's birthday party. The Beast was working on the floor of our bedroom and he was going to keep working on it since he is under a deadline. Chewlee starts sleeping over tomorrow night.

Anyway, I wrapped all the outfits I bought Chewlee and blew my hair dry then I got ready to leave. Just before I left, the Princess called and asked me to bring the pump I have for my blowup mattress so we could blow up the little jump house for the baby. I grabbed that (and put down my camera to reach it since it was on top of the bookcase) then left for the kids house. I left my camera behind, of course. The first thing I did when I got to the Princess's house was ask if she had her camera charged and ready. I told her I wanted her to email the pictures we took (I took a few with her camera) so that I can post some of the pics on my blog. I was hoping she would do it tonight but I just checked and they aren't here so I know it might be a while before I get them.

Kym came, which was a nice surprise. I was there and my niece, Tara with baby Chance. The baby's paternal grandfather, Richard, was there for a while. He had taken the baby out for lunch after having her all day Friday and most of Saturday. He didn't get her home until about 8pm. He had taken her to Chattanooga to see the aquarium there and then to some kids play park which was really for kids under the age of 12. I don't think he told me the name of it but he said she just loved all the rides and he had a hard time getting her out of it. He left early because he had to drive back to Chattanooga to catch his plane back to Florida. I did find out that he has finally sold his home (he thinks). They are just waiting for the bank approval on the buyer's loan.

One of Johnnycake's friends, Ryan, also came because he just loves Chewlee. When we were all finally settled, we let the baby open all her gifts. She already knew about the jump house because we were having a difficult time keeping her out of it while it was being blown up. When it was finally ready, it took her all of two minutes to realize she could jump in it and the clear sides let her see all of us around her. She had a ball jumping and falling into the sides (which are air-filled). The top has a bunch of balls in it and as she jumps, they move around the top. She found that really funny for some reason.

She tore into the wrapping of her big gift which was a Dora's kitchen. It had to be put together so Johnnycakes started on that while Chewlee attacked the rest of her gifts. She got a cute kids sprinkler head that she can run through it while it's spinning around. She also got a cute little shallow pool that you attach a hose to and it sprays water up and inward. She is going to love that when they set it up for her. She got a Dora the Explorer doll set that is only about four or five inches tall. I didn't look at it closely because she didn't want to share that long enough to check it out. She did run over to show it to me, Tara and Kym but after that she ran back to her presents and it got tossed to the floor. She was so funny trying to watch the progress of her kitchen being put together and still open all her gifts. When she got to my gift, which was all cute little outfits and summer pj's, she knew it was clothes but she really just wanted the bag empty. Her paternal grandmother sent her a card with two dollars in it. The Princess said last year she got a card with one dollar in it so we can see how this is going to go as she gets older. Her paternal grandfather bought her a playset for the backyard. I know it has a swing, a slide and a little *house* on it but it has to be delivered and set up, which will happen some time between Tuesday and Thursday.

He told me he had a chance to go to Indonesia for two years as a civilian contractor but he wouldn't go because he wants to remain a part of Chewlee's life. He said he had paid off all his bills and doesn't owe anything except things like utilities and insurance so he feels he can fly up at least four or five times a year or more and spend a few days with her. It's obvious he loves her and she loves him, too. It's just a shame that her father doesn't feel the same way. But, it's not like she's missing that in her life because Johnnycakes is more of a father to her than the *asshole* ever was. She HAS to have her kisses from him as well as mommy whenever she has been gone from them for a while. It's really adorable.

We ate the potato salad, the fruit salad and grilled hot dogs (which I love and wasn't disappointed). No homemade wine this time (thank goodness). Tara kept telling me how she loved the fruit salad and thanked me for making it. Johnnycakes told me the potato salad was really great. I gathered from the Princess that the first thing he asked was whether or not she was SURE I didn't put mustard in it. He really doesn't like that.

The Princess gave me a hard time because I took Chance from her at one point and the poor baby started crying. I was really shocked because I have never had a baby that didn't like me. He did it not once but twice so I told Tara I guess he really doesn't like me for some reason. He has the cutest little smile but the biggest head I have ever seen on a baby. I hope he grows into it. I also grabbed up one of the pj's I bought for Chewlee to take home with me so I have them for her tomorrow night. I doubt that Johnnycakes will bathe her before bringing her over so I will take care of that and put her in her nice new pj's. I also found out that I will only have to keep her for three nights. Johnnycakes is off on Thursday and the Princess will be home before he leaves for work on Friday. So, when I drop her off Thursday afternoon, I am done for the week.

BTW, the bedroom floor lacks only one more row to be finished and then the trim. I made up the bed and that's where the Beast is sleeping right now. Once he puts the trim on the floor behind the bed, we can just slip it close to the wall again. Hopefully, I will be able to move my dresser out of here and back into my room by Tuesday or Wednesday. It's no real hardship right now because I am still sanding it. I think the baby will enjoy watching me do it (and may want to try her hand at it). I brought her Dora chair here for her to sit in while we watch TV since she now has her own folding Cinderella chair she can keep in her bedroom. Johnnycakes kept the pump because he's going to move the jump house into her room and will need it to blow up the sides again once he moves it. She's got plenty of room for it and her *kitchen* in there so she's going to have a fun room to play in.

Well, time for me to hit the sack. Love you all. OH...I forgot. The birthday cake was gorgeous (we did take a picture of it) and the Princess put sparkler candles on it. I hope one of the pictures of the look on Chewlee's face when we all started singing Happy Birthday comes out because it was priceless. She was looking at us all like she thought we were nuts!

Have a great day. I enjoyed myself immensely. Wish you all could have been there with us.