Jo Beth ~ My last baby!

This is my Jo Beth. My youngest. I call her "Piggy". Its a terrible nick-name but when I gave it to her she was just a baby and eating me out of house and home, it fit well then. It has stuck to her over the years, and I believe I'm the only one that calls her that.
She is a senior this year, and hopes to go on to college to become a Forensic Pathologist. Quote "Dead People don't give you a hard time!" This is Jo Beth's Senior picture. Hot off the presses. Isn't she just a cutie pie?? Braces will be off in December, hopefully in time for her Cap and Gown pictures.
Jo Beth is heavy into JROTC, and wants to go into the military. She is hoping the service will pay for her college, and that she'll love the traveling. She's been in the JROTC for 4 years now, and I don't know exactly what her rank is, but its up there.

Years ago, long before "Blogs", there were webpages. I had created a family webpage. On that webpage I described my life, my family, my dreams and hopes. A lot like this blog. It was there I wrote about Jo Beth, at the time just a little one, about 8 or 9 years old. I remember describing her as "in the making" and "overly-emotional" and in comparison to a "three legged Mule". Just expressing her clumsiness and inability to follow direct orders. I have always loved her differently than the twins. Not more, not less. As a mother my job is to love them all equally! But I can love them differently!
(Picture: Jo Beth with Cheyenne almost 5 years ago)
It's in the jeans I suppose. Jo has always held a special spot in my heart just for being the youngest. I suppose I had more patience than anyone for Jo Beth. Lindalee and Lee Ann are always saying I didn't raise her the same. I didn't discipline her enough, and force her to do chores completely etc. That I let her get away with things I would never have let them get away with. That my whole way of dealing with Jo Beth was different than how I dealt with them. And they are correct. I am different with her. I disciplined her differently, and didn't delve into the importance of picking up a cup left behind, for 10 minutes. I could do it a lot faster if she didn't do it, and with less arguing. I didn't get on her for leaving the bathroom a mess after a shower. I could pick it up twice as fast as I could tell her about it. It wasn't as important to me that her room was clean, or that she had tons of friends, either.

(Picture:Jo Beth 5 years ago when we first moved into our house in Walkertown showing everyone our fireplace. She must get the "posing" from her sister Lee Ann. )

We dance in the kitchen, we sing all over the house! She is smart as a whip, but not so street savvy. We cry and laugh about everything. She talks to me about things that upset her, and about things she thinks about in her future. We are the Gilmore Girls. She's my other side, and I believe I'm hers. She's the last of the last. My very last puppy, and I will miss her incredibly when she goes on to find her way into life.
I know she'll always be there for us, for me. Its just knowing I can't call her down to make me a cup of coffee, or to dance with in the kitchen......(boo hooing).
She's not like Linda who would help me in the yard, or like Lee Ann who would help with the bills or shopping. She's more like my walking emotional side. She feels everything and anything, and I find her feelings are hurt easily. She will make a great doctor or anyone in the medical field, as her heart goes deep and she'll feel their pain. At the very least, she'll have a great bed-side manner, and we could use more medical people like that!!
It will truly be interesting to see how Jo Beth's life pans out. I wonder if she'll reach her goal to be who she wants to be, or if she'll go into the military. Will she meet a great guy while in Germany, and get married and have 4 children? Whatever and whoever she turns out to be, I'll know one thing. She is my "little piggy" and I'm proud of her no matter what life has in store for her. She can't do any wrong in my eyes, now or then. I love her higher than the sky, and deeper than the ocean. I'm with you honey......Till the end of eternity!

What is in a name?

They call her Cali-Bear, and Cali-Monster and Baby-Cali. Ladies and Gentlemen, here before you is the newest addition to our family....."Cali Madison"!! I know I showed you a picture of her before, but she is getting so cute, I just had to pass these on too. That is her little toe in her dress, just so you know. :)

The chubbier, tanner baby in the picture is Jennifer's son Andru. You've heard me talk about him before.....he is 4 weeks behind Cali, and still out weighs her. He was 10 pounds at birth. He is such a little chubby wubby!! And a little doll baby. We are going to fix Cali and Andru up. Its a pre-arranged agreement between parents. Cheyenne is with Ryan, and Ciera is with Tyler, and now Cali with Andru. It all works out perfect!

I was the one that picked out her name you know....."Cali". It means 'the beautiful one' in Greek language. My father comes from Greece, his family supposedly originated from there. God only knows with the secrets in his family if its even true. Thats a whole other blog too.
Cali is a little cutie pie. She has such large lips, you can see she'll give Angelina Jolie a run for her money. We are thinking she'll have blue eyes like her Mom and her Aunt Linda. We can only hope. I have green eyes, so that would be fine with me too.

Well you little sweetie, I can't wait to see the person you grow into, either way, your Grandma loves you forever. Thank you for making this a better world by being born. :)

Tired.....

They say if were tired it can be a side effect of a serious condition. Or it can be that your life it too hectic for your body to keep up. I would first describe being tired as drowsy, fatigued, or weak I suppose. Its kind of how I feel today. However I don't remember getting up at all last night to pee, or being disturbed by my barking dogs either. As far as I'm concerned....I went to bed at approximately 10:30...it wasn't quite "Doug-O'clock". The sit-com "King of Queens" comes on The WB at 11:00 PM. That's Doug-O'clock.
Mike drags my butt out of bed at about 6:15 AM. No disturbance's as far as I know last night..so what's my problem? Actually its been going on for days....just exhausted. I'm wondering if its the left over side-effects of Cleaning up the Wake Forest Stadium on Sunday for the JROTC fund raiser. They give the JROTC at Carver High School $1150 for cleaning up the stadium.
Well, at first I wasn't even there. Jo Beth went, but called me in a panic at about 11 AM to let me know she would be moving her bedroom there as they would not finish with the 16 people that they had there to help. She was concerned that they would be there for a week straight without food, unless I brought her some, and brought some additional help. So I quickly made some phone calls, got Lindalee, Mike, Danny (my nephew) and his three younger siblings Derek, Denver and David to help. Of course Cheyenne and Ciera pulling up the rear. I didn't count them, but they were there.
With our help we finished our part at about 6 PM, and the rest of them finished shortly thereafter. IT was the MOST disgusting thing I've ever had to do in my whole life!!! I know its not the largest stadium, but it sure felt like it. I now have a new outlook on cheese Wiz and jalepeno's along with wet pretzels, and I never want to see another peanut as long as I live. The stadium after the Syracuse game was an absolute pig-sty. I walked in things, you should never walk in your whole life. These items were embedded under my fingernails that I prayed I wouldn't accidentally touch my face with them.
Everyone was exhausted, and the heat was unbearable. Bend, Shift, stretch....reach, reach, reach.......You had to come up with a strategy to get the garbage from the ground into your garbage bag. Should you start from the bottom-up, and reach for the garbage, or from the top-down...bend for the garbage. My chosen strategy was to do it from the bottom-up. By the end of the day, I wasn't sure I had chosen the right strategy either. My shoulders have still not healed. I'm not sure my back will heal ever, either.
I'm a short little shit, who pains myself on the fact that I'm closer to the floor than most, but I'm not sure that was a hindrance, or a help. There are parts of my body that ache that shouldn't ache!! And new found parts of my body I didn't know existed to begin with. Did you know that part of your ass, thats not quite part of your leg or ass......well it must have its own set of muscles. Because I've been finding it difficult to sit in one swell swoop!

So am I just tired....to be tired?? Or am tired because I AM tired?? And I experiencing a side effect of life, or a serious condition?? My sister Karen would say "Its your thyroid!!!!" If I didn't live such a hectic life "being tired" would be something I would read about in someone else's blog I'm sure. And I'm sure I'm preaching to the Chior as everyone gets tired from time to time right?? Just be sure..........your not feeling the side effects of a more serious condition like "Lackasleepanightess"!