Page 19) Christmas 1998

You [Kenzie} love everything about x-mas: the lights [you helped GG put the outside lights up], the candy canes, the decorations, the icing for cookies, the "Merry Christmas", the x-mas books, you even found x-mas on one the the many "Thomas" tapes. You know the x-mas colors are 'red & green'. I made your name out of red and green cookie dough. Mackenzie, " Two 'E's grandma". You wouldn't wait for Mama to come home to see it. You ate a keg off letter 'A'.
We play 'wrestle you', chase around the house with me hiding sometimes, trains [a lot], baseball, coloring [color shirt], play dough [with GG making a train engine] and Legos - we like castles.
Dec 26th
You get to see all your cousins, but Diedra is your favorite. Kenzie, " take Diedra home to sleep in my tent" [you just got a new tent for x-mas]. Every time Diedra was out of your sight.... "where's Diedra?" Diedra is Aunt Pam's youngest girl of four girls. She has red hair and is very pretty. You asked all night to take her home. It seemed like you were 'in love' with her at 2 3/4 years old; she's a little old for you at 13.
You wore your special red 'train' sweater today; there is an engine with smoke on the front , on one side. And a caboose on the front, other side and freight cars on the back. The train is at the bottom of the sweater and looks like it travels around your body. The sweater has a 'V' neck and special zipper instead of buttons.
Aunt Debbie [Uncle Mike's wife] has a 'beautiful' engine ornament on her x-mas tree. You saw it and wanted to hold it. A little later, when you and mom were getting ready to leave, Aunt Debbie let you hold the engine ornament. When she took it back and hung it on the tree you cried and cried. She asked you if you would trade 'GORDON" [your favorite engine, you had in your hand] for the ornament and you said 'yes' to every ones surprise. NO ONE thought that you would trade 'GORDON' [engine] for anything.

With luv from India..

There are many Indian families living in my apartment complex.  I have met 2 young mothers, Priya and Srividya.  Pryia has two daughters Honey [3] and Harshita 22 months.  Harshita is going to the same preschool as TJ in September.  Srividya has a 2 1/2 yr old boy and is expecting her next baby any day now. Her son, Ashwad, is also going to the same preschool. TJ will have two friends in his class.  That will make things easier for him.  He seems to understand that he is going to preschool.  The giants in his life are talking about it.  Pryia cooked some fried rice for me.  She made it not too spicy......... ooohhh my mouth was hot.  Tom and Jes would like it.  Their cooking is too spicy for me. Pryia and Srividya are not from the same Indian state and can only talk to each other in English!
TJ has been singing songs to himself.  They must be stuck in his head.  Twinkle twinkle little star, Intsy bitsy spider, This old man, Rockin Robin and just today - Bingo. TJ counted 21, 22, etc to 29.  He is aware of 'thinking'.  I asked him where his Auntie San was.... "I'm thinking" he said.  TJ stood on a stool and said, "skateboard". He is getting really great at 'pretending' and making up stories for his cars, trucks and trains.  When I wanted to diaper him, after his bath, he said, " diaper on baby doll".  Baby doll had taken a bath with him.  Then he wanted to give her 'milk'.  I didn't know where her baby bottle was.  His baby doll is a girl.  TJ asks me to read the book, "Things that Go" all the time. 
Garage sales tomorrow.................... last week I bought a pair of toddler girls boots made by Stride Rite for $1, took a picture of them and listed them 'for sale' on Ebay.  The bid is up to $26.50.  I luv this hobby!

Arugla does not make a good smoothie.

Almost every evening I make a green smoothie. Take juice and an apple or pineapple and fresh or frozen spinach, blend well. Do not add arugula bought at the farm market to make arugula pesto that is not getting fresher by the day, so you add it to the above mentioned smoothie..................yuck. Way to peppery to eat in such quantity. So I added a blueberry Greek yogurt thinking that it would tame the taste [somewhat]. Well I ate it [14 grams of protein were NOT going to waste]. I'm pretty creative about not throwing away food. I maybe throw away 5% of what I buy. Nice to have a dog who eats anything. Lily...... Arugula. Today my little grandson TJ, counted his trucks that were lined up against the hearth. He has counted them before, but a big person was pointing to each truck. Without being asked to count, TJ started with one [and two and three and four.etc] touching each truck as he said a number. He does put the 'and' between numbers, funny guy. The amazing thing is no one asked him to count his trucks and he got to fifteen [last one] without missing a number or truck!
TJ, "I'm sitting on my knees".
GG, " I'm sitting on my butt and Lily is sitting on her butt. Dogs have a very small butts"
TJ, " GG has a bug butt!" like I said................funny guy!

Page 18) 12-8-98

You asked to see Santa, so we took you. We asked you what you would ask Santa for Xmas. "Gordon". Gordon is a train engine from 'Thomas the Tank Engine'. You are train crazy. It is so nice to see you like something very very much.
Today we went to 'Greenfield Village' and you charmed everyone you talked to. You are a very wonderful, delightful boy. You want to 'wrestle' with GG; so we do. Also chasing GG around the house is a favorite game. Sometimes I hide, but you like that too...........Boo!
You like 'Babe' the movie and pig toys. We were at the library last week and picked out a pink pig puppet and asked me if you could take it home. I said "I don't know, we will have to ask the woman at the desk" When we were checking out the books, you [with the puppet on your hand], said to the woman, " please, may I take the pig home?" "yes, the puppet has a check out card". You understand that the puppet goes back to the library. You asked me a couple days later if you could have the frog when the pig goes back.
You also like the 'Little Rascals' especially baby 'Spanky'.
12-9-98
You know all your letters well. Today you saw, spelled and understood your first word 'OPEN'. It was on a store [door]. You are 2 3/4 yrs old.
12-10-98
We went to a children's play, music, dance tonight in Wyandotte. You loved it! 80 kids singing and dancing from 3-4 to 18 yrs old. You didn't want to go home. I took you looking at x-mas lights.
12-22-98
My special boy. You are so clever. Kenzie,...... " a freight train, a freight train, a freight train. Oh! the shame of it" .... from 'Thomas the Tank Engine; Gordon [the big blue engine] talking.
You are trying very hard to use the correct words in sentences; I am, you are, and they do; You're not even three yet!
I remembered [from last x-mas] you were awed by the 5 year old boys [2] singing about cars and girls. You couldn't take you eyes off the 10 girls in their gold red and green shiny dresses. "I want to see it again, GG".
We went to see Santa again [you asked to] last Friday at Henry Ford Museum.
Santa to you, "what do you want for x-mas?" Kenzie, "Gordon".

Last night/This morning

Another 'potty' dream; this one involved my grandson Mack, his friend Charles,their shenanigans thwarting my search,a car wash, a stroller, a hair salon [reoccurring theme], the women's room being out of order, a restaurant, a handsome man wanting me to stop and eat dinner [another reoccurring theme: not the eating but a man wanting me], buying underwear, looking for the men's room but can't find it, crossing busy streets thinking the restroom will be over there and an intestinal virus that makes it necessary to buy new under wear that some how ends outside my shorts and costs $10. + tax. I'm tired before I wake up.

Took a cruise AGAIN last night.

There are dreams and...................there are 'potty' dreams. When my body knows that I should relieve the pressure building up in my bladder, my brain decides to send me 'potty' dreams. Missing boarding a cruise ship is a favorite of my brain. Can't find my luggage, don't have the 'right' clothes, can't figure out how to get to the dock, can't remember what ship I'm supposed to be on. Invariably the is someone, on board ship that is getting mad at me for being so late. If it is not a cruise ship, another favorite of my grey matter, is losing my homework, forgetting where my classroom is, can't remember what my locker number is [nobody mad except me]. My all time favorite 'potty' dream, involves not being able to find a bathroom. They're broken, they're not where somebody told me they were. These are the three favorite of my brain. Any dream where I can't accomplish something, is a 'potty' dream. It seems like hours that I'm frustrated, confused and desperate. But.......I eventually get up and pee.

WTM [muck]

This morning I had my small pile of 2 business cards, drivers license, credit card, debit card, picture, library card, and health card that I keep in my left back pocket. [No purse]. Just before I was going into my apartment, I stopped and talked to a maintenance worker. I reached into my pocket [taking the whole pile out] to give him a business card so he could install a ceiling fan. It ended up that he wanted me to call the office and put in a work order. I didn't hand Wyatt my business card. Tonight I stopped at the store for hummus, grabbed an empty bag and felt my back pocket for my credit card..................... it wasn't there. The only thing in my card pocket was the single business card that I was going to give Wyatt. Other back pocket - empty. Front pockets - left, phone - right, empty. Hip pocket [cargo shorts] - empty. Where in the world is my pile of cards??????
To be continued................................

Turns out they were on Tom's kitchen table. I have no idea how they got there. Meanwhile I cancelled my Credit Card & Debit Card...just to be safe. I luvd that credit card number. It was in my head...I took it everywhere. You might think that if Tom saw my stuff last night that he would have sent a text message, just so I wouldn't worry.