Sittin' pretty at her summer home!
Note the lights in the windows! :)

Drew-4 Isaac-6 Liam-3 in my loft
Liam got up there and said "Aunt Tarsha, this is your bunk bed!"
I hadn't thought of it that way, but hes right! Love these little men! :)

View from said 'bunk bed!'

My wonderful friend Patrice made me pillow cases!
They add some sass to my sofa!Love them, thanks Girl!

You Are My I Love You - Maryann K. Cusimano

I love this book so much! It essentially describes a day with a child. As a nanny and aunt, I can understand these connections and feelings, and I can only imagine what it must be like when this child is your own flesh and blood. Enjoy!

For Aliya, Hannah, Isaac, Matthew, Drew, Liam and Damon ~ You are my I Love You!

I am your parent; you are my child.
I am your quiet place; you are my wild.

I am your calm face; you are my giggle.
I am your wait; you are my wiggle.

I am your carriage ride; you are my king.
I am your push; you are my swing.

I am your audience; you are my clown.
I am your London Bridge; you are my falling down.

I am your carrot sticks; you are my licorice.
I am your dandelion; you are my first wish.

I am your water wings; you are my deep.
I am your open arms; you are my running leap.

I am your way home; you are my new path.
I am your dry towel; you are my wet bath.

I am your dinner; you are my chocolate cake.
I am your bedtime; you are my wide awake.

I am your finish line; you are my race.
I am your praying hands; you are my saying grace.

I am your favorite book; you are my new lines.
I am your night-light; you are my star shine.

I am your lullaby; you are my peekaboo.
I am your goodnight kiss; you are my I Love You.

Maine Cherubs meet Massachuseets Cherubs

And for a moment, they shared a couch for Nanny Tarsha/Aunt Tarsha/Tosha to snap a picture! (Even if half of them were hiding their face or trying to get down.)
The children all played together nicely (for the most part). They got up extremely early and made us all laugh several times throughout our stay. A certain someone had to be informed about guests and etiquette and a certain guest must have been listening! The children were playing upstairs and we could hear them downstairs. We heard some banter and then heard Matthew say, "I am your guest and you need to be nice to me!" We figured he was right and they should move on. A few minutes later Matthew came half way down the stairs, and peered through the rails. "That girl is being rude to me!" He forgot their names a few times, but he sure didn't want to leave. He asked me "When can we come back Tarsha? Let's come back on your next day off!"

We played outside in the snow and Isaac shared his snowboard with this little guy who has been eager to get a ride on one!

The girl got her hair curled and was able to utilize Hannah's flower girl dresses. She looked gorgeous but I didn't get a picture. :(

Introducing all my cherubs was a great experience and I look forward to bringing them back for more fun. Thank you Tanya for being such a great hostess!

My Adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express!

When it seems the magic slipped away...

We find it all again on Christmas Day.

Believe in what your heart is saying,

Hear the melody that's playing,

There's no time to waste,

There so much to celebrate.

Believe in what you feel inside,

Give your dreams the wings to fly.

You have everything you need, if you just believe.

~Believe, Josh Groban

My nephew Drew... he used his imagination and had a great time!

Tanya, Ryan, Hannah and Drew

Tracy and Ben Trina and Rob
Tricia, Issac and Matt (Liam (1) is missing)

Hannah and I

The ConductorThe Assistant Conductor...he punched the kids names in their tickets!

We had cookies and hot cocoa, saw Santa and used our imaginations! I gave Santa the notes Matthew and Aliya wrote for him, (more on that later) and even sat on St. Nick's lap myself! Merry Christmas Everyone!

A glutton for punishment!

Hannah (5), Liam (18 months), Drew (2.5), and Issac (5) with Auntie Tarsha
The Grandkids with Mammie

A few weeks ago when I was missing my babies in Maine, I offered to take all four of my sisters children for the day after Thanksgiving. I love these children and miss them lots, so this seemed like a brilliant idea! I thought I would load them up and head to Mammie's (my mom, picture above) for the day! I had originally planned to take them for a sleepover at Papa's on Thanksgiving night, but someone didn't make good choices and so two of them went home with Mom and Dad. This was sad, but all just part of God's plan to keep Auntie Tarsha sane for the next day! Mom and I thought we should have some pictures of the kids and us together, and this proved to be challenging. Can we all show our eyes and smiles at the same time please?

My Name

The boy wrote my name today. Well he started to, then asked me to write it, and then he copied it below. He's learning though! We are working REALLY hard at him being able to identify his letters. Once he can, we will go see Madagascar 2 at the movie theatre and eat popcorn, candy and soda. "Do I know them yet?" he says all the time, as if its going to magically be in there all of a sudden. I laugh when I look at his little squiggly letters and can hear him saying (whether it be calling or YELLING to me) "TOSH-A, I need you!" He says it so cute and has been referring to me by name more and more lately, as opposed to just demanding things and hoping I know its me who he is addressing. (It all goes back to the fact that I am not Joycie...)

I got an email from my sister Tanya last night and it was so precious, I just have to share it here! My Drew-Drew as we call him, is at the other end of the spectrum from Matthew. He LOVES me big! I get these phone calls and I hear this little voice saying "Come see me" or "I love you Aunt Tarsha."

Drew‏
From: Tanya Downing-Smith
Sent: Wed 11/19/08 7:39 PM
To: TarshaDowning@hotmail.com

Drew told me tonight that he didn't want me to pick him up- he was waiting for Tarsha.... :) Also, he didn't have any interest in his preschool writing today -until Amanda said to do it for Tarsha, then he got busy! :) Drew loves his Tarshy! :)

Oh the little boys in my life. :)

5am Part II

I went to Maine for a Job Fair (class project) on Tuesday night and then had regular class Wednesday night. I always jump at the chance to spend a few minutes with the ones I love, so I went to Tanya's house ASAP after the job fair ended. I found Drew waiting for me in the window. He was at the door by the time I got to it and I got some much needed LOVE!! He was chatting up a storm and checking out what I brought. I had some candy from the Job Fair and I couldn't say no! This is the difference between the children I nanny for and those little cherubs back in Maine. I can give them candy and gum, because that is part of my job as an Aunt, especially one who lives away now! :) We spent some time together and then I opted for an early bedtime, knowing what the Smith household is like BRIGHT and EARLY. My babies didn't let me down either. I woke at 5:30am, which is practically sleeping in for their house, but early for me none the less. I had two children all over me with lots to say. We ate breakfast, colored pictures and had our showers. Then I took Hannah and Drew to breakfast with Papa (my Dad). Turns out there was some construction next door and Drew spent the entire time standing in the window watching a bucket loader and dump truck clear a space. This couldn't have been planned any better. Hannah tried one bite of her pancakes and said with a puckered up nose, "These are not like my mothers." Did I make her eat them? No, of course not! This is another job an Aunt from away gets to do, throw some of the rules out the window. I ate them and shut my mouth! :)
Then as we left, Papa and I used all of our quarters to buy the kids a ball, sport stickers (after all it was Team Spirit day at school) and gum from the machines! Yes, a big gumball from the gumball machine at 8am! It was great! I laughed right out loud when I loaded these children into the car to deliver them to daycare and school with gum in their mouths! I cannot do this with the children I nanny for and I so enjoy doing them for my very special niece and nephew. I didn't get to see my 2 other special nephews, but I do get next Friday with them!

Can't forget my other Little People!

Love you guys! :)

5am is VERY Early! And its still VERY dark out!

This weekend I played nanny to my niece Hannah (5) and nephew Drew (2), my sister Tanya's children. My brother-by-law Ryan is a star employee and was being recognized at an award dinner in Boston! They went down for 2 nights and I stayed with the children at their house.
Let me tell you a little bit about Tanya and Ryan's children - they get up VERY early! It was 4:57am on Saturday morning when I heard the pitter patter of little feet come to my bed. "I'mhungeeIwantminiwheats." When I didn't respond right away, (but instead tried to bring him into bed with me to cuddle, in the hopes of catching a few more minutes of warmth and quiet) he felt the need to repeat himself a little louder right in my face. "ImhungeeaunttarshyIwantminiwheats!"
So mini wheats it was at 5am and we were out of the house by 7! We went to Turner to let Allison's dogs out, went to Walmart (at Drew's request), went to Hannah's field hockey practice, and got new tires on my car, all by 11am. This was very exciting for Drew because he loves anything tools/cars related, and this being a combination of both - very intriguing!
We met Dave and Jaimee (1 of my 2 best friends) and my Mom at Wallingford's Apple Orchard in Auburn. These pictures depict the scenery there Saturday afternoon. Drew dislikes the camera (his mom is the paparazzi) so he refuses to look and Hannah was being silly. There was a festival going on with pony rides and face painting. Drew could have cared less about the ponies or face painting, the tractor that brings you into the orchard captured his attention and he wanted to be near it ASAP. Apple cider, apple dumplings, donuts to die for - who needs 'em when you have a tractor at the Apple Orchard?
My Mom made me a birthday cake and brought it to the orchard. Thank you Mom! That was sweet! Thank you Jaimee for my beautiful bracelet! I see more of those in my future...a few girls I know loved it!
Drew let me sleep until 5:30 this morning. He was generous with that extra 30 minutes. :) I am one sleepy Aunt, but so happy to have spent the weekend with some of my favorite little (and big) people! I received many nice gifts and birthday wishes from my family and friends. I feel very blessed to be happy and healthy at the beginning of my 27th year and to have such AMAZING people in my life.

Dear God,
THANK YOU for the blessings that you bestow upon me each and every day, starting with my health, my family and my friends that care for and so much about me. Thank you for my job, my car (with no car payment so I can afford the gas), my cell phone (that keeps me in touch with all my people) and for the opportunity to pay back student loans because it means I had the chance to go to college. Thank you for the little people you placed in my life to teach me and put a smile on my face, even at 5am. Thank you for the opportunities I have to look forward to in the coming year and I know you'll be there through the storms.
Please be with my sister Tricia as she starts her new job this week and with my sister Tracy and brother-by-law Ben as they pack their stuff and move closer to me. Please be near me Lord this week as I travel.
In Jesus Name, Amen.