Super grandma hits a wall

I'm amazing. Abby's friends have been telling me when I saw them at the library, the preschool open play day, the pool, etc. Hey, I'm just like them- getting "my" kids out of the house to burn off all that energy with some other munchkins.

My daughter and her husband have been enjoying alone time and I've been the chief cook/ bottle washer/ and all around referee.  We've had splinters (removed the old fashion way with my teeth), temper tantrums (followed by the SWEETEST chat with my favorite youngest grandchild) and the same food for four days (if it ain't broke, don't fix it).

Don't know why they are so energetic?
Ice cream anyone? 

So many choices.....

Noelle is a hoot- she's two and a half going on thirteen. "I can't wear those shoes, Bebe. They aren't cute." Imagine the inflection. She doesn't have the eye roll down but it's coming.  I hate all the princess crap on little girl's clothing. Why encourage THAT attitude... until this adorable blonde bats her big brown eyes and declares, "Bebe, I'm a princess."  Yes, darling, you certainly are. And this is a minimal Disney household- where does that gene come from?

She also changes her clothes about three times...an hour.  She's pretty good at taking stuff off and I insist she puts them back in the drawer. I don't insist on folding.  And honestly, she almost always matches. Purple with purple prints,  the right shade of pink with the cute top- nice outfits. Oops, off she goes again. When she's mad, she insists on wearing pajamas. Whatever. She wears pajamas a lot.

 When she's not changing clothes she wants to paint. Finger paint- mostly on her body and lots of water color pages. And my daughter has sacrificed her nice clean water color palette. She's not into messy toddler crafts anymore than I was at her age— this is the stuff for grandmothers to do.

Josiah is the four year old firstborn- "but Bebe, ..... is how you're supposed to do....."  Always knows the right way to turn, where put shoes after a walk, how to buckle seat belts correctly.  It's amazing his mother made it to adulthood as incompetent as I seem to be.

 He's also fun to talk to- I've been waiting for this verbal leap and it's great to chat about why the lions didn't eat Daniel.  Or how time works (there's sunshine on Ohio but Nevada is  still dark, so we can't call Mom and Dad at 6am EST). He's precise, a little nervous about water and darn helpful.



He and I built ramps with the leftover lumber in the garage, watched some Bob the Builder and washed all the Little Tikes toys in the sunroom.

They had just taken off their swim suits so of course,
we HAD to turn on the sprinkler.

This week, I have discovered the secret to happy children. Ready for my wisdom, young moms? Undivided attention. That's all it takes.  I've checked my email twice, Facebook once and actually lost my iPhone twice.  They are the center of my world and they are so content. (For whole moments at a time)

I love making forts! There's a shy lion hiding in the cave. 

I also have accomplished squat. Nada. Zilch.  No doctor appointments, no significant cooking or cleaning and I got by on two showers (no shaving).  I haven't talked to an insurance person or the cable company. I did get two loads of laundry done- all that clothes changing and messy finger painting.  I talked to the next door neighbor once.  The lawn needs mowing and my car needs an oil change. I'm a bit stir crazy but, hey—it's four days of my life!  God bless young moms and dads and thank you Jesus, for my GROWN UP children!


So today we clipped our final link in the paper chain- Mommy and Daddy will be here tomorrow! This morning I'm feeling pretty good about our time together.  We all returned from the swimming pool alive. The kids have all their appendages although some toes are a bit smashed.   We weren't exposed to DEET since I forgot bug spray and Calamine lotion does help with itchy bites.  I didn't actually get heat stroke from playing soccer and chase in the afternoon sun  No one ran away, disappeared into a mall or talked to strangers and there was only had one serious meltdown.  I already apologized to the kids.

So come home, Mom and Dad.  The toilet's clogged, there's no milk, the nervous dog is chewing on his foot.... and I'm tired. After all, it's been FOUR whole days.






HURRAH! They are home!