e + e

Love, Grandma

a babysitting week

 We've had a good week, including these lovely naps in the car.

 At 3pm, when I start work, the aunties and uncle take over for 90 minutes or so until the kids are picked up. They team up and they are patient and used to tiny people. It's pretty easy-going.

 This was from today. She's little bitty. Her size is purely a camera angle.

We went to the library for Story Time and had a great time, then came home for lunch.  We met up with Michelle and Harris and she wanted to take the Librarian's beanie baby home, but of course, no.

We have dozens of beanie babies at home.

She relented and came along.

Tomorrow is Thursday, which is a great day of the week.  Not as great as Friday, sporting all that unspent weekend potential, but we'll take it.

Nothing but love, Val

last weekend at the lake, 2017

 These people were there. It was a bit boring in the snow, but Jay did a lot of work in the field, and I worked in the house.   The kids had on a show called Skin Wars.  It was interesting--interesting concept, interesting characters. By seven hours of it, I'd had enough, but who knew body painting was even a thing?

Econo did not disappoint with the goofy Little Debbie options:

 I washed the floor twice, and then put on several coats of wax.  It hasn't been done since last year, but on a weekend with ten kids eleven and under, and about five dogs running through, floor maintenance is not an option.

 This is some paints the kids spilled under the table, and we didn't realize it at the time.  I soaked it with some hot water and it dissolved and wiped right up.

 Ta-da!

She kept dancing around on the wax.  Seriously, Sidney??

It was a lovely summer, sad for it to end, but Thanksgiving is on the way.

love, Val

first friday of november, 2017

 This afternoon the snow started falling, big fat warm flakes.   Pretty soon it looked like Christmas.

 The light was beautiful and the sky a huge bright dome.

 That's the upstairs bathroom window.  Kari put a towel across the top half of the window, makes me laugh.  Who would be up on that flat roof peeking in the windows?  I pity that fool.

 And this today, by surprise.  This is the living room rug.  I was told the rug was made in Turkey in the 1970s.  I bought it in 2009 for a couple hundred dollars, and it was fairly worn then, and another eight years of daily stomping and vacuuming has taken a further toll.

So, for about a year now, I've been watching for a new rug, though have not actively been shopping for one, just paying attention.

Then today this--on Facebook, someone selling a rug, inexpensive and pretty, in better condition than ours.  Jay went in the snow and picked it up, and they even had an eight year old child who demonstrated cartwheels and somersaults on the rug, while they scolded her in another language.

That cracked me up.

After this, we made our way to the lake on roads and in snow that grew worse and worse. The trip took an extra hour, but who cares?  Just get there safely. There were cars in the ditches, which is not particularly dangerous, but what a huge hassle! 

On the drive up, there were phone calls with three of my favorite people--my mother, John, and Laurie--pretty nice for a random Friday night on slippery roads.

Anyway, we are here now, safe and warm.

Love, Val

first day back, and toddler time

Today was Heidi's first day back at work, and my first day solo with the two kids.  

This was a little intimidating (no, a lot intimidating) because for many, many years, like decades--when I watch kids, I'm not the only responsible person in the house.  There are always others around.  Even when Heidi was born, John and Dan were five and four, old enough to help with a lot of things.

But today went great. We had a good time. 

Yesterday I saw a reader board for the Community Center advertising Toddler Time.  We went over and checked it out this morning, and it was great--well worth the three dollars.

She slept the whole time, quite happy in her outrageous, goofy hat.

After about an hour she came in search of her bottle of water and swigged almost the whole bottle down in just a few minutes.  Yeah, a girl gets thirsty tearing around like that.

When it was over, we put the socks and shoes back on and found her coat, and headed home for lunch. We had a quiet hour and a half snuggling on the couch, playing with plastic horses and watching Wild Kratts before we had to pick up the kids from school.

Lydia took over the baby for the last hour or so of the afternoon, and the others, one by one, trickled back home and joined her.

It was a lovely day.  The weather was gloomy and foul outside, but inside the gym and inside the family room it was cozy,  with warm yellow light, snug and fun.

Lots of Love, Val