But my two days with grandchildren were not stress-free. Friday meant eight hours of babysitting John’s two granddaughters, the older of which is autistic and quite feral. John was grateful to have me there to keep track of her. She loves to climb, including to the top of the roof on her play structure. It’s way too high for my comfort level (and John’s) although his daughter lets her do mostly anything. He thinks that’s cool, being laid-back himself, whereas in my opinion, his daughter is too often allowing that daredevil daughter to be in danger with no (or very few) rules or restrictions. I mostly held my tongue, mentioning to John that he could tell his daughter that he was uncomfortable with that situation and that Granddaughter would need to stay off the roof while we were the ones responsible for her safety. Otherwise, the day went well…until John mentioned that he thinks my older daughter lets Sharky eat too much fruit. Well, what? Your older granddaughter just ate peanut butter cereal for dinner? WTH?
These are some lovely (and well-fed) guys, even the hairy orange one!
Then it was on to Younger Daughter’s big move, with the help of my 20-year-old nephew and his friend. As I suspected when John and I drove separately to the rental, John really wanted to deal with the move more than the littles. He took over driving the box U-Haul truck, he helped organize the packing and loading, and he picked up and carried way too much for a 72-year-old man. In the meantime, I juggled a 7-month-old and nearly 3-year-old from 9 a.m. to about 6 p.m. at my house. It was generally a lot of fun except when both boys needed me at the same time. I found it challenging to feed Ian a bottle because Anders would dash off somewhere, often up the stairs. Since I was trapped for 15 minutes or so, I couldn’t supervise the antics of a mischievous (and not always obedient) little boy. His new thing is spitting which I hate, and he wanted dinner immediately–in spite of me having to deal with an extremely messy poopy baby diaper at that moment. In fact, both boys had epic blowouts…and I won’t go into detail except that it was gag inducing.
Anders is a great eater and polished off most of this lunch. Fortunately, Ian was taking a long nap then, so I had more time to get the meal together. We spent a lot of time outside (75-degree perfection, unlike today’s 90+), mostly doing bubbles which fascinate Anders. “Rainbow bubbles!”
Ian idolizes his big brother, and Anders was so kind to him, singing songs, kissing his head, and helping me entertain him while I was busy with a million other things.
Who wouldn’t adore this sweet baby?
Near the end of our day together, napless Anders was tired and wanted to snuggle with his beloved rabbit. Ian was fractious after not taking an afternoon nap (my fault for not checking his diaper before putting him down) and Grandma was a little frazzled.
Thanks to the family volunteers, including my brother and sister-in-law who helped with packing and mowed her enormous lawn, and the invaluable John of All Trades, Younger Daughter’s new home is coming along nicely–with lots more to do. The boys’ bathroom is so cute, isn’t it?
My parents would be delighted to see their living room painting now hanging above YD’s living room fireplace. As the saying goes, it gave me all the feels!
Now I’m ready for some popcorn and then bed. It’s going to be another hectic week with outings, washer/dryer delivery, appointments, etc., plus another day of HOT weather before we’re back down into the 70s. I can’t wait for those cooler temperatures!
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