The magical power of a band- aid- How completely wonderful it can be to read a new kids book for the first time and listen to two little girls laugh like crazy at the adventures and funny names like "Gus Vallony" in Junie B. Jones, or to follow the adventures of Laura Ingalls in "Little House on the Prairie"
- How long it takes to get ready for bed with bath time, teeth cleaning time, story time, prayers, song time x 3 - an hour at least
- That is matters a lot what color your cup is or your plastic plate or bowl when you eat. The color pink is the best color and was almost always the coveted item
- How wonderful it was to hold a little 1 year old (almost two) who has just had her bath and who is in her clean jammies, snuggle and sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" at the top of her lungs at bedtime
- Driving a mini van. I drove two in my day. Jord's van is lovely and it has some real get-up -and-go. What I dislike is the constant buckling and unbuckling of the car seats, but I know they are a necessary evil. It's a chore to get out and go with three little girls tagging along. Plus you also need to take 3 sippy cups and 3 little snacks if it is a drive of more than half an hour.
- The strong smell from a pail of dirty diapers that can knock you off your feet
- How quickly a clean room can turn to a messy room when three little girls are enjoying a day of play. I decided to just let it go for 2 1/2 days and it looked like a bomb went off. What's the point of picking it up every night just to do it again the next day? Is it just for woman pride/clean house pride or what? I just couldn't muster the energy to pick it up every day, even with the girls helping.
How much delight they take in doing simple things like decorating cupcakes or drawing pictures on the sidewalk with chalk
How much pleasure little girls have at bath time, just playing and playing with their toys and laughing and splashing (and splashing, and splashing!)- The foods that little kids eat, like the good-ole standbys of mac and cheese, PB&J, top roman noodles, cereal, go-gurt, string cheese or the more exotic favorites of pickles, humus, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, avocados, salt and vinegar Pringles, edamame or stir-fry.
- How much I appreciated having my husband come and help me over one weekend. He played and played with the girls and they just loved having him around. So did I. Courtney and Dave came over several times and they were a HUGE help as well.
How wonderful it is when everyone goes to bed and the house is quiet- How they monitor who gets the biggest, the most, the best and who's turn it is to do something first
- How much they LOVE playing with their cousin Skippy and watching her blog videos over and over and over. Claire and Skippy started tending the girls the first two days and then we overlapped one day. It was fun to have the cousins together again.
How sweetly they help each other and play together for hours and hours on end. It was so sweet to see a little 1 year old (almost 2) play house with her three year old sister (who is almost 4) and call her "Momma" and for "Momma" to call her little sister "Baby"- To see their concern when someone gets an "owie"
- To listen to their sweet, simple, sincere prayers & to listen to them repeat some scriptures while eating breakfast
- How annoying the DVD of "Elmo's World" can be
- That is takes A LOT of energy to keep up with everything and that I'm so proud of Jordan and Jake for the job they are doing in raising our little granddaughters
- hearing the words "I love you Grandma" and "Grandma will you play with me?" and "thank you Grandma." And the best of all the phrase that just melted my heart and made it worth taking care of them for 9 days..."I don't want you to go home Grandma."
- it was also great to hear that the children in the kindergarten carpool thought I was Lauren's aunt (that I couldn't be her Grandma because I wasn't old enough) and that the lady next door thought that I was Jordan's older sister. Cool.
I love my little granddaughters so very much! I love being their Grandma and I love that they call me Grandma. It's a title I cherish.
3 comments:
Hats off to you, Vonnie. You did a bang-up, tremendous job tending the little ones, and they love you like crazy. You've still got all the skills, and mustered up the energy for the task. It's great to see you in the grandma role, and it's one in which you shine. Love you.
I'm exhausted just reading that list. What a great memory for you and the girls. And yes, J&J are lucky to have you!
Thanks again Mom for watching them. Our trip was only possible thanks to you and we are seriously in your debt. I think you are the perfect grandma and I know my girls love you so much.
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