January 10, 2015

A Cold, Rainy Day with a 

House Full of Grandchildren

January 10 , 2015

Saturday was such a full day that I am writing this on Sunday evening - not only was Saturday a full day but so was Sunday.  So again it is Catch Up Time.

On Saturday  morning, the children woke up in the same order that they had gone to sleep; that is, except for one of the girls bringing in the baby (3 year old) at 4:00 a.m. to let me know she was cold and wet.  I took care of both and all of us were soon back to sleep.  The second youngest is the first asleep and the first to get up.  He is like his father in way.  Jeff would stand by my bed in the morning, staring at me until I opened my eyes, and then his first comment would be, "What's for breakfast?"  His son stood beside me and stared at me.  As I opened my eyes he asked if we could bake cookies.  I had told him we would do that this weekend (it never got done so I may have to have him over alone to get it done).

Next came his little sister and so on as one at a time they woke up and wanted breakfast.  I had baked biscuits after the first two were up and gradually the biscuits and bowls of cereal disappeared as the others joined us at the breakfast table.  The morning was spent with them playing in pairs or alone scattered all over the house.  There were times when it got very quiet, but that isn't really a warning with these children.  Some of them just enjoy quiet times playing alone in their imaginary worlds.  The baby will carry on long conversations with her dolls or the air if necessary.  She loves to talk and to sing and doesn't need a live audience to listen.

I had to fill the bird feeders twice and the yard was filled with well over a hundred sparrows.  They were all over the feeders, scattered across the ground, and lining the fence as the cold, wind, and rain continued all day.  Most of the children have come to love watching the birds as much as their Grandma.  What fun it is to see how excited they become when they spot a Green Jay in the trees.  Our youngest granddaughter had been watching the sparrows and the one lone Black-bellied Whistling Duck pictured above and decided it was the Mommy bird and all the others were the babies.  Love kids!

For lunch one of the girls helped me make a big pot of soup.  I contacted Mom to see if she would like to join us. Did I mentioned that it was a cold, wet, rainy, windy, yucky day?  There was some very heavy rain in the early hours and every time I had wakened during the night the wind was blowing the trees every which way.  I asked Mom to bring Carmen and I would pay her to do some house work during the afternoon.  Carmen's sister is my regular housekeeper and we had talked about her letting Carmen work for me to give a break to my over scheduled housekeeper.

Ron had gone to the office early in the morning to check on possible flooding and found water very close to the door.  He unstopped the city drain and put out our sandbags and all was well there after a good bit of his work.  He went back out in the cold (he hates the cold) to pick up Mom and Carmen and bring them over.  We all had fun eating lunch together and then Carmen did as much house work as she could around the full house.

Late in the morning a couple of the kids helped me make more Rice Krispie Treats for after lunch.    The kids love to help in the kitchen and it is always fun working with them.  The Rick Krispie Treats disappeared after lunch.  That is one things all of the kids love.  As for main courses, that is a little more of a challenge, but they are good about finding something if they don't like what is being served.  They will try new things, but I won't force them to eat something that they really don't like.  That is a decision for the parents, not for Grandma.  As for the soup, it is one of Barb's recipes and most like it, but we made tuna sandwiches for those that don't (two).  Grilled cheese (from the night before) is liked by all but one and she is quick to suggest a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

While the two youngest children rested or napped, our oldest grandson and I decided to work a puzzle and I let him select the one to work on.  He likes a challenge.  During the afternoon several spent time at the puzzle including Carmen late in the afternoon.  After nap time, Mom got out a puzzle to work with the younger ones and I found another one for the younger kids.  It was a relaxing afternoon.

Mom treated us all to pizza for supper and I spared Ron another trip out in the cold rain.  Our oldest grandson and I went while Mom and Carmen baked a perfect banana cake for dessert.  I gave Carmen my recipe and hers turned out great. 

Ron took Mom and Carmen back home as I dealt with baths and bedtimes for the crew.  It was later than hoped when the last of them were finally in bed, but we had such a good day.  They are great kids and help so much with each other.  There were minor disputes during the day, but very minor and easily settled.  We are so thankful for these children and the time we spend with them.

When you have 7 children at the dining table along with 4 adults, noise is a natural result.  Ron told me several times he envied my ability to remove my Cochlear sound processor and have a few moments of silence.  There were a few times I did remove mine, but those times were brief.