We have 9 grandchildren:Mike, Eva, Zac, Alex, Shawn, Mike, Jay, Caetie and Megan. We also have 2 grand-pups and at least 4 grand-kitties!! Let's just concentrate on the human side of the equation for now. My children were busy:)!!!! I get a humble pleasure any time we get to spend time with them. My wife is new to the g-parenting thing, but learned a lot this summer, the summer of the grandkids, well, 6 of 'em anyway!
My daughter Kimmy and her s.o./housemates Lisa and Jon, have 3 children each. We, Michelle and I, took the 6 in 2 child increments, over the course of the summer. Among the things we learned from these experiences were to never allow the childrens mom to forget any medication, not to feed children before the 45 to 90 minute ride between the homes (they live in Lake Geneva,WI., we were living in Bolingbrook, IL.) as to avoid projectile vomiting. And of course, there is always the I'm bored thing or the defiant misunderstandings.
There were several great moments, their energy, their knowledge, their imagination, and 6 distinct personalities. There was also several decisions we made during and after the 3 visits.....
after the first set of children, Jay and Shawn,(referred to as the Devil Twins by my daughter Kimmy in her blog, khayes3819@blogspot.com) we will not be conceiving any children of our own, they have way too much energy for us, not that we're old and slow or bored, we'd rather not at this time.
Whew!! I think I need a nap just thinking about them!!! The second set of g-kids were Mike and Alex, accompanied by Abbie, a child of a friend. Abbie met Alex at our wedding and they kinda, sorta, had/have a crush on each other. This set of g-kids taught us to make sure we have a good supply of paper towels and spray cleaner in the car....I did mention projectile vomiting earlier!!!
This threesome were particularly helpful in some household clean-up and packing chores too.They were the only group to make the park district pool also!! Their self professed goal was to out do the Devil Twins....But settled in being better!
The third group were the girls, Caetie and Megan. Shel, Megan and Caetie hung together and bonded through the week. Megan had a loose tooth, the start of bankrupting the tooth fairy was forming in her mind!! Caetie got a pig kitchen, but didn't get the opportunity to use her own kitchen talents this time!I felt a little off this week (stress from selling the townhouse and being unemployed), while enjoying their company, I was preoccupied with little stuff, my bad!! We learned to realize it's all small stuff and don't sweat it!!!
And so the summer ended with the promise of Palm Trees in our future.....We wound up not moving to Florida....Yet!! But that is another chapter....One chapter at a time!!
The g-children showed us a lot of love, laughter, and larceny! One of the best things, for me, was that they all got to spend time with my mom, their great g-ma! The hearts were floating out of her heart and head...It doesn't get any better!!
My daughter Kimmy and her s.o./housemates Lisa and Jon, have 3 children each. We, Michelle and I, took the 6 in 2 child increments, over the course of the summer. Among the things we learned from these experiences were to never allow the childrens mom to forget any medication, not to feed children before the 45 to 90 minute ride between the homes (they live in Lake Geneva,WI., we were living in Bolingbrook, IL.) as to avoid projectile vomiting. And of course, there is always the I'm bored thing or the defiant misunderstandings.
There were several great moments, their energy, their knowledge, their imagination, and 6 distinct personalities. There was also several decisions we made during and after the 3 visits.....
after the first set of children, Jay and Shawn,(referred to as the Devil Twins by my daughter Kimmy in her blog, khayes3819@blogspot.com) we will not be conceiving any children of our own, they have way too much energy for us, not that we're old and slow or bored, we'd rather not at this time.
Whew!! I think I need a nap just thinking about them!!! The second set of g-kids were Mike and Alex, accompanied by Abbie, a child of a friend. Abbie met Alex at our wedding and they kinda, sorta, had/have a crush on each other. This set of g-kids taught us to make sure we have a good supply of paper towels and spray cleaner in the car....I did mention projectile vomiting earlier!!!
This threesome were particularly helpful in some household clean-up and packing chores too.They were the only group to make the park district pool also!! Their self professed goal was to out do the Devil Twins....But settled in being better!
The third group were the girls, Caetie and Megan. Shel, Megan and Caetie hung together and bonded through the week. Megan had a loose tooth, the start of bankrupting the tooth fairy was forming in her mind!! Caetie got a pig kitchen, but didn't get the opportunity to use her own kitchen talents this time!I felt a little off this week (stress from selling the townhouse and being unemployed), while enjoying their company, I was preoccupied with little stuff, my bad!! We learned to realize it's all small stuff and don't sweat it!!!
And so the summer ended with the promise of Palm Trees in our future.....We wound up not moving to Florida....Yet!! But that is another chapter....One chapter at a time!!
The g-children showed us a lot of love, laughter, and larceny! One of the best things, for me, was that they all got to spend time with my mom, their great g-ma! The hearts were floating out of her heart and head...It doesn't get any better!!
posted by mr.tommy @ 2:55 PM
1 Comments:
At 2:07 AM,
Kimmy said…
Wow, that was a great blog. I will have to let the kiddies read it and serve up their own comments.
It was a win/win situation all around. I got a week minus two kids, who in turn got to spend time with grandparents. (And learn cool games like Bunco--we now have our own set of the game, thanks GRAM!)And, the good thing is you can always send them HOME!
Love you both, you both earned Grandparent Gold Stars this summer, and merit badges in ADHD maintanence without medication, puke clean-up, The "I'm Bored" and "There's nothing to do..." co-merit badges, and the unintentional hurting of the gp's feelings badge.
Ready for Christmas and Spring Breaks?
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