Busy weekend... ***completed

I know it is Thursday and I haven't posted about having my grandchildren for the weekend, yet. Well, Ryan, 5 and Lily, 3, spent the weekend with us so their parents could go away for an anniversary weekend. They went to the mountains of Western Maryland and stayed in a tiny little cabin with a loft, a deck, a hot tub and, I am told, a friendly skunk!

Ryan and Lily arrived on Friday afternoon. Mommy dropped them off before heading downtown to pick up Daddy at work. They brought Play-Doh, Lily's Princesses, Ryan's baseball stuff, some bedtime stories and lots of energy. Lily wanted to play with the Play-Doh right away. Ryan was upstairs playing with Grandpa's toy cars. Lily and I made models of Wendy and Bob the Builder, then we made houses and finally, butterflies. Ryan joined us and made a butterfly of his own. Then it was dinnertime--chicken nuggets, baked potato, broccoli, and milk.

Bedtime that first night became a two-hour event. I started getting them ready about 8:00--jammies, stories, songs, prayers. Realized we forgot to brush teeth. Brushed them. Back to bed. More songs and requests for made-up stories. Grandma fell for all of it, hoping they would calm down enough to sleep. I finally realized (again) that I had to leave the room, so I did. They both came running out to check on me twice. I put them back and left...then just Ryan came out. He said Lily was asleep, but he just couldn't keep his eyes closed. I realized the noises and headlights of our busy street would be disruptive, so I put a portable fan in the room and told him he had to stay in bed at least half an hour before he came out again--to give himself the chance to sleep. I also gave him an apple wedge, telling him it helps people sleep. I actually have read that before. Don't know what worked, but he fell asleep and they both stayed in bed all night.

Saturday morning, Ryan had a T-ball game. Tom made the kids pancakes for breakfast--after I told him we make them from ingredients, not a mix. I put the ingredients on the counter for him, and he went to work. Sadly, I put out baking soda, instead of baking powder. Ryan said they tasted salty, and not like Mommy makes them. He ate something else, but did manage to eat a chocolate chip pancake when they appeared. Then it was off to play baseball! We got to the designated field in plenty of time only to learn we were at the wrong place! Several other players from Ryan's team were there, too, so we weren't the only ones misinformed. Fortunately, the correct field was at the next street over, so it didn't take us too long to get there. Lily played on the playground while Ryan played ball. Afterward, a mom brought donuts to celebrate a birthday and both kids got one. Both kids also were given a 'game ball' for doing such a good job.

Later Saturday afternoon, we took the kids to see "Sleeping Beauty" at the local community college. We prepared the kids for a ballet--a story told in dance. I read them the synopsis from the program, and they both listened attentively. Then the show started, and an announcement was made that the show consisted of several modern dance selections and the third act of Sleeping Beauty--which was the wedding reception! We were surprised and a bit disappointed to learn this, as it was advertised as "Sleeping Beauty." The dancing was beautiful, and afterward the characters from the wedding reception were available in the lobby for a meet and greet. The Silver Fairy presented Lily with a wreath for her head, and Ryan received a pen shaped like a sword. Tom took pictures of both kids with some of the characters--Lily was a bit awed by meeting them up close.

Tom decided that we needed something a bit more 'fun' after the ballet, so we went to Chuck E Cheese for dinner. The kids loved that idea, and had a blast while we were there. There was one moment when they came out of the play area that required leaving shoes behind that I was concerned. Lily's Mickey Mouse crocs were not in the shoe shelves! I found them placed 'just so' at the bottom of a toddler slide. Weird.

Bedtime that night was easier. I followed the bedtime routine of teeth, jammies, stories, songs and prayers then kissed the kiddies good night and left the room. They stayed in bed all night, with the exception of Lily getting out of bed, getting a drink of water from her nightstand, seeing me and saying "Grandma," as though that made sense, and getting right back in bed and going back to sleep.

Tom made pancakes for breakfast again on Sunday morning. Ryan reminded him to use the right ingredients. He did and Ryan was very happy with his pancakes. Then we got dressed and went to church, where we sat in the back behind the glass doors, just in case. The kids were really good, though, and would have been fine inside the church, although Ryan did find it to be "boring."

***
After church, we discussed what to do with the rest of our day on our way home to change. There was the "HonFest" in Baltimore, the Estuary Center and army tanks and guns on the nearby army post. Ryan heard 'army tanks' and his decision was made. Despite my thinking the HonFest is a once-a-year thing, we headed off to see tanks. Since the Estuary is on the way, we stopped there first. We checked out the displays inside--the kids enjoyed the snake skins and the bones, but they loved the live turtles, frogs and snakes. Then we headed outside to explore the trails that lead to the water. That was great fun. They threw sticks and rocks into the river, waded up to their ankles, and generally splashed about. Lily kept squatting down to look at things in the water--dipping the back of her dress in the river every time. I finally just slipped it off while we were at the waters edge. Then it was back to the car and off to the Army Post to see tanks! Or so we thought....

When Tom turned the key in the ignition, it went THUNK and nothing. The battery was dead! We had not had an ounce of trouble with the car, so this was a complete surprise. Lucky for us, Jen had left a message on my phone to say they were home. So we managed to arrange for them to bring some jumper cables and collect their children at the Estuary. We decided we would have to skip the tanks (poor Ryan!). It was a good decision, as the car got us home but would not start again. Tom had to replace the battery and now it works just fine.

Dinner was planned at oour house so Jen and Jay wouldn't have to cook when they got home. I put a roast in the crock pot before we left for the Estuary--but I put it on 'low' and it wasn't done! Luckily, we had leftover lasagna and some defrosted chicken breasts, so I threw together a pot luck meal and we all enjoyed each other's company. After dinner, the kids wanted to build puzzles, so we did that until it was time to send them home for bed.

I loved the whole weekend. :-)