New Adventures In Babysitting...

Once again, it's time to brush the cobwebs aside, and publish another post over here.  It's been far too long...

our three 'local' grands

Let me begin by saying, these days, it's a rare and special occasion when my husband, Ed, and I keep all three of the 'local' grandchildren (we have a fourth grandchild, who lives out-of-town). Sometimes, we'll keep one or two, but rarely do all three of them stay with us at once.  However, last Saturday night was one such occasion.

There was going to be a Sunday School outing, and the parents of our 'grands' sort of wanted to attend.  I've been feeling pretty good, lately, so I offered up my babysitting services, which were graciously accepted.

Let me begin by saying I quickly learned this: Folks who have two or more children in the house, DO NOT need a television!  It's a waste of time to even turn it on, because you can't hear a thing that's going on :)  Of course, if you put in a favorite movie of those children in your house, television can quickly become a life saver!  As children's eyes and ears become tuned into what's happening on the screen, their mouths suddenly become quiet :)

Seriously, the grand kids were very good, and gave us very little trouble.  We had the occasional, "He's being mean to me", or "They won't play with me", but I know, from experience, that's totally normal when three children play together.  I only had to call them down once, when they got into a spirited game of 'ball popping', in my kitchen.

Throughout the course of the evening, I did notice that a few things haven't changed since our own children grew up.  I guess some things remain the same, throughout the test of time.

First of all, there was supper.  I decided to serve pepperoni pizza and salad, with seedless grapes for dessert.  Two of the grands asked to have the pepperoni removed from their pizza.  One 'grand' only wanted carrots in his salad, while the other two wanted lettuce and carrots, but no tomatoes.  All three wanted lots of cheese on top!  (Some things never change...)  Our dinnertime conversation consisted of asking me the question, "How old are you?"  (again, some things never change...)

Next, all three decided they wanted to play 'house'.  One by one, each came to me requesting a pillow and a cover, to make a bed out of.  I ran out of old pillows, so I convinced one of them to 'sleep' in the computer chair, and pretend it was a recliner.  Problem solved.  (I may be old, but I'm not stupid...)

Later in the evening, I decided to leave Ed in charge long enough for me to take a quick bubble bath. I asked every 'grand' if anyone needed to use the bathroom before I took my bath.  All said they didn't.  About five minutes into my bubble bath, there was a knock on the door...  (again, some things never change...)  It was the youngest of the three, and he had to 'poop'.  Wouldn't ya' know?  So, as I'm trying to finish my bath, here come Ed and Chase to share the very tiny bathroom with me.  So much for privacy and relaxation!  I had to chuckle when Ed was helping Chase get back into his bottoms, and he pulled the pants up under Chase's armpits.  Chase quickly declared, "They're too high!" 

The last amusing conversation of the evening came when we turned on the television so the children could watch a movie they'd brought along.  Grandson, Caden, quickly covered his ears and asked why we play our television so loud!  I explained, to him, that our ears are old and don't hear as good as they once did.  (I spared him the details of how his grandpa is practically deaf and refuses to even consider getting hearing aids, so we all have to suffer)

All in all, it was a good evening with the grand kids.  They enjoyed each other's company, and seemed to enjoy some freedom away from their parents.  Of course, I'd be lying if I told you we weren't all happy to see the parents return home, shortly before bedtime.  After all, being 'grand' is hard work, no matter whether you are the 'grandchild' or the 'grandparent'!  Ed and I were happy to fall into our bed, shortly after everyone went home :)