While Mommy and Daddy Were Away...

     After I got home from New Hampshire I marathoned through the final two days of school. Elementary children on the last two days of school are what I would call "controlled chaos". The staff made it a fun end to a productive year. Three days after that, Claire and Daniel traveled to Iceland for a long awaited vacation and we cared for our three grandchildren at our house for eight days. I do not recall being that exhausted at the end of each day in a very long time. (With the exception of chasing Hugo for the week in NH) Children have a lot of energy! I planned things I thought they would like to do without going out in the car much. We have a nice place in the country and, in my opinion, that's the best imaginative playground a child can have. In one paragraph, here's what the week included:
     Afternoons in the kiddie pool, evenings in the shade on the swing, walks through the field, bubbles, dolls and trucks, rock collecting, Play-Doh, drawing, quiet time movies, running through the sprinkler and squirting Pop and everything in sight with squirters, rides in the lawnmower cart, watching the hay get cut and bailed, hauling toys out to the water and back in again, popsicles, dandelions and band-aids, playing billiards without the sticks, coasting down the hill in Cozy Coupe and wagon, digging for worms and finding 'Wormy', counting pennies, books at bedtime and in between, hot dogs and Jello, many, many potty breaks, climbing up to the tree fort, blowing bubbles, walking Henri, a couple of trips to the grocery store, the Troutville Town Park and two trips to the doctor and pharmacy. (Matthew had pneumonia. We'll include naps, medicine, and cuddles here.) An overnight play date for two of the three children at their cousins', blanket forts, a long forgotten bin of stuffed animals found in the basement, Thomas the Train, Legos, toy cars, and plastic animals. What fun! Whew!

Where the Wild Things Are: At Nonni's

     Nonni (that would be me) is still recovering from having her hands (and lap) full last weekend. It was wonderful to have Claire's three children here for the weekend while she and Daniel had a little getaway. I'm very glad we could do this favor for them. Here are a few highlights in words and pictures:

All three children love to have books read to them. I'm glad because I enjoy sharing a book with them just as much. Still in our robes and pajamas, we read, "Where the Wild Things Are".

Mari's Grandma Hoffman picked her up to take her and her cousins to a play of Rapunzel at our local theater. The girls decided to dress up for the play. Here Mari wears a flower girl dress that her mother wore when she was five years old. Tess played Beauty Shop with Mari and braided her hair, polished her nails, and helped her dress. As is true with most little girls, "more is better" and Mari added butterfly pins to her sash, a hairband, multiple bracelets, and both tights and ruffled purple socks beneath. Tess talked her out of wearing all the barrettes. Jack wanted in on the game so Tess painted his finger and toenails, too.

Matthew at fifteen months really enjoyed playing in Pop's chair. I think it was because he could get in and out of it easily all by himself. He was happy to sit with me visit with my mom, his Great Grandma! He spent some precious time getting to know her by reaching out and touching her nose and lips and chin. I could tell she was smiling with amusement inside. The little guy spent much of the weekend on my hip or lap. I'm okay with constant cuddles but it reminded me how hardworking parents of little ones are.

Play-Do was definitely a favorite pastime. I remember when my daughters were little, I got on their cases to not blend the colors of dough together. With the grandchildren I say blend and mush away! I wish I hadn't been so uptight back then. (Steve would say I'm still uptight, but I know for a fact that I've mellowed considerably compared to how I was before.)
Later that evening, Jack became very excited when he saw his family's Christmas card on the bulletin board. It was a photo of his family and he kept exclaiming, "It's Mommy and Daddy! Look! Look! It's Mommy. And Daddy!". It just about broke my heart. We took it down from the board and he slept with it on his pillow that night. He is a loving little boy, for sure.

Coloring, drawing, and crafts are also a big favorite with the children. (As are eating ice cream, cupcakes, and cookies.) When it comes to hearts, again "more is better". Mari was very happy to make an elaborate Valentine for her family.
By Sunday evening, Claire and Daniel arrived and everyone was reunited. We watched the Superbowl game, shared stories of the weekend, and I sat with my feet up enjoying one of my favorite drinks, a Moscow Mule.

Birthdays and Visits

     There were many happy events over the last seven days that I haven't had a chance to write about. We began with Tess' 19th (!!) birthday. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that our youngest is nineteen. We then had a three day visit from Claire and Daniel and the grandchildren. I was high on 'cuteness overload' with the three little ones here. Steve returned home briefly on Sunday, having half an hour in passing with Claire and family before they departed. He brought me some excellent toffee, which I shared : ). That afternoon we were able to attend a dinner reservation made weeks earlier at Tizzone. Twice per month Tizzone's holds wine pairing dinner events and this was the first one we tried. This one happened to be a four course dinner, each course being paired with a Bordeaux wine. The meal was delicious, the aperitif was my favorite, and Steve and I enjoyed being out together along with friends, old and new.
     Aside from all this, we've had some breathtaking autumn days. I even enjoy the rainy days when we make the house cozy with lights on in the day time time and blankets on our laps when we curl up for a movie at night. Most of us know the importance of cozying up our living environments on these shortened fall and winter days, but did you know the Danish are experts at this and raise it to an art? It is known as the Danish art of hygge. You can read all about it here.
     Before I could gather my thoughts to write about any one of these events singularly, my mother and I both came down with heavy colds. Needless to say, we've had several nights of disrupted sleep. I hope we will turn the corner on this and feel better soon. Steve is away again, which may mean he has been spared the suffering. We're trying very hard not to pass it on to Tess. She's too busy with school and work to get sick. I'll leave a few photos to highlight our week until I feel more up to writing.

Preparing Tess' birthday dinner of an excellent beef stew in the crockpot and...

... fruit pizzas!! Good recipe HERE 
We've been making these for years and they are so much fun to decorate and they taste great. 

For the grandchildren, I baked pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies, frosted them, and gave the kids candies to decorate them with funny faces.

Yes, bikes are allowed inside at Nonni's house : )

This little guy is ready to take some steps.

We also visited the sheep,

looked for the chickens,

and ran home across the field.