A Sleepover ....Please Dad?

It's the end of the first week of school. Yeah..time to go to Gram's for a sleepover.

I picked the boys up from Breakthrough Magnet School in Hartford. The minute they dismissed the "walkers" and the "Picker-Uppers" I spotted two little faces at the office windows that looked amazingly like my grandsons. Connor and Riley were anxious to flee school and "get to Gram's".

I had a treat waiting for each of them on their seats in the car but first they were required to tell me what kind thing each of them had done for another during the day. Riley's comment was hilarious. It seems that in the modern first grade classes little girls chase little boys with the intent of kissing them. Horrified by that Riley has become a body guard for one of his friends. Jacob has been the target of "the girls" this week so Riley and several other of Jacob's friends have been surrounding and protecting him from "harm". Now you have to actually see Riley to understand how truly funny this story is. Riley is tall for his age but he is maybe 46 pounds dripping wet. To say he is slim would be putting it mildly. He's never found a pair of pants that stayed up unless they had that special little elastic strip inside the waistband to keep them up! Slim as he may be though he has a heart that takes up most of his body.

Now it was Connor's turn. You have to understand here that compared to his little brother he is a "man of the school". At ten years old and in the fifth grade he is "an old hand" at this school business. He told me that the kindest thing he did was to behave, listen, and do everything asked of him. He followed that statement up by producing two of the three small gifts he received from his teacher. One was a pen that wrote in ten... count them ten different colored inks. The second was a tiny clear pouch filled with the smallest stapler and tape dispenser I had ever seen. The color was a vivid Granny Smith apple green...even the miniature staples were green. Connor was very impressed at the length of the tape. It seems there were 108 inches of tape in the dispenser. He asked me to show him how long I thought that was. Luckily I am a sewer and that translated into three yards for me. A long...and I mean very long time ago my Mom taught me that the distance between my nose and the tip of my fingers pretty much equaled a yard. You can't imagine how many times I've used that helpful tip. When I taught it to Connor he thought it was "pretty darn cool" and when I told him there were three times that much tape in his new dispenser he was very impressed. Now for the third present...well that was for his locker...so he left it there. Lockers are VERY important to a fifth grader. This is the first year they have them. They also get to each lunch in the cafeteria. The younger grades all have full kitchens in their individual rooms. They eat in their rooms.

Well the question was answered and so the full size Tootsie Rolls were gleefully eaten...Connor's six times as fast as Riley's.

The traffic on the way home was brutal..It was Labor Day Weekend afterall.

After turkey meatballs and noodles it was off to a wild night with the boys....ah this is life.

"Phoebe Marion Elsie Welcome Day"

So...do you know any words that start with a "d" and rhyme with giant? Defiant. That would be the word of the day. The dictionary defines someone who is defiant as someone who is boldly resisting authority. Today was one of "those" days for Phoebe. She is incredibly independent. She also on occasion feels she is at the least as capable as her six and ten year old brothers.

I arrived shortly after ten to find my son making oatmeal for Ms Phoebe. It seems that for some reason she slept much later than usual and awoke with a rare cast of the "uglies". She insists on dressing herself, which would be so welcomed by so many parents, but sometimes a two year old needs just a bit of assistance. She got her dress over her head in fine fashion but it seems that it was backside front and there was a telltale tag just so obviously appearing at the neckline. Her Dad was pretty insistent that she turn it around and wear the dress properly. Well...you can only imagine what transpired next....oh yes...a real full blown tantrum! Of course that is when I entered.

I had been asked to come "visit with Phoebe" while her Dad drove to New Haven to lunch with Phoebe's Mom and deliver his newest handmade Wedge guitar to G Guitar. I love to play and visit with Phoebe so I jumped at the chance. Today wasn't a typical visit. Phoebe was out of sorts from beginning to end. Her second tantrum came when she wanted a gummy vitamin and I told her no. I'm extremely careful about dispensing any medicine to a grandchild with the express consent and direction of a parent. I tried to explain that to her...but to avail. She is two after all.

Bella Bella....a Mouse Ballerina

I've finally gotten up enough courage to list my mice on Etsy. You will find lots and lots of them by going to www.warmth.etsy.com

This little mouse is dedicated to Ms. Piper, the MOST adorable ballerina ever.

Grammie loves you Piper.

Piper, Piper, Ballerina

Bear and Piper at her first ballet class? Feel the joy....