Thursday, January 31, 2013

Clapping Game with Buppa

We had lots of hilarity the other morning when Danica and Buppa tried to play a clapping game. There were lots of missed hand claps and kerfuffles.   What a hoot.


I think lots of practicing is in order.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

This and That

Mornings are always an adventure when the munchkins arrive to await the school bus.
We have some quiet moments.
But usually Danica is climbing to new heights, while JJ looks on and learns
Here he waits quietly for his turn to climb on Buppa's head.
Danica listening intently to her story.




Monday, January 28, 2013

Relief

After enduring a week of bone freezing cold temps, we enjoyed a bit of relief today when the afternoon temp soared to a balmy -10!   The sun was shining, and the winds calm, so we bundled up and went for a walk in the park. 
We didn't walk very far, as the snow was rutted and icy and made for very difficult walking, but we made an attempt, and enjoyed the sunshine and crisp air.
We stopped at my favorite spot to sit in the summer, but a huge drift of snow made it difficult to get to the bench, and it was too cold to sit anyway.  We had to keep moving to keep warm.
We sauntered along the river's edge for a while...
...then headed over to the Canoe Club to take some pictures from their deck.
It was a grand and glorious day for a walk and I enjoyed every minute of it...
...and every vista Mother Nature provided for me.
One last shot, then it was time to go to Tim's for hot chocolate before heading home.


Friday, January 25, 2013

Tag teamed

Crazy hair day at the library got the kidlets both working on Buppa's hair at the same time. 


The stairs seemed like the best place to sit so they could both get a good vantage point to work on Buppa's head.  What is it with kids wanting to fix a grandpa's hair.  I remember doing the same thing when I was a kid.  

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Sleep over

We had Danica here for a sleepover Friday night,and it started out just fine.  
Once she was all ready for bed, it was story time.  She snuggled up on the couch with Buppa...
...and enjoyed hearing all about the adventures of Amelia Bedelia.

Danica sleeps in the big bed with Amma, and Buppa is relegated to the guest room for the night.   We settled down around 8:30, and Danica said her tummy was sore.  This happens regularly at home, so I didn't think anything of it.  I gave her a hot water bottle, and we snuggled down under the blankets for a long winter nap.

I was sleeping soundly around midnight when I heard a little voice telling me she needed a puke bowl.  I jumped out of bed, grabbed the garbage can next to the bed, and handed it to her while I went in search of the puke bowl.  I got it to her just in time for the first wave.  She expertly hit the target,  but she was mostly on her back, and I wanted her to sit up so she wouldn't choke.  I tried to hold the can, while maneuvering her to the side of the bed so she could bend over the can more comfortably.  This was no easy task, as she was in the middle our king size bed, and had quite a distance to travel while retching and gulping.   During this maneuver  she missed the bucket with the second wave of vomit, and got the bed, the carpet, my nightgown and her jammies.  Groan.  What a mess.

All the ruckus woke AC in the guest room, and he came to help calm her down, and clean up the mess.  By 1AM her tummy seemed to be settled, so we moved to the guest room, as I had to strip the bed right down including the mattress cover.  I  put the sheets in the wash, and joined Dani in the guest room. AC said he would sleep in his easy chair in the den, as he does this lots of nights anyway. 

Danica was soon asleep again, but I could not get back to dreamland.  Every time she moved I thought I might have to jump up for the puke bowl again.   It was right beside her, but I wanted to make sure she got to it in time.  I think I finally drifted off to sleep around 3am, but at 3:30 a little voice woke me up again asking for the puke bowl.  She expertly grabbed it and hit it beautifully.  What a trooper.

I cleaned her up as best I could, found some Gravol in the medicine cabinet, and gave her a quarter of an adult tablet.  She once again settled down, so we tried to go back to sleep.  It was not to be.  A little after 4 am another wave hit, and this time she missed the bowl completely.  Spraying me, all the guest room bedding, the floor.....everything in sight.  At this point I was running out of beds, clothing and energy.   What a night.

I found some dry clothes for both of us, put towels down on the bed to cover up the damp spots on the mattress,  scrounged up a couple of baby blankets to put together for her, and an old afghan for me...and we went back to bed.  I was going on fumes by this time, and around 6am fell asleep.

We were all up again at 7 though, as morning dawned, and found Danica feeling tired, but much better now that her tummy stopped heaving.  It was morning, and she wanted to be up and at'em. Me? Not so much!  I was not so sure her tummy was settled, so allowed her to have water and toast only, and kept her fairly quiet for the rest of the morning.  She wanted to go to dance class as planned, but the kibosh was put on that idea in a hurry. 

Needless to say it was not the best sleepover ever, but we all survived, and now I have totally clean beds from top to bottom.  Took me two days to get through all the laundry though. 




Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Fun trip to Chapters with Amma and Buppa

We took JJ shopping with us the other day, and after stopping at the camera store, the bead shop, the fabric shop and the office shop, we took JJ to Chapters for a little play time.  He was more than pleased.
They have a great play area for the kids in "our" Chapters...
...and JJ loves it. Buppa and I take turns sitting in the comfy chairs in the area so we can keep an eye on him.
When it was time to go, he happily donned his coat, and pushed the grocery cart around the store for one last spin. 

Monday, January 21, 2013

Lists upon lists upon lists

The other morning when Dani came over, she wanted to make a list of all the students Buppa taught in his many many years as a geography teacher. 
Dani had her clipboard and pen at the ready...
...and wrote down every name Buppa could remember.
We don't know why this was important to her, but it was, and page after page, she listed name after name after name.  

We had to help her with the spelling of many of the names, but she tried to sound each one out before we were allowed to help her. 

Friday, January 18, 2013

Morning activities

These two do not let any grass grow under their feet, or let any box go calmly and quietly into the recycling bin  When they came into the house the other morning, I had two boxes sitting on the floor ready to be pitched into the recycling.  No, that wouldn't do.  First thing Danica said, was "Can I have the scissors?"
I managed to find a pair for each of them...
And they sat quietly at the kitchen table making something fabulous out of the boxes.
I am not sure what it was...
...but it was fabulous!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Puddle Walk

We have had a ton of rain these past few days, so lots of our snow has melted, making the bare sidewalks visible and safe for walking once again - yahoo!  Lots of puddles called us out for a walk the other day, and JJ was very happy about that.  . 
He stopped often to ponder big chunks of snow, to see if he could kick them along on the walk.
We helped him find lots of suitable ones, and he kicked them until they were just little chunks like this one.
Kicking the snow-balls was fun, but the puddles were the real treat.
He splashed his way through every one along the way and had a grand time.  He did lag behind quite a bit though.  Buppa is almost out of the picture he is getting so far ahead of us at this point in the walk.
JJ ran to catch up, and I wasn't far behind.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Strong Helper

Yesterday we saw JJ being a big help at the grocery story.  He loves to be a helper these days, no matter what the task. In the pictures below he is taking his toy bag upstairs for his quiet rest time.  The bag is almost as big as he is, but that doesn't deter him.
Onward and upward.
Whew...half way there.
This is harder than I thought it would be.  Will you help me Buppa?

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Helping Buppa with the grocery shopping

After story hour, and our trip to Tim's for a snack the other day, we dropped in at the grocery store to pick up a few things.  JJ enjoys going to the store with Buppa,  He is such a big helper.
Here we see him helping Buppa carry the groceries in the store...
...and out to the car.
It was a heavy bag full of six tins of soup, but he kept up his side of the bag all the way to the car.  What a trooper.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Story Hour at the library with JJ

Story hour at the library with JJ was lots of fun last week.
The letter of the day was "M", and JJ was ready with lots of words that started with the letter M.  He is in the red shirt, with his hand raised high in the air. 
Then it was time to do lots of tricks with sticks, and he was ready for the action.
Time for another story...
...and he listened intently.
He got dutifully in line for a march through the Children's library.
Then it was time to make a craft. 
He proudly wore the crown he made during craft time, and  enjoyed playing with other kids in the library after the story hour.
He happily wore his crown to Tim's when we went there for a snack after Story hour.  MMMM, his gingerbread cookie was delicious.  Danica eats the head (the area with all the icing)  last, JJ eats his first.  Hmmmm, I think I would eat the head last too.  How about you, a first or last person?