Empty Nest Syndrome....Again!

It has been so long since I have written on here!

 I hope to use this blog as a journal to help me remember "things my grandchildren have done" as well as life in general. Since I last wrote, I had a whole extra grandchild!

His name is Teddy and oh, what a joy he has been!! He is now five years old and such a unique individual. I hope to recollect some of the things that have been seared into my memory as I play catch-up on here.

But, for this entry, I will be writing about things that have been going on with me for the past couple of months. Last school year, Teddy was in 4K. Since he only went there for a half day, I still got to spend time with him. We spent those half days doing many arts and crafts, playing games, reading, watching favorite shows and movies and taking walks to our favorite bakery.

Then I spent the summer with all 3 of my grandsons....and what adventures we had. Living next to Lake Michigan means that we got to have beach days....the lake is my favorite place to be

We went to Manitowoc Aquatic Center and had picnics at city parks.

Then came fall. In order to understand the situation, you should know that I have always been a stay at home mother...by choice. When my kids were little, I found all kinds of reasons to "justify" my staying home. Bob and I would have to work different shifts in order for both of us to work. There was nobody I trusted enough to watch my kids for any amount of time on an ongoing basis. Day Care was unsafe! I would miss all of their school events if I worked first shift (Bob worked second shift). Working third shift at a local nursing home was one of the hardest things to do. One of my children had ADHD, and I really felt that I needed to concentrate on helping him. All of the above reasons cemented my decision to become a stay at home mom until all of my kids were out of high school.

 So, after all of my kids were in college, I decided to go back to college myself and earn a degree! I was accepted into UW Platteville in their Distance Education program. Halfway through, I became a grandmother and I decided to continue my pursuit of a degree while becoming a daycare provider for my grandchildren.....again by choice. There was no way that I would have any of my grandchildren being taken care of by a stranger....not with all of the horror stories that are out there. So, from the time that my daughter Rianna went to work until the day that Teddy graduated from 4K, I (and Papa) happily babysat for all of my grandchildren. Luckily, I did have help with the girls, as their Grammee Laurie retired early and cared for the girls for half the week.

 Now, fall of 2018. No more babies at Grandma's house...at least not on a regular basis. At my age, I suddenly find myself at a loss. as I prepare myself to go into the working world, I have found myself, at times, to be profoundly sad....almost to a point of depression. I have been trying to figure out what is wrong with me. I now realize that I am most likely going through something that I have never really had to go through before....empty nest syndrome. I am honing my skills from my degree and looking up possible career searches. Which may seem kind of funny to some of my friends and family, since two of my high school friends are already retired (government workers). But, I plan on working until at least 67....if not later.

 Unless I win the lottery......lol.

Old School Super Mario Brothers Music and Lainie's First Day of 4K

My three-year old grandson Ian has started to play Super Mario Brothers on Uncle Michael's DS and loves it. Of course, since I used to play old school Super Mario Brothers with the kids when they were little, I can conquer worlds and he turns to me a lot to help him out "download castles".

The other day he asked me to help him get through the castle at the end of World 2. Now anyone familiar with these games knows that there are different types of music for different scenarios. So the "castle" music is playing and I hit a block and then jumped to get the "flower power" and suddenly I hear Ian singing, "Yooouu've go-ot more fi-re pow-er...Yoooouu've go-ot more fi-re pow-er"....to the music.

I thought this was so cute because it reminded me of when the kids were little and we would sing "Your not going to get it" to the music that played during some of the various parts of the game.

Meanwhile Lainie has been spending the last week getting ready for and excited about going to her new school, 4K. When her mommy dropped her off this morning, she had her hair in braids and her first day of school outfit on,which she insisted on wearing ... so I reminded her to be very careful during breakfast and lunch...which she actually ate without too much coaxing!

Since she went to pre-school last year, it seemed like today (first day of school), was no big deal to her. She spent the morning playing with Ian...pretend time (making up stories),playing dress-up with Auntie Hollie's clothes that I was pricing for the garage sale, and then playing with playdough. A very busy morning! After lunch she brushed her teeth and was off to school with Papa with no big to do! I heard from Rianna (who works at the school and got to hear about her day from the teacher and aid)) that Lainie had a good day and actually asked one of the aids to read her one of her favorite books, "The Monster at the End of the Book"...my Lainie and Ian are growing up too fast!

Meanwhile Gabe and Lucy are slowly acclimating themselves to being around each during the day after their month spent not seeing each other as much. They do a lot of yelling "Hey!" ...followed by "Hey!" to each other when they are not fighting over who gets to sit on my lap. Gabe has taken to trying to hit Lucy and Lucy has not been fighting back...until this afternoon. Gabe was sitting on my lap and did not like it when Lucy tried to sit down and I moved him over to make room for her. He yelled and reached for her and she yelled, "Hey!" and reached around him and grabbed his ear. He started to scream and and she would not let go...I had to pry her little hand off from his ear. After I talked to them both about playing nice, they both got up and Lucy waved her hand at Gabe and said, "Hi" and Gabe handed her a mega builing block. Hopefully they get to be good friends like their older siblings are.....:)

Regifting and Rianna's Upcoming Birthday Party

Had another wonderful weekend with the kids and grandkids; we celebrated our 29th anniversary as well as Father's day. We originally were going to all go out for dinner, but despite the weather (or maybe because of it - the dismal weather kind of made us all feel like not going anywhere!), we decided to stay at our house and cook out steaks and chicken. Delicious food and the best company always make for a great day!

Anyway, Ian started the day off in a typical Ian way doing another future anecdote. Part of Papa's present was a card from Ian and Gabe(the card read "Happy Papa's Day"). Papa loved the card and made sure that the boys knew he was putting it on the refrigerator so everyone could see it. Later, Melody asked Ian if he wanted to go wish the other Papa/Grandpa a happy father's day. Ian looked kind of sheepish and walked into the kitchen and came back out carrying the card he had just given to Papa. We all laughed and I told Ian, "You can't give the other grandpa a card you already gave to Papa!" Melody explained to him that he had to make another card for "Grandpa", who gets called Papa sometimes (Bob wants to retain exclusive title to that name in our family).

Lainie, in all of the excitement of the recent birthdays and celebrations is still waiting for her mama's birthday, an event she is sure is going to be coming soon, even though it is not until January. Today when I asked her if she was excited about the two birthday parties she was going to this weekend, she replied that she was. But, she added, "And then pretty soon is my mommy's birthday. And then we're going to have a party for her". Maybe Lainie knows that there is something special about Mommy's next birthday? Or maybe we just need to actually "celebrate" everyone's birthday in our family, so the kids don't get confused!

Little People Driving LIttle Cars

We had another family cookout/bonfire. After the cookout and before s'mores, we took out the little battery operated Jeep that we bought for the grandkids a year (or two?) ago. Now I have always been petrified of these things because its basically a little kid driving a car..but, my brother knew someone selling one really cheap,so I broke down and bought it. Last year they were too little and were actually afraid to drive it. But this year, they were actually driving it around the backyard! Ian had more driving skills than Lainie. They had fun driving to the "festival" and occasionally stopping at the "haunted house" (our shed). I love my imaginative grandbabies!

Of course, Gabe and Lucy also had to try it out. Gabe was pretending to drive while Lucy patted him on the arm (their legs were too short to press the gas pedal, thank goodness!). They love it when they get to be like their older siblings...especially Gabe, who just learned how to climb up the slide and go down by himself...much to Gaga's dismay! You are not supposed to do that yet!

Exhausted?

This morning Ian was peeling his own "Easter Eggs" (hard-boiled eggs that I let him color with food coloring before he eats them - he actually eats them this way!), and put the peelings in a little pile on the coffee table. After he got done eating them, he was actually putting the peelings into a little bowl that he originally had the eggs in.
I said to him, "Such a good boy, putting your peelings away!"
Ian: I'm getting exhausted!
Me (with a little chuckle): Where did you learn such a big word, exhausted?
Ian: From Lainie (his barely 4 year old cousin!)

They are growing up way too fast!

My Fifteenth Birthday

When I told my three year old grandson, Ian, that I could not believe I was turning 50 the next day, he goes, "No, FIFTEEN!" So, I told everyone that Ian said I was turning 15... Then I realized that 15 was about high as Ian can count. So if he is three and can count to about 15-20, that must make me pretty old in his eyes, LOL!

The kids threw me a very intimate surprise party at my daughter's house (I thought we were just having an impromptu cookout). My daughter, Hollie, had the idea for all of the kids to chip in and get a professional portrait taken of all the kids and grandkids (Rachel Droppers of www.lightfalling.com ). I was so touched by the thoughtfullness of all of them getting together and doing this for me and loved the pictures so much that I started to cry.

Melody did the cake and decorations - lavender and purple - my favorite colors. The food was fantastic - again a lot of my faves (no beef for Bob): beer can chickens (cooked out by Perry), 3 kinds of kabobs, papa's potato salad and a strawberry green salad(made by Rianna), Melody's fruit salad and deserts she knows I like...all of it was so good! I forgot to take pics though because I was enjoying myself too much! Everything was so pretty...I have very meticulous party givers in my family!

Here is the portrait that my daughter had framed for me. I also got a storage box/ottomon/end table combo (that is perfect for storing toys and also converts to a snack table-thanks Rianna and Perry), Melody and Andy are refurbishing a beloved bench for my new "grandma's garden/patio area" (a to-be-made gift from Bob)

, which will sit right next to my cool new waterfall/fountain from Bob. I feel truly blessed!

...."Only 5 Washers Left!" and a Budding Friendship

My husband did a lot of work in our backyard this weekend....and ended it with the putting up of a new toy for our wooden swingset....a bucking bronco for the grandkids. Needless to say (for those who know Bob) it took him awhile, but he did get it done. When I took a look at the final results, it seemed secure...but then I noticed that there were some "hardware" left over. When I asked him about it, he said that they always put extra hardware in the bag, and besides, there were "only 5 washers left!" Hmmm............

On a side note, Gabe and Lucy (15 1/2 months old) are starting to become friends and actually "play" with each other now. I guess they have given up on the idea of the two older grandkids letting them play with them. Their new game - crawling around "loudly" like the babies they see on the Baby Einstein videos. It is sooooooo cute!