Emily and Omar were able to spend most of Friday with us, before flying out of Boston in the evening. Sarah wanted to introduce them to her class, so I brought them in. She is so proud of her family.
They left mid-afternoon, with three sets of eyes watching them pull away. Amazingly, there were no tears -- at least not in the house; not sure about in the car. :)
For dinner that night, I made macaroni and cheese with spinach, one of Sarah's favorites. Omarcito was not a fan, however: "I don't like salad in my macaroni and cheese!" With the precision of a surgeon, he picked out each piece of greenery before eating the pasta. When he was done, he asked for a surprise, and we learned that's his term for dessert.
Don had choir practice in the evening, so it was up to me to get all three kids showered and asleep. A daunting task, but it all went quite smoothly, if I do say so myself. Omarcito awoke in middle of the night, and I heard him crying. I tucked him back in and rubbed his back for a few minutes, and he was out again. I found this amazing, since when Sarah used to awaken at that age, it would take hours for her to fall back asleep.
The next morning, Sophia was up bright and early, hanging out with Grandpa during his quiet time, which became her routine. :) When Omarcito woke up, I carried him downstairs, and he snuggled with me for a while before getting down to play. This became our routine and was my favorite part of the day (although listening to him sing "Happy Birthday" every time he sat on the toilet was a close second).
I took the kids to Dunkin Donuts mid-morning, then we went to a program at the library, where they did arts and crafts, games, and science experiments related to birds.
In the afternoon, we all went to the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round, an antique, indoor carousel. I had forgotten that there was a St. Patrick's Day 5K happening in town that day, so getting there and parking was a challenge.
Don put the kids to bed that night and managed to finish earlier than I had. (Not that I'm competitive or anything, but he didn't have to handle showers.)
On Sunday morning, our church choir (in which Don sings tenor) performed a concert with the one from First Churches, in Northampton. He left home early, and I got the three kids, and myself, ready for church. That went well, too. By now, I was starting to feel pretty good at this grandmother gig.
Keeping Omarcito entertained and quiet in the pew proved too much for me, though. We lasted about 30 minutes, then headed for the nursery.
That afternoon, we went to visit my mom. The girls had fun playing with the marble run that I used to have as a kid, and Omarcito discovered a treasure-trove of Matchbox vehicles that belonged to my brother and nephews. We left with a bagful for him to use at our house for the week.
On Monday, Sarah went to school, and I worked upstairs. Don, Sophia, and Omarcito built a snowman in the yard.
After lunch on Tuesday, I took Sophia and Omarcito for a hike at a nearby conservation area. We made it about 50 feet up the trail before Omarcito threw himself down in the snow, refusing to go farther. I told him we had to hike until we could no longer see our car and managed to coax him along until he started having fun.
Sarah stayed home from school on Thursday, and we went to Magic Wings after lunch. Omarcito was scared of the butterflies -- "They're not my favorite." -- but he loved the other bugs, lizards, and turtles. He was thrilled to find a monster truck in one of the terrariums and quite relieved when I said it was time to get ice cream.
On Friday, Don, Reid, and the kids made Swedish sausage, while I made myself scarce. They had a ball...and no one mangled a finger.
While we did lots of organized activities, many precious memories were made just hanging around the house. Omarcito spent most of his time playing with toys that Sarah no longer uses -- like her dinosaur set and kitchen -- and the cars from my mom's.
He also helped Grandpa load the wood box and did some painting with Sarah (my two artistic lefties).
And once Reid arrived, there was some serious Lego-building going on.
Emily and Omar returned late Friday evening, and everyone left on Saturday. Don and I were exhausted, but it was one of the best weeks of my life. I was so honored that Emily and Omar entrusted us with the kids, and that they seemed secure staying with us. I had a great sense of accomplishment and felt like a bona fide grandma.
I practiced good grandma self-care that night and rewarded myself with a glass of wine and the new season of "Grace and Frankie" while Don put Sarah to bed.
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