The kids are alright (dog)

The "who" in this case is our grandkids (not to be confused with the film about The Who). In other words, we kept the kids and their new dog Saturday and Sunday.

Drew Carrie spent the weekend in Indy for their 10th wedding anniversary (I can't believe they will have been married 10 years this Thanksgiving). So they brought the wee ones over around 10-ish Saturday, and all four were at our house until we took the human children to swimming lessons at the Y yesterday afternoon.

We all survived just fine. However, ugh, it makes me feel older and older every time we keep them for an extended time. And it's not them! It's ME that's getting older!

A, B, and C (the grandkids) actually play together quite well. They are just full of energy, loud, and a near-constant whir of motion. Something neither of us are used to AT ALL. The puppy is pretty much just like they are. He's a puppy, so it's not surprising that he wants to jump and play and lick your face, and has an occasional accident. It just gets a bit tiring is all.

There was really only one accident. Boon (the dog) had just ate, and I got to chasing him around. All of a sudden he stopped, got a funny look on his face, and scampered up the stairs. He made it to the entry carpet at the top of the steps (inside the back door), and had to dump a load. I felt bad, because it wasn't his fault, and I should have known better than to play with him right after he ate.

The only other "problem" was at night. We put his cage in the upstairs living room. Once the kids fell asleep he went right in it. However he started whining and crying not long after. I eventually put a blanket over the kennel, thinking that might calm him down. It did not. We let him go on for awhile but I finally gave in. I went out and talked to him a bit, and lay down on the couch. He never made a peep after that. Apparently he was just lonely. So, I slept on the couch Saturday night. At least I did sleep.

Otherwise, it was just another weekend of babysitting. It was also our first chance to see them all at swimming lessons on Sunday. I'm glad they aren't afraid of the water (like me).

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So... why I titled this "The kids are alright" is because... they are. I'm not sure I am though.

On the one hand, I have no problem admitting I am a "cat person" more than a "dog person." There is no shame in preferring one type of pet to another (at least there shouldn't be). Basically, I'm too self-centered to be a dog person. Dogs simply require too much time and energy for my liking. We survived though, and I do have to say he's a pretty cute dog and can be fun at times.

The bigger thing, though, is I feel like I'm turning into a grumpy old man. Actually, I AM a grumpy old man. While I love my grandkids and love that they come to our house, I DO NOT like what happens to me when they do.

I just can't seem to enjoy the time I spend with them anymore. I used to. I used to love getting on the floor and playing with them, or playing "monster" and other games. However, anymore it seems such a chore and leaves me feeling... old. Then I yell at them, or grumble under my breath. I'm sure they can sense my irritation either way.

Then... I get mad at myself. Why do I have to be so self-centered? Why do I then sit there and play games on my phone instead of playing or talking with the grandchildren?

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Actually, it's not just the grandkids and the dog. I'm kind of like that ALL THE TIME anymore. With everybody. I want to be around people. I want people to want to be around me. Yet every time I am, I find myself getting irritated and saying and doing things I do not want to say and do. It's like I can't help myself.

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Lately I've been thinking about how 'not' nice of a person I am. I've always lacked the awareness to be "in the moment" with others, and then I act in socially acceptable ways. I always tend to know AFTERWARDS what I should have said and/or done, but at the time... I really did not know. So I am left to feel like a heel and wish I'd never been in the situation to begin with.

I mean, I don't intend to be uncaring, or not nice. I'm not trying to be a jerk. Quite the opposite, in fact. I want to be nice; I want to be liked; I want to do the right thing (even when no one is looking). But NOooo... I have to be like Paul, singing my mantra from Romans 7 ("I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.").

Argh...

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Well, this is turning into quite the ramble. As I drove to work this morning it occurred to me I have little to no sense of compassion any longer. Not only do I not seem to think about other people, or helping other people, I'm not sure I'm even capable of helping other people anymore. Like, even if I wanted to...

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I don't know. At least the kids are alright. I hope so anyway. I know they probably think grandpa is no fun anymore, but maybe someday I can get my act together again. Or something.

Zoo, shoe, and... colonoscopy

We kept the grandkids this past Saturday and overnight into Sunday. It was a fun-filled day Saturday. They arrived late-morning and we took them to The Stand for lunch. From there we made our first visit to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. They are very familiar with the zoo and had already been there this year. The first order of business was a pony ride. Anna and Bennett both wanted on horses - and they are big horses. Caleb liked the smallest of the ponies. It was just his size according to him. We then wound our way around to touch the manatees, and then the log ride. We finished up with the farm and a play with the goats.

It was a very hot day and Jane applied sunscreen multiple times to the kids. After being home only a short time we then headed downtown to the library. It was "Beatle-fest" - a free event outside. There were a bunch of other things going on downtown as well, and the city was abuzz with people everywhere. The library area was about as packed as I've ever seen it. I'm assuming the library set up these large foam play things behind the stage and it was a great time for kids to exercise their imaginations and mill about.

Eventually we headed for home and watched a movie before everyone drifted off to sleep.

SHOES
Sunday I bought not one, but TWO pairs of shoes. I'd wanted to just 'begin' looking at some sandals or shoes I didn't need to wear socks with - for summer. I didn't plan to come home with any, so two pair was, well, it just feels strange to do something so compulsive and not even think twice.

At any rate I got a pair of slip-on sandals that could be for casual or dress. I also got a pair of slip-on Skechers that I could wear for casual, dress, or to work. I spent more than I'd intended, but I'm trying to just not think about it.

COLONOSCOPY
Today I am off work as I needed to accompany Jane to get her regular colonoscopy. Her doctor wants her to have one every 3 years since it runs in the family. We thought it would be covered under preventative care, but found out when signing in that we would have to pay $1200. Oh well.

We arrived at the hospital at 8:30 am, and her procedure was scheduled for 10:30. They took her back at 10:15, and we were leaving the hospital at 11:30. She was only in recovery for 45 minutes and was awake the entire time I was there. She said she actually woke up during the procedure and watched part of it on the monitor. This was a big change from the last time when they/we couldn't get her to wake up afterward.

The doctor said he removed 3 small polyps but that everything looked fine to him. She doesn't need a follow-up and he would like her to have another colonoscopy in 3 years.

When we left we stopped at Tim Horton's and got some breakfast/lunch, then headed home to veg for the rest of the day.

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So, that's about it. We did get asked to help serve communion again yesterday. Two weeks in a row! The bread was much better this time and all went fine - other than it's so awkward with the singers/musicians. We're not sure what to do exactly, but I don't know that anyone really cares.

Tomorrow is back to work. It was nice to have today off since I am back to working this Saturday. At least I'm scheduled at my own facility instead of one I'm not familiar with.

Conquering the croc.

This beautiful bird put on quite a show right in front of us as we sat on a bench. She spun around slowly several times.

Motorcycle serviced, haircut, and other saturday stuff

I love lazy Saturdays. We woke up naturally around 8 am. Unfortunately Jane had a nasty headache - possibly a migraine - but other than that we just lazed around a bit.

While she was sleeping/resting I decided to give myself a trim up top. I used my beard trimmer and used the #2 on top and #1 on the sides. It hadn't grown much since the last haircut, but looks much nicer when it's cleaned up. I also trimmed the beard and shaved the bare spots.

Once Jane was up and around we drove up to Redline Honda and I picked up my motorcycle. They called Thursday and said they were done with the oil change and check-over. I told them I would pick it up Friday (yesterday) but wasn't about to ride it with snow and ice on the road. I was glad that it was only $158, and apparently everything checked out okay. I also picked up a battery tender quick-connect. It was only $7 and now I won't have to take the seat off to charge it. Jane and I also looked around at the other bikes in the showroom. There were some nice ones. One of these days maybe...

After taking the motorcycle back to work (where I store it), we went home and got our workout stuff. We then went to the Central Y and worked out. I did the elliptical for 30 minutes and then the treadmill for 20. That's the longest I've ever done the elliptical. Jane did the treadmill and then sat in the sauna for awhile in hopes it would help her head/sinuses. I have no intention of ever checking out the men's sauna unless I am the only one in the entire building.

Now we are preparing for the arrival of the kids. We are babysitting the three grandchildren tonight so Carrie and go watch Drew's band play. I think we're going to take them to Chick-fil-a for supper.

And... that's about it for this nice lazy day.

Keeping the kids for the weekend

We kept the three grandkids this past weekend while Drew Carrie went to Florida. Apparently he got a trip through work somehow, so they flew out Friday and got back Monday evening.

Jane picked A, B, and C up from their neighbor when she got off work Friday. We had them Friday night, all day Saturday, and then took them back to Drew Carrie's Sunday evening. Drew's dad stayed with them Sunday night and took A & B to school Monday.

We had a good time with no incidents and they were super good. It's nice now that they're old enough to sleep through the night and they can basically take care of themselves (for the most part).

Saturday we took them to the play area at Jefferson Pointe and they exerted quite a lot of energy there. Saturday night Jane and I went to her work Christmas party and so Drew's niece babysat at our house from around 7-10:30 pm.

It started snowing Saturday night and when we got up Sunday there were several inches on the ground. The kids were pretty excited to go to our church though, so there was no chance we were going to miss (we probably wouldn't have considered it anyway). There were not a lot in church, but for some odd reason Anna, especially, likes going where we go. B & C went in the nursery (Bennett said he got bored) and Anna went in the kids class. The roads weren't real good, and when we got done with church it was snowing pretty hard.

When we got home the kids wanted to play in the snow. First we had to get the boys some gloves, then they went out and had a good ol' time prancing around the yard. Well, A & B did, C never did seem to be having much fun.

A had swimming lessons Sunday afternoon so Jane took her and I stayed home with the boys. They pretty much just watched TV and played upstairs. I might have even taken a short nap at one point.

Once Jane got home we started getting their things ready to transfer back to their house. We got there around 4:30 or 5 and I felt bad because I didn't realize Andy (Drew's dad) didn't have a key to their house. He arrived earlier and decided to kill time by shoveling snow. He had my car all dug out and the sidewalks shoveled all around. When we left the kids were having a good old time playing outside again. Hopefully he was able to corral them in at some point.

So, all in all, it was a pretty good weekend - even with the kids and 6-7 inches of snow.

Sink faucet, sitter, and... mowing

It was a productive Saturday around our house this past weekend. For starters, if you've ever used our sink, do you notice anything different about the faucet on the kitchen sink??? Yes, I finally got around to fixing the leak.

I feel like an idiot for procrastinating so long when it was such an easy fix. I watched this Youtube video, went to Menards and got the faucet repair kits for 10 bucks, and in less than 15 minutes had it fixed. It was just a matter of replacing the springs and seals under the handle and with a little added plumbers grease it is like a brand new faucet now.

BABYSITTING
We also watched the kids overnight this weekend. Drew's band was playing a costume party Friday night at Deer Park, so we had the kids Friday night and half the day Saturday. Poor little Caleb was sick as a dog Friday night. His nose was running and he was burning with fever. Once he fell asleep though, he slept through the night, and he was like a new person on Saturday. Saturday was a gorgeous fall day and we spent most of it playing outside on the swings, riding bikes, and playing in the dirt pile. Bennett then started to get a runny nose, but they played hard until we went back to their house around 1:30 pm.

Jane, Carrie and Anna went shopping at the Urban Hippy and I stayed at Drew Carrie's with the boys until Drew got home from work around 2:30. We all vegged in front of the TV, sleeping with our eyes open, and then I left once their dad was home.

MOWING
I doubt that it will be the last time this year (maybe 1 or 2 more times), but I then mowed the lawn Saturday evening. I wasn't going to, but I'm glad I did, because it then rained most of the day Sunday. I lowered the deck one notch the last time I mowed, since you're supposed to mow it shorter after the over-seeding; plus I usually mow it shorter in the fall anyway so the leaves won't get caught up in long grass.

Speaking of leaves, they are just starting to fall in our neighborhood, making it the most peaceful time of year for me. I like fall in the midwest.

SUNDAY
Sunday was a fun day at church for us too. Carrie and Anna came with us to C2G (Drew and Benny weren't feeling well). Our church was having a chili contest for lunch, then they had a trunk or treat thing after that. Since it rained they held all the activities inside the building - including the bounce house! Drew brought the boys for the after-church activities, and we were all there until probably around 2 or so. It was pretty fun. The kids had a blast in the bounce house.

Carrie & Anna at our church.

The boys and a random girl dressed in similar costume.

So, all in all, it was a pretty fun and eventful weekend. Now it's back to the grind of a work week. Although, I guess today is Halloween. Maybe I'll pretend to like my job. :)

Preschool graduate and babysitting

Our oldest grandchild graduated from preschool this past Friday. I can't believe it. I can actually remember her mother's preschool graduation like it was yesterday. Oh my.

Anna attended preschool at Avalon Missionary Church. It is basically right across the highway from us (more or less). Grandma bought her a pretty new yellow dress, and of course she looked adorable.

They had a nice little ceremony for the kids. Each separate class came out and did a song and bible verse, then all the classes did several songs together. As they gave each child their "diploma" they told what they wanted to be when they grew up. Anna said she wanted to be a doctor - though Carrie says she really wants to be an animal doctor. Either is a very noble profession. :)

As usual, Anna started out very shy, with her hand in her mouth and totally not following along. Eventually she felt comfortable enough to slowly begin participating, and by the end she was singing along and doing all the motions like a trooper. I actually kind of like that she does things in her own way. Hopefully that means no one will ever be able to talk her into following the crowd to do anything she doesn't want to do.

We were very proud of her, but also the boys too. Benny mostly played, but was very good sitting in the seats. Little Caleb, once he saw Anna, he was beaming with joy. He intently watch for awhile, but he also tried singing along and doing the motions. It was a hoot.

The ceremony was an appropriate length at just under an hour. We went out separate ways afterward, but then we babysat the kids overnight on Saturday. I had to work the SW facility from 9-3, so Jane had all three kids by herself most of the day. She took them to the zoo, and that wore them all down some (especially grandma). That night we rode bikes, played outside, cooked hot dogs on the grill, and made smores. Everyone stayed up late, but we all slept really good that night.

We feel very lucky to have the grandkids so close by. Having a preschool graduate seems like quite a milestone. Time is flying too fast.

Getting her diploma.

Benny being... Benny.

Caleb taking it all in.

Simple craft ideas for kids

We are babysitting the grandkids tonight and I always think it would be a good idea to have some sort of project we can work on while they're here - something they can make, but also do something with. This morning I stumbled across a list of ideas, and here they are just a few of them:

• Cardboard Guitars (I remember making them out of shoe boxes and paper towel rolls).
• Straw Airplanes
• Socktopus
• Paper Bag Puppet
• No-Sew Sock Caterpillar
• Little Sock Puppets/Dolls
• Sock Hobby Horse
• Toilet Paper Roll Race Cars
• Sock Snake
• Sock Puppet

 There are a million more ideas out there, and I'm sure Google would be happy to help you find them, but this is a good list for us to start with. So, now we need to start saving single socks, toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, and boxes. :)

A pretty good weekend

Another eventful weekend is in the books. On Saturday Drew Carrie took a bus trip with a bunch of friends to a Notre Dame football game, so we had the three grandkids from 8:30 am until we left for church Sunday morning. It actually didn't wear us out as much as I was afraid it might.

BABYSITTING
We played in the house most of the morning, then in the afternoon we played outside. I was raking leaves, and A & B liked jumping in the piles. Jane kept an eye on the three of them while I got the leaves all done. Anna helped me move some of the piles on the tarp later on. Later in the afternoon we went to Foster park and the three of them played on all the playground equipment there. After that we went home, had supper, and they all took baths. Then at night we went to the Mad Ants d-league basketball game at the Coliseum. My work has tickets in the second row behind the bench. They are great seats, and the kids thought that was pretty neat. C was kind of in awe most of the time. We arrived early, and then left after the halftime show. That was long enough, and the kids were all really good. Everyone slept good Saturday night, and Anna didn't get up until probably 7:30 or so. The boys were a little later.

The only problems we had were when C ran in front of A, who was swinging, and he ended up with a bruise below his one eye. Then Sunday morning B was showing us his "owie." He had a huge sliver in his hand. He must have gotten it Saturday afternoon on our playground equipment, and just never said anything all night. It didn't seem to bother him until we tried to get it out. Drew Carrie ended up having to take him to Redi-Med to have it removed. I felt so bad for the little guy. It was a fun day otherwise.

CHURCH
Jane and I were greeters at church for the second service. You kind of get double duty then because people are coming for second service but also leaving from the first. I like doing it though. All we do is hold the door open - there are no programs/bulletins or anything. We are also supposed to keep an eye out for first-time visitors.

We were honestly not too excited about the worship service though. We knew beforehand that the lead pastor and his wife were going to be speaking about marriage. We like them just fine, but sometimes we're just not in the mood to hear how they've kind of "figured things out" now and how much better their life is. So we actually discussed just greeting and then leaving, but we didn't, and it didn't turn out to be as bad as we suspected.

The interesting part, though, is that because we were the last ones to come in (after greeting), we had to sit at a table right in front of the stage area. We weren't right in front of the speaker (they stand in the middle of the room) but at the end of the service they told any married couples who wanted prayer to gather in front of the stage. Well, pretty soon we were engulfed in people - and we didn't mean to even be there! It's just where we had been sitting. So we just stood there, and they did a couple of songs, and pretty soon Paul and Elle (staff members) came over and prayed for us. She actually got quite emotional, and while I didn't think she even knew who we were, she was praying about specifics of our life. I have to say, it felt really good to know that someone actually gave a shit that we were no longer in ministry and they prayed in our presence that we would overcome and be restored. It's hard to explain, but I was glad we decided to stay for the service. Kinda funny how easy it is sometimes to feel encouraged.

OTHER
Other than a good time with the grandkids and getting prayed for... Jane had an interview Friday and sent her resume out over the weekend. We also went out with friends for supper Sunday night. So all in all it was a nice weekend.

Babysitting overnight

We kept the kids overnight again Saturday-Sunday. It was much nicer this time since they were all three healthy. We were at the Feipel's on Saturday afternoon, and just brought them home with us in their van. They came over Sunday morning before church and we all left about 10:30 for that.

Anna is such a sweetie when she feels good. She was feeling good this weekend. She is so long and tall now, and quite the jumper. She also talks really well now. She's a big help with the boys. She will always hold a special place in my heart.

Bennett is growing up, but he can still be pretty goofy at times. He talks a lot, but I can't for the life of me understand most of what he says yet. He can be an excitable boy, though. He's funny when he gets excited about something. He is also very sensitive (as is his sister). It was fun watching him when he got in bed, before he went to sleep. I laid down with him in the big bed at first. He's like a little man. He finally asked if he could sleep in the crib - which made me glad, because I was sure he would have fallen out of bed otherwise, he flops around so much - so he ended up sleeping in the crib all night.

Caleb is still not a real good sleeper. We put the pak-n-play in our room. He went to sleep good, but he woke up during the night. Eventually we put him between us in the bed. A lot of times he had his eyes closed, but his arms and hands were constantly reaching for our faces. He also grunts and groans quite a bit. He's kind of goofy too.

Anna goes to sleep early, and wakes up early. A little after 6 am she came bounding down the hallway with a smile on her face to announce she was hungry. Of course grandma made her pancakes and bacon - one of her favorites. Bennett stays up late, and sleeps a little later. It takes him awhile to wake up, but if you just let him be he's eventually okay. Caleb seems to always look tired, but for some reason resists the sleep as much as he can. He's a big smiler though.

We played quite a bit in the basement. They are all pretty good to just sit and play with toys now. Caleb is not quite able to stand on his own yet, but he manages to get around pretty good. Anna likes to help in the kitchen, and she can help pick up now too. I bought one of those Bop Bag things that you blow up with air. You're supposed to be able to hit it and it pops right back up. It didn't work exactly like that, but the kids had fun with it.

All in all it was a good weekend. We were still plenty tired, but I can't imagine not having the little one's around. They're growing up so fast.