We're in the midst of babysitting! Grandboy and grandprincess are here for 5 days. Nana M is not well and Mama and Daddy are spending time with her and Papa C in Arizona. It's keeping this PopPop and Nana very busy. They are lots of fun, and it's been challenging, totally endearing and downright exhausting all at once. We've gone swimming in the hot tub (complete with swim goggles and underwater dives) we've ridden tricycles, had a hot dog roast, wheedled Grandprincess into eating, covered her with her " Bank-esh" (translation: blanket) just so- countless times. We've obeyed commands of "Up Pwease", "come here now Nana" and fallen in to the trap of the constant query "Why?"
The most noteable crisis came yesterday and believe me, Nana did not star in it. Looking back it was rather hilarious but I failed to see the humour while it was happening. It started just after I had the two muchkins ready for bed - bathed, clean jammies, teeth brushed, stories, songs, prayers finally complete. PopPop came in with a surprise. He'd found a salamader while fixing the drain in the back field. Of course he had to put it into a plastic bin with a little dirt and bring it into the house to show the kids. 
They were fascinated and had a hundred questions with "Why" in it's usual prominence. The salamader sat (lay, stood?) quietly in the bin, it's eyes blinking ocassionally. the kids were leaning over the bin , , their little noses right on the edge of the bin. They kept inching up higher and higher onto the table until the table couldn't take the pressure and started to tip. Well I'd left 2 (breakable !) pitchers on the table from supper the night before, one was empty but the other was still 1/3 full with apple juice. As the table tipped forward, the pitchers slid toward the salamander in his bin, and it slid toward the children who where totally spooked. Grandboy shrieked at the top of his lungs and ran off crying, grandprincess got scared and started wailing, I'm trying to keep the pitchers from crashing into smithereens and the apple juice is running down the table top and splashing across the floor. Can you spell C-H-A-O-S?? I'm trying to assure Grandboy that, no Salamanders don't bite, and it is still safely in the bin and trying to comfort grandprincess. They come running back to see the salamader again, running right into the sticky puddle on the floor. I pick them up one at a time and dunk their feet in the soapy water in the sink, after which they both run back through the puddle. I'm trying to wipe up the juice and keep them from running through the house with sticky feet. I finally get the mess cleaned up and grandboy comes running back across the wet floor and lands right on his bonky! What a comedy!! This was one flustered Nana trying to keep it together.
They were fascinated and had a hundred questions with "Why" in it's usual prominence. The salamader sat (lay, stood?) quietly in the bin, it's eyes blinking ocassionally. the kids were leaning over the bin , , their little noses right on the edge of the bin. They kept inching up higher and higher onto the table until the table couldn't take the pressure and started to tip. Well I'd left 2 (breakable !) pitchers on the table from supper the night before, one was empty but the other was still 1/3 full with apple juice. As the table tipped forward, the pitchers slid toward the salamander in his bin, and it slid toward the children who where totally spooked. Grandboy shrieked at the top of his lungs and ran off crying, grandprincess got scared and started wailing, I'm trying to keep the pitchers from crashing into smithereens and the apple juice is running down the table top and splashing across the floor. Can you spell C-H-A-O-S?? I'm trying to assure Grandboy that, no Salamanders don't bite, and it is still safely in the bin and trying to comfort grandprincess. They come running back to see the salamader again, running right into the sticky puddle on the floor. I pick them up one at a time and dunk their feet in the soapy water in the sink, after which they both run back through the puddle. I'm trying to wipe up the juice and keep them from running through the house with sticky feet. I finally get the mess cleaned up and grandboy comes running back across the wet floor and lands right on his bonky! What a comedy!! This was one flustered Nana trying to keep it together.
It was fun day though. We played toys downstairs, played in the hot tub, rode bikes, played with trucks and tractors, had a wiener roast, played more outside, answered questions about a mole PopPop caught (more why's) and tried to keep themfrom finding out what PopPop did with the mole.
Beleieve me, I'm not sure who was more wiped by the end of the day. The munchkins or me!
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