Enjoying A Grandkids Weekend

Two weeks before Christmas our son-in-law asked if we would be available in January to watch their three children, while he and our daughter went out of town to the coast. “Of course we will,” I said, “they are our grandkids.” And with that, we began planning on enjoying a grandkids weekend in the near future.

From January 23 through the 25th they stayed at our house while their parents went away for some time of relaxing, fresh air, and being alone. When the three grandkids arrived on Saturday morning they practically ran into the house. No need to say goodbye to mom and dad. They love coming to our house. It may have something to do with how we spoil them.

Spoil them?

Well, maybe. Within an hour of their parents leaving, PaPa took the two boys out for a guy date. They headed to a golf course and not only did they practice for a while, but they also played nine holes of golf, with their clubs, which they had brought from home. For a 5- and 7-year-old this was amazing. They love to golf and their father is an excellent golfer. Apparently, this was a first for them, practicing and playing on the same day. Plus on the way home, PaPa bought them some fries to eat to tide them over until lunch.

While the boys were gone, our 3-year-old granddaughter and I made cookies and we laid out the alphabet mat, piece by piece on the floor. We went for a walk before lunch, which means she rode the motorcycle Big Wheel as fast as she could and I tried to keep up. She helped me fold laundry, folding PaPa’s socks, which gave me a laugh. Lunch was a corn dog for her, one of her favorites. Of course, she ate a few bites and then took all the “corn” off and just had herself a hot dog on a stick.

Get to know your grandkids

• Even though we love to spoil them, it’s really a great time for us as grandparents.
• Our oldest grandson loves to do puzzles. He is not afraid of 1,000 piece puzzles. He received a Bible action book for Christmas. It’s a long book that is meant to appeal to boys a bit older than him. However, he is an avid reader and has already read it twice. He loves baseball and spent time in our back yard hitting a baseball. He loves to sing.
• The 5-year old will be six in a few weeks. He eats slowly because he likes to savor the food, unlike his grandma who eats my food quickly. His favorites are his stuffed bear and Legos. He loves his big brother and will wrestle with him at times until of course, the little guy is the one that ends up hurt. But they are very good at making up, hugging, and comforting each other.
• I spent the most time with our three-year-old granddaughter since we are the girls. She is very smart for her age. And hilarious. And she is a bit of a tomboy, climbing trees in her back yard without any fear. She is friendly to everyone. I warned her once this past weekend that she needed to be careful or she could get hurt and have to go to the hospital. Not a problem, since she went to the hospital for a concussion several weeks ago. While there she waved at a baby, had the nicest doctors and nurses, so she has no fear of going to the hospital.
• All three of them love to be active, but will occasionally slow down to listen to a book or watch a movie we have recorded.

Listen to what they have to say

• Grandkids say the silliest things. My granddaughter has a sixth sense to realize that grandma is in the bathroom. One evening as I prepared to take a shower, I heard her knock on the door. I opened the bathroom door, she came in, and declared she wanted to take a shower in my shower. That was OK with me, but she insisted, “I’ll stand here while you shower.” Grandma said no because no child needs to see my body.
• Grandkids have a much happier view of life. I’m sure she learned it from her brothers, but our granddaughter thought it was the funniest thing to show me. When dressing her, she took her clean underwear and placed it on her head, and proclaimed she was a doctor. Then she adjusted it and became a pirate. Such an imagination that we old folks don’t seem to use much anymore.
• On their final day, we had lunch from Arby’s after our granddaughter and I went on our girl’s date to Hobby Lobby. Our little granddaughter mentioned that Arby’s sounds like Barbies. She doesn’t have any Barbies yet.
• When it was time for their parents to return the oldest wanted to stay another day. The next one was willing to stay longer than that. It was great to know that they love being with us and we are a special part of their lives.

Hugs and Kisses

• Our granddaughter loves a lot of things. When we started the alphabet puzzle she let me know that she loved the alphabet. She also loves dogs, hummingbirds, goldfish, and flamingos. When playing in the backyard she found a rock and told me, “I love this rock.” I think she pretty much loves everything.
• Hugs and kisses are freely given. They love us and love means hugging and kissing. We adore those hugs and kisses and will never turn one down.
• Hugs and kisses are especially nice at bedtime. They went to sleep quickly because they had been active all day. And Grandma and Papa breathed a sigh of relief because we were very tired, too.

Teach grandkids and learn from them

• Once our grandkids moved to California, I made it a point to teach them the capital of California. Occasionally I quiz them to see if they remember.
• They are not afraid to teach us. Or at least try to convert us to their way of saying things. PaPa and I refer to Ketchup as catsup. They never miss correcting us.
• And when I read to them they do not hesitate to correct the names of the characters when I mispronounce them. Anna in Frozen was corrected many times until I was able to remember it. They don’t miss a time we say a name wrong. They aren’t correcting their elders, they are helping us to learn.
• When we went on our girl date, after leaving Hobby Lobby I said “I can’t find my car.” My granddaughter said, “Grandma it’s right here.” I had been looking for my car, but we had driven there in her mom’s car because of car seats.

The tooth fairy surprise

• We have been beyond the Tooth Fairy for a long time.
• Before dinner on the first night, the oldest complained about his tooth bleeding. It was really loose. Before long he had pulled it out. We had been at their home around Christmas when he had pulled out a previous tooth. He had shown us his little treasure chest that went under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy. They didn’t have such things when our children were young.
• I had to inform him that the Tooth Fairy probably didn’t know he was at our house and he’d have to wait until he got home. He didn’t agree. In fact, he had a little treasure chest in the car. I made a call to his parents when I had a chance. What should I (the designated Tooth Fairy) do? I learned I needed to take the tooth out of the chest, but leave the chest. They would want me to keep the tooth. And I had to leave the appropriate amount of money. It was significantly higher than the dime I think the Tooth Fairy left our children. After they were asleep, I crept into the room and succeeded. We acted surprised in the morning, that despite our doubts, the Tooth Fairy had indeed found him.

Dessert anyone?

• We don’t have dessert very often. But to justify a treat we have dessert often when they visit. It can be a cookie fresh from the oven. Our granddaughter helped me make cookie dough the first day. After that, I heated up a dozen whenever we wanted them. They loved eating fresh-baked Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.
• We eat jello now and then as part of our meal. They love it since that is something they don’t get at home. It becomes dessert at our house because they need to finish their meal first. Plus they tend to swish it around in their mouth until it is liquid, which takes some time.
• Before our grandkids arrived, I purchased orange sherbert and mint chocolate chip ice cream. Our granddaughter has a dairy allergy so I figured sherbert was best for her. I wasn’t sure when we would have it but I considered having ice cream cones. Instead, it became dessert in a bowl. There was no indecision. They surprised me by all asking for orange sherbert. The younger grandson, as usual, was the last one finished as he enjoyed every bite.

Read to grandkids as much as you can

• My grandkids huddle close to me when I read them a book. That is something I love. By reading to them, I have the option of changing some of the wording. This is harder when the seven-year-old, is watching over my shoulder. I have found that some of the stories I felt were safe weren’t really what I want to read to our grandkids.
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant: I never realized this when reading it to my children, but there are a lot of children and elephants making fun of Dumbo. In the end, Timothy the Circus Mouse befriends Dumbo and helps him to gain his confidence back.
  • Tangled: I had never read this before. I had read about Rapunzel and her long hair, but this was the long version. Mother Gothel, was bad and she kidnapped Rapunzel. She is definitely not someone to emulate. She is mean and lies a lot. Fortunately in the end Flynn rescues her and “they lived happily ever after.” My grandkids informed me that they don’t like the happily ever after part. I guess their mom has taught them well.
  • Robinhood Saves the Day: This was the worst in my opinion. Friar Tuck and others who could not pay the tax that Prince John demanded were put in jail. A noose was prepared to hang Friar Tuck. This is not what I feel is appropriate for young children. In the book, the hanging noose takes up a whole page as a drawing. I made an impromptu change to they were going to hurt him, not hang him.
• There are plenty of good books out there to read to children. And some of the books I listed have several versions, some of which are not so scary, evil, and cruel. Be careful what you read to them. I try to read stories before I read them to my grandchildren. This weekend I was caught off guard, reading stories I thought were appropriate.
• Great books we love to read include Dr. Seuss and Curious George. I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed when I read one of them to my grandkids.
• Let your grandkids read to you if they are reading age. This gives them practice and also gives you as a grandparent a sense of how well they are progressing in school.

Share your faith with your grandkids

• Our grandchildren are being raised in a Christian household. They attend classes at church (pre-Covid) and pray out loud at dinner. We are delighted that our faith has been passed down to them by their parents.
• It is important that we carry on their traditions, like holding hands during prayer. We take turns praying, including the children. We are pleased with how well the boys pray. Our granddaughter tries hard, and despite our inability to always understand her, we know that God knows what is in her heart.
• At bedtime, our granddaughter likes to sing a church song together. She knows all the words and it amazes me.

Enjoying a grandkids weekend or maybe just a day

We love spending time with our grandchildren, even though it tires us out and we are happy to see them go back to mom and dad. They are happy, energetic, and loud. But they are also quiet, loving, and delightful. We get a lot of pleasure spending time with them. They are full of surprises. We have lived far away from them and missed out on these special times. Now that they are within a two hours drive we make the most of this time.

Do you have grandchildren? I hope they are close enough, distance-wise so that you get to see them often. What delights your grandchildren? Let me know some of your favorite activities with your grandchildren. Place a comment or two below. I love hearing stories about good times spent with grandchildren. And don’t forget to mention any silly things they have been known to say.