We have a 3-year-old great-nephew staying with us for eight nights and nine days while his parents and older brother go on a cruise. He is a treasure. Really cute, super sweet and doesn’t sleep according to my schedule.
Boy does that bring back memories. Last night he went to bed at 7:30 p.m. I should have followed suit. Unfortunately, I stayed up reading until 12:30 a.m. only to be woken up at 5:30 a.m. by a little boy who was hungry and wanting to watch Monsters Inc.
I dozed off for 15 minutes about 9:30 a.m. and woke up to an oatmeal finger painting on the hardwood floor and an empty package of Double Stuf Oreos. He was all “jacked up” and ready for the day!
Now it’s only 7 p.m., and I am a walking zombie. He can’t play outside when it is 9 degrees below zero, so we made up games in the house. I didn’t know little boys could be so clever with scissors. He cut a mountain of junk mail into pieces. The dinosaur game included the plastic toys being tossed over the railing while yelling “Charge!”
I see now there was wisdom in Mike and me having two boys 17 months apart. Jack and Ben kept each other occupied. Not out of trouble… but occupied.
This is a time to refresh my memory. If the house is too quiet, don’t let my guard down…something naughty is on the wind. Anything from messy pants to taking apart the vacuum cleaner bag and “sprinkling” it on the new carpet.
I remember being downstairs as the cat was dropped from the second floor deck just so the boys could see if she’d land on her feet. I was always chasing them down. That was more than 15 years ago. Mason is refreshing my memory.
As I am writing my column, Mason is with me, and we’re debating a proper snack. I tried the strawberry, blueberry, banana combo fruit cup with a fork, but he decided bananas with Hershey’s Syrup was a better decision.
Auntie made salmon, and baked potatoes for dinner and Mason chose Easy Mac. I offered a carrot pear smoothie for a bedtime snack, and he chose a juicy orange Popsicle. Ah, the same battles I had with my kids only I toed the line back then (kind of).
Now it’s more of Auntie/Grandma mode…. whatever you want sweetie! Until the Popsicle hits the carpet and the dog gets sick from too many animal crackers! Oh well, Uncle Mike can lay down the law!
“There is this little boy who stole my heart,
he calls me Auntie Sandy”
~ My sweet Mason
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