Two Out of Three, Under The Weather!

On Monday Morning when I arrived, Mike told me that Chris had been up most of the night with an earache. Poor little guy! Not long after Mike left, sure enough, Chris woke up from a short sleep crying. He told me his ear hurt and so we cuddled for a while before the girls were awake. When Claire and Chloe got up, the first thing Claire told me was that her throat hurt and she felt pretty sick. She headed directly for the couch to lay down. Chloe quickly told me that she didn't feel so good either, but as you will see in this blog, she had quite a miracle recovery. :) I told the girls I would have to call Daddy to see what to do and ask him if they should both stay home from pre-school. He, of course, said to keep them home and that he would check in with Paula as she was leaving work. When I hung up the phone, and reported that they were both going to stay home Chloe quickly responded with, "Maybe we can go to the park!" I told her that when you miss school for not feeling well, you certainly don't go to the park. She didn't say much at that point, but after a few minutes she disappeared for a while and when she returned, she was all dressed for school and reported that she was feeling better. She had put on one of their flannel dresses and tights which was very appropriate for the very unusual cold and rainy June day.

 

 

Claire spent most of the morning on the couch sleeping. Mommy came home from work and whisked Chris off to the doctor for an ear check. I really didn't even get a picture of him because shortly after coming home he and Mommy headed to bed, hopefully to recover a bit for him, and for her to get some much needed sleep after working all night at the hospital.

 

 

 

By early afternoon, Claire was feeling a little better and managed to spend some time with her mermaid doll.

 

 

 

 

Chloe arrived home from pre-school with some renewed academic urges and quickly set to work writing her ABC's. She did quite a nice job but was frustrated that she wasn't going to be able to fit them all on the same page. I think she did a fabulous job!

 





 

 

Chris ended up with not only an ear problem but with pink-eye. Claire recovered for the most part and Chloe apparently skipped this round of  the dreaded "bug". They were all feeling great and happy as clams this morning when we saw them at church.

 

This upcoming week is actually the last week of pre-school for Claire and Chloe. I had reported last week that I thought they were done on last Friday, but they excitedly told me that they were taking cupcakes for all the kids on their last day, this Friday.

 

Looking forward to tomorrow with my grandchildren and a short coastal trip later in the week.

 

Happy 4th of July to all!!!

 

A Little of This and A Little of That....

When Mike was very small he had a book that we read over and over and over. It was about Daniel Boone I believe, but it might have been Davy Crockett, I just can't remember. At any rate, the main character in the book always wore a buckskin jacket. Mike was very determined to own a buckskin jacket as well, and during one telephone conversation that he had with my parents he told them about it. Well, as grandparents often do, they moved heaven and earth to find him a buckskin jacket and also got one for Jon (Uncle Superman). I recently had Mike's jacket cleaned (it cost a fortune) and we passed it along to Chris. It is very heavy and warm and Chris has a bit of growing to do, but here it is....he was quite proud of it and if nothing else, it will give him something to play with in the cooler weather.

The family had a very enjoyable Father's Day. We grilled, and swam, and just hung out.
The three C's had spent the previous night with us and below is a picture of proud Papa and his grandchildren before church.

This past week Papa and I took a short trip that included seeing a Giants game in San Francisco. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather and are so appreciative of our friends Gary and Patty for making all the arrangements and planning the outing. We took a ferry boat from Larkspur to AT&T Park and found that, in our opinion, it is the way to go. The ferry drops you right at the gate and waits until the game is over and takes you right back to Larkspur. No traffic, no parking issues, practically no pain!!! :) The Giants won the game which made it even better!

This week, I believe, is Claire and Chloe's last week of pre-school. Mike and Paula are giving them a summer break before they start kindergarten in August. It just doesn't seem possible that\it is time for them to start school. I'm looking forward to my "Monday time" with them tomorrow.

Enjoy the last week of June!

"Uh-Oh" or "Umm-umm", As Chris Would Say

Chris often uses the term "Umm-umm" for anything that isn't just quite right that he wants to call to your attention. Often it is when one of the girls is doing something he thinks is wrong and he will point and say "Umm-umm". I'm not sure where he got it, or how it came about, but it is funny and now we sometimes use it as well.

It didn't take long for a wily predator to find the chickens which was a BIG "uh-oh" or "Umm-umm". There were only five chicks and a duck left one morning last weekend, but the coup showed no damage or forced entry. Mike was sure that the nasty creature had gained entry through the small door intended for chickens only. Papa came up on Monday not only to do some reinforcement to the coup, but to replace a few of the chickens. Some of the missing ones had already been named, and were special, so replacing wasn't really possible, but distraction with some new ones helped. Here the three C's are checking out the box.

Chloe and Claire making some up close and personal contact with the new family members.

Chris was delighted too but was discouraged from picking them up. His gentle mode needs some refining.

After lunch, Papa and Chloe and Claire did a little work on the door to the coup. The girls were very helpful and Papa let each of them have a turn at using the drill and giving general assistance.

Chris was taking his nap by now and Papa and the girls went on an errand to the hardware store. When they returned, Claire, in particular, was a mess. When did they start selling ice cream at the hardware store? Chloe had chosen ice cream dots, so somehow she stayed clean. I'm not sure that Claire actually consumed any of whatever she had chosen, her face and hands tell the tale.

There may be more catastrophes with the chickens given where the family lives and the number of wild creatures that are in the area. Learning about tragedy and disappointment is part of the learning process I guess, but I'm hoping it is a long time before they have to experience it again.

Looking forward to a day with the grand kids tomorrow and hopefully more extended family time next weekend. Stay cool!