Grandma Lost Her Mind

THIS SAYS IT ALL FOR THIS SUMMER:

Grandma lost her mind

It left some time ago,

And where I went I cannot say

And no one seems to know.

It wasn't working very well

These past few years I know

For when I'd try to think a thought

My mind would go so slow.

Thoughts were jumbled all around

They'd spin and mix and sputter

I guess my mind is just to full

Of tons of useless clutter.

And so it left without a trace

If intelligence or reason

My only hope is that perhaps

It will return sometime next season.

I KID YOU NOT

Husband lost me in Chick-fil-A today.

We took Kaelin and Keri to the airport today to return them home to MD. I hated to see them go! The past 2 weeks have been filled with joy and laughter that only a daughter and grand daughter can bring into my life. This morning Kaelin was up at 6:15 AM after a terrible nights sleep. She seems to have caught her daddy's cold and spent a lousy night coughing and snuffling. And even with all that the poor little thing was full of smiles and hugs. But it was time for them to go home so husband and I drove them to the airport and sent them off with love and kisses.

Once I stopped crying husband and I decided to stop at Chick-fil-A for lunch before meeting up with Bridget, Abby and Roman at the Palm Beach Gardens recreation complex. It being lunch time the place was fairly busy but not Grand Central Station at rush hour or Times Square on New Years Eve. There were empty booths and only a few people at the counter. The store is average size, counter on one wall, booths on the other 3 and a few tables in the center. A play ground off to one side and bathrooms off of another side. There are very few places to get lost in and yet the man managed to loose me. We both went to the counter and ordered our lunches and husband then TOLD me to get a booth and he would bring the food. I GOT A BOOTH. I SAT IN THE BOOTH. I WAITED IN THE BOOTH ! Knowing how crazed husband can get and how he likes to sit and face the center of the store so he can watch everyone, (rather than talk to me) I sat in a booth with my back to the center of the store. And I sat, and I sat, and I sat. After a while I decided they could have hatched the chicken and waited for it to grow for all the time it was taking to fill our order so I stood up and looked around the store to see what was keeping husband. And there he sat . . . 2 booths away from me on the other side of the aisle, FINISHING HIS SANDWICH ! He had walked away from the counter and "COULD NOT FIND" ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Being so very petite at 200 pounds I do tend to blend into the woodwork.) A BLIND IDIOT, on crutches could have found me, yet husband could not because I was not facing him, waving both arms over my head while yelling. "GER, GER, . . . HERE GER, . . . I AM OVER HERE! SITTING IN A BOOTH LIKE YOU ASKED ME TO!" H.F.S. !! (Holy Freaking S--t!) His comment to me, (with his mouth full of the last bite of his sandwich) . . ."I couldn't find you. I thought you went to the bathroom or something." I KNOW BETTER! As if I would ever go pee when I am supposed to be SITTING IN A BOOTH !

I make husband sound like a beast. He isn't ! He is just a man who has his head up his ass and can't see his hand in front of his face. And so he "looses me" periodically. . . . In our "massive 2 bedroom home, in the back yard, (when I am IN the pool he cannot find me because I am no longer at eye level), and any number of other places that are the size of a bread box. The thing that I CAN NOT figure out is WHY I keep letting him know where I am. If I think about it, this is the perfect opportunity to escape from this insanity. I have tried all sorts of ways to loose husband and none of them have ever worked. Next time he looses me I think I will just stay lost and slip off into the sunset, NEVER TO BE FOUND AGAIN !

P.S. I don't recommend cold Chick-fil-A sandwiches . . . by the time I found husband my sandwich was colder than the melted strawberry shake.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY FOR

Grandma is suffering from a severe case of GF. (Grandma fatigue) It is a condition that attacks when grandma's don't get to see their grand children every day so when we do see them we have to spend every waking minute with them so we don't miss a thing.

Kaelin is leaving tomorrow and grandma has mixed emotions. There is the HUGE part of me that says, "NO NO, don't leave! I will miss you too much!" And there is the guilty part of me that is moaning, "Oh God, please give me a day of peace and quiet." Today was the last full day that Keri and Kaelin would be here with us so I really didn't want to waste a single minute. Grandpa had decided that he wanted to take Keri out for breakfast at her favorite diner. The fact that Kaelin didn't nap yesterday, had a lousy nights sleep dreaming and talking in her sleep, and woke up earlier than usual would not deter grandpa from his plan. I wasn't letting them all go out without me so off we all went to breakfast at 9 AM. Kaelin having finished her bowl of cereal a half hour earlier really wasn't hungry but she was super cranky so she got to go out in her night gown. We were a strange looking group but breakfast was yummy and fun. From there we went to check out my cousin's condo and Kyle's condo. Then it was home to let out the dog next door and take it for a walk. (We are dog sitting for the next 3 weeks. How do I get myself into these things?) Because we were picking up Bridget and kids I had to get to the grocery store and back before 1 O'clock when we would need to leave for the airport. I returned home with my shopping items at 12:50, covered in sweat and bordering on a total and complete melt down. I went into the laundry room to throw things in the dryer and begged God to give me the strength to hang on just a bit longer.

Then the phone rang . . . It was Bridget saying their flight had returned to the terminal due to a problem with the plane and they would be delayed at least an hour.

I have to stop and think . . . DID I DO THAT ? It is just a little too strange not to make you wonder. But I did not dwell on it at all. Instead I said a very sincere "THANK YOU!" to God and went in to change, cool down and relax for an hour.

I will tell Bridget tomorrow that I may have caused her delay, and apologize for making her deal with the 2 kids an extra two hours. They did arrive safe and sound, grandma was in a much better frame of mind, Kaelin and Keri got to nap and we all had a great afternoon in the pool.

Lawlors On The Go

I have been way too busy to be writing a silly blog so you will just have to suck up the fact that I have a life and you. who have been checking every day for new entries, DO NOT ! But things are quiet tonight, Kaelin is asleep and there is NOTHING on TV worth watching. I have checked all my emails and still have a few minutes of life left in me so I will bring you up to date on what has been going on.

First and foremost, Kaelin is a trip and a half. She has entertained us for the past week and a half and kept grandma and grandpa laughing non stop. We have quiet days in the pool and fun days doing all sorts of things. Today's trip was to the West Palm Beach Zoo. For some reason this zoo is collecting a pitiful assortment of Australian animals. They used to have a whole herd (?) of kangaroos but now there are only 2 and all they do is sleep. The zoo has added an exhibit of Wallabys and is soon to add Koala bears. There are several monkey varieties and birds galore, along with turtles up the wahzoo. It really is sad excuse for a zoo but the two beautiful tigers that you can see up close and personal more than make up for what the zoo lacks. Kaelin loved it all, especially the water fountains that you can run through in the center of the zoo entrance. We could have skipped all the walking and just spent the 3 hours playing in the fountains. It has been a great 2 weeks with our little grand daughter and I am going to hate to see her and her mom leave on Saturday. But since Abby, Roman and Bridget will be here tomorrow through Tuesday we won't have the time to miss Kaelin.

Bridget has been living in her Atlanta house with the 2 kids and her sister since our return from England back on July 17. She sent in the paper work for Roman's US passport and that all came through in a matter of a week or so. Kyle returned to England and his job and Bridget then sent in Roman's paper work to get his Visa so he could go to England with Bridget and Abby to start their new lives as a family over in Windsor. Good Plan . . . too bad the UK never told K&B that they don't recognize the Ukraine as a valid country to adopt a child from. According to the English Roman is not adopted! K&B then had to apply to the US to REadopt Roman so the UK would accept him and grant him a visa to go to Britain WITH HIS NEW FAMILY ! Can you believe this crap??!! Bridget and Kyle were beside themselves. They are living on different continents for over a month now and they can't get their family together because of paper work ! Things are looking up though and Bridget has decided to fly to Florida for some R&R with the kids and hopefully this will all be settled by the time she returns next week with the possibility of the family being back together by the following weekend. We will pick them up at the airport tomorrow and they will take one of our cars to their condo for a few days of pool and family fun. They are just a mile from our house so Kaelin will get to play with her BIG cousins tomorrow and Abby and Roman will hopefully get to see their littlest cousin, Smith while they are in Florida.

Smith is doing super and his mom and dad are learning just how hard it is to be a parent. And this is the easy part! WE got to see Smith last Sunday and I couldn't believe how much he has changed in the week since we saw him.

Do you think the kids look at me and see how much I have aged in the time they are here? If this summer hasn't added 10 years to my life nothing will. Thank goodness for living in Florida, the tan covers the bags under my eyes and the "liver" spots. And Clairol covers the grey!

I So Esscited

To quote our grand daughter Kaelin when she was on the plane coming to Florida, "I so esscited". (When she got off the plane she was literally shaking with excitement.)

Well, tonight, I too am "so esscited!" Tomorrow we will go to Orlando to see Mickey Mouse. If ever there was a child who is a fan of Mickey it is Kaelin. A year ago Kaelin's parents were going to a wedding at one of the Disney resort hotels. We were invited to join them as baby sitters while mom and dad went to the wedding and reception. Kaelin was one and a half and didn't know Mickey from a marshmallow. In the lobby of the hotel was a 6 foot tall statue of Mickey that became the focus of the weekend. We took pictures with Mickey, we talked to Mickey, (he didn't talk back), we sat on Mickey's feet and we decided that all things Mickey were about the best things in the world. Grandpa and I bought Kaelin a Minnie hair clip to keep that wild mass of curls out of Kaelin's face and Kaelin brought Minnie into her world of adoration. From that point on her parents save all the Mickey Clubhouse episodes from the TV and each night before Kaelin goes to bed she gets to watch Mickey and his pals. At Halloween Kaelin was transformed into . . . MINNIE ! Minnie never looked so good.

How then could this family come to Florida and not go to Disney World? Tomorrow is the big day. Plans are in motion to time the departure to coordinate with nap time. In theory Kaelin will sleep the 2 hours in the car as we travel to Orlando. We will arrive at the hotel in the mid afternoon, swim, have dinner and get to sleep early so we can get up real early on Thursday to have breakfast with Minnie, Goofy and Chip and Dale. Then we will have a quiet day of swimming and playing in order to get ready for a day at Disney World on Friday.

Sounds wonderful doesn't it? I am so esscited and if grandma is this excited I can only imagine what Kaelin is feeling. So with all that excitement brewing what are the chances the child will;

1. Sleep late tomorrow

2. Nap in the car

3. Go to bed early

4. Sleep late in the hotel

So even though WE are so esscited I think I better take some vitamins and caffein with me to keep me going. It should be a long and wonderful 3 days that I wouldn't trade for the world.

You can be sure to look forward to some great pictures.

FYI, Keri and I drove down to see Smith today. We are delighted to report that he and mom and dad are doing fantastic. The little guy just loves to snuggle in and sleep in your arms.

He is a keeper!

Kaelin

I'm on the grandma merry go round and loving every minute of it. Back from England after our visit with Abby, new baby Smith arriving last week and now Kaelin and her mom and dad are here with us. You know how when you travel you wake up in the middle of the night to pee and can't remember where you are and where the bathroom is? (This statement is meant for all my friends over 60, not you young kids!) Well I am finding that I am waking up in the morning wondering which of my grand kids is tickling me. (This is a favorite game in our family called,"Wake UP Grandma!" They bless me with letting me sleep in but then I have to pay the price of tickles from a little person. Can't think of a better way to wake up.)

So Kaelin and family arrived yesterday and we had a wonderful afternoon playing with all the toys and swimming in the back yard pool. It was HOT and the pool water was a soothing 92 degrees. (life is tough). Kaelin had her sandbox/pool to play in when she tired of the "big" pool and then discovered the spa part of the pool where she could stand on the step and play. Because the pool was such a hit yesterday we decided that today we would go to the Palm Beach Gardens Community recreation complex. We have looked at it many times but have never gone over to check it out, not having little people to entertain. Unlike our Windsor experience with the recreation center this pool complex is outside and has 3 pool areas. (We didn't check out what was inside the complex but it looked like it had just about everything.) There is a lap pool, a swimming pool with 2 twisty enclosed slides and the kiddie area. Keri and Steve checked out the slides but they made Steve dizzy so they didn't stay over there too long. Kaelin, Grandpa and I spent our time in the kid area having a great time. We are all working on getting Kaelin ready to swim by putting her face in the water and today was a perfect opportunity to practice. She jumped, ran, "swam" and had a fantastic time. Tonight when we were putting her to bed she was exhausted and grandma knows exactly how she felt. So good night and happy dreams to all. I'm going to bed to dream of these little people that God has blessed me with. I sure hope I remember which one I'll wake up to tomorrow.

EVERYTHING NEW

New Baby, new day, new computer, new blog.

The Apple arrived while we were down in Ft. Lauderdale waiting for Smith's arrival. We stayed down there for 3 days and I didn't have the energy to write. I promise to include pictures of the new little guy just as soon as I can figure this new system out. So far it is AWESOME!

But not as awesome as our new grandson. He arrived on Tuesday rather than tomorrow because the doctor said he could. Good thing too because he is a nice big 8 pounds 2 ounces. He is doing fantastic as is his mom and dad and he even got to come home from the hospital with mom and dad on Thursday! Can you believe he is 2 days old and his mom has had a C Section and they both got to leave the hospital ! Kristen was feeling good and Smith was doing well, in spite of a scare of the pediatrician hearing a heart murmur. They had a cardiologist in to check Smith out and he is fine !!!!!

I promise to write more one of these days but things are pretty busy around here and daughter Keri and her family are arriving on Sunday so you may not hear from me for a while. Even though I have this wonderful new computer to write on.