That silly Easter Bunny has nothing on my grand kids. The Easter Bunny may hop his way across the world in 24 hours but Abby, Roman and Smith have enough energy to put 6 adults to bed at 8PM after a day of playing, swimming and eating. I AM EXHAUSTED!
It has been a whirl wind of kids since Abby and Roman arrived last Tuesday. We have been spending lots of time in the "new" pool and so far the pool is doing just fine. Ger inflated the slide that sits and one end of the pool and we have had 2 rafts, a big green tube, 5 noodles and any number of toys floating or sinking at any given time. The pool is not that big so when you add 6 adults and 2 kids and a baby it really is a tight fit. But the pool survived as did all the people in it.
Last night we took a break from the pool and all of us, Smith included, went over to Rodger Dean Stadium, our minor league stadium and spring training center for the Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals.
There was a 6:30 game between the St. Lucy Mets and the Jupiter Hammerheads. GO HAMMERHEADS! But before the game the stadium had an Easter celebration. A local church bought out all the tickets to the game and GAVE them away. First come first serve. We got our 8 tickets and were there for the helicopter arrival and drop of 2,500 eggs. That was in addition to the eggs already on the field. It was organized bedlam but Abby and Roman were out there and got their hands on some eggs. Smith went out with his mom and dad to help and managed to collect a fair share. The eggs were filled with a piece of candy or a prize. None of the Lawlors got a prize but they could have cared less. Abby's family stayed for a few innings of the game, Kristen, Smith and I left early and Kent and Ger stayed till about the 5th inning.
This morning we all met at church for mass in the parish hall. We decided to forgo the beautiful church in hopes of a quicker and less crowded mass for the kids. The parish hall was only half filled, Father Eve said a 50 minute mass and the music was done by the youth choir. It couldn't have worked out better ! Smith crawled around on the floor in the back, Abby and Roman didn't fidget and Grandma stayed awake. After we got home there was the easter egg hunt and breakfast followed by more swimming! I planned ahead for a "simple" dinner. The spiral ham just had to be heated, the frozen mac and cheese just needed to be heated and the veggies went into the microwave. DONE! So how come I spent 3 hours in the kitchen?
It sounded very simple . . . I just don't know what took so long. Dinner was a success even if the ham was a little burned around the edges. ( God's joke for me making fun of my sister-in-law burning her ham.) The sangria mix that Kristen, Kent and Smith gave me for my birthday was FANTASTIC and I think that may have had something to do with me burning the ham. Kyle and Bridget took over the cleaning of the dinner dishes and they were as fantastic as the sangria! The two of them work so well together that they had the kitchen cleaned up before I even knew what they were doing. I was busy playing with Smith, Abby and Roman. We had spent a good part of the day in the pool so now it was time to play with the indoor toys that are covering the living room floor. Abby kept finding more and more things for Smith to play with so by the time Smith was ready to leave for the day the room was even more crowded than it had been at the start of the weekend. Husband and I have decided to leave everything out because Abby and Roman will return tomorrow for a sleep over. If I think I am tired now I can only imagine what I will be like by Tuesday night. The English Lawlor's will return to Windsor Wednesday evening and our house will return to the quiet place it usually is when no one is here. Grandma will return to sleeping 12 hours a night and grandpa will return to sitting in front of the TV 12 hours a day. We will miss the kids terribly but we sure are glad that we have time to recover before the next wave of visitors.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
A WONDERFUL DAY TODAY
Look at me . . . up at 8:30 in the morning. Only grandchildren could get me up at this unGodly hour. Abby and Roman arrive in 5 hours for a week in Florida with their parents. They will stay at their condo, (unless we can talk them into a sleep over), and come here for most meals, which K&B usually cook.
Grandma and Grandpa have lots to do to get ready so I can't blog too much this morning. Hopefully I'll be back this evening to let you know how the day was and hopefully give you some up to date photos of the terrific twosome.
Grandma and Grandpa have lots to do to get ready so I can't blog too much this morning. Hopefully I'll be back this evening to let you know how the day was and hopefully give you some up to date photos of the terrific twosome.
Monday, April 18, 2011
CHRISTENING THE NEW POOL
The weekend was warm and sunny. The pool was cool but not cold (Kristen thought otherwise but went in anyway.), so it was time for a family swim complete with beer, snacks and the floating bar. That would be the float that Smith is sitting in. We do have a boat for the little guy but this made for a much better picture.
Smith was on his very best behavior, (we can't say that for his father!) but then I don't think this little man has any behavior but best. He just smiles and smiles and loves tearing the house apart. Since we saw Smith last, (only 3 weeks ago) he has learned to do the army crawl on his belly. He could be a trainer for the Marines as his army crawl takes him no time to cover an area the size of Rhode Island. The boy sees something interesting and he is off in a flash! There were a few times when he was up on his hands and knees ready to "crawl" crawl but he finds the belly method a lot faster. Kristen is threatening to tape Swiffer dust pads to Smith's belly so she can clean the floors as he travels through their house. Mookie the dog is managing to stay out of grabbing reach of Smith but I hear the cats have not been as fortunate. Between being mobile and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth Smith is consuming amazing amounts of cat and dog hair. (I expect Kristen will have to take him to the vet to have the hair balls removed.) At one point of the weekend Smith and I were laying on the floor playing when Smith crawled over me to go chew on Mookie the dog's foot. Mookie just lay there as if this was an every day occurrence and it didn't bother her in the least. Mookie did give me a look that said, "HELP ME PLEASE!", but being the great dog that she is she didn't move an inch. And anyway, Smith doesn't have any teeth yet so how much damage could he do? At the worst he would drown Mookie in drool.
Little Man Smith is just the best and Grandpa and I had such a fantastic weekend with him. His mom and dad left him with us overnight while they had some R&R.
Friday, April 15, 2011
NO TIME FOR BLOGGING
When you live in South Florida and the sun is shining every day you just don't want to stay indoors. Yesterday Ger and I went to Home Depot and got a bunch of gardening supplies. We spent the entire afternoon gardening and cooling off in the pool. Gardening is so much more fun when you don't HAVE to do it. No leaf raking or lawn cutting, just planting and pruning if we feel like it. And the last thing I want to do on these beautiful days is to sit in doors and play on the computer. I think most bloggers must blog at work. When else would you have the time for this? By the time the evening rolls around I am too tired to think or be creative and early mornings are NOT my thing. In fact I don't function at all any time before noon. This morning some fool organization called at 8:45 to ask for money. Not only will I not donate to them now but I have crossed them off my list of groups I will ever donate to. That will teach them not to wake me!
Thank Heavens today was a cloudy day. We even had a little rain shower. It lasted all of about 40 seconds. But the clouds gave me the incentive to work on clearing off my desk and throwing out some papers. It felt so good to see the pile of "garbage" slowly get smaller and disappear. I can now see my desk and as a result of going through papers I have created a list of at least 7 other projects I want to do. You know how that proverbial snow ball gets rolling. . .
So now I will wake up and be hoping for rain or at least clouds. When we lived in NY I would put off doing things inside until winter. You knew you would be cooped up in the house for at least 4 months so it was easy to leave something till winter. In Florida it is just the opposite. I leave things for summer when it is too hot. But that really doesn't work because I am one of those people who like cloudy days. They energize me and make me want to "get to work" on something. There really aren't enough cloudy days down here to get everything done inside that needs doing. Hot or not in the summer I still want to be out of doors. And now with the new pool there is just more incentive to get out side.
One of the projects I have been putting off was to up load the pictures from Maryland and Finley's birth. I did get to that today so here are just a few of my favorite photos of my wonderful Maryland grand children. Kaelin is delighted to be a big sister. While mommy was in the hospital we baked a "BIRTH" day cake for Finley and mom and dad. Kaelin was in charge of the decorating and the cake was a huge hit for all.
Thank Heavens today was a cloudy day. We even had a little rain shower. It lasted all of about 40 seconds. But the clouds gave me the incentive to work on clearing off my desk and throwing out some papers. It felt so good to see the pile of "garbage" slowly get smaller and disappear. I can now see my desk and as a result of going through papers I have created a list of at least 7 other projects I want to do. You know how that proverbial snow ball gets rolling. . .
So now I will wake up and be hoping for rain or at least clouds. When we lived in NY I would put off doing things inside until winter. You knew you would be cooped up in the house for at least 4 months so it was easy to leave something till winter. In Florida it is just the opposite. I leave things for summer when it is too hot. But that really doesn't work because I am one of those people who like cloudy days. They energize me and make me want to "get to work" on something. There really aren't enough cloudy days down here to get everything done inside that needs doing. Hot or not in the summer I still want to be out of doors. And now with the new pool there is just more incentive to get out side.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
A SPECIAL LITTLE GIRL
We hve left MD and Keri and her family. It was a tough departure with Keri and I in tears and Kaelin hiding behind the couch so she wouldn't have to see us go. As Keri said, she can blame the tears on hormones but what was my excuse. I just cannot say good-bye without crying. It is a genetic fault that I have never been able to overcome.
Years ago I should have bought stock in Kleenex.
Kaelin on the other hand has been telling us for the past 3 days that she did not want us to leave. She must have told me that 10 times just this morning so when it came time for us to go I had gotten bunches of kisses and huge hugs but then she went off to play with her toys and she wouldn't come out to see us walk out the door. Whatever works!
Over the past 10 days that we had been with Kaelin she has come up with any number of things that have "cracked us up". (Kaelin's expression. As in "Mommy, I cracked up Grandma.") The child listens to everything and contributes to every conversation. The very best Kalin "ism" was from 2 nights ago when she had gone to bed but gotten up twice to pee and to kiss Grandpa. Keri was feeding Finn and Steve was working in his office. There was a blood curdling scream from Kaelin's bedroom and Ger ran in to see what the problem was. There was Kaelin sitting up crying out, "We have a problem here!" When she realized it was not Mommy she jumped out of bed and made a bee line for her mother. Turns out she had scratched her finger and needed a band aid. That phrase will go in the book along with Abby's "I need to throw a fit!" It must have something to do with being 3.
We will miss our little girl and her baby brother but we will get to see them in May when they come down to Florida for 3 weeks. Can't wait!
In the meantime we are on our way home by way of Willmington, NC to visit our friends Jerry and Nancy. Then it is home to get the house ready for the visit of Abby and Roman on the 19th of April. They will be in the US for 3 weeks and in FL for one of those weeks. Roman will be baptized up in MD at Bridget's sister's church before they come to see us. They are also planning a stop at Keri's to see her and her family.
It seems like our whole family is on the road. Good thing Smith will be at home in FL for when we get home. I have been missing that little man and can't wait to see him.
Never a dull moment with 5 grand kids in the family. I just love it!
Years ago I should have bought stock in Kleenex.
Kaelin on the other hand has been telling us for the past 3 days that she did not want us to leave. She must have told me that 10 times just this morning so when it came time for us to go I had gotten bunches of kisses and huge hugs but then she went off to play with her toys and she wouldn't come out to see us walk out the door. Whatever works!
Over the past 10 days that we had been with Kaelin she has come up with any number of things that have "cracked us up". (Kaelin's expression. As in "Mommy, I cracked up Grandma.") The child listens to everything and contributes to every conversation. The very best Kalin "ism" was from 2 nights ago when she had gone to bed but gotten up twice to pee and to kiss Grandpa. Keri was feeding Finn and Steve was working in his office. There was a blood curdling scream from Kaelin's bedroom and Ger ran in to see what the problem was. There was Kaelin sitting up crying out, "We have a problem here!" When she realized it was not Mommy she jumped out of bed and made a bee line for her mother. Turns out she had scratched her finger and needed a band aid. That phrase will go in the book along with Abby's "I need to throw a fit!" It must have something to do with being 3.
We will miss our little girl and her baby brother but we will get to see them in May when they come down to Florida for 3 weeks. Can't wait!
In the meantime we are on our way home by way of Willmington, NC to visit our friends Jerry and Nancy. Then it is home to get the house ready for the visit of Abby and Roman on the 19th of April. They will be in the US for 3 weeks and in FL for one of those weeks. Roman will be baptized up in MD at Bridget's sister's church before they come to see us. They are also planning a stop at Keri's to see her and her family.
It seems like our whole family is on the road. Good thing Smith will be at home in FL for when we get home. I have been missing that little man and can't wait to see him.
Never a dull moment with 5 grand kids in the family. I just love it!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
WHO'S IN CHARGE??
One week and a day into the addition of Finley into the family, Keri and the other 3 adults in the house have realized that 3 year old Kaelin is running the show. Kaelin has always had Grandma and Grandpa wrapped around her finger but this is ridiculous.
Life is beginning to settle down and Finn is doing great. He is getting into his routine of 2 hour feedings, Keri and Steve are getting into the routine of having a baby in the house again but Kaelin is the one in charge. Kaelin is loving her little "broter" and she is involved in all aspects of his life. She helps mom when mom is feeding Finley. Kaelin gets dad when he is needed and she keeps Grandpa from sleeping all day.
The first week of Finley being home was ROUGH! Of all the ages to bring a second child into the family, three years old is probably the worst. Three year olds are in the "ME" stage. Everything is "mine" . . . "I want" and the worst of all . . . "NO" . Even my angelic Kaelin has her rough times when all of the above terms are used at full volume. It is rough to go from the one and only focus in the family to sharing the lime light. The day mom went to the hospital Kaelin came with Grandma and Grandpa and we went out to lunch with Granny and Grandpa Fred. Then all of us returned to the hospital to await the arrival of "THE BABY". Kaelin was showered with gifts to keep her from feeling ignored so when the baby arrived she was only slightly interested because she was too busy playing with her new toys. All in all Kaelin has done very well adjusting to the new family dynamics but it is hard to get the family back to "normal" with grandma and grandpa still here to spoil her. We have been out to lunch every day and off to the park and the Christmas Tree Shop to buy goodies. Every day is an adventure and every day is bringing Keri and Steve closer to getting more sleep and ""back to normal".
It looks like Ger and I will leave here on Thursday after story hour with Kaelin. I can't figure out if it will be harder or easier to leave after being here for almost 2 weeks. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time with Kaelin and family and have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with Finley. At the moment he is asleep in my lap while his mom tries to catch up on some sleep. A great plan except for Miss Kaelin trying every trick in the book to postpone bed time. After I got Kaelin ready for bed and read her a book Keri came in to tuck in the "princess". That was only the beginning. Two minutes later there was a blood curdling scream. Ger ran in to Kaelin's room where she told him, "We have a problem here!" When she realized it was Grandpa and not mommy she took off down the hall screaming for her mother. Turns out Kaelin had scratched her fingers and needed a band aid. (Poor child has terrible eczema especially on her hands and feet.) Keri got up and put cream and band aids on her fingers, tucked Kaelin in AGAIN and they both went back to bed. Five minutes later Kaelin was yelling that she had to go potty. ( She had just gone potty right before she climbed into bed.) As she sat on the potty for the next 10 minutes daddy, mommy and Grandma all tried to get her to bed but it is tough to argue with "I STILL HAVE TO GO".
I think Kaelin finally got to bed about 9:30. I know I'll sleep well tonight.
Life is beginning to settle down and Finn is doing great. He is getting into his routine of 2 hour feedings, Keri and Steve are getting into the routine of having a baby in the house again but Kaelin is the one in charge. Kaelin is loving her little "broter" and she is involved in all aspects of his life. She helps mom when mom is feeding Finley. Kaelin gets dad when he is needed and she keeps Grandpa from sleeping all day.
The first week of Finley being home was ROUGH! Of all the ages to bring a second child into the family, three years old is probably the worst. Three year olds are in the "ME" stage. Everything is "mine" . . . "I want" and the worst of all . . . "NO" . Even my angelic Kaelin has her rough times when all of the above terms are used at full volume. It is rough to go from the one and only focus in the family to sharing the lime light. The day mom went to the hospital Kaelin came with Grandma and Grandpa and we went out to lunch with Granny and Grandpa Fred. Then all of us returned to the hospital to await the arrival of "THE BABY". Kaelin was showered with gifts to keep her from feeling ignored so when the baby arrived she was only slightly interested because she was too busy playing with her new toys. All in all Kaelin has done very well adjusting to the new family dynamics but it is hard to get the family back to "normal" with grandma and grandpa still here to spoil her. We have been out to lunch every day and off to the park and the Christmas Tree Shop to buy goodies. Every day is an adventure and every day is bringing Keri and Steve closer to getting more sleep and ""back to normal".
It looks like Ger and I will leave here on Thursday after story hour with Kaelin. I can't figure out if it will be harder or easier to leave after being here for almost 2 weeks. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time with Kaelin and family and have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with Finley. At the moment he is asleep in my lap while his mom tries to catch up on some sleep. A great plan except for Miss Kaelin trying every trick in the book to postpone bed time. After I got Kaelin ready for bed and read her a book Keri came in to tuck in the "princess". That was only the beginning. Two minutes later there was a blood curdling scream. Ger ran in to Kaelin's room where she told him, "We have a problem here!" When she realized it was Grandpa and not mommy she took off down the hall screaming for her mother. Turns out Kaelin had scratched her fingers and needed a band aid. (Poor child has terrible eczema especially on her hands and feet.) Keri got up and put cream and band aids on her fingers, tucked Kaelin in AGAIN and they both went back to bed. Five minutes later Kaelin was yelling that she had to go potty. ( She had just gone potty right before she climbed into bed.) As she sat on the potty for the next 10 minutes daddy, mommy and Grandma all tried to get her to bed but it is tough to argue with "I STILL HAVE TO GO".
I think Kaelin finally got to bed about 9:30. I know I'll sleep well tonight.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
T.V. CLICKER WARS
I thought this would make for a good reality series . . . husband and I locked in a room with nothing to do but one TV set and one clicker. It would become a nasty scene in a very short time. If two people can live together for 40 something years without killing each other you would think it would be easy to co exist with only one TV and one clicker. HA ! This is the true show of just how different we are. I can only watch so much "Fox News, Cops or The Weather Channel". There comes a point where I want to watch something of my choice. But that ain't happening. I was in Heaven today when Kaelin and Keri discovered the movie "Tangled" on Pay Per View. It was heaven sitting watching a kids movie for an hour, even with all the interruptions for "potty" and snacks. But now it is 10 PM and Ger and I are sitting up to take care of Finn once Keri finishes feeding him. He had a tough day with his BIG sister waking him at 6 AM. For the past 3 years Kaelin has been Super Sleeper, letting her parents sleep till 8 or 9 every morning. This past week has sent her into a tail spin and her schedule is shot to hell along with the introduction of this baby who is taking attention away from her. This morning Grandpa and I took Kaelin out for her second breakfast at Mac Donalds and then to a Nutrition Rock Concert at the minor league baseball stadium. It was actually a lot of fun and Kaelin enjoyed it for about an hour before she ran out of steam.
And so now everyone is in bed, Finley is eating and Ger is watching "Lobster Men" on TV. There is only so much to keep my interest on this show so tomorrow I hide the clicker the minute Keri and Steve go to bed. I'd rather sit and read than watch this stupid stuff.
And so now everyone is in bed, Finley is eating and Ger is watching "Lobster Men" on TV. There is only so much to keep my interest on this show so tomorrow I hide the clicker the minute Keri and Steve go to bed. I'd rather sit and read than watch this stupid stuff.
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