Thursday. Yes it's the weekend. Especially when your daughter and her hubs pull out of the driveway at 7 AM and you're left in charge of their three littles for four nights and five days. One of my friends says anyone can do an overnight or two with their grands, but more than two nights feels like a month lol. She's not wrong.
My daughter was a bridesmaid in a college friends' Annapolis wedding this past weekend so she and her hubs got on the road Thursday morning in order to be in town for the festivities. Our day here Thursday started with breakfast out at one of our favorite spots. The boys ate every bite, and I'm nervous about their grocery bill in a few years.
Next stop was Pet Smart because what better place is there to while away an hour than a store with fish, birds, reptiles and kittens? The kids asked if they could adopt one, but I thought I should check with mom first. I mean we grandparents love to indulge but a live animal felt like maybe a bridge too far.
We moved on to our next venue which was Lowes, an exciting stop for everyone as we all joined in the hunt for a particular lightbulb.
Side bar here...lightbulbs in 2025 are one of my pet peeves. Carry on.
We found one that is not quite right but will work, and then it was back in the car for yet another stop-Publix. In case you've lost count that's four times getting three kids into and out of car seats in a three hour span of time, and it was only day one.
Grandparenting is not for sissies.
Hubs took the kids to the bakery for a cookie while I grabbed a few things, and then it was home for playtime, lunchtime, and a nap for Little Miss. The boys watched a movie and Nana made tacos for dinner because that sounded easy and easy is good.
My daughter left a little gift for the kids for each day she was away and they looked forward every morning to seeing what was in their bags. I bought a few things for Valentine's Day as well, and having new things to play with when your parents are away helps.
I bought Little miss a pair of sunglasses that came with a unicorn case with sparkly handles, and she carried her 'purse' everywhere we went all weekend long, including the middle of the forest.
The weather was lovely on Friday, a little cool but we bundled up for a hike to a nearby waterfall.
It warmed up as we walked and I had packed a picnic lunch, which we ate beside the rushing water. Such a fun day.
I carried a backpack loaded with water bottles, snacks, diaper, wipes, dry clothes to counter the inevitable mud, and a jacket or two. Hubs wore daughter1's carrier with Little Miss in it most of the day. Let me just say there is no need for a weighted vest when you hike with toddlers.
The trail was muddy thanks to all the rain the day before, but we embraced it and everyone loved the sunshine...
the fresh air...
the natural beauty...
And digging in the sand...
The little brown dog came too, because what's one more? While navigating small children and a dog on a narrow trail won't be everyone's cup of tea, it is ours.
We came home in time for Little Miss to have a nap then went back out that evening for a Valentines' Day dinner. Pizza followed by a stop at the ice cream shop right next door for dessert.
So glad we got out on Friday because Saturday it rained literal buckets. Hubs was manning an open house for work most of the day so it was me and the three kiddos at home, in the house, all the ding dong day. I made sausage biscuits for breakfast, we worked a 300 piece puzzle in record time, watched a movie, played games, played with toys, colored, Little miss napped, we read books, read more books, and we watched the rain pour down around us.
When hubs got home we took everyone to grandson #2's favorite restaurant -Firehouse Subs. I hadn't been in one of these in a while, but their sandwiches were so good and the guy making them took extra care with our order. Everyone in the place was so nice and it wasn't busy so we took our time. The boys ate their sandwiches, then I ordered them each a second and they ate those too. Let's hope the price of groceries goes down before they enter their teen years.
Sunday Nana made french toast and bacon because apparently Nana cooks breakfast every morning now-ha. Afterwards we went to the nearby Botanical Gardens to visit the geology museum there.
It's free and full of bones and fossils and rocks. There's even a little room you go in where you turn off the lights and all the phosphorescent rocks glow, which thrills everyone.
We bought souvenirs because we're the grandparents.
After leaving the museum we took our little crew to Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch. I didn't have it in me to make lunch and dinner both, so lunch out was a win.
Little Miss went right down for a nap once we were home, but the boys played outside, rode their bikes, ran around and got muddy as little boys are wont to do and then I was back in the kitchen making dinner. You forget how much you cook with little ones in the house.
The parents will be back home today and we're all excited lol. I'm so glad my girl was able to have a fun weekend away with her Valentine. It's important to recharge, to reconnect as husband and wife instead of mom and dad, and it feels good to wear fancy clothes and sleep in a hotel bed.
I remember lots of trips I was able to take with hubs when our kids were young and needing so much of me. My parents and in-laws both, were always willing to come and stay and cook and entertain and do the endless tasks that need doing, and I am probably even more grateful for that gift now than I was then.
Oh I definitely appreciated it at the time but now that I'm getting a refresher course in the particular kind of exhaustion that comes with the daily parenting of small humans I'm feeling very tender towards my own mom and dad and hubs parents too.
Forty four February 14ths with this guy by my side. We still make a good team.
