Joe and I had to be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. for his latest round of kidney stone blasting, so my dad was kind enough to come so he could stay with the kids while we were gone.
I thought he'd have an easy day - I was planning on having Sam skip preschool so all they would have to do is play at home all day. But then Sam's preschool Christmas party (where they are supposed to have a parent or other special adult come along) got rescheduled to today and he was a bit disappointed that some of us couldn't come (telling me "But I told Miss Caryn to write Mom and Dad and Grandma and Papa on the invitation - you won't all be there?") so I informed my dad he'd have to psych himself up for a trip out with the two of them.
I was a bit concerned they would even make it to preschool - most days we slide in there with about 30 seconds to spare after having left the kitchen a big mess of dirty breakfast dishes and piles of pajamas that were shed on the floor because I didn't have enough time to run them upstairs to the hamper. The days that there aren't dirty dishes is because we didn't have enough time to eat at home and my kids are stuck with some Ritz crackers and juice boxes I grab on my way out the door to eat on the way.
But my dad showed me up impressively. Not only did they have a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, yogurt, and cereal, he also managed to get the dishwasher unloaded of the clean dishes and reloaded with the dirty ones. The kids' pajamas were not in piles on the floor, but rather up in their bedrooms. When I called him at 8:42 - a full 18 minutes before preschool starts - they were sitting in the parking lot just waiting to go inside. And there was no screaming in the background (which is usually a given when I am talking on my cell phone in the car - especially if we are not even moving!)
He got Sadie dropped off upstairs, remembered to take in a baby gift for a friend (that I had forgotten to bring in on Sunday), and had a great time with Sam at the party. They made a craft, had a snack, and he watched the kids sing their songs. He even managed to take some pictures for us (though he doesn't know how to get them off his phone...if my brother can figure out how to email them to me I'll add them to this post later).
And then he had enough energy left to take them to McDonalds playland for lunch.
I seriously underestimated him.
I think he should quit his day job and come be my nanny.
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2 comments:
awe....that makes me smile! Good job Papa!
I forgot to tell you, Jane - Sadie ate her breakfast only in her pullups - she refused to let me put her pajamas back on after I changed her. And Sam ate breakfast only in his underwear. Quite a sight, the two of them, but I figured it would be easier to clean them up that way than to put on their clothes on only to have yogurt all over them. I wasn't sure about my ability to find and color coordinate other outfits that would be acceptable to them.
Dad
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