Diary and Assorted Notes by Grandma

2004.12.03—Lost Daphne’s

The Daphnes are lost. One of them I believe is in a bag of leaves in the garden, for mulch next spring. At least, the last time I saw it, Devon was hoisting it into the leaf pile, which we collected. It’s possible that Gary used the composting machine and it is mulch now, but I think I stopped him in time and put the rest in the bags. The other one I have no idea. It’s unusual for me to lose track of such an important item, the Daphnes are circumvent to our happiness every day.

We had a lot of fun in the leaf pile, but that is no solace for the loss of the Daphne. They (Devon and Tyler) were in such a Daphne johnson the other day, I had to think of something. We had Scooby Doo paper towels. I cut out the figures. They played with them all morning. After Tyler went to school and Devon took his nap, I glued them to some Styrofoam take-out plates, so they would be more solid.and cut them out. You know paper and glue doesn't last long on styrofoam? We taped them to get through the day.

Today I glued more paper towel Daphnes to poster board, they had to wait for it to dry, but they played with it the same way as if it were the three dimensional doll. For a long time!

So, if I can get away with pretend Daphnes, what’s next? I’m thinking should I buy more plastic Daphnes, or should I buy more paper towels?

2004.06.06—Where’s Daphne?

My granddaughter, Tyler, is a Scooby Doo fanatic. Literally. One day I was picking her up from pre-K, and she tripped herself, landed on the ground with her hands flailing about, eyes scrunched up, saying “where’s my glasses? where's my glasses?” Tyler does not wear glasses. Keep in mind that this is a very crowded area with kids coming out of the gate and onto the school buses, parents lined up for car pools, teachers, just generally a very congested area. She was pretending to be Velma, and acting out a scene from one of the movies! But, back to Daphne. Tyler has all the Scooby Doo characters but her favorite is a 4 1/2 inch tall doll with purple dress, orange hair, and bendable arms and legs. There have been days when her little hand has not let loose of Daphne (let’s call her Daphne #1). She carries her everywhere. Devon has the very same doll and they play with the two Daphnes together, a lot! I always have a bucket outside that I fill with water because it is one of their favorite amusements. They do a lot of fun things with that bucket of water but usually end up giving Daphne many baths in it, scolding her for getting so dirty. I have found Daphne many times encased in Play-Doh, from head to foot, only discovering her when I’m squishing it up to put it away. There must be a lot of tiny toys I’ve thrown away if they were covered in Play-Doh that was drying out, fortunately not the Daphne’s yet. Tyler’s Daphne has duct tape on her wrists, since she chewed her hands off many months ago. Her ankles are also taped up, but I don’t know why, she still has her feet. Devon’s Daphne (we’ll call her Daphne #2) is still intact, but it doesn't seem to matter to either of them, both Daphne’s are equally enjoyable to play with.

Andy took the kids down to the creek the other day so I could run a short errand. He said Devon was carrying his Daphne in a wash cloth for a while, then he noticed the wash cloth dragging along empty, so they had to retrace their steps to find Daphne #2. Later that day Tyler couldn’t find her Daphne and was very unhappy about it. When they woke up from their naps we went out to the sandbox to bury dinosaurs and dug up Daphne #1!

I have found Daphne in the silverware drawer, refrigerator, inside a box of wipes, under my car, buried in a potted plant, in various cabinets and closets, covered with pillows, paper towels, dish towels, wash cloths, and blankets. Apparently Daphne is cold natured. This has been going on for over a year. If you have ever been in charge of little children then you know, you don’t just keep track of them, but must know at all times, where’s Daphne?

2004.06.02—Rocks and Rainbows

Our neighbor is having a new septic system put in. We have enjoyed watching the guy and his backhoe doing his work. We sit all the way at the back of our property and catch butterflies or start mini fires with magnifying glasses when he is digging by hand because that’s boring. There is a huge pile of rocks that he is using for fill. He told Heather the other day that it would be no problem if the kids wanted to play on the rockpile when he’s not there. They climb to the top and pretend to be king or queen or princess of the mountain, then they “surf” back down. They get covered in gray dust. They like to put their hands on my face to see the chalky handprints they leave on me.

No one wanted to leave today. Once they did, I had a few things I needed to get done, such as cutting up strawberries to freeze, (who knew they would be so prolific!!!) And in general housework and junk like that. I decided to take a break once the rain stopped and sit on the porch. I was rewarded with a beautiful rainbow hanging over the view of Frederick.

I talked to Jaxon on the phone last night. I was trying to find Mr. Potato Head’s ear on the Toy Story 2 game, and he advised me where to find it so I could get to another level. When we finished our conversation he said, “bye Grandma see you tomorrow, I love you”. Deb comes for lunch every day and told me that when he got off the phone she asked him why he didn’t talk to her so nice and sweet all the time. Jaxon said, “well, if you gave me a snack at naptime, and didn’t spank me or make me clean my room, I could be nice to you too!” Poor Deb. Parents get rocks and grandma’s get rainbows.

2004.05.26—Baby Bunnies

We noticed a hole dug out under the slide many weeks ago. It looked pretty deep. We wondered what kind of critter would have done that? About two weeks later we saw an abundance of fur and meshed up grasses over it. I lifted it up and saw baby bunnies. Well, I’m famous for not being able to keep a secret, so I gathered the grandkids around and we oohed and aahed over them. Every day after that for a week, we lifted up their “blanky” and petted them briefly, then covered them back up again. I wasn’t overly concerned if the mother would come back or not, nature taking it’s course and having a garden in the near vicinity and all. Apparently the mother did come back, although I never saw her. Cyndi says they are nocturnal so she may have visited at night. In the mornings there was always more fur, and the bunnies seemed to be thriving. After a week I started letting the kids take the bunnies out and pet them in their cupped hands, to keep them safe. Once we come inside the door their hands are cupped again for the hand sanitizer. Apparently someone has alerted them that handling wild animals will give you germs and make your hair get bugs in it.

Now it’s been almost two weeks, and Heather and I sit at the pool, saying we can trust the kids with the bunnies. They know to be gentle, they know to cover them back up again once they are finished visiting. We talk for a few minutes and hear squealing, the kids are trying to teach the bunnies to jump! They are trying to teach the bunnies how to slide down the slide! Oh my!

Play School

Play school has been a delight. I have wanted for a long time to get the resin tables to go with our little chairs for play school. Finally found them on sale so the dining room is even more congested with kids stuff than it was before but this is worth it. Our chalkboards on the wall, our notebooks and pencils out. First we go through the alphabet. We sing the song. Someone, who shall remain nameless, is tonedeaf. (so is his brother) I have a drumstick in my hand for a pointer and we do the ABC’s, it’s a beautiful sound to hear them sing it, albeit offkey. Devon decides he needs to be the teacher now so he takes the pointer and starts off. He has no clue, so he points at all the letters in the wrong order. Jaxon and Tyler laugh so hard, so many times, this has been one of many great days and memories I will never forget.

We have been writing letters and words on the chalkboard for a couple of days. I have seen Jaxon get so frustrated at times because he wants to read that he cries. I tell him it’s the same as any other thing you know how to do, it takes practise. Tom has always worked with Tyler and her letters and she has been able to read her classmates names for some time. Anyone who thinks boys and girls are the same should come and talk to me, they are not. After raising the first set, (my own) and trying with this one, (theirs) I can tell you. Men are from Mars,… Women are from Venus… I have not yet read either of those books, but trust me, it’s true.

I have decided to approach this tomorrow in a different manner. In order to keep Jaxon interested in learning how to read, I will try to teach him the words that are more important to him. Such as, YES, and NO. In videogames, that can be a big help as far as saving or losing a game. For Tyler, we need to work on not grabbing things from people. She’s academically fine, exceptional actually. Devon has got to stop saying everything is black when I’m trying to tell him colors. He has a look in his eye like he knows he's getting to me, I think he’s faking it!

2004.05.18—The Inchworm

They sell devices in dollar stores that are about 4"x6" with a screen-like mesh and a handy swing around door for collecting bugs. We have butterfly nets that the kids have used and always catch, collect and release the butterflies. Today I found an inchworm on a bouquet of roses that Cyndi brought me over the weekend. I gently probed it off the petals and let it fall to the table. Jaxon said, “well, Grandma, what are you going to do with it now?” I said, “nothing” and walked away. He and Devon took a long time about it, taking the plastic tweezers or pinchers that come with the device, and picked up the inchworm. They put it in the cage, admired it for a while and took turns taking it outside and in, carefully each time to make sure it didn’t get dead. Eventually the inchworm started to ooze, and I told them that it’s time had come. We dropped it on the ground and found something else to interest us for a while.

2004.05.16—A Broken Branch

Two weeks ago a branch was knocked down from the maple tree. It wasn’t huge, maybe three foot, but it had a lot of leaves on it. The wind and rain had downed it, killed a lot of leaves on it, but the kids had a field day with it. They took it to their little slide and hung it along the edge. They always climb up on this particular slide since it has borders on it and play McDonalds on it. Welcome to McDonald’s can I have your order please? They pretend to make the food you request, hand it to you, and then say “have a nice day”. Once this cornucopia of a branch landed their way, they tore leaves off of it to hand you as food, rather than the air they did before. This went on for days, those leaves were burgers, fries, shakes, grama’s favorite soup, and even money at one point.

Poor Birdy

The morning dove was discovered one morning laying in front of the barn. It hadn’t been dead long. Devon especially mourned the poor birdy, and everyone was sorrowful. I had intended that evening to bury it after they left, but our pet semetary is behind my shop and when I endeavored to dig there with my shovel, there was no way for my strength to get through the roots and rocks. Gary and Andy had a hard time burying our cat back there so I don’t know why this is the place to put these critters other than it’s out of sight, out of mind. At any rate, Gary had a meeting and I didn’t get around to telling him about the dead bird. It lay in the fire pit still the next day. Jaxon, Tyler and Devon walked by it several times and Jaxon threatened to step on it at one point, causing Tyler and Devon to cry. I don’t think he would have done it, he is just such a daredevil and likes to show off. When the boys left for the day, our neighbor girls stopped by. Tyler showed Chloe and Campbell the dead birdy, and Heather and I stood a little away having a conversation. She’s a school counselor so our conversations often get a little intense. After a few moments, we noticed the three little girls were hitting the dead bird with sticks and we rushed over. They said they were trying to make the dead bird naked like a chicken. Heather replied that a little healthy interest in nature was fine, but lets have respect for the dead.