ICE CREAM AND BOURBON!

Preparing the house for a family of four was the first task this week. Did I prepare for an English family abroad, or make it like an old fashioned English hotel, with cereals, bread for toast, and lots of eggs.  It was not really a dilemma and by the time I had finished cleaning, and clearing away things that would prevent me from being nick named 'Grandma don't touch', I decided to go all American!  

I made banana bread on Tuesday morning, put all the toys in the newly created 'toy box', laid a couple of books and cuddlies strategically on the bed, which was made up for a three year old, and finally headed into work.  

Prolific as work had been, so it stayed!  I did not slow down until I was forced to do so by my daughter, who wanted to get on the road before quitting time traffic made it difficult to get to the airport in time.  

Obviously, I was dressed for work, but chose shoes with wedges to make it easier to walk.  Into the main terminal we walked, holding the banner sporting cartoon characters, and balloons attached. Samantha had created the 'welcome' sign, so it was, of course, very bright and artistic.  Standing next to us, by the 'International Arrivals' gate, was a family of four.  They, too, had a banner, although it was not as bright and did not have balloons.  The writing was obviously done by the children, (which would no doubt have been adored by those they were meeting,) and was rather light in comparison to our very heavily coloured penned words.  As we unfolded our banner, the father of the family instructed his children to do the same.  Pointing to the balloons, the father seemed to be somewhat intimidated by our presence, and whispered to the children before disappearing.  We stood and watched the doors open, and attempted to peer inside the large hall behind the automatic shutters.  "I think I saw them" said Samantha, with excitement.  The father of the children with the insipid banner returned, with a vase of flowers.  "Come on", I said, jokingly, "Let's go and find an enormous plant.  Game on!"  We did not, but the father looked rather smug with his purchase, and we let him have his 'fifteen minutes'.

It was quite remarkable how well behaved the crowd seemed. There was no need for barriers, as everyone stood well away from the exit, and no one had to be told to 'stand back' even once.  There was a line of different colour tiles, which denoted no more than a pattern that was throughout the floor, and no one went over.  I could not imagine the same at Heathrow!

After what seemed an eternity, out of the door came Richard, Steph, and a buggy containing two little boys.  We stood with the banner on the floor so that Oliver could see the balloons, and then came the words that melted my heart.  "I want to go in your car, Grandma!"

The walk to the car hire facility was not long, but it was outside and it was hot.  The boys were stripped of their sweatshirts and their red faces finally paled down.  After refusing to pay for an upgrade, and saying no to an insurance package that would have covered anything from a meteor to a whole planet descending on the vehicle, we made our way to the cars.  One look at four adults, two children, a variety of bags, car seats and a buggy, the lady who was assigning the motors looked at the 'booked' car, and shook her head. Around the corner came a seven seater, which could have carried an under five's football team!  

As the elder of my two grandsons had insisted on coming with me, we put his car seat on the trolley that had been used to take the luggage from the customs hall, and in he got.  The authorities would have probably pulled me in for questioning, and asked for my credentials, as my excuse of, "I did this thirty years ago, so I know what I am doing", would not have sufficed.  Along I rolled the trolley, car seat atop, child atop that, and into the first lift we went.  Out we stepped, and into the second lift we went.  Over the cobbled stones, into the car park, down the ramp, and into the next level we went.  Eventually we reached 'Auntie Matnee's' car, and attempted to put the seat into the car.  The instructions were not particularly clear, and were on the underside of the seat.  Therefore, should we wish to re-read step two, when step one was complete, we would have to start again!  It must have been like watching an old 'Laurel and Hardy' movie.  The mechanism to keep the toddler in place may well be 'child proof', but the fitting of the contraption was 'adult proof'!

Driving back to the house was not as easy as driving to the airport, as the traffic had mounted to a crescendo and was not moving.  It took a long time to get home.  When we arrived at the house, I took Ollie to his room, and realised that the toy box was probably not a good move for a three year old.  Each and every box was opened, and three words were repeated over and over.  "Daddy, make this", he said as he pulled out the larger boxes, followed by the smaller, and finally all the jigsaws.  The roller-coaster that I had purchased the day before my birthday, was dragged downstairs, in pieces, and had to be put together 'now'!  Eventually, the day took its toll on the little man, and he finally fell asleep in his 'special' bed, after he had been read a story from one of the books that had once been in his daddy's bedroom in England.

Dana did not arrive home until both boys were in bed, and we had settled down to have some dinner.  Richard and I went to the local store to get some food, and 'America' took over.  "I don't want to go too mad on sweet stuff", said my son, as I asked if he wanted dessert.  "But, I must have these. Oh and these. Oh and these", he continued, as he picked up every variety of chocolate covered pretzel that was on the shelf.  "Oh and I had forgotten about these. Oh and these. Oh and these", was all I could hear as we turned into a new aisle.  We drove home with two chickens, a couple of containers of salad, and enough sweets to cover the 31st October callers, for ten years!

I went into work late on Wednesday morning, after taking everyone to IHop for breakfast.  The smiley faces on the pancakes were nothing compared to those on the face of my son, and grandson.  A whole new world opened up, and food became a new novelty.  I had to return to work, and waded through the mountain that I had left on Tuesday.  However, I was very focused and managed to leave around three, for a couple of hours at the pool, before returning to turn the mountain into a smaller hill!

Ollie finally met his 'Poppa Dana', and was quite enamoured.  My husband has the ability to imitate Donald Duck, and this is quite the favourite with the little man.  He sat on Dana's lap, quite willingly, and picture opportunities were rife!  It was a wonderful sight.

The office was an 'in and out' place on Thursday, with Samantha going in early to do some filing, and me spending less time there than with the kids. We set off to Round Rock Donuts, where everyone sampled the wares, and the giant donut for which they were famous was shared.  We then went to 'Catchair', which is a soft play children's paradise.  I ran in and found the big slide, which I slid down to the delight of my grandson.  I am not sure if the kids or the adults enjoyed it more.  As children of school age were in the classrooms, the place was quite empty, which allowed me to bounce, slide and play without tripping over too many small people!  We came home after a couple of hours, and I returned to work for a while.  I had introduced the family to the office neighbours and came home to find them chatting with my home neighbour, Jen. Oliver had told her his life story, such as it was, and introduced me with a full history!  

I had made cookies on Friday morning, as it was one of our server's birthdays, and it did not seem fair to buy a cake to present, when everyone else receives special home made treats.  After all, we are in America, and anyone can buy cookies!  Made to a Martha Stewart recipe, I felt that I had met the standard!  Ollie and Richard had sampled the two that did not make it into the box and gave me the 'thumbs up'!  We went into the office to take in the treats, and the boys came too!  

Dinosaurs are not really my thing, but they were on every bend of the park which we visited on Friday morning.  Grandma was on duty, and had to climb and bend and scoot across most of the uneven terrain, in order to see everything that needed to be seen.  It was very hot, and whilst I have acclimatized, I am still not used to spending hours outside not by a pool! I was an explorer, a pirate, a pilot and much more as I climbed up and down climbing frames and rides.

Dana and I had our first experience, together, baby sitting on Friday, as the older kids went out for dinner and some fun.  Ollie sat and watched a film and a third with Dana, before reluctantly being walked back to his room, where I read him a story, and watched as he fought tired eyes.  Although he was awake for the whole tale and insisted he was not tired, he was asleep before I left the room.  

Saturday was fun!  After demolishing the rest of the banana bread, Ollie was ready for a day out with Grandma, Auntie Matnee and Jamie!  Mummy and daddy were going shopping and thought it might be easier without the boys.  Getting his car seat into the car was not so hard.  The baby seat was not so easy.  The seat belt has to strap behind, and under, and over and under, several different hooks.  If you let go of the seat belt, the inertia takes charge, and it whips back into the seat.  Up and down the baby went, as if he was in a roller coaster.  To the left, to the right, it was like he was in a 1980's line dance song!  Across, upside down, flip, and back, went the seat, with baby laughing as he was hurled around in his safety contraption.  The authorities were not around again, thankfully, as we eventually, after nearly 30 minutes of 'starting again', got the seat in place.  "How do you....?"  Getting the buggy to fold was not easy.  We pushed every button, clicked every clicker, folded every fold, and finally gave up.  This outing was very soon not to be!  A phone call to the experts did not work, as they were out of range, so my daughter did the next best thing.  You-tube is really very helpful!  "Just take the straps and pull".  The only thing we did not try, was to take the straps, which are clearly marked, "Pull up", and pull!  It worked like a charm!

Taking the baby out of the seat was easy. Keeping the straps in place was not, and the seat belt whipped back into its cavity, so that we knew we would have to start again.  "Let's feed the ducks", sounded like a good idea, but once said, it could not be taken back. To get to the ducks meant a walk down five turns of very steep, rocky terrain.  Mummy joggers can do it easily, with one hand on the push-chair, and one holding the dog, with a toddler in tow!  I slipped down like I was on ice, and wondered how I was going to get back up the sharp incline, in my flip flops.  Water, was all that was on offer when I reached the top, although an oxygen mask would have been greatly appreciated.  A quarter of a mile is not that far to walk, on the flat, but with a forty five degree angle, of uneven paving, pushing a buggy, it took me a long time!

"Don't....".  Too late was the call.  I am out of practice, as my last baby was born nearly thirty one years ago.  The pouch containing the pureed vegetables was on the table, without a lid, and the baby was practicing his 'high five' flat hand!  The people on the next table ducked in time, but I was not so quick.  It is amazing how much one tube holds!  

An ice cream later, we were back in the car, and on the way to Walmart!  Perhaps both boys could fall asleep in the buggy. Or perhaps not!  Jamie started to cry.  I am loathed to admit what I did next, but it is over now, and everyone I have told has laughed! "Perhaps he needs changing", came the helpful advise. In the cereal aisle, I checked his nappy, and sure enough, there was reason to change.  He was so comfortable in the buggy, I did not want to move him.  Modern day pushchairs are like self contained apartment units, and it was so easy to cordon him off and get him changed.  Nothing left the area, and the old diaper was swiftly placed in the plastic bag, and then into the special pouch of the travel bag, so that it could be disposed of later. In the bag were lots of wet wipes, which were used for hands as well as other delicate places!  A swift operation it was!

We finally arrived home, and after depositing the goods in their respective places, we got ready to go to the pool.  I was allowed to swim my laps, before playing some wildly imaginative game which had been invented within seconds of my arriving at the other side of the pool.  Two hours seemed to fly by, and it was only when his mum face timed him did Ollie realise she was not there!  

Poppa Dana was on call Saturday night, as he had been since Wednesday, when Ollie had decided he was 'flavour of the day!'  It was a new experience for my husband and he seems to have fallen into the roll rather well.  He knows most of the words to all of the cartoon shows which have been screening through our television, and can sing, with precision, each chorus of "You're welcome", from Muana!  He is the one who has to put his grandson into the car, and take him out.  It is a delight to see.  

Saturday night was rather civilised, with Jamie sleeping in the buggy, and Ollie hibernating next to him, as we ate dinner at Macaroni Grill.  Richard was child no. 3, as he took advantage of the ability to draw on the table cloth with a crayon, and drew pictures, and wrote slogans, to his heart's delight!

Sunday morning, I woke exhausted.  I had forgotten how there is no stopping with three year old boys, and the constant 'up and down' takes its toll, especially when not used to it.  However, I would not change it for anything!

With another week of fun and frolicking to be had, I am going to make this an American Adventure to be remembered by all, (although Jamie will have to live vicariously through pictures,) and shall fall in whenever required for next week's projects, in between work.  I shall be an expert by the time it is all over, and shall be much fitter for the experience.  After an afternoon at the pool, and another night of baby sitting, I shall have to go into work at least for a while, tomorrow, and hope that I can have some time off to make some more precious memories, and find some new adventures to report in ............ another story!