Monday, April 20, 2009

Weekend with Bubs

Nini had a morning birthday party at one of those ginormous arcades where you cannot drop your child off and leave without worrying, so Bubs spent the night with me on Friday. I picked him up mid-afternoon and when we got home we spent an hour putting deck stain on the new tool rack V. made me for the garden.

A two-year old and redwood stain - not my brightest idea, but we had a good time. And it washes off with some Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap and a few licks with a scrubbie.

I also let him pedal the wheel, with the flyer unhooked. That kept him occupied for minutes at a time. He built blocks with Fan Ro, had dinner and a bath and then we read six or seven books while he struggled to stay awake. Rather than risk a melt-down, and by this time, I was half-way curious to see just how long he could stay up (Bad Mimi!), we decided to watch a movie. After half an hour of 'Friendly Persuasion", we repaired back to bed and he read himself to sleep in about three minutes.

Not even our new king-size bed is big enough for Bubs and anyone else. I would wake up from a kick enough to move him, but not enough to think of a pallet on the floor, where he actually took his nap next day : Ro peeked into the bedroom and asked in an alarmed tone "Mom? WHERE'S BUBS?!".
"On the floor under the bandana fleece blanket."
"Oh. Okay..."


The weather was spotty on Saturday, but we managed to work in the garden a little, feeding the birds, weeding and pulling radishes. Indoors, we played puzzles and trains and drew pictures and mixed up some Koo-Aid dye for Mimi's yarns and pedaled the wheel some more. We picked up a baked potato and some fried okra for lunch.

By the time he fell asleep on the floor, after another Berenstain Bears story, I was pooped. To the point that I bribed Fan Ro to drive him home to Frisco when he woke up. He teared up a little when he heard about the change in plans, and I almost weakened, but Ro, with her eyes on the prize, assured me he'd be fine, jumped into my car and drove off.
When she got home, I asked her if he'd been really upset. "He stopped crying at the top of the alley, Mom. we talked all the way home, about MarioKart."

Apropos of nothing on Saturday, he announced "Mimi- you're the best Mimi in the whole world.
And I'm the best Bubs." Metaphysically speaking, he's got that right.
What a great little guy.

3 comments:

QP said...

Bubs likes fried okra and Mimi! Sounds like a sweet visit.

I'm going to Austin Wednesday to meet, for the first time, my two, adopted Chinese, x-step grandchildren, girls, ages 2 and 4.

Metaphysically, my two, newest, most adorable, grandchildren.

mushroom said...

It was grandkid weekend for me, too. My nine-year-old granddaughter came down -- we went to a Southern Gospel concert and an amusement park. She loved the Kingsmen's tenor.

At the park, she freaked out on the swings -- they hang from a chain in a carousel. After you are seated they crank the chains up so you're about ten feet above the floor. Then they start the carousel spinning -- so you're kind of like the stone in David's sling. We were in one of the double seats. I don't if this reassured her or if she thought Poppy made it more likely that the chain would break.

I found out that Poppy is too big to fit in the car on the kiddie roller coaster. Grandma could have fit easily but it was mild enough that the little one rode by herself. She did, however, refuse to ride my favorite roller coaster. It's inside and mostly in the dark.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Wow, Sal! What fun you both had! Ha ha!

I hope you had a good day, QP!