Thermometer Can't Read the Temp Today!

Okay - here we have a couple of outside digital thermometers and both of them are reading off line because it is too freakin' cold. According to our weather reports we get on the computer are saying it is currently -23. The hounds are NOT amused, Renner comes in on 3 feet (holding one up from the cold), hobbling around, from a quick potty run...we have resorted to going out multiple times to take care of business. Renner is extemely resistant to wearing boots 'like knock me out', resistant. Oh - that is what happens when I put them on him. He just kicks up such a sudden and violent protest I generally land somewhere on the ground with my glasses located in another county. So much for all those expensive types boots I have tried. This type of situation has resulted in a smaller 'potty area' for times when it isn't a good idea to let them into the larger area. Well the gate between the two will remain closed today so the dogs can just run out and go and get back into the house.

Going On A Little About My Grandson.

truly see things differently as a grandparent, I guess now I realize that I just don't remember all of these things about my own girls and wish I did, and know how precious all of these moments are now. As a mom a lot of the time you are just trying to 'get through' things and so often don't take the time to appreciate or enjoy all the little things. It is just different. Though I have to admit also that I am with him a lot more perhaps than a normal grandma, though a lot of grandma's are taking care of the grandkids while mom and dad are at work. So I am a little bit into scolding him when he does something wrong, instead of just letting do anything. I think he is a little disenchanted with me right now. When he was sick the only thermometer I had was an old fashioned battery powered thermometer (okay not old fashioned to me...but to my daughter yes). I have plastic covers for the tip of those, dipped it in vaseoline and stuck the poor little guy in the nether region with it, he was not amused.... On top of it, I did it a couple of more times during the day. The first time his temp was over 102 and fortunately it went down with the Tylenol. But you know, one day I will be able to explain to him why I took his temp like that instead of off his forehead with one of those new forehead thermometer things. For now, I am sure he thinks I am big on torture. So yesterday I saw them in the parking lot at the post office, considering the temp outside, Kee was sick, and my daughter usually has an armful of books to mail off, I thought I'd stop and ask if I could help her. She asked if I'd just sit in the car with Kee while she went in. So he stayed strapped in his seat and I sat next to him the conversation was very one sided, except he finally said 'Momma forgot me.' I assured him that she didn't and explained the situation. By that time my daughter had come back she got in and then he finally said something else, 'Where's Bampa?' I'm like - hello...what am I chopped liver?' ;) That was pretty much all he had to say to me until his mom forced him to say 'Bye, I love you memaw'. The bye came out with no struggle at all, but he had to turn the other way and look out his window to spit out 'I like you Memaw'. Actually I find it all a little funny, but I think right now he has me ranked right up there with the doctor who gives him shots.

This Afternoon

I had a doctor's appointment, got there right on time only to find out my doctor was behind in appointments 30-40 minutes. I had no book with me, normally I bring one to read while waiting but simply forgot. There seems to be a lack of good reading material in that waiting room, normally while waiting 'for whatever' I can catch up on my 'People' magazine reading...or other things I never normally read. However, today, due to the lack of stellar reading material I decided to play a game on my new cell phone. It has a rather large screen, yea!, so easier for me to see. Then I discovered since it was a new phone - no games were on it. I then set about downloading 'Bejeweled' and sat their playing it. Finally the nurse called me in and there was a 'hoard' of little toddlers rummaging around in the back hall. I commented to the nurse on it and she just smiled and said...'uh yes'. (Like Oh yes, there are always 20 toddlers loose in the hall back here by the exam rooms). Moved on through the appointment, I mean really you have got to love it, an hour waiting for maybe 7 minutes with the doctor and then you are out the door...and in with the toddlers again.

I will be going in tomorrow after fasting in the morning to get some blood taken for some chemisteries. Wonder if the halls will still be swarming with toddlers....

Anyway, after I left I went over to Target to get some 'stuff', and then was going over to the post office to mail something, just a quick shove into the drive-thru boxes... Here is my daughter's car just in front of mine at the boxes, and then she turns into the 'exit' to park in the lot of the Post Office, so I followed her. (A normal mom thing I think, even if it means going the wrong way to do it). I pull up next to her to say hi and to ask if she needed any help. She participates in a book group deal where she mails a lot of packages quite frequently and has a 23 month old (whom I love dearly) who isn't well and was in the back seat of the car strapped in. So I figured she might need some help and I would get to check in and see how my grandson is feeling.

So I roll down the window and say hello. My daughter asks if I would get into her car and be with Keegan (grandson) while she ran into the post office, then she wouldn't have to get him out. Of course I obliged. Got in the car "Hi Boogy, how are you doing?" (Boogy being my nick-name for my grandson). He looks at me and in his 23 month old way, looks very matter of fact and says "Momma forgot me." I said, "No Momma didn't forget you, it is just so cold outside ... she left you with me so you wouldn't get too cold (was -3 outside)" I talk to him ask him how he is feeling - he just stares at me... . My daughter comes back - was a pretty quick trip in and out of the post office, Keegan then says the only other thing he'd said to me since I'd climbed in his car to watch him "Where's Bampa?"

I'm like - hello little sweetie, what am I chopped liver? Anyway, I told him I loved him and gave him a kiss...my daughter as well then got back into my car like a good little invisible granny should. (I guess) I arrived home to be greeted by beautiful hounds and kittens who are always glad to see me, else they pee on the floor if I don't let them out. It is just so good to be loved. ;)

Brrrr...

Now what is up with the weather? Been very cold here in Minnesota and I'd say at this point in time it would be hard to convince most Minnesotans that global warming truly exists. The hounds do not take to it kindly as they have been hearing a lot of 'hurry, hurry' from me for the last few days and are not allowed to go out to play.
My grandson, Keegan was here yesterday and was dropped here off with a fever of over 102 degrees. He pretty much spent the day staring into space with rosy pink cheeks and his mouth hanging open to allow him to breath. I was supplying him with Tylenol which did produce some results, holding his temp down a little, making him feel like a little bit of playing, and bright moments when he saw Big Bird on TV and also of course when he saw his Bampa (my OH) come down for breakfast. He really didn't nap too well, was moaning and banging his head some. I had thought maybe a really bad sore throat and cold. My daughter and SIL took him into the doctor last night and found he had a ear infection (which has now been re-named as 'a bird in my ear' according to Keegan (23 months old now). He got this from a book they were reading while waiting for the doctor, I believe it is a Dr. Suesse book (or of that type) that was all about a guy who couldn't hear because he had a bird in his ear. Keegan even told the doctor which ear the bird was in. The doctor was able to confirm that the bird was indeed in the right ear and not the left.

I just find my little grandson amazing, even with a bird in his ear.

What A Day.

Today was just 'one of those days'. One thing after another to add to the fact that I was already in klutz mode. Nothing like 'fighting' yourself to get through normal tasks...On top of it my Grandson, whom it was my day to watch, was pretty sick and had a fever of over 102. The dogs were good, the cats were scarce. Ruby (grandgreyhound) was here as well, she always comes with my Grandson, kind of a package deal. :)Cold - (jeez does it sound like I'm complaining or what!) Very cold here today, when I got up our reading was at about -21 (no telling what the windchill was). But it was cold...all day. At 1pm it was still -12. So no playing outside for little man or beast at our house. (Who me...complain?) So I am sitting down here to write a quick one, more later, while I am getting dinner (it is cooking waiting for my OH to arrive.) My daughter and S-I-L picked up their little guy and will be taking him into the doctor (should be there now actually), so soon I should get a report on what the outcome was and how he is doing. I hope he is feeling better. It was a day of non-communication with him, he is only 23 months, and sitting on the couch watching Pingu.

No Mercy For a Woman In Transition.

In the previous entry I mentioned I had to leave for about a half an hour. It is snowing like crazy here, so I got out to get an errand done real quick before it got to bad. Came back, and being that I had just mopped the floor I slipped off my boots before walking to lay things down. And of course the hounds had to go out (no matter that they had gone out half an hour earlier just before I left, we have rituals around here and they MUST be respected!) So I go back into the mudroom and they are all pretty excited...jumping around. Knocking me every which way as I am standing on one foot trying to get my boots back on... so I finally just open the door (we go out through the garage door, so we go through the garage to the door...good set up) and I still have my boots half on, trying to slip my heels down into them (too lazy, and perhaps too old to want to bend down and untie them like a normal person). They are rushing all around me ... I'd have fallen if they'd given me the space. I'm saying to them boys.. please, Woman in transition here... (from sock footed to half way wearing her shoes)...but no - they outside becons and lordy knows...Blew is always loaded for bear when it comes to going potty! About the time they are all running back in the door (realizing that they were just out half an hour before and are nearly empty...and baby...it's cold outside) I managed to get both feet to slip into my boots all the way. Only to get knocked around again due to the fact that we are going in and I am now trying to take them back off so I don't track up the floor. (Their feet get cleaned off from running on the strip of rug that runs thought the garage, my boots have deep groves that hold the snow.) I'm thinking at this point, it would have been easier to just re-mop the floor.

Paw Games

As I was writing my last entry I began to become a tad irritated. Monty is even better than my hounds in making me 'work around him' without even noticing I am doing it. I was sitting here typing and suddenly realized that I was swatting his paw off my left fingers as though it was just another key stroke. He lays, usually on my left side (I have a laptop and sit on the couch to type) and often lays on my left arm/hand/wrist (whatever) and quite often bats at my fingers on that hand while I type things. It is most annoying I must say (though some would think endearing I'm sure). But I get on a roll sometimes and his paw is always darting over the key board, between my fingers and just everywhere, I keep swatting it out of my way until finally it ends with shaking him off my hand completely. Not to worry though, less than a minute later he is back...pressing the Caps Lock mid-sentence.Occasionally I will start to do a crossword puzzle on the computer (I have a favorite site) and will leave it to do something else. When I come back I find him sitting on my keyboard...I swear he is smiling. I find my crossword all filled in with b's, v's and what have you. Needless to say I get a very poor score on it. I do believe he feels he has done me a great service to have finished the puzzle for me.

Bones For Teeth

One of the things I have been doing in the last year or so is trying to make sure I don't have to give any of my hounds dentals. I lost one little greyhound during a dental procedure, so I try really hard to avoid needing to do things with them that require anesthesia. My vet has been helping me in this area too and suggested I stop by my butcher and pick up some leg bones (beef) and then to keep the fat content down, I bake them until most of the fat has melted off the bone. I then cool them and make them a special treat. The vet suggested about half an hour a day then take them away. The problem is that most dogs have a favorite side of the mouth to chew on, if you look - you will see the teeth on one side of their mouths are nicer than on the other side (at least that was the case here). So the idea is to let them chew on a good bone until they get tired of chewing with their favorite side, and switch to chew with the other side. So I keep an eye on them while chewing and once they switch I let them have some time on the second side, then remove the bones.Removing the bones instead of just letting them have them all of the time seems to create more interest in chewing them. I keep them in bag in the fridge when they don't have them. I usually buy new bones every other week and start over. Along with brushing them, the bones have helped them chip off the deposits on their teeth and they are really looking good.

An 18 Month Old 's Equivilent of A Mexican Standoff

At lunch today my grandson was doing very well with eating and things were going on pretty smoothly until we got to the 18 month old's version of a Mexican Stand Off. Throwing the cup of milk because he wanted down, instead of just telling me he was 'all done' he decided he would do no such thing and there was nothing I could say or do that would change his mind. In the end he wound up back in his bed (crib), where I removed everything....his blankets, stuffies and so on, so he could have a little time to himself 'thinking' about his actions. We are pretty geeky here and have a video camera mounted in his room, as well as a baby monitor to keep tabs on him when we are not up there and he is *supposed* to be sleeping. There are nets made for his crib that form teething pads on top and secure the spaces between the bars of the crib.

I watched him party hardy up there, removing the nets from the rails (now they will just stay off), and rocking and rolling that crib across the floor until he got it over to the chair I had laid the blankies and stuffed toys on. It was pretty astounding to me how he figured it all out and managed to pull the blankies through the bars of the crib from the chair and back into his grasp. Grammy, here, huffed it back up the stairs and caught him pretty much by surprise with the goods in his hot little hands. I say, "What are you doing?" He looks at me and starts trying to put the nets back up onto the rails saying "Uh-Oh." Like it was an accident that they were off the rails. (It was pretty hard to keep from laughing..but I managed). We then had another conversation that lead to him getting out of his little prison and moved on to Target where he was just absolutely perfect in every way. He even carried the little bag back to the car for me.
Wish I could have taped the gyrations he went through in that crib to get it over to the chair though, that was just priceless to see.

Foolin' the old lady!

Taking care of my grandson can often be fun as well as tiring. He is full of energy on even a bad day. Today he came with a cold developing and was very tired in the morning. He took quite a long nap and is now currently sitting in a chair biting his own foot. He has munched on me twice today, not hard either time and with his eyes on me the whole time to watch for a reaction. Neither of times were the reaction favorable, but I could tell he was pulling his punches and this was just a test. Much of the day with him is a test, he continuously tries things that he knows is a 'no-no' just to see what I will do (I or other of his authority figures).

We had been over to a Target to get some mailers this afternoon, then stopped by a park to swing - he declared it 'hot' with a hand wave and that he was done, with another wave of his hands. So we left to go back to the car and go home. Once home we played with water, bubbles, and then side walk chalk. When we are playing bubbles, most of the time he stands around yelling 'bubble bubble bubble' while I am running up and down our driveway making bubbles or trying to blow them so they are all in his reach...ummm not that he actually reaches for them so much. He does do it some and begs me to do bubbles to no end, but then ignores them much of the time, until it is time to stop.

One of the little tricks he had going on this afternoon was with one of his toys called the 'Ball Popper'. It started after a rousing swing in the park, a round of bubbles and scribbling with sidewalk chalk then it was time to come inside. Being 93 degrees outside, we were both tired from the heat (okay - mostly *I* was tired). He didn't stop at all. First there was the extremely stinky pants (big job alert!) and putting his completely chalked up clothes in the wash and listening to him being all upset because the bag to his megablocks were zipped and he couldn't pour them out over his head. I finally sat down after he got interested in a book and when I did, he started playing with the ball popper. I was playing with him off and on, holding my hand over the air/ball exit hole to make the balls pop out even higher. Pretty soon some were under the couch. All upset about that he started getting a bit frustrated so I said, "just say 'help Gramma'". So he says 'elb Mammaw' so I got down on my hands and knees digging out the balls from under the couch..it was at about the 3rd time that I noticed he was actually putting the balls under the couch on purpose then calling me for help. I got them out again and warned him I was on to his little tricks. From now on a ball laid would be a ball that stayed. And now there are balls under my couch. He is not happy and I am wondering if that is why he is playing with all of his musical 'sound' toys at once now.

Midgets and Midges

As always it has been quite a while since I entered anything. There are things to say, of course, but often I wonder how worth while they are when it comes to writing them down. My husband has been encouraging me to set down in writing the stories I tell him each day after babysitting my grandson. I just don't know if I *can* tell them without my entire body demonstrating his antics. I think that my whole self is *much* better at telling the stories than just my words.

Anyway, this last weekend we went camping. My grandson likes to get up early and on Sunday morning I hear this crying...it was fairly early for a Sunday, not that it bothered me, but I'm guessing considering how close the campsites are together, others could hear it as well. I hear a noise and look up, because my head is almost even with our window in our camper (I'm a 2 pillow sleeper), and my SIL is leaving the camper, he came inside our camper to do something and then went back out. But while he was gone I could hear my daughter saying 'No, don't do that!', and the door would quickly open and shut, and well, that went on about 3 times or so. When my SIL tried to get back in their camper. I then heard my daughter exclaim, 'don't open the door I am trying to get dressed!'. So said SIL just stood outside with his hands in his pockets waiting, obviously our little buddy inside was preventing her getting dressed quickly by continuously opening the door. Next thing I saw (or heard) as they were eating right outside out window, was about muffins...my grandson (18 months old) wanted 'bapple' so he got 'bapple'. But somewhere in their conversation my little grandbaby says 'yo mama'....I heard my daughter say 'did he just say 'yo mama'?' I looked up again and grandson was pointing to his father...(did he just say 'yo mama' to his DaDa?) At which point I burst into uncontrollable laughter, and needless to say they could hear us about as well as we could hear them...except they weren't sure if it was laughing or crying they were hearing from our camper. So then when I could breath again, I just confirmed the 'laughing'. Not sure why I found that so funny.... I think I was the only one that did.

It was shortly after that I heard quite a loud 'bang' on the camper and then my grandson crying....when I saw him a little while later there were a couple of big red welts on his head. Seems he saw the 'ball' on the trailer hitch and since he is just *crazy* for balls...he headed right for it, not caring that there was a very large camper in his way - walked right into it. Now you think he would learn from that, however he managed to do it 2 more times before the day was out. His mother, who was planning to get his photo done in the next few days, has now canceled his photo session until some of the bruises on his face fade.

Another interesting thing that occurred this last weekend while camping at Father Hennepin park was that there was a huge Midge hatching that was extremely eerie! There were *so* many that you could see dark waves of the bugs up in the sky right above the tree tops. And the noise!!! That was the spookiest part of all, very loud swarming sounds that would change a little in pitch...and got louder as the swarms of them grew closer over head. They do not bite, and they stay up above the trees for the most part, still we closed everything up and went inside to play cards. It was all just too weird.

Granny Diaries

Okay - well that is the name of the book I am reading to help me understand how to be a correct 'Granny', but this post isn't really about the book, just thought it would be a cool title to an entry. :)
I went today to get my glasses that were repaired, as they were broken on Thurs, and after that on to get the an oil change on the car. Hey, lots of waiting, therefore, plenty of thinking time. (I did read the 'Granny Diaries' for part of the time, but am easily distracted by general thinking.)
It was snowing fairly hard while I was out and yet I drove thinking of several friends of mine, of Scooter - the greyhound who will soon be living with us hopefully, and other things not related to the activity my eyes and hands were involved with.
Yesterday during some emailing with a good friend from New Hampshire I found out she was recently near death while dealing with a medical episode that us dog folks would think is somewhat like torsion of the stomach. Okay - it wasn't the stomach, but was in the large intestine, where one little piece (can't remember what it is called right now) that is supposed to be attached is hanging loosly...and that gave it the opportunity to wrap around part of the colon and strangle it. She was working on trying to set up folks to hunt for a lost greyhound and was in a lot of pain. Soon after she couldn't take it anymore and went into the emergency room. She found the emergency room only had a skeleton crew on due to an outbreak of the flue. So she went in at 12:39 AM and no doctor could have a look at her until 6:30 am. Needless to say she was hurting quite badly and once they got her in and figured out what was wrong they really started working on her. Surgery, which she came through okay, but then infection set in and they had to deal with that. All in all she was in the hospital for nearly 2 weeks it sounds like. On top of it while she was in there, her dearest greyhound passed away and she wasn't able to be there for him. Very scary and sad. But she is getting past it thank goodness.

Then another friend of mine who just went through breast cancer treatment and is still doing well just got married a few months ago after waiting for her fiancee to come back from Iraq. Now it looks like he will be deployed to Afganistan. So lots of prayers for them both that this will not happen and he can stay put for a while.

I also just found out that a friend who lost her beautiful ranch in the California fires, seems like ages ago, just finally got a FEMA trailer. She lost everything, except most of the horses that were there on her ranch. Lucky for that, that's for sure, but she had absolutely nothing else. She is thankful for the trailer now but is so out of sorts in it, on bare land.... nothing else around it. Don't konw how long it will actually take for her to rebuild her life. Can't even imagine such devistation in my life and sure do hope I won't have to. However, wish there were more I could do for her.

Crazy - the way this world turns.... keeping things in perspective if possible, I guess there is more than just worrying about whether or not your kids will hate you because you are a PITA granny...just not even up there with the top ten problems. But I will still finish reading 'The Granny Diaries' cuz it seems pretty true to life so far, and rather funny! A break from the more serious places life puts us.
Happy St. Paddy's Day.

Today is today, yesterday was last weekend.

Today is a day is a day...yep, much like other days that go by so quickly you have no idea what the time is in any point of the day.
I do have a class in a couple of hours and I am trying to remember that! Did my JS mid-term last night and though I thought it would be tough, I scored 100%. Good deal happy about that. Bruce's brithday is Friday and just trying to figure out what to do for that.
(just flowing into this without fluid thought...getting the explaining over with that I promised previously).
Was a tough trip, windy, crappy weather on the way down, taking our awning off just before hitting Iowa, there we were in I don't know how many degrees below zero wind chill - wind howling away as we go the ladder out on the icy shoulder of the interstate, Bruce climbed it to cut the awning off because there was nothing else to be done that we could think of. I was trying to hold the ladder so it would slip and I was worried he would fall. After finally getting it cut off and going inside the RV to warm up a little, I was still pretty nervous about the fact that trucks and cars were just zooming by us on an icy, windy road. Out we went again I to hold the ladder while Bruce climbed it again to take off the metal frame attached to the RV, which was cracked. That gotten off, and stored in the belly of the RV we had to deal with the awning (fabric) portion which is very long. We tried everywhich way to store inside the camper but we could not get it in the door. So it was wrapped tight with duct tape and left on a snow bank beside the road. We just plain did not like leaving it there, but also had no idea whatelse to do with it and we'd already been on the side of the road for over half an hour.

As we drove the wind continued to pound us and everything you can think of seemed to work against us, wind, no music (that didn't work), the temps... Geez right now I can't even remember everything that happened. But we finally got to a camping spot for the night. Had something to eat and pretty much just collasped into sleep. Next day was pretty much the same deal, nothing working out, traffic jams, cars flipped all over the side of the road, not being able to find a gas station we could get into without hunting through 3 or 4 of them. Come the third day we were finally close to our destination and since we'd left a day early, we got there in the evening a day early, only to find out that someone else had our spot. So we ended up with the camper in front of my parents house and slept there. Total crazyness....

And that was just the trip there!