The Weekend

Talk about a whirlwind! I picked Grandma Judy up on Saturday morning at 7:30 to drive to Muncie. There was about a half-inch of new snow on everything, and the roads were just wet, but I was a little worried because the weatherman had forecast a possible BIG snow. (As it happened, the storm tracked north and left us with just rain.) We were to go watch the children play basketball--or practice, as it were--then bring them home to Plainfield for what would be left of the weekend. Got to the school where they play with no problem. We waved and they waved. Then, when practice was over an hour later, we drove to a bakery called Concannon's to order cakes.

The cake deal is for Easter weekend. Both Robin and Ryan are being baptized on the Saturday before Easter, and Robin will have her First Communion service that day, too. Their parents are hosting a party that day which will double as Easter dinner, so it will be a big deal. I thought it would be festive to have a lamb cake--one of those 3-dimensional cakes in the shape of a lamb (covered in coconut) resting on a bed of green coconut or jelly beans. (You get the idea.) And since those cakes don't serve many, we were going to need another sheet cake, as well. I had shopped around here in Indy and found two bakeries that would do it--one MUCH more expensive than necessary--but Kendra (the children's stepmother) suggested that we try the bakery in Muncie. Sure enough, they could do it. I paid for the lamb cake, and Grandma Judy paid for the sheet cake, so that part of the party is done. Yay! (Of course, I couldn't get out of Concannon's without buying donuts for everyone. Good stuff in there!)

We drove back to the school to pick up my car, then headed for Plainfield. The roads were just dry on the way back. Delivered Judy to her home, but in her neighborhood was a flock of robins! What a joy to see them! They probably were just moving through, but seeing them is an indication that spring is on the way...sometime...somewhere...somehow! Anyway, we had done all of this--up and back, basketball practice, and cake ordering--by 12:30 PM. Not bad!

I told the children that I'd have lunch for them, but Ryan informed me that he was full from the car snacks. He wanted to play with Jack! I don't think he was in the house five minutes before he went to Jack's house and brought him over here to play. (At least Robin accepted a soup lunch. It was a little amusing to see her pick the tiny pieces of chicken out of the chicken noodle soup because she had given up meat for Lent.) They all played here for awhile, then vacated to Jack's where they played the whole rest of the afternoon...until suppertime/almost dark. We had our meatless supper--creamed eggs over toast, peas, watermelon, and grapes--then went out in search of a video to watch for movie night.

That wasn't all we went to search for. Jack had a computer game called Spore Creature Creator, and Ryan OF COURSE desperately wanted one. We went to two stores to find one, to no avail. We had to make an emergency stop for me at a gas station (darned antibiotics almost caused a disaster, if you catch my drift), then went to the video store. That turned out to be an expensive venture. We found a video to watch but found out that I had $19 worth of late fees for three videos that were six days late almost a year ago! Funny no one said anything about that before. Then, inside the video store there is a game store. That part of the store did have a Nintendo DS version of the Spore game, so I bought that for Ryan. (Those things aren't cheap. Thirty bucks for a computer chip that might be a half-inch square...) ANYWAY, by the time we got back, it was 8:00. Already past bedtime, but who's counting?? (Oh...and I did buy something for Robin, too, but I owe her something more because I didn't spend the same amount on both. Bad Grandma!)

I couldn't get the new TV digital box in the living room to cooperate showing the DVD, so I put it in the TV/DVD combo in Ryan's room. Popped popcorn. Robin was in there watching Aliens in the Attic all by herself, with the door shut by request, while Ryan stayed in the living room trying to figure out his new game. I eventually plopped him in the bathtub. After the movie was over, Robin informed me that SHE needed a bath, too... All in all, it was 11:00 PM before everyone crashed and went to sleep immediately.

The next morning, we were going to the worship service at church that takes place during the Sunday School hour. I had given the children the choice of going to S. School or staying in the sanctuary with me to watch their other grandparents sing in the choir. They chose being with the other kids. Then, after the service, Grandma Judy suggested that we all go to lunch together at Gray's Cafeteria. Gray's is a VERY popular eating place in Mooresville, just south of Plainfield. Judy thought it would be good so the children could pick their own meatless meals. (The problem with Gray's, however, is that it is SO easy to take more than one can eat...and the helpings are quite generous.) We had a good time visiting at the table. Robin developed a new trick with her nose...sucking her nostrils IN...and made up a new birthday song. "Happy Birthday to you; you live in a house; you look like a mouse; and you smell like a blouse." She was so tickled with herself! About that time, Judy called the children's father from the table, only to find out that he wanted me to meet him in Castleton to make the kid trade at 2:30. It was already 12:30, so we had to hustle home, get their stuff, and leave. They did have time to talk to their mother in California on Skype before we left... **No paragraph breaks now, for some reason. New paragraph! The children and I were all disappointed that our visit was going to be cut so short, but they didn't complain too much. I had hoped to have them one more time to prepare for our trip to California at the end of next month but was told that the Muncie schedule won't allow that. Whatever wedding clothes we get will have to be without them here, I guess. As soon as February is over, I'll begin to worry about all of that. **Today, I met my friend Phyllis at the Rec Center and walked two miles. Other than that, I have done NOTHING. I've been kind of down and blah all day. Typical of a day after a weekend with the children. I always think of things I wish we would have done and have to go through kid-withdrawal. I miss my grandbabies! Don't know what the future will bring. I just hope it is good things!