Author: a gdovin girl

Most afternoons when I am on pick up duty for the Tucson Grand-Angels, everything goes smoothly.  Oh, there may be the occasional complaint or spat between the two, but such a rare event.

rare  

adjective

(of an event, situation, or condition) not occurring very often.

Today, rare picked itself up, put on it’s shoes, and walked right out the door and disappeared without a trace.

After Abby’s swim team, we make our way to my house for some play time and dinner while daddy has meetings and mommy gets a well deserved pedicure.  I am busy in the kitchen area and I hear Abigail from her relaxed position on the sofa.

“Max, can you please get me a blanket and a pop up book and a cuddle toy because I went swimming and I have my pajamas on and I really really need to rest here.”

“no”

“Maaaa-ax.  But I am tired and I asked you nicely and you should do it if I ask you nicely.”

“no.  If I get you a blanket then I will have to fold it and put it back and I don’t feel like it.”

“But I will put the blanket back, I pwomise I really really will!”

Max gives in to the high-pitched whine from the little sister, and not only returns with the blanket; but brings TWO – count ’em 2 – pop up books and THREE cuddle toys for her to choose from.  Max is tired from a busy day at school and Pokemon discussion with some friends at Abby’s swim team practice.  He tosses a pillow on the big shaggy living room rug, and with a big exhale, commences to close his eyes and begin operation unwind.

Abby begins to “read” the spelled out numbers in one of the books … loudly … and punctuating each syllable.

Forty-Five.  Sixty-Three.  Fifty-seven.

Max is getting annoyed and then, reaching his breaking point … “ABBY!!  Please give me some quiet time for a few minutes. Read it in your mind.  You are not even reading it right!’

thirty-three.  seventy-nine.  Nana, am I reading it right?

“ABBY!  PLEASE just read it in your MIND!”

Well, you can surmise for yourself how Abby responded – or, didn’t.  Max was now near tears and broke down, marched into my bedroom and shut the door.  I gave him a few moments and went in just to check on him.  He had piled some pillows near my big craft cabinet, laid down on the pillows and open the large drawer above him to make a little sleeping berth.  I hugged him and asked if he needed anything and he dried his tears and said he just wanted to rest.  I left him to it and returned to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner.  All the while Abby is still “reading” loudly, only stopping once to ask me what was wrong with Maxwell.  I had to leave the room to hide my laughter.

After dinner, I turn on the television to watch a Disney show with them, and on comes the ID channel where I had left it the night before.  As I start to change the channel Max holds up his hand  “Wait Nana!” On the screen it showed a hooligan family tormenting a grandpa next door with a dangerous growly dog and fireworks and loud music.  On commercial, I explained to the tiny Grand-Angels that they were just taunting him to be mean and that they should be more respectful.

ABBY:  “Nana, you might give me a time out for this, but I just have to say I would like to knock the shit out of those mean people.”

I am trying not to laugh while looking shocked and thought this would be a good time for a lesson.  No, Abby.  I am not giving you a time out, and then went on to explain that I do not like that language from my granddaughter.  And then to engage Max in my teaching moment, I asked Max what would be a better way to express that same feeling of anger.  He thought for just a split second, and replied …

“I am going to punch you right in the face!”

Turning to Abby to solidify my argument, apparently Max was not done with his thought on the matter.

“You Bastards!”

i give up.

Before he was 7 and before he could read … before he played soccer and before he went to Kindergarten … before he told jokes and before he knew his colors and shapes … before he danced to Cuban Pete … before all of that, he took my heart to places it had never known.

Together we have read books and colored pages.  We have gone on long walking adventures and out to lunch and in to nap. We have played tennis and badminton and t-ball.  We have painted and gardened and made home-made popsicles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

We have laughed and giggled and cried together.  I have wiped his tears and he has wiped away mine.  He has patted me on my arm with a little hand when I needed it most.  He has helped me through the days; without even knowing it.  And I could not love him more.

He is 7 years old now.

He is Max.

Yesterday, I published this original post in a private message to friends and family; cringing at what I had allowed to happen …

Kids were up before 7. Nana got up about 8 o’clock. The children fixed their own breakfast of cereal and milk . And when I say cereal, I mean the entire box. I couldn’t post it on Facebook because Nana ain’t no snitch. shhhhhhh

While the children were lunching with Aunt Megan and family, I was picking up the house, and opened the pantry door to find this …

What perfect kids!  They didn’t eat the entire box after all!  When I told Max the whole story he just laughed – in that same way as when Jeffry laughs at me as if to be saying “crazy old woman”.

The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this article are fictitious. No identification with actual persons, places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

It was a lovely Thursday afternoon.  A Nana, (we’ll call her Lana) gently pulled the Impala with the tiny children (we’ll call them Jax and Gabby) secure and safe in their approved car seats, into the garage.  Lana was driving very slow and trying to judge how much room she had to inch around so as not to disturb the oh-so- adorable little bug car, also in the garage.

Lana sees the blue plastic recycle bin wobble just a bit.  Trying to ignore the issue in the hopes that the mini-passengers would do the same, she gingerly reverses in order to  endeavor a safe and careful position, once again calculating the available distance.

JAX:  ” Lana. You know you hit the recycle container, right?”

Lana takes time to reassure him that,yes, yes, she did notice that she barely touched the recycle bin.  No harm done.  Pulling forward again, she smiles to herself assured that she is missing the aforementioned recycle bin.  Oh … Lana sees a ladder begin to move.  With curse words on her tongue but not leaving her mouth; again a voice from the backseat.

JAX: “Lana.  You know that you hit the ladder this time, right?  Not the little ladder with the soft black seat.  The tall ladder that you stand on to put the color bulbs in outside.  Remember that you let me climb it one time when you were right there?  It was that one.  Did you see that you hit it?”

Apparently, little Jax has forgotten that Lana has been right in the same vehicle that he has, and although he has accused her of short-term memory loss in the past, she certainly does realize what she has done and responds to the six-year-old smarty pants that she certainly does remember the incident just seconds ago and that all is well.

Backing out one more time and inching forward so as not to disturb the parking police who has apparently completed some academy course since the last time I saw him two days ago; (okay, a curse word may have left my lips) as I see the big green canvas bag housing the  Christmas tree and Santa rug and wreaths dance a little jiggly dance, I sense another comment from the six-year-old Captain Obvious.  Instead, I hear the throaty roar of laughter coming from none other than a four-year old, as she loudly exclaims (as if I was not there) …

GABBY:  “did you see that one, Jax??  This time she crashed right into the Christmas tree bag!!”

and louder and longer laughter ensues.

I back the car out onto the driveway; shut off the engine; tell the kids that it is all clear to remove their seat belt harness and sheepishly retreat into the house, leaving the Impala just outside of the garage door with plenty of room not to hit anything.

Max wanted to play video games on my phone.  I had Judge Mathis on the television.  Whenever you watch a judge show, commercials for attorneys of all kind stream one after the other.  They always have catchy numbers – one has – 333 33 33 and 777 77 77.

I hear Max’s video game music stop, and I catch the familiar sound of cell phone touch tone dialing.

“Max, what are you doing?”  Thinking he was trying to get to a different game.

“I gotta call these guys!”

oy.

Say “Hello” to part of my ugly sofa.  We bought this sectional in Virginia in May of 2010 before we moved into our brand new apartment.  I love this sectional.  It is yellow.  It is roomy (seats 6).  It is bouncy (just ask the grand kids).  It is comfy.  BUT … since it has been through grand kids in two states and of various ages;  several Christmas open houses; family dinners and Easter get togethers, it is more than ready for a makeover.  After drooling over $50 a yard fabrics at the fabric/craft stores, it was beyond my budget.  Until one day when my friend, Joanne, advised me to pay a visit to Sas Fabric store.  I had seen this store before, but figured it was more for able body seamstresses who knew what they were doing.  So I took Joanne’s advice and headed down to Sas Fabrics.  I found an amazing assortments of all types and colors and textures of fabrics at a fraction of the price at the other fabric/craft stores.  Fabric that originally would sell for 38.99 per yard, was priced at 4.99.  I took the fifteen yards they had left, figuring I would need at least 12 yards.  $75 to cover the base parts of both pieces of the sectional was right up my alley.  I will worry about getting complimentary fabric for the twelve cushions later.

Nice, new pale yellow with tiny squares of a soft sage color upholstery fabric in hand, I begin to formulate my plan.  I set the fabric aside for several days, waiting to make my first move.  Just not sure what that first move will be.

I removed all the back and seat cushions from both pieces of the sectional, tip them both over so that I am looking at the bottom of the sofa. I draped the fabric over the large piece, leaving about 3 feet of fabric hanging on each side and then do the same to the other piece. Since the backs are just flat, I think that would be the best place to start.

Trusty staple gun in hand, I attach the fabric to the bottom underneath and staple away.

So far, so good! With a quick flip of the sofas to their upright positions, I pull the fabric over the top and down to the seat, leaving about 4 inches to play with adhering the fabric to the front piece of the sofa that will be the backboard to the cushions. I cover the tailored skirt with the new fabric using the double-sided fusing. This also added a nice weight. I was careful to cover the entire strip underneath the skirts first, so that if/when a piece of the skirt was moved, I would still see the new fabric and not the old stuff. Yes, I am a bit OCD about things like that.

The upper corners are not finished – but the back is!

Look at the skirt – not the yucky cushions!

Of course, nothing beats working with a noteworthy assistant.  Not too handy with the tools, but the face is to die for.

We had a change of Camp dates for this week due to the 4th of July holiday and got a late start to the day as I attended a graveside service in the morning. We still managed to squeeze in a little Camp fun in the afternoon.

Since this was the day before the 4th of July, or as Max calls it “Ind-pendence Day”; the theme of the day was Red, White & Blue. Max painted a patriotic looking wooden train and added sparkly red, white & blue stars after the paint had dried. Abby worked on an equally patriotic wooden airplane. She is not much into spreading her stickers around a project – she likes to pile her sticky embellishments up in a stack, one by one all placed on top of the one prior.

After a little lunch and screen time, we were back to our red, white & blue projects. Next up, fireworks! White circles exploded with red, white and blue paint using a plastic fork and after a few embellishments, a handle was added to finish the project. Max had a great time making exploding noises as he held the “fireworks” high up and then fizzling out sounds on the way down.

Some reading time before we met mommy & daddy for an impromptu dinner.

The other day, Max got a treat of his organic bunny gummy thingys. He asked for another package and was told by me that he had probably had enough for the time being. His reply to me was “okay”, but as he walked away I heard him quietly mutter … “bad Nana. bad bad Nana.”

photo courtesy of Kerri Gardner

We here at Camp Nana, thought we could cover many more parks than we did.  But with sickness and extreme heat, we have only made four so far.  Today, we make our trek to Rolling Hills Park – a cute park tucked on the side of a golf course and surrounded by homes.

ME:  Max, I think that 2 of those would be good.

MAX:  We need more, Nana.  Three would be better.

MAX:  Nana, look at all of the flowers we got.  A whole basket of flowers.

Max thinks the whole world is his swimming pool!

Max earned extra Camp Nana points for all of his hard work today.

Max has recently discovered abericots – aka apricots.  We decided that we needed to grow a tree.    So, here is Max’s account of our abericot twee planting.

First we had to eat an abericot.  We spit the seeds in the water (cup).  We tooked them out of the water so they could grow. (the water bath was to clean all the pulp from the pit.  Max learned that if the pit floats to the top of the cup, it will never grow into a tree – just not viable.  None of ours did – they all dutifully sat at the bottom of the cup.)  Then we put the seeds on a plate. (to dry out for a couple of days)  I came to Nana’s house and we hammered on them and then the seeds came out.  We went to the store and got big big BIG bags of dirt and a big flower pot.  We put dirt in the planter.   I used my shovel handle and poked one hundred (four, to be exact) holes in the dirt.  We put seeds in the flower-pot.  We covered them with dirt.  We watered the seeds.  THE END

The perfect end to a morning of hard labor – making it rain on his head – and watching a rainbow slowly form on the sidewalk.

Max’s rendition of what his abericot twee will look like in a couple of years!

Today we ventured out to Terra Del Sol Park at 6700 E Calle Marte, Tucson, AZ 85710.  This is a little park tucked away in an older neighborhood.  Max was very excited when we arrived as the playground equipment was large and colorful and in full view of the street.  No need to wonder where to look for that!  The park is older, so it has huge trees to give shade to the several benches nestled around the playground or in a clump of trees.  

This is a beautiful structure and quite large and clean for a family and friends get together.  Surrounded by plants, it makes a really pretty statement.

Max insisted that I climb up the playground equipment and check out the built-in benches and the lookout tower and the tic tac toe game all contained in little nooks and crannies of the structure.   Although the slides were too hot to use, the rest of the toys and treats were just fine, due to a textured coating on some of the railings.

Pretty sure I could curl up on that bench with a good book and enjoy several lazy hours there.

Max gave the park the thumbs up.  Visitors should know that there are no porta-potties on site.  We were lucky because there was a ladies exercise program going on in the pool area and we could come and go and use the restrooms with no problem.  A fun little park and a new place to enjoy a family picnic!

Max and I decided that for our project Camp Nana 2013, we would explore and review some of the lesser known parks (and we will probably hit some of the well-known ones as well).  Our first adventure took us to Case Park at 9851 E Kenyon Drive.   Just a scant 2.7 mile drive from our home and passing through a subdivision, this beautiful bit of green rises up through the cactus and rocks to present a truly serene area.  I can picture myself on a bench engrossed in a book so the only noise that can break through is the gentle giggles of little ones on the playground.  But I digress.

The park itself is clean and save for two pieces of litter (a water bottle and a drink cup) there was nary a paper nor doggy poo in sight.  There is a large grassy area in a circle surrounded by trees and some cactus and the walkway to the playground.  Impeccably groomed and just waiting for some bare feet to tickle.  There are various smooth paths: one leading to a nature walk around the reserve and one to the playground and picnic area.  The tables – well, the tables are a whole other story!  They are tiled, but not just tiled.  They are all done in mosaic with an artist’s touch and tell stories of the hummingbirds feeding on a nearby cactus flower and more.  Leave the tablecloth at home and enjoy these unique tables while you picnic.  The playground is covered in that shock absorbent rubbery recycled stuff and is so cushioned that I daresay I could actually sleep on it.  The playground equipment is in perfect shape.  Of course, there is no way around the burning slides and monkey bars in Tucson – just have to avoid those and climb up to the tower and descend using the plastic “rock” stairs.  There are two sets of swings – one for older kids up to 109!  We opted for the “these are not for babies” swings that were in the shade.  Max was thrilled and giggled about the fact that he was “flying” through the air! 

What is that I see off the path?  A Butterfly and Hummingbird Sanctuary that is by far the cutest dang thing I have ever seen in a park.  Not only is the gate beautifully constructed showing a butterfly and hummingbird, as well as the sign on the gate to remind us to latch it to deter little hoppity bunnies from going in and eating away on the greens, but ever little inch of the sanctuary itself has been decorated by grownups and kids alike.  Little touches all over the place just to make your heart smile.  Treats for the eye for certain. 

So, if you want a little oasis in the desert, Case Park is where you want to be.  Well done City Parks Department and all the kids who contributed their handprints and artwork!  Well done, indeed.  Max and I give this park adventure a hearty thumbs up!

Oh, the plans we have for an evening with three grandbabies.  First on the schedule – we needed to make dinner.  The menu?  Mac and Cheese, Pigs in a Blanket.  Chips.  Milk.  The chefs are quite pleased with their creations.

Here, they practice their pose for the cover of Kid Foodies –  June edition.

After dinner, we finished up some cool art projects of painting on canvas.  Each one designed and created their very own piece of art to present to their daddies for Father’s Day in a couple of days.

What is better than an evening movie and some trail mix?

 Marluce was an abundance of kisses all evening … Mateo was his special sweet self gently guiding Max from fun to task…Max was in his element and loving every minute with his Virginia cousins.  Marluce and Mateo shared the sectional, sleeping toe to toe.  Max had his mattress out there with every intention on sleeping out with his cousins.  But, he is still just a little boy and came in to to very late with tears “Nana, I want to sleep in my room”  Well, I cannot turn that down, so I got his mattress and his bedding and moved it into his room (which is really a cutout in our bedroom wall that just fits the width of his mattress.  Sound asleep seconds later.

What a wonderful evening.  A Nana’s dream.

Kerri is so clever – no wonder she is a teacher.  She always knows just the right thing to make kids happy.   She set up an arts and crafts table for the kids – as well as finger painting with color shaving cream.  Fun for the kids and easy to clean!  And what kid doesn’t enjoy getting gooey stuff all over their hands?

When they tired of  squishing shaving cream paint between their fingers; and when the creative painting had been set aside to dry, it was time for a little cooling off in Max’s backyard.

A cousin relaxes in the kiddie pool, while

a younger cousin tries to drown him!

 Nana gets some grand baby time before we all sit down for a family dinner on Pantano Edge Drive.  What could be better?