I have a little break in my childcare this afternoon due to two sleeping kids so I thought I’d take this time to write my blog early rather than 30 minutes before I head to bed.

Normally, Ray and I take one day a week to take care of our little grandkids: Luna, age 3 and Nico, age 5 1/2 months, but Ray had to attend to some business today so I am here in Sierra Madre handling the grandparent day solo.  I arrived here at 7 am (Gregorio left at 7:05 and Sarah at 7:15).  It is still hot here in LA and because Sierra Madre is out of the city (45 minutes east of our house), it can be even a little warmer.  So, I decided that we would go to the park by mid-morning since I figured it would get too hot later in the day.

I actually did a good job all by myself of getting both kids dressed; snacks, extra diapers, diaper wipes, my phone and money in a bag; and Nico strapped to my chest in a baby carrier.  (Don’t ask how I got him in there by myself. I actually was holding on to his diaper with my teeth at one point.) Despite that minor complication, I did get him all settled and happy.  We walked the 3 blocks to the park with no incident.  Yeah.

I realize that I sound as if I am building to some big problem that occurred.  Actually, that is not the case.  Luna played on the swings for at least an hour – me pushing her and Nico asleep in his carrier on my chest – and I chatted with the various young mothers who were there with their kids early (just like me) before the real heat set in.  Luna then ran around a tree about forty times, climbed up and down the little play structure, took a turn in the sand box and even told me when she needed to go to the bathroom.  We also took a couple of breaks for snacks.

Nico, meanwhile, slept, slept, slept, then woke up and grinned, looked around, then fell back to sleep.  He was completely contented to be all snuggled in his carrier and the warmth of my body must have had a serious soporific effect on him.

We stayed for almost two and a half hours. Long enough that all other parents (and a few other grandparents) and their charges had come, played and gone.  There was one lone mother and child on the play equipment by noon.

Luna’s cheeks were bright pink from all the playing and the heat so we headed into downtown Sierra Madre (another 1/2 block) and had a blueberry and mango smoothie sweetened with agave nectar.  We sat out front at a table and watched while people went in and out of the nearby Subway.  Luna drank her half of the smoothie while I eavesdropped on the conversation of a mother, father and adult son (clearly on the autistic spectrum) about whether you could take food onto airplanes.  (I refrained from tossing in my knowledge on this topic since they were having a spirited argument and everyone seemed invested in being right.) Still, they weren’t too loud and it was pleasant sitting outside (still cool in the shade) and Luna and I enjoyed sharing our fruit smoothie. After that we stopped in a local hardware store on the way home just because we had nothing else to do and they had a gift shop in the front part of the store.

Back home, I fed Nico and got Luna settled on the couch with a blanket and pillow and a tv show called Pinky Dinky Do (a decent show despite that ridiculous name.)  Anyway, within minutes she was asleep and after Nico’s bottle, he was asleep too. That was two hours ago and Nico has awaken twice for a diaper change, some holding and yet another bottle since I figured he might be a little dehydrated from his long morning without any liquid besides his breakfast.

So here we are.  I have these two gorgeous children all cozy and asleep and I am sitting here writing my blog EARLY!  Yahoo.

The best part of this weekly grandparent day is that I get to hang out at the park and in downtown Sierra Madre (or wherever we please) and spend at least 8 hours with these grandbabies.  That is a treat that is hard to describe and is one of the BEST perks of being a grandma so far. (I’m sure my more experienced grandparent friends could let me know of even better times ahead though it’s hard to imagine anything could beat this.)

So, I’ll wrap this up now since I am certain there will be stirring among the troops in the very near future.  I might have to start making noise since Luna and Nico’s parents might not want children who have slept all afternoon and are experiencing major energy bursts just as Mom and Dad arrive home, tired.

Ray, I’m certain, is feeling jealous that he missed his babies this week. Of course, it is especially wonderful when he is here too.  Nothing like Grandma and Grandpa heading up the charge together in the multi-tasking needed to manage a 5-month-old baby and a three -year-old.

I’ll be checking back in tomorrow.  Until then, stay cool and enjoy your day.

Luna during her park swingathon

Nico awake for a few minutes

Crashed out Luna

Nico back to the zzz’s