R and A were very happy to see us. S was cooler about it all but when he is on his electronics, he is in a zone! J was at karate with a babysitter. The nanny G had supper waiting-a great beef stew.
Laura had a church choir rehearsal after the conferences but by 9:15 we were all in the house together. Michael and Jim watched some football. I did two loads of laundry--an absolute necessity!
Today the boys had school for a half-day but R did not. She and I spent quite a while creating a bookThe Unicorn Who Didn't Have a Friend, written and illustrated by her and dictated to me. We also did a little reading lesson. She is so eager to learn to read. Jim and R and I walked to town to get a treat--about a 15 minute walk. A and the nanny were at a gym class.
The afternoon involved some quiet time for everyone, play time outside, and electronics, of course. Supper was early because J had swimming and S had wrestling. Jim and I stayed home with the little ones and let the nanny go early.
It's now about 9:30 and Michael is not yet home from his day in NYC today.Wednesday: The morning was quiet with the boys in school and R and A with the nanny. We walked to town again and bought a few items for tomorrow's dinner. At 2 pm, the nanny left for the holidays and we all went to the Philadelphia Zoo. With a membership, it doesn't matter if it is a short visit and it was that--maybe a bit over an hour.
It gets dark early here on the East Coast but Jim and S still got in a little more football throwing. The kids had dinner first and then Laura and Michael fixed a great steak, asparagus and twice-baked potatoes dinner.
A objected to bedtime but it is all quiet now. He no longer has the pacifier but does have a bottle which he requests with his morning shows and bedtime shows. Every night I do my routine with R at bedtime--a Stars Shining lullaby in which we count the stars on the ceiling and a "I Love Little R" song in which my mistake of saying "Laura" instead of her name is an obligation now. We used to count stars by ones; now we counted them by fives, and even by hundreds to a thousand. I will be sad when R becomes too sophisticated for that routine. A and R are both quick to give hugs and say "I love you, Grandma." S and J relate in other ways. I listened to the music lessons--piano and viola.
Thanksgiving Day--Laura and Michael went for a run together--a rare treat for them. After they returned, Jim and I went for a walk to mail a postcard to my reading student J. It probably won't arrive before we do! Michael made his traditional oyster stew for lunch. At 2 pm the Princeton VKs and Dan arrived. There was lots of cooking and activity and at about 5 pm we sat down to a feast. My contribution was a sweet potato dish with cranberries and at least Jim, Laura and I thought it was delicious!
We rode in the big 7 passenger van with Jeff back to Homewood Suites in Princeton where I spent a very restless night, sleeping only at the beginning and the end for a few hours total. The traffic on Route 1 was noisy but I didn't think that was bothering me. However, this morning Jim observed that the window was not tightly shut and that should make a difference. There was just too much running through my mind. At least I am very grateful to have slept well at Laura's when I needed to be "grandma."
--------We spent the afternoon at Jeff's watching football. Later we all met at Palmer Square where J sang with his Princeton High School Choir for the tree lighting ceremony. The last event of the evening was dinner for seven of us at Ruby Tuesdays. We are now back in our hotel room. We hope that by this time tomorrow we are home again.
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