Bribery and other such Grandma stuff

The perfectly behaved granddaughters that I had when I arrived last Saturday have slipped away and have been replaced with 2 very argumentative, grumpy, way too-close-in-age sisters. The walk to school this morning should have been wonderful since the first thing we saw was a cute bunny hopping along next to the path. But quickly Maddie decided she was boss of the conversation and was not going to let Katie have anything to say at all. There was no steering the boat the other way. We were just going to have to weather the storm and be glad that they go to school in separate buildings!!

I got the notion to take a nice long walk after the girls and I parted ways. There is a greenbelt with nature trails close to the school so I chose to make good use of it. The trails were very nice but I sure am glad I doused myself liberally with bug spray before I went out. I saw some great wildlife but never a single other human being. I saw a huge tortoise, big as a dinner plate at least. A really bright little frog, a good sized lizard and the best of all-a Piliated Woodpecker!! These guys are huge!! And the red topknot on their heads looks an awful lot like a punk rocker hairdo. I managed to stay out for 2 hours and came back both exhilarated and exhausted and ready for lunch.

Speaking of lunch. Funny story to tell you. I had some chicken breast cooked that I planned on throwing some taco seasoning mix on and making some kind of mexican chicken wrap. So while the chicken was finishing up I got out some grated cheddar(kind in a bag already grated), some lettuce and sour cream.. I went to get out my tortilla wrap and sit it on the counter to make my concoction. And there was no cheese. Did I forget to get it out-Nope. Did I mislay it somewhere else in the kitchen-Nope. Then I realized Cooper was missing. So I went and found him under his mommies bed where he goes when he is in trouble and there he was with the cheese. I never saw him snatch it but I sure caught him red-handed!! I rescued the bag with only a little damage so I could use the cheese left in the bag. Cooper knew he was in trouble and hid out for about an hour. And I didn't even yell at him-he just knew!!

Katie's group at school put on their musical. Katie spoke her part loud and clear. But even more important was the fact that she wore stuff to school she normally would have hated. She had to wear denim on the bottom and a plain white top. We could find neither in her wardrobe so she had to borrow from Maddie. In fact she tried on several of Maddy's things and almost decided on a skirt but passed it up cause it was a bit too loose in the tummy. Is our little tomboy learning it is not so bad to be just a little bit girly? Well when out shopping tonight she actually had a couple of skirts she said she liked but they were out of her size.

I was really hoping that when I picked the girls up from school that they would be in better spirits. Katie was fine but Maddy was just being a butt-head picking on her sister. I threatened to turn around and take them home with no shopping. They barely improved but at the first store we stopped at they had Webkinz and promised if Grandma bought them each one they would be good for life. They really know how to lay it on don't they!! So I made them a deal. Do the rest of our shopping and stop back in for the Webkinz if they stayed well behaved. And they did. Both girls tried on outfits and both picked their fav for Grandma to buy. Nothing fancy, just t-shirts and pants each. Then dinner at Golden Corral. They ate plenty but I do not think one real veggie made it on their plates or in their tummys!!

Brooke comes home tomorrow for 2 days so I had to get the house picked up a bit so she is not overwhelmed when she walks in. She says she has a lot of studying to do when she is here but hopefully we can find a little bit of time to do something. And then hopefully the girls and I will go really hit a beach this weekend, boogie boards, bathing suits and all.