Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Sweet Stuff and Sunshine and Udder Cream

Sweet Stuff and Sunshine spent the night with me Saturday so their mom and dad could celebrate the anniversary of their first date. Some people will celebrate anything to get a free night to go out to dinner and get grandma to babysit. I'm just kidding because that's not true. I called and asked to babysit because I love being with the girls. It is so heart-warming and gratifying to me for them to walk in my door and come running to hug me and then to hurry their parents out the door so they can start their evening with Grandma Carol. I love it!

We did all the grandmother-granddaughter things like water painting, playing with blocks, doing puzzles, reading books, and then snuggling up with their special fleece blankets on the sofa and watching Dora the Explorer and Roly Poly Olie with a bowl of popcorn.

Bedtime came, and I gave them their baths and got them into their pajamas. I keep a jar of "Udderly Smooth Udder Cream" next to my bed to put on my hands each night before I go to sleep. The girls love that stuff! Everytime they visit, they head straight to my bedside table to get some of the cream for their hands. We have almost a ritual for after they've had baths at my house. After bathing, they love to very seriously smooth the udder cream on their arms and legs. The more, the better.

Once they were satisfied with the amount of lotion they had rubbed on themselves, I tucked them into their sleeping bags on the floor next to my bed. Alas, they weren't ready for bed. Giggles, talking, requests for some milk.

So we got up, had some ice cream and read some more books. Finally they wound down and were tired. I tucked them into their sleeping bags again. Sunshine snuggled into her Wiggles sleeping bag with her favorie toy Ducky, and Sweet Stuff into her Dora the Explorer sleeping bag with her Cabbie. We said a bedtime prayer, I turned out the light, got into bed, and said goodnight. Less than a minute passed. Sunshine was standing beside my bed.

"You want to sleep up here?" I asked. She nodded. I lifted her up and put her in bed next to me. She immediately curled up beside me.

Quickly, Sweet Stuff was in the bed with us, too. There is nothing quite as sweet as the soft cuddliness of two precious little girls. Within two minutes they were both sound asleep. I just lay there and smiled at the perfect tenderness of the moment. I am pleased that they are secure enough with me that they can let their mom and dad leave and have a good time staying with me.

They remained in my bed for awhile, but after an hour or so (when I knew they were sound asleep), I picked each of them up in turn and put them back in their sleeping bags. Despite their sweetness, I knew I couldn't sleep well with them in the bed with me.

Early the next morning they awakened. I made waffles for Sweet Stuff and pancakes for Sunshine. We got dressed and played until their mommy and daddy arrived.

It was simply a perfect grandma-granddaughter time, and I thank God for times like that.

Sunday evening before I went to bed, I opened my jar of Udderly Smooth and saw the numerous little indentations in the surface of the cream where their small fingers had dipped repeatedly into the jar the night before, and I just smiled. Life doesn't get any better.

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