Teddy Bear Picnic

Today was SO well planned and thankfully so. I knew Danielle didnt feel well yesterday and I thought there was a possibility that she might still be ill today so last night at 9 pm I was in the kitchen making special treats for today. That turned out to be a really good decision when I talked to her this morning and she was still sick and then Randy… Randy started making several trips to the bathroom. I texted my other back up person but I still haven’t heard from her. I knew my day was about to take off like a rocket and it did…. BLAST OFF!

The first special thing of the day was breakfast. We were doing a taste test of different flavors of porridge. We had straw betties and cream , bananas and cream, peaches and cream and blueberries and cream. We were individually tasting each one and making tally marks of how many people liked each one . This was the point I was thinking… Oh Debbie, this is not gonna be good. Maybe you ought to postpone all the special events today.

Well, you know me and you know that isn’t how I operate. I went twice as fast as I normally do and kept thinking ‘ You can do it , you can do it…. ”

It was right about then that I heard one of the kids say ” Dog POOP!” What !!!! As I looked up the stairs I saw a trail. One of the little boys had stepped in some dog poop outside and it went unnoticed until now. It was EVERYWHERE. I left the porridge mess on the table and grabbed the carpet cleaner and started cleaning. ( After figuring out which shoe was my carrier .) and thats when I heard Randy in the bathroom. ( If you have a weak stomach, stop reading now..) I could hear him violently throwing up and gagging. Half the kids were yelling ” Listen to PawPaw Randy” the other half were saying ” DOG POOP” and I was on my hands and knees and had tears in my eyes. It was that point that I knew I needed reinforcements. I called Danielle ” Are you throwing up or have diarrhea ?” No mam. ” then I need you here.” And of course she came.

By the time she got here we had enjoyed Corduroy and talked about the differences between real bears and teddy bears.

Then we went outside. The kids knew we were setting up for our Teddy Bear picnic so many of them started making a pretend one in the play yard.

After playing in the yard we came inside to clean up for our picnic. The kids washed their hands with running water and soap and then sat down with a wipe to make sure faces were clean for the 100’s of pictures I was sure to take. Kimber made Danielle and I laugh. He said ” Are we cleaning up to go in PawPaw Randy’s office?” ( well…. periodically when Randy needs a quiet break he will go sit in the backyard. You might have heard me mention a time or two.. have you ever came in and seen ME sitting back there? But if the kids ask what he is doing he tells them that is his ” office.” ) Kimber you are a funny kid !

Once outside we had a good time.

The kids enjoyed their special teddy meal and treats and then read books for a while. I would say after the chaos this morning that it was a welcome relaxing break for all of us.

Teddy Bear Picnic