Preschoolers & toddlers and babies....

When you first decide to become a Granny Nanny

you probably aren't thinking of this scenario:

The 5-year-old female wants to play "Frozen".

You have an empty toy bin, some lincoln logs and Elsa.

You have one minute to create a "castle".

Meanwhile, one of the three-year olds has Spiderman

and Hulk Hogan held hostage at the Bat Jail.

(I know this is mixing up good guys and bad guys,

but it's not my movie.)

The Paw Patrol is hungry and Ethan decides

to feed them "cookies".

And Spiderman decides to make a live appearance.

(He needs help with his cape and mask first.)

All of these scenarios require your interaction. 

Then the baby has a full diaper.....

Later that day Andrew sets up a command

center in the playhouse.

A Couple of Sleepovers

Everleigh and Briggs had a sleepover at our house

this past weekend.  While Everleigh has stayed

with us a number of times, this was the first

sleepover for Briggs and he was pumped!

And he did great.  No tears, no problems in

the "big boy" bed.  They both slept til after 7 am!

Here they are on the couch, watching my Kindle.

Looks very tidy, doesn't it?

This is actually the scene.

We took them to their first basketball game

and they enjoyed their first game dogs.

Next morning we stirred up some muffins...yum!

Everleigh got to work on a "project" of course.

Then, Ethan and Andrew joined us about mid-morning.

This Santa on a motorcycle from GAS was a huge hit!

What's a sleepover without a little jumpin' on the bed?

 After Everleigh and Briggs went home with their mom, dad and Foster

Andrew did some painting of his own.

And got out the "big boy" legos from my closet.

Ethan tried out the legos as well.

They've mostly played with Duplo at home, so this was

a whole new thing.....lots of ideas.

Andrew and Ethan slept over on Saturday night

and stayed til Sunday noon, when their

parents retrieved them....and Gma Bunny

took a nap!

What Do You Do When It's -10 degrees Outside....

Baby, it's cold outside.

So, we find other things to do.

Like....

Build a Lego Zoo/Circus:

Paint,

Listen to books on tape,

Turn a princess castle into an Ice Castle (ala Frozen)

with play dough,

Snuggle up under the covers.....

Christmas and such....

Everleigh, Briggs, Andrew and Ethan all followed

"The Elf on the Shelf" during the Christmas season.

I found him playing cards with princesses,

trying to get out the front door, in the Christmas

tree and other strange places, including:

He's a tricky elf.

Here are our 5 little ones at the Mieska Family Christmas

at our house in December:

Briggs (3), Ethan (2 1/2), Andrew ( 4 1/2), Foster (4 mos) Everleigh (5)

GG and Foster

GG with 4 Mieska Minnesota Grandchildren

Scott, Heather, Jesse and Josh (no ages given)

Andrew sang and "signed" "Silent Night"

Musical performances also from

Everleigh, Ethan and Claire

Foster later in December