Monday, November 30, 2020

When Chase got to Nanaw's house on Monday morning, he spent the time before school playing Among Us on Nanaw's phone. He's totally obsessed with the game. Nanaw tried installing it on the iPad and the iPod but both of them are too old for it. Before they left for school, Chase asked Nanaw if she was sure he was supposed to go to school. Evidently, he's thinking that one of these days, he would be doing remote school. Mama thinks so, also. Nanaw doesn't. When Nanaw picked Chase up, he told her he had good news. He moved up to level 3.6 in Accelerated Reading. Nanaw was very proud of him and so was Mama. After school, Chase played Among Us on Nanaw's phone. Nanaw got the idea to try to load Among Us on her Fire tablet. So she Googled it and found information on adding Google Playstore to the Fire. Nanaw did that and then downloaded Among Us. He gave the Fire to Chase to play on, and he was very happy about that. When Chase and Nanaw got to his house, Mama showed Nanaw the dog that Chase put in the Nativity scene, and she took a picture of it. Then Chase showed Nanaw his Christmas tree in his room, and she took a picture of it.. When Nanaw came back into the living room, Sam was cuddled up on Mama's lap, and Nanaw took a picture of Sam. Then Mama said, "What about Sylvester, and Nanaw took a picture of Sylvester.

Sunday, November 29, 2020

Mama told Nanaw that she and Daddy won the prize for the best parents on Sunday. They played badminton with Chase, then walked in the field, and finally roasted marshmallows. Nanaw came to visit in the evening but forgot to tell Mama she was coming. So she texted Mama from the car outside Chase's house that she was there. Nanaw brought Chase's ugly Christmas sweater, and he tried it on \. It fits well, he looks cute, and Nanaw took pictures. Mama was getting ready for make-it-yourself pizzas for dinner. Chase and Nanaw went to Chase's room, supposedly to snuggle with Chase's stuffed animals but it turned out that Chase wanted to play Among Us on Nanaw's phone. Nanaw said he couldn’t play the game but that he could show Nanaw how the game is played so that's what they did. After dinner, they came back into Chase's room. Before doing anything with Among Us and Nanaw's phone, they made Chase's bed. It was a mess. Both sheets were untucked and the comforter was all bunched up. Once they had the bed looking good, they went back to showing Nanaw how Among Us works. Mama decorated the Christmas tree today, and it looks really wonderful. Daddy put up the outdoor decorations but huge Santa is having a problem and is on the ground. 

Saturday, November 28, 2020

Mama brought Chase over to Nanaw's house on Saturday morning before she went to the grocery store. Chase asked about the wishbone so they did the wishbone. And it was a tie! The top part flew off, and they both ended up with pieces the same size. They decided that both of their wishes would come true. While Mama was gone, Chase and Nanaw were in the computer lab. Chase was playing on the laptop, and Nanaw was mending a hole in a pair of his uniform pants. Then he talked to Nanaw about a new game he was interested in -- Among Us. Nanaw Googled it and found that it was an app on the Apple App Store so she got it for Chase, and that made the little fellow very happy. After Chase and Mama left, Nanaw took a nap and then went on an adventure to Washington, MO and the little house. At Washington Walmart, Nanaw looked for an ugly sweater for Chase to wear to school next Friday (it's Ugly Sweater Day at ICS) but that Walmart didn’t have the sweaters. At the little house, Nanaw was surprised to see how many people were out there at their cabins. On the way home, Nanaw stopped at Telegraph Road Walmart and bought the ugly sweater. She took a picture of it and sent it to Mama. Nanaw thought it was a dog on the sweater but Mama said it was a cat.

Friday, November 27, 2020

Nanaw had an exciting, fun-filled day on Friday. Chase and Mama came over in the morning to spend time with Nanaw. Nanaw made turkey soup, and Mama watched and wrote down the recipe so she can make it sometime. Chase played with his stuffed hamsters and with his Rubik's cube. Mama had to keep checking her laptop because she had work that had to be done. For lunch, Nanaw fixed turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy for Chase and Mama. Chase had second helpings of turkey and mashed potatoes. Nanaw was so proud of him. Uncle Mike and Aunt Becky came a little after 1 p.m. to put up Nanaw's outdoor decorations. Nanaw finished making the turkey soup and packed up containers for Mama and Uncle Mike and herself. Mama and Chase left about 2. Aunt Becky left at about 4 because she had a Zoom call with her niece Vicka. Uncle Mike finished the decorations and left about 6. Nanaw built a fire and watched Christmas movies -- Four Christmases and Fred Claus -- very enjoyable. Mama sent Nanaw a picture of Chase eating Nanaw's turkey soup for dinner and saying "Mmmmmm."

Happy Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26, 2020

Nanaw forgot to take any pictures of Chase on Thanksgiving so she included one of Chase in a native American costume for a school performance in 2018 when he was in first grade. Nanaw has to get better about taking pictures on special occasions (and less-special occasions also). Uncle Mike and Aunt Becky got to Nanaw's house about 4:30, and Mama, Daddy and Chase got there a few minutes after. Cousin Joe and his girlfriend Michaela came, followed by cousin Robbie. Aunt Becky brought gluten-free- pumpkin and walnut Chex, and Nanaw put out red licorice, peanut M&Ms, and two kinds of mixed nuts. Dinner turned out really well, and everybody ate lots, especially Chase. He had turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy and a roll with butter. Mama said she and Chase could have Thanksgiving dinner again tomorrow for lunch when they come to Nanaw's house. After dinner, Chase and Daddy played balloon pong and broke a couple of balloons. Mama brought fabulous desserts, all homemade: pecan pie, pumpkin pie and chocolate pudding pie. It was a pie fest, and everything was delicious; Nanaw had a piece of each pie. 

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

On Wednesday, Mama had the day off work, and Chase was off from school. They came over to Nanaw's house in the morning for a day of adventures. First, they ate snacks of peanut M&Ms and two kinds of mixed nuts. Then they went to Handyman Hardware to see the Christmas decorations, which were awesome and delightful, as always. Nanaw bought light bulbs for the outdoor lights, and Mama bought a flamingo Christmas decoration. Then they went to Arby's and Mama bought lunch to take back to Nanaw's house. After lunch, they played Scavenger Hunt, which was great fun. Mama said it was easier to play at Nanaw's house, and Nanaw said that was because Nanaw had so much stuff. Next, they went into Chase's room and watched Hallmark movies while Chase played with his toys. Mama went home at 3, and Chase played on the computer, and Nanaw took a short nap. Nanaw took Chase home at 5. They were going to have Imo's for dinner. Nanaw came back at 6:30 for the evening's adventure: watching Christmas Vacation. It was grand fun.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Nanaw kept noticing that Chase was having trouble smiling his usual wonderful smile and also had trouble eating and drinking. Nanaw asked Chase what was wrong, and he told her he got hit on the mouth at baseball practice last week. Poor baby! When Nanaw picked Chase up from school, he said he wanted to go to the park, of course. Chase and Nanaw went to the park and at first didn't see Brady's and Andrew's grandma's cars. But it turned out that Brady's dad and Andrew's mom had brought them to the park. Chase had fun except for Brady throwing the soccer ball at his eye. Fortunately, it didn't seem to do any damage. After the park, they drove around the new subdivision that only has roads and street lights. Then they went to the library to pick up books for Mama and Nanaw. When Nanaw took Chase home, he got his tablet and went downstairs to video chat with Andrew and Brady. There was a lot of laughing and giggling and game playing. Tomorrow, Chase is off from school, and Mama is off from work. They're coming to Nanaw's house, Mama with her laptop and Chase with his tablet. Mama has to log on and do a little work. Otherwise, they're going to play games and maybe go to Handyman Hardware to see the Christmas decorations.

Monday, November 23, 2020

Chase took his Rubik's cube to school again today. He loves the cubes. Chase and Nanaw played balloon pong for awhile before school. It's easier to hit the balloon than the ping pong ball. Nanaw went grocery shopping today and got a 25-pound turkey for Thanksgiving at Waterloo Walmart. After school, Nanaw was planning to run some errands but Chase wanted to go to the park so they went to the park. But Brady and Andrew weren't there. So Chase and Nanaw went to do the errands. On their way back, Nanaw drove by the park to see if Brady and Andrew were there but they weren't. When they got home, Chase and Nanaw played balloon pong again. Then Chase played on the computer. He told Nanaw he wanted a speed cube. So Nanaw ordered it for his birthday from Amazon; she also ordered a book from Amazon on how to solve a Rubik's cube for Chase's birthday. When Nanaw took Chase home, she suggested that on one of Mama's days off they could go to Handyman Hardware to see their Christmas decorations. Mama told Chase that Andrew and Brady video called him several times in the afternoon.

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Chase and Daddy played ping pong outside on Sunday on the patio table; Mama took a picture of them and sent it to Uncle Mike and Nanaw, saying, "How we play ping pong here." Nanaw sent a picture of Chase playing ping pong on the dining room table. Very funny. Mama said Chase spent a of time doing video calls with Andrew and Brady during the day; Mama said there were a lot of giggles. Nanaw went over to Chase's house to watch Charlie Brown Thanksgiving at 6:30 on PBS -- Apple caved and let it be shown on PBS and not just Apple streaming. It was a lot of fun to watch Charlie Brown with Chase, Mama and Daddy --and Sylvester. Sam was in Chase's room, lying on Sylvester's bed. After watching Charlie Brown, Chase and Nanaw went into Chase's room to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner for the guys. Chase got out his pizza set and his food bag from Dollar General. They got everything set up for dinner for the guys. Chase had Nanaw bury him under his stuffed animals -- aka "the guys." Then somehow, it turned into a ping pong game, with Chase and Nanaw batting the food back and forth to each other. Then Chase said to Nanaw, "I wish weekends were longer." Nanaw asked why and Chase said, "So I can spend more time with Mama and Daddy." Then he got tears in his eyes and looked very sad. Then he cheered up when he said, "I have three days off this week so I'll get to see them then." Actually, he has five days off when you count the weekend. Nanaw remembers when she used to be sad on Sunday evenings before going back to school or work on Monday. But fortunately Nanaw doesn't feel that way anymore, and she's very happy about that.

Saturday, November 21, 2020

Mama dropped Chase off at Nanaw's house on Saturday morning while she went to the grocery store. Chase and Nanaw played ping pong for awhile, and Nanaw told Chase they would play lots of ping pong tonight at Uncle Mike's house at his surprise birthday party. After ping pong, Chase played on the laptop. First, he watched a YouTube ping pong video, then his regular videos. In the evening, Mama, Daddy, Chase and Nanaw went to Uncle Mike's for his birthday party. He didn't know that his kids were coming too. That was quite the surprise for him, and everybody was happy to see everybody else. Chase spent almost all of the evening downstairs playing ping pong and having a grand time. Dinner was wings and macaroni and cheese. Cousin Nichole brought a super wonderful birthday cake from the bakery where she works. Despite the miserable cold rain, it was a wonderful, fun evening. Uncle Mike's beautiful cat Tucker was even friendly to Nanaw; usually Tucker hisses at her.

Friday, November 20, 2020

Today is Uncle Mike's 55th birthday. Mama, Daddy, Chase and Nanaw are going up to Uncle Mike and Aunt Becky's house to celebrate his birthday (and for Chase to play ping pong). Mama had the day off from work today so she took Chase to school. Then she and Nanaw had a day of shopping. First, they went to Waterloo Walmart. Then they went back to Chase's house to pick up things for Goodwill. At Goodwill, they looked for an ugly sweater for Chase but didn't find one. Mama will buy one at Walmart if Chase needs one for school; there's a possibility that the school will go to remote learning if there are any more cases of Covid. After Goodwill, they went to CostCo, Arby's, Bath and Body at South County Mall, and then the Hallmark store in Columbia. Nanaw picked Chase up from school at 3 p.m. and told him they were going on an adventure to Florissant to get donuts and Nanaw's ring. Chase didn't want to go and cried and threw a small tantrum. Nanaw told him they were taking along snacks, drinks, the laptop, the Fire tablet, the iPhone and the calculator to keep him occupied. And it all worked out perfectly. Chase entertained himself on the laptop and was perfectly content. He enjoyed going into the donut shop and helping Nanaw select sprinkle donuts for him, and a special assortment for Mama, Daddy and Grandma Pat.

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Chase was excited to take his Rubik's cube to school today. When Nanaw picked him up from school, he said Konnor got his cube in order, and Chase was happy about that. He played with it at both recesses and after packing up at the end of the day. Chase got his school pictures today but Nanaw forgot to look at them. When Mama opened them, there was only one 8 x 10, and she ordered three. Evidently, Chase took them out to show them to Joey and somehow they didn't make it back into the envelope. So Mama is going to email someone about them. In the picture, Chase looks like he's 12 years old; but it's a good picture. After school, Chase and Nanaw went to the little park at the library. Andrew and Brady were there. Chase had Nanaw get out his scooter, and off he went! Brady had his electric scooter. Nanaw gave Andrew the soccer ball because he didn't have a scooter. The boys eventually went over to the basketball court to play soccer. An older boy was there playing basketball, and he started playing soccer with the little boys. It was very cute. When it was time to go, Chase didn't want to leave and had a meltdown. It was really bad, and Nanaw ended up not talking to him for about a half hour, which bothered him no end. When they got home, without speaking to him, Nanaw had Chase read the book, Rocket Writes a Story. They really liked Chase reading the book. After Chase was done, things were okay between him and Nanaw. Nanaw told Chase that next time it's time to leave the park, she'll give him a five minute or ten minute warning so he has time to prepare himself. 

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

After Nanaw took Chase to school, Mama said she heard back from Ms. Kennedy about Chase bringing a toy to school. She said he could bring one till Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, no one was going to bring a toy. Nanaw asked Chase what he was going to bring his Rubik's Cube. I asked him why he didn't want to bring his whistle football, and he said somebody might fight over it. Mama said Aunt Becky had invited us over for Uncle Mike's birthday dinner Saturday night. Chase will be very excited because of being able to play ping pong on Uncle Mike's ping pong table. After school, Chase and Nanaw went to the little park by the library. To their surprise, Will was there with his Mama, his dog, his two brothers and sister. Chase was very excited about that. Chase rode his scooter and so did Brady. Nanaw gave them Chase's soccer ball to play with, and they had a great time on the basketball court playing soccer. A bunch of older guys came to the basketball court so the boys left. Chase had baseball practice this evening; Daddy said it will probably be the last practice of the year for Chase.

 

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Chase and Nanaw played ping pong on Tuesday morning before school, of course. Mama told Nanaw that she and Daddy discussed buying Chase a ping pong table for Christmas but decided against it because it costs so much Then they came up with the idea of buying it as a family gift, and that's probably what they're going to do. In the morning, Chase told Nanaw that he didn't want to go to the park after school but he did want to take his whistle football or regular football to school with him. He said Ms. Kennedy told Brady he could bring his ball to school. Nanaw said she'd have Mama email Ms. Kennedy to see if Chase could bring his whistle football to school to play with at recess. Ms. Kennedy said she'd let Mama know by the end of the day but Nanaw never heard whether she said yes or not. After school, Chase said he wanted to go to the park, that he'd changed his mind. When they got to the park, they saw that Andrew had his roller blades, and Brady had his scooter. So Chase had Nanaw take him back to his house to get his roller blades and scooter. He had a great time skating and scooting and play with the whistle football. After they got back to Nanaw's house, they played ping pong again, of course.