We've had trouble with Grandpa in the past when bringing the girls over wearing dresses. I mentioned it in my last post. A few people told me that we should have her wear the dress anyway. Well, we compromised by having her wear shorts underneath the dress. Since he claimed he didn't want them wearing dresses when on the trampoline, there was nothing he could say. (And yes, I do think that's just an excuse... he just doesn't like girls being girls, or something like that. Both of his other daughters, half-sisters of Nikki, are the real take-charge, kick-ass type.)
There was this one moment when Skylar had just finished having a temper tantrum. She hadn't had her nap, which often causes her to be impossible to deal with. Nikki had put her on the couch and was petting her head, trying to get her to go to sleep. Grandpa comes through and says, "Stop coddling her. That's not going to do any good. Just wack her and put her to bed." I told him, "Nikki knows what she's doing. We're good." She's gotten so sick of her entire family telling her how to raise her kids, and thus I became sick of it as well. Nikki is respectful to her elders... to a fault. I think it's too much, and you should be able to speak your mind. Anyway, he comes from a different era, when "tough love" was not seen to be an abuse of some form. He's a great guy, don't get me wrong... and his bark is actually much harder than his bite... but some of his "methods" are just plain wrong.
So a bunch of other kids and their parents came over, and Grandpa made hot dogs and hamburgers on the barbecue. I rarely eat hamburgers, and never hot dogs (ugh! processed crap!), but I made an exception and had a burger this time, loaded with condiments. I'm not a beef-liking person, so yeah... pour on the ketchup, pickles, onions, etc.! We had cake for dessert, that the kids helped make yesterday. We didn't think to bring candles, and Grandpa didn't have any, so we used matches as candles. Yes, matches. Go ahead: "You know you're a redneck if..."
Anyway, that was our little get-together and birthday party. All in all, it was a fun time.
Oh yeah, before I sign off, here's something that might make you chuckle. We went to Wal-Mart on the way home from the party, to find some Starbuck's Double Shot drinks, and other related drinks. (They really helped keep us awake during the move from New York to Michigan!) They moved the display, so Nikki asked this older gentleman employee where we could find the drinks. (He looked like he was in his sixties... at least.) He told us that they should be in the coffee aisle. I headed that way, and he followed me. We had pulled away from Nikki and the kids, and he said, "You were here yesterday, weren't you?" I replied, "I think so. It was either that or the day before." Then he told me, "Well, I would always remember you. I just love redheads." All I could think to say at that point was, "Oh. Thanks!" He went on his merry way, and I just started laughing. For one reason or another, the Wal-Mart near us is never boring!
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