Babysitting and Grandfriends Day

I'm fairly certain I've mentioned this before, but N is super-into maps and flags.  Like, it's all he wanted for his birthday, and since then, he's been working with his dad to make money.  For what?  More maps and flags. 

We're running out of wall space, here...he's going to have to start cycling them in and out, perhaps seasonal flag changes?  I'm grasping at straws here.

Anyway, he really wanted this vintage map he found on Amazon, so he asked if he could pay me and I could buy it with my Prime account.  Okay, no problem.  And then, when I went to purchase the item he put in my shopping cart, I found 3 items totaling almost $50 instead of the ONE item we had originally discussed.

Sneaky, but not sneaky enough.  I told him I'd be happy to purchase them when he was able to pay me the full amount.  And then he asked if he could come with me to babysit so he could make some money.

C & J LOVE him.  He plays games with J and talks to C, and reads really great bedtime stories.  This time, however, he was cranky.  And that doesn't make a great babysitter.  He turned it around at bedtime and managed to make some money to buy his flags and maps.

So, I ordered his vintage Betsy Ross flag, his "Don't Tread On Me" flag, and his super-vintage world map.

And I still have no idea where he intends to put it all, so that will be our next adventure.

Also, today was Grandfriends Day at B's school, where a special friend/grandparent comes in for an open house type event, then cookies and lunch with their student.  It's always a lot of fun, and this year was so much better than last year.  Last year, our class was coping with the loss of a classmate that passed away the night before at the age of 6.  Today was the one year anniversary of her death, and although everyone was having a great time with their special friends, I know I wasn't the only one who was thinking about her and her family.  It's sobering and puts life in perspective.  We are never guaranteed a specific number of days, so we need to cherish them all.

My mom usually comes for Grandfriends Day because she's the only local grandparent.  This year, B hadn't seen his stepmom in 3 weeks (It was my week, then his stepmom was out of town and his dad wasn't feeling well, so I got a second week, and then B got sick and it was my week again), so she asked if she could be his surprise special friend.  My mom agreed, so stepmom came to surprise B...and she brought her mom (B's step-grandma, I guess?), too.  They asked if they could take him home after lunch instead of having him stay the whole day, so B had a SUPER short week this week, since he missed Monday and Tuesday and left early on Friday. 

I miss him already.  He's over there all week, then back with me for a few days before I head out of town to see my dad for a long weekend.  I can't wait!

Aubs