<p>Mathson’s little brother (who needs a name of his own really) now wants an electric violin. He likes this guy:<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHC_Qyov2Xc[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHC_Qyov2Xc</a></p>
<p>Anyway if you want cute stories of toddlerhood, here’s a typical one from him:</p>
<p>“Look Mommy a hoo-house!”
“That’s called a firestation.”
“Well, *I *call it a hoo-house.”</p>
<p>Stubborn kid.</p>
<p>Do plan to give them a car or a tour bus to take side-trips–or remove sharp objects from your kitchen.</p>
<p>Do plan activities for them and children without you.</p>
<p>Do review ground rules with children; ie you will stay at the table and play forehead poker with gramma and grandpa.</p>
<p>“Top 10 Do and Don’t List for Hosting in-laws for 3 weeks”:</p>
<ol>
<li> Don’t.</li>
</ol>
<p>;)</p>
<p><em>it’s the “3 weeks” part</em></p>
<p>I can only wonder - hoo-house? Sounds like that’s what you have after 3 weeks of inlaws…</p>
<p>jmmom – time to start on that yard work! surely there’s spring cleaning to be done in the garden – preweeding – and then the planting. the outdoors does wonders for in-laws. </p>
<p>DD’s prom was last night – she reappeared at home today at 3 PM. But assured me she had slept. As she was with “just a friend” I was not overly concerned. But I was running a school event all day today. This morning, a friend taught me how to text message (I know – pathetic – shouldn’t I know this by now?) – so at 8 AM I texted “Having fun?” The instant reply: “I’m tired but otherwise am totally…” And there it stopped. She’s been telling me her phone needs a new battery and now I believe her. All day I played ‘how many ways can we fill in that blank?!’</p>
<p>OOOhh, ivory. Don’t try to fill in the blank. Really.</p>
<p>Renee-
Ahh- thankls for the reminder. I will get that list together. Currently spending time on line trying to find a new car ffor s#2 since the one in last week’s accident was totalled. He’s ok, thank heavens. I had started a list on a piece of paper but I cant find it. I’ll recreate it from memory–</p>
<p>Bump.</p>
<p>And I need friends to reassure me I haven’t lost my mind. I can’t find a piece of music that I’m sure was on top of the piano. I’ve torn the house apart–every place I am likely to keep music and some I’m not. Is this incipient Alzheimer’s? Will I find the music in the fridge or something?</p>
<p>Nope, wasn’t there. 
Shoot.</p>
<p>What’s a piano?</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>OK, I admit it, the three-week in-law visit seems suicidal to me. They’re coming from the PNW to Germany, their first European adventure, and they are in their 70s and I just can’t see them getting in a car or negotiating public transportation on their own. So with your helpful suggestions, here’s the plan so far (in addition to little sightseeing trips we have planned): my daughter will have cribbage duty, and she can invite her whole gang of friends to learn how to play pinochle, and I’ve also mentally assigned Gramps to put a new coat of stain on the garden house. </p>
<p>Gramma, now that’s another matter. D is taking her to Paris on the train for three days during the week after graduation while I’m still working at school (Gramps has a bad knee and won’t do cobblestones or subway stairs too well)…got to think of more ideas for Gramma or she’ll spend the whole time online or watching TV news while we’re at work and then hammer us all night with whacko political insights (we’re smack-dab-in-the-middle moderates, but she seems to think we’re extreme ultra-liberals and she’s on a mission to set us straight…oh, man, help me, I’m getting a knot in my stomach in anticipation…). Maybe I can start her learning German or French with Rosetta Stone or something like that…</p>
<p>Oh, Mommusic–
The music was probably put on a coffee table and then the newspaper on top of it–that’s happened in our house more than once, and when I went to look, sure enough, there was the music in the newspaper recycle box.</p>
<p>Mommusic, one afternoon recently, I found a half-full carton of milk on TOP of the refrigerator. I guess we’re really not morning people around here!</p>
<p>A piano is a shelving unit for holding:
Newspapers
A shoebox full of books to give away
A used binder<br>
Some architectural magazines
index cards
photos of the kids
and “A First Book of Bach” opened to Minuet in G.</p>
<p>ReneeV -Break out the Schnapps ;)</p>
<p>Renee:</p>
<p>On the in laws- I agree- DONT :p</p>
<p>Actually we did host ours for 2 weeks a year ago, disabilities involved, plus stereotypical in-law personalities meant we simply catered to them, aware that they need to eat earliier than we do, we planned to eat sooner, aware they really want to know first thing what the plan is for the day, we made plans and made sure they knew what would happen. They are difficult to get along with for every one, so we simply made the visit easy by anticipating and avoiding the things which set them off.</p>
<p>We have hosted my parents for as long as 10 weeks and it has gone wonderfully, as we all get alone and flow together extremely well. It all depends on the ease of compromise of both parties.</p>
<p>Of course, Renee, if you live in the PNW you must be ultra-liberal and not even know it because in your surroundings it seems “normal” :p</p>
<p>Can you get them involved in menu planning? We would also leave a grocery list for my parents, they liked to do little errands like run to the store, allowing them to get out, feel useful, etc (and it really did help save time!) A visit to the local library if one of them is an avid reader? Good places to take a walk? Sightseeing drive?</p>
<p>Thanks mathmom, now I recall…</p>
<p>mathmom–Besides the occasional flute, our piano only holds music–piles of music for different occasions, instrumentation, & singers. I have searched all the piles, including the piles UNDER the piano, and any that’s been put away in drawers, perhaps by mistake. Nothing. </p>
<p>Next I will check the organ music at the church, as things sometimes go back and forth. This is maddening! 
</p>
<p>And my hat goes off to anyone who hosts in-laws for 3 weeks!</p>
<p>Renee - You have awesome coping skills; I can tell.</p>
<p>Okay, since you can’t adhere to my Top 10 list (which only consisted of the Top 1 - “Don’t” ); then here’s # 2 on my list:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Come to Sinners Alley. Regale us with the stories. It will feel liberating. If you have to wrestle the mouse away from Gramma, well a gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do.</p></li>
<li><p>Do NOT… repeat::: Do NOT allow gramma to see the Sinners Alley page. Under any circumtances. NOOOOOOO!</p></li>
<li><p>(optional, if you need it) Search for sluggbugg’s stories here in SA in re her family of origin. It will make you feel positively blessed with the crew about to descend on you :p.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>musicmom - Perhaps your sheet music is like the binder of estate papers I was searching for endlessly last week. I looked in the file drawer where it was supposed to be. I looked again. I looked in the file drawer where it wasn’t supposed to be, but might be. I called DH (clearly, <em>he</em> must be the one who misfiled it). He insisted it was in file drawer A or B (see above).</p>
<p>I gave up after two days and called the attorney’s office to ask them to send me another set. I took the new set to file in the aforementioned correct file drawer. Where I found the original binder. </p>
<p>Oops. It just kinda didn’t look the way I remembered it, so I passed over it three times.</p>
<p>You know what I can’t find? Half those we aren’t coming to your college forms. And the little take me off the waitlist card from Harvey Mudd.</p>