My hat is off to all those grandparents out there that take over the job of raising their grandkids for one reason or another. For the past 3 days, I've been in the business of parenting two, sometimes three, of mine.

My daughter who lives in Honduras is home for a couple of weeks (for several reasons which I won't go into). Her two kids, ages 10 and 8, came with her (and husband). While they did some "running around", I was deemed the official "children watcher". Emily's little boy (3) was added to the mix one day.
Well, add an exclamation point to my post title.

Basically, the kids were good, but there were times when I wanted to go screaming out of the house. Little things, like my granddaughter (age 10) constantly cracking her knuckles (like her father does). That drives me crazy. I used to send students out in the hall for doing that (warnings preceded).
Poor table manners, picky eaters. Yelling, fighting. They were constantly asking me to play with them--cards, games, Barbies, soldiers. (I still have games and toys from my childhood and my own kids!) Very demanding for my attention. Oh, and they coughed and snorted constantly.

Since they were missing 2 weeks of school, they had "take out" homework. The boy is smart, but the girl not so much. She uses her fingers to do her math. Very frustrating, especially knowing her parental "stock" is intelligent. It was all I could do to remain patient. Besides, she could become obnoxious in many ways.

I took them to Dairy Queen yesterday--almost as a peace offering for my admitted sternness (which they desperately needed). What's a grandfather for?

Bottom line-- I survived. Now for some peace and quiet--at least for a few days. They'll be back! I love 'em, but I'm dreading it.