Strange things invade my kitchen....

My mom is a saint. When I was a kid we hiked up to lakes in the mountains where my step dad would fish for trout. We went on ski trips in the winter & spent summers water skiing on the lake. She went nuts at Christmas with lights and decorations and food, food, food. My parents had a meat market when I was little and then a restaurant from the time I was in 7th grade till just about 10 years ago. When she was at work, she would leave me a little treasure hunt that led to a treat, for when I got home from school.

Now that I have kids of my own, she is the Grandma of the Universe. I have pictures of her rolling down hills with my kids. She plays hide & go seek, takes them for sleep-overs at her house etc, etc... But she also pulls out some pretty evil tricks. Like leaving a bag of lollipops, or one time a train whistle. Seriously? She's trying to get even with me for what a pain I was. She always shows up with treats for the kids and of course, they love it. But I have to watch her. Like yesterday for example. I caught her before she left her house on her way over because I needed to borrow her meat thermometer. A small warning bell rang in my head when she asked if I had any chocolate chips. What the? It was focaccia making day - no chocolate chips needed. So about an hour before I'm supposed to be feeding my people dinner, she busts out these crazy, colored marshmellows to make 'smores with the kids! Of course, my kids were in heaven. I furrowed my brow in suspicion of blue food and let her do her thing.

But I had to admit, they looked pretty festive & fun and I was left to just shake my head and watch my kids blissfully covered in sticky goo. I can only hope for the day where I get to do the same things with my children's children. When I get to be the delightfully evil grandma!