"Noise" control?

DH's daughter/SIL and two little girls...ages 3 and 1, will be here from Tues to Sunday. My stepdaughter "warned" her Dad that there will be LOTS of noise!

Ok, how do you deal w/it? I am NOT complaining by any means, but what do you do w/it all?? Take naps while they do?? LOL! Is there some kind of "magic" Grandma thing that you can do to keep the noise under control?

We are so used to a quiet home and do our own thing. Never had kids here so.......HELP!!

Di, I think noisy toys are worse.

I remember my granddaughter once screaming, - just to scream. So I screamed too, - I mean really screamed. ... Boy did that ever stop her in her tracks. We both laughed about it. Oddly enough she never did that again. Maybe that was too scarry to see;...glad no-one was taking a movie. lol

EW......I had a feeling you might be the first to reply!

We do not have any noisy toys here! In fact, we don't keep toys since we don't see them much. But I do have a few "surprises" that I will break out each day.

Day one: A calm book to read
Day two: Grace (3 yr old) and I will make the placemats (someone here suggested!(
Day three: wooden puzzle
Day four: Another book....Christmas book
Day five: not sure

For the one year old.....we will have the other handle her!!

Thanks, EW!!

Don't feel bad Di, when my kids were young, so was I and noise didn't seem as loud back then. BUT now I am old and it is mind bending to say the least, so sit the darlings down somewhere safe and give them a large lollipop. It will keep them licking and quiet for hours. Make sure they have a visual, like the TV to watch while licking. "A full mouth is a quiet mouth."

EW and chatty, you 2 had me giggling away at your suggestions. EW, I loved your joint screaming tactic!

I agree the older one gets, the 'noisier' children sound.

Since I don't have children myself I don't have much to offer, except I belonged in a large family that tended to yell/talk loudly. When I moved out of home at age 21, I found my apartment....so QUIET. It took me 3 months to get used to it.

Orchid, I hate noisy places, things and people now that I am OLDer. hah! I use to be surrounded by really loud music when tending bar or out dancing but not anymore. I am so into 'quiet!' My nervses couldn't take being around noisy little children anymore, not like before.

I have had house owners put up their homes for sale because they lived either next to a playground or a soccer field.

Nowadays I think you can count yourself blessed if you have quiet neighbors. And although I love dogs, I can't stand it if a dog barks non stop. We had that. He barked in rhythm; 3 times short, twice a wierd howl,...then a pause...then woof woof woof, howl howl, pause...and this all day long.

We actually broke out the champaigne when they moved away.

orchid, I also grew up in a loud family. There were seven of us and a dog. The TV was always on, plus a record player or radio. Kids were always in and out with doors opening and shutting. I never knew how loud we were until I moved out and lived in my own apartment. It was so quiet and I loved it. When I'm home alone, I still prefer the quiet.

My family was here yesterday (25 of us) and we are most certainly "the loud family." Hands down. We were playing Apples to Apples with three four generations and we were talking over one another the whole time. Crazy!

Di, how's your visit going? Are you wearing ear plugs yet?

We made it! The sentence is over!! LOL!

End result: A tired and pooped Grandpa and Nunna. Two adorable little girls had their 'fill' of "Baby Dotes (goats)', Farmer, Munsie (Munchie), Toto (Coco) Sawee (Sally) and Dodge..dogs. And Titty Tat!

Two rested parents (ages 36 and 42!!) who were served meals four days in a row, had no laundry to do or house to clean.

I had a "surprise" for Grace each night: Books, wood puzzles, a bracelet etc..and one for her parents and sister, too! She helped me hand them out.

The one craft we did was the T'giving placemats. It was SUCh fun! I told her we were adding "decorative embelishments"...we added buttons, lace and scraps of wallpaper samples to them. She chose each person's design. And she stuck w/it for the long haul. I loved it!

Ended with a lovely day at our market and lunch out.

Whew Weeee!!! Lord, we thank You for our quiet, peaceful life once again!

P.S. the girls were NOT loud and...EW, I only had to scream once!! LOL!!

Di, what a visit. Sounds like you were well prepared. I'm sure the animals were a hit with them. Do they have animals at their house?

No pets at their house, Dotsie. They are in suburbia.....small backyard and my SD is EXTREMELY busy with the 1 yr old. She does not use a play pen....I would!! The 3 yr old goes to school 3/days a week.

Di sounds like a resounding success. Good for you!!!