Fireworks and Berries with Cream

We had a very long day. The kids have been up later than they have in forever the last three nights. They usually get to bed between 6-7 each night. 

The youngest fell asleep last night before they could do their own fireworks, so the birthday boy didn't get his birthday "cake" and his mom had purchased a ton of berries for the cake. 

So tonight, they stayed up late again so we could have ice cream and berries while their dad put on a pyrotechnic fireworks show for us in the driveway. 

There were so many other things that we did today that I want to share eventually. It was a very full day, but as happens, I am tired and may never post them as that seems to happen during the busy times of my life. 

It was a fun evening and I LOVED the berries. I had a huge bowl. I was once again in heaven watching the cute kids expressions and enjoying the time with my daughter and her family. The berries were just a rainbow of delight to end the night! 

Have a blessed day!

A Piece of Heaven - Grandchildren Joy

I am visiting my grandchildren over the holiday. I am so tired from the driving and playing, that I will just post this adorable photo of them, and tell you that I am so extremely blessed! 

Have a wonderful Blessed Fourth!

Visiting Gardeners and Grandchildren

My Grandchildren dropped by with their parents for a very short visit this past week. I had contacted someone about purchasing some books that were about people immigrating to the U.S. and about gardening.

 Here is a link to my original post about these books! The Author signed them and got them in the mail quickly for me and I was so excited to have them before their arrival. They arrived and they stayed for less than 24 hours. They headed out into the back yard to play and I climbed onto the hammock with the gardening book and after they played and needed a rest, they all ended up climbing into the hammock with me at some point. 

I ended up reading the "Grow" gardening book as Grand-Princess One is planning a garden this year and is really excited about it and has purchased the seeds already. 

That night before bed, I sat in the rocking chair and read two more books just before bed. They didn't want to sit still at first as they are little balls of energy, and being at my house is so exciting as they don't get to visit me often as they live so far away. However, when I started reading the books, they got interested and then came and sat on my lap and wanted to see the pictures / artwork for the books. 

The next morning was so busy that I didn't get to read the last book as they had to leave. I was happy that the kids enjoyed the books and the stories and was grateful to the author / publisher for getting them to me in time to enjoy them with the kids. 

If you have history of family coming over on boats, these books are great as you can insert your own story in at the end as the pictures open up dialog. 

The book called "Anna's Prayer" opened up a discussion about my experience as an exchange student in New Zealand and got stranded / abandoned in Auckland. I prayed for help and God sent one of the 100 people I new in the country down that street in the capital city at the exact time I needed them and they were able to allow me to stay with them and took me home to my host city after the David Bowie concert that night. Here is a link to the post about that event.

I loved that these books opened up dialog and I was able to share that story with them about how prayers are answered. 

Have a Blessed day!

So Much Fun With The Grandkids

Awhile back, I found some fake mustaches at a thrift store that were new and unused for $.50. 

I knew the grand-kids would have fun with them, so I put them in the little desk by the front door where they go to get toys when they arrive at my house. 

After playing outside, doing some puzzle games, and playing with the train sets, one of them found the package of mustaches. She asked if they could put them on. 

They had so much fun putting them on. One got them on upside down which gave us all a laugh. Then, after getting some photos of them all together wearing them, they put them on their foreheads like a uni-brow. 

I love that they stopped over on their way through and am so blessed. They bring so much joy. They come running in and hug me and my heart melts! I am so grateful I get the opportunity to have grandchildren. 

Have a blessed day!

A Quilt Overnighter - Working On Grand-Princess One's Princess Quilt

I have been working on this for a month. I got the t-shirts washed, laid out, cut, sewn and finished sewing the quilt top quite a bit ago, but I had a rough week not feeling great as I started some new thyroid medication and it messed with my hormones, is giving me heartburn, and I was exhausted but not sleeping.

I was also dealing with other hormone issues and generally not feeling good. I've been having some medical testing, fasting etc. I thought I would get down and spend the last few hours needed to put the batting in and binding the quilt as well as tying it. 

I keep thinking I will go down and work on it, but I keep getting so tired I just opt to go to bed instead of finishing it. I decided to just not go to bed until I finish it as I wouldn't get it finished before her big day! It will be a long night!

I know she is going to love it! So exciting! 

Have a blessed day!

Grand-Princess One Losing Teeth at Christmas

 When I went to visit my grandchildren in November, Grand-Princess One had a really loose front tooth. 

Her adult tooth was growing in behind the tooth and I told her how I pull them out but she wanted to pull it out on her own. I was worried with how the adult tooth was growing in so far behind the baby tooth and worried it may not come in right. 

She didn't want me to pull it but a few days after I left, it came out and she was so happy to have it out finally. Her adult tooth was moving forward well and the other front upper tooth was now really loose. She came for Christmas and it was so loose. 

She kept playing with it and felt that she didn't want help pulling it out. I have a great way using tea tree oil and a paper towel that I blogged about here. 

I know she really wanted it out but I wasn't going to push. I was kissing her goodnight and having some "dessert" as I nibble their necks sometimes saying I am hungry for dessert as they are so sweet, and she was giggling with her mouth open and pulled her head down to protect her neck and her loose tooth caught on my pocket button and popped the tooth out of her mouth. She did a little yelp and sat on the ground with her mouth open and eyes wide! She reached up for the tooth and it wasn't there. 

I looked around and it was on the carpet. She started laughing and I started laughing and we both couldn't believe that her tooth was pulled out by a shirt button! What are the odds on that happening? Not much I am sure. 

She said it didn't hurt but just startled her. You can see there wasn't any root left on the tooth and I was surprised it had stayed in her mouth for so long. 

It was a fun addition to the holiday and we packaged up the tooth for special delivery to the tooth fairy when she got home! 

Have a blessed day!

My Little Puzzle Superman

I had so much fun spending times with grandchildren. I think I have shared in the past about my "Grandma Boxes" where I take activities when I go to visit my grandchildren. 

This time I included a wooden map of the United States. I pulled it out the first day as it was sitting on the top of the boxes I took up so it was one of the first things out. 

My Grandson struggled the first time he was doing the puzzle, but after finishing it the first time, he did it over and over and then began learning the names of the states and got the placement down so that he was putting it together in minutes. 

He LOVED the puzzle and asked for me to leave it but his mom doesn't like toys that have many pieces as they lose them. 

He was so cute, he would clean it up and then come and pull it back out and then clean it up and did that OVER and OVER. It was so cute! 

I also bought him a "superman" jacket. He wore it every day! He was so cute flying through the house! 

I am still really tired. I hope I can get some sleep. 

Have a blessed day! 

Had a Great Visit With Princess One's Family

 

I am tired and hope that I can sleep well. I have had a great weekend with Princess One's family and got to spend lots of time with the grandchildren! 

I love watching them grow. All three are great readers and the youngest at three is starting to read. He knows all the letters and sounds by sight, and now is putting it all together. His older brother is five and read me a Dr. Seuss book this morning only struggling on a few word sounds. 

My grand-daughter is 7 and reads all the time. She finished two books while I was here. I love that they are so well read and their father still reads to them every night if he is home. He has read them many of the classics. 

Their mom is doing a great job showing them classic books made into movies. Last week they watched "Little Lord Fauntleroy" the 1940's version. They watched the original "Annie" and "Little Rascals" while I was here giving them pedicures. I was surprised how many references to things they picked up on that I didn't think they would understand. 

I took several totes of activities and we made gingerbread cookies that they could eat with their struggles with allergies, I was grateful their mom and dad were able to find ingredients to be able to make them. The kids devoured them and I wish I had doubled the batch. 

I was sad to leave as always, but relish the time I get to spend with them when I can! 

Have a blessed day!

I Love Being a Grandma

I don't live near my grandchildren. I wish I lived closer so it wasn't such a long drive and I wouldn't have to stay as I think sometimes I am overstaying my welcome being in the house for days. I have never wanted to be the "mother-in-law" that everyone jokes about in movies. 

I love getting to spend time with the grandchildren and my daughter and her husband but it is such a long drive and when I get home I am so exhausted. 

I wish I could just spend more time as a grandma in the same town going to games, recitals, and babysitting. 

It has been a wonderful thing being a grandma and I love that title. It is such a blessing in my life! I was still recovering from the weekend drives and was super tired today. However, I got some cute photos of the grandchildren and cherish any time I get with them! 

Have a blessed day!

I LOVE Being a Grandma - Getting To Watch A Game

I have attended many games for my children. When watching their games, I would always see grandparents at the games watching their grandchildren. I was always sad that my children didn't have grandparents to watching their games. 

I decided that when my children were old enough to play in recreational leagues, I would do my best to be there to watch them play. My friends are all the age now where they get to go watch their children's games.Their children married locals and they live in this same small town. 

My girls never want to move back to this small town. They are all living in other places in bigger cities or far away cities. I would love to move near my girls, but since they aren't married and don't know where they will end up, I don't want to move somewhere just to find out they are moving elsewhere when they get married. 

So, for now, I just live where I am in hopes that someday I will be closer to my grandchildren. Until then, I will just have to plan visits around events in my grandchildren's lives. 

Princess Three and her boyfriend were going to visit Princess Ones family so they could meet her boyfriend. They invited me to the weekend and I asked when the closest softball game would be to that weekend, and found out that Grand-Princess-One had a softball game a few days before the weekend. 

I then made sure I arrived early as I didn't want any traffic or something to keep me from seeing her play. I arrived and we got ready and went to the game. It was much different than the games we had as ours were on real ball fields. I was mortified at how crazy the games were as there were kids everywhere, each kid lined up had their own metal bats, and they were lined up near the batter. The batters would throw their bats. The foul balls were flying into watchers who were sitting on the ground near the baselines. The other teams playing were all within feet of the other teams, and all were playing on a soccer field. 

I had a hard time enjoying watching as the surrounding children playing were all in the line of fire, the kids in line were swinging their bats and could have hit another child, there were baby strollers within a foot or two of the first baseline and my grandsons were running around near the baseline and the balls flying made it really stressful. 

I LOVED taking photos of Grand-Princess-One and she checked that we were watching her as she reached each base. She played pitcher, catcher, third base, and a rover. She was so cute as she asked me "did you watch me on every base?" as she really cared that I was there and watching her play. 

It was so crazy and noisy, but I was surprised at how most of the watchers weren't really cheering for the kids. It seemed more of a social even for the parents. In the end, it is more about supporting my Grand-Princess. I LOVED seeing her play. I took lots of pictures and she was SO happy that I went to watch her play. 

It was well worth going a few days early to see her play and let her know that she is loved. It was good to be able to be there to support her! 

Have a blessed day!

Coloring Some Easter Eggs - Fun Family Activity

 

Princess One thought it would be a great idea to color Easter Eggs. 

I wasn't sold on the idea. Having done it many times with little children, I know that it is a messy event using cups that will tip over if they try to pull out an egg the wrong way. 

The eggs crack when they get dropped into the cups. The little metal bent holder allows the egg to fall off it if isn't bent just right so I was worried. I purchased eggs yesterday and went to the dollar store and bought a few kits. 

We did it outside but picked the wrong day as it was REALLY cold out. I couldn't believe how cold it was. The kids didn't last as long and I hurried to color half the eggs at the end with solid colors just to get finished and get inside. 

We let them dry and then the kids put stickers from another kit on them. It was really cute to see the pride and ownership they had over the eggs that they colored. 

I will blog about how we did it another day. I am tired and want to spend time with my cute beauties so I am going to bed. 

Have a Blessed Day!

This Little Prince Is Turning THREE

It is so fun to have my daughter and her family to visit! I LOVE when they come and spend some time with me. 

There are different things to do at her house than my house and it is so much fun to be able to do those different things at each place. 

Since I don't live near them, I wanted to celebrate Grand-Prince 2's birthday while they were here. He is going to be turning 3. I LOVE that he is starting to talk and express himself. He was able to say my name correctly on his own for the first time today. 

I LOVE hearing him say my name and he will always get my attention by saying my name before he tells me what he wants. He is so cute walking around with his binoculars all the time showing them to me and saying he can "See you" and I got him a Disney set of chunky books that has a rope handle on it and he carry's one in each hand and shows me all the time. 

Grand-Princess One made him a "play dough" cake with candles on it and came up with the idea all by self. She even had him blow out the candles after we sang. It was really cute. 

I found a really fun toy that the boys LOVED. I am going to share about it at another time. I was glad I found something that makes them happy. 

Happy Birthday Grand Prince 2! I am blessed!

Have a Blessed Day!

I Am Exhausted After a Long Weekend of Service but There is a Light at the End

I am not going to take time to write a post other than to tell you I was up all night after a long day of service yesterday and I am truly exhausted as it is 1:40 a.m.

I have some house guests and am SO excited they are here. It was so busy that I put my phone down and left without it and kept wanting to take photos of these cute visitors but didn't get many. Hopefully, with them visiting for the week I will be able to post more photos and share about my weekend of service.  

I have done at least 20 loads of laundry and am so grateful for a working washer. I hope to get some sleep and maybe take more time to blog tomorrow. 

Have a blessed day!

The Cutest Mail I've Ever Gotten - Grand Princess One Wrote Her Stuffed Bunny

I went out to get the mail the other day and got the cutest letter. I got a letter from my grand-daughter Princess One, and she wrote her Stuffed Bunny!

I had a video chat with her so I could open it with her watching. It was written by her stuffed bear "Heart" that lives with her, to the stuffed Bunny "Sister M" who resides at my house. 

I posted a blog post about her bunny living at my house. Here is a link to that post. We have video chats regularly where she visits with her bunny. 

My grandson also has a stuffed friend at my house. It is a character from Monsters Inc and he asks regularly to visit "monster" as he calls him. 

The two of them are just the cutest with their little friends. I think it is fairly smart of my grand-daughter to write her own letter from her bear to her stuffed bunny! Her mother said she came out of her room with the letter written, in the envelope with a stamp on it on the wrong side. She had to help her address it but she said the whole idea and writing it from her bear was all her own idea.

She is only 7, so I thought that was really creative. She did a great job with spelling as I could read the entire letter.

It was the highlight of my week! Have a blessed day!

Disney Headbanz Game is a HUGE Hit with the Grandchildren

Last weekend, Princess Four and I went on a road trip to visit Princess One's family and the Grandchildren. 

As always, I took about four banana boxes of games and activities to do with the kids. I play one game or activity every hour or so. Over the years, there have been a few standard activities that they ask to do over while I am still there rather than pulling out a new activity. 

This visit, one of those activities was a game called "Headbanz Disney" and the kids asked to play it more and more. Since we arrived home, we have seen pictures and videos of them playing it.

I actually had a new and wrapped box of the game to give her family for Christmas, but I have overwhelmed my daughter in the past by giving them to many gifts, so I gave each of them one piece of clothing, one game or puzzle, and one toy. With that, I figured that she would rather have the Hoopla game. The kids loved that game, but not as much as the Disney game. 

I took the game and we played it. The kids and even my daughter loved it! The entire family ended up playing the game and even after the kids got distracted after a few rounds, my daughter took a few extra turns. 

I wasn't sure it would work with the little kids, but they loved it because they were familiar with many of the Disney show. My grand-daughter can read really well, she was able to ask the suggested  questions by reading them. 

My older grandson was good at asking questions to help him figure out who he had, but he struggled on answering our questions so he would give obvious clues. Considering he is four, he did well playing the game and loved guessing. 

My two year old grandson LOVED the game. It may have been the Mickey Mouse ear headband, or maybe just that we gave him attention on his turn, but he was so happy about this game! 

Some of my favorite photos of the kids were while playing this game! What do you think? Some CUTE kiddos! 

When I was leaving, the kids begged me to leave the Disney game. I talked to my daughter and she said it was "ok" to have me leave the game and the kids were excited they could keep it.

Have a blessed day!