A Very Spoiled Grandma!

I have quickly realized what a spoiled Grandma I am! This is just day twelve of me being a long distance grandma and I am not very good at it at all. My husbands work has taken us just three hours away from all of our children and grandchildren for a few months.

I only had to go five days before seeing a set of my kids and four of my nine grandkids who came for a weekend visit. I was thrilled to see them and we had a wonderful time together. When it was time for them to go you would have thought they must live on the other side of the world from my emotional state when having to say my good-byes! My sadness started up when it got within a couple of hours of their planned departure. I held it together until it was time for them to load up in the car. It was then that the tears began to flow and my heart was breaking that I was not going to see them for a while.

I held up in my bedroom to try to gain composure so not to upset the kids. They all came in one at a time to say good-bye to their sobbing grandma. They had me laughing and crying at the same time. I realized how silly it was to be feeling so sad but the tears continued to flow and my heart continued to be break.

It has now been just five days since they left and I will be seeing another set of kids and three grandsons tomorrow who are coming for an overnight visit. I have been already been trying to prepare myself for their departure. Since I am still tearing up when I think about my first set leaving just five days ago I think I will be better off talking to my grandsons ahead of time to let them know that my tears (that I'm sure will come) when it is time to go is because I love them so much and that I will miss seeing them until next time.

I already know that once they leave I will only have another five days before I will get to see another set of my kids and two more grandsons who will be spending a few days with us.

As you can see I am a very spoiled grandma. I am also a very blessed grandma who loves living close to her children and grandchildren!

Most importantly, I have gained enormous empathy for ALL long distance grandmas in a very short period of time. I have also wondered several times this week if my own mother who is now in her late eighties has ever felt this way. I have always just assumed she was thankful for the peace and quiet she was left with when we left with our young family. I wonder now if I assumed wrong......no surprise, that makes me ( a very homesick grandma) shed tears too!

Pop Star Treats Inc.

Early Saturday morning we received a knock on the door. To our surprise we opened the door to find our nine year old granddaughter who lives right down the street and her friend who was spending the weekend with her.

We were greeted with a well rehearsed sales pitch. They had created a sign reading "Pop Star Treats", a product and price sheet, and a folded up cutout from a Halloween Costume catalog of two Pop Star costumes that she and her friend wanted to earn the money to buy . Their presentation of the cupcakes and their sales pitch were both adorable.

They had spent the day before baking up a storm and they had a WAGON FULL of cupcakes for sale! They had also made mini cupcakes on picks as free samples for their potential customers. They were confident that just one bite of their tasty free samples would greatly sweeten their revenues!

We were thrilled to be their first cupcake customers. Later in the day they hit us up for a car wash, and even later in the day they hit us up for some housework. Each time they returned they had a bit more cash in their tightly clinched fists. When they left our house in the late afternoon they had earned a total of $54! Not bad for a days work at 9 years old.

Creative, hardworking, and adorable are just a few of the words I will think of with this precious memory!

Peek-A-Boo

All of the school age cousins peeking out of McDonald's Playland. I thought they might enjoy the play time as cousins with Papa and I. They ended up LOVING it! Simple things, great times, precious memories. What a wonderful gift for both grandchildren and grandparents!

Grandkid's Back to School Party Favors

Pencil boxes (with their names printed on them) filled with a few school supplies were the party favor for this years Grandkid's Back to School Party. The items included new pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener, a bottle of glue, some stickers, a back pack package of Kleenex, a box of crayons, and some sweet treats.

Before the party started I had a list of rules. (much like you would see in a classroom.) Each child's name was listed and there was a box to check off for each task or rule. The number of tasks or rules matched the number of things inside the gift boxes.

I showed them the boxes at the beginning of the party and we talked about the rules. I explained to them that broken rules would result in a loss of an item or items (of their choice) from the gift boxes.

With Papa and I being so outnumbered and with an outing planned we needed an incentive to help us. Some of the items included following directions the first time they were asked, no fighting, buckling up in the car, being helpful, staying with our group in the parking lot and in McDonald's, eating good, cleaning up, and participating in all of the games and activities. The incentive plan worked like magic. They were quick to remind one another of their potential loss or losses. At the end of the party everyone had earned their complete gift boxes!

The box had to be packed just right to get it all in there. They all loved going through their gift boxes and then the challenge of getting everything packed back in. I was so proud of them as they worked together, assisting one another to get their gift boxes filled again.

Outing to McDonald's with Grandma and Papa

These pics are from our Grandkid's back to school party this year. Believe me, Papa and I got the looks, and all heads turned when we arrived with our seven little ones who were all talking up a storm and all very anxious to hit the playground.

A trip to McDonald's netted hours of fun cousin time of unlimited play, ice cream and food. I don't remember why the raising of the hand but what an adorable photo to catch at a back to school party!

Ice Cream Before Dinner?

A highlight from the back to school party that ended up being all the chatter to their parents when they got home was that; "Grandma let us have ice cream before dinner!"

It's true! But, not really planned that way. I reversed the party plan due to Papa getting home to go with us to McDonald's earlier than expected. The plan was to play our games at the house, and have an early dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches, chips, and a drink at home before going for an ice cream treat and some play time at McDonald's.

We instead, went to McDonald's and had ice cream. They were having so much fun playing we decided to stay and have dinner too.

So, completely by accident, a fun, "naughty", and long lasting memory was created!

Grandkid's Back to School Party 2009

I fudged a bit on the back to school party this year but it was still a wonderful success!

The party began at my home in the afternoon just a few days before school was to begin. I had seven guests this year. The oldest is going into the fourth grade and my youngest guest will be starting preschool this year.

The party started with a few rounds of ABC Bingo. We then loaded up for a trip to McDonald's for an ice cream treat and some fun cousin playtime. They were having so much fun playing with one another that they worked up quite an appetite. We ended up ordering dinner too before we left.

After we returned home we did our traditional Hokey Pokey dance and I ended the party with party favors of some back to school supplies and a few treats!

Look who Grandma Loves!

Two of my grandson's and their parents took a summer vacation to the beach recently. I had a request of them (the boys) before they left. I asked them to please write a message in the sand for "Grandma" and take a picture of it and send it to me as an activity for them at the beach.

It ended up being quite the task since the waves kept washing it away before they could snap the picture. They endured and got the job done just like Grandma requested. I love it! How can such a simple thing bring a grandma so much joy?