The Five Most Important Things on My Grandma's To-Do List

I am a grandma; I know, this is a pretty obvious statement, but it is true! As a grandma there are things I do because I am a grandma; things I may not otherwise do. But, since I am a grandma, these things are things I do!

It would take all day to list the "grandma things" I do, but of this long list, there are a few which are essential. Things which are the most important things for me to do and today I'm sharing with you my Five Most Important Things on My Grandma's To-Do List. They are . . . 

Three Days to Go - Please Enter our Cookie Recipe Contest!

Yes, there are still three days for you to enter your favorite cookie recipe in our Cookie Recipe Contest! What would a contest be without prizes and so far the prize package includes 25 extra entries in the give-away for the 2015 American Girl Doll Girl of the Year and one Berenstain Bears' Country Cookbook (you'll find the review for the cookbook at this link)! 

Bath-Time Fun - Make it "Glow"!

We all know bath-time can be a lot of fun for children . . . a time when they get to play in the water and have fun to their hearts content! So, what could possibly be more fun than taking your bath in glowing water? 

The Five Most Important Things I Want My Grandsons to Know

My grandson Josiah is very cute . . . oh yes, he asked me to call him, "cool and handsome" instead of "cute" since he is "too old" for "cute". He is very cool and handsome and while I'm his grandma and you would expect me to have this opinion of him, apparently the girls at his church and school are of the same opinion!

A couple weeks ago, a friend of his parents was at my house and was telling me about how that Sunday morning at their church (they go to the same church as my son's family) a little girl ran up to Josiah and told him she wanted him to be her "boyfriend". He said, Josiah looked at her and ran away! I asked Josiah about it and he said she is a girl who is his friend, but not his "girlfriend"! He said there are actually two girls at his church who want him to be their "boyfriend" and two girls at his school who want him for their "boyfriend"! Then yesterday, he told me he was eating breakfast at school when a kindergarten girl came up to him and told him he is so "handsome"!

I told him at his age (six) it is very nice to have girls who are friends, but he does not need to be worried about having a girlfriend! Josiah is very handsome - and he is smart, funny and kind; why wouldn't the girls at his church and school all want him for their boyfriend? :-)

At any rate, as I think about our conversation yesterday, I'm also thinking about the five most important things I want Josiah - and Caleb and Shane, to know. They are . . . 

The Top Five "Do-Not's" for Grandparents

When it comes to being grandma - or grandpa - there are so many wonderful things we get to do; things which bring us joy . . . and sometimes hugs, kisses, snuggles, "I love yous" and a great laugh, too! But, there are also things we must be careful not to do, so today I'm sharing with you my Top Five "Do-Not's" for Grandparents.

just for fun - Make Your Own Games for Free!

I was browsing on Pinterest this morning and found a great link where you can download and print your own game boards! I thought this would be great fun as my grandsons - especially Josiah - love to play board games, so making our own version of Monopoly or Candy Land or one of the other games provided sounds like great fun!

Just follow this link and you'll find free templates for Monopoly - you can fill in the names of the spaces however you like (I think it would be fun to designate them for family members and add in photos to make it really unique!), Candy Land, Monopoly, Sorry , Chutes and Ladders and more!

What do you think? Which game would your grandchildren enjoy making and playing the most? Enjoy!

Special Give-Away - Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb Blu-ray!

I was invited to let you know about the release to Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD of the third and final installment in the Night in the Museum series of movies; Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. I was also given the opportunity to give one Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb Blu-ray away, so I said, "Yes, and thank you!" since I, and my family, enjoyed the first two Night in the Museum movies and are looking forward to seeing the third. So, first some information about Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.

just for fun - Today is Fun About Names Day

When we had our first baby, a girl, my husband and I named her Tiffany Mabel Ann Freeman - Tiffany for herself, Mabel for her great-grandma and Ann for her grandma and another great-grandma. We named our son, David Lee Freeman, Jr - since his dad was David Lee Freeman, Sr! We chose names which had meaning to us for our children. Our son gave his sons (our grandsons) their own first names, but middle names for family members or friends.

It can be fun to think about the meaning behind the names we have or have given to our children and the names of our grandchildren as well. Especially on a day such as today . . . Fun About Names Day. I looked up some fun "names" facts on-line and am happy to share them with you today. Did you know . . . 

just for fun - It is Dr. Seuss Day!

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday! I found a great "write up" about this day on-line, so I thought I'd share it with you . . . "Today is Dr. Seuss Day, a full twenty-four hours to make a mess with the Cat in the Hat, dance around with the Fox in Sox, hear a Who with Horton, count the red and blue fish, help the Grinch see the error of his ways, and listen to Sam I Am’s friend complain about his dish of green eggs and ham!

Children are NOT Expensive!

I had the wonderful opportunity to read an excellent article about parenting today - you will find it at this link. Please read it and share it with every parent you know. I love how it ends -

grandma's movie review - Big Hero 6

I do not personally pay any attention to the Academy awards - trophies given by actors to actors just do not carry that much "weight" with me. So, while Big Hero 6 was chosen as the top animated movie for 2014, since my daughter saw the movie and said it was a lot of fun, I decided to buy it - when I found it on Amazon for just $18 I ordered it from them! So, last night we watched it and I agree with my daughter; Big Hero 6 is a lot of fun! Not only is it very funny, but it has some truly excellent messages in it . . . and a short which could actually have used my grandson Shane and his dog Gimli to film the end in live action!

just for fun - It is Polar Bear Day

Today is Polar Bear Day . . . and here in Michigan we can certainly identify with the snowy, cold area where Polar Bears live! On this day to celebrate these snowy, white bears, I thought it would be fun to consider some Polar Bear Facts I found on-line and enjoy a Polar Bear Shake . . . so, grab your grandchildren and get ready to celebrate Polar Bear Day!

First for the Polar Bear Facts . . . 

Earning & Buying Bunnies to Help Families in Need!

February is almost over and tomorrow when the boys are at my house we will be ordering the bunnies they have been working to buy for families in need around the world. Josiah and Caleb baked cookies - which they sold, and made bird feeders (Cheerios on chenille  wire) - which they sold so they could use the money they earned to buy bunnies from WorldHelp for families in need.

A couple weeks ago when they were delivering cookies and bird feeders to their great grandparents Josiah wanted to know what we were charging. I told him we would let them pay whatever they wanted. He looked concerned and asked, "But what if they only want to give us a penny???" I told him it would be okay and we would let them give whatever they wanted (they gave much more than a penny!). On our way home Caleb wanted to go right away to buy the bunnies . . . I think he wanted to hold them! I explained we were actually ordering the bunnies on-line; which he was not so happy about (I may have to find a bunny for him to hold!).

At any rate, tomorrow we will be ordering the bunnies the boys have earned and will spend some time praying for the families who receive them!

The Berenstain Bears' Country Cookbook - It's a Prize for the Cookie Contest!

Since the story which goes with this year's American Girl Doll Girl of the Year for 2015 involves her being a girl who loves baking, I thought it would be fun to have a cookie recipe contest and announced the contest about a week and a half ago. So far Amy C. has shared her grandma's recipe for Seven Layer Cookies, Karen shared her recipe for Chocolate Biscotti and Leah shared her recipe for Jam-filled Thumbprint Cookies. Be sure to check these out - and try them!

What would a contest be without prizes? I'm working on putting together a prize package, but so far the package includes 25 extra entries in the give-away for the 2015 American Girl Doll Girl of the Year and one Berenstain Bears' Country Cookbook!