Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Out of the Mouths of Babes

Our Grandkids are absolutely precious!  Oldest and youngest Grandkids stopped by for brunch with their parents today.  Oldest Grandbaby who is now in Junior Kindergarten rides a bus to school so I asked her if she rode the short or long school bus.   She said she rode the short bus but when more people get on the bus the bus gets longer.  Well her reasoning is perfectly logical but it still was rather humorous.  Not to be outdone, youngest Grandbaby who will be three this year went into the guest bedroom that is currently in the process of being painted.  I asked him what he was doing and when he said "Fixing the switch Grandma" my feet hit the hall.  Here he was with the switch plate and screw driver trying to replace the cover on the telephone jack.  Thank goodness it wasn't on the electrical outlets that have the plates off.  I had the door shut so didn't figure he would go in there.  I was wrong :(  Now the funny thing was he was very concerned that the toys were gone.  I keep the toys for the Grandkids in the guest bedroom but moved them out for painting.  He went running to Papa asking for help to find the toys, his little arms stretched out with an "Oh no Papa, toys gone!".  Papa found the Lego bin so they were both content after brunch.  What a wonderful way to spend a bit of time on a winter Sunday!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - The Grands

Have you ever wondered why the word grand is used to describe Grandparents or Grandchildren?  Well the bottom line is these relatives are grand in every sense of the word!  The relationships themselves is almost magical, one feeding off of the other.  After all you can't become and Grandparent without a Grandchild and yet you can be a Grandchild without ever knowing your Grandparents.  The beauty of being a Grandparent with an intimate relationship with your Grandchild/Grandchildren is absolutely priceless! 

Parents to oldest and youngest Grandchildren along with the little angels visited us today for brunch.  They were down to visit the newest member of the family born on Saturday weighing in at 8 lb 6 oz.  Our Grandchildren were beyond excited at the prospect of meeting their new little cousin!  Papa made everyone grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for brunch while Grandma pulled out a can of home canned peaches to top the vanilla icecream.  Oldest Grandchild spotted popcorn kernels in the pantry so Grandma got out the popcorn popper while the treasured magic popcorn bowl was carefully carried to the kitchen.  Both Grandchildren pulled a chair to the counter to watch the popcorn pop.   It's quite neat to watch.  It is an electric version of the WhirlyPopper, ultra quiet, no spout and just gorgeous popped corn filling the bowl.  With the popcorn filling the magic popcorn bowl, they contented snuggled up with Grandma and Papa on the couch.  We chit chatted with the parents (aka our amazing kids) while the little ones munched on their treat and all was well.  What a wonderful way to spend a bit of time on a Sunday!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Wordless Wednesday - Decorating the Driveway

Decorating the Driveway

April 24, 2011

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Blog Your Blessing Sunday - Birthdays!

Over the weekend we were blessed in sharing the birthdays of two very special little sweethearts.  I'm telling you kids are a true blessing then they give you grandkids that are just the icing on the cake.  Being able to enjoy your grandkids is one of the greatest blessings their is! Oh what an absolutely gorgeous way to spend a bit of quality time...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Grandma & Papa's Cow Mugs

Grandma & Papa's Cow Mugs

September 4, 2010

A few years ago we had the great pleasure of meeting one of our kid's soon to be spouse.  As a way of breaking the ice the kids gifted us with these extremely cute cow mugs.  I think they are just adorable!  Now that the grandkids are toddlers Grandma is always looking for something just a little special to surprise them with.  I spotted the cow mugs in the cabinet so thought they would be an excellent way to connect the kids who couldn't be here for the brunch with the grandkids. 

Oh my gosh!  The grandkids loved these mugs!  The two oldest grandkids were just a hoot as they discovered the cows hiding on the bottom of the mugs.  They petted the cows and had quite the conversation about the cows.  Their faces were shining with animation as they excited talked about the cows.  I'm still chuckling over it.  And these are the things memories are made of!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Grandma's Lego Bin

Grandma's Lego Bin

September 6, 2010

All three of our grandbabies were here for brunch on Saturday.  They are now very active toddlers so I guess I'm going to have to start referring to them as our grandkids.  Grandma has a large plastic tote filled with Lego building blocks that they like to play with.  In fact every kid that visits us knows about the Lego bin and it is quite common to see the entire bin dumped out onto the floor so they can look for their favourite pieces.  It's also common for the adults to join in the fun of building something with the kids.

Lego has always been one of my favourite toys!  This bin of Lego has quite a long history starting with the first pieces of Duplo (large Lego blocks) we bought for our first kid's first Christmas.  Each Christmas more Lego would find it's way into the house.  One Christmas small packages of Lego from McDonald's even hung on our tree.  There's the little girl's Lego in pretty pastel colours, camoflauge Lego, glow in the dark Lego and moving Lego.  There's even a few rather old instruction sheets for how to build certain things.  I really should laminate those!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

A Letter From Oldest Grandbaby

Oldest Grandbaby sent Papa and I a very, very special package.  Inside there was a hand drawn picture for each of us along real Canadian maple cream cookies.  Pictured is  my picture and it is funny that for a little one I can really see the message.  See there is the purple brush for Grandma's long hair and Grandma's purse that always has a treat or two for Grandbabies.  The yellow "V" is for Grandma's vest that is worn almost year round.  All of the colours except purple are in Grandma's colourful purse the Grandbabies love including the green that is close to the same green of my favourite water bottle.  But Grandma sees something more in this very special picture.  She sees the love and the trust of a little one shining through.  Isn't it just the most beautiful picture you have ever seen?  I certainly think it is :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Baby (5)

Baby Aiden entered the world at 10:18 AM weighing in at 9 lb 3 oz and 23 inches long.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Baby (4)

The kids called.  It's epidural time!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Baby (3)

It's now 5:16 AM.  I tried going back to bed but my mind is racing.  I tried turning on the tv but can't figure out how to so I'm blogging in between pacing.  Several years ago, a year and two days after having our first baby, I was in the same position.  Less than three hours of getting to the hospital even though the original plan was to go for a Tim Horton's long john aka preggy craving of the day we ended up with the most beautiful baby girl you have ever seen.  She was so very tiny and very, very red with a massive amount of dark hair.  It's funny they say a lot of hair causes heart burn but I had none with this little one.  For the first four months of her life, she never stopped crying unless she actually passed out.  The colic was horrid!  Then one day there was silence and I seriously thought something was wrong.  When I rushed to the crib I found a happy giggling baby and she's had a smile on her face ever since :)  

Over the years we watched our little girl grow to be a very accomplished woman.   She is intelligent, loving and kind!  In 2000 she married her high school sweetheart and so our family grew.  A little over two years ago we made the journey here to welcome oldest grandbaby into our lives.  It had been a very difficult time to get to that point and even then we knew it would be the only grandbaby for them so it was a very, very special yet bittersweet moment.  But mother nature in her ultimate wisdom listened to that longing and surprise, surprise granted the wish of another baby to hold, nurture and love.  It's been a long struggle for this little miracle baby!

On this day as our youngest grandbaby takes the journey into the world I want to be there to hold my baby, to tell her everything is going to be ok, wipe away the tears and share the joy.  Instead I will be looking into the face that is the spitting image of her mother, watching yet another Dora if I can figure out how to get the tv to turn on and waiting for my husband to arrive.  I know this is helping immensely since they know oldest grandbaby is safe and sound so can focus on the little one coming.  In the meantime there will likely be at least one melt down because that's what toddlers do.  Grandma deals with melt downs a bit differently which causes oldest grandbaby to get this puzzled look on her face as if to say "hey, why aren't you paying attention to me?"  Now get this, yesterday she said "granma, granma, granma, tention!"  It was too funny!  Grandpa will arrive then if it looks like baby is taking a bit longer we'll go for coffee.  Oldest grandbaby likes to pretend to drink coffee and that will keep her attention a bit better than waiting in the hospital.    By then it should be time to visit mommy and hopefully baby -----.  We will soon be able to hold the new baby with all the hopes and dreams of yet another chapter of our lives...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Baby (2)

The kids just called from the hospital.  They checked her in. She's a little over 4 cm dilated so depending on how it goes it could either be a long day or not.  Second babies usually go a bit faster but it's no guarantee.  I'm hoping it will go fast just because she has been so uncomfortable for the last couple of weeks.  I called my husband who will be coming down in a few hours as there is no real point of rushing.  I'm going back to bed for a bit more sleep before oldest grandbaby gets up.  Trust me when that little whirlwind is awake nothing stands still!  By then I should know more.  Stay tuned.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Baby (1)

This will likely be a busy day for posts.  The kids left at 3:46 AM for the hospital.  I'm waiting for the call to say it's a go before calling everyone else.  Baby is coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Email Warning

Trust me on this one, Grandma has been around oldest grandbaby to know this warning should be headed :) Oldest grandbaby has two cats, one who's name is rather difficult for a toddler to say but the interpretation gets lots of chuckles! Grandbaby has window markers but hasn't tried this with the kitties yet. This is not my picture but thanks to a wonderful friend I'm sharing the email with you. Enjoy!


If you are an owner of a dog that belongs to a 'dangerous breed' category and you also have a small child, please take this as a warning.

Don't leave your dog with the child unattended under any circumstances.

Only a moment was enough for the following to happen!




Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

We're Still Waiting

It will be a week tomorrow since Grandma arrived at the home of oldest grandbaby to await the arrival of youngest grandbaby who is due according to the doctor any hour now.  No, there has not been a rush to get to the hospital yet but soon.  Grandma will be watching oldest grandbaby while Mommy and baby are in the hospital.  

Grandma doesn't have her much beloved Photoshop on the laptop she borrowed from Grandpa so will not be able post much in the way of photos until she gets homeside.  She does hope that her readers will understand.  She promises to resume regular posting as soon as possible.  In the meantime Grandma will keep her readers updated as to what's happening and may even find a special cartoon or joke to share as well :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Playing the Waiting Game

Grandma is helping Mommy and Daddy of oldest Grandbaby play the waiting game. Grandbaby Grandma is learning an awful lot about oldest Gradbaby's favourite television celebrity. Grandpa will visit when youngest greets the world. Grandma with stay for another day or so then will be off to visit second Grandbaby (who is now walking!) so Mommy, Daddy and oldest Grandbaby can get acquainted as a family. Stay tuned!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Fun in the Snow

Mr. Snowman
February 21, 2009

The kids were home for this past weekend. My husband asked our son-in-law if he would mind shoveling the walk. Well oldest grandbaby wanted to go outside with Daddy so we bundled her up and sent her out the door. They were out there for awhile while dinner was cooking. They came in cold and tired ready for the home made pizzas we were having for dinner. I looked out the window and there he was, a beautiful snowman made by grandbaby and her Daddy! It has been awhile since a snowman has graced our front lawn. I think he looks pretty good, don't you?

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Grandma's Socks

Grandma's Socks
December 26, 2008

As you know we celebrated Christmas at the home of parents to oldest grandbaby because we felt it would be easier for us to travel than those with the little ones. Everyone gathered there Christmas Day for a wonderful day. The next day a my husband wanted to check out a couple of boxing day sales. He had a specific purchase he was looking for but it wasn't for us. Sorry but I barely do shopping as it is so my idea of spending my time certainly would not be getting hauled around checking out boxing day sales. I purposely stayed in my pj's of which my husband noticed then made the hint that Grandma might want to babysit. Hey twist my rubber arm! So hubby and the kids headed off which was fine until Little Miss Sunshine realized they were gone. The temper tantrum started at the door, down the stairs then up through the kitchen and finally back at the door with everything within reach being angrily tossed. Once back at the door I said Mommy, Daddy and Papa have gone shopping but will be back soon. She pounded the door so I opened it to show her they were indeed gone. She made a couple of sniffles then went downstairs and sat dejectedly on her new Dora couch, sniffling a few times. Grandma gave her some apple juice and a homemade shortbread cookie. A few minutes later she gave me a hug and went about playing.

Oldest grandbaby is intrigued by anything Grandma and Grandpa - our water bottles, our suitcases, our clothes and of course everything she sees when she visits here. Our suitcase was in the corner of their family room by a built-in shelf unit and behind the love seat. Little Miss Sunshine plays with things on the lower shelves so I didn't think anything of it. She was quiet and I knew there wasn't anything harmful there. Grandma loves wearing heavy fleece vests and thick sucky socks in the winter. She came around the love seat with a smile ear to ear sporting one of Grandma's vests and a pair of Grandma's socks right out of our suitcase. She wanted help getting the zipper working. Well now this was the most hilarious sight! I honestly could not help but laugh. It was priceless!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Ungrounded

Morning Moon
November 6, 2008

It has been a rather interesting week for me although my blogs did not really reflect this. My husband left last Saturday for hunt camp so I spent a couple of laid back days by myself then headed up to visit the kids. The first stop was the home of oldest grandbaby where Grandma had the wonderful opportunity of learning all the new tricks of toddlers. Trust me on this one there is only so many times Grandma can watch Dora the Explorer or play chase the nakked baby game but Grandma found a lot of other ways to entertain a precotious toddler. Then oldest grandbaby was lost! Grandma and Dora (yep a large replica doll) had to go on an adventure find grandbaby bringing a lot of squeals and giggles from the couch as we searched. Finally we found grandbaby which was a very good thing because her Mommy and Daddy would have not been happy with Grandma if we hadn't found grandbaby!

Wednesday after a lovely meatloaf dinner Grandma and grandbaby cooked, Grandma loaded up the car and headed to visited youngest grandbaby thanks to the very useful driving instructions from Mommy to oldest grandbaby. Driving around the GTA after dark is not something I enjoy doing because of night time glare and missing turns but the instructions were clear and concise so I was able to find my way quite easily. I arrived at the home of youngest grandbaby in time to enjoy little miss who was supposed to be getting sleepy but decided that sharing the latest baby entertainment with Grandma was a bit more important. Talk about a little cutie! Great big eyes with a ready grin that goes from ear to ear then up to make sparkling eyes is just simply adorable. Grandma visited with grandbaby and Mommy while Daddy worked on the design for a mural for grandbaby's new bedroom. Grandbaby played the I want your attention now! game with Daddy by peeking over the couch back then letting out a squeal. This little one is crawling a bit but the indications that walking is going to be preferable over crawling.

The weather turned nasty Thursday so Grandma decided to leave a bit early as Grandma doesn't like driving in slippery conditions. Besides Grandma was getting very tuckered out and had canning to do before Grandpa arrived home. But first Grandma had to unwind...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

It's official!

Mommy to oldest grandbaby had an ultrasound for soon to arrive youngest grandbaby. It's official! Youngest grandbaby is a ________!!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned for more details on this little one. We are extremely excited as this will be our third grandbaby. I tell you your own children are precious and awesome. Grandbabies are all that and more!

As parents we were so blessed to watch our children grown from tiny babes into mature, responsible and delightful adults. It seems like only yesterday they were little ones. It amazes me to see the wonderful people they have become. Now all but one have become parents so we get to enjoy grandbabies and grandchildren who are teenagers. And the circle of life continues :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

foodies

Food plays such an important role in our family relationships. Whenever we get together there is always an abundance of good food. I love to cook and my husband loves to eat making us the perfect (snickering just a bit) couple. Our kids were introduced to solid foods at a young age and I'm not talking commercial baby food either. They ate the same foods we did including a lot of fruits and vegetables. To this day they still go heavy on the fruits and vegetables. So it isn't surprising when they are encouraging the same food philosophy in the grandbabies.



cartoon courtesy of Tom Fishburne

Oldest grandbaby (age 22 months) has a healthy appetite and while she gets the occasional sweets, she really likes fruits, vegetables, meats, cheese and yogurt. There is very little she won't eat since her parents have made sure to introduce her to a wide variety of foods. She is very inquistive over food and loves to stand on a chair to help mommy cook. The stand and hand held mixers as well as taste testing are her favourites. She has her own little play kitchen (in the big kitchen) complete with fruits and vegetables (pieces joined) with velcro) that she can put on cutting boards then cut then apart with toy knives. Grandma really has to get some of these for the toy kitchen at her house too.

Youngest grandbaby (age 5 months) is now eating solids. She isn't fussy about sweet potatoes but loves spinach. In true form she is not eating commercially prepared baby food. She loves cucumber slices and raw carrots. This little one is destined to be a foodie as well.

And the cycle of good food bring family and friends together continues...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008