Category: Family

A Special Gift For Grandkids

11/6/2018

**I was compensated for this post. This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely love being a grandmother. My husband and I have 10 grandchildren and they are the best in the entire universe! My heart nearly explodes when I think of each one of them and there is nothing I want more than for them to grow up happy and healthy and good. They all have good parents to lead and guide them. (My wonderful children and their spouses) But, I feel like as a grandmother, I can be a loving and good influence in their lives. I didn't ever really know my own grandparents. They all passed away when I was very young. I know other people have related to me how important their grandparents have been in their lives. I want to be important to my grandchildren. I want them to know that I am here for them and that I will always love them, no matter what!

For almost a year now, I've thought about writing a little book for my grandchildren called, "What Grandma Wants Me to Know." I considered a board book but I wasn't sure about illustrations. Maddy didn't have time to do them for me. Then, I discovered Mixbook! Their photo books are beautiful and completely customizable! The photos of my grandchildren could be my illustrations! So, I teamed up with Mixbook to make my first photo story book for my grands.

I had already come up with a list of ideas that I wanted to include in the book. Some of them were simple joys, like baking cookies and swinging. Some of them were deeper and more meaningful, like learning to love to read, and realizing that God loves them. When you think about it, you can make a list a mile long that covers the things you want your children and grandchildren to know. You can customize this idea for your own family! Since I had my list, I went through the pictures that I have and started to match them to the topics I wanted to cover. It was so easy to upload them to Mixbook. Then, all I had to do was choose my cover and design of my book. There are a ton of great templates and sizes to choose from. I decided to start mine from scratch and make it a totally custom creation. I easily arranged the pictures and the texts where I wanted them to be. Mixbook would give me a hint if a certain photo needed to be resized for the best appearance in the book. Not only that, but I was unable to finish the book all in one sitting, so it was saved to my account until I could come back and work on it again.
Not every page in my book had photos. I included some text of poetry and "words of wisdom." There are also choices of fonts and stickers available to add interest to your pages. The entire process was a lot of fun.

Now, here are some of the best parts!

Once I completed and ordered my book, it got here amazingly quickly! I was so excited!
They are always offering discounts to help you save! Right now there is a code that they gave me with my order that gives $25 off an order of at least $25! Just enter MIXMAS when you check out. (This code expires 1/31/19, Limit one per person, tax and shipping not included).
Once you get an account on Mixbook, you will receive other discount offers via email! It is awesome!
Mixbook has a 100% happiness guarantee. If you don't like the end result, you will get your money back!
There is so much more to do on MIxbook than books! There are ways to make cards and posters and calendars, too! Not only are they great gifts from grandparents, they are of course great gifts to grandparents!

I've only had the book for a couple of days. I plan to keep it out at my house where I can read it with my visiting grandchildren whenever possible. There is a possibility of printing one for each family, but right now I love seeing how much they enjoy seeing themselves in the book when I read it to them. I feel like I am sending them a message that they will one day get as we share this book over the years. A message about how special they are and about what marvelous potential they have and that there are cheerleaders all around them, including me! Who knows, there may be multiple editions as they grow and I think of more that their grandma wants them to know!

Here is another great deal:

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy other ideas for your grandchildren on these posts:

1 Comment

Sausage and Pasta Skillet Dinner

10/17/2018

2 Comments

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. But, all opinions expressed are my own.

Hey Alicia here back with another family recipe to share. This year my family and I have been picking one country from our heritage each month and making food from that country. It has been really fun! This month though we're just picking recipes we make often at home. Last week I shared mushroom risotto.

Today I have a recipe I got from my mom. It is something she used to make us growing up. I don't really know what it's called so I just call it by the main ingredients and how you cook it: Sausage and Pasta Skillet Dinner. Maybe one day I will find a better name for it.

Sausage and Pasta Skillet Dinner

This easy recipe is a instant hit every time I make it. My 3 year old says "Thanks Mom this is delicious!" My husband can't stop telling me how good it is and finishes off the pan. Even my 1 year old clears her plate. It is really good, but also easy and fast! Perfect for those busy nights when you have a lot going on but don't want to give up family dinner time.

I usually use penne pasta but if that's not on hand I just use whatever pasta I have available. The amount of pasta isn't hard and fast. I never measure that either and was just estimating the amount of pasta I was making. Just make enough pasta for 4 people and that's a good amount for this recipe. I also never measure the amount of spices I'm putting it. Usually, I just give a few good shakes over the top of basil and oregano each and it comes out great. And I've used fresh and canned tomatoes and it comes out great either way. Top it with some parmesan when it comes out and it's the perfect week night dinner.

Sausage And Noodles Skillet Dinner

2 Comments

Great Things About Being a Grandparent

9/7/2018

5 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for any purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I mentioned on a post earlier this week that I became a grandmother for the 10th time! That is her right there, beautiful little Amelia! Since the 9th is Grandparent's Day, I thought today's Friday Faves should have a special twist in honor of that and that I will share what I love about being a grandmother. If you are a grandmother, be sure to share what you love about it in the comments below. I also got some great ideas from some other grandmas I know! As you read, I will show you photos of my beautiful grandchildren!

Whenever I see a new infant grandbaby for the first time, my heart expands in my chest about twice the size it normally is! They are just so beautiful and to see my own children so happy, and being loving parents with their own children just fills me with so much love and joy!

They find joy in such simple things. As a grandma, I can help them enjoy those things and create special magic for them.
A grandmother I know, named Marci says her favorite thing is, " Being a kid again with them. ;-)Monday, four of our granddaughters visited. I had cupcakes ready for them to decorate. By the time they finished, we had goopy glops of icing and random sprinkles all over the kitchen. The whole time I was cleaning up stickiness, there was a big grin on my face.

"There is nothing like a grandchild to put a smile on your face, a lump in your throat and a warm feeling in your heart."

It is always so exciting when they learn to call you by name and say "Grandma!" or whatever your grandchild calls you, because they want you or want to show you something or they see you on the chat when you call them.
Grammy Dee says, "The best thing about being a grandmother is experiencing a love like no other, a love that I didn’t even know was possible.I love watching them grow. I notice things about them that I didn’t notice or don’t remember when my children were babies, toddlers, and older. Maybe it’s because I’m no longer a young, financially struggling, working mother. I’m now an older, financially fit, retired grandmother who has time to spend with them. The first time I heard my first grandbaby say Grammy, it absolutely melted my heart! I loved hearing my new name coming from that little mouth. When the second grandbaby learned to say it, it was just as sweet and dear to me!"

"Being a mother is the most important job in the world. Being a grandmother is the most fun!"

Watching your grandchildren do things that appalled you as a young mother is a lot of fun because you get to watch your children be appalled and laugh under your breath.
I love making time for my grandchildren and creating memories, like reading with them, making and decorating cookies, going on outings. For awhile, I used to pick up some of my grandchildren from school when they had a short day every week and their mom was still at work. We would go on a simple outing, and called it Adventure Wednesday! I started going to have lunch once a week with my grandson who lives in town. I call it lunch with Spencer. Now that I babysit one of my granddaughters, she goes as well, so they can get to know each other as cousins. Spencer is the one with a new baby sister, so our lunch group is growing! I love it!

"Some of our greatest blessings call us Grandma and Grandpa."

"Grandchildren are like snowflakes, each one is beautifully unique."

My family is my treasure and these grandchildren are so precious to me. My husband and I are so blessed with this family of ours! Be sure to tell the grandparents in your life what a blessing they are to you and enjoy those grandchildren of your own! They get big so fast!