Category: Family

Great Things About Being a Grandparent

9/7/2018

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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!

My kid's grandma! Still going strong! Love you mom!

The nine before Amelia! I can't get enough of these kids!

Get ready for the holidays with grandparent gift ideas:

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"I Should've Been a Cowboy" Friday Faves #69 National Cowboy Day!

7/27/2018

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I was raised in a cowboy town. Clovis, CA was a great place to grow up. The schools were (and as far as I know still are), some of the best in the state. It had a tradition of conservative, good values, agriculture and yes, cowboys! Every year in April we celebrated Rodeo Days. That Friday at school, we could dress up in western garb. On Saturday, there was the Rodeo Day parades. The high school band and the bands from neighboring Fresno marched in it. There were floats and Shriner clowns and lots and lots of horses. Then, Saturday through Sunday was the Clovis Rodeo. I grew up there in the 1960s-1970s, but the traditions carry on today. The Rodeo in 2018 was the 104th Clovis Rodeo! I lived out in the country, but I was never a part of the cowboy culture. I've only ridden a horse a handful of times and as a child, my one claim to fame was being bucked from a donkey as my brother and I rode it down our driveway. But, I sure loved the cowboy traditions that surrounded me and I was proud to be a part of a town that was rich in tradition.

This is a picture of a painting of downtown Clovis that I received as a Christmas gift this year.

My husband has better cowboy roots than I do. His great uncle was Billy Bonnell, a fairly famous rodeo cowboy!

This is a photo of him breaking the world record time for calf roping in Cedar Vale, KS. His time was 9.6 seconds. His horse was called Romeo.

I am giving you all of this information because today is actually National Cowboy Day! Having been raised with the traditions and stories and movies that romanticized the American Cowboy, we thought we would join in the celebration today. For Friday Faves, we are sharing some of our favorite cowboy themed things!

Movies

My husband isn't a cowboy, but he loves westerns! I have to admit, I am pretty fond of old westerns movies myself. Here are some of our faves:

Run, Appaloosa, Run- I include this Disney movie because it actually has scenes filmed at the Clovis Rodeo!
True Grit- The original John Wayne version is my husband's favorite.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance- Lindsey picked this movie starring Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne.
The Magnificent Seven- I love the lessons you can find in this movie. It is a great one.
Another favorite of my husband, The Outlaw Josey Wales- I couldn't leave Clint Eastwood off of the list.
Other John Wayne faves are McLintock, Big Jake, and Rio Bravo. Actually, there are so many good John Wayne Westerns, I can't begin to name them all. Which one is your favorite?

Music

I actually have a couple of sons who grew up loving hard rock music who have converted to Country Western.

One of my sons was converted by Brad Paisley! I think the song, "I'm Gonna Miss Her" did it.
Another of my sons loves to play and sing some of the really old country music by Hank Williams and George Jones, to name a couple of artists. My husbands family has a tradition with that kind of music.
I am a rock and roll girl, but I do love to hear Clint Black sing "Something That We Do."

Other Cowboy Finds

Alicia found this adorable retro baby shirt on Etsy. Sold by Acmebabyco.

These boots will go great with that adorable shirt. They are from MojaveRiverGal's shop.

If you are doing a cowboy theme for a child's room, Etsy is the place to look for retro fabric!

And Maddy points out that we can't forget this favorite cowboy, Woody from Toy Story!

So, that is our nod to our cowboy heritage! Do we have any cowboy or girl readers out there? Or, were any of your ancestors cowboys? That family history is fascinating to learn about! We would love to hear from you.
Enjoy your weekend!

I found these cowboy party hats on beau-coup.com

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Friday Faves #65-How Do You Like to Exercise?

6/22/2018

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The month of June has some really interesting obscure holidays. Yesterday was Go Skate Day as well as International Yoga Day. Tomorrow is Swim a Lap Day! Since yesterday was also the true beginning of summer, which means nothing in Phoenix because we have been in the middle of ridiculously high temperatures for quite some time now, I know which of those 3 activities is my favorite way to exercise, and that is swimming! I think that even when the temperatures aren't so high, I prefer swimming to any other form of exercise, except it would have to be in a heated pool. For Friday Faves today my question is,
What is your favorite form of exercise?

If I am being completely honest, one other exercise that I enjoy is taking walks with my husband. We used to go walking a couple of miles together each morning. We would go to a park and walk briskly and talk about everything under the sun. When it was hot out, we would walk inside a mall. But, his work schedule changed and our walks now come few and far between. We are hoping to get back to them soon. Swimming and walking are such good cardio and all muscle type exercises that are low impact on your joints. I think the best exercise would be to take a walk, get hot and sweaty and then jump into the pool for a swim! Ideal!

Of course, when you go swimming with grandkids, you don't get as much exercise, but it sure is fun!

Swimming was a favorite of almost all of us. Another favorite was hiking. I guess that the difference between hiking and walking may be that in hiking the terrain might be more rugged and there may be more sight seeing involved. I don't mind hiking, as long as there isn't too much climbing! Hiking is a great thing to do as a family because kids have so much fun out in nature and it is an inexpensive way to spend time as a family while doing something really healthy!

Bicycling was another popular choice! And, it is another great thing to do together as a family!

Looks like a 4th of July Parade on cruisers! Look at this cute one I found on Amazon! It is an over-boxed item, so it is a really good price!

Of course, there are times when exercising outdoors just won't work. Maddy likes going to the gym and using the elliptical machine. Stationary bikes and treadmills are also viable options. To me, driving to the gym is just a little more time out of my day. I like doing things that I can do at home. If you have a place for a home gym, then an elliptical machine could have a place there. Do you belong to a gym? Do you feel like it is worth the price? Are you good about going often?

Because of social media, there are opportunities to have trainers to help and encourage us in our exercise and health endeavors! We happen to know someone who does just that! Her name is Ashton, (or Coach Lyddy), and she is a Fitness Coach! She is so motivational and has so much perseverance that you can't help be impressed with her. If you struggle, she is empathetic to your story because she has gone through her own struggles. If you click this link, you can find out more about what she offers and how she can help you! Coach Lyddy will typically answer your messages within a day. She is on Instagram all of the time giving pep talks and tips about loving ourselves and not being too hard on ourselves when we fail, but encouraging us to get up and go again! You should follow her! (Sometimes her language can be a little rough, but I love her anyway,) Trainers like Ashton are out there to help us be able to get control of exercise regimens right in the comfort of our own homes and to educate us in nutrition and good health habits. This is one of the benefits of social media that we can take advantage of to help ourselves be fit.

Believe it or not, I have had some success using our Wii to help me exercise! If you have the original version of the Wii, the Wii Fit program is a good way to get moving. There are yoga, cardio and strengthening exercises included, and the way they are presented makes exercising more fun. Plus it keeps track of your weight and improvement. I lost the game disc to mine and had to buy a used one to replace it. It was only a few dollars. It is much less expensive to go to a place like GameStop for it than to order it on Amazon. You will also need the Balance Board. There is also a program like it for the Wii U, which you can probably also get at GameStop. But, here they are on Amazon in case you can't find them there.

Another way we get moving with the Wii, is to play Just Dance! That game really gets your heart pumping and it is fun to get the entire family involved in it! One year at Christmas, Alicia and her husband, Adrian, gave our family Just Dance for Christmas. We had so much fun all together that year dancing like maniacs! I don't feel guilty about having kids on an electronic game when it gets them up and moving! I hear a new version is coming out soon! It is available for Xbox and for the New Nintendo Switch.

Since Summer is here and school is out, how do you fit in your exercise and get your kids involved in it? One thing I have learned is it is good to get them started young! Lindsey already has her 5 month old in swimming lessons, and she loves it! That is so important since Lindsey has a pool. She has found a place where she can take her to lessons all year round so that Emily won't forget what she learns. I love that LIndsey is taking these steps to keep her daughter safe and to help her be active. What are your tips and ideas? Is anyone out there a runner?

On a final note, have you heard about our newest endeavor? We have started a podcast called Cover to Reel! Don't miss our first episode about Jurassic Park. The new movie opens today!

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Great Things About Being a Grandparent

"I Should've Been a Cowboy" Friday Faves #69 National Cowboy Day!

Friday Faves #65-How Do You Like to Exercise?

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