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Granddaddy and grammy are two of the most cherished people in my children's lives.

I cannot say that I was one of those children who spent lots of time with my grandma and grandpa.  My dad’s parents lived in California and my mom’s lived in New Jersey.  I saw them once in a while but not often enough.  I don’t feel like I was cheated out of anything, but I know I didn’t have the life my children have.  Both sets of their grandparents are still young and they have wonderful relationships with them.  We don’t live close to either of them but those bonds of love are very much there.

I think there is something to be said for the role a grandparent can play in the lives of our children.   The more good examples these kids have in their lives the better!  My son, Lincoln, spends alot of time with his grandaddy.  Grandaddy taught him how to tie his shoes, hang his clothes up, play LOTS of sports and get himself all ready for church.  With three children, those are things that sometimes fall through the cracks as I tend to the baby and her needs.  The skills he taught Lincoln are incredibly valuable and those are the moments when relationships are formed.

My mom spends countless hours with my daughter teaching her how to sew a doll and make other homemade crafts.  Those are the moments my Paige will remember with her grammy.

As mothers, I think we need to do all we can to foster these relationships with our children and their grandparents.  We all come from different backgrounds, but our need for love and family are the same!

One other way to keep these relationships alive is to have your children write letters and make pictures for their grandparents and send them in the mail.  When they receive a response to their letter, they will be so happy!!!

Do you encourage your kids to develop strong ties to their grandparents? Please share how in the comment box below.

Last Friday my boys came home with their reports cards. No more preschool conferences to go over ABCs and 123s. We have hit the big time with actual report cards. While they are still not on the usual A-F scale, their marks do tell me a lot about their academic progress and, more importantly, their social progress.

I hear that they are on track with their math and reading, they are kind to their friends, my oldest speaks out without raising his hand and my little guy Sam has not had any “moments” for over a month now (he is  my moody child). What?! What did those last two say? That is right, my darling boys who really are good kids have their own school issues, too.

Even Jake’s teacher attributes his speaking out of turn to excitement and curiosity and Sam’s “moments” being less frequent are a good thing. Knowing that these are minor blips on their school radar does give me comfort, but it reminds me that all kids and parents need to take these report cards seriously….even as young as kindergarten. It is now when small things can be caught so they don’t turn into larger issues. This is the time to talk to Jake about raising his hand more and congratulating Sam for his good behavior.

As a teacher I saw kids in middle school who did not get this attention and support. No one ever talked to them when they were younger about making positive changes. No one ever told them they were proud when they did, so they stopped trying. Now that I have my own kids I want to make sure we talk each time a report card comes home so they know their dad and I are paying attention and that we will do what we need to in order to ensure school is a positive experience for them

Has anyone ever had a surprise on a report card? How did you handle it? Do you feel the reports paint a true picture of your son or daughter?

This is the first in a series of posts about the time Mini broke her arm a few years ago. This post was originally posted to my personal blog in June, 2008. That month and that year were particularly rough for Mini and we’ll discuss how we tackled that in coming posts.

It was a normal Tuesday morning. Mini (as seen right) was at Equine Country, USA for “Horse Camp.” Her mother was at home. I was at work. The morning? It didn’t stay normal for very long.

Superphone had been out of commission because I forgot to plug it into the charger last night. I received a text message saying “come to er” from Mini’s mother and saw that there was a recorded voice-mail on the Superphone. Seeing such a message, I immediately called Mini’s mother and found out that she had fallen from a horse and may have broken her arm.

Rush to Onslow Memorial Hospital I did.

There she was. My little Mini. Face streaked with tears, eyes and cheeks red and her little right arm bulging in places that little right arms shouldn’t.

We were taken to the X-Ray department and had to watch while the technicians did their best to get good films without having to contort the broken arm too much.

Almost immediately after being put in a treatment room an emergency room doctor came in, checked Mini’s arm and pulled me outside to the hallway. I’m not exactly certain what the doctor actually said, I can’t remember. I remember looking at her, remember her talking, can even hear her voice in my mind. Repeat what she said? Not. One. Word. I understood the gist, though. It was bad. Off she went to find an orthopedist.

The orthopedist came in and looked at Mini’s poor broken little arm. He tested her fingers, pushed at the pads to check for circulation and asked her to wiggle them.

He then said that she would need a splint, for the transport to UNC-Chapel Hill. He wrapped her arm in a soft white fluffy layer of cushion, then applied the wet-plaster splint and an Ace bandage for protection and compression.

She was put into an ambulance, alone (non-patients aren’t allowed to travel in the ambulance) for the ride to Chapel Hill. Her mother and I followed shortly behind.

She was admitted to the emergency room and interviewed by several smart-looking if not efficient doctors. A new set of X-rays were ordered to determine if she could wait for surgery tomorrow or if it needed to be done tonight. We were taken to a room, allowed to feed her (she hadn’t eaten all day) as surgery will be tomorrow morning at 8am-ish.

She’s asleep. Her mother is asleep. And I’m here, scared out of my mind because my Mini, My. Mini., was hurt, is hurt, and I can’t make it better. I’m scared out of my mind because she’s going into surgery in a few hours. My Mini is going into surgery. I’m neither prepared nor equipped for that.

I am, though, scared out of my mind. I am scared beyond anything I have ever been before.

I am often scrambling trying to find something for my kids to do at home.  I wish we lived in the good old days when they could run around barefoot all day…….not reality anymore!  Through lots of trial and error, I have found a few things they just love!

Here are a few fun ideas to get ‘creativity’ going at home:

- Buy a huge box of paper bags somewhere you can buy in bulk.  Give each child a stack and cups of paint.  Tell them that these will be their ’special bags’ they can use to bring snacks to the park, fill with their rock collection , or pack up their princesses to play with in the car or the park.  When they pack their little bags up, they feel so special that they made their own bag AND they get to fill it with something fun.

-Stickers are the BEST and a very inexpensive and easy way to keep your kids entertained.  Plop some paper and stickers on the table and they will be entertained for quite a while.

-Cereal, dried beans, pasta and a little string will have them crafting the afternoon away.  Fill bowls with a few of these things, give them some cardstock  and glue.  Have them make mermaids and superheroes from cheerios and fruit loops.  Give them a few strings and let them make princess necklaces and tiaras. 

I am a big fan of the  Miss Piggle Wiggle books, she is so good about using her imagination with children.  In her books, she makes everything  an adventure and magical for children.

Try it out, tell your girls that the fruit loops are actually magic circles that fell from a rainbow you saw last week.  Tell your boys that you found the beans buried in the backyard and you think they were actually pirate treasure that turned from gold to beans.

Happy crafting friends and have a magical and imaginative day with your children!

Last weekend, both of my boys have had their first official sleepover. When they were babies and toddlers it seemed so far away but now with two of them under their belts, they have started to ask every weekend if they can have one!

Since the boys are only 5 and 7 that means their friends are 5 and 7, too.  I know they are on the verge of being “tweens” now, but sleeping away from home is a BIG deal. A strange room, different night lights, no mom and dad…….we all know staying up 2 hours late and eating junk and soda cannot always make up for that.  Lucky for us, the two we had at our house went well, but I know it could have just as easily been a nightmare.

Jake (my oldest) had a friend over a few weeks ago. After a slight “upset stomach” at dinner, he settled right in and did not miss a beat. Throw in a couple of flashlights and books with the sleeping bags and it was “the best night ever” as I was told . 

I did not have the same confidence this weekend with a 5-year-old and her 2-year-old sister coming to stay but to my surprise…no real issues. Lots of popcorn, some crafts (really glittery cardboard guitars now adorn my boys’ bedroom doors) and a quick trip to the aquarium kept everyone happy. I also think it kept them distracted until they were too tired to worry about not being at home.

I know I was fortunate: no meltdowns or all-nighters consoling an upset child. I did not even have to make one call to a parent!

What have your experiences been?  Does it always go this smoothly or am I in for it next time?