-Author Unknown
"What children need most are the essentials grandparents provide in abundance- unconditional love, patience, kindness, comfort, lessons in life, humour… and most importantly cookies."
-Rudolph Giuliani
"Grandma's house- Admission:1 HUG"
-Author Unknown
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| Last week I had the kids here after picking them up from day care on Monday... as well as all weekend and for 3 sleepovers, while their parents were on a get away to Vegas. They had fun with outdoor and indoor activities and with the dogs, too! |
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| I decided to turn the weekend into a fun little camp and I named it "CAMP GRAMMIE D" I made up a basket of activities and rules for the kids for the time while they would be here… sometimes guidelines make things not only more fun, but more smooth running!!! |
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| The kids took what was in their little baskets and created stations with it… and we put on the timer and went to each station for a short time before onto the next… while the dogs looked on! Friday night was pizza, popcorn, movie night. They chose a Disney movie called "The Descendants" to watch… it was a fun movie about the kids of characters from other Disney shows. (Mariah actually watched it 3 times during the weekend!!!) |
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| The kids love to craft when ever they come here… and here they were making a sign for Camp Grammie D… they were also getting some exercise… Beau played a little indoor hockey, Mariah did some yoga… and then they did some down time together, too… which for Beau never lasts long before he is off and running again! |
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| Mariah enjoyed the bubble blowing fingers… and they blew great bubbles, too!… she also liked watering plants, the sign making… among other things. She is a good little helper around as well… here doing some vacuuming, and she helped load the dish washer, helped pack the car and cleaned up after the doggies outside, too… she is very responsible! |
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| Beau needs to be channeled into activities or he can get into mischief!!! We made some lego together, as well as making puzzles and he was really proud of his crafted book mark for his mom, too. He cut the paper with the cutter, punched the holes, picked the ribbon and tied it as well as adding the embellishments and he told me what to write! Beau is like a teenager in training… always hungry… and he changes his clothes lots, too. We even had to go get his "New Balance" runners to match his outfit, as him mommy hadn't packed them!!! |
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| Saturday we were invited to visit my nephew, Brad, his wife, Janelle, and their adorable baby, Brielle, who just turned 3 months. Both kids were very excited to go, and were on their best behaviour there, too. Mariah is so nurturing… and enjoyed holding Brielle, too, while Beau enjoyed watching her bounce in the Jolly Jumper… or "JELLY" jumper as he referred to it later!!! |
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| While we were there… both my brother, Bob and his wife, Arleen were there, too. They are also very proud GRANDPARENTS!!! We all enjoyed our visits over delicious snacks… and the kids even got a little lunch, too… thanks to them for that! |
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| Mariah and Beau played school in Brad and Janelle's basement… Mariah makes quite a little teacher, too… but being a student is a new experience for Beau… he might need some practice at that one!!! He is excited to bigin kindergarten in the fall. Brad gave Mariah some books too… and she has already begun reading them, she loves reading. |
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| Sunday… Mariah was busy doing a doggie photo shoot… the dogs co-operated well, too… I think they were especially enjoying the treats they got after each photo!!! |
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| Beau wanted in on the action so we did a few selflies taken by him! The kids and the dogs all love the attention from Grandpa, too! Beau needed to have an outing so he and I went for some groceries to restock on some of the favourites… we got treats for everyone, too… maybe a few too many... Beau gets a bit hyper after sweets!! |
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| The kids had fun with their gardening stuff… eating freezies, looking at stuff on the ipad…including some old videos of the kids when they were little… Beau loved those especially! |
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| Last week my gym classes were cancelled two days in a row… but with the nice weather, I enjoyed some deck time to myself. Wednesday I went out with friend, Gailene, too, and we snapped some shots of our starbucks iced lattes and some signs while out. |
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| Gailene and I went for a lunch at Pink Cadilac, where we had a great catch up. We enjoy the fun we have together, and have lots of grandkid stories to share, too! |
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| Thursday Jana treated Brian and I to lunch at Brown's Social House. Mariah is modelling her new dance outfit from IVIVA, too. Later on Thursday, I took Mariah for some new dance shoes and tights to gear up for this week's dance camp. |
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| Thursday night before getting dropped off for the first of 3 sleepovers over the weekend the kids enjoyed a Birthday for Beau with his buddies at a place called APEX where there are many trampolines. Beau had several friends there, and Mariah had some too…. we went briefly but didn't stay … apparently the kids had a blast! |
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| Yesterday we did a brief dog walk and photo shoot with the dogs… before packing up and taking them back to their house. We picked up my niece Rowen along the way to babysit the kids for a bit. The kids really look up to Rowen. They had fun blowing bubbles with their bubble gum!!! Time sure flies when one is having fun!!! Here it is another blog writing day, seems like only yesterday, when I did my last one. To all my blog readers, thanks for popping by! Since last Monday I have been busy with many things… from appointments, to outings, to babysitting the grandkiddoes! What a lot I have crammed in once again… this week taking another 246 photos, to capture all the fun!!! Jana and Nels were off to Vegas Friday for a weekend together. We had the kids from about 10 Thursday night when Jana dropped them and their dog, Jazz, off to stay with us until last night, when Nels returned around midnight! Jana is gone till Thursday this week buying up merchandise for her store. We would have kept the kids last night, too, but Jana arranged for us to take the kids home and have my niece Rowen babysit them until Nels got home. Beau had his "friend" Birthday party on Thursday, so he had a pretty fun week filled with fun stuff and gifts, to boot. Beau and I shared time putting some of his new lego together… and also playing hockey and making puzzles, as well as crafting among other activities. He loved watching some of the videos I have posted on my Facebook, from when the kids were little, so we watched a few of them over and over!!! Beau is a sweet kid but has so much energy and needs to have it channeled always or he gets into trouble! He is a typical little five year old boy… he likes to have someone with him … so when ever I left the room, he was always checking to see where I went… he has a little anxiety issue it seems! Mariah is just so grown up and is a real little helper. She is very nurturing and so good with the dogs and her grandpa, too. She likes to be in charge sometimes… and with Beau that did create a bit of conflict at times!!! I love being the grammie D… but I do not like it when I have to become a referee sometimes to break up the kids in some of their little sibling disagreements!!! That is not my best one! We sure enjoyed our visit at my nephew's place on Saturday…and loved seeing our little great niece, Brielle, too. Always fun to connect with them when we get the chance. It was nice to see Bob and Arleen there as well. With this being a treatment week for Brian… he was low key and unable to do a lot with the kids, but he enjoyed the house full of kids, dogs and excitement. He adores all of them so much and is a very proud grandpa! He managed to take them out for a quick treat one at a time too… he loves to spoil them. Mariah chose a reading light to clip on her books. Beau chose a hockey water bottle and mini stick! I was a little disappointed when my gym classes were cancelled two days in a row last week… but in hind sight… it was a good thing, as I needed every ounce of energy I had on the weekend!!! hehehe I really enjoyed an afternoon out with my good buddy, Gailene, last week. We are often on the same wave length and our lives now revolve around our grandkids. She even helped give me some ideas for my little CAMP GRAMMIE D while we were out, as well as loaning us air mattresses to make the sleeping arrangements easier! This past week was a reminder of some special people we lost over years gone by. Last Tuesday… we remembered my brother-in-law, Bruce, who lost his battle to cancer, two summers ago on the 11th of August. On the 14th of August, I thought of my dear Auntie Frankie, who passed away on that date 4 years ago. On the 15th of August we recalled our dear friend, Jaime, who died at such a young age when she lost her battle to cancer at age 15 in 1994. Tomorrow we remember my father-in-law, Greg, who passed away on the 18th of August, 2014, last summer. All of those cherished angels hold special spots in our hearts and are with us always in our fond memories of them. Today Mariah is off to a dance camp for the week… she is a happy little camper… going from a camp at the lake just weeks ago, then camp gramme D and now going to dance camp. She loves organized activities… so I know she will do well… and she is all ready with her new dance gear, too. Beau is back at his daycare again today…and I am actually happy to have some quiet time here at home again. Even our dog, Shuffle, is tired out from all the activity the past bit…she is just relaxing on the couch. I was so pleased that her and Jazz got along so well… even with the fast paced fun and both kids all weekend. We didn't go out for any meals with the kids… and avoided trips to dollarama, too! I actually stocked up on a few items there before hand to tide the kids over and put them in their camp baskets. Beau had many new toys from his recent birthday so he was good to go. I am not going to lie… I am pooped out from all the activity this past week… but my heart is full! Today I am laying low… as I know I will be on call for pick ups and drop offs this week with Jana still away. Tonight I look forward to some of my TV shows and a quiet relaxing evening. Happy Birthday today to my flower girl, Valerie… hard to believe she was only 3 at our wedding… nearly 39 years ago! On that note… here is my rhyme of the day! The last few days at "Camp Grammie D"… Were fun for the kids, the dogs and me! Brian enjoyed all the action, too, Sharing his time as we all followed through. Time was full both out and indoor… From crafts, dog walking, tv, and more. Blowing bubbles, yoga and swinging, Hockey , lego, puzzles and singing. There was really truly never a lull… When the kids were here, life sure wasn't dull !!! We captured it in photos and also in our heart, It was a lot of fun right from the start. Last night I had such a really good sleep, Without the help of counting sheep!!! I'm not going to lie…I was sure played out, But lots of fond memories… there is just no doubt! |
