Lashing Out

I had the supreme pleasure of babysitting our little grandson yesterday. He fell asleep in my lap.

Take Note!

I loved having pen pals when I was a kid. Receiving a letter in the mail was a highlight, so I started the tradition with the next generation. 

It's been a while since my older two grandkids and I exchanged letters. Yesterday I remedied that lapse. I made each of them a card with their favorite animals. 

Melody's

Annalee's

Inside I wrote them each a personalized limerick.

Melody's

Annalee's

It's a sweet nothing from Mimi to her favorite Idaho girls.

Mimi-Abby Time

Jodie and Kenny received some much needed rest and recouperation while I had a couple hours with Abby at their neighborhood park. This little two year old is such a joy!

On our walk to the park, she named the colors of each flower we walked by.

She took quite a bit of time following a bee who was flying from dandelion to dandelion. She'd bend w-a-y over and remind herself, "Don't touch!" even though she kept reaching out.

Take off! 

She liked blowing the seeds of the ripened dandelions, too.

We played on slides and the rock wall and the ladder and the twirling pole and the bouncing bug. We counted holes in the play structure's platform. We went from tree to tree, finding big sticks. She paraded around with the stick that was even taller than she is.

But her favorite thing to do at the park is to play in the sandbox. I helped her form a forest of sticks ... which she counted as she pulled them out and tossed them.

Dale and I are incredibly blessed to live near this little sparkle girl. The sun and the outdoor play were good for both of us. Mommy said Abby was well worn out and took a good nap that afternoon.

Daffodil and Deer

Jodie reminded me that today is Daffodil Day. 

I took these two pictures while at the Raptor Center with our Idaho grandkids last week. On that same outing, we saw this deer.

Precious moments.

Play Like a Two Year Old

Our granddaughter received some Play Doh for her 2nd birthday. With her encouragement, I started playing.

I even bought myself my own set of dough and some implements. I never had a set like this as a kid. I figured it was about time.

On my own, I only played for a few minutes while backing up my computer. Predictably, I made a heart

with some details:

It's good for me to stretch this "creative play with no specific end in mind" muscle. I rarely engage in messy, unstructured play. Even before I started, I checked Pinterest for some ideas and a jumping off point. Confession: I literally had to mess up my tools before I took this photo because I tend to line things up in rows.

Somehow, little Abby doesn't need to do that.

Leaf Peeping

After running an errand in town, Jodie and I decided it was too pretty of a day to go back home. Instead, she and Abby and I headed southwest of Springfield to do a little leaf peeping. It's not quite the peak of autumn color yet, but it's close. 

I picked the general direction of our ride, then Jodie knew of a park I've never been to before to use as our destination. Along the drive, Abby sang to herself in the back seat. She's 21 months old now, and can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star all by herself -- and holds a tune well!

Since the trip was spur-of-the-moment, we weren't wearing the correct clothes and shoes for an impromptu hike. So we stayed in the car and made the park's rounds on the paved road.

This park has a large, excellent disc golf course and plenty of picnic shelters for group gatherings.

We couldn't have asked for a prettier day, and would have stayed out longer, but Abby started rubbing her eyes and saying, "Tiiirrred." So we got her back home where she quickly snuggled up into her crib for a nap.

Our Granddaughter's Missing!

Jodie sent a frantic text:

Abby's our cheeky little gal!

Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling

 While babysitting our granddaughter yesterday, I asked her if she'd like to go on a walk. In an unusual move, she grabbed her shoes and readily crawled up into her stroller. I buckled her in and put on the first shoe. Then, "No!"

After several tries, I conceded to her way. She fell asleep while we were out and about. We let her sleep in her stroller for a while when we got home.

Decisions, Decisions

I'm like the old woman who lives in a shoe.

I had so many children crafts, I didn't know what to do.

All the surfaces in my Studio were cluttered up with partially done projects. So I decided to create a little order today. Layer by layer, project by project, I cleared my work surfaces. I put each project in a pile on my bed. Now I can tackle them one at a time.

These are thrifting finds I bought last week. Some are gifts for my granddaughters. Some is geocache swag. I've washed the fabrics. Now everything needs to be put away. 

This box is a card-making kit. I want to make a bunch and send them out to "my ladies" to let them know they've been on my mind.

Here are a couple pen-pal letters started for my Idaho grandkids.

I've done some measuring, so will cut these boxes to size, line them, and work on my "fat quarter project" wherein I sort my fabric, fold each identically, and organize them in boxes that will fit their shelf. This way, finding an appropriate fabric will be much easier than the current toppling stacks. This project is one of my 25 Goals in 2025.

And, of course, I still need to finish my cross-stitch pillow. I haven't worked out all the math yet.

So ... tomorrow? I tackle the first project tomorrow? 

One small problem: where do I sleep tonight?

My Heart Broke Open

Being a grandma is great.

Being Mimi is the best!

Isn't It Grand!

Dale and I had the distinct privilege of spending the holiday weekend with these two beauties. Their parents, Julie (daughter) and Jeff (son-in-law) celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. (Already!)

We also celebrated Miss Melody's 8th birthday

while little sister Annalee did her best to be a good sport.

Dale and I got to have the kids all to ourselves at the park where I consented to climb the playground equipment with them - and went head first on my back down the slide. Going down was easy. But I was a bit like a turtle resting on its shell as I tried to get myself upright again. The kids thought that was pretty funny.

Rustic Recycled Wrapping Paper

I'm back to recycling Amazon's packing paper. Last time, it was all hearts in different patterns. 

This time I added flowers

stars

butteflies 

and happy faces

They're pretty cute when all piled together as wrapped gifts.

I added stickers to each package for an extra dash of fun for our granddaughter.

Another Pen Pal

Our little Annie sent me snail mail this week! Annalee is 5 and in kindergarten.

I expected to receive a colored picture ... but  look at her detail!

I also received this hand-drawn selfie and message. I marvel that she used a more difficult spelling than I'd expect of a 5 year old. And she knows hearts are important to me. 💖

I love being the Mimi to these three girls!

Meow

My pen pal sent me a letter.  

Our Valentine

Ahhh. Look what Papa and I received yesterday. A Valentine from Abby and her mom.

Abby prepared the tissue paper.

Mommy helped to glue it into a heart shape.

Abby grabbed her crayons to write the message inside. She can write two-handed and decided to use lots of colors.

Mommy told us it says,

        "Happy Valentine's Day, Mimi and Papa!
        I love you lots!
        Hugs and Kisses, Abby"

She gets her brains and talent from Mommy.

Mail for Annie

Our 5 year old granddaughter is starting to read, but isn't yet ready to write letters. So we're hoping to send coloring sheets to each other. 

I colored this one for her today.

It's a design by Judy Balchin in her Heart & Flower Designs book

Wrapping Paper

I appreciate that Amazon is doing their little bit for the environment by filling up space in their boxes with wrinkled up brown craft paper rather than the air pillows. Magpie that I am, I can't throw it in the recycling bin. So today I recycled the paper MY way.

I squared off the rough edges of the paper and pulled out my Crayola markers. Then, while listening to some funny I Mom So Hard podcasts, I played around. The idea was to make wrapping paper for the Valentine gifts we'll be sending to our grandkids

The first sheet has one of each color marker, then little baby black hearts. I tried a couple hearts with dots and cross-hatching, but that took too much brain power.

I played with heart size, with hearts filled in, and hearts outlined. I added little dots in the free space.

This one has a pattern and limited colors.

The last one might be my favorite. the tiny pink hearts are made using a marker with a heart-shaped tip. It's used like a stamp. 

But I didn't have a plan. I went with whatever whimsy floated through my head. I ended up making six pieces of wrapping paper during the length of the three podcast episodes. No two are alike.

I didn't get much restful sleep last night, I'm on my third caffeine of the day, and couldn't force myself to work on any of the other five Valentine activities I planned. They will take some actual brain power. 

This was just the right level of engagement needed to help me feel like I'm still on a forward trajectory. It gave me a measure of delight. And there were no wrong answers.