Tag Archives: children

Spring

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I am not a fan of Spring-Forward Sunday. For one thing, I’m pretty much a lazy person and when we’re off Daylight Saving Time and it starts to get dark at 5 or 6 at night, it’s quite easy to put the ol’ pajamas on and call it a day — literally — by 8 p.m. But in Daylight Saving Time, you’re sort of compelled to keep going until 10 p.m. or so. I mean, isn’t that why Daylight Saving Time was invented — so we’d have more time to do work? Whose bright idea was that???!!! And when I was a young mom, I dreaded the spring-forward time change that wreaked havoc with those lovely early bedtimes. However, now that I’m Grandma Ka-kee and treasure every moment I can spend with my almost-2-year-old grandson, Capt. Adorable, I say the more daylight, the better. That just gives me more playtime to hang out with the Captain in his backyard and his ultra-cool new playground equipment his mom and dad got him for an early birthday present. It’s got slides and a climbing wall and a fun underneath space for hiding. Plus, it offers the chance for scientific exploration, such as “Why has rainwater gathered in this little hole and I wonder what would happen if I put my finger in it?” And when it’s spring and nice weather, you can also have your  snack of yogurt-covered blueberries outside — definitely worth giving up an hour or two of sleep!

Learning

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The thing about hanging out with other people is that you can learn from them. And learning is good — something about keeping your brain cells strong, I think. Take, for instance, this arrangement of seashells and dried grasses. A friend of mine who loves to collect shells at the beach put some of her best ones in this clear large-mouthed glass vase and used the shells to anchor a couple of bunches of grass she bought at a craft store. Result? Simple, easy and inexpensive with a definite wow factor. She just sort of threw this together while I sat and watched, amazed. The main requirement is a clear vase or container that’s wide enough for your shells. And if you don’t have any shells, you can buy them in bulk at most craft stores — although I bet you’ve got a forgotten box of them tucked away in the garage from your most recent vacation when you found these lovely shells on the beach and dragged them home because you knew you could do something with them. Well, you were right! See, you can learn tons of things from your favorite people. Such as my 23-month-old grandson, Capt. Adorable. Every day I spend with him is a learning experience — from repurposing toy boxes into comfy reading chairs to innovative uses for mashed potatoes (clay, glue, finger paint, hair gel). Read more lessons the Captain has taught me in my weekly newspaper column at http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100305/ARTICLES/3055005.

Family

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At 22 months, grandson Capt. Adorable already is rocking cool pre-preschool fashion.  Wednesday afternoon was a little bit warmer (in the low 50s!), a little bit drier (no rain for 24 hours!) and a little bit sunnier here in north Alabama so we all headed out to the park for some rare outside fun. Let me tell you, there is nothing like chasing a little guy around a playground maze of slides and steps and balance beams to chase away any adult-onset winter blues. And what does the well-dressed pre-preschooler wear to the playground? A cozy striped hoodie topped off with the perfect pair of shades. I was laughing too hard to snap it, but the Captain somehow did the pull-the-glasses-down-a-bit-and-peer-inquiringly-over-the-top move so smoothly that I wish I had taken notes.

Magazines

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I love food. I love magazines. And food magazines? Cannot resist. That’s why I’m still mourning the loss of Conde Nast’s Gourmet. But there are a bunch of other magazines that entice with gorgeous photos, informative articles and innovative recipes. But how to know which ones are worth your hard-earned dollars? Chicago Tribune food writer Judy Hevrdejs has written a fun and helpful story comparing seven of the top-selling food magazines. She looks at such variables as average number of recipes per issue, usability, typical reader and her gut reaction. Your local paper might have printed it. If not, read it online at http://www.twincities.com/food/ci_14229780?source=rss. My favorites are Cook’s for intriguing reads, Food & Wine for inspiration and Everyday Food for how-to guides.

And while you’re online, stop by the TimesDaily Web site and read my column at http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100129/ARTICLES/1295001. This week I wrote about an experience I had this past week, while Younger Daughter and I were babysitting 22-month-old grandson and nephew Capt. Adorable.  The Captain was overdosing on TV and the results were not pretty. I had two choices: 1) Fall back on my old parenting habits and be too lenient and indulgent or 2) employ the good parenting techniques I’d seen Older Daughter — the Captain’s mom — put into play. Read and find out what happened.

Food

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After she graduated college this past December, Younger Daughter moved back home to work part-time and figure out the next step – which is going to be wonderfully awesome, whatever it happens to be. In the meantime, I get the benefits of living with someone who is the healthiest eater I know. And she cooks! When I’m empty-nesting, my usual lunch is 1) breakfast, 2) coffee with friends, 3) steam-table civic-club meeting buffets or 4) Cheeto crumbs eaten standing in the middle of the kitchen. I like Younger Daughter’s way much better. Here’s a typical lunch she’ll sort of insist on fixing for us: Organic cream of tomato soup and stir-fried veggies with sourdough cheese and herb toast. She plans and preps and I clean up — a great deal for both of us.

Books

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When only sitting in a toy box will do ... Almost 22-month-old grandson Capt. Adorable finds the best seat in the house for perusing his favorite read.

Holidays

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Happy Holidays! I am still here but, as most of the blogosphere has been doing for the past few weeks, I’ve been lazy.  Very, very lazy — computerwise. When it comes down to choosing between enjoying a mug of hot cocoa with the umpteenth replay of “Christmas Vacation” (I love that movie!) and actually logging on and putting my brain into gear and thinking my way past the visions of sugar plums dancing in my head (and the baking and cleaning and organizing and wrapping and …) — I’ve been choosing the easy way out. But no more! Time to get back to normal. Time to put away Christmas things. Time to … oh, who am I kidding? It’s still the holidays, our little tree is still up and I’m still eating sugar cookies and cheese balls and the last of the Chex Mix. But I will do better about blogging. Promise.

So how was y’all’s Christmas? Hope everybody had a good one. Kudos to those who, like Older Daughter, had four celebrations on that one day. She and my son-in-law and grandson Capt. Adorable made it to all of them, although the day of travel left the 21-month-old Captain dazed and confused.

Christmas

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Hope you have a wonderfully merry Christmas -- and keep a sense of wonder and delight just like grandson Capt. Adorable.

Children

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"Would you like sugar and cream with that?" Grandson Capt. Adorable, almost 21 months old, enjoys tea time at his great-grandparents' house with special guests Cookie Monster and Alf.

Graduation

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I am so proud of my awesomely wonderful Younger Daughter, who graduated summa cum laude today from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with honors in English. In addition, she was chosen to carry the School of Arts and Humanities banner — she was a banner-arian! And she did a fantastic job, too. We all got great reserved seats because she was a special honored graduate, which meant we were up close and personal and didn’t have to wait in line in the cold and the rain, for which we thanked her very much. And I only cried just a little, little  bit.  As of this moment right now, after more than 20 years, I have no children in any kind of school whatsoever. Sort of strange, you know? Wasn’t it just yesterday my daughters were doing Christmas pageants in preschool? But, bonus: No more checks to UAB. I asked Dear Husband if he felt rich now that we were no longer paying tuition, and he just sighed so I’m guessing that’s probably a “no.” Anyway, my parents and my brother and his family, all from Tennessee, came down, along with Younger Daughter’s dad and step-mother and we all went out to eat afterwards and had a marvelous time. Younger Daughter said afterwards that when she got back to her apartment, her roommate had a surprise “congratulations” party waiting for her. Sweet! I noticed something, though: There are very few “Happy Graduation” cards in December. I had to search all over for some, and then the selection was sparse. So if you’ve got a December graduate in your future, stock up on cards and decorations in May. I’m just saying. Also: Congratulations, Younger Daughter! I am so proud to be your mom.