Grilled Grandma: Lisa

How many children do you have? We are a blended family and we have 5 sons. Randy is 30, both Chris and Nick are 26, Matt is 23 and Andrew is 19.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? We are blessed with two little girls, Grace is 3 and 1/2 and Adia is 1 and 1/2

Any great grandchildren? Gosh No!! Not yet!

What do your grandchildren call you? Grandma Lisa and Grandma

After the initial elation, what was your first concern upon hearing you would soon be a grandmother?  We had a scare with an initial blood test early on in the pregnancy, but thankfully all was okay! That was my only initial concern.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? Thankfully they live only a few miles from us, so we get to see them frequently!

What is the best thing about being a grandma? Hearing the words, "I love you so much, Grandma"! Seeing their happy faces when they pull up to the house, when the one year old throws kisses in the air to me, baking Christmas cookies together. Spending time with my daughter-in-law and the girls, she is the best mommy ever! I can go on and on here!

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? I think it is seeing them sick and not feeling well.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. They make us laugh so much. Grace loves to sweep the kitchen and recently she opened up the pantry and said, "Grandma, you missed a spot, I will clean it for you!", sure enough there were some dust bunnies behind the pantry door! Adia made us laugh the other night when we turned on the Wii and put in the Zumba disc, she started dancing all over the place to some salsa music. Thought that was adorable.

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? When the weather is nice they love to play outside with the horse, cats and dogs, when it is rainy we stay inside and read books, draw and watch old Disney movies! We can't wait to take them to Disney and to visit the beaches in Florida and Puerto Rico.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? Reading to them, playing hide and go seek, putting together puzzles and making them laugh!

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits?  We talk on the phone, send silly messages via email and send links to some fun video books they can sing along to.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? After having 5 sons, I am looking forward to teaching them how to sew and cook.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? Memories

What is one thing you wish you had learned earlier as a grandparent? Don't wait for the invitation to go see them.

What one bit of advice would you give a new grandma? Have fun, always respect the wishes of the parents regarding rules and their parenting skills and leave the disciplining to them!

Do you have a website or blog? Yes, my blog is: I Am All A Twitter About Life!  and my website is: http://lisaladrido.myvi.net/challenge