October 03, 2018

Grandbaby ETA draws near

October 03, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Brianna is officially at 37 weeks and two days today. Yesterday I had the privilege of attending one of her final ultrasound appointments—an exciting opportunity for me, considering my first three grandbabies were born 815 miles away, making this my first such experience.

I got to watch Brianna undergo a neonatal…

October 01, 2018

Letting go

October 01, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Letting go

I saw this sentiment on Instagram Sunday and was immediately smitten. It’s bold and brief (my favorite sort of inspiration) and gorgeously displays the grandeur of fall (my favorite season).

It’s a lovely reminder of the need to let go. And I have a lot of letting go to do.

Much of what I need to let go is related to…

September 24, 2018

Getting real

September 24, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Getting real

My mom is struggling to survive stage 3 lung cancer. My firstborn will soon deliver her firstborn any day now. Somewhere in between my utter despair regarding the one end of life’s spectrum and my sheer delight related to the other is the space where I, a writer and blogger, should be writing and blogging.

But I don’t feel like…

September 17, 2018

Baby shower, with Pinterest upgrades! Plus, GRAND Social No. 320 link party for grandparents

September 17, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Baby shower… with Pinterest upgrades!

In the preamble to last week’s GRAND Social link party, I noted that I’d had a busy day the day before. The reason for the busy-ness was Brianna’s baby shower! It turned out to be a lovely baby shower—thanks in large part to all the pinning Brianna (and I, admittedly) had done pre-party planning.

I hosted Megan’s baby shower more than 10 years ago—long before Pinterest appeared and upped the ante on entertaining. Megan’s shower was nice. But, gee whiz, thanks to Pinterest, the bar has been raised since those long-gone days of simply serving up punch, cake, shower decor, and a few silly shower games.

Here are a few of the Pinterest-inspired creations I (with help from Andrea and Megan, who flew in for the weekend) managed to pull off for Brianna’s fall-themed affair…

September 14, 2018

Flashback Friday: Bacon, eggs, and Bubby

September 14, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Dear readers: This flashback feature originally appeared on Grandma's Briefs September 6, 2011—back when Brayden was called Bubby, Camden was but a babe, and Declan wouldn’t arrive for three more years. Thank you for reading my rerun.

When I visited Bubby and Camden last month, one of the things Bubby wanted us to do together was make cookies. Because it was so darn hot in the desert—even in the house—I convinced Bubby that it would be so much more fun to make and eat...well...bacon and eggs!

September 03, 2018

Labor Day special: Skilled workers and GRAND Social No. 318 link party

September 03, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Happy Labor Day, grandmothers and others!

Skilled workers

If only we all could be as deft as these workers with our daily drudgery!

August 27, 2018

Must-see magic... for humans!

August 27, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Must-see magic... for humans!

One night last week, Jim and I had some time to kill and nothing in the DVR queue. So we searched Netflix for a little something to pass the 30 minutes or so before we planned to head to bed.

What we found dazzled and baffled and entranced us so much we ended up watching nearly an entire season of a new series in one sitting... and didn't even regret it when the 5:45 alarm woke us the next morning and we rolled our weary bones …

August 13, 2018

Happy hummers

August 13, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Happy hummers!

The hummingbirds have been more active in my yard than ever before. It's been a joy to follow them—and photograph and film them—as they enjoy our feeders and flowers on the deck. Especially my brilliant purple torenia!

August 06, 2018

(Baby) things are getting real

August 06, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

(Baby) things are getting real!

My daughter Brianna is well into her third trimester, and things are finally getting real in terms of it seeming like a baby really, truly will arrive soon. She and Patrick completed their birthing classes last week, and they worked diligently on the nursery over the weekend in preparation for their baby boy's October arrival.

On my end, there was this yesterday, which I posted on social media... and which I can't write much on now because it makes me tear up all over again.

July 23, 2018

National #GorgeousGrandma Day! Plus, GRAND Social No. 312 link party

July 23, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

National #GorgeousGrandma Day!

Of all the offbeat holidays, celebrations, and recognitions out there, today’s is THE perfect one for Grandma's Briefs readers: National #GorgeousGrandma Day, celebrated every July 23.

I'm unable to find details on its beginnings, but there seems to be plenty of information on suggestions for celebrating this special day, including some especially grand ones listed on the National Today website.

Considering National Today's graphic…