April 09, 2020

Getting to know you …

April 09, 2020/ Lisa Carpenter

During this time of physical isolation, video chats with my grandsons are for me, like with many grandmas, a saving grace. They not only let me see those faces my heart misses so — the long-distance ones as well as the one belonging to my local love bug — the sessions allow me to get to know the boys in ways not possible in face-to-face real-time rendezvous. Trying to keep conversations flowing provides telling insight … and some fun musical performances too.

March 09, 2020

PAW Patrol!

March 09, 2020/ Lisa Carpenter

PAW Patrol

Benjamin has something to share with you: his love for a DVD I recently received free for review.

Head to my Back Room — where I post all my reviews — to see Benjamin’s sheer delight upon screening Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups Super Paws. (I simply adore that kid’s smile.)

GRAND Social No. 381 link party for grandparents

March 02, 2020

Little things ...

March 02, 2020/ Lisa Carpenter

Little things

There’s a quote from singer Paula Cole that goes like this:

“I think it's important to find the little things in everyday life that make you happy.”

Considering this photo of Benjamin that Brianna …

January 16, 2020

Weekly pic: Morning Joe

January 16, 2020/ Lisa Carpenter

I’ve been spending several hours with Benjamin on Wednesdays to give Brianna a bit of a break from her boy and me a bit of playtime with him. When Brianna dropped him off at my house last week, she brought him in his pajamas so I could see his adorable Christmas jammies, robe and all.

I naturally took several photos of the …

October 23, 2019

Review: Fat Brain Toys trio for tots to pre-teens (and beyond)

October 23, 2019/ Lisa Carpenter

The holiday gift-giving season will soon be upon us, and Fat Brain Toys is among the tops spots for grandmothers and others seeking screen-free fun to give the grands.

Fat Brain Toys sent me a special trio of toys to try out with my favorite boys — two ideal for my tiniest grandson plus one that’s fun for the bigger kids (and grownups, too).

October 17, 2019

Firsts for Benjamin: A haircut and a happy birthday

October 17, 2019/ Lisa Carpenter

My youngest grandson, Benjamin, is bound and determined to mature and move on at lightning speed, seemingly so much sooner than the grandsons that came before him.

To wit: The kid marked two major milestones in the past week or so. Those being his first haircut and his first birthday. How can that be? Seems he was just born.

Alas, as I’m in no position to press pause on the growing boy’s progress, I merrily go along with his maturing. And take photos, of course. Lots of photos.

October 14, 2019

Birthday celebration!

October 14, 2019/ Lisa Carpenter

Birthday celebration!

Guess who had a first birthday celebration on Sunday! Well, if you guessed Benjamin, you would be 100 percent correct.

Plus…

GRAND Social No. 362 link party for grandparents

Today we celebrate grandparent bloggers … by sharing and reading links in yet another GRAND Social link party! Yay, you! Thank you for participating!

October 07, 2019

A grand goose egg

October 07, 2019/ Lisa Carpenter

A grand goose egg

Bumps, bangs, and boo-boos are part and parcel of the toddler stage as newbie walkers get their land legs. I get that.

Goose eggs are entirely different story as far as I’m concerned, though. Yet every. single. one of my grandsons got big ones at one point or another. Benjamin’s point came Saturday when he bonked his noggin …

September 05, 2019

Summer's end: Mark it with a B

September 05, 2019/ Lisa Carpenter

As Labor Day weekend signified the end of summer for most folks — despite there being, technically, three more weeks of the sun-filled season — I must say my summer didn’t close with much of a bang. It did, though, end with a few other B words of note. A few of my favorite B words, in fact.

August 22, 2019

In other news: On Botox, Thailand, and ALS

August 22, 2019/ Lisa Carpenter

In the first post I published here after returning from summer break, I shared a recap of some of the bigger changes that took place while I was away from the blog.

I didn’t tell you everything, though. A couple happenings just didn’t seem to fit in the bits I previously passed along. Those being the following…