July 22, 2015

Moving on

July 22, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Bubby and Mac—as well as the rest of their family—have vacated the premises and moved on to their new home.

On moving day, Gramma (who is far more sentimental than the rest) just had to get a photo of the boys' last time on their trampoline:

boys on trampoline

And, of course, I photographed their last...

July 18, 2015

Saturday movie PREview: Grandma

July 18, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

As I've been chasing kids, reading bedtime stories, playing at the park, and all kinds of other fun stuff with Bubby, Mac, and Jak, I've not watched a film to review this week.

So you get this: a preview of an upcoming film that will likely resonate—in one way or another—with most of us here.

It's called GRANDMA and stars Lily Tomlin, among others.

GRANDMA movie

And here's the...

July 16, 2015

Grandparents: Inspire grandchildren to create their own adventures

July 16, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Dear readers: I am away from the computer and in the desert watching my grandsons, so today I'm sharing with you these smart suggestions for summer fun from StatePoint Media.

Getting kids to be more active and motivated for outdoor adventure can be a challenge in today's world of cool technology. With so many compelling reasons to stay indoors—like game systems, smartphones, and streaming video—how do you convince your grandchildren that the great outdoors is, well, great?

kids playing outside

Here are a few ideas to inspire outdoor play—and even to use their love of technology to...

July 13, 2015

Scramble! Plus, GRAND Social No. 163 link party for grandparents

July 13, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Scramble!

I'm writing this Sunday evening. I just heard from Megan that she and Preston would like me to watch the kids while they move into their new home. Tuesday.

THIS Tuesday. As in, tomorrow.

I said, Sure! (Despite the fact Jim and I will both be visiting them at the end of the month.)

They purchased my ticket to fly to the desert just minutes ago, and I'm now in scramble mode to be ready for a Tuesday departure.

Because of my scrambling, you get this preamble to this week's GRAND Social: a photo of my lovely tabby Abby that I took last week while messing with my camera settings.

tabby cat

No rhyme or reason for sharing Abby with you. Except that I didn't...

July 01, 2015

8 reasons grandparents should not resist a rest

July 01, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Once you're old enough to be a grandparent, a good night's sleep is hard to come by. Chalk it up to hormones, hot flashes, medications, and more. Considering the causes can be exhausting in itself.

Despite our continual quest to quench our desire for downtime, we grandparents often flat-out refuse to rest our weary heads when we're with our grandchildren. Whether it's because we feel guilty or we simply want to "get stuff done," resisting a rest can be detrimental to our health and happiness. Detrimental to the health and happiness of our grandchildren, too—especially when they're in our care.

Here's why:

sleeping woman and dog

NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP...

June 23, 2015

GRAND guest post: 6 tips to keep grandchildren reading all summer

June 23, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Dear readers: This article originally appeared on the GRAND Magazine website, one of my partners in providing grandparents with quality information and inspiration. I publish it here with their permission.

grandma and grandson reading together

Parents and grandparents are the child’s first and foremost teachers. They play an important role in teaching children to read and—maybe just as importantly—to love reading. Now that summer...

June 16, 2015

Q-tips® Darts Knock Down

June 16, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Have some bored kids on your hands?

Need a quick way to entertain them using materials you have on hand?

Are the kids about seven years old or older?

If you answered yes, yes, and yes, this is exactly what you were looking for: Q-tips® Darts Knock Down. It's simple carnival-style fun for everyone. Well, at least those old enough to not inhale the Q-tips® darts while blowing them through a straw.

Q-tips® darts knock down game