September 07, 2015

Kitchen assistant, plus GRAND Social No. 171 link party for grandparents

September 07, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Kitchen assistant

My daughter Megan has a new kitchen assistant. His name is Jak:

toddler in kitchen

Jak has many talents related to kitchen duty, including...

September 01, 2015

Grandma's Briefs named top site for grandparents by GRAND Magazine

September 01, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Great news: Grandma's Briefs has been named one of 11 top websites for grandparents in GRAND Magazine's 2015 Top Blogs/Websites Awards!

grandparent blog

I'm honored and humbled to be included in the same category as many of the grandparent bloggers and websites I've adored for years and hoped to emulate—as a grandparent and as a provider of content highlighting the diversity and vibrancy of today's grandparents.

Congratulations to all my fellow grandparent writers, bloggers, and website publishers named in the article, which you can find here.

Though Grandma's Briefs won the designation, you—the Grandma's Briefs readers—reap the reward by way of a free subscription to GRAND Magazine (a $19.95 value)!

GRAND magazine sept 2015

How to get your free subscription to GRAND Magazine: Simply click on this link to sign up for your free 12-month subscription. I look forward to reading it along with you, hearing your thoughts on the grandparenting features we both will learn from, be inspired by.

A sincere thanks to the editors of GRAND Magazine for the honor and the gift. Even bigger thanks go out to all of you—those who visit my site, read my ramblings, comment on my musings.

Thank you for making Grandma's Briefs part of your grandparent experience!

August 24, 2015

Birthday gals, plus GRAND Social No. 169 link party for grandparents

August 24, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Birthday gals

Welcome back! I hope your weekend was great!

My weekend was spent celebrating birthdays. Saturday's birthday gal was my oldest daughter, Brianna, who turned 33 last Tuesday:

mother and daughter

Sunday's celebration was for my mom, who turns...

August 06, 2015

Team with grandkids and National Wildlife Federation to create a wildlife habitat

August 06, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

certified wildlife habitat

Grandma and Grandpa's house is a magical place for a grandchild. Having your yard certified as a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation can increase the magical factor tenfold and more.

Certifying your yard, no matter how big or how small, is much easier than...

August 05, 2015

This is war! Card fun with grandkids

August 05, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

I put a lot of thought, time, and energy—and sometimes money, too—into coming up with creative and enjoyable crafts, games, and activities to pack into my grandma bag for visits with my grandsons.

It's not necessary. At least not all ways, it seems. Bubby taught me that when I visited him and his brothers in mid-July.

"Wanna play war, Gramma?" Bubby asked while holding a deck of cards. I considered the crafting supplies in my grandma bag, the games I wanted to review with him and the books I hoped to read.

"Sure," I said.

war card game

So we did. And had a super time!

Bubby didn't know all the rules, had only played hands—not full...

August 03, 2015

Hanging with the monkeys! Plus, GRAND Social No. 166 link party for grandparents

August 03, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Hanging with the monkeys

Today is my last day with the monkeys. These monkeys also known as Bubby, Mac, and Jak, who were practicing their moves in the peewee division of American Ninja Warriors at their nearby park:

peewee ninja warriors

This afternoon, PawDad and I leave the jungle and head back home, where the...

July 30, 2015

Back to school already? 10 ways to support school-bound grandchildren

July 30, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Unbelievable as it seems, it's time for students to return to school, some as early as next week. In light of that, I'd like to once again share with you ideas on how grandparents can support and encourage their grandchildren in academic endeavors. Though my daughter Megan is on break from teaching—and she has three sons now, not two—her ideas as well as the others in this post are still a great way to make a difference for your school-bound grandkiddos.

Kids of all ages will soon head back to school — if they haven't already. Though Mom and Dad play the starring role in supporting their children's educational efforts, grandparents have plenty of opportunities to make their mark, too.

My daughter Megan is not only the mother of my two awesome grandsons, she's also a teacher. Here are a few suggestions she and I came up with for supporting school-bound grandchildren in ways that will garner an A+ not only from the kids, but from their parents and teachers, too.