Practicing what I preach

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Practicing what I preach

Practicing what I preach

I do my best to practice what I preach here on Grandma's Briefs. Last week I preached all about ways grandparents can help school-bound grandkiddos. One of the suggestions in the post is to give grandkids a BTS care package of sorts (with an outfit or pajamas) before school begins.

It just so happens that the day that post was published, I received a text message from Megan with a picture of my grandsons thanking me for the BTS care package i had sent them, which included a few school supplies plus an outfit for each boy. (Shorts and tees that I thought were cute as can be for school but would work just fine as jammies if the boys considered my selections not cool for school.) Declan — who's only three and spends his days with Mommy, not at school — got a package just like his brothers, too, because, well, how could the cutie not?

grandson heading back to school
Declan, Camden, and Brayden grinning big for Gramma!

The package arrived just in time! Today Camden starts...

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Pool time with PawDad

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My grandsons have a swimming pool in the back yard of their home in the desert. Though I've had the pleasure of splishing and splashing with them in it a time or two, Jim — who due to job demands hasn't been able to visit the boys as often as I — last saw the pool when it was in progress and merely a big ol' hole in the ground.

Jim's perspective on the pool changed this past Sunday.

My husband and I took a quick trip south to see the boys and their parents over the weekend, and Jim, er, PawDad finally got to join the boys in their pool. And in their hot tub, too.

pool time with PawDad

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Jak sports a 'stache

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I'm not sure whether to attribute it to his determination to keep up with his two older brothers or to the limited amount of time I've had with Jak in his toddler years compared to how often I saw Bubby and Mac in theirs. But — gee whiz! — it sure seems to me my youngest grandson is maturing So. Much. Faster. than his brothers did.

A recent share from Megan confirms my assertion: The not yet three-year-old already sports a mustache.

toddler mustache with pudding

Okay, okay. You got me. It's obviously not...

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Ah-choo: Grandson under attack

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When my girls were little — even when they were big — they never experienced allergy issues of any sort. Never. So I don't know what it's like to have a child with allergies. I don't ever really even consider allergies and such.

Well, I didn't consider allergies and such... until my bonus grandson Bud entered our world. Bud is allergic to gluten, nuts, animals, and all sorts of other stuff. So I am a bit more cognizant of the issue than pre-Bud.

Bud is not a blood relative, though, so perhaps allergies run in his family.

Bubby, on the other hand, is a blood relative, and allergies do not run in our family. So getting a text from Megan with the following photo — noting "allergy attack" as the explanation for my eldest grandson's miserable condition — floored me:

boy with allergies

So sad!

That's just the way it is for most kids in...

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7 benefits of being a long-distance grandparent

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I am a long-distance grandma. Have been from the beginning of my grandma gig.

The first few years I moaned and groaned ceaselessly about the miles separating me and my sweeties.

I'm now nearly nine years into grandmahood. In that time I've thankfully learned there is indeed — unbelievable as I first thought it might be — a bright side to my grandbabies living so far from me.

Following are a few such perks on which fellow long-distance grandparents just might agree.

long-distance grandparent 

 

ONE
Bathroom breaks at my house are a breeze. I never need straddle a step stool when using the toilet. Nor do I have to question who left the seat up as only two...

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Gem of a (borrowed) boy

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Gem of a (borrowed) boy

Those of you who follow me on social media may know I spent the entire past weekend at Great Wolf Lodge indoor waterpark resort in Colorado Springs. I'll be sharing much more about the grand place for grandparent-grandkid vacations later on this week.

Today, though, my first moment back on the blog since returning from the mini vacation, I must immediately offer online thanks and gratitude to a young man who helped me out immensely over the weekend.

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