Hanging up my grandma bag

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Some of you may recall posts I've written about my grandma bag, my nifty little tote of tricks for entertaining Bubby (and now Baby Mac) when I travel to visit them. Well, I'm hanging up my grandma bag, will use it no more. At least not my original bag, the one that looked like this:  

Because, folks, this grandma's got a new and improved and personalized grandma bag—a Christmas gift from my grandbabies—and it looks like this:

As I pack my new grandma bag for its inaugural use—my trip to the desert next week—I'm reminded of that old camp and Girl Scout game wherein everyone takes turns mentioning items they'll be packing for their trip to Spain or the moon or wherever the group decides they'll pretend to be going. You may recall playing it when you were young or with your kids. One person starts off saying something like, "I'm taking a trip to Kalamazoo and in my suitcase I've packed a pair of long johns." Then the next person goes, reciting what the first said and adding another item. Round and round the game play goes, with the list getting longer and memorization skills being more challenged (with memorization being much easier when there's an alphabetical theme to the game).

That game has been on my mind as I pack my grandma bag for next week's trip. Only my little ditty goes something like this: I'm taking a trip to the desert and in my grandma bag I've packed...Styrofoam bowls, pipe cleaners, pony beads, some drinking straws, a can of shaving cream, a package of aluminum foil, a roll of masking tape...

Why, oh why, am I packing such oddball items? I'm glad you asked, for they're not oddball at all once you see what I plan to do with those things, which are these activities I recently added to my "GRAND kids" board on Pinterest:  

In my grandma bag I'll have all I need for Bubby and me to make, from left to right above, colorful jellyfish using Styrofoam bowls and crepe streamers. They're sure to please both Bubby and Baby Mac and remind them—well, at least Bubby—of our recent visit to the aquarium.

The pipe cleaners will be used for all kinds of creative creepy crawly critters, taking our pipe-cleaner fun far beyond the pipe-cleaner hats and glasses Bubby and I made in the past.

With a handful of drinking straws and some pony beads, Bubby can work on his fine-motor skills and number recognition by threading beads onto straws to match the number glued atop each straw. Flexible drinking straws, with the flexy end opposite the number, can be flexed to temporarily keep the beads on once they've been threaded.

A roll of aluminum foil becomes a stream o' fun when rolled out across the yard, beginning at the water faucet. Scrunch up the foil edges to contain the stream, turn on the water to a trickle, and Bubby and Baby Mac will be mesmerized for hours. (Such wet fun can be had in the desert whereas we'd have frozen fingers and rivers fit only for ice skating if we tried such a thing at Gramma's house this time of year.)

We'll use the roll of masking tape—along with some of Bubby's kajillion cars—just like this:

And the shaving cream? Well, I have no Pinterest picture to share, but Bubby and I already know darn well what good, clean fun comes from mounds upon mounds of shaving cream during bath time. I think it's high time for Baby Mac to give it a try. I'll also throw a bottle or two of bubbles into my grandma bag for blowing bubbles in the bathtub, too.

Additional things I'll be adding to my new-and-improved grandma bag: books, movies, and music, along with my grandma apron to don while cooking up goodies for my grandsons.

I'm taking a trip to the desert and in my grandma bag I've packed...all kinds of things to keep Bubby, Baby Mac and me as busy as can be. I can't wait!

Today's fill in the blank:

I'd like to take a trip to ____ and in my bag I'd be sure to pack _____.

Rock Dog

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Several years ago, my sister gave Jim and me a singing stuffed dog for Christmas. It was a "Sports Fan" dog, which was fitting because at the time, Jim and I were spending many a weekend driving seven hours—each way—to cheer on Andrea as she played "keeper" for her college soccer team.

The dog was a funky gag gift that brought smiles, but it didn't get much play. Until Bubby came along.

Despite my removal of the flag that could stab one's eye out, Bubby loves the singing canine. He named it Rock Dog because this is what it does:

Every time Bubby visits Gramma's, he plays with Rock Dog. Over and over and over and over.

I've actually hidden Rock Dog a time or two, when the rockin' gets to be gratin' on Gramma's nerves. I always pull him back out again, though, as Bubby so enjoys it.

One day during Bubby's recent visit—as he played Rock Dog for the 60 billionth time that morning—PawDad decided to play for Bubby the real song that was his beloved Rock Dog's claim to fame. PawDad pulled out our Queen collection and rocked Bubby and the rest of us with the better, longer, louder version of We Will Rock You.

After several repetitions—the last few featuring PawDad on air guitar and Bubby on air drums—PawDad played another Queen song of his choosing. Then Megan made a request for Somebody to Love. Next, I requested Bicycle Race. Then, of course, we moved on to Fat Bottom Girls followed by Bohemian Rhapsody.

Bubby patiently waited for his turn to make a request. When he saw an opening, he boldly went for it. Standing in front of his music-playing PawDad, Bubby earnestly called out: "Do you have Itsy Bitsy Spider?"

Which, of course, brought the house down. In giggles. And which, of course, brought Bubby down. Not because of the giggles but because PawDad didn't have his requested song.

Slightly disappointed in PawDad's sorry music collection, Bubby left the boring old folk to rock the stereo without him and took Rock Dog by the hand. He plopped down on the living room floor, pressed "Start" on the plaything's paw, and returned to clapping and stomping along with his beloved Rock Dog. Over and over and over.

Today's question:

What song(s) do you remember playing over and over and over?

Photo replay: Snow delight

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The week Bubby visited, the weather was the best autumn offers: clear skies, resplendent sunshine, warm days and crisp nights.

The morning Megan and the boys were leaving for home, Bubby threw open my bedroom door first thing, exulting, "Gramma, it SNOWED!" 

Other than a few freak flurries in the desert, it was Bubby's first experience with real snow, accumulating snow. Such a delight!

Today's question:

When do you expect to see your first snow of the season? Or have you already?

Toddler bowl

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I am an awesome bowler. On the Wii. I get spares, strikes, even "turkeys" (that's three strikes in a row, for you non Wii bowlers). I continually impress—and surprise—my family with my Wii-bowling skills.

Too bad my prowess with the Wii pins doesn't translate to real-life bowling.

We took Bubby bowling for his first time last week, and Gramma didn't light up the lanes the way she thought she might. Bubby, on the other hand, did great. With a toddler-sized ball, bumpers in the gutters, and pointers from Mommy and PawDad, Bubby granny-rolled 'em like a pro.

Bubby rocked the lanes, even delighted us all with a spare. He scored a 52 for his first game ever. Pretty impressive for a toddler beginner. He did even better in his second game, rolling double that. Well, MOMMY rolled double that...while Bubby napped. Seems one game of granny-ing it was the bowling boy's limit for the day.

Maybe next time we hit the lanes as a family, Baby Mac will get to join in the fun. Although, just being passed back and forth between the bowlers was fun in itself.

At least for those doing the passing.

Today's question:

When did you last bowl and how did you do?

For want of a round tuit

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Decades upon decades ago, I came across a cardboard cutout in my mom's issue of Woman's Day or Family Circle, the only two magazines she regularly treated herself to. The cutout was of a "Round Tuit"—a circle with the words ROUND TUIT written on it, for presenting to procrastinators who say such things as "I'll do X when I get around to it."

Why that goofy feature stuck in my mind for many years after, I'll never know. But not long ago I found another Round Tuit in an antique shop and was happy to offer it as a prize in my then-weekly haiku contest here on Grandma's Briefs. The tchotchke looked like this:

I now wish I had kept that Round Tuit rather than give it away, as it sure would have come in handy for all the things that we didn't get around to doing while Megan and the boys were here last week.

A Round Tuit would have been useful for:

• Carving the warty pumpkin we picked from the pumpkin patch

• A second splash in the hot tub with Bubby

• Taking Bubby over to Aunt B's to visit her kitties

• Eating the two packages of Wholly Guacamole I bought specifically for Megan then discovered at the back of the refrigerator soon after she'd left

• A treasure hunt for PawDad and Bubby using PawDad's metal detector

• Baking peanut butter cookies with Bubby

• Collecting leaves from the back yard for Bubby to take back to the desert, where the cactus and palm trees don't change in the fall

• Relaxing in the hammock with Bubby

• Assisting Megan on the sewing project she hoped to complete while here

• Printing photos of our week o' fun to place in a mini photo album for Bubby to take home with him

There's not much I can do about most of what's on the list above. Some simply won't happen, and some will be added to the agenda for when Megan and the boys—with Preston—return at Christmastime.

I will, though, eat all the guacamole myself. I also will pick some red and yellow leaves from the trees in my back yard. Then I'll place the leaves, along with printed photos of the visit, in a mini keepsake album that I'll mail to Bubby.

As soon as I get around to it a Round Tuit.

Today's question:

What would you surely accomplish, if only you had a Round Tuit?

October expedition: The North Pole

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As you likely deduced if you saw yesterday's photo, our family made the highly anticipated trek to the North Pole last week. What a jolly time it was! So much to see and do, including a ride or two with Bubby down the Peppermint Candy Cane Slide I waxed once upon a time.

This slideshow was a casualty of my site makeover but you can find it in my Brag Book: NORTH POLE — 2011.

After the delightful outing, I've decided October is definitely the best time to visit the North Pole. Not only is the early autumn weather perfect for an afternoon halfway up Pikes Peak, the aspens on the hillsides all around are just beginning to change, lines for the rides are non-existent, and Santa has plenty of time for long visits plus strolls throughout the park during his breaks—which meant we ran into the Big Guy on several occasions, and each time he remembered Bubby by name.

 

I'm so thankful for the holiday-themed expedition with my very most favorite people. 'Twas a memorably festive occasion, indeed.

Today's question:

What percentage of your holiday shopping have you completed...or considered?