Grilled Grandma: Carol

How many children do you have? My hubby and I have been blessed with three sons. Through them we have been blessed with two daughters and another one hopefully some day soon.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? I have four grandchildren. My granddaughter Jessica is twenty three. Michael is seventeen. Thomas is sixteen. Our little Ryan is eight.

Any great grandchildren? Yes, we have two! Aayden is three and Aaron will be one in May.

What do your grandchildren call you? Well, Thomas called me Minga for years. I have no idea how he came up with that name, but of course, every time he said it my heart melted. Otherwise, I’ve always been know as grandma or grandma G to the rest of my grandchildren. Aayden will sometimes say “You know that grandma with the dog.” He has three grandmas so that’s how he sometimes identifies me.

How often do you see your grandchildren? I see them all on a regular basis. I have to admit it’s a little harder now that they are older because they like to be out with their friends, and Jessica, in addition to having two young children is in school.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? I love everything about being a grandmother. There is nothing that compares to it in this whole entire world except maybe being a mom. Just ask any other grandmother :>) I have to say with grandchildren it is much easier and more fun because I don’t have to worry about the every day things. Grandchildren keep you young. They keep you up to date with the world. I feel extremely blessed. Each and every one of them have been my inspiration, my delight, and my sun on cloudy days.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandmother? Well, even though being a grandmother is fun it also comes with a lot of responsibility. I try to guide my grandchildren in every way possible. God is the center of my life and hopefully I have communicated that to them. I have always been involved in any of their activities I have been invited to participate in. I hope I have taught them integrity. Being a grandmother sometimes isn’t easy because I am a grandmother first and a friend second.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. Our family was all over recently for a family gathering and I was telling Aayden that the Easter bunny would be coming over to our house soon. Aayden said he already knew. I said “Oh did mommy tell you?” He said “No I know him. I met him.” I said “You met the Easter bunny? You know him?” He said “Yep and he was crying.” Well from there he went on to tell me that the Easter bunny cried because Aayden didn’t want his picture taken with him. Then he went on to tell me this whole story about the Easter bunny in the way toddlers do. He was so comical. Apparently Jessica took him to see the Easter bunny last year and Aayden refused to sit on his lap to have his picture taken. He remembered all of that from the previous year. He’s just amazing and very smart!

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? Oh gee, so many things. I love having parties which are geared towards them. I like to involve them in all of the planning. Crafts have always been big. I have had Sunday afternoon movie days. I have also played Mario race way games and guitar hero. Sometimes we bake and make candy. I would say those things are my favorites.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? I love to see all of their school projects, graded papers, report cards, and hear about their interests and hobbies.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? I send cards, e-mail, use face book, and text. Texting is big with all of the teens. Ryan has an e-mail address so I will send him games and things like that. I love Face book because I can send messages that don’t appear on the home or profile page. When you’re a teenager it isn’t very cool to have your grandmother telling you she loves you all the time on the same page that your friends are viewing :>) We are also in the process of setting up a web cam.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? The most important thing I would like to pass along is that they are never alone as long as they always look towards the cross and make God the center of they’re life.

What is the one word you hope your grandchildren think of when they think of you? Love. I hope they always and forever will know how very much I loved each and everyone of them.

Head on over to Carol's blog, Charli and Me, where you'll find lovely crafts and more -- including awesome photos of Charli (her dog, remember) in her Easter outfit! Here are some of Carol's favorite crafts you'll see on her blog:

 

Grilled Grandma: Linds

How many children do you have?  I have 3 children. Two sons, and a daughter sandwiched neatly in the middle. Andrew, my oldest child, is 32, and he met his wife at university and they are the parents of Missy. Diana is 29 and she lives in New Zealand, where she works for a church. David, my youngest, will be 21 soon, and he is at university at the moment.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? Just the one – my little granddaughter, Missy who has just turned one. She is an absolute delight, and the source of so much joy in our family.

Any great grandchildren? No. That will be a looooong way in the future!

What do your grandchildren call you? Well, Missy is not saying much yet, apart from dadadadada and mamamamama, but I will be Moregranny. My daughter-in-law’s Mum is Granny, you see, and I had a Moregranny when I was a child, and love the name. When I was 2, my paternal grandmother moved to the city where we lived, and my mother explained that I had another Granny, and as a toddler, I apparently looked at her and said “More Granny?” And the name stuck. Everyone called her Moregranny till the day she died, and she had a special place in my heart, so being Moregranny will be delightful. Missy, on the other hand, may call me whatever she comes up with!

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? Not as often as I would like. They live about 2 hours away from where I live at the moment, but when I visit, it is for a day or 2, and when they come here, it is usually for a weekend. Thank heavens for Skype!

What is the best thing about being a grandma? Seeing that little face beam at me. Well, we are working on that. I am still a relative stranger, but she does recognize me on the computer! Seeing my son develop into an amazing father. It seems just yesterday that he was born……

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? At the moment, given our circumstances, it is building a relationship with Missy. Not seeing her often is a real problem for me. I know that as she gets older, and remembers more, we will become so much closer. I can’t wait to be able to spend more time with her, and have adventures together. To read to her, and get to know her as she grows up.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. When we skyped recently, she was playing with her teapot, and she brought me (on the TV screen) a cup of tea, which her Mum “fed “ to me. Hysterically funny. I have visions of Missy trying to feed real liquid to the TV in the future. Her Dad would not be thrilled!

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? To get down to her level and play with her. To read to her, and watch her trying new things. I will never tire of watching her play, sleep, learn…. I am a besotted grandmother!

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? She is into everything, and she shrieks with delight. Now that she is walking, she is off and about and changing so fast. Because she is so little, it is more watching her and marveling at the changes – so rapid when they are only one. We play with her toys, of course. I am partial to the farm. And the princess carriage. And the little people. And her phone. And her little house. And the teaset……. I can’t WAIT till she has a little kitchen. Sigh. Maybe I am entering my second childhood here!

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? Skype. A wonderful thing.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? A sense that the world is full of exciting options, and that there is always something to be learned and experienced. To learn to laugh, and love and live life to the full, without fear. And to be kind, both to herself and to others.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? One day – maybe, love. Or acceptance. Delight. Fun. I want her to always know that she is loved, and cherished, no matter what happens.

Be sure to venture over to Linds' charming blog, Rocking Chair Reflections. It's a lovely, peaceful place you won't want to miss.

Grilled Grandma: Cherylann

How many children do you have? I have two, a girl and a boy

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? I always have a hard time figuring out how to answer that one. Technically I will have become a Grandmother five times but my first grandbaby was still born and the 5th one isn’t here yet. Mathew would have been 13 and as I said Aidan isn’t here yet. He is due in June. For the others: There is Sara who is a moody eleven, Breanna who is a too worldly wise 8 and Drake who is a rambunctious boy of 15 months.

Any great grandchildren? Not yet

What do your grandchildren call you? Nana. I was quite young when I became a grandmother the first time and I didn’t want to be called grandma so I trained them to call me Nana.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? Not as often as I like as they live 2.5 hours from here, I usually manage to make one trip up a month though.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? All the things I don’t have to do like potty training and such. That and being able to play without feeling self-concious.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? Seeing the errors my children are making and not saying anything about it. It’s hard to let them learn the hard way when I could make it so much easier for them if I shared what I learned.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud.  Drake, when I saw him walk for the first time. He saw me, said Nana and started walking towards me. He has a sashay to his walk like a dancer might and he was just so darn cute.

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? We almost always end up making something together. A craft project or in Sara’s case baking cookies or preparing a meal. That and working in the garden with them.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? Sitting watching their programs with them cuddled up beside me.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? I don’t do that as much as I should, mainly I talk to them on the phone or using Instant Messenger.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Also, service to others is a good thing (ie Volunteering)

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? Fun

Visit Cherylann at her blog, Ramble Time-Reinvented.

Grilled Grandma: Donna

Donna with granddaughter Samantha (Joshua's oldest sister)How many children do you have? I have three children, three step-children from my late husband and four from my current husband.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? At last count it was 25 – they range from a year old to 27. Phew!

Any great grandchildren? Unofficially, one on the way….oh my!

What do your grandchildren call you? Most call me Nana but the newest step-grandbabies are using Nonna.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? Not near often enough. We’ve been lucky to see most of them at least once in the last year but several I haven’t seen in way too long!

Grandson Joshua with husband Stu.What is the best thing about being a grandma? It’s all good….we should have had them first. Seriously, we get to just relax and enjoy them.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? For me it’s worrying about them growing up in this day and age. Growing up in the 50’s was a pretty good time, I wouldn’t want to be a kid now and have to deal with the information overload and peer pressure they have.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. I hadn’t seen my three grandchildren in Atlanta since our wedding back in April. We were headed there for Thanksgiving and I picked up some little stuffed animals for them at Cracker Barrel. The girls were easy…anything soft & cuddly, especially kittens. The youngest, a boy almost 4, was a little tougher….until I saw a Wooly Mammoth. When I gave it to him he started running around with it and screaming, “Ice Age! Ice Age!” We all had a good laugh at that.

Step-granddaughter JesseWhat is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? Ah, we love to travel and having the kids for an overnight or even a camping trip is the best!

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? That is hard to say since there is such a wide age difference. It might be watching a movie, reading a book, or even just talking.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? We do keep in touch via Facebook so that is good. We are also trying to get everyone to use a webcam with Skype. Got to love technology!

Step-granddaughter twins Jordan and Jessica with Olivia (Jesse's sister) What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? A sense of adventure and being true to yourself. I spent way too many years trying to be what everyone else thought I should be. When I turned 50, I realized that I needed to be true to me.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? Happy!

Do you have a website or blog? Actually I have several – our blog is at http://2takinga5th.blogspot.com and I have two websites, one for women motorcyclists, http://ridemyown.com, and an old personal one that needs updating by has some good RVing stuff, http://myprimeyears.com.

Grilled Grandma: Cheryl Ann

Cheryl Ann and one of her beauties.How many children do you have?  I have two grown children.  Our son, Hal, is 30 years old and our daughter, Jennifer, will be 32 in July.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages?  ?  I have one grandson, Benjamin, who was born February 26, 2009.  He was born on my husband’s 59th birthday.  What a wonderful birthday present!

Any great grandchildren? No.

What do your grandchildren call you?  Bubbbbbb…mmmmmmmaaaaa (he’s just learning to talk)

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? I get to see little Ben about twice a week when hubby and I go visit his parents and cook dinner for them!

BenjaminWhat is the best thing about being a grandma?  Playing with the baby and then going home when I’m tired!

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma?  Seeing the little one cry.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud.  Ben is very social and when we all laugh, he laughs too.  He’s a very outgoing little fella!

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house?  He doesn’t come here.  We have two big dogs and four cats.

Benjamin and his mom, ClaudiaWhat is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? I sit on the floor and play with all his toys!

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren?  To be honest and to love animals the way that I do.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you?  HORSES! I can’t wait for Ben to be around our five horses.

Do you have a website or blog? I actually have eight blogs.  My main (horse) one is Desert Horses. All the other ones are listed on the sidebar at this blog.