Grilled Grandma: Crystal

How many children do you have? We have 4 children - a son,  Darrin, who is 33 and 3 daughters, Heather who is 31, Melinda who is 30 and Naomi who is 28.  They are all married so we also have a daughter-in-law and 3 son-in-laws.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? There are 5 grandchildren in our family now. Meadow is almost 4, Helayna is 3 1/2, Silas is 19 months, Samuel will be 1 in 11 days and Blake is 10 1/2 months old. We are thrilled!  The girls brought a whole new dimension to our lives and then within a year, 3 grandsons arrived to really fill our hearts and our lives!

Any great grandchildren? It will be a long time until we are at that stage.

What do your grandchildren call you? We are Gramma Crystal and Grampa Bob to distinguish us from the other grandparents.  But Silas has decided it's "Papa" for Grampa right now.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? Meadow and Blake live just half an hour from us so we see them at least once a week - sometimes lots more, if we are lucky.  Helayna and Silas live in Calgary and we try to see them at least once a month.  This week I saw them twice which was a real bonus!  Samuel lives in New York City, which is way too far away, but that's where his Daddy is going to school so I've only seen him 3 times this year.  He's coming to visit here in less than 3 weeks.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? There are so many things I love about this phase of my life and one of the very best things is the cuddling time that these little ones love.  To have that little head resting on my shoulder with an arm slung possessively around my neck just fills me with love for these precious little ones with whom God has blessed our family.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? It's hard to discipline them when they are just so cute!

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. Silas is learning to talk and he repeats so many words in such a cute way.  Today he made the sound of a fire truck after it raced by the playground  - and it sounded just like the real thing!  I had to laugh!

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? I am an avid reader and as a teacher, I believe there is nothing more fun and more important to do with them than to read books.  I could do it all day!  This week I brought out a tub full of Amelia Bedelia books and the girls loved reading them.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? I enjoy playing pretend and being part of their active imagination play.  Today Helayna served me tea from her Starbucks shop (in her room) and then she had to dash into the closet (her dressing room) and change into hockey clothes!

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? Letter writing, sending cards and packages and phone calls keep us connected.  The power of the internet and digital pictures keep us in touch almost daily.  I love that!

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? I want them to have a real relationship with their heavenly Father and to know that each one of them is a special child of God, placed in our family according to  God's  plan for their lives.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? Love - that I loved them unconditionally with my whole heart - and that I had lots of time to share with them.

Do you have a website or blog? The name of my blog is Be The Change You Want to See and that I started it nearly 1300 posts ago to keep in touch with our family.  With 4 of them, I sometimes forget who I've shared what news with so the blog is a way for us to share the everyday things - and lots of pictures - with each other.  Along the way through the last 4 years of blogging, I've also made wonderful friends around the world and some of them are even inspiring grandmas!

Grilled Grandma: Anita

How many children do you have? I have 2 girls.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? I have 4 grandchildren. Josiah is 11, Mya is 9, Jacob is 6 and Levi is 5.

Any great grandchildren? Not yet, but I’m hoping to have a bunch of them one of these days!

What do your grandchildren call you? I was named the Real Grandma by my grandkids. They were naming off all their grandma’s and counting us. Grandma followed by a last name usually. But when it came to me I was just Grandma. So I asked them what do you call me, they said “You’re the Real Grandma!”

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? All the time! All of them live locally so I see them often. Both of my girls are in college attending night classes so I babysit while they are at school. We have sleepovers regularly. If I go too long (3-4 days) without seeing them I really start to miss them!

What is the best thing about being a grandma? I absolutely love that I’m “Grandma” and not the mom. I can play and have fun and I can spoil them (a little bit) and it’s okay. I like dreaming their dreams with them and making memories that I hope will last forever. They are still young enough that they think grandma can do just about anything!

I have started a tradition with the kids we call our “special day”. This is a day once a year that I take them all by their self and we go do something that they get to pick out. We’ve been to the North Pole (amusement park), horse back riding, the movies, a trip to the Lego store, a frog workshop; but best of all was last year when they all picked the same thing and agreed to share the day. We went to the Renaissance Festival. I made them costumes and we had the most fantastic day ever!

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? Keeping up! I think that the best exercise program you could ever have would be to follow the kids around and do everything they do!

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. We were driving with all the kids on one of our outings and Jacob asked Grandpa if remembered to use his ‘signickle’. It took all of us about 10 minutes to figure out he was talking about ‘turn signals’!

I was asking Josiah if he would let me live with him when I’m old. He thought seriously about it for a minute then replied “Only if I don’t smell like old people!”

When we we were window shopping at ToyRUs one afternoon the kids were asking if they could get something. I told them not this time. So one of them asked if I was “filthy stinking rich” could they get it? Not only did it make me laugh, but the other people near by who heard it were laughing too. We spent the rest of that window shopping trip dreaming and picking out whatever they wanted and when Grandma is filthy stinking rich that’s what they are going to get. Each of them have that one thing that they are still holding onto as the thing they are going to get when I’m finally “filthy stinking rich”. Mya asked the the other day, “How’s that getting rich thing working?” Levi suggested that I do some chores for Grandpa Dare (my dad) because he pays you money for doing jobs!

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? We love to bake together. We have been baking for several years. When it was just 2 it was easy, but try to roll out a pie dough with 8 extra hands! The best part is when we put our “secret ingredient” in our cookies. They would put on my aprons and we would make a mess. For the last year or so they have been asking for their own aprons, so this Christmas I made each of them an apron that matched their personalities and in an adult size. I’m hoping that they will wear these for years to come and remember how they use to bake with Grandma.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? I love to tuck them into bed. We have our own song we sing:

Grandma loves me this I know
for she always tells me so
I am hers and she is mine
Grandma loves me all the time

Yes, Grandma loves me
Yes, Grandma loves me
Yes, Grandma loves me
She always tells me so

It is sung to the tune of “Jesus loves me”. We’ve been singing it for 11 years! The phrase “.....all the time” is always sung with great enthusiasm.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? It’s not an issue since we are together so often. I don’t know what I would do if they ever moved away........

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? The knowledge of how important family is in our lives. I want them to know and appreciate all their immediate and extended family. To know how they can be their own person. To know that they can do and be anything they want. To be ladies and gentlemen.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? Love. I want them to remember how much I love them and when they are adults thinking about me, I want them to think that I always made them feel like they were the most important things in the whole world. That’s how my Grandma Cox always made me feel, and she still does at 97.

Grilled Grandma: Jeannie

Jeannie with her girls.How many children do you have? 2, a daughter in Scottsdale, and a son in Yuba City, CA

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? 2 girls, ages 4 and 2

Any great grandchildren? No

What do your grandchildren call you? Cat or Grandma Cat. It started out as "Grandma with the cat" to differentiate between me and the other Grandma who has a dog.  Since then my cat has passed on and I have a dog, but I'm still Cat.

Ashlin, 2How often do you get to see your grandchildren? At least once a week. :)

What is the best thing about being a grandma? Loving them and being loved back by them.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? Nothing

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud.  Braeden (4 years old) called me on the phone and chatted a bit and then passed the phone to her sister Ashlin (2 years old) who proceeded to chatter away for about ten minutes. I have NO idea what she said.

Braeden, 4What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house?  Just play. We play lots of things, blocks, dolls, chalk, picnics in the livingroom, walking the dog, reading. I love it all.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? Pretty much the same thing as when they visit my house.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits?  We visit often so not a problem, but we also chat on the phone.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? Love and the knowledge of how much they are loved.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? Happy (and Love)

Grilled Grandma: Susan

Susan and her husband at Glacier National Park.How many children do you have? Three

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? Seven: 17, 13, 12, 9, 7, 6, 5

Any great grandchildren? Not yet!

What do your grandchildren call you? Grannie. I had planned on Nana, but when I saw my first granddaughter, the word Grannie just popped out of my mouth. It's what my children called my mother, and what I called my maternal grandmother, and it just seemed right.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? I see one daughter's family at least once a week. The other daughter lives an hour away, so I usually see her family once every two weeks. My son is divorced and doesn't have primary custody, so we see his daughter less often--about once a month. We occasionally travel with our kids and grandkids, as well as sharing beach houses and attending family reunions, which give us more extended periods to be together.

An older photo of all seven grandkids.What is the best thing about being a grandma? Getting that unconditional love!

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? It is definitely challenging to have the energy level to keep up with them. It requires taking care of myself and resting before visits.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. My youngest granddaughter started kindergarten this year. One day I was asking her about school, and she told me that everyone at school liked her. "Everyone likes you?" I queried. "Of course," she said. "I'm smart and I'm beautiful." No low self-esteem problems there!

Four of the granddaughters at Disney World.What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? I love to be outdoors with them. They ride their scooters, and we toss a ball around, go for walks and play outdoor games. Indoors, we enjoy Legos and puzzles. We also are maniacs about Bananagrams.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? I enjoy meeting the friends of the older grandchildren. In general, it's fun to visit their houses because I'm not the hostess, and I get to play and relax!

"Traditional grandmother mode."How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? I'm not as good at this as some others. I keep up with the two oldest on Facebook and through occasional text messages. I occasionally send the others a card or a gift through the mail. They all like getting things in the mail.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? I want my grandchildren to be generous souls who care about others, who are open-minded, who stand up against bigotry and demagoguery and greed. My children and I have the same social and political values, for the most part, and I think I have a good chance of having grandchildren who are the same, because they are being raised by my children.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? Young (at heart)

Be sure to visit Susan, the About.com Guide to Grandparents, at http://grandparents.about.com.

Grilled Grandma: Shelley

How many grandchildren do you have? What are their ages? This past week we celebrated my oldest granddaughter's tenth birthday. Yes that's right....I have been a grandma for a full decade. I currently have ten amazing grandchildren that I love spending time with. Seven boys and three girls. They are ten, almost nine, three who are six, five, four, almost three, two, and 2 months old.

What do your grandchildren call you? My grandchildren call me Grandma Shelley.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? I am able to see my grandchildren very often. Seven of them live just down the street with their families and the other three live just ten minutes away. If I don't get to see them during the week I am always delighted to see them on Sunday at church. I am in the leadership in the children's organization at church where seven of my ten grandchildren are old enough to attend the children's services with me.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? Hearing my grandchildren's squeals of delight when they see me is probably the best thing about being a grandma. The race to see who gets to share a church pew with grandma is something that is also a very warm hug to my heart.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? I haven't had any real challenges as a grandma other than having to remember all of their birthdays now that we are up to ten and I am ten years older. I have created a fun and helpful birthday chart (one per family) that I update as our family's birthday list grows. Keeping a current pulse on what they are all interested in can also be a challenge.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. The birth of a new baby brother prompted a discussion with one of my six-year-old grandsons about him growing up and being a daddy someday. We were very proud to hear that he plans to grow up and get married to someone he loves and then have a family of his own. The next statement took us all by surprise.  "I'm going to marry a 'grandma'!"  This very sincere comment was enormously flattering, innocently precious, and somewhat troubling all wrapped into one unforgettable moment!

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? Each of my grandchildren have their favorite things to do when they visit me. Most of them include play time with Papa and I. My oldest granddaughter loves helping me in the kitchen and setting a nice candlelight table when she is having dinner with Papa and I. My stemware glasses are filled with ice water and toasts and cheers abound throughout the meal. Two of my grandsons love doing invention crafts with me using items that I have saved for them in my pantry in what is known as the invention box. My younger granddaughters love to play restaurant with Papa and I using my collection of play food, serving pieces, aprons, and ordering pads. The other grandchildren have their favorites too. They  include a collection of jungle animals, a train set, and I have one little guy that goes straight to a truck that pulls a trailer. He loves anything with a hitch!

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? Although I live nearby my visits to their homes are always an exciting time for them. There is always something that grandma must see and I am always thrilled to share in their excitement. 

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? For the most part I don't have much time to have to worry about maintaining bonds between visits. I did however have an experience this past year where my husbands work took us about  three  hours away for six months. I learned real quick what a spoiled grandma I am. From my emotional state while away you would have thought I had moved across the world from them. The really silly part was that I had their visits to look forward to almost every weekend. My heart would break when it was time for them to go home. My aching heart brought boatloads of tears but my mind brought laughter because I did know just how silly my tears were. I gained great empathy for long distance grandparents through this experience. My gratitude also increased for the blessing I enjoy of having my children and grandchildren so close to me.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? As a grandma it is important to me to have strong family traditions, to constantly work on building bonds between generations, and to create lasting memories for my children and grandchildren. Most of the traditions we have as a family throughout the year are for the entire family to participate in. My grandchildren have three events a year that are just for them to share with Papa and I. In early August I host a back to school party for all grandchildren who will be going to preschool and on up. Four months later I host the Grandkid's Christmas Day Camp. It is a twelve hour day with meals, crafts, and a variety of Christmas activities. In the early Summer we have our Grandkid's Camp Out where we sleep outdoors in a tent. Our time together is filled with fun and learning activities.  These activities allow Papa and I to spend quality time with our grandchildren. They also help to build bonds between the cousins which is very important to me as well. Most importantly, the events are traditions that the children can look forward to all year long.  They also provide special times that they can look back on as what we hope to be childhood memories of time spent with Papa and I. If I am able to pass along the importance of family traditions to my grandchildren I will be one very happy event planning grandma! I was recently interviewed by the LA Times about the grandma camps I do. The published story was on the growing trend of grandparent camps. I was honored and very happy to be a part of the  article.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? I have heard the words bestest, funnest, and coolest as single word descriptions about me from my grandchildren. More than anything I hope that they one day realize that every fun, cool, and bestest memory they have of me as a grandma was all because of the "Love" I have for them.

Do you have a website or blog? At the urging of several of my adult children's friends to share the things I do as a grandma with other grandparents I began blogging two and a half years ago. My website, Grandma's Little Pearls, is filled with ideas for family traditions, kid tested and grandma approved crafts, activities, games,  recipes, and more. I blog mostly about being a grandma but I also share little pearls of wisdom that I have gained in my fifty some years as a daughter, wife, mother, grandma, shopper, event planner, volunteer, and friend. Blogging about my grandma style and the things I do to help strengthen our family has been very rewarding. Many grandparents tell me that they are not creative while my mind tends to be overflowing with creative ideas. Sharing my ideas through a blog is a perfect outlet for me. I was recently interviewed by the LA Times after they came across my blog for an article on grandma camps. I was more than happy to share with them. The most rewarding part of my blog Grandma's Little Pearls is when I learn of grandparents who have used my ideas to create special memories with with their own grandchildren.