Grilled Grandma: Kay

What is a Grilled Grandma? A Grilled Grandma is a grandma whom I've grilled with some grandma-related questions, and she's graciously responded with answers and photos. Here is Grilled Grandma Kay:

How many children do you have? We have three daughters and one son.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? We have been blessed with four grandchildren and number five, a little boy, is due June 2nd.

Nicole is fifteen.

Kevin is twelve.

Samantha is almost four.

Madelyn is twenty months.

Any great grandchildren? We don't have any great grandchildren.

What do your grandchildren call you? My grandchildren just call me Grandma. Sometimes, our twelve-year-old grandson affectionately calls me Granny. I don't know why.

After the initial elation, what was your first concern upon hearing you would soon be a grandmother? This is a great question. I confess, I was immediately concerned with how I would juggle work and other family responsibilities with spending time with our grandchild. From the beginning, I knew I wanted to help with any childcare that would be needed as my daughter returned to work. As a grandmother, I understood my energy and time would be limited and I wrestled with how to juggle it all.

I had seen a great example of grandmotherly involvement in my maternal grandmother. She did not work and had no other grandchildren. I was fearful I would not live up to all that she was able to do for us. I have since learned to balance my expectations with reality.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? We are fortunate to live close to all of our grandchildren. It would be rare for us to not see them every week. We try to babysit when we can and to have the families come for dinner so we can spend time just enjoying one another.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? This is a difficult question because I love the totality of what it means to be a grandma. The opportunity to share in the lives of my children's children is a gift and a privilege and I hope to make the most of it. I probably most enjoy our conversations. My grandchildren are all very interesting people and I love the times we can sit and talk without being rushed.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? Energy! How I wish I had more energy. There are so many things I want to do with my grandchildren, but I must remind myself to be realistic about what I can do.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. I babysit the two youngest girls every Friday. Madelyn, the twenty month old, loves to clean up. If I can't find my shoes when I leave their house it is probably because Maddi has lined them up with the other shoes in the closet. When we play with play doh, she is always picking up after her older sister. Maddi still uses a pacifier. One day, when I got her up from her nap, she took her binky over to a table and put it next to another one. She organizes her binkies!

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? We love food and enjoy cooking and eating new things. We also enjoy games and walks around our neighborhood. Our older grandkids just love coming to our house to hang out and we don't need to do anything special at all.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? When we visit our younger grandchildren, we often go for walks or to the park. In the summer we spend a lot of time blowing bubbles or using sidewalk chalk. In the winter, we pretend so many things. Just last week our 3 1/2 year old had a wedding in the living room. She wore a princess dress and tiara and carried some silk flowers. It was adorable. Sometimes, we take flashlights into the basement and play in a little, pink tent. We imagine we are camping and making s'mores.  There is nothing like imaginative play.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? All of our grandchildren live very close. However, as the two oldest become more involved in other activities, we try to be intentional about keeping that bond strong. We send each other notes on the internet and make frequent phone calls. We also plan special days here and there so that we can just be together.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? I hope to play a role in helping my grandchildren become mature and responsible adults. I also hope to see them become creative people who love life. Most importantly, I hope to pass along my faith so that my grandchildren will have Someone to turn to in times of trouble. It is faith that gets us through the hard times and I want my grandchildren to have the strength that comes with faith.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? My initial reaction is that I hope my grandkids will think of the word love. Someone has said that every child deserves to know there is someone who is crazy about them. Throughout my childhood and adolescence I was certain of this one thing: my grandparents were crazy about me. I hope that my grandchildren will experience great love in our family and know for a certainty that I am absolutely crazy about them.

What is one thing you wish you had learned earlier as a grandparent? You don't have to bake cookies to be a good grandma. You don't have to be rich or talented. You just need to be loving and available.

What one bit of advice would you give a new grandma? Have fun. Be yourself. Don't compare yourself to other grandmothers. Use the best of who YOU are to enrich the lives of your grandchildren.

Do you have a website or blog? What is it about? I have a fun grandma blog, www.americangrandma.com. Our blog is meant to be an encouragement to grandmothers who are trying to balance work, aging parents, health concerns or just busyness with their desire to spend time with grandkids. We also want to encourage grandmothers about their unique role in guiding their grandchildren spiritually. Our blog has recipes, articles, fun ideas,self-care tips, book lists and links to other grandmother websites. I hope you will visit soon.

I also have written a Kindle book for grandmothers, One Endless Line of Faith: 30 Days of Prayer for Our Grandchildren.

Dear Readers: If you'd like to nominate a grandma for grilling—yourself or any other grandma—please e-mail me her first name and e-mail address and I'll take care of the rest. Thank you!

Grilled Grandma: Cynthia

What is a Grilled Grandma? A Grilled Grandma is a grandma whom I've grilled with some grandma-related questions, and she's graciously responded with answers and photos. Here is Grilled Grandma Cynthia:

How many children do you have? I have two children and two step-children.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? 5 grandchildren ages, 5, 4, 3, 1, and 2 weeks.

Any great grandchildren? No.

What do your grandchildren call you? They call me Grandma or Grandma Cynthia

After the initial elation, what was your first concern upon hearing you would soon be a grandmother? I don’t remember having any concerns about being a grandma. I was just thrilled and excited.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? The 5 and 1 year olds live near us and we attend church together, so I get to see them a couple times a week. The 3 year old and her brand new sister live about 90 minutes away, so we see them at least once a month. Our little 4 year old just moved from New Jersey to Georgia. We get to see her about once a year. There have been a couple years we’ve gotten to see her twice in the same year. I sure wish they could move closer.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? It’s hard to explain why being a grandma is so great. I suppose the best part is that you’re much calmer than you were with your own. Your perspective is different, and you don’t have the ultimate responsibility for them. It’s easy to just relax and enjoy them.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? The most challenging part is letting the parents be the parents when you disagree with what they’re doing. For the most part, our kids are great parents which makes it easier to keep my mouth shut when I do disagree with them.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. Wow! It’s hard to pick one time out. These kids make me laugh all the time. The 5 year old says the most outrageous things, and the one year old is just too cute! The 3 year old is a handful of mischief. When we visited the 3 year old last week, I brought her a little craft kit for making valentines. She wanted me to sit down and make them with her right away. I told her that we needed glue and I hadn’t brought any with me. She looked thoughtful for a moment and said, “I tink so,” and disappeared into her room. Sure enough she came out with a little glue stick, and we made valentines.

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? Truthfully, I like to just watch them play. I’ve got lots of toys, so Grandma’s house is always fun. Sometimes we go to the park. I talk to them while they’re playing, and they tell me what they’re doing. The Princess likes to come over for a pajama party, which means popcorn and a movie.  Now that they’re getting bigger, I’m looking for craft ideas we can do together.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? Ha! Same thing, except they play with their own toys.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? We send and receive pictures. Thank goodness for the Internet. We keep in touch on Facebook, and occasionally Skype.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? I hope to pass on what I passed on to my own children, a love for God and a desire to do what’s right. I want to help them develop a sense of security so that they know they can aspire to great things and they’ll always have someone to catch them if they fall.

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

What is one thing you wish you had learned earlier as a grandparent? I really don’t have an answer for this. My mom is a wonderful grandmother, and I’ve patterned myself after her.

What one bit of advice would you give a new grandma? Just let them know you love them however you choose to show it. Rest assured that they will naturally love you too.

Do you have a website or blog? What is it about? My blog is Commonplace Crazy. I write about my life, my grandchildren, and good grammar.

Dear Readers: If you'd like to nominate a grandma for grilling—yourself or any other grandma—please e-mail me her first name and e-mail address and I'll take care of the rest. Thank you!

Grilled Grandma: Linda

What is a Grilled Grandma? A Grilled Grandma is a grandma whom I've grilled with some grandma-related questions, and she's graciously responded with answers and photos. Here is Grilled Grandma Linda:

How many grandchildren do you have? What are their ages? I have four grandchildren: Andrew Michael (9), Lauren Grace (5), Grace Carolyn (5), and Payton Elizabeth (3).

What do your grandchildren call you? Grandkids call me “Grandma.” I don’t care for “grandma nicknames.”

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? Andrew & Lauren live with their parents in Beaverton, Oregon and I live in St. Louis, MO. However, we manage to see them 2 or 3 times each year for several days each visit. Grace and Payton live with their parents nearby, so we see them 2 or 3 days each week.

What was your biggest concern upon learning you were to become a grandma? I was very happy to learn I was going to be a grandma when Andrew was born. His parents had been married for 4 years, and I was 56 years old. My biggest concern with all the grandkids is growing up in a world filled with so much turmoil and uncertainty. Although, history has a way of teaching us that the world and mankind remains pretty much the same – just with newer technology.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? The best thing about being a grandparent is teaching and influencing the kids based on my life experiences, and growing up in a different time. I would like to instill in them some of the “old fashioned” ways to go along with the “new fashioned” ways.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? The most challenging part of being a grandparent is understanding the large generation gap between me and the kids. I do make every effort to bridge the gap as much as possible though, and accept the gap as reality and a natural and good thing.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. The grandkids make me laugh all the time. Once Lauren came into the living room ready for bed wearing her horse theme nightgown and included her pink cowgirl boots I had given her last Christmas and pink cowgirl hat. The kids do say “the darndest” things all the time which makes me laugh.

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? When the kids are visiting our house I enjoy getting out old toys that belonged to their mothers (I have two daughters). I saved Barbie dolls, Barbie jeep and horse trailer, My Little Ponies and their stable. Recently we got out the old Lite Brite and there were still some unused pictures which were the Smurfs theme. I also have a large collection of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans memorabilia in a bedroom. I let the kids play with those items and encourage their questions and interest. They are pretty careful not to play too rough with some items so they don’t break, but that is my decision as I really want them to make that special connection with my childhood (and adulthood).

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? When we are visiting their house I enjoy them showing me their old and new toys and games. Andrew has been taking piano lessons and I enjoy hearing him practice songs. He and I also share a love of baseball (St. Louis Cardinals). It is a special thrill for me to play catch with my grandson. He may not think it too cool to play catch with grandma much longer though.  My husband and I met the Oregon family in Disneyland last March for a few days, and we had a great time being young and old kids.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? Between visits with the two kids on the west coast we talk on the telephone occasionally, and hear from their mother on e-mail or Facebook about their school and extra-curricular activities – including pictures (many pictures).

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? I would like to pass along to the grandkids “appreciation” – for their families and the many opportunities they have. Also, the Golden Rule is one that never goes out of style!

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? One word I would choose when the grandkids think of me – “interesting” (not dull or boring). I want them to enjoy being and talking with me.

What is one thing you wish you had learned earlier as a grandparent? I am still learning and don’t think I have made many mistakes as a grandparent (unlike many mistakes as a parent). I try to be helpful with them and their parents, but not overbearing.

What one bit of advice would you give a new grandma? Just enjoy every moment you have with the kids. Don’t put too much pressure on them or yourself for perfection. We are truly blessed!

Dear Readers: If you'd like to nominate a grandma for grilling—yourself or any other grandma—please e-mail me her first name and e-mail address and I'll take care of the rest. Thank you!

Grilled Grandma: Carmen

What is a Grilled Grandma? A Grilled Grandma is a grandma whom I've grilled with some grandma-related questions, and she's graciously responded with answers and photos. Here is Grilled Grandma Carmen:

How many children do you have? I have four children, all boys, ages 22-29.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? Up until December 17th, 2011, I had two grandchildren: Kai (3) and Lauryn (1). However, one of my sons recently married a girl with 3 children: Haylie (13), Heidi (10), and Ethan (8, almost 9), so now I have five beautiful grandchildren!!

Any great grandchildren? Oh no, I’m much, much too young. ;)

What do your grandchildren call you? Grandma

After the initial elation, what was your first concern upon hearing you would soon be a grandmother? That I would know how to be a Grandma! I immigrated to Canada when I was 6, so I grew up without any extended family.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? I babysat Kai and Lauryn about 4 days a week for a while, but now I see them once or twice a week on average. Haylie, Heidi and Ethan live in Fort McMurray, Alberta (I’m in B.C.), so I don’t get to see them as much.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? Just being able to spend time with them! I think when you’re a Grandma you can just enjoy them more. I teach them little songs with actions, make things with them, etc. I did this with my own kids too, but it was kind of busy at the time. I tried to write some of those precious moments down when I remembered to.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? I would say that it’s being a grandma from a distance—since my one son and his wife live so far away! However the time we do get with their kids is very precious because of its scarcity!

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. A recent conversation - Kai (2 at the time) to Lauryn, “Come here bean...come with me...come on honey.”

My 8 yr old grandson is such a free spirit. The other day a bunch of us were sitting in the kitchen when he nonchalantly sauntered down the stairs in a big white towel, in the buff. We all laughed! His response? “What?”

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? I tend to feed them, but then I tend to want to feed everyone! It’s fun to watch them play, and sometimes they just say the cutest things! I also like to do crafty things with the older kids. Recently the girls and I made a bunch of different glycerine soaps of various shapes and scents. We had so much fun! Another time we made a scrapbook album from scratch.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? Well, there are so many things! We play hide and seek, which they love. I carry Lauryn with me and Kai either finds us or hides on us. When he gets close to our hiding place, we’ll jump out and I’ll say ‘BOO’. Kai loves it.

Sometimes I hide something of his, and he has to find it. He likes to tell me where to hide it first though, so it’s easy to find...lol.

We like to challenge each other to a duel, take 10 paces in the opposite direction and then pretend to shoot each other with pretend waterguns. Well, you know...he is a boy!

I also read to them and I love to bring the kids my delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies!

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? Once in a while we talk on the phone. Mostly Kai...he likes to tell me about his mishaps. “Grandma? Yes, Kai? I fall down and hurt my bum” Lol...

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? A strong sense of moral values.

What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? Affection...or Fun...or both. (I know, I know, I don’t follow instruction well.)

What is one thing you wish you had learned earlier as a grandparent? To relax!

What one bit of advice would you give a new grandma? As the grandmother of a son’s child, it can be difficult to know when to help and when to back off. What I'm learning, and my advice? Just be yourself and relax!

Do you have a website or blog? What is it about? I have two blogs. My craft blog Beyond The Fringe Crafts features free digital stamps and vintage graphics, cards and various crafts. I also have an inspirational blog, Bubbling Springs and Random Things, that focuses on the bible and eschatology, and reflects some personal thoughts.

Dear Readers: If you'd like to nominate a grandma for grilling—yourself or any other grandma—please e-mail me her first name and e-mail address and I'll take care of the rest. Thank you!

Grilled Grandma Angel

What is a Grilled Grandma? A Grilled Grandma is a grandma whom I've grilled with some grandma-related questions, and she's graciously responded with answers and photos. Here is Grilled Grandma Angel:

How many children do you have? Between my husband and me, we have 6 kids. Three are his and three, mine. His are all biological: Michael, Melissa and Colleen; I have one biological son, Rory Taylor, one adopted daughter, Maggie and a step-son, Nick, that I consider my son.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? We have 5 grandchildren, 4 girls and a boy. Sacnite’, nine; Micah, six; Aurora, two ½; Clara, two; and Violet, one.

Any great grandchildren? Nope!

What do your grandchildren call you? Granny Angel, Granny, or Angel.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? Our 2 ½ year old granddaughter, Aurora lives in the same city—in fact just a few blocks away. We see her every week or two. Sacnite’ and Violet live in Fayetteville Arkansas and Micah and Clara live in Fairfax Virginia. I go over to Arkansas every few months to visit and they were here for the Christmas holidays. They may be moving here sometime next year. I see the two in Fairfax about once a year.

Beyond the initial elation, what most concerned you upon hearing you'd soon be a grandma? The news for each felt a bit different. With our mixed family and the distances, I was initially concerned about whether I’d get to see Micah as much as I’d like. He has three other grandmas! I guess that’s been my concern about all of them—just getting to see them as much as I’d like. Sacnite’ is my son’s step-daughter. I knew about her since she was two and knew she’d be my granddaughter when she was about 5. She lived in Mexico with her mother at the time and I didn’t get to meet her until she and her mom got their visas and moved to the US when she was 7. Her sister, Violet, now age one, is my only biological granddaughter. I was able to go to her home birth—that was amazing. I had had Rory Taylor at home also. Sacnite’ and I talk via the Facebook video and that has been fun. I used to fly to Virginia at least once a year to see Micah and Clara, but with the poor economy, I just haven’t had the money. They came to visit us for 5 days after Christmas last year (2010) and I haven’t been able to see them since. I do regularly talk with their parents and see photos, but it’s not the same as being with them. Micah knows me, but I doubt Clara remembers much about me.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? Being able to play with them and not worry about “teaching” or behavior that much.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? Dealing with their parents! I don’t mean that in a bad way—it’s just that they all have their own parenting methods, and I have to remember about what that is for each family! I am very careful not to give unasked for advice or suggestions and am lucky that all the mothers like me and aren’t overprotective.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. Micah says the most interesting things. His mother often posts these on Facebook. His latest one was after his mother told him that Storm troopers (his favorite thing is Star Wars right now) always obeyed orders and most likely also obeyed their mothers. He said, “But mom, clones don’t have mothers!” (Most of the storm troopers in the stories are clones.) When he was smaller he said at the dinner table “It’s okay to eat baby lambs, because they taste good.”

Violet was here for the Christmas holiday with her family. She is still very clingy to her mom, but her smiles and laughs light up the room! She loves to play Peek a Boo and will hide her head on her mom’s shoulder and then peek at you and go “Bwaw!!!”

Sacnite’ and I played board games and I had so much fun with her. She loves to pretend “cheat” and laughs when I catch her.

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? Really depends on their age. I like to play games with the older two and just watch the younger ones play dress up or read books to them.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? Reading, taking a walk, playing with their toys with them. Occasionally watching a movie.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? I send interactive e-cards to Micah sometimes. I also write letters. When Micah was into fire trucks, he wanted me to send him photos of different kinds of trucks by e-mail. He doesn’t like to talk on the phone and they don’t have video capability at present. As I said earlier, I talk with Sacnite’ on Facebook Video and sometimes to her mom and the baby on Skype.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? That life can be fun, there are interesting things everywhere, that reading is important.

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

What is one thing you wish you had learned earlier as a grandparent? Knowing what my limits are. There are reasons most people have their children in their 20’s and 30’s! I can do 4-6 hours pretty easily, but if the child needs to stay overnight, it’s very tiring for me if they stay too long the next day unless I’ve prepared for it.

What one bit of advice would you give a new grandma? When agreeing to keep your grandchild, get specific information about parents’ wishes and the time they plan to pick up the child. Keep toys and books at your home—of course you can lend them, but have enough for spontaneous visits.

Do you have a website or blog? What is it about? I have a blog that I work on intermittently. I tend to go in spurts and starts. Before I was working full time, I had designed my own website and loved taking care of it. My current blog is mostly about art that I make, but I’ve lately started just writing thoughts as well. The URL is: http://angeltnart.blogspot.com/.

Dear Readers: If you'd like to nominate a grandma for grilling—yourself or any other grandma—please e-mail me her first name and e-mail address and I'll take care of the rest. Thank you!