Saturday, June 30, 2012

It's Awfully Quiet Here Today...

A little excitement last night when a fox tried to pay our chicks a visit. I ruined the fox's chance of a chicken dinner by yelling and clapping my hands. This was such an exciting event for my grandson, Drew. So exciting, in fact, that bedtime was well past 11pm last night. I think he ran to the window at least seven times to check on a potential return by the fox. Not happening...

Drew went home with his Mom (our daughter) for the weekend today. How quiet it gets around here as soon as they are out the driveway. I relish the silence for approximately two minutes and then I am missing him already.

We are lucky to have him with us  so much. This is due to the fact that his Mom and Dad are divorced and my daughter is raising him as a single, working parent. She is a  police officer. Her work requires her to work various hours and sometimes her shift is very long not to mention stressful. My husband and I decided that our grandson should not have to spend the time his Mom is at work in a childcare facility. We are also lucky that we live close enough to do this.

I am sure that there are many other grandparents out there today that are more involved in the lives of their grandchildren due to hardships in the family that span a broad range of reasons. There was a time when grandparents played a very vital and important role at helping their children raise their children. Are we going back to this tradition?

Friday, June 29, 2012

What Do You Do When It's Soooo Hot Outside!

Boy! It was HOT yesterday! When my husband got home from work yesterday, Drew asked him  for a "dunk" in the wading pool and a dunk he got! I still insisted he take a shower afterwards (with soap). This disappointed him for a short while.

When the daytime temperatures are above 95 degrees, finding something to do that doesn't involve dehydration or cost a small fortune can be a challenge.  We will be going to the public library this afternoon to watch the movie "Puss in Boots"! Most public libraries feature some type of summer program that will spark an interest in your grandchildren. Throughout the summer, they have reading programs, crafts, special entertainers that perform at the library, games and movies...and best of all, most of these activities are in air conditioned comfort! If you haven't checked out your local public library in awhile, I would highly recommend that you do! Stay cool!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Gardening and Raising Chickens with Drew

What do you enjoy doing with your grandchildren? Do you spend a lot of time with them in the summer? 

Each summer, I find myself trying to come up with a list of things to do with Drew. I realized that I was always trying to find activities that were "learning experiences" and "educational" and "appropriate". You know what? Life is a learning experience. Everyday is an education. What is appropriate anyways? Okay, it's really, really hot today so maybe I have a little heatstroke or something. I do make sure that what I do with Drew or allow Drew to do is "appropriate". Nothing that is potentially harmful, dangerous, or illegal for that matter is allowed. That being said, the rules can be bent just a tiny bit from time to time. Don't you agree?

Drew spends a lot of time with us during the summer months when he is on summer break from school. We live on a 3 acre farm with chickens, one old goat named Star, one mini mule named General, one mini donkey named Jerry (after Jerry Garcia...wait...did I just date myself?) and a very old (18 years old which I believe puts him well into his 80's in human years) terrier-chihuahua mix named Kirby. Two years ago, Drew was staring out at our front yard and asked, "is this all my playground?". Yes. Yes indeed, it is!

One of the things we really enjoy is gardening. We're not pro's at it but we enjoy it. They say that children are apt to try new vegetables (or eat a vegetable or two) when they grow it themselves. There is a lot of truth to this! Drew will now eat fresh salads with homegrown leaf lettuce, peas picked right off the vine and spring onions (of all things!). He has his own raised bed garden and takes great pride in the fact that his peas are taller than my peas. Last year's sunflowers were a big hit and we got some beautiful pictures.

Drew's Sunflowers

 And yes! Drew took this picture of them one evening as the sun was setting. If you've never handed a camera over to your grandchildren, try it! The world is fascinating through their eyes.

Hopefully, this year's pumpkin crop will be better than last year's crop. Halloween will be upon us before you know it!

We have had chickens on and off over the years. We were down to three laying hens that are almost at retirement age. This year, we bough 15 pullets (these are laying hens for "non-chickenese" grandparents) and 50 meat chickens. Drew has been learning the finer points of raising chickens. Raising chickens can teach children about caring for animals and the importance of knowing where our food comes from. We enjoy the fresh eggs that the hens provide us and look forward to having roasted chicken soon!

Pullets
 Many cities and suburbs will allow for a few chickens in backyards now. I highly recommend raising chickens for a really neat way to teach a little science and a little math (how much to feed, how many eggs, etc.). They are a whole lot of fun for not a lot of money and you get to add some really good food on your table to boot!

The Start of My Career As A Grandparent

When I first learned I was going to be a grandmother, I felt...well...indifferent. For that matter, when friends and acquaintances would exclaim how they couldn't wait to be a grandparent, I would sit there thinking "Really? And the big deal is what?" So, when my daughter announced that I would be a Grandmother, I did the obligatory "Oh! Wonderful!!! Can't wait!" when in truth, I felt "Okay, and how excited should I be?"

Not that I resented being a grandmother...I just couldn't imagine myself as a grandmother. Maybe I had a little hangup about seeing myself as an old lady. You know, white hair, arthritis, sensible shoes and all. Or maybe I couldn't relate since I never really had grandparents in my life to relate too. My husband, on the other hand, would talk about being a grandfather constantly! He really was looking forward to adding grandfather to his title. Me? Shrug.

Funny things happen in life though. Early one morning (very early) I was present when my grandson, Drew, came into this world. POW! Being a grandmother was the best thing I could ever imagine! Just like that! Seriously! Instantly, this was one of those stupendously wonderful moments that mark our lives forever. You know, the life altering, this is what I was really put on earth for, now life is complete kind of moment.

I had images of feeding, changing, teaching, bathing, playing and talking to this little creature constantly. I had images of rocking this little baby to sleep.  I had images of building forts out of tables, chairs and blankets. I had images of chasing fireflies and catching them on warm summer nights. I had images of reading bedtime stories and drinking chocolate milk. I had images of...well...you get the picture. Infatuated. Absolutely infatuated.

So, here I am, seven years later and I have embraced being a grandmother and proudly have added this title to my list of titles. Still infatuated. So, the purpose of this blog? I wanted to share my experiences as a grandparent and hopefully will get others to share their grandparenting experiences with me. My problem is "where should I start?". Ahh, Lydia, just start! Here we go!