You Gotta Love It!

At home little hands that look completely 

clean must be washed before meal times.

And when camping ....  Aw, what the heck!

For this dirt loving little boy

it's all good.

The Hands of Time

I recently found myself smack dab in the middle of being a part of the sandwich generation. Still a mother and now a daughter of two aging parents who need assistance with everyday life. While my older sister has taken on the brunt of the responsibility by choosing to have my parents add a residence on to her home occasions do arise where my help is needed to give her a break or to take over the care of my parents when she is unable to.

A recent last minute medical emergency in her family resulted in such a need. I found myself in the middle of three generations of family responsibilities.  I had a week long visit from my youngest daughter planned to celebrate her 21st birthday as a family. I would be making the one hour drive to my parents house as my daughter was driving to mine. There was no question that I wanted to be there as a support to my sister and my parents but I also wanted to be home for my daughter.

I was also going to be missing a school grandparents ice cream social that my six year old grandson had invited me to attend.

I made all of the needed arrangements on the home front to make sure that my daughter enjoyed her visit and Papa said that he would take off work to go to the ice cream social. My younger sister offered to cover for me while I came home for the day of my daughters actual birthday so that I could cook the birthday meal and treat that my birthday girl had requested.

El Pollo Fundido, chips, salsa, and guacamole!

My Beautiful Mother

and Grandma to the birthday girl.

(#22 and the youngest of the grandchildren)

I prepped for the birthday meal at my parents place. 

The birthday treat.

Ice Cream Balls with drizzled honey and whipped cream!

Recipe Here

Me and my Girls

Who I wouldn't have without my parents!

So, as the hands of time move forward things change.

My parent's hands worked, served, and led the way for their family.

Today, I am grateful for their continuing example.

Graciously accepting change, the help of others, 

and an enduring love for family.

And one tomorrow, it will be a different time

when my children will find themselves 

in the same place I find myself today.

Sandwiched between the needs of

two generations.

I hope that I will be as gracious and accepting

as those whose time I follow.

The Mile High City

My family has been visiting the mile high city of Prescott, Arizona since I was a girl. The city itself is most often a place to stock up on groceries for weekends at the family cabin in the mountains just out of town.

The original streets of Prescott are lined with vintage houses and the courthouse grounds is the hub for  craft fairs, art shows, classic car shows, cowboy poetry,  concerts, and even nights of square dancing.

The courthouse grounds is a full square block and it is covered in grass, sidewalks, and huge shade trees. The streets and sidewalks are lit with vintage light posts. It is a square block of America where no one is ever in a hurry and time is spent strolling through the retail shops and Whiskey Row. Small family owned restaurants, bakeries, and park benches dot the streets.

It has been a place of timeless beauty. I am sure the trees have grown over the forty plus years but to me they have only gone from big to maybe bigger. I grew up, dated, married, started my family, raised my four children, became a grandma, became an empty nester, and have passed on the love of this mile high city to my own children and grandchildren within the four plus decades.

More important than the city itself is what has brought us to this place. It is a small mountain cabin that sits high on a hill.

The rustic dirt driveway that takes us to the little red cabin on the hill is often rough and challenging to climb. The cabin was built by my father with the help of family.

It is always worth the effort it tote boatloads of food and luggage up the steep flight of redwood stairs to the cabins deck.

The cabin deck is lined with rocking chairs and a big stack of plastic outdoor chairs are added for seating as the number of cabin guests swells. I have many memories of wall to wall family members sharing the cabin together. Twenty-two cousins from my children's generation experienced the wide open arms and hospitality of loving grandparents with each and every visit to the cabin.

Grandma (my mother) had batches and batches of baked goodies ready and waiting for her guests and always a meal on the stove for anyone who arrived hungry.

While the cabin on the hill and the hometown feel of Prescott, Arizona have not changed over the 40 plus years my family has. The toy trucks and the handmade blocks at the cabin have been passed down to the next generation. My generation is now baking the batches of goodies for our own grandchildren. The 22 cousins are now the parents to the new generation of great grands.

Bedtime brings a sea of people both big and little who are scattered throughout the cabin. Most bunk together in the big open loft upstairs. When numbers are huge we even have air mattresses on the kitchen floor. It has always been a place of good food, games, laughter, and quality time spent with family.

My father who recently celebrated his 90th birthday has always said that joy is 50% anticipation and 50% memories. This is so true with the cabin.

My parents are no longer able to go to the cabin that they built for themselves and for their family to visit. They are deeply missed by myself, my children, and my grandchildren. My mother would always stand at the deck railing and wave good-bye until our cars had driven out of site for each and every visitor to the cabin. Her good-byes were just as loving as her open arm hospitality on our arrival. Our family would always honk twice which meant we love you too!

The cabin on the hill has always brought great joy to my family. The anticipation of seeing my parents, my children's grandparents, and our extended family. The delicious oatmeal molasses cookies that my mom baked, home made fudge made by my dad and the dozens and dozens of hand tied quilts that were made by my mother that awaited to be snuggled with at bedtime.

Now, those days are memories for me, my children, and my grandchildren. The joy of the time spent at the cabin with my parents is now found in our treasured memories. When leaving I still picture my mother standing on the deck waving. And, the honk? Yep..... two honks which now says "I miss you being there mom!"

The cabin on the hill is rich in memories for the four generations of my family who have shared time there. It is a place where the cycles of anticipation and memories will abound as the traditions and the history is kept alive for the coming generations of my family. Mile high joy for generations. Now, that is a great legacy. Thanks mom and dad!

Guilty but, Oh so Innocent

Following an invention craft time I failed to put the black Sharpie away in a safe enough place. Little hands got ahold of it and before I caught him in the act there was black Sharpie on the couch, on his shirt, and he was starting on his face.

I used Spray-in-wash on his shirt and on the couch cushion but the black ink seems to be sticking to it's promise of being a permanent marker!

Baby wipes did the trick on his innocent little face.  I was able to scrub his face clean before his mommy came to pick him up.

While scrubbing his face I said: "Your mommy is going to kill me!"

He giggled and said: "No, she's not."

I said: "Is she going to kill you?"

He chuckled even louder and said: " Mommy is not going to kill anyone!"

Load er' Up

Little brother discovered the fun of the invention box while his two big brothers were away at school. He was able to get first pick among the treasures in the box. The invention box is a big tub where I throw all kinds of odds and ends and items that others may consider trash.

The invention box has provided hours and hours of free creative and inspired play for my grandchildren. 

On this day my four year old grandson found a Capri Sun box and a twelve pack coke carton that inspired the idea of a truck and trailer rig.

We discussed what we needed to do and he had the assignment to go dig through the invention box to find the eight "wheels" which I kept calling tires, and he kept correcting me that they were wheels.

All bottle caps are thrown into the invention box! They have been used for wheels, "tires", dials for all sorts of things, eyes, and more.

A pipe cleaner was used to create the hitch between the truck and the trailer. Not pictured is a ATV Ranger that was created out of a berry box. It is being hauled inside the trailer.

While I was cleaning up from the project I overheard him playing with the new rig. He was ordering some imaginary workers to load er' up. 

"Okay, load up the guns!" " 

"Load up lot's of dirt."

"Load the bullets!"

"Load up the shovels!"

"Load up the weeds!"

Although a bit troubled about the need of guns. bullets, dirt, and shovels I was most curious on why he needed weeds.

I asked why do you need weeds? He put his hands on his hips and with a (what a dumb question attitude and smirk) he said; "Uh.... Grandma, I'm going to be growing a garden!"

(I'm sure this has no reflection on his family's summer garden.)

Those Terrible Twos and THREES?

How could it possibly be?

This little one a terrible three? Look how mellow, calm, and relaxed he is. Well, that is because we made special arrangements for him to ride in grandma and Papa's car on a road trip to the cabin recently. He had the entire back seat to himself and his grandma's full attention.

We hear that he turns into a little terror when he is sandwiched in his own family car between his baby brother and his big brother who is six. With the two car seats and big brother sitting in a booster seat it is pretty cramped quarters and this little mellow fellow's attitude and behavior is anything but calm and relaxed.

We played games, we sang songs, and we talked about the scenery and the big trucks, trailers, and cars that we saw on the road. There was not a single whimper or a whine. All smiles.

When we had escaped the hot desert floor Papa rolled down his own window to feel the coolness of the breeze. Our grandson wanted his window down too so that he could check it out just like his Papa.

The nearly three hour car ride had been absolutely enjoyable. We had to stop and do some grocery shopping before we finished the last leg of our road trip.  Potty training was in progress and he was in a Pull Up for the ride. The potty training  had been a complete success so far while in our charge.

I had Papa take him into the public restroom while I did the shopping. The little guy didn't want anything to do with it. This was his first public restroom experience. It had been quite some time since he had used the restroom and I was fearing an accident when Papa returned defeated.

Minutes later as I was getting ready to check out he tells his Papa that he needs to use the restroom. So, off they went again. At home he was being rewarded with m&m's when he succeeded on the potty. 

So, since I am grandma and this was a huge milestone to use a public restroom the reward needed to fit the magnitude of the moment. An entire bag of m&m's it is!

He was one happy little boy!

UNTIL.... he was reunited with big brother.

Isn't it amazing how our little twos and threes

can turn the terrible off and on!

Killer Find at Home Depot

Okay, I am going to admit it. I am a big baby, a coward, and a screamer when it comes to eight legged creatures. The bigger the spider the bigger the screams. Sadly, I cannot muster the courage I need to show a brave face when I encounter a spider in the presence of my grandchildren.  So guess what? There are some who are just as afraid as I am and others who know my weakness and like to tease me.

I was in Home Depot one day and I could not believe my luck. There it was in big bold letters "Spider Killer".  It was a must have.....A killer find!

I think my fear comes from being raised in a home with raised wood floors that must have had cracks and the house was covered in ivy that wolf spiders must have loved. I swear those spiders were so big that you could hear them running down the hall. When they carry their  billion, gillion babies on their backs they are even bigger and hairier.

So, as a child and still as an adult I scan any room that I walk into for spiders. I cannot watch spiders on TV or at the movies. My little grandson's spider undies even creep me out. I can't do black spiders at Halloween and my family knows that IT IS NOT FUNNY to tease me about spiders in any way, shape, or form.

So, a couple of weeks ago when a huge spider appeared in the loft at the cabin very close to where I was going to sleep the screams and the stomping dance began. Everyone downstairs knew that I had encountered a spider just by my screams and the stomping on the ceiling above them. My husband was there to save me but he also said; "You can't act like that. There are spiders all over up here!" Just so you know that is the very wrong thing to say at the very worst time. I was going to have to turn off the lights and go to sleep up there soon. I thought he meant the actual upstairs room we were in as the "up here". He later explained that "up here" meant the entire forest! Oh, that's better. Not.

I sprayed around my bed with the spider killer and then I laid there awake for hours as the night watchman. I watched for the spiders to come out of their holes and webs. As silly as it may sound I spoke to the spiders and I told them that I was only going to be there for a short time and if they could just stay in their dark hiding places until I left that I would really appreciate it. I also sternly warned them that I did have my can of Spider Killer at my side and that I would use it if I had to!

I made it through the rest of my stay without any more spider encounters. Turns out that maybe the spiders are more afraid of me than I am of them. That's what my mom always said but, I really don't think that is possible?

My fear, big time fear, is spiders. What is your biggest fear? Have you passed that fear on to the children in your life?

Paper Airplane Activity

A paper airplane activity and flying competition was a really fun activity for all ages on a recent overnight family outing in the mountains. Just after our pancake breakfast everyone was given a choice of a brightly colored piece of paper, a shared idea book on folding techniques, and some markers to decorate the aircraft.

Papa was a popular helper among the grands!

When the airplanes were done being folded 

there was lots of test flights going on.

And, some tasting...

We had two divisions in the flying competition.

Kids & Adults

The airplanes soared through the pines.

My second granddaughter won the kids division.

She was the one sitting next to her Papa 

during the folding of the airplanes.

Then it was the adults turn.

All of the kids lined up to cheer them on.

We then had a race between the 

winning child and the winning adult.

The adult won the entire 

competition with this entry.

What was his secret weapon?

Pancake syrup!

He had glued the nose of the aircraft tightly and stiffly together using 

the leftover syrup on his breakfast plate. 

Movie Theatre boxes of candy were awarded as the prizes.

A paper airplane activity and race could be done one on one or with any size of group.

The internet has many websites that show how to fold all kinds of paper aircrafts.

You could fold and decorate a variety of airplanes to see which ones will:

fly the greatest length

fly the highest

stay in the air the longest

spirals the best

and more!

And, don't forget the maple syrup trick!

You Gotta Love It!

It had been a few days since four of my grands had left after a four day stay at grandma's house.  I opened the dishwasher to unload the clean dishes and I noticed a big change in the landscape of my dishwasher racks.

The top rack that is usually filled with tall glass tumblers from Papa and I was rather a wide selection of plastic cups that are kept in the big grandkids drawer in my kitchen. Another obvious clue was the use of the pink cups. I only have one set of grands with girls. If it had been a family of only boy grands the pink cups with the hearts would have been untouched! Also missing is a favorite rocket cup with a spiral straw that is a favorite of the grandsons.

The bottom rack was filled with plastic plates and their favorite grandkid trays.

It was  a very nice surprise for me to open the dishwasher and to be reminded of the time I had shared with my grands. Did you know that I make the BEST PB&J sandwiches ever? Making a Mickey Mouse pancake to fit perfectly on the square plastic plates has become my trademark breakfast.

Amid the use of all of these now clean dishes were spills, help cutting, blowing to cool off, and wasted food. Meal times with little ones can be hectic but they are also a time of togetherness that can't be duplicated in any other way.  So, for me such a change in the landscape of my dishwasher racks is always a very welcome sight and a treasured time of reflection of our time spent together around the dining room table. You gotta love it!

Pine Cone Bird Feeder Craft

A pine cone bird feeder craft is an easy, inexpensive, and fun outdoor craft to make. It can be easily done by one child or a group of 30 children. This day I had a group of thirteen children between the ages of two and ten.

Supplies Needed:

An inexpensive paper plate

A plastic knife

20" piece of twine

A medium sized pine cone

Creamy peanut butter (about 1- 1 1/2 oz. per pine cone)

Wild bird seed

A 4" piece of masking tape per child

Black sharpie marker

A place to hang the pine cones to set

Set up: Supply each child with a paper plate as a work surface, twine, plastic knife, pine cone, and a dab of peanut butter on the plate.

 

I enlisted the help of my oldest granddaughter for the set up.

How to make the bird feeder:

1. Tie the twine to the bottom of the pine cone. The bottom of the pine cone will be the top of your bird feeder. Younger children will need help with this. Write the names of the children using a sharpie on pieces of masking tape and fold in half to stick to itself over the twine hanger.

2. Have the children use the plastic knives to cover the entire surface, nooks, and crannies of the pine cone with peanut butter. Tell them that birds love peanut butter just like they do!

Once the pine cones are covered in peanut butter have the children roll the pine cone in a tub of bird seed until no more peanut butter can be seen.

 

Carry the pine cones by the twine and hang them in a cool place to set.

Once the peanut butter is set put the finished pine cone bird feeders in a one gallon plastic storage bag and tightly tie it shut for the ride home. This is a messy craft that needs to be done outdoors and stay outdoors!

To use:

Use the twine to tie the pine cone bird feeder to the branch of a tree. Make sure to put it in a place where birds can perch and reach the tasty bird seed treat! I like placing them within the view of a window so the children can quietly sit indoors and watch the birds snack and munch the pine cone bird feeders clean!

Note: Have a tub of baby wipes on hand for the children to use to wipe their hands when the craft is completed. I also handed out plastic spoons with a heaping teaspoon of peanut butter to the kids as they left. For some reason they were all craving peanut butter!

 

Dutch Oven S'Mores Cake

This is a creation that I came up with for a dutch oven treat on a recent camping trip with my family. I call it Dutch Oven S'Mores Cake.

What you will need:

Dutch Oven, heavy duty foil, cooking spray, 1 or 2 devils food cake mixes, eggs as directed, oil as directed, water as directed, chocolate bars, mini marshmallows, graham crackers, and charcoal.

My 12" dutch oven took 27 charcoal briquets for 375 degree baking. 9 under the oven and 18 on top.


First light the number of charcoals you need. Allow at least 20 minutes for the charcoals to get nice and red.




While the charcoals are heating mix up your cake mix/es as directed. If camping use a wire whisk.


Line the dutch oven with heavy duty foil. Be careful to seal all seams well.

Spray the foil lined oven with cooking spray.

Dump one half of your cake mix batter into the oven. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the chunks of chocolate bar and 1/3 of the marshmallows. Add the remaining cake batter to the top. Place lid on top.

Spread charcoal evenly under the dutch oven 1/2 inch in on the edges. Do the same to the top of the oven according to the size of your dutch oven.

Allow to bake as directed on the cake mix box. I doubled mine and allowed an extra 10 minutes of baking. It was perfectly baked. (Turn dutch oven and the lid 1/4 turn every 15 minutes to avoid hot spots that may burn your cake.)

While the cake is baking prepare the s'more topping. Break up chocolate bars, graham crackers, and have your marshmallows ready.

When the cake is done remove the lid and sprinkle with the graham crackers first, second, the chocolate pieces, and the marshmallows on top.

Replace the lid, remove oven from the coals and remove the coals from the top of the lid.

Allow to sit about 10 more minutes so that your s'more ingredients turn into a gooey topping. The marshmallows will turn a golden brown.

Serve hot with ice cold milk! It was a winning recipe for my brood of 10 little grands and nine other adult campers. It was a really fun dutch oven dessert to make and eat around the campfire!

Note: I used one cellophane package of graham crackers, one bag of marshmallows, and three 4.4oz Hershey Milk Chocolate bars, and two cake mixes. Finding the chunks of melted chocolate and marshmallows in the cake were extra yummy!

Have you had any experience using a dutch oven? What is your favorite dutch oven recipe?

Walking the GRAND Red Carpet

As a grandma blogger who just began my third year of blogging I am so very honored and grateful to have received such an honored recognition for my work. It is the Red Carpet of Grandma Bloggers for me to be among the TOP 12 Grandparent Blogs named by GRAND Magazine!

Many of the other bloggers named in the top 12 are my online friends and favorite blogs that I follow.

I am a huge fan of Dr. Phil.  I've even been to his studio for a taping of the Dr. Phil show. So having him on the cover of the issue with his new little granddaughter made me actually squeal with delight!


GRAND Magazine has graciously offered a free one year subscription to GRAND Magazine to all of my blog readers. That is a $19.95 Value!

All you have to do is click here to apply for your free subscription.
http://bit.ly/GRANDMAG


Thank you GRAND Magazine for making me one very happy blogging grandma and to those who read Grandma's Little Pearls, thank you.

Birthday Outing a Triple Play Plus

Our birthday tradition this year to treat the grands to a birthday outing of their choice began with our first birthday outing in March. So far we have been to a play, to a museum, to a movie, back to the museum and, now to another movie. Each of the outings also include eating out at a restaurant of their choice, usually a treat of some kind, and some cash for souvenirs.

Our youngest granddaughter who just turned six used some pretty slick techniques to make her birthday outing a triple play plus.

We started out with a movie. Nanny McPhee Returns. Little "C", Big "P". That's what Nanny McPhee said each time she introduced herself. Great movie by the way! There was only four of us in the movie theater. Nearly a private showing.

Movie concessions included Theater drinks, pretzels from home (sshhh), Starbursts from home (sshhh), and a Nerds Rope from the snack bar.

After the movie, the restaurant of her choice was Taco Bell. Over dinner she quizzed Papa and I on spelling and we spent some time just being silly with her. She then said that she would like to go shopping. We spent about an hour in Target's toy department and she looked at every single toy a few times before making her selection. Papa and I did not rush her and we took the time to look at everything with her. The final purchase was a "Boy Barbie", a "Girl Barbie, and a learning workbook for first graders.

The celebration does not end there. A school night sleepover was planned at Grandma and Papa's house. So, once we were home it was time to shower, brush teeth, and get on her pajamas. "Boy Barbie and Girl Barbie" also hit the showers. All three came out squeaky clean with shampooed hair and freshly scrubbed with body wash. I was happy to see that both Barbies had been showered in their swim suits.

I then sat and did her homework with her. A page of math and some reading. That was a special time for me. We then did two pages in her new first grade workbook. She loved that I signed her homework packet with "Grandma". At bedtime we talked about our outing, sang songs, visited about a family trip we have planned in a couple of days, and we made our plan for in the morning.

It's going to be homemade Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast with warmed dipping syrup on the side. And to keep it all about her until the last possible second she wants to watch and wait for the bus inside (the bus stop is at the end of my front walk) while her two sisters and her two boy cousins have to wait outdoors on my front sidewalk. She says she wants to walk out like a Princess when the bus arrives!

This little six year old is a very loving, caring, compassionate, and grateful child for her age. Papa and I received thank you's throughout the evening, and the words "I love you Grandma" were heard no less than 15 times.

It was a wonderful evening of one on one time with our precious granddaughter. I know she felt pretty darn special today which is exactly why we wanted to celebrate the grands birthdays with their very own special birthday outing with Papa and I.