Batter up: Lefty and the full moon

Left-handed hitter Bubby brought it on home during batting practice last week, all while the full moon shone.

 

Today's question:

When did you last hit — or catch — a baseball, softball or T-ball?

Quick crafts with kids: Simple Halloween skeletons

Do you have extra cotton swabs on hand at your house? Those plus some glue and black (or any color) construction paper are pretty much the makings of a super simple skeleton craft for kids of most ages.

Here's the skinny on the skeletons my grandsons made in less than 20 minutes Saturday morning, inspired by this crafty post from Spoonful.

WHAT YOU NEED:

Several cotton swabs

glue (not a glue stick)

 white paper

black construction paper

black marker for drawing skeleton faces

WHAT YOU DO:

Put some glue in a small container that's easy for the child to dip into with the cotton swabs .

Dip each end of one cotton swab into the glue and place vertically on the black construction paper.

Add more cotton swab bones for legs and arms.

(Note: Two swabs per leg and arm make for a more accurate skeleton... ya know, the kind with elbows and knees. But does it matter if Mr. Bones can't bend his arms or legs? Not one bit.)

Don't feel like adding legs or arms? Do whatever you feel like doing... which may be swirling glue in spots around the paper just because it's fun to do when you're two.

At some point in the process — it doesn't matter the order — freehand draw a skeleton skull on the white paper. Cut out and glue in place.

Cut cotton swabs in half for the rib bones, to be glued horizontally on each side of the first swab placed on the paper.

Cut both ends off one swab for feet. Cut the remaining stick — and another stick — into "fingers" to be glued at the end of each arm.

Use the black marker to draw a spooky or silly face.

Explain to your brother why you drew the face the way you did.

Appreciate your work.

Even if it's work Gramma and your brother helped you do.

That's it!

Want another quick and easy Halloween craft? Try these Simple Spooky Spiders Bubby made last Halloween.

Today's question:

What's most prominent in your Halloween decor — skeletons, ghosts, zombies or pumpkins?

I'm baaack... as is GRAND Social No. 75

I'm back from visiting my grandsons in the desert. My bottom-line wrap-up: 'Twas a short but sweet time together.

In the four days I had with Bubby, Mac, Megan and Preston (plus Roxy the dog, too), I came away with 2,068 photos and 14 videos on my camera, plus 41 photos on my iPhone.

I'll be sharing those captured moments in months to come — so many recorded as it will be several months before I see the boys again — but today I want to share this one, which I think just might be my favorite of the massive bunch:

Oh, how I love these boys!

If you follow Grandma's Briefs on Facebook, you likely already saw this precious shot of the snuggle-bunny brothers. You may have even seen it in my sidebar (over there to the right), as I couldn't help but make it my new "Who's Who" shot of Gramma's favorite boys. Call it overkill, if you will; I call it a perfect picture I simply had to share again and again.

I hope your time while I was away was equally picture perfect, and I thank you again and again for joining me for this week's GRAND Social No. 75!

How it works:

• All grandparent bloggers are invited to add a link. You don't have to blog specifically about grandparenting, just be a grandparent who blogs.

• To link up a post, copy the direct URL to the specific post — new or old — that you want to share, not the link to your blog's home page. Then click the blue button marked with "Add your link" below and follow the directions.

• You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites, please.

• Adding a mention such as This post linked to the GRAND Social to your linked posts is appreciated. Or, you can post the GRAND Social button anywhere on your page using the following code:

<a rel="nofollow" href="/" target="blank"><img src="http://grandmasbriefs.squarespace.com/storage/GRANDsocialbutton.jpg " alt="Grandma’sBriefs.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

• The GRAND Social linky is open for new posts through Wednesday evening, so please come back to see those added after your first visit.


• If you're not a blogger, you have the pleasure of being a reader. Bloggers who link up would be honored to have one and all — other bloggers as well as readers — visit, read and, if so moved, comment, even if just a "Hey, stopping by from the GRAND Social."

• For another grandparent linky, visit Connie's Say It Saturday Link Party each Saturday.

Boys are just as crazy as girls

What I learned this week:

Having had three daughters, the childrearing years my husband and I faced were filled with lots of drama, plenty of boy-crazy moments.

As they've had only sons (so far), I thought Megan and Preston might escape the thrills, chills, and tear spills associated with the crazy crushes on the opposite sex. Mostly because I didn't think boys were as crazy about girls as girls are about boys. I thought concerns about cooties — as well as indifference to cuties — was par for the course for males under the age of, oh, maybe 14 or so.

Then I saw something yesterday that changed my mind.

Mac and I walked to pick up Bubby after school yesterday. Bubby and his classmates ran around while parents mingled or talked to the teacher — Megan, my daughter and Bubby's mom, whom I wanted to touch base with before heading back home with her sons. Mac joined the big kids, and as I waited, I caught the following, a foretelling of what Megan and Preston have in store:

So I admit I was wrong: Boys clearly get girl crazy — and far earlier than I ever would have imagined.

Thank you for reading! Enjoy your weekend!

Today's question:

How old were you when you had your first crush and who was it on?

Grandma shares a brush with the blues... and greens and reds

I landed in the desert Tuesday afternoon with two big suitcases jam-packed with fun stuff to share with my grandsons (gotta love Southwest's free baggage policy!). I kid you not when I say I packed into my bags more stuff to share with Bubby and Mac than I did clothing or toiletries for my five-day stay.

Now, my Grandma Bag is a given when visiting my grandsons, so that was squished into one of the two suitcases. And I'd recently received some Halloween review books — lots of books, heavy books — plus several review toys, DVDs, and other goodies. Those were packed, too.

My grandsons enjoy books just as much as they enjoy toys, so I knew the books would be a hit. I knew, too, the toys and games were sorts that would make them smile. What surprised me, though, was the response from grandsons when I shared with them a toiletry product I'd received in the mail mere days before my trip. I received it not for review — so this is not a review nor a sponsored post — but just to try and soon share my thoughts on the product with the makers and marketers.

So, despite all the crafty, creative, cool goodies I'd toted the 800+ miles from the mountains to the desert in hopes of entertaining my grandsons, what impressed them immediately and utterly was this:

Yes, that's toothpaste.

Bubby and Mac begged — and I do mean begged — to brush their teeth as soon as I showed them the colorful package. When they were finally allowed to use the special paste from Gramma for bedtime brushing, there was no stopping them.

Bubby and Mac tried every color, every flavor combination. They brushed fully and completely several times before finally accepting there'd be no more brushing for the night.

The first thing they wanted to do when they got up Wednesday morning? You guessed it: brush... with each color. Twice.

I still have several books and crafts and toys left to share from my suitcases (a grandma has to pace herself when sharing the spoils). I doubt any of those items yet to be enjoyed, though, will come even close to pleasing Bubby and Mac as much the colorful and tasty toothpaste that dazzled and delighted.

Their unexpected enthusiasm over toothpaste — toothpaste, of all things — dazzled and delighted me.

It also made me consider I've now paid my dues for foisting upon Megan and Preston the sugar-high aftermath of the farewell gift I presented my grandsons last time I departed the desert after a visit.

Added bonus: As the package of toothpaste included three full-size tubes, I'd say I'm protected from penalty for whatever sweet and sticky goodness I dole out to the boys upon leaving Saturday, as well.

Be afraid, Megan and Preston, be very afraid.

Today's question:

What is your toothpaste of choice?

And the Happy Pumpkin Painter award goes to...

Mac and Bubby with their painted pumpkin masterpieces
October 14, 2013

Today's question:

How will (or did) you decorate this year's pumpkins?

From shivers to shrieks: Spooky stories for Halloween

A lot of people enjoy being scared. I'm not sure why that is, but the plethora of scary movies, scary books, scary television shows — and scary vampires and zombies everywhere — confirm that to be true.

Even my grandsons like to be scared. Sort of.

Bubby and Mac like sort of scary stuff that sort of scares them a little. Especially sort of scary Halloween stuff. And sort of scary Halloween books, in particular. In fact, when I visited my grandsons in July, we went to the library one day and Bubby made a B line for the Halloween picture books. In July!

(Of course, his mom contributed to the early enjoyment of all things spooky. Megan loves Halloween picture books, too, and checked out a huge stack of sort-of-spine-tingling tales for her and the boys to enjoy. In July.)

The joy my grandboys — and their mother, my daughter — get out of Halloween books is part of the reason I was delighted to receive (free for review) several Halloween books from Candlewick Press. I'll be packing a few of them — the sort of scary ones, at least scary for wee ones — in my Grandma Bag to share with Bubby and Mac when I visit next week.

Another reason I was delighted to get the spooky stories? So I could share them with you here today.

(Don't be afraid... they're mostly just sort of scary. I promise.)

Vampire Baby by Kelly Bennett, illustrated by Paul Meisel ($15.99, Ages 4-7) Mac is going to love, love, love this one, as he's been experiencing a few bites from one of his fellow toddlers at his babysitter's. I'm thrilled there's a trailer for it, so you can get a real taste (har, har) for this treat.

Ghost in the House by Ammi-Joan Paquette, illustrated by Adam Record ($15.99, ages 3-7 years) A rhythmic tale where the spooky stuff grows in number with each turn of the page.
From Candlewick: When a little ghost goes slip-sliding down the hallway, he suddenly hears... a groan! Turns out it’s only a friendly mummy, who shuffles along with the ghost, until they encounter... a monster! As the cautious explorers continue, they find a surprise at every turn — and add another adorably ghoulish friend to the count. But you’ll never guess who is the scariest creature in the house!

Filbert, the Good Little Fiend by Hiawyn Oram, illustrated by Jimmy Liao ($15.99, ages 3-7) I love this book so, because Filbert makes me think of Bubby and the angel character makes me think of Mac. I have a feeling they will agree (or fight over who's who; we'll see).
From Candlewick: Daddy and Mommy Fiend want their little Filbert to be gruesome and ghastly, but he won’t trample or terrify, roar or holler. He’d much rather help an old lady with her bags or go bird-watching. What are they to do with him? When Filbert starts school, he quickly learns that good behavior isn’t tolerated in class, and he is banished outside until he can act like a proper little fiend. Suddenly a little angel appears, flying fast and furious until... bump! Could this naughty Angel-School dropout be just the friend Filbert needs? Could they find a way together to make everyone accept them as they are?

The Music of Zombies by Vivian French, illustrated by Ross Collins ($15.99, ages 8-12) See? I told you: Zombies are everywhere. But this book seems like a must-have for preteens who enjoy sort of scary tales. I envision the entire series (this is the fifth Tale from the Five Kingdoms) being a great gift for the holidays.
From Candlewick: Prince Albion expects a unique occasion when he starts planning Cockenzie Rood Day to celebrate his kingdom—and himself. What he doesn’t expect is boppings on the head and kidnapping, all because a zombie wants to play his fiddle in the talent contest. With a misbehaving path, a romantic bat, and a greedy butler to set them on their way, Gracie Gillypot and Prince Marcus are off on their fifth adventure. It’s up to a Trueheart, a resourceful prince, and Gubble the troll to stop the zombie before he does some giant damage to the Five Kingdoms.

Feral Nights by Cynthia Leitich Smith ($17.99, ages 14 years and up) This is one I plan to read in the nights leading up to Halloween. The back-cover quote from The Horn Book calling it "A hearty meal for the thinking vampire reader" has me intrigued... and ready to be sort of scared.
From Candlewick: When sexy, free-spirited werecat Yoshi tracks his sister, Ruby, to Austin, he discovers that she is not only MIA, but also the key suspect in a murder investigation. Meanwhile, Werepossum Clyde and human Aimee have set out to do a little detective work of their own, sworn to avenge the brutal killing of werearmadillo pal Travis. When all three seekers are snared in an underground kidnapping ring, they end up on a remote island inhabited by an unusual (even by shifter standards) species and its cult of worshippers. Their hosts harbor a grim secret: staging high-profile safaris for wealthy patrons with evil pedigrees, which means that at least one newcomer to the island is about to be hunted. As both wereprey and werepredator fight to stay alive, it’s up to mild-mannered Clyde — a perennial sidekick — to summon the hero within. Can he surprise even himself?

Find out more about these books and others at Candlewick.com.

Best wishes for a splendidly spooky weekend!

Disclosure: The books above were sent to me free for review. Opinions and anecdotes are my own.

Today's question:

What is the last scary — or sort of scary — book you read?

This week's lessons: My grandson may be crazy and be careful where you step

My phone rang early yesterday morning, the caller ID (and ringtone) alerting me it was Megan. As it was just after 7 a.m. and considering time zones it was even earlier at Megan's place, her early call placed it firmly in the "uh-oh" category of calls that freeze a mother's heart.

I quickly answered with a questioning "Hi...?"

Megan's immediate and breathless response: "We just had the scariest thing happen, Mom."

I knew Preston was out of town, so the we had to mean Megan and my grandsons. Which elicited another early morning heart freeze on my end.

Megan proceeded to tell me about a tarantula. In their house. Right next to my daughter. Right next to my grandsons.

Not the one at Megan's -- This one from Pixabay.comThe condensed story: As Megan and the boys were preparing for their day, Megan noticed a praying mantis on their screen door to the back yard. She and the boys gathered around to admire the little green guy on the outside of the screen... when Bubby soon noticed a big, furry guy — said tarantula — on the inside of the screen door.

Freakouts ensued and the glass door was immediately slammed shut. Which trapped the tarantula between the glass door and screen door. So Megan — having to play the part of big, bad, brave parent despite shaking like mad, she said — went out her bedroom sliding door to the patio, rushed over to the door with the trapped tarantula, and flung the screen door open in hopes the tarantula would skitter away.

It didn't.

But... Megan had to get to work (and call her mom), Bubby had to get to class, and Mac had to get to the sitter, so the tarantula was left to stay or go, whatever its choice may be. (Later in the evening, Megan texted evidence that the tarantula's choice had been to stay in the door frame, even hours and hours later.)

No biggie, Megan tried to assure me when I pointed out that, sure, the tarantula may not be in the house anymore, but it clearly now resides in their backyard.

"We live in the desert, Mom. There are tarantulas."

Megan went on to tell me that tarantulas are actually a good thing to have around the house as they eat scorpions — a more common critter in their house, despite monthly sprayings from the bug guy.

In the background, I heard Bubby, who had been listening to our conversation, utter a relieved, "Thank you for that." As in, Shew! Thank you for letting me know there is something bigger and badder than those freakin' scorpions. All tarantulas welcome here! Thank you!

Which, of course, made me think the kid is crazy.

Megan had to get on with her day, as did I, so we chuckled at Bubby's relief at the presence of tarantulas we said our goodbyes.

A bit later, as I walked my dogs, I considered the sheer insanity of life in the desert. Scorpions. Tarantulas. Heat. Javelinas. Why oh why does my daughter continue to live there, raise my grandchildren there?

Just as I finished that thought, I noticed Mickey and Lyla had stepped over an odd-looking rope in the road. I halted them with a tug on their leashes so I could take a closer look at the rope.

Only it wasn't a rope.

It was this:

 

Startled me a bit, I do admit. But my first instinct wasn't to run, it was to grab my camera (well, iPhone as I didn't have my DSLR along). I was intrigued by the little guy, not afraid. Of course, despite how big it may look in this photo, this baby snake was only as big around as my pinkie.

Which is nothing compared to a tarantula. Which once again affirms my choice to live in the mountains not the desert.

Yes, I'll stick with baby snakes; my crazy grandson can have his scorpion-eating tarantulas.

(Come to think of it, though, that darn tarantula better get busy munching those scorps. I thoroughly expect both sorts of critters to be done and gone by the time I get there for my visit in two weeks.)

Those are my lessons for the week. Let's just say that past lessons that I've shared here on Fridays have made my skin crawl far less. Probably yours, too.

Best wishes for a lovely, critter-free weekend!

Today's fill-in-the-blank:

This week I learned __________________.

Grandma's grand impression

As I get older, I find that I no longer care much about impressing others. That wasn't always the case.

I recall doing my best to impress as far back as my primary school years, in particular during a fateful event featuring a frog. That should have left a lasting impression upon me the folly of trying to impress others. It didn't.

Years later, my older sister reinforced the idea that impressing others matters when she, a teen at the time and me a pre-teen, introduced me to her new boyfriend. My sister and I shared a bedroom, and she positioned me on the full bed we shared with a book in my lap. "Be sure to put on your glasses before he comes in," she said. "That way he'll think you're smart."

I did look smart. He, though, turned out to be an idiot — which my sister realized only after that boyfriend became her husband then, thankfully, ex-husband.

I still wear glasses, and I still look pretty darn smart in them. I wear them strictly to see, though, not to impress. Because, like I said, impressing others matters not one whit to me. I no longer work to impress my immediate family nor my extended family, not my friends nor strangers. Not even my boss.

Okay, the last one — my boss — doesn't really count because as a freelancer, I have no boss. I do, though, have my readers. And while I do hope to entertain and enlighten you to some degree, I certainly don't try to impress you.

Nope, impressing others is no longer important to me.

Except, that is, when it comes to my grandchildren.

You grandparents likely know what I mean. What others think of us is neither here nor there, yet what our grandchildren think of us is everything. So we do our best to impress the wee ones, performing stunts of magnificent athletic/artistic/intelligence proportion that scream "Look at me! Love me! Be impressed by me!"

And sometimes those shouts and stunts fail miserably. Or they just plain scare the <cuss> out of the kids. Which is exactly what happened not too long ago when I tried to impress Bubby with Gramma's grace and agility.

Bubby had been impressing me with his newfound acrobatic skills, when I chose to reciprocate and show him my own not-so-newfound but perhaps equally impressive moves. Specifically, I wanted Bubby to see how I could still turn a mean cartwheel, despite not having performed a cartwheel in, well, a few years, give or take a decade or three.

"Stand back," I told Bubby as I raised my arms in the air and assumed cartwheel take-off position.

My obedient grandson stood back, eyes wide and mouth ajar, as Gramma lurched forward, perfectly placed on the floor one hand then the other, then lifted one fo... oh ... lifted nothing, as my feet flat-out refused to follow the perfect lead of my hands. My cartwheel attempt and I came crashing down, much to the horror of Bubby.

"You shouldn't do that, Gramma" Bubby uttered with restrained concern. "You might hurt yourself."

I was okay, though; the only thing hurt was my pride.

But... there was no stopping me and my intent to impress.

"Well, forget the cartwheel," I told Bubby. "But Gramma can definitely still perform perfect somersaults." Sheesh, who couldn't? I thought.

Let's just say my somersault attempt was only slightly less catastrophic than my cartwheel attempt — and only because it didn't require me to become semi-airborne.

Truth is, my body weighs many, many pounds more than it once did, pounds that posed quite a challenge to my neck when I placed my head firmly on the floor and set myself in slow but purposeful forward motion in typical somersault fashion. Slow being the operative word as I felt a crunch in my neck that signaled Gramma had gone a wee bit beyond awkward on this move and had rolled right on into physically dangerous territory.

Bubby grimaced while offering "Wow, Gramma" as quickly as possible so I'd dare not attempt another roll. (Little did he know there was no way in <cuss> Gramma could have proceeded into a second roll.) Fortunately he — nor Megan — ever seemed to noticed how stiff I held my head and neck for the next several days of my visit, as I truly had hurt myself, that it was more than my pride I had been pinged in that particular attempt to impress.

From such folly, I must admit I did learn one important lesson from Bubby: Quit trying so hard.

It was later during that same visit that I realized my sister had been right all those years ago: Sporting spectacles is indeed the key to making a smart impression.

If nothing else, glasses are definitely the safest way for a grandma to make an impression — at least for this sometimes-not-so-smart grandma.

Today's question:

How have you tried — and possibly failed — to impress your grandchildren or children?

18 things my grandsons miss by not visiting their grandparents

My grandsons haven't visited my house in more than a year. It's been 15 months, to be exact, with no plans to visit in the next... well... I don't know how long. 

Though I'm thrilled to pieces that I'll get to see them soon at their house, there's plenty they miss out on by not visiting PawDad and Gramma at our house. Things found only at our place, things I'm sure they'd enjoy.

Things such as these:

Their special bedroom we call The Boys' Room, despite Bubby having slept in it only a handful of times and Mac having never slept in it — yet...

Exploring our back yard and front...

Playing at the food stand again...

Hunting for treasure PawDad hides in the sand by the waterfall...

And swinging with Gramma in the swing made for three...

Not to forget: the basketball hoop that's just the right height for boys to dunk balls — with a boost from PawDad...

And the bouncy house Bubby and Mac have never even seen — though it delighted other pint-sized friends of Gramma's...

Plus the popcorn machine for treats once the bouncing is done...

And there's Rock Dog and their Glo Worms and lions that stand guard from out front...

Plus, they could play on Gramma's piano (I promise to share)...

And the mini desk where Bubby loves to sort through Granny's nesting frogs...

Beyond Gramma and PawDad's house, there's fun and adventure found just out the door — like ITZ, the North Pole, Pikes Peak and more...

Most of all, though, what my grandsons miss out on more than anything are hugs and kisses and attention from their Colorado family — folks who miss Bubby and Mac to their core...

I truly and wholeheartedly understand that travel with little ones taxes Megan and Preston's body, mind and budget, too. And I do know Bubby and Mac will eventually get to visit Gramma and PawDad's house. Eventually.

I just hope it's before my grandsons reach the age that what they'll most enjoy about Gramma and PawDad's house is having a beer at our patio bar.

Even then, though, I'd be delighted to have Bubby and Mac visit our house.

Today's question:

What did you most enjoy about visiting your grandparents' house when you were a child?