Flashback: 14 reasons to smile about being a long-distance grandma

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Flashback: 14 reasons to smile about being a long-distance grandma

Dear readers: This flashback feature originally appeared on Grandma's Briefs July 1, 2014. As I'm missing my desert-dwelling grandsons today, it serves as a good reminder that there are at least fourteen things to celebrate about the long-distance grandma status. Thank you for reading this rerun.

Being a long-distance grandma can be hard on a grandmother's heart at times. There are, however, several perks to having plenty of miles between Grandma and her sweeties. Here are fourteen of them.

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Beat-the-heat treats (a Friday Flashback feature)

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A few years ago, I posted a piece on chilly treats for hot days, noting how darn hot it was in the desert while visiting my grandsons (which at that time meant just Brayden and Camden as Declan was yet to be). Today it's desert-style hot at my house. In the mountains. And I'm craving something cold, something to beat the heat here at home.

I figure much of the country seems to be suffering a hot spell as well, and though I can't share an actual treat with each and every one of you as I would like, I can share the directions for doing so on your own. Preferably with grands.

Here it is: Today's Friday Flashback, featuring a few tasty ways to cool you and yours. Enjoy!

BEAT THE HEAT TREATS
Originally published July 16, 2013 (with names updated to my grandsons' real names, as I recently revealed them here):

The temperatures in the desert during my visit to see Brayden and Camden were, as I expected, ridiculously high. Spending time in the pool or at the water park was a great way to stay cool, but because we're not fish, other ways to chill out had to be devised.

frozen treats

Yesterday, the last day of my visit, Megan offered a frozen treat...

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10 free or super inexpensive summer outings with grandkids (Friday flashback feature)

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10 free or super inexpensive summer outings with grandkids (Friday flashback feature)

Many of us have heard Gretchen Rubin's quote, "The days are long, but the years are short" in reference to parenting. I say the same applies to summer time spent with grandkids. The days seem long yet the summer is relatively short, especially when attempting to pack in meaningful and, more importantly, fun activities.

Always here to help, today I re-run my previous post on ways grandparents can fill such days in inexpensive ways. (The original post featured 11 ways; this one just 10, as one is no longer available.)

10 IDEAS FOR FREE (OR SUPER INEXPENSIVE) SUMMER OUTINGS WITH GRANDKIDS
Originally published June 15, 2016 (outdated info has been removed)

free summer activities 

FREE FISHING
This one tops the list because fishing is fun. Mostly, though, it's because June — the current month! — is...

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Kids and games: 18 fun ways to choose who goes first (a Friday flashback feature)

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Summer time is game time, and whether you're hosting an all-out Grandma Camp or a simple gathering of grands of another sort, the fun can't begin until the gang figures out who goes first.

Here from the Grandma's Briefs archives is my popular post on various ways to choose who goes first — some of them offbeat ideas that can serve as minigames on their own.

KIDS AND GAMES: 18 FUN WAYS TO CHOOSE WHO GOES FIRST
Originally published May 13, 2014

When playing games with kids — or directing getting the ball rolling — choosing who gets to go first can sometimes take longer than the actual gameplay.

That no longer need be the case thanks to the following fun methods I've gathered for grandmothers and others.

ways to choose who goes first 

Creative Eeny Meeny
When I was a Girl Scout leader eons ago, I taught my Daisies...

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Friday flashback: Coupon queen

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In celebration of Mother's Day on Sunday, for this week's Friday flashback feature I chose to share one of my favorite posts about cherished gifts from my girlies. I smile each time I recall my coupons from kids and hope my story on such makes you smile, too — even if you read it the first time around (and thank you if you did!).

COUPON QUEEN
(Originally published June 6, 2011)

coupon book for momCoupons are a hot commodity in my world. Sure, I use coupons for products when grocery shopping, but what I'm talking about here are coupons as gifts.

Somewhere along the line of rearing three daughters, creating coupons to be redeemed for good deeds and great times became a recurring gift, either from me to them or from them to me. Of those, I especially remember...

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