Gramma's wake-up call

When I visit Bubby, he loves to wake me in the morning. I'm supposed to stay in my bed until he creeps in and tells me "Good morning, Gramma!" Then he usually crawls into bed with me and we chat for a few minutes before heading downstairs for breakfast.

If Bubby happens to sleep late and I get up before he does, he chastises me with, "I was supposed to wake you up, Gramma!" I then either return to my bed and we go through the motions of how things were supposed to go down, or we agree that I'll stay in bed the following morning until my wake-up call from Bubby.

Bubby's alarms of choice include simply whispering "Good morning, Gramma," shaking a jingle-bell adorned dog collar, or blowing his harmonica. The first is a sweet way to start the day; the second two are mildly alarming. One morning this past week, though, there was this—at about quadruple the decibels of this video (or so it seemed):

Although not the way I typically rise and shine, I can handle bells and I can handle harmonicas rousing me from a deep sleep. A psycho hip-hop reindeer rocking the house—and my brain—right outta the REM stage not so much.

Actually—and this is no joke or exaggeration, folks—I thought I was having a heart attack. Honest. I didn't remember the psycho reindeer from previous trips so hearing it go off at 6:03 in the morning was the trippiest experience I've had in quite some time. And the scariest. And the closest I've come to my heart going into overload and exploding right there on the spot.

Bubby didn't know to what degree he freaked out Gramma because instead of screeching my instinctive response of "What the <cuss>? <Cussing> stop that <cussing> <cusser> <cussing> NOW!", I simply said, "Turn that off now, Bubby. It's morning and that's too loud for Gramma."

Then I sat on the edge of the bed and tried to calm my thunderous heart.

An hour later I was still trying to get my heart rate back to normal. And wondering what's up with the near heart attack. Then wondering if I'm getting too old for this grandma gig. Followed by wondering if "too old to be a grandma" is an oxymoron of some sort.

It didn't matter because my racing heart likely just means this grandma is simply way outta shape.

And way not into the hip-hop reindeer thing.

Especially as a morning wake-up call.

Today's question:

What serves as your morning wake-up call? (Bonus points to those who say whether or not they use the "snooze" function.)

29 years ago today

Twenty-nine years ago today, Jim and I had our first baby girl. We were just kids ourselves—I was 18, he was 21—and were ill equipped to be parents, to say the very least. But we were determined to figure it out and do right by our precious pink bundle we named Brianna.

We've messed up many times along the parenting path—sometimes egregiously so—and poor Nonner bore the brunt of many of those messes by virtue (or misfortune) of being our first. Yet somehow Jim and I did quite a bit right, too, it seems, as our sweet 6-pound, 10-ounce baby doll has grown into one of the most bright, beautiful, kind-hearted, supportive, giving, and forgiving women I know. Plus, she makes the very best cupcakes ever! (I kid you not...just take a look HERE.)

Now, in honor of her special day, I offer a musical presentation for Aunt B from Bubby, Baby Mac and their mama, just because I can:

Happy 29th birthday, Brianna! I am so thankful for you and for all you have taught me, not only about parenting but about myself, too! I love you beyond words!

Today's question:

What do you remember about your 29th birthday, the last one before the big 3-0?

A change for the better

Today I'm starting something new...with something old and tried and true. Wednesdays have always been Grilled Grandma day on Grandma's Briefs, and I've always introduced the week's Grilled Grandma here on the front page, then directed folks to read the entire grilling under the Grilled Grandma tab. Well, that's not how this will work anymore.

Thanks to a suggestion included in a generous and helpful critique of my blog by Melissa of Momcomm, I'll now post the entire Grilled Grandma of the week here on the front page, with an archive of them available under the Grilled Grandma Archive tab. The featured grandmas will be front and center—as they should be—with no more clicking from here to there and back again for readers and commenters.

So please read this week's Grilled Grandma feature...right here, right now. And if you're curious about other Grilled Grandmas, feel free to click on the Grilled Grandma Archive tab above. And if you'd like to nominate someone to be a Grilled Grandma (yourself or some other grandmother), simply e-mail me her name and e-mail address.

(For those of you wondering about New Word Wednesday, well, I was feeling kind of meh about that. But if you really want some new words, I'd be happy to recommend a good dictionary. Just ask.)

GRILLED GRANDMA: NANNETTE

How many children do you have? I have three children a daughter age 24 and two sons ages 21 and 14.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? I have two granddaughters Sophia is four and Vivian is three. They are sisters.

Any great grandchildren? No not yet.

What do your grandchildren call you? They call me Nana. My name is Nannette and my mom named me after my great grandmother who was called Nanny. From the time I was little I thought my grandchildren would call me nanny. However it kept coming out Nana, so that is what I'm called now.

After the initial elation, what was your first concern upon hearing you would soon be a grandmother? I knew my daughter was pregnant before she told me, just a feeling like mother's intuition. I was scared for her, because she was still quite young at 20. But I also knew that she would be a good mother. I love babies so I was also excited.

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? Quite often. I watch them for my daughter while she works and whenever she has to be gone for the Army National Guard.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? Feeling all of the love that you felt for your own children without some of the angst.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? Carrying them around. My back isn't as strong as it used to be.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. I was on the phone with my husband and laying on my bed. It had been rainy all day so I was letting the girls run around and be loud when normally I make them be quieter in the house. Vivian hopped up on the bed and announced, "We are horsing around!"

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? Go pick out books at the library and read them for bedtime stories.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? Give them a bath in their giant walk-in bathtub.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? This hasn't been a problem, because I see them every week and sometimes every weekday.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? I recently completed my maternal ancestry back eight generations from them. I want them to understand that they come from a long line of strong and beautiful women who live life to its fullest. I am the only living connection for them, since my mother passed away a few years ago and my grandmother is quite old and frail.

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? How to be both their grandmother and their daycare provider. I started out too lenient at times and had to reinforce the rules.

What one bit of advice would you give a new grandma? to take the time to truly play with and love your grandchildren, because it is one of the greatest joys in life.

Do you have a website or blog? What is the URL and what is it about? Stay at Home Grandma Blog. I blog about my experiences with my grandchildren, family, childcare, home, frugality, and wellness.

(This grilling can be found in the Grilled Grandma Archives under, fittingly, Grilled Grandma: Nannette.)

The blogger(s) I'll never be

This photo has nothing to do with the post. Baby Mac and Bubby are just so darn cute, though, I couldn't help but share. That's what we grandma bloggers do.

I'm a grandma blogger. And although I may not be the Pioneer Woman or Dooce of grandma blogging, this is my niche and it fits me quite well. Mostly because there is no other kind of blogger I could be.

I could never be a food blogger because even though I'm a pretty good cook, I don't cook fancy. And I don't take fancy photos of my non-fancy food, either.

I could never be a photography blogger because I really kind of stink at taking photos. Not because of the subjects (of course!) but because I need instruction on setting up awesome shots. Or using Photoshop to fix the not-so-awesome shots. If nothing else, I need a new camera.

I could never be a fitness blogger because, well, I'd need to be fit. And I'm not. And not all that passionate about becoming so.

I could never be a tech blogger because I don't know <cuss> about tech stuff like HTML and trackbacks and, well, I don't know what I don't know when it comes to tech so I can't even tell you what I don't know. Which is why I use Squarespace for my non-tech blog.

I could never be an arts & entertainment blogger because I'm not hip or cool or in the know on anything arts or entertainment related. I just know what I like when it comes to books, movies, music and all things artsy...and most of that I've been directed to by other bloggers. Or Entertainment Weekly magazine.

I could never be a coupon/rebate/thrifty blogger because I hate having to deal with coupons. At least those used at the grocery store. Not so much because I hate coupons but because I hate grocery shopping. Which I've mentioned before. I could maybe be a coupon code blogger because I'm pretty good at finding the codes...when absolutely necessary.

I could never be a fashion blogger because, well, have you seen how I dress? Or wear my hair? Or apply my makeup? 'Nuff said.

I could never be a pet blogger because although I love my dogs and cats oh-so much, I really suck at sounding all sweet and cutesy about them. I'd be more of the Go The F**K To Sleep kind of writer if focusing on my dogs, which would leave me in a quandary since I never (well, nearly never) use the F-word...in real life or in print. Especially not on my blog. Which is making me want to delete that book title. But I won't.

But of all the bloggers I could never ever be, the past few days with Bubby and Baby Mac have made it clear that never in a million and three lifetimes would I have made it as a mommy blogger. My time with my grandsons has given me a new respect for mommy bloggers. Because, truly, I don't know how they do it and still manage to keep a household going and their children growing safe and sound and secure in themselves. I'm not the mom, but I've been playing a backup one in the desert for just a few days now, and, let me tell ya, blogging is the very last thing I have time for and being creative with posts is the very last thing I have mind for.

Which is why you've gotten only this rambling list as today's post. I don't know how the mommy bloggers do it.

Let's just say I'll be sticking with the grandma blogger gig. The title—and the typically no-longer-responsible-for-the-hard-part-of-parenting lifestyle that accompanies it—fits this tired ol' out-of-shape and makeup-less me quite well.

Today's question:

If you could become Pioneer-Woman-level successful in any blogging niche, what would you most like to blog about (regardless of real-life talent, ability, or knowledge)?

Oh, joy!

I know grandmothers shouldn't compare their grandchildren. But since being around Bubby and Baby Mac the last couple of days, I've found it impossible to not compare the boys. Not in terms of bigger, bolder, brighter, or anything of that sort. This isn't a judgement, merely an observation.

I'm talking here about smiles. For I truly don't recall Bubby—as full of unabashed goofiness as he is now—ever smiling as much as Baby Mac does at this age. Megan and Preston agree. I mean, the kid is 10 weeks old and he's more full of grins and giggles than most kids twice his age.

Here's a small sampling of the happy expressions I've been blessed to receive since Friday...and this doesn't even include the ones he generously doled out during the 3 a.m. feeding I covered.

No, in comparison—and by comparing the pert-near thousands of photos I have of Bubby by the same age—Baby Mac clearly has Bubby beat in the smiles-per-hour category.

But then again, Bubby was at a slight disadvantage: He didn't have a goofy older brother to entertain him and encourage continual rounds of grins.

I can only imagine the giggles and grins we'll see from Baby No. 3. And yes, Megan and Preston plan to have more. Eventually.

How could they not after giving birth to sheer joy personified?

Today's question:

Fill in the blank: Of all the people I know, the one who most exudes joy is _______________.