Cinderella Days

Cinderella Days!  Doc Mcstuffins Is In The House!

Due to all the holiday festivities and our recent  our Disneyland trip, I didn’t have my usual Cinderella Days with my two granddaughters during the months of November and December.

Although we’re pretty much back tonour regular Tuesday schedule now, my youngest granddaughter, Marli, did undergo surgery recently to have her tonsils and adenoids removed.  To help Marli feel better prepared and more at ease for her hospital stay, the girls and I spent some time together playing Doc Mcstuffins!

Doc Mcstuffins is a darling character, who along with her animal friends, stars in a new cartoon on the Disney channel that Makena and Marli dearly love!

The nurse in me loves that Makena and Marli have always enjoyed playing with the doctor kit I have in my play room…

…but for Christmas I gave them an updated Doc Mcstuffins version–complete with sound effects and sparkles!  It’s especially fun to watch the girls play with this doctor kit and maybe in some small way, feel like they are part of their favorite “Doc Mcstuffins” show!

Prior to it being determined that she needed  surgery, Marli had suffered chronic congestion and sinus infections on and off for about a year.  I was impressed as I watched my daughter, Malia, and her husband prepare Marli for her surgery.  At  two and a half, Marli obviously couldn’t really understand all that was going on, but my daughter said that taking the time to play “check-up” and explain to her that the doctor was going to help her feel better was key to helping Marli know she was safe and loved.

Here’s a few other things my daughter shared with me on how she prepared Marli for surgery:

Since Marli’s favorite color is purple, she was thrilled with her purple hospital gown!

No matter how smooth things may go, it’s never fun to see your child undergo surgery!   

Malia also told me that setting aside some of the non-essential activities in their busy schedules helped them all feel less stressed and better able to give Marli the care she needed.  Malia and Shane were also good to include Makena in Marli’s care to help her feel a special compassion during Marli’s recovery.  Grandparents and loved ones are essential in lending a helping hand to care for the children left at home!  Makena and I enjoyed an extra special, one-on-one Cinderella Day while Marli had her surgery, but we were happy to get updates and pictures from Malia to help reassure us about Marli’s condition and let Makena see how her sister was doing.

With all her good care, Marli is nearly fully recovered!  We love this precious, happy girl!     

Even though I worked in pediatric surgery for the first few years of my nursing career, as a grandma, I was anxious about Marli’s surgery.  My mom always told me that this was how she felt whenever her grandchildren faced anything outside their normal routine, but I couldn’t fathom it until I became a grandma myself…imagine that!?!

At age five, Malia, also had to have surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids.  I have such special memories of the loving concern my mom had for me and my family at that time, and the wonderful care she gave us!

It further proves that…

–Mary 

Cinderella Days!  A Few Of Grandma’s Favorite Things!

A little while ago, I spotlighted some of my granddaughters favorite things, and although I am a fairly new grandma, it hasn’t taken me long to acquire a few of my own “favorite things” and “must haves” that help me better cherish this coveted role even more!

Munchkin Snack Catcher

Even with the very best of intentions in mind, I experienced a few mishaps of spilled cereal and crushed crackers on my kitchen floors before I found these Munchkin Snack Catchers, a little gem of a container that is perfect for toddlers on the go who want their snacks as mobile as they are!  They’re good for promoting a bit of independence too–and we all know how important that is to a child–since they can reach in and get their own snack whenever they want it!  I imagine that this would also be perfect for saving errant snacks from escaping in the car or at the store when busy moms are running errands with their little ones who need a treat to pacify them.  Happy child, happy mom–right!?!

Dress Ups!

Buy a few fairy costumes at the dollar store, gather some of your old Halloween costumes, along with any jewelry or other accessories you might have around the house, then sit back and watch the world of “make believe” appear before your eyes–better yet, join in on the magical play time for some of the best fun of your life!

This is a funny picture my daughter sent me of the girls after a dress up session at home!  

 Play Tents!

The ultimate “make-believe” world for most children is a play tent!  I can even remember playing for hours on end with my cousins in makeshift huts made from a card table and blankets when I was a child!  Hands down, this is one of Makena and Marli’s most favorite things to do!  This Pacific Play Cottage Tent is easy to assemble, stands 58 inches tall, and is roomy enough for the girls and all their “stuff”!  (There’s a wide variety to choose from online and at department stores.  It’s a bit of an investment, but well worth it–I still pull out my old card table and a pile of blankets on occasion too!)   

Makena and Marli think putting the tent up is part of the fun!  You just assemble the outside structure, then simply align the fabric tent piece over the poles.  The tent also comes with a nice bag to neatly store everything away when you’re done playing for the day.

Oh, the stories this tent could tell–the ones I have overheard will be treasured forever! Occasionally, Marli has even fallen asleep and had her nap inside the tent after we’ve read books!

Books And Story Time! 

Speaking of story time–there’s nothing like cuddling up together while reading some fun stories!  I loved collecting neat books with my kids, (I still do) and now Makena and Marli take turns picking some of these same books off the shelf for us to read!  I’ve started a collection of some great new books that the girls have selected at the store and added them to my home library, as well.

Now that Makena is in school, I love that she wants to read some of the books to Marli!  Marli’s cute, animated version of these same stories is hilarious!

Whether it’s one of their favorite “Olivia” books, or a classic Disney story, one of my very favorite things to do with my granddaughters is read books with them! Makena loved when we read “Pinky Dinky Boo: Back To School” this summer, right before she stared kindergarten!   

Miniature Dishes and Play Food!

My kids are all much better cooks than I am–I’m sure it must be due in part to all the countless hours spent cooking and baking with their miniature Tupperware dishes!  Ha!  These dishes have certainly withstood the test of time and now my granddaughters love playing with them too!  We’ve also enjoyed “mini meals” on them together for our lunch!

Mess Free Arts And Crafts!

As good as my children have gotten with their cooking skills, I’m afraid I might have stunted their creative painting and craft energy a smidge, since I usually didn’t want to deal with the mess!  Ugh!  However, now that Crayola has come out with their new line of mess free, invisible craft paint, I have expanded my horizons on this front with my granddaughters!

This product comes with special paper that activates the paint colors–otherwise it is just clear gel that doesn’t stain.  I just know a very smart mom or grandma invented this–wish it had been me!

Like a lot of things, my most favorite thing about being a grandma is something I didn’t appreciate as much as I should have when I was a mom…

…I’m so grateful for second chances to really cherish wonderful leg hugs!  It’s hard not to look down and wish these sweet girls could stay this young and innocent forever and ever!

What are a few of your favorite things that you love to do with your kids or grandchildren?  Please expand my horizons some more!  

–Mary

From the book “Life From the Back of a Horse” by Steve J. Johnson-one of my most favorite artists!  My granddaughters love to look at the illustrations of the animals in this book!

Old MacDonald Had A Farm!

We’ve had such a perfect fall season so far!   My granddaughters have loved being able to extend their playtime outside!  We’ve also tried to think of all the things we still want to do while the weather is still so nice!

Just a few blocks down the street from my house is a small family farm that Makena and Marli always point out whenever we are on our way to run a few errands or going to a nearby park.  I decided it was finally time for us to stop and see if we could coax a few of the animals out of their barn.   Being able to see the animals in person gave a whole new meaning to the familiar song “Old MacDonald Had A Farm” for the girls!

It’s always so fun to observe the curious fascination that children have with farm animals!

For Marli, there was a little nervous trepidation too–she was glad there was a fence between her and the animals!  (Try as we might, we couldn’t get the peacock to open its feathers for us, however, the turkey gladly obliged and the girls were thrilled!)

Makena had a couple of days off of school last week, so we were able to enjoy an extra “Cinderella Day”!  My daughter, Malia was able to join us as we all headed out to Gardner Village, a local, vintage shopping venue, complete with animals to pet and hold and a fun Halloween witch scavenger hunt!

Makena has seen pictures and heard stories about how her mom, along with Uncle Jake and Aunt Mandi had pet bunnies when they were growing up!   She was so excited to see the bunnies and hold one of them!

Makena loved getting right in there to feed the animals, but Marli preferred to keep her distance!  (Marli usually wants to do everything Makena does…but when it came to feeding the farm animals, it was a little different story!  Her reaction here is priceless!) 

 Since they were more her size, the chickens were a little less intimidating to Marli! 

 Makena and I decided this was the best picture of the day! 

A Bewitching Scavenger Hunt and More Fall Fun!

The beautiful fall colors against the clear blue skies provided a wonderful panoramic backdrop for a perfect afternoon!

The girls weren’t the only ones who loved the witch scavenger hunt!  Malia and I thoroughly enjoyed helping Makena and Marli check off their list while we did some shopping too!  (This is such a fun event even if you don’t take children!)

From their green skin and wart noses to their fancy hats and sparkly shoes–the witches were delightfully entertaining!  The Halloween Witch Celebration continues until the end of the month.

An afternoon spent jumping into piles of leaves defines “fall fun” perfectly! 

Grandpa just loved Marli’s purple cowboy boots!

Happy Halloween and fun fall wishes to everyone!  My favorite chili recipe is coming soon, served with Parkstone cornbread, it makes the best fall time supper!

–Mary

Good Luck to my daughter, Mandi, who will be running in the New York marathon next weekend!!!  Her dad and I, along with her husband, Cole, will be there to cheer her on and offer any needed moral support! 

Also, since I get asked quite often what Mandi is specifically studying for her PhD, and although I understand the general concept of her very technical studies, this week on the Today Show, they did a really informative segment about the lab where Mandi works and highlighted the research on joint disease and rehabilitation that her group has been working on!  You can check it out here!  

Cole was kind enough to even let me know that it starts at the 1:30 mark and goes until 2:40–he also pointed out that you can see the top of Mandi’s head (she was working behind the scenes running the computer) to the left  behind the desk in the background of the shot at marker 2:30!  Thanks for scoping this out, Cole!!  (Mandi just might find herself in need of some of her own rehabilitation after the marathon!?!)

GOOD LUCK, MANDI!