Cinderella Days

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Cinderella Days!  Fall Fun!

I just love this time of year!  Although it’s been a bit of an adjustment for my two granddaughters, Makena and Marli, to give up their shorts and flip flops, they are enjoying the feel of fall in the air and the festive fun of pumpkins and the anticipation of Halloween!

Since Makena is away at kindergarten in the mornings now, Marli and I have had the chance to enjoy some fun times together!  Marli tickles me with her sweet, energetic disposition, and she always keeps me amused by her cute chatter and her curious nature as we play and work together!  I would imagine that most grandparents find it delightful to watch the personalities of each of their grandchildren grow and develop!

My mom used to say that she’d love to bottle the energy of a two year old and drink it on days she lacked her own!  Wise words!!

Halloween Decorations And Other Fall Fun!

Since my daughter is building a new home, some non-essentials like her holiday decorations are in storage, so I told Makena that we’d decorate my home together for Halloween.  As the girls helped me get boxes out of my storage room and placed items they unwrapped around my house, it renewed my Halloween spirit to see them so excited to help!  What is it they say about holidays being for our children…and grandchildren?  Whatever it is–it’s true!

I think being in school has made Makena even more inquisitive!  When she asked me why there was such a thing as Halloween…I have to admit, we had to go ask “Mr. Google”!

The page we looked up on Halloween gave some good details that are simple to explain.  You can find all the information here.  It was interesting to learn that Halloween means “Summer’s End” and is based on an ancient Celtic holiday.  It was believed that spirits came to visit on the last day of October, so everyone dressed up to scare them off!

 I think Marli simply liked the fact that she had a friend just her size!

Although we are more than a week into October, the girls had fun making their Halloween Countdown Chain!  I remember making these with my mom at Christmastime out of butcher paper that we colored and decorated before she cut them into strips for us to link together.  I thought it would be fun for the girls to do one for Halloween!

There’s such a wide variety of holiday paper available at the stores now!  Makena and Marli had fun picking out their favorites!

I made sure there were enough strips of paper to make a loop for each day until Halloween.  You can even randomly write down an activity to do every few links or so, then when it’s torn apart you’ll have something fun to look forward to doing together as a family!

Fall Fun At The Pumpkin Patch!

Picking out that perfect pumpkin always seems to be a magical experience!

In considering “safety first”, these pumpkin kits are perfect!  They are easy to assemble and not nearly as messy as carving a pumpkin, so the girls were able to do most of the work themselves!    

This bumble bee kit came with instructions to paint the pumpkin’s face black, but Makena said she wanted to leave it orange because it was a girl bumble bee!  (That made the decorating process much easier!) 

Makena loved the wings on her pumpkin!

Since we have a family Disneyland trip scheduled next month, Marli is all about Minnie Mouse!  Any kind of character or animal you can think of, it seemed like there was a corresponding pumpkin kit!   As we finished up our work on the pumpkins, they seemed to take on their own personality and were almost like new friends for the girls!

Happy Fall, Y’all!!

I’d love to hear fall decorating or craft ideas you have!  I’d like to have a few extra on hand for the next few weeks to come!

–Mary   

     

Cinderella Days!  Two Fun Busy Worker Bees!

The work ethic exhibited by Cinderella in the classic Disney movie, is alive and well in my darling granddaughters!  

Despite the outdoor construction going on around our house this summer, I didn’t want the dusty mess to hamper the fun I enjoyed with my two sweet granddaughters when they came to visit.  My worries were quickly put to rest though, as soon as I realized that Makena and Marli thought cleaning up my patio was just another opportunity for us to share a fun afternoon together on one of our recent “Cinderella Days”!

In his book, Life’s Greatest Lessons–20 Things That Matter, author, Hal Urban, points out that “…work and fun aren’t opposites!”  My cute granddaughters emulated this perfectly as they helped me clean my patio!  Just like busy, little worker bees, Makena and Marli happily flitted from one job to another while they chattered and laughed with delightful, synchronized energy and teamwork!  I was mesmerized while watching them work beside me!

Makena and Marli almost seemed to have an unspoken language as they worked together…while one sprayed on the cleaner, the other followed and wiped up afterward!  They especially enjoyed using grandpa’s air compressor to blow the dust off the wicker furniture!

I believe there is no greater feeling of satisfaction than that of completing a task and knowing you’ve done your best!  Even at their young ages, my daughter and her husband have obviously done a great job of helping their girls enjoy good work habits!

It’s important to have children see that we can laugh, play and have fun while we work!  Marli reminded us to take time to admire our efforts!  I think it’s also good to enjoy a little reward for your hard work too!

“The harder I work, the more I live!”  George Bernard Shaw (playwright)

I’d love to hear how you make work fun in your families!

–Mary

Also, as the baseball season gets closer to the playoffs and the upcoming World Series, I want to give special recognition to my granddaughter, Makena, and the great job she did playing on her t-ball team this summer!  My husband and I loved watching our children play baseball and softball throughout the years when they were growing up, so it was fun to see Makena carry on the tradition with such enthusiasm!

 Cute princess girls not only work hard, they wear ball caps too! 

XOXO!

        

Cinderella Days…A Fun Sleepover Edition!

Like I’ve said before, there’s nothing quite like watching your own children being parents!  I also remember how it tugged at my heartstrings to leave my children.  We were excited however, to have our granddaughters stay with us for a couple of days, and Malia knew she would be busy providing Shane support during his bike competition last weekend!

I had gotten the girls these Minnie Mouse suitcases in anticipation of their upcoming sleepover.  They had all sorts of special treasures stockpiled in them!

Ever since going there for her mom’s birthday, Makena wanted to go back to the Spaghetti Factory and sit inside the big trolley in the middle of the restaurant!  (Without even reminding the girls, they remembered their “restaurant” manners!) 

After bubble soup, story time and back tickles, the girls were tuckered out from their big night on the town! 

My husband always used to say that he slept the best when our kids were all under our roof and asleep in their beds!  Since that hasn’t happened in a while now, he was able to get some really good sleep with Makena and Marli sleeping over!

All kids seem to love play lands!  Just bring on the gallon-sized sanitizer afterwards!

Grandpa added a new dimension to our “Cinderella Days!”  We jam-packed a lot into a short amount of time!  As special as it is to see your husband with your own kids, there’s nothing like a grandpa with his grandchildren!

Makena quickly mastered the slip and slide knee glide!

When we went to a matinee movie, I think we watched Makena and Marli watching the movie almost as much, if not more, than we watched the movie ourselves!

A well-loved playroom!

It’s funny how some of the games your kids enjoyed playing, are the same ones your grandchildren love too!

Makena and Marli love to draw and color!

Grandpa drew some funny cartoon people.  Then like he did with our children, he had us take turns making up a story about the pictures he drew.  Makena loved this!

There was an Uncle Jasper, an Aunt Edna and a rascal cousin Kipper among the crazy characters in Makena and grandpa’s story!  Too funny!  If you want to see imagination at its best–I strongly suggest this activity!

Makena made up a story about this picture titled “The Gum Drop Balloon”! 

The balloon would drop gum drops and treats to all the children who didn’t have any!  I’m not kidding, I was about in tears!  Our children and grandchildren have bigger hearts than we can ever imagine!

Meanwhile, I’m not sure what Marli’s doll had done–but…!!???!!

Grandpa admitted he was tired when it was time for the girls to go home, but it was that “good” kind of wonderful tired!

Cuddling and loving our cute granddaughters last weekend, helped remind my husband and I that we need to do better at planning fun things even when it’s just us!

I also think it’s a nice surprise for their mom, to have your grandchildren’s suitcases packed and ready to go with clean clothes!

–Mary