Cinderella Days

Cinderella Days!  Free Spirits!

My granddaughters greeted me this past Tuesday morning with their usual exuberance, and after their mom gave me a couple of quick instructions before leaving for an early morning meeting, Makena couldn’t wait to tell me that she was going to be trying out a new gymnastics class the next day! (Makena’s pronunciation of the word is more like “gi-NAS-tics”!  I can’t help but laugh every time she said it!  It’s too cute!)  It’s been so exciting to watch Makena anticipate all the fun, new changes in her little five-year old life!  I know it’s bittersweet for her parents, but Makena’s absolute delight in being able to go participate in these activities is a joy to watch and it makes me wish I could be more courageous in trying new things!

Makena knew her request to practice her summer-salts and hand-stands could be easily accommodated on this particular “Cinderella Day”, since one of hers and Marli’s favorite things to do lately came about by sheer coincidence!  After my husband had attended a scout camp one weekend earlier this summer, he left his sleeping bag and foam pad in our garage to air out for a few days before putting them away.  When Makena and Marli came to be tended a day or two later, they quickly spied the big foam pad and were both very eager to try their “gi-NAS-tic” skills out on it!  Thus, began the love affair these two, cute girls have with this free-spirited activity!  More often than not, items found around our homes that are inexpensive and very simple, are the things that end up providing children with many hours of pure, unadulterated bliss!

              

At this age, their “free spirits” seem to defy gravity!  My camera tried hard to keep up!

Each time she started down the mat, Makena would say, “Watch me, grandma!  I can do this so good!  Why is it, I wonder, that we sometimes lose this ability to really believe in ourselves?

It truly seems to be a state of pure, free-spirited bliss!

I think we might all feel better if we explored our inner “free spirits” more!

What simple, ordinary things do your kids or grandchildren find fun to play with? 

Also…

Congratulations to Makena, who started her first official day of kindergarten today!  As you can see by the huge smile on her face, she was so excited!    

Seems like yesterday when I was taking her mom to kindergarten! 

Knowing that Makena would be starting kindergarten this week, my son-in-law, Cole, sent me this link to a funny YouTube clip on how children responded to questions about their first day of kindergarten…I asked Makena a few of the same questions:

What did you do in kindergarten today?

“Ummmm, I played on the new playground…and oh, I learned stuff and got to put my book bag in a cubby!”

Did you make any friends?

“Well, I played with a lot of kids on the playground!”  After some prompting from my daughter, she said, “Uhhh, I have a new friend at my table named, Claire!”

Are you excited to go again tomorrow?

“Yes, but I have to help my mom do a lot of papers by tomorrow!”  (My daughter can definitely vouch for that! Ha!)

Hope it’s a great school year for everyone!

–Mary

Cinderella Days!  Young Entrepreneurs!

When my granddaughters and I ended our patriotic scavenger hunt with snow cones last month, I couldn’t help but notice the intrigue on Makena’s face as she watched the young girl working inside the small trailer, making the icy treats and handing out change to customers from a small cash register that sat on a shelf by an assortment of colorful flavoring bottles.  Ever since then, Makena has wanted to make some sort of little stand where she and Marli could sell drinks and treats to the kids in my neighborhood.  Considering that everyone is going back to school next week, I decided I’d better try and fulfill Makena’s entrepreneurial wishes for this week’s “Cinderella Day”!  I’ve helped my own children run a few lemonade stands before, and once they even sold mini ice cream cones!  I recognize however, that times have changed, and individually wrapped candy novelties and small-sized, sealed drinks were a better investment for Makena and Marli’s first business venture!

I’ll pretty much let the pictures tell the story of our fun day!

It requires some work and preparation to be young entrepreneurs!  Makena and Marli were happy and willing participants! 

Getting set up and discussing the best sales approach!  It tickled me how dedicated these two cute girls were to this activity!

They even did a practice run!

Marli conducted a product taste test!

Marli also figured that any sales tactic was worth a shot!  I almost collapsed with laughter on the grass when I turned and saw Marli doing this!  Makena wasn’t impressed however, and just shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes–like big sisters do!

Soon the customers started coming–including Makena and Marli’s dad!  Like any good parent, he reminded the girls to smile at the customers and thank them when they paid their money!  In being true to the accountant that he is, he also told the girls he’d figure the taxes they’d owe on their earnings–not catching his humor, Makena again, just rolled her eyes. 

Grandpa came and got in on the action too, while Marli honed her sales skills even further by trying to sell some candy to a customer who just bought drinks! 

The girls divided the tasks well and ran their little stand like pros!  Marli handed out drinks, while Makena let the kids pick the flavor of treat they wanted and put the money in the cash register drawer.

Grandpahelped them count their earnings!  Makena loved separating out the various coins into piles!  The girls are saving the money for an upcoming Disneyland trip! 

Nothing like relaxing with friends and having an ice cream cone after a big day as young entrepreneurs!

Thanks to good friends and neighbors who supported this little business venture and made it such a fabulous success for these two cute, young entrepreneurs!  Truly, you live by the advice H. Jackson Brown gave in his booklet, “Live And Learn And Pass It On”!

 –Mary

Cinderella Days!  Back To School Edition!

In my granddaughter, Makena’s case, I guess it would be the “starting school” edition, but she did attend pre-school for two years.  Just like her mom, even at her young age, Makena seems to love every aspect of school, from the social interactions, to the neat activities planned to encourage learning and creative development!

For this week’s “Cinderella Day”, my daughter, Malia and I planned a school shopping trip with Makena this past weekend.  (It pulled at my heartstrings a little to leave Marli behind!)  Our special outing reaffirmed again in my mind what a grown-up girl Makena is getting to be now!  We all had so much fun, and it was indeed a special day that I will forever treasure as the lucky grandma to this darling, precocious little girl!

This is the darling face that greeted me as I pulled in to pick up Malia and Makena for our “girl’s day” of school shopping!  (This melts my heart!)

In keeping with tradition from when Makena’s mom was a little girl starting school, we all headed out for a fun day of school shopping.

Right off the bat, we found the school shoes of Makena’s dreams! Malia was probably a little less inclined to buy the more trendy “light-up” shoes, but compromise was the name of the game, and it played out like a charm!  I was so impressed with their mother-daughter negotiation skills! 

Holding onto them like her life depended on it, Makena was very happy to wait in line to buy her new school shoes!

Sometimes the “real fun” of school shopping is the silly banter that goes on as the clothes are tried on and modeled.  Makena was a willing participant…what a hoot!

We enjoyed a nice lunch break at Olive Garden, Makena loves their salad!  Just like I used to do when my kids were little, Malia reminded Makena of her “restaurant manners”–Makena was a doll!  I still say one of the best things in life is seeing your own children being great parents!

Buying a back pack put compromise tactics to good use again…I marveled at Malia’s skill of being a diplomatic negotiator while still maintaining her dignity and Makena’s composure!  Funny story, when Makena spontaneously ran down the store aisle wearing this back pack, she exclaimed, “I will be able to run fast for the bus with this back pack!”  I thought she said, “I will be able to run fast from the boys with this back pack!”  Needless to say, we all had tears of laughter running down our cheeks; we had to pull ourselves together at the check-out counter!  (Although, Makena won’t readily admit it, I think Malia and I can both vouch for the fact that she does like boys–a little bit anyway!  The boys love Makena!)

The end of a perfect day!  I think we all know that school shopping with our kids and grandchildren is about a lot more than just shopping!  My cup truly runneth over!

What are some fun experiences you’ve had while school shopping?  I’ve got some fun “starting a new school year” traditions that we have in our family coming up…be thinking of some of yours–I’d love to hear about them!

–Mary