I had the delight of hosting my daughter and her young son at the farm last week. Having not had his first birthday, makes the little one quite dependent on others.  As Grandma, I got to play with him a time or two.

At meal time, he sat in an heirloom, caned high chair. Finger foods were plentiful for my little offspring. They rested scattered on the food tray of the old high chair. The height of the chair is functional, but as you will see, it makes for trouble . . . sometimes.

During this particular visit, the good thing was that his eye/hand coordination had developed quite well. Picking up a piece of cereal and looking it over before putting it in his mouth worked just fine. Along with the eye/hand abilities, he practiced making verbal sounds like, “D”. I encouraged him to say, “Daddy.” However, that word was still a bit too complex for his young mind and body to perform.

Innocently, I started playing a game to help him use his D-sounds. When he dropped a piece of cereal or a utensil, I said a noticeable, “Oh-oh.” My grandson’s eyes dropped to find what had fallen to the floor. Studiously he exclaimed, “D.”  I chimed in with him to say, “Down.” This scenario happened repeatedly.  As a grandma, I thought it was fun to play with him this way. After all, he was learning a lesson on “Down.”

And now we get to the bad thing. The review went very well. He enjoyed dropping what Grandma picked up for him and I enjoyed the, “Oh-oh!”, and the “D…D” exchanges with my grandson. But now Mommy and Daddy have to put up with this funny little game, too.  They find it tiring.

I guess Grandmas can get away with a few things when the kids do not always live with her. But I will have to remember to control the games I teach him in the future. From now on I will consider whether or not the game is Parent-Friendly.

Babies are precious. You might enjoy a card that shows such beauty.  Find it in our product line.

If you are looking for a mothering-site try this one.  http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2014/03/motherhood-mondays-baby-foodan-epiphany.html

photo credit: brendan-c via photopin cc

Has the long winter gotten to you?  If you have very young children in your home, try the excitement of a winter picnic. We had fun with it when our children were small.

You need to work on the menu, the serving place, and the “setting.”

My home is not terribly big.  I decided to use my biggest room for the serving place.  I chose a blanket we use for sitting on the grass as my “picnic tablecloth.”  I served the food on paper plates as we generally do for picnics.

The menu is yours to decide.  Whatever your family typically enjoys on picnics will add to the aura of your experience.  We had “Fun Buns” and gelatin.  Fun Buns are a yeast bread baked in a 8-9 inch round cake pan.  After baking, slice the bread sideways to make a top and bottom of the bun.  Barbecue, pizza burger or cheese burger fillings go great for the sandwich filling.  Before serving, cut the bun/sandwich in wedges.

Typically for a picnic, the setting has trees, flowers, rivers or ponds and even some small creatures.   So, for our picnic, I looked for ways to emulate such a view. I placed our indoor plants in conspicuous places where the family would see them on our picnic.  Because some plants did not have blooms, I stuck stems of artificial flowers in with the green plants to spruce up the scenery.  I gathered small mirrors into one place to fashion a ”pool.”  Bath toys served as fish or ducks for the “pond.”  I gathered various armfuls of stuffed animals hid them behind furniture and lamps.  After eating, we went on a safari hunting for the animals. We all had a fun time with our pretend “winter picnic.”

Home does not have to be boring.  Try making a memory with your very own Winter Picnic.  I think you will be glad you did.

For other fun ideas for picnicking in your home try this link.  http://carriethishome.com/2014/02/indoor-picnic-activity/

Check out our fun, kid-oriented card designs in our website.

photo credit: foilman via photopin cc

photo credit: NicoleAbalde via photopin cc

Many of us have traditions of family Christmases long ago that we zero in on each year.  Christmas, based on the generously lavish gift God sent into the world, i. e., the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior, awakens generosity and gift-giving in people all over the world. Our little home is no exception.

One Christmas, it looked like we would be short of cash.  We determined that we would all have a “Home-made Christmas.” We included the kids in this little concept. Each of the kids got a chance to make gifts for one other and for Mom and Dad.

• Our eldest made me a foot stool of wood with an upholstered cushion.
• My husband and I fashioned a doll out of wooden spools for our young daughter.
• My husband made me a small wooden nativity scene to set on our window sill. He designed a second one as a toy for our small daughter.

Not all of the gifts were made of wood.  My husband likes candy. What a perfect gifts we made for him from our kitchen…peanut brittle and toffee.

Though the home-made gifts worked for us when money was scarce, we need not wait for that reason to make Christmas home-made. Let me encourage you to try it. You may have many resources in your home and garage with which to work.  Be creative. You have plenty of time to get working on it. There are still over 2 months till Christmas. Not only will you be making a gift, you will make a memory!

To purchase cards with the “Nativity” design, drawn of the gift my husband made, follow this link to our store.

Would you like ideas for gift-making? Try this website: http://www.mommysavers.com/frugal-christmas-25-days-of-homemade-gift-ideas/

Sketch by Wenda Grabau

As the summer activities are still very much a part of our lives, what more fun could a young family have on a comfortable summer evening than watching an outdoor movie? Unfortunately, the outdoor theaters in our area are a memory from the past.  So, how about having an outdoor movie at home?

We did that one time.  We invited our friends over to join us.  This was too much fun to do it alone.

Our television easily fit through our living room window.  We mounted it on a small table out in our yard.  Our lawn has a sloped side.  We brought out blankets to serve as seating on the incline.

We popped popcorn.  As the summer sun went down beyond the horizon as we gathered around to enjoy the feature.

The smallest of the children got to play outdoors when their attention wandered. Some children cuddled pets that were not allowed in the house. Any spilled popcorn did not need to be swept up when when the movie was over.  All in all, I would say it was a worthwhile event.

If you decide to try this, be sure there is no rain in the forecast. Pick a place where mosquitoes are not likely to attend. Happy viewing!

photo credit:Randall Grabau
photo credit:Wenda Grabau
photo credit:Wenda Grabau

I have an old cookbook with many recipes to stimulate my creative side.  Although I am not making things no one has ever tried before, in my culture, many of them are no longer commonly done.   It is so easy to stop at a local market or bakery to purchase their wares.

One of these recipes I use is for donuts.  When I consider the cost of flour, sugar and yeast, I could make these delicacies much cheaper.  Granted it takes time and effort.  It is not something I wish to do often.  So when I do, it is special.  We invite friends to share in the experience.

My recipe is a yeast recipe.  The dough is started and has to rise twice before our guests arrive.  My husband and I work at the deep-fat frying.  Our friends and the children get to sugar and frost the donuts when they have sufficiently cooled.  We top the time of by enjoying the yummy fruits of our labors with a tall glass of fresh farm milk.

If you have an old cookbook, check it out.  You may find a fun recipe like this that you will be able to make into an experience you can share with your children and others.

photo credit: joyosity via photopin cc
photo credit: 305 Seahill via photopin cc
photo credit: Qfamily via photopin cc