Annual Christmas Ornaments

This year's ornaments include a foam penguin (from Target craft kit), handprint snowmen on a clear ball, ice cream spoon Christmas cats, and craft stick and felt reindeer.

Genevieve and Lorelei  proudly display their reindeer.
Genna wanted hers to have a sad face.
 Both girls liked the floppy ear style.


As often happens, I learned some tips for doing these crafts in the future.I will say that the cat ornaments had too many steps for young children. We had to paint one side, wait, paint the other side, wait, and so on. It would be better if they had been spray painted different colors in advance so all the kids have to do is select the ones they want and focus on decorating. I plan to make them with my kindergarteners next year. The snowmen balls are easy but it is difficult for very young children to draw the fine details of eyes, nose, etc. with paint pens. I drew most of the details but Lorelei did do half of hers. Even so, parents will love the fact that their child's little handprints are on the ornaments and will love getting them out in years to come. The reindeer were easy to make but I did go behind the girls with hot glue to redo the felt pieces. They don't adhere well with Elmer's glue. We made several sets of ornaments. As always, I saved a set for the girls. When they get married and get ready for their first Christmas, I wll give them the saved set. I also have a few for our tree at home. They as well put a few on their own tree. The girls will be wrapping and giving the snowman ornaments to their parents for Christmas.

Look out! Volcano Erupting!

Lorelei painting the cone...

Adding the vinegar...

Lorelei and Genevieve have been fascinated with volcanoes ever since they fell in love with a silly movie called "Shark Boy & Lava Girl" as well as being fans of "Dinosaur Train." Lorelei said she wanted to make a volcano so I promised I would on the next visit. I kept my promise and we built a volcano using Lizella clay molded around a large medicine bottle. The girls painted the cone. Inside I added a mixture of warm water, drops of dish detergent, food coloring, and baking soda. Then the girls took turns creating the erupting lava by adding vinegar. We learned that by adding it slowly the lava would flow thick and bubbly. The girls were amazed at the eruptions and I caught some of their expressions. Instead of making the dinosaurs flee, they tried to put them inside the cone. Lorelei asked me what is that inside the volcano and I explained that magma is the lava before it comes out of the earth. We made the volcano erupt over and over. Chad saved the volcano to take to Lorelei's class. It was a great memeory made!

Wow...the eruption!!!

making fruit salad



Lorelei carefully slices her strawberry



Genevieve rinses some berries



Both girls concentrate



We love cooking together!



In September I babysat Lorelei and Genevieve for 3 days while their parents went on an anniversary trip. One of our activities was making fruit salad. While we have done this together before, this time was more involved. Both girls helped wash and slice their fruits. Lorelei was given "sharp knife" instruction and she did very well slicing slowly and carefully. The girls helped me combine our cut up berries, grapes, pineapple, melon, and oranges. We enjoyed the "fruits" of our labor for several meals therafter as the girls and I both love fruit!





princess hair



After having 3 sons and 2 grandsons, I am thrilled to have 2 granddaughters so that I can fix their hair. Lorelei, who is the oldest, lets me "practice" on her(and on her Rapunzel doll). So far I have pretty much mastered 2 styles from the princess hair websites. The first one (shown in 2 photos front and back) is Piggytail Bows. You use the child's hair to create bows. Lorelei does not allow me to take this style out at bedtime! The second style I just did for the first time is Quick Cute Braids. For this one, I didn't do my twists really snug and tight so they appear loose in the photo, which is 3 hours after doing it. Also, you can't see the back of Lorelei's head but her ponytails sit high (because she was sitting lower than me when I styled her hair). It would be better to have lower ponytails so that there will be more braid on the head. I use the styles from the website PrincessHairstyles.com and the blog A Story of a Princess and Her Hair for ideas. They offer great photos and tutorials as well as UTube videos. My next project will be to attempt some simple styles for Lorelei's younger sister Genevieve who currently prefers only headbands.

Family Day at Dauset Trails

April 2, 2011 we met our son Chad and his family at Dauset Trails Nature Center. Our granddaughters Lorelei and Genevieve have never been there so I suggested it. We had a great time together. I made the girls scavenger hunt necklaces so they could look for and mark off the different animals they saw along the trail. Lorelei took this very seriously and even questioned why some animals were not on the card (couldn't fit them all). Gena stayed attached to her Papi...they have a real connection. Dauset Trails is free and offers shaded, wide trails along which are animal enclosures. Some animals have been rescued or rehabilitated. We saw foxes, bison, a cougar, otters, an eagle, hawks, owls or different kinds, a beaver, a black bear, bobcats, and raccoons. In the Wonder Room we saw alligators, turtles, and snakes. The kids could put their hands in the feely box and guess what things were. We also trekked out to the barnyard where we saw pigs, cows, and other farm animals. It was a wonderful family outing!

Tucker: Our First Grandchild

We've been estranged from our oldest son for 18 months. As a result we seldom see our first grandchild, Tucker. His family relocated to Roanoke, Va 7 months ago and cut off communication. Recently they were here for a week during which time we got to see the grandsons briefly at Olive Garden. Tucker, who will turn 7 in 3 days, was shy and reserved around us. But as we exited the restaurant, Tucker was standing there outside the door and he looked up at me and said, "I love you, Mimi." I said I loved him too and I hugged him. We exchanged talk about school and a little girl that says she is his girlfriend. That was it. Even though the time to see Tucker was so very brief, we were glad to see him. We could see he had questions in his eyes and maybe was wondering why he couldn't spend more time with us. It is our opinion that children should not be punished when the parents are upset with the grandparents and other family members. Sadness filled our hearts when Tucker had to leave. We are praying that his parents will make the choice to reconcile with all of the family. Tucker, our precious first grandchild, deserves this. And he deserves to have a relationship with his grandparents.

Tradition of Making and Hanging Ornaments

One of the traditions I am creating every year for/with my granddaughters Lorelei and Genevieve is making Christmas ornaments. This year we made them at  Thanksgiving at my son's house where we were celebrating.That meant I had to wait until the girls came for Christmas all the way to Dec. 30th to let them hang some of the ornaments on Mimi and Papi's tree. We made several sets of each ornament so that the girls could keep a set to hang on their own tree, which they did. We made collage trim candy canes, foam trees, sticker collage balls, and foam reindeer. Lorelei and I also made a Nativity scene. Their mother told me that every day she would have to search the house for the foam reindeer because those were the ones the girls took off and played with every day! Also, I put aside a set of ornaments that I will add to each year and present to each girl when she marries. By then they should have quite a collection. When they take those handcrafted ornaments out one day, hopefully they will bring back memories of "making things" with Mimi, one of the greatest pleasures we now share!