Ye Ole Leprechaun Trap

Last year, the kids built a "Leprechaun Trap".  It is basically a box with some little things to attract leprechauns on St. Patrick's day, like string, sparkles, gold medals, cute stickers, etc.  The kids loved to put it together and check to see if we caught one.  The day before St. Pats, they spent the night.  Of course, the wee leprechaun had a wee bit of help.  When the kids finally fell asleep, we did our magic and replaced the leprechaun treats with real treats and a couple of stuffed animals (green of course).  Hunter and Grace were soooo excited to see that they trapped their leprechaun.

According to Nana legend, if the leprechaun gets trapped in the trap, the only way he/she can get out is leave some goodies for those who made the trap.  Love this tradition!

So, Grace was quick to make a box for here (when they spend the night) and for her house.  She added a message, "Leprechaun, please leave a stuffed animal."  She wants a rainbow tiger.  Sigh, this will take some magic to find one.  However, the leprechaun's helpers found a rainbow chawhahwa, maybe that will work.

This year, I had to come up with a letter from my leprechaun that said he would come the Saturday before St. Pats.  Grace believed me and was hoping that her house could get a leprechaun named "Sparkles".  I don't know where she came up with "Sparkles" but I wasn't going to let opportunity walk by.

The next day, I wrote a letter to Hunter and Grace as "Sparkles" the leprechaun telling them that she would be there the night before St. Pats.  I put glitter all over and even on the name Sparkles.  It was on green paper and signed "Sparkles" and "catch me if you can".  I left the letter at their house.

The next day, the kids were at my house and the first thing Grace told me was that she got a letter from "Sparkles"!  She was so excited to have Sparkles as her leprechaun this year.  Hunter didn't say anything--he is good to play along.

Grace said that she loved Sparkles handwriting because she had glitter on it and it looks just like your handwriting, Nana!  Smart kid, this might be my last year as Sparkles. Sigh.....

Grandparents Day!

Singing "She's A Grand Ole Flag"

Today was Grandparents Day at Hunter's school and it was fantastic!  I made sure that Annie was invited and even offered to take over her daycare for awhile so that she could.  She found a babysitter but unfortunately, the babysitter thought she wanted her there at 11:30. Things started at 10:30, unfortunately, she missed a lot.  Next year we will plan ahead and hopefully have Lonnie come too!

Wayne was volunteering in a Kindergarten class so, I was in the class with Hunter for a few minutes and had the little guy to myself.  His table had two kids who were by themselves, Allie and Hayden.  I asked them if their grandparents would be coming.  The answer was "No", from both of them. So, I volunteered to be their Nana.  Hayden burst with a big smile and was so excited to share the things he was working on.  Hunter was so good about sharing. Allie was a little shy and I found out it was her first day at school.  Another grandma scooped her up and I was glad to see her one on one with her--I had my hands full with two boys.

The group of students sung "She's a Grand Ole Flag" and I was so proud of Hunter--he was the only one with his hand over his heart and his eyes closed.  Mrs. Rogers, his Kindergarten teacher, taught him well!

Wayne came and I told him we adopted another grandson.  So we went to get lunch and bring it back to the classroom So glad I didn't order a lunch--Oh My God--the gravy, potatoes and turkey were horrid looking!  Hunter was much happier with the lunch his mom made.  We saw a little Hispanic boy sitting by himself at a table and yes.....he became an adopted grandson which he was quite happy about.  Antonio was part of our little family today too. Later I found out the the three of them are best of buddies.  We ate and then went out to the playground.  Hayden is going to be a basketball star--he is awesome at six years old!

Wayne went to get Grace and Morgan at preschool and it was the boys and me.  Annie texted to let me know that she was in the library.  Off to the library and the Book Sale.  I told Annie about our adoptees and she was happy to be an adopted G'ma.  So, the boys picked out books.  Annie bought a couple of books for Antonio and Hunter and I bought a couple for Hayden.  The boys were really happy to be like the rest of the kids in the library with their grandparents and to get gifts--better yet!


We loved doing it for them and it felt pretty good.  I was glad that Annie was my partner in spreading a little joy.  I bought a book for Grace about baby animals which was a life saver when she found out everyone got books.

Wayne and I thoroughly enjoyed our time with Hunter and the other "grandsons".

The class art work was hung in the halls.  One of Hunter's was a drawing of the White House and another President Washington.  One was an essay of "When I am 100" with his picture and a drawing of what he thinks he would look like when he is 100--looked an awful lot like Gramps :)

The essay said:
"When I am 100 years old I'll be a millionaire and a fat person with no kids.  I'll eat lots and lots of pizza. I'll work at my sister's animal shelter. I'll read lots and lots of books. I'll call my fake teeth Choppers".



You gotta love what this little man comes up with!





And of course there was some silliness!  Love to just be crazy and not care who sees you!

 

Hunter's Science Project-Grade 1

Hunter's science project for the 2014 Science Fair was about why California has more earthquakes than Oregon.  He picked out the subject.  Papa and him read the research but Hunter wrote the words to use on the board and in his research paper which I typed as he had them.

The instructions said that parents (and grandparents) would need to help 100%.  I asked other parents if they were going to type too--they all said yes.  In fact, most of them did it for their first grader and Kindergartner.  After six hours and teaming up with my super smart grandson on some words he wanted to use and pictures he wanted, my part was done.

All that was left was Hunter drawing the fault lines and other geographical features and Mama and him to put together the board.

Hunter was quite proud of it and I was grateful to be able to help.

Today, I dropped off Hunter and Wayne helped him take in his project.  I sat with Grace in the car and watched as so many kids and their parents/grandparents carted in the projects.

Learning Science is good, I just can't believe the requirements for Kindergarten and 1st Grade.  I spoke to a couple of parents and they said that their kids were not into it, so, the parents did it all.

Well, yes, I did a lot of typing for him but if you ask Hunter to explain his board and report--he can and with a lot of detail.  He knows his stuff!  He is way ahead of his class!  And I am one proud Nana!

Homemade Granola

My hippie days are returning!  I have been meaning to make some homemade granola and yesterday I did.  It was yummo!  I put in dried cherries, Scottish oats, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, ground flax, chia seeds, and some carob chips.  Wow, it was wonderful!  To prevent me from overdoing since Wayne didn't want any of this healthy treat, I portioned out into snack bags.

I love homemade potato chips with little or no oil, some salt, microwaved crisp--better than Lay's Potato Chips and healthier!

I am really trying to get away from processed foods and can't wait to try something else. Another thing I have done is to try once a week one of my Pinterest recipes. I have several pinned.

My biggest challenge lately is fast food--primarily McDonalds.  My car knows the drive thru only too well.  My Grace loves to share an Egg McGriddle with me (and lately Misha) which is good then there is little for me.

So, I put together a jar.  Hunter decorated it with hearts since the focus is on my cholesterol getting down.  McDonalds has not helped with my levels. Every day that I don't go to any fast food and regular restaurant, I place a one dollar bill in it.  I have $11 so far!  My goal is to get enough to treat myself to a massage at Massage Envy.  A massage is something that I would never buy for me.  I had one done years ago and loved it so much but it is a luxury and there are more important things that need my money, so it was the perfect goal for me.  Hopefully, I will be able to do it by my birthday!

Kindergarten Valentines

Wednesday after Valentine's day, Wayne came home with a big grin and a bag of valentines from his favorite Kindergarteners.  He was noticeably touched by their handwritten notes to "Mr. Lund".  Volunteering at Kindergarten has been the best thing for  him.  He even told a potential employer that he would need Wednesdays off if he worked since that was the highlight of his week (other than two grandchildren).

Grace saw his stash and determined that she could help him divide eventually between him and her.  She was anxious to organize.  Yes, she kept the best but Wayne didn't care.  She was happy and impressed with all he received.  Candy is never wasted with her around!

Grace: My Latest Page in My Art Journal

I had shown Hunter his art page and Grace was quick to say that she wanted her page!  Hunter LOVED his and I was quite proud that he did.

As for Grace's... she said that it has to have animals!  I got to working on it, creating within her specifications.  So, I decided to not have a herd of animals.  This is Miss Grace--she loves her animals and loves to dress herself.  She picks loud stripes for tights or leggings and her sparkly pink/purple books.  She is truly a fashion diva!

I posted on Facebook and Annie replied that Grace loved the picture (she has her today)!  My job is done and now I will go onto the next page.  Not sure what that will be but looking forward to my "me time" with my art!

Computer Nightmare on Pine Street

OK, it was to be a day that I can just kick back and install a new video card and router on my computer.  I figured it wouldn't be that complex and shouldn't take too long...but boy, was I ever wrong on that!

My video card was four years old and Hunter's Train Tycoon 3 was killing it more each day.  Plus the day before, my router decided it was only going to handle one thing at a time.  OK, so I have one Kindle tablet, one Samsung tablet, three TVs with Roku on each one, three computers, and two network printers when the poor thing was only supposed to handle a total of three items.

Sigh, so we headed out to Frys to pick up both items.  I paid and left but had a bad feeling.  Checking my purse my bad feeling got worse.  My debit card was gone.  Fortunately, we didn't leave the parking lot yet and I hobbled (still can't run) back to get it.  After giving a bundle of identification to prove I was me, I got it back.

Saturday was my day to concentrate on installation of these two items plus one more minor installation (or so I thought).  Wayne installed the video card into the CPU case and I did the software end--I did this flawlessly on his computer.  Usually there is no problem but today was different.  I won't go into all the issues I had but I had tried several options to get this critter going. Yes, I am computer savvy--but just enough to be dangerous!

After a couple of hours and at wits end, I called to talk to Larry--they weren't answering so, I called my back up technician, Bill, across the street.  Hunter's friend Issac's dad.  We help them out with sitting and other things and he helps on computer problems that I can't handle.

Bill came over and had it going after a couple of troubleshooting solutions that I didn't know about--it is nice to learn something out of this venture.

He left and I started to set up my router. Well, two hours later, four York Peppermint Patties later and I was fit to be tied, so, I called Bill back.  He worked at it for an hour and ended up taking it back to his house to reset the router.  I found out it takes two people to reset this router (yes, I tried it on it but it didn't work, I needed one more person).

Router going, network setup, and I started on my WiFi digital scale.  I bought it a week ago and kept putting it off.  So, forty five minutes into this setup, I found my operator technical error--I had to set it up on a laptop.  After noting that, I got it done in ten minutes.  Works great!

After all this, I had a mega migraine!  Oh well, it is all done until the next thing that needs replacing.  I see a Costco box of chocolate in my future before shopping for the computer part....and maybe a wee bit of wine ...heck, I'll just call Bill and commit to a couple hours of free babysitting!  Less calories and headaches!

Bibby Wings

Once in awhile, the LORD puts you in a situation were you have to be acknowledge what He has been trying to tell you for a lifetime. That moment happened a couple of days ago.

Grace was telling me about her PaPa. She was bragging about the "big muscles" he came back with from Canada.  She showed me her muscle in her arm and of course I showed her mine.  She examined it a bit and said, "Nana, you have too much skin!" referring to my old flappy arms while showing me her young smooth firm skin.

Now I have issues with acceptance with this "wonderful" genetic gift.  "Bibby Wings", I referred to them as since my Nana Bibby and Mom gave me them through genes.  Nana and Mom had wings too, they didn't mind them at all.  All my life I have hated these horrid things. I hid them at every opportunity.

When I was 118 lbs, I still had them--so unfair!  They firm up a bit when I exercise but not much--they are the same measurement flabby as well as muscle--I swear I was born with them as a babe!  In Art College, a student drew caricatures of all of us in the class.  I was horrified when he drew my skinny body with flabby arms. I tore up the drawing but the memory was burned in my mind.

In the past year, I have been attempting to come to terms with these arms.  Sigh, the picture still stays even when people tell me I have "average-sized" arms.  I couldn't shake it.

So, here is my precious Grace telling me this.  You would think I would be hurt or angry......but I wasn't.  I actually laughed.  Then she said, "You should ask Jesus for more muscle in your arms, Nana."

I was touched deeply on that and found myself saying, "You know, Grace, I think Jesus loves me just as I am and loves my arms this way too.  You know my Nana had arms like these and I loved her like no other even with her arms like that because she gave the best hugs!"  Yep, I got a hug on that .....not only from Grace but from Jesus, too.  I am at peace.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is extra special this year because when I opened my door in the morning, two smiling faces greeted me with a big heart of York Peppermint Patties and a card signed by them.  Love the card!  Love the chocolates and am glad that Wayne loves them too because I could eat the whole box by myself.

I also got a Valentine of chocolates from Stacey, her hubby and their kids.  Wayne and I have been helping out with picking up Morgan at daycare and bringing her to school and bringing her back to daycare.  We don't mind it helping out at all and enjoy Morgan's company.  Since we have gotten close to their family, we got all of them Valentine's candy too!

Wayne and I had dinner the night before Valentines at Olive Garden.  I had my usual dish and it was delish!  Stuffed Chicken Marsala....yummo!  Both of us agreed a long time ago not to get each other Valentine gifts, we go to dinner instead. And that is fine with me, when we want something we always just go and get it and it isn't on a holiday.

Speaking of Wayne, let me tell you what he does for others. One of the many reasons I love this man!

He always takes care of our neighbor's, Clair, yard.  Clair has emphysema and can't do much as far as mowing, so Wayne does it for him.  He also fertilizes and adds grass seed when needed.  Patsy, his wife, bakes little things for a thank you for him doing that, she even embroidered a towel with him mowing on it. This year for Christmas they gave us movie tickets for a thank you.

And he volunteers at Kindergarten.  He did this last year at Trost and loved it, so, it was natural to continue doing it.  Last week, he came home and bragged about Antonio's reading.  Seems Antonio has a lot of problems with his attention and learning but responds well with Wayne.  Wayne loves to sit with the Kindergarteners and let them read to him and help when they get stuck.  He does that with Grace too.  He sits out in the hall when the Russian Orthodox children can't partake of the parties (their parents have made the request to not participate).  They do projects with him so that they have something to do and they love it.

And he volunteers to assist the instructor at CCC's Drafting department.  He doesn't mind meeting some students outside of the class on his time; he enjoys teaching "his replacements".  For his help, the students pay him in bags of treats for the Kindergarten. Since his payments have increased lately, the rest of the school gets snacks too!  Alot of the kids don't bring snacks to school and he has brought in bags of pretzels, animal crackers, gummie bears, goldfish and more that he has been paid in.  The kids love it!

And he is on a first name basis with the school principal who admires him for all he does for the school. The staff know him and make him feel needed and wanted there and that makes him so happy.  So important since he gets depressed with no job.

And Wayne is the first to help anyone out who needs it, whether it be an elderly person with a door or paying anonymously for our favorite Canby-ite, Rose.  Rose is a special needs elderly gal who walks around town in reds or pinks in odd outfits with hats to match. She stops to have coffee and soup here and there. Once in awhile we see her at a restaurant and Wayne and I will pay the waitress money so Rose eats free.

And he loves his grandchildren, Hunter and Grace.  He is so proud of both of them and how they have grown. He has been a big help with taking care of the kids and getting them to school.  Wayne and Hunter are often glued to the TV watching science, NASA, How It's Made, and more like that.  He gets Hunter going with science projects and Hunter loves it!  Grace enjoys building things with Wayne, watching Disney movies, reading, making and building things, doing projects, and brushing his small amount of hair on his head.  Sometimes she acts annoyed at "Gramps" but she can't help that little smile that sneaks across her face.

And he loves my daughter, Alison, as his own.  It is hard to find a man willing to do that and am grateful that he does.  We are his family and that is it. He worries about her just like he worries about his daughter, Leslea.

And he loves me with all my faults and God knows I have them!  Wayne spoils me everyday by making a great cuppa tea every morning before I get up.  He is always making me feel loved. Okay, there are times when he is a little quirky--I call it "Wayneisms" but nobody is perfect--he is perfect for me! I truly love him as he is.

Hunter: My Second Art Journal Page

It is another snow day and I spent most of the morning on my next page in my art journal. Once I begin, I can't stop--love it!  This page is all about Hunter and his obsession with space.  Wayne and he have been watching the NASA channel along with the other space programs that we have recorded for him.  They were plotting how to make it to Mars--hence, he is on Mars on this artwork.  He is brilliant, so I added the definition of the word.

I love that he is so into astronomy, I was too as a young girl.  I always wanted to be an astronaut but lacked the confidence to pursue my dream. I'd look up at the night sky and be amazed at His Glory and work.  I am still amazed!

Hunter lugs in books all about space just about every morning that he comes over here.  He can tell you all the facts about each one.  We are so proud of this little guy--he is like a sponge taking in knowledge.

This is one of his drawings.  ISS is the International Space Station. He told his mom that he is planning four more space stations in order to make it to Mars--what a BRILLIANT little man!

Hunter's Trip to Mars

First Page in My Art Journal

Seems like it took me forever to begin but I finally did!  This mind you is really new to me in the sense that you have to be spontaneous which I failed at but I have more pages to go.  I have to have some plan in mind. I had some fabric left over from the time when I did some book making (the fish) and added it to the page.  I wrote a couple of verses I like around the sunflower.

First page, done!  Now onto the next page.  I have no idea what I will do it, maybe it will be spontaneous?  Then again probably not!