Grandparenting

My mom, aka Grandma Sylvie, inspires me and has encouraged my writing ever since I was a little girl. She was the one who told me about the Examiner and told me to apply. I got accepted within a week and have been having a great time writing for them - and making money!

I asked her to put some guest posts together for me so that I can have a grandparent's voice and wisdom of her years of parenting experience to share and include here. She's awesome and continues to inspire me with everything she says and does. Here's her latest:

I worked the gift shop (volunteer work) yesterday and saw a good idea for me to start journaling again. I haven't journaled for about 10 years or longer.

There was a book there called "Simplicity Journal." On each page were the words: Happy, Funny, Heart, Good, Challenge, Learned, and Other Thoughts with enough space next to each word to write one word to a short paragraph.

My words for today are:

Happy- I am happy that Hip_M0M called me while on her road trip. It was good to talk to her and hear her voice.

Healthy- I took a walk and walked farther than planned. I saw an old man getting his mail and he told me to keep walking. He wished he could walk but can't. It is amazing how a few words of encouragement can make this 58-year-old body move.

Hip- I play my favorite music. Right now I am listening to the soundtrack of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Grandparenting- I look at the grandsons' photos and pray that they are happy and safe.

Take care and keep smiling.

Grandma Says I Can!

The Juicebox Jungle has a new video up this week, entitled "Grandma Says I Can!" which is all about the relationship between our children and their grandparents. Many parents bite their tongues when it comes to the situations our parents or in-laws let our offspring get away with. They never let us get away with those same things when we were their age.

My mom and dad live thousands of miles away. My son's other grandma lives even further. So, needless to say, I pretty much accept the fact that their role will consist of some spoiling behavior and I just shake my head when I see my parents give my son chocolate in between meals.

My mom (aka Grandma Sylvie) continues to inspire me. She takes care of my nephews at least once a week and even survived an overnight with the 1-year-old.

She sent me some great quotes about being a grandparent and I suspect there's probably many more which she felt the need to filter out!

"Grandchildren: The only people who get more out of you than the IRS." - Gene Perret

"My grandchild has taught me what true love means. It means watching Scooby-Doo cartoons while the basketball game is on another channel." - Gene Perret

If you're a grandparent, please share your favorite quote with us. If you have a parent (or grandparent) in your life who can appreciate this, please pass it along. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for them!

Feeling Homesick

I'm visiting my family & friends this week in Minnesota, celebrating many different things, including the wedding of my college friends, my nephew's first birthday and of course, Father's Day.

It's always a whirlwind of a trip whenever we come, trying to cram in as many family visits as possible and squeeze in as many happy hours with friends. One thing I've really been reminded of this time is how precious family truly is

My parents have been keeping an eye on my son while I get some work done (like right now) and my sister and her husband took on an extra child for the night while I enjoyed the wedding and reception of my friends of nearly 15 years.

For those of you who have parents or in-laws close by, be grateful for them, even if there are things they do or say that you might not agree with

I'll miss my family when we get back to our house, but as they say, "Home is where your Mom is" and even though my son is a little homesick now (missing California), my version of being homesick is a little different and I'll miss my family and friends when I return to our place and lives in Southern California

Luckily, my mom and I have discussed having her a bit more involved long-distance, which means she'll be writing on this blog on occasion, offering some grandmotherly advice and providing some great stories about her own childhood and how parenting has changed now that she's a grandmother.

Stay tuned for more...

Great Grandmas

It's hard to be away from my family during the holiday season but this year, with my grandmother passing, it's especially difficult for me to be thousands of miles away, unable to grieve with my loved ones or be there for her funeral.

I will be honoring her in my own way tomorrow, remembering the special woman who lived to be ninety after raising seven children on her own. She never once complained so I will think of her when I go through a challenging moment with my one and only child, and try especially hard to stay positive, like my grandma always did.

My grandmother truly was a unique individual and I will miss her dearly. My son was only nine months old when he met her for the first time. Here he is with my mom and my grandmother, back in 2004.

Three generations and three people who mean the world to me.

San Diego Parenting Examiner

My mom sends me links to some great websites that I might otherwise not have the chance to discover. Just last week, she asked me if I had ever been to The Examiner website. I hadn't.

She sent me the link to the San Diego network of sites there and right away, I was intrigued. How could I write for them? My blog's RSS feed is pulled into sites like Wellsphere and Intent, but I would love the opportunity to have my writing appear on sites that are local, and relevant to what I teach and practice as a Certified Parent Educator.

The same session where I first entered The San Diego Examiner site brought me to the page where I was able to apply to be a writer for them. I'm not shy about my abilities and experience, so I felt pretty confident about the possibility of writing for them, but I had no idea that they'd respond as quickly as they did.

I received a phone call from them the very next day. In the message that was left for me (and one that I listened to more than once), they mentioned that they had a chance to see my writing (here) and wanted to "bring me on board." Seriously. I was just as shocked as you are right now!

My first post went live today! I leave tomorrow for an out-of-town wedding but I'll be writing from this point forward for both sites - mine and theirs - and I hope you visit both sites and continue to leave wonderful comments that keep the discussion moving forward.

I wouldn't have made it this far in my writing career if it weren't for the readers who stop by here and who are also (in most cases) bloggers who inspire me, entertain me, make me smile and laugh out loud as well as put up with my own comments on their sites.

Thank you for continuing to read my lengthy posts, for commenting without judging and for asking me questions or making statements that encourage me to think outside the box and explore other perspectives and possibilities.

If you're just discovering my site or have ended up here by chance, welcome! Take a look around and let me know what you'd like to read more of, either on this site or over at my page on The Examiner.

Moms Like Us

My mom is my behind-the-scenes partner. I don't think she realizes how much of an impact she has made on my career as a writer. Although, she probably remembers more about the beginning of my writing career than I do since I started writing at an early age (on her typewriter).

She's the one who introduced me to Alltop and she continues to send me links, articles, blog posts and websites that always leave me wondering what I'd do without her...where I'd be.

Just yesterday, she sent me a link to a new site dedicated to connecting moms, locally. Of course there's a site for me here in San Diego and it also covers many cities throughout the country.

So far, the cities include:

• Baltimore
• Boston
• Charlotte, NC
• Chicago
• Cleveland
• Dallas-Ft. Worth
• Denver
• Detroit
• Hartford-New Haven
• Houston
• Los Angeles
• Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
• Minneapolis (Twin Cities)
• New York City
• Orlando
• Philadelphia
• Pittsburgh
• Portland, OR
• Raleigh-Durham
• Sacramento
• San Diego
• San Francisco (Bay Area)
• Seattle-Tacoma
• St. Louis
• Washington, D.C.

Head on over to connect with local moms in your area!

Advice from Grandma Sylvie

Being a parent is one role that never ends. My mom (aka Grandma Sylvie) has always been a great role model for me as she and I had an amazing relationship while I was growing up and an even stronger one now that I have a child of my own.

She's the same Grandma who told me she was going to start practicing her cartwheels when I found out I was pregnant. When my son was just two years old, she made my day (and lasting memories) by doing cartwheels in the park during our family vacation Hawaii while my son laughed and tried to imitate her.

Just today she sent me an email that provided some great advice and lovely thoughts on grandparenting- worthy of sharing and passing on to your loved ones (in my opinion):

Life:

The older you get the better you know yourself.

Love:

It is the greatest gift you can give someone, although you may not get love back in return.

Parenting:

Proved to me that there is a God - and God's mom helped me through it!

Favorite Grandparent Perks:

Grandchildren are the best part of life and worth waiting for.
I love their laughter and honesty.
They know how to make your day just by holding your hand,
giving you a hug or smiling at you with a twinkle in their eyes that makes you feel special.
I am always looking forward to the next visit with them.

You'll be hearing more from Grandma Sylvie in the near future. She's preparing for Grandbaby #3 which means she'll probably be doing cartwheels in the waiting room while my sister's delivering.

Daddy Bloggers

My mom has been keeping me up to date with the parenting sites, blogs and articles that she comes across in her daily reads. This morning she sent a link to an article from the St. Paul Pioneer Press about daddy bloggers and the rise of stay-at-home dads and those who choose to write about their experiences and point of views of parenthood.

I'm so excited to add these links to the list of Hip Parents:

Collide and Converge
Dad Gone Mad
Tapirs Poop
Matt Logelin
Maya Reads
This Little Piggy Had Tofu
Team Trixie
Schuyler's Monster Blog
Jonathan Rundman
Looky Daddy

And don't forget to check out these great daddy blogs as well:
Dad's House
The Busy Dad Blog
Dorky Dad
Daddy in a Strange Land
From Here to Paternity
D is for Dad
Dad Thing
meta DAD
Discovering Dad
DIY Father
Try to Keep Up
Hey, Look What I Can Do
Makes Me Wanna Holler
A Man Among Mommies
I Have to Wipe His What?


These dads are all unique in their writing style and of course what they focus on. You'll find blogs written by single dads, stepfathers, new dads, stay-at-home dads, expectant fathers, dads who blog about raising their kids vegan or raising multi-racial children, from fathers who are also widows, and dads who blog about single life and dating. There's something here for everyone.

I encourage readers to send me links to sites you discover in your journey.

Happy Father's Day to all dad-types out there. Enjoy your special day.