At Grandma's Place

I opened the car door and my grandson looked up, kicked his feet excitedly and reached out for me. It's wonderful to be given the opportunity to fill a part of my grandchildren's lives. It's wonderful when they wrap their arms around your neck, put their face against your cheek and give you a big hug. Since I care for them regularly, I like to be prepared and organised when they arrive. As much as possible, I stick with their normal routine and I like to let their parents know how we filled the day, what exciting discoveries they made and the funny things they said or did. On a practical note, I like to make sure that I'm clear about nap times, feeding times and any other individual requirements. I think that it's reassuring to be able to report back about these essentials, too.  So, I've designed a printable sheet that I can fill in with some of these details so that everyone is on the same page and nothing is overlooked in the care of these precious li...

I was told that once I turned 50, everything would start to fall apart. So, I waited in fear and trembling for these dire predictions to be fulfilled. Helpful though it is, it probably doesn't help your peace of mind for government departments to begin sending through the reminders for health scans and checks, either. It certainly can be a little overwhelming. Thankfully, although I regularly adhere to the recommended health reviews, I have had no real concerns to date. I love that quote about grandchildren: 'If I'd known how much fun grandchildren would be, I'd have had them first.' I will admit, though, that I lack the energy that once I had, and looking after grandchildren can be exhausting. And whenever I forget something, misplace by car keys or find myself hesitating over level 2 or 3 in the supermarket car park, I question the onset of Alzheimer's. So... I was interested recently to take an online test by ShareCare and Dr Oz, 'What's your ac...

I love to read books with my grand-kids and yes, it often means reading the same book again and again. I've lost count of the number of times I've read 'Where is the Green Sheep?' or 'Blossom Possum'. What books do you love to read aloud? Which books are you always asked to read again and again? Over and again, studies highlight the benefits of reading to your kids.For example, a study was made in Rhode Island Hospital to compare two groups of eight months old – one group was read to often as babies, while the other was not.  It was shown that those who were read to have their “receptive” vocabularies (number of words they understand) increased 40 per cent since babyhood, while the non-reading group increased by only 16 per cent.  Kimdoma is an app that enables you to read aloud with your grandchildren any night of the week, whether they live next door or kilometres away. The app combines e-books with video calls which means that you can share the book o...