Getting my craft on

Back in 2012, our dining room table looked like this!

Eight years ago this month, the dining room in our empty nest home was full – not full of people but full of crafty items.

Back in 2012, this mama was up to her eyeballs in preparing for three weddings, three bridal showers, and a rehearsal dinner all in the same year. Believe it or not, all three of our offspring were engaged and all chose to be married in 2012. In order to cushion the expenses of it all, I resorted to hand making items for the events.

It was a whirlwind of a year and I felt like my new occupation became “party planner and creative designer.” The dining room table, covered with various items to be designed, assembled, and readied for the big days to come,  looked like a craft shop exploded.

Ribbon, flowers, lace, hot glue gun, scissors, fancy papers, glue sticks, candles, storage crates, and all kinds of accoutrements to craft special items for church and reception decorations, favors, ceremony programs, invitations, etc. sprawled all over our large dining room table taking up what felt like permanent residence from February through November of that year.

Just this week, it kind of felt like déjà vu.

Our dining room table once again sported spools of ribbon, tape, scissors, ruler, and stapler.  This Mama/Nana was getting her craft on once more.

Making “pony tails” for Little One’s birthday party

This month marks a special day – not a wedding or bridal shower, but a birthday. Our oldest grandchild, also known in this blog as Little One, is turning five…FIVE! She’s been telling us she wanted to be five for almost a year now and when asked why, her response was, “I just like the number five!”

Much to my amazement, I truly find it incredulous that five years have come and gone since the birth of our sweet first grandchild.

Her mama, our middle daughter, is planning Little One’s birthday party and Nana has been asked to assist a bit with party planning. The special day’s party is “My Little Pony” themed. If you’re not familiar with these little characters, click here.

All things shiny, rainbow-colored, and pony-like are being planned. One of the children’s games will be pin the tail on the pony. Daughter drew one of the ponies on poster board with markers and Nana’s job has been to make “pony tails” for the party goers to tape to the pony while blindfolded (with a pink or purple kerchief, of course!). 

We could have purchased ribbon bows pre-made with curly spirals, but our daughter is on a budget and wanted to keep costs for the party down. So Nana spent the better part of a day constructing pony tails from various colors of curling ribbon that I already had stashed away with gift wrap, tissue paper, and gift bags.

To make the pony tails, I cut eight or nine segments of different ribbons into 24-inch lengths, stacked them on top of one another, then stapled them together in the middle.

Luckily while searching for all the colored ribbon to use, I cleaned out my overly full container of pre-assembled bows and ribbon. I found some old Christmas bows that were smashed and weren’t fit to adorn packages in their condition. But those bows had never been used, so the sticky tab on the backs of them were still good.

I carefully pried off the staple that held the tab onto those dilapidated bows and voila, I had a new stick-on tab for the pony tails. I then stapled a tab on each pony tail and covered the sharp ends of the staple with scotch tape on the non-sticky side. 

To curl the ribbon, I pulled one blade of the scissors across each strand on both sides of the sticky tab. I made 16 pony tails in this fashion.

I think they turned out pretty cute.  They were simple to make, and this Nana made them with her own hands so lots of love poured into them. And the best part is they didn’t cost a cent.

“When life gives you hands, make handmade.” ~ unknown

©2020 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com

Of butterflies and raspberries

playing with an inchworm

Grandparenting. It is so much more than I ever expected.

Recently, our daughter (and Little One’s mommy) resumed her career as a hospital nurse and this Nana was transported back into the world of providing care for a toddler full-time on the days daughter works.

I find it interesting that the everyday occurrences that drove me crazy when my own children were this age– spilt milk messes, toys strewn willy nilly across the floor making it an obstacle course, constant activity except during nap times, sticky finger smudges everywhere  – don’t bother me.

Is it that grandparents are wiser than we were as parents?  Is it that we recognize that we only have so much time with our sweet grandchildren so we don’t ‘sweat the small stuff’ anymore? Or have we finally reached the age where we just don’t care as much about appearances but relish time spent together with our child’s child?

The former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani once said, “What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies.”

This statement rings true for me and not just the cookie part. Pure unconditional love that just about makes my heart explode is what I’ve felt for this grandchild since I cradled her in my arms shortly after her birth. I find humor in things she does that I never would have laughed at as a young mom. I recognize that I’m much more patient with Little One than I ever was with my children.

No longer do I worry about whether the bathroom gets cleaned or the laundry is finished like I did when my kids were small. Instead I willingly spend all day just playing and exploring the world with my granddaughter.

And she is one busy bee. So inquisitive and so full of wanting to learn and do and examine and discover. Sometimes I feel guilty thinking that perhaps I didn’t spend enough time doing the same things with my children. And I wonder if that’s the thing – grandparents are given a second chance to ‘get it right’ with our grandchildren.

Since her mama leaves for work before the crack of dawn, Little One wakes up to find Nana lifting her from her crib. She definitely misses her mommy because she inquires about her upon awakening in the mornings, after naps, and often during the day by asking ‘mum?’ I tell her mommy’s at work, Little One nods her head and says yes, and I reassure her that mama will be home later.

Nana and Little One have settled into a nice routine. Last week we had beautiful fall weather – warm, sunny days when we could be outside playing and exploring in the mornings after the temperature warmed up and the dew on the grass dried. 

After a bit of time playing in the sand box, we went for walks around our 2.25 acre yard and made visits to the garden where Roma tomatoes, zucchini, Brussel sprouts, and sunflowers were still producing.

She enjoyed picking tomatoes and wanted me to lift her up high so she could gaze into the sunflowers’ cheery faces. From there we ventured to the raspberry bushes to pick this last crop for the year.  Little One loves raspberries and eats them faster than I can pick them.

One day on our way back to the house with our bounty, we spied a butterfly which had lit upon the grass.  She pointed to it and as I told her to be gentle, she crouched down and touched the delicate creature.

I couldn’t believe it didn’t fly away immediately but it stayed in place while she touched it yet again. When it took off soaring into the air, floating and flitting around us, Little One laughed happily and clapped her hands. Such a simple thing that brought such merriment. 

Another day we examined the leaves on our maple trees and saw that they are starting to turn from green to red and also that some leaves had already fallen on the ground. As she picked up some of the fallen leaves, I noticed a tiny green inchworm.  She giggled with delight when the little critter crawled on her hand.

It’s a full and, to be honest, tiring day taking care of our Little One but watching her eyes light up over a new discovery gives me so much joy.  She doesn’t miss a thing whether it’s spotting an airplane soaring overhead, watching birds chow down at the bird feeder after we fill it, or an ant crawling across the sidewalk.

I’m just so blessed and grateful to be able to spend this time with her and nothing compares to the hugs and kisses our sweet girl bestows on me.

I wouldn’t trade being a Nana for anything in the world and come December, I’ll have two sweet grandbabies to love. Double perfection. 

“Truth be told, being a grandma is as close as we ever get to perfection. The ultimate warm sticky bun with plump raisins and nuts. Clouds nine, ten, and eleven.” – Bryna Nelson Paston

©2016 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com

Wordless Wednesday: more Mother’s Day love

 

©2015 mamasemptynest.wordpress.com