Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...in the desert

I'm originally from Minnesota and have lived the past nearly 40 years in Colorado. Fairly snowy states come winter time. Which means, for me, holiday time means snow time. Maybe not necessarily on Christmas Day, but at least a few snowflakes here and there in the weeks leading up to the big day.

My grandsons live in the desert. Despite singing beloved Christmas carols mentioning the fluffy white goodness and enjoying craftivities featuring snowmen in all their glory, Bubby and Mac are not all that familiar with snow itself. They simply don't see it at their place.

Determined to not let geography, meteorology and such stand in the way of Bubby and Mac enjoying some snow play, I packed and brought along a little snow to share with them during my visit this week. Not real snow, of course, but artificial snow. Snow in Seconds, to be precise.

True to its name, within seconds of mixing the powder with water, we had snow. And then the fun kicked into high gear.

Sure, it's not the real stuff. But until I figure out a way to pack the real stuff in my handy dandy grandma bag, it will certainly do.

Today's question:

How likely is it you'll have snow at your place come Christmas Day?

Holiday travel with kids: 5 tricks for an easier time

I leave this afternoon for an early holiday visit with my grandsons. I've got my grandma bag packed with lots of festive fun, and I shipped my Christmas gifts via UPS yesterday to arrive at Bubby and Mac's house tomorrow. No sense lugging them in my luggage when I could ship them for basically the same price—and be able to wrap them beforehand, with no complaints (or tearing open) by TSA.

I'm excited and all set to go. The only thing that will be missing from the trip is PawDad. This will be a solo trip for me to see our grandsons as the primary reason for heading to the desert is to cover childcare while Megan and Preston cover their seasonal obligations and celebrate their birthdays (Preston's was yesterday, Megan's is Friday).

Mac and Gramma 2011It's pretty easy for a grandma to get up and go for a holiday visit to the grandsons. It's not so easy to do the celebrating the other way around, with the grandsons and family traveling to Grandma's. Megan and Preston know that for a fact, as that's what they did last year—traveled over the river and through the woods to Gramma and PawDad's house.

I naturally had no trouble at all welcoming my grandsons and their parents to my home Christmas Day last year. For Megan and Preston, though, the trip was rough, and they've sworn to not travel again at Christmas—at least not while the boys are young and restless.

Bubby at Gramma's 2011I would love nothing more than to have my entire family together for Christmas celebrations, but I get it: Traveling with young kids is hell challenging.

That said, there are some tricks for making an easier time of it. Claire Haas, mom of two and Vice President of Education for Kiddie Academy, offers the following tips for handling holiday travel with kids. Share her ideas with the moms and dads heading your way with your precious grandkids in tow, ripe and ready for seasonal spoiling by Grandma and Grandpa:

•• Consider traveling at off-peak hours. Start the trip at 9 p.m. instead of 9 a.m. Doing so will avoid traffic, and the kids may just sleep for part of the trip. Increase the chances for sleep by an extended playground trip to burn off energy before buckling them in the car seats.

Courtesy Kiddie Academy• •A dollar store cookie sheet with magnets works great as a lap desk for the car or on a plane. The raised edge can help prevent crayons and cars from landing on the floor.

• •If facing a long car ride with the kids, pack each a "travel activity bag" with new games and activities to keep them busy. Keep the bag in the front seat and dole out a new item each hour. For example, a printed map for playing the license plate game or bubbles to blow out the car window.

• •Consider relaxing any restrictions on daily screen time. Video games, iPads and laptops can be true lifesavers when dealing with kids facing hours in close proximity to their siblings.

•• You have two choices on bedtime disruptions during holiday travel—stick to the routine while away from home, or just accept that rules are out the window and make the best of it. For some children, staying up past bedtime during the holidays is a special treat they'll remember fondly. Do what will work best for your family, and shrug off raised eyebrows from a great aunt or other relative because kids are allowed to stay up late or required to stay on schedule.

Today's question:

Would you rather travel to visit family at the holidays or host the family at your place?

Scoring points and breakfast in bed

One of the things I'm really enjoying about Bubby as he gets older is the conversations we have. His conversational skills improve by leaps and bounds in between each and every visit I have with him. I love the unique expressions he uses, as well as those that make it clear he's mimicking Mommy or Daddy without really knowing what the phrases mean.

One example of the latter was when Bubby mentioned that he couldn't eat a particular food—I can't recall what food or even what the conversation involved—and told me that it wasn't a good food choice because it had "thirty-fifty-hundred points" in it. Seems Mommy's attention to points associated with food, per the Weight Watchers plan she's kept an eye on since having Mac, has left quite the impression on Bubby.

Not that our conversations always featured food, but there was another time Bubby impressed me with his conversational skills...and his memory. At breakfast one morning, Bubby took a bite of his peanut-butter toast which he'd topped with a piece of the Count Chocula cereal Gramma had bought him as a treat.

"Mmm...it tastes just like my birthday cereal," he said.

Seems one of the birthday rituals for Bubby is that he gets to choose his breakfast cereal. It's a treat because Bubby doesn't usually get to eat the sugary cereals (like the Count Chocula Gramma bought him), and he had chosen Reese's cereal for his birthday breakfast in June.

"Mommy and Daddy brought it to me in my room," he continued with the story of his birthday breakfast.

"You had breakfast in bed on your birthday?" I asked him.

"Yeah! I got to eat in my room!" he enthusiastically shared, the memory of the happy meal glimmering in his eyes.

I asked him if Mommy and Daddy stayed or if he ate alone in his room. "No! Roxy [his dog] stayed with me," he said, "but I didn't give her any food."

"That's pretty awesome," I told him.

But I didn't really think so. At least not for me. I don't like breakfast in bed. While it's supposed to be a relaxing treat—and my daughter obviously thinks so, as she treated her son to it for his birthday and he thoroughly enjoyed it—I disagree.

I happily accept meals prepared for me any time of the day, any day of the year. But I don't want to eat them in bed. Alone. For one thing, it's hard to eat in bed—even with a nifty tray Jim purchased for that one occasion. Secondly, it's lonely when it's only the one being honored nibbling on her toast and worrying about spilling her coffee in the covers, all alone, with no one to talk to (and not even room to spread out the morning paper to read while eating).

Nope...breakfast in bed is no treat for me.

But it was for Bubby. And hearing about his awesome Reese's cereal in bed that he didn't share with anyone, not even Roxy, made me smile.

As does most everything Bubby says.

Well, except for all those comments he recently made about my age. The art of polite conversation is a skill Bubby has yet to master.

I'm assuming mastering polite conversation won't be difficult for Bubby, though, as he easily picked up the complex concept of avoiding foods with a high number of points. Especially those with thirty-fifty-hundred points.

Today's question:

How do you feel about being served breakfast in bed?

5 things I've learned this week

While visiting my grandsons this past week, I've learned a thing or two. Or five.

1. The desert climate isn't unbearable all the time. In fact, I've rather enjoyed the weather this past week, as the highs were in the low 80s or below. I was out walking in the sunshine with my grandsons while everyone back home—including Mickey and Lyla, my dogs and usual walking companions—braved freezing temps and snow flurries.

2. I'm an old lady. At least in the eyes of my oldest grandson. I first thought Bubby's comments on my age were random silliness. As they added up, though, there was no denying he considers me an old woman. Examples:

• As I mentioned a few days ago on Facebook, regarding a conversation about Halloween costumes — Bubby: What are you gonna be for Halloween, Gramma? Gramma (not planning on dressing up and having to think quickly of SOMEthing): I'm gonna be an old lady. Bubby: So like you already are?
• When he and I headed to the grocery store in Megan's car last night, he let me know as we backed out of the garage, "This is a fast car, Gramma—even when old ladies are driving."
• During a discussion of Reese's candy bars, he decided I pronounce it funny. "That's okay," he consoled me. "That's how old women say it."

3. Those grocery carts with an attached play car at the front are a pain to drive. Bubby wanted to ride in the car as we shopped. When I first said no, he answered with, "I understand." Which naturally made me give in. It was my first time driving one, as my daughters never rode in those. In fact, I don't think those were around when my girls were little. They're a true pain in the <cuss> to steer because they're so long. Yes, I had a few fender-benders. But Bubby enjoyed the bumper car action without complaint. I'm not positive I can say the same about the other shoppers.

4. I'm no longer a light sleeper. I was once a light sleeper, awaking at the slightest sound as I kept an ear out for my daughters—for safety's sake when they were little, to bust them on being out past curfew when older. Not anymore. Mac has had trouble sleeping of late, screaming off and on throughout the night in the room right next to where I'm sleeping, yet I learned of his restless times only when Megan or Preston mentioned it each morning.

5. Even old ladies (see No. 2 above) get nervous about meeting new friends. I'm meeting my bloggy friend Connie from Family Home and Life for the first time in real life this morning. That said, I'm also looking forward to it as I learned a long time ago—not this week—that old ladies still like making and meeting new friends, too, despite the nerves.

Today's question:

What have you learned this week?

Friday field trip: MacDonald's Ranch

My awesome friend and fellow grandma blogger Connie from Family Home and Life lives surprisingly close to my grandsons. So when I needed suggestions of things to do in the region during my recent visit with Bubby and Mac, Connie was clearly the one to ask.

She came through with flying colors, giving me ideas and links galore. One in particular was a sure-fire hit. That was MacDonald's Ranch.

MacDonald's Ranch offers an old-fashioned ranch experience for kids of all ages. There's no shortage of fun—though this mountain mama did feel there certainly was a shortage of shade to keep her from that blazing desert sun, a scorcher even this late in the year.

Despite the heat, Megan, the boys, PawDad and I visited MacDonald's Ranch one day last week while Preston slaved away at work. The fun began the moment we walked through the gate, as old-time farm equipment, hay bales and more immediately captured Mac's and Bubby's attention.

First up of the big attractions: a horseride for Bubby, on a horse far bigger than the one he rode last time we visited a ranch.

Next up was the petting zoo, where Bubby and Mac hand fed baby goats and their parents, admired peacocks, and pet the miniature horses...but not the donkeys (thankfully). Gramma and PawDad led the boys through the pens as Mommy cringed, shuddered, and refused to roam among the animals.

Megan did volunteer to go through the hay maze with Bubby, though. After a bit of wandering and misturns, Bubby decided the best way to get done with the maze was to scale the walls and go out through the in door.

The pumpkin patch was the primary reason for visiting MacDonald's Ranch, and Bubby's goal was to get the best. pumpkin. ever. With the patch about a mile from the main area, though, a hay ride to the patch was required—a bonus if ever there was one.

After the short hayride, the plentiful pumpkin patch beckoned. Mac and Bubby were off and searching in no time. With so, so many pumpkins, making the final decision on which to claim as their own was a tough one, narrowed down only by the requirement that they must be able to carry on their own whichever pumpkin they wanted to take home.

They tested the weights of several here and there. Once the choice was made, both boys proudly carried their spoils on the hayride back. From there, it was time for lunch with Daddy, time to show him the ever-so-perfect pumpkins his ever-so-perfect pumpkin pickers chose.

Bubby did come away with the best. pumpkin. ever. As did Mac.

'Twas a perfect autumn outing indeed.

Interested in visiting MacDonald's Ranch? Find details here:

MacDonald's Ranch • 26540 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85255 • (480) 585-0239

Today's question:

Where do you typically get your pumpkins for Halloween time?