What's on your list?

"Snuggling" is always #1 on my list!

Of course "quiet time" is a must on any list... some of my favorite quiet times are spent just counting my blessings.

"Learning and exploring" are tops on our "school" list.

Can you imagine a list without "ice cream"?!!

"Capturing precious moments" always seems to make it on my daily to do list.

Riley has "making new friends" on her list wherever she goes.

Dash can cross off "choose a fall pumpkin and visit a farm" from his list.

We all have lists... whether written or not. Lists of things we want to do, goals to achieve, chores to accomplish, places to go... things we need to buy. This past week, Riley really began to grasp this concept. As we walked through Toys R Us one afternoon, she shared what she liked and wanted and asked me to buy her selections for her. My response was that she needed to remember to put them on her Christmas or birthday wish list. Pretty soon, rather than asking for her heart's desires, she began telling me that she needed to put them on her list and was as happy as if I had made the purchases that day.

For several weeks now, she has helped me write our grocery lists. The teacher in me just loves seeing how she already scribbles from left to right and puts one scribble under the other to make a list. On one of our Walmart trips this past week, I decided to empower her (...also wanted to keep her busy and focused) by placing the list and a pen to cross things off the list in her hands. My plan worked perfectly until she turned the tables on me and learned just how powerful the written word can be. We were at the end of our list... all of our items had been crossed off when we found ourselves in the bakery section. Riley spied some orange frosted sugar cookies with fall colored sprinkles on them and asked if we could buy them. Being the clever Grandnanny that I am, I asked her to check our list. Knowing that they weren't on the list, I thought that would be the end of that. Riley had a different idea though... if the cookies weren't on the list, then she'd just add them! She proceeded to plop herself down on the floor of the store and with her all powerful pen wrote, " o r a n g e s u g a r c o o k i e s " What's a Grandnanny to do? Well, of course I gladly bought the cookies and gratefully added another treasured memory to my heart ... truly a moment worth far more than the extra pennies I spent for the added treat to our list.

My "Grandnanny" Diary

"Baby" Brother and "Big" Sister at Houston's Children's Museum

He may be the "Baby" but he carries a big stick

The Princess

I arrived home on my birthday after completing week 1 and 2 of being a "Grandnanny"... precious moments! For the most part, things went smoothly ... thankful for the angels God has watching over us all. My fall down the stairs could have been so much worse, and the wallet I left on top of the car while buckling Sleeping Beauty (R's chosen princess persona for the day) and Mr. D. could have been found by a dishonest opportunist rather than the good Samaritan who brought it to the bank around the corner completely intact! Riley was so thankful that my wallet had been returned because, as she explained to me, " I needed it to buy beautiful dresses for my precious grandchildren," but was disappointed that she'd forgotten to ask for a lolly pop while in the bank... talk about an opportunist!!!

Anyway, by way of an explanation to my readers, it's my plan to do a bit of online journaling each week that I'm with these little ones in order to relive unforgetable moments that I'm sure I'll forget if I don't write them down... like Riley reminding me, "Grandma, don't forget to say your pears," and Vanessa trying to explain the concept of "floating" at the hospital. Riley easily mastered creating AB patterns, "reading" from left to right in the word book she's making, and the proper way to hold scissors during our school time... but floating to her requires floaties which she graciously offered to share with her mommy as she headed off to work :)