Hard to believe that we’re just weeks away from Thanksgiving, Black Friday and the shopping days till Christmas countdown. With the economy in such a mess, spending wisely on the right gifts is even more important than usual. I know we have only so much money to go around this year. Considering how our family is growing with grandchildren, that’s making it even more difficult to find just the right gifts for each child.

My goal this year is to get each of my grandchildren two or three toys that are so awesome that they won’t notice that there isn’t a room full of toys like the last two years. One of the best resources I’ve found is the Best Toys Guide, providing reviews of the top toys 2008 has to offer.

Before I take anyone’s word for anything, I like to do my own independent research. Since Kendyll and Steven are getting past the toddler stage, I decided to take a look at the recommendations for toddler toys to see if they match with my own opinions. We’ve got almost two dozen of the top toys here and the kids just love them. That’s a very good sign.

At ages 2 and 2 1/2, Kendyll and Steven are ready for preschool toys so I checked out some of the reviews. I shouldn’t have kept reading, though, because now I’ve got a Christmas list that’s two pages long!

I hadn’t even thought about getting Kendyll a doll house until I read the great review about the one from Fisher-Price. I’d totally forgotten how much I loved my own doll house. Oh, and until I read the article on the Rose Art Easel, I hadn’t thought about my chalk board in my mom’s basement for years. We spend hours writing on it and I’ll bet Kendyll and Steven would love this updated version.

The Best Toys Guide is just about the best toy review blog I’ve found. The toys that are chosen for review are some that I’ve wondered about, like the Crayola Glow Station and the LeapFrog Leapster 2. Rather than make a mistake with a toy that is too advanced for the kids or just plain boring, it’s good to get an honest opinion about the toys we’ve been considering for the kids. The toys being reviewed are some of the newest out there. What a great resource!

My kids already know that we’re trying to be more frugal this Christmas. With resources like the Best Toys Guide, we’re going to be able to stay within our budget without the kids even realizing that we did. We’ll invest in the best toys recommended here rather than throwing good money away on toys that are forgotten by the time the New Year rolls in. If you’re looking to make smart buys this year, you don’t want to miss the reviews at Best Toys Guide!

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It’s hard to believe that football season for my son is almost over. That just breaks my heart. There’s still plenty of season left for college and Pro, of course, and even the high school teams go until December. But for the middle school kids, it’s almost over.

Levi has had a great season. Their team, the Jr. Dons, have won a few and lost a few. Levi has missed a tackle here and there but mostly he covers his man well. He loves playing defense and even forced a fumble this past game.

I’ve gotten a few really good shots of Levi in action. I kind of surprise myself, really. Except for the games where the chain link fence was blocking my view, the shots have been clear. It figures, the fence installation at our home field is the worst of anywhere we play. Oh well. I’ll just have to find a better spot for picture taking next year.

Click for wider angle

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I know this is a little late. I should have done it over a month ago. It’s just that when life is happening so fast, I don’t always have time to stop and record it. I hate when that happens.

Anyway, my husband and I celebrated another anniversary last month. The kids took us out to eat at our “usual” place, Pier 12 in Wellsburg. My cousin and his wife own the restaurant and the food is fantastic, just in case you’re in the area and looking for a good place to eat. Also, my niece works there so the service is really good, too.

As most of you know, my son Nick blessed us with our first grandchild in 2006. Now we’ve blessed again. My second son, Jesse, is in love with a beautiful girl who has a son, Steven, who turned 2 last week. My husband and I are “Nana and Pappy” and Steven is our second grandchild. My family is growing and my heart is singing. By February, I’ll have 3 grandchildren. Isn’t life wonderful?

Here’s Jesse, Steven and Kendyll playing by river at Pier 12 on our anniversary. Such fun!

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I’d always heard that there’s something so very different – and much better – about being a grandma than a mother. Not until Kendyll was born did I understand that. I realize that it isn’t so much about the relationship between grandparent and grandchild but more about the wisdom that comes with having “been there.”

Case in point: I was away for five days and returned home with loads of things to blog. I still have loads of things to blog. I’ve read a few posts from my friends here and there, knowing that they stole a moment away from the kids to post their thoughts. I’ve done that before.

I didn’t do it this time, though. I don’t do it much at all anymore. When Kendyll is here, I don’t blog. I’d never really thought about that much before but it’s true. When Kendyll is here, I’m at her side. I’m always waiting to hear her call, “Nana” so that I can be right there, ready to play or whatever she needs.

It wasn’t like that with my own kids.

This has nothing to do with loving my granddaughter more than I loved my kids. It has everything to do with knowing. I know that every single thing we do today will pass; tomorrow will be too late. I know that all I have is this moment and all that matters is being totally present in this moment, with Kendyll. I know how fleeting childhood is and that there’s no guarantees about tomorrow.

I wish I’d known these things when my own kids were young. I think I knew it but I didn’t quite believe that the day would ever come that the kids weren’t in diapers, weren’t underfoot, weren’t small and full of wonder. I believe it now.

Grandchildren are a second chance at really living.

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You cannot go to a toy store without a child. Okay, you can. And if you’re a mom (or dad) you’re probably thinking that I’m crazy. Why would anyone want to go to a toy store with a kid? That’s just madness!

No, when you’re a grandma, it isn’t madness. It’s getting a second chance to slow down and enjoy the magic of a toy store through a child’s eyes. And that’s just what Boomer and I did with Kendyll.

Steven (my “new” grandson) is turning two while I’m in Florida so I wanted to be sure to have his birthday gifts ready for him. We were supposed to have the party before my trip but the poor baby got a stomach virus so that was canceled. Nevertheless, Boomer, Kendyll and I had a great time shopping at Toys R Us.

Back in the day, I never would have allowed an almost-3 year old to run loose in a toy store. My kids would have been buckled into the buggy. But I’m a grandma and part of my joy is seeing Kendyll’s joy in discovering a huge store filled with everything she could possibly want. Except that she didn’t want everything. She wanted one thing.

Oh, sure, she was fascinated with the dollhouses and even convinced Nana (me) to buy her a new baby doll that coos and giggles. The doll was a consolation gift, though. Kendyll’s heart was set on the almost $400 John Deere Gator and nothing Boomer and I said or did could convince Kendyll to get off of that thing.

I know little girls are supposed to love Barbie and pink, but Kendyll is her father’s daughter. She went for the biggest and best with the most power. Almost 45 minutes later, she finally realized that the John Deere wasn’t going to move from it’s spot on the display no matter how hard she pushed on the pedal. She finally climbed out and proceeded to examine the dolls.

Sometime before Christmas, I intend to take Kendyll back to Toys R Us for another fun afternoon. I’m hoping to get a better idea of which toys she’ll like under the Christmas tree. Hopefully, she won’t fixate on the Riding toys this time. Maybe she’ll even show an interest in Nana’s favorite toys – the Legos!

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I almost had the thrill of a lifetime. Almost.

At the far end of walk-in closet in my mom’s upstairs hallway, is a short door that opens up into the attic. When we were kids it was always a magical place since we could peer in as my mom retrieved Christmas decorations or put things inside, but were never allowed to actually go in ourselves. Naturally, I’m allowed to go into the attic now and so I did venture in for a few minutes the other day.

I didn’t open any boxes or anything. I just looked around and remembered some of the stored items from my childhood. What I didn’t expect to see was the original box from my Kissy doll. You have to be kind of old to remember Kissy but for those who are younger, Kissy would pucker her lips and make a kissing sound when you squeezed her arms together. My sister and I each got both a Kissy and Chatty Cathy one Christmas.

My mom was wonderful about getting us really great babydolls. I think it was probably because she grew up during the depression and didn’t have much herself. She was probably giving us the things she wished she could have had as a young girl.

Anyway, Kissy was not in the box. I kind of knew she wouldn’t be but for a split second, I hoped. I wonder, though, if the box is worth anything. Maybe to a collector?

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File this under “Can we rewind and do this day over?”

Some of you may remember seeing pictures of my pretty sports car here. It’s lots of fun to drive but it really isn’t practical for me right now. Last year I put less than 450 miles on it. So we sold the car to my son, Jesse. Of course, he paid less for it than the blue book price, but it was still a hefty amount. When Jesse returned from Hawaii, we had the title transferred over to him and within a few days he was driving his car.

Whenever he wasn’t driving it, he’d hand me the keys and tell me to go ahead and take it if I needed to go anywhere. I kept thinking that I would do that but hadn’t yet. And now it will be a long time before I get to take it out at all.

You see, Jesse has issues with deer. And we have a huge deer population in West Virginia. People have actually died in car accidents involving deer around here. Jesse has had three run-ins with deer.

Okay, make that four.

Jesse had been out and was driving up our hill when a deer ran out into the road. Jesse swerved which is a good choice given the size of Jesse’s car in comparison to the size of the deer. Unfortunately, the car sits low, the drop off is at least 8 inches and then dips even farther into a ravine and Jesse’s beautiful S2000 got sucked toward the hillside. And landed like this:

I’m not sure if you can appreciate the angle at which that car is resting. That’s at least a 45 degree slope. (Tammie? If you’re reading this, what would your estimate be?) Understand also that there are parts of this two-lane STATE road that have no guardrail on the opposite side where the road drops completely off for a hundred feet or so. This would explain why we’re just so grateful that Jesse swerved toward the hill instead of toward the side that drops way way down. Anyway, here’s another shot from the other direction, so you can see how he landed.

Someone from our local government drove by and noted that the state, after repaving the road, did not properly grade that side. An 8 inch drop is dangerous. Several people have suggested we contact a car and truck accident lawyer to find out if the state is liable for any of the damages. Jesse’s insurance adjuster has been notified and will look at the road when he comes to inspect the car. We’ll see what he says.

Oh, and you can be sure I’ll be giving a full review of Jesse’s insurance company. So far, they’ve been responsive and helpful. We’ll see if they come through with putting Jesse car back to the mint condition it had been. Or at least nearly so.

For now, I’m so glad my son is okay. I’m glad that the Brooke County deputy who responded was helpful, noted that Jesse was sober and assisted us as much as he did. I’m also glad that after pulling the car from the ravine, Jesse was able to drive it the 1/4 mile to our house rather than having to have it towed. We’re hoping that the frame is solid and the car can be repaired. Please send good thoughts our way.

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This year we bought Kendyll a two piece swimsuit. She’s beginning potty training and I figured a two piece would make going potty easier. I guess that’s kind of silly since she probably goes in the pool anyway.

The problem with a two piece swimsuit is that we keep losing one of the pieces. For a while we couldn’t find the top so we just paired the bottom with a t-shirt. Then we found the top so for two days, Kendyll had her suit back. Then we lost the bottoms so we paired the top with a pair of shorts.

This afternoon I found the entire suit again. I’m not sure what part we’ll lose next but I’m going to pick up a one piece suit as a back up when I go to the store this week. Might as well be prepared.

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Jesse seems so happy to be home. He’s smiling all the time and just brightens the whole house when he’s around. I don’t know how I got through the 3 years that he was in Hawaii.

I know he has a round trip ticket and anything can happen between now and the end of August when his return flight is scheduled. I just have a feeling, though, that he won’t be using that return ticket. I think he’s home for good. I realize that might be wishful thinking, but I do know my son pretty well. He’s happy here.

My hope is that the economy allows him to stay. Right now, he’s looking at different options. I think he’d like to take a look at the company where his brother works eventually. That may be a good fit for him. I know he isn’t crazy about the drive into PA but at least he’d still be home. I’d hate to see him have to travel away from home, looking for jobs in San Francisco or Arizona or some place far from here. Heck, I’ll drive him to work each day if that’s what it takes!

I’m sure Jesse will want to look into getting his own apartment if he decides to stay in the area. I just hope that doesn’t happen too soon. I’m not ready for him to leave just yet, even if it’s only a few miles away.

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Last year (and the year before) Nick and Brit were still together for Father’s Day so she took care of buying a gift from Kendyll. This year Brit isn’t here so it was up to me to get gifts for Kendyll to give to Nick.

Since Nick just bought his first car, Kendyll and I went with a car theme. Nick got a key chain with Kendyll’s picture on it, sunglasses, air fresheners, an emergency halogen spotlight, binoculars, and an emergency roadside tool kit.

Keep in mind that Nick is my kid who hates Christmas and birthdays because he can’t stand the let down afterwards. So when Nick was actually excited to see his gifts, and kept kissing Kendyll and thanking her, I was even happier than he was!

I know Nick had some auto parts picked out for his car, things like new rims and things like that. I’m pretty sure Nick knows he has to buy those things himself, though. After he pays his insurance. And buys gas.

In other words, he probably won’t get those things. That may be why he was so happy with the things he did get.

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