My Week With Lia June 2018 part 2

Along with the crafting, we did other stuff. One of the main things was watching a cute mystery show for kids. It ran on the Nickelodeon channel and is called Hunter Street. The first season ran early in 2017 and we happened upon it last summer when it was rerun. We missed the first few episodes, but caught up quickly and we both were hooked. It takes place in Amsterdam and was just a very well written, CLEAN show with a lot of humor and fun action. We knew there was going to be a second season, but no idea when it would be aired. Shortly before Lia was to visit in June, I found out that the 2^nd season had run early this year. I discovered that I could access all the episodes on their website and watch them on our computer. So every day we would watch a couple of episodes or more. It was so much fun watching this with Lia. We would discuss what was happening and try to guess who the bad guy was and just how other people were involved. The last episode ended with a hint of another season, so I looked it up. And yes, there will be a season 3. If this show was available on DVD, I would get it so Lia and I could watch it whenever we wanted on the TV.

I had given Lia a couple of kid’s cookbooks for Christmas a couple years ago and had her look through them before visiting and pick out a few recipes she wanted to try. Here’s what we did:

French toast made with Cinnabon raisin bread. AMAZING!

Tortellini Alfredo. So good, Lia had 3rds!

“Real” mac and cheese, NOT packaged! Another winner for dinner.

Purple cow. Best treat in the WORLD.  6oz frozen grape juice. 1 Cup milk. 2 Cup vanilla ice cream. Mix all in blender.

We played card games. We read a lot. I let Lia play for me on Best Fiends on Facebook. Generally enjoyed each other’s company.

I introduced Lia to “ermahgerd” memes!!!! She LOVED it!! She was speaking ermahgerd all over the place!

The other day I found out that she will visit again for a week at the end of this month.

Can’t wait! ♥

My Week With Lia June 2018 part 1

We got a lot done this visit. Lia just keeps getting better as time goes on. Thanks to a delightful book, “Amelia’s Notebook” by Marissa Moss, we both got composition books at the dollar store and started our own notebooks. We wrote in them every day and illustrated them. We read them both together. And promised that we would keep writing in them once Lia went home. She would bring her notebook with her for the next visit and we would share what we each wrote while we were apart. I went through my list of projects I wanted to do with Lia, and here are some of them…

Watercolor blobs and markers. We painted random blobs of color on paper. Once they were dry, we took markers and pens and tried to make something with each blob. I did small blobs on my paper, Lia did large ones. Sorry I didn’t take pics of Lia’s artwork this time around.

Bleeding tissue paper. This was TONS of fun! Watercolor paper, misted down, scraps of tissue placed all over, a final misting of all. We let it sit for quite a while and before it was quite dry, we peeled off the tissue. Great results! This big one I did has paisley shapes I drew on with a stencil and started to decorate. I did another one that I cut into smaller pieces for cards. And you MUST have the kind of tissue paper that bleeds. The usual kind you get in a store won’t bleed. Mine I got on Amazon.

String art. I’ve shared videos on FB of this technique and was quite eager to try it with Lia. This was my first attempt. It was VERY messy, as I used some rather thick twine I had on hand and some old finger paints from when Lia was very young. I look forward to trying it with a different type string and some other color medium.

Bookmarks. A dear friend who recently passed away posted pics of this type of art. Lia and I made a ton of them. Some for friends, some for Sarah. A lot of fun to make. And Lia and I each put one of them in our notebooks.

This last one is something I’d been wanting to do for a long time. We painted two old cookie sheets to make a magnet message board. Lia took one home and I kept one. Lia will further decorate hers with beads and shells that she had at home. I haven’t decided yet what I will do with mine. This shows one of the magnetic paper dolls I got the other day. I think Lia will get a kick out of something like that.

That’s pretty much all the crafting we did. I’ll write more next week about the other stuff. I LOVE THAT GIRL!! ♥

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

I spent two weeks in Fresno, and I think there were only 3 days when it wasn’t too hot to go outside with Lia.  Otherwise, we were inside with the fans blowing directly on me. And this time, I was especially sure to drink lots and lots of water. I had my insulated glass filled with ice water at all times. I think that made a huge difference. But any time with Lia is a good time. She is my heart’s joy.

The last time I did a 2 week stint was 3 summers ago when my niece was out here from Indiana. She is Lia’s godmother and wanted to spend some time getting to know her better. That was great, because when my energy started to flag, I could go lay down while Ellen took over. This year, I was on my own. I have to admit by Saturday of the first week, I was really starting to run out of steam. And yes, I broke my pinky toe that day as well. I was glad that it happened AFTER Sarah did my toenails, so even though the toe was really ugly, the nails were freshly polished and fabulous. By Monday though, I was getting my second wind and was able to carry on. I got the occasional nap on the couch with the dogs, too.

I always start my visits with great plans on crafts and activities to do with Lia. I see these wonderful things on Pinterest or Facebook and think “What fun to do with Lia!” And I always forget what high energy Lia has and how she does NOT want to sit still for very long for any kind of involved craft. I did introduce her to mandalas a couple years ago and she does enjoy doing those, strictly on paper with crayons or markers. Anything more involved will just have to wait.

One thing I was SO pleased to do this time was introduce her to that wonderful book “Roxaboxen” by Alice McLerran, illustrated by Barbara Cooney. I had gotten this book a few years ago, but apparently no one had ever read it to Lia. So I got to do that. I love this book so much, and the illustrations are wonderful. It really celebrates the way children have the power to imagine anything, something I think we sadly lose when we grow up. I highly recommend this book for young and old alike. If the terrain had been a bit different, I would’ve helped Lia make her own city of Roxaboxen, but as it was, we were limited to crayon and paper. So we drew our own cities. This would be so much fun to do with a sand table and the various components necessary.

Otherwise, the days were spent in reading, playing with Monster High dolls, watching Power Puff Girls cartoons, lots of coloring and a little bit of swimming when we were at the apartment. All in all a pretty good “vacation” that definitely left no time to be bored.

One huge benefit for me personally was that by the end of those two weeks, I was going up and down those stairs at the house and the apartment LIKE A BOSS!! With Lia, being a couch potato is NOT an option!

Fresno Fun Frolics

This post will be short, as I didn't get one done in advance. As usual, my week in Fresno with Lia has been JAM-PACKED. Not only are they in a new house in a new neighborhood, but there is a new puppy in the mix as well.

I've been taking Lia to the communal playground 2-3 times a day. In the afternoons when school has let out, there are a lot of kids, and Lia seems to be loving it all. Such a change from where they were before. No kids!

I REALLY wanted to get my hair cut this trip, but don't think that's gonna happen. I wanted to do that the last time I was here, and it just wasn't possible. So I might have to suck it up and wait until my next trip down.

Other than that, it's always a joy to be here. Lia is my own heart's blood. See ya next week!

Hijinks in Fresno

OK--there were no hijinks. I just said that to get your attention. I didn't have a prepared blog ready this time, so I'll just babble about  being in Fresno.

This recent visit to Fresno was a bit different. Did a few new things; did a few familiar things; took some naps. Naps have become VERY important to me! Lia's now in preschool 3 mornings a week, which means getting up a bit earlier to fix breakfast. After Sarah leaves to take Lia to school, I tidy up the kitchen and then lay down for an hour or so. Makes a BIG difference! I still droop in the afternoon, but I can usually lay down in the front room with a movie on and Lia will play around me for a while. Of course, she tells me every so often, "Grandma! You've been sleeping a LONG TIME!"

Lia's been struggling with allergies, so there hasn't been as much outside play as other times. Also, it's still been stinkin' HOT here! But she's been much more into having books read to her, or even "reading" them herself to one of her stuffed animals. With me doing the voice of the stuffed animal...

I got to watch "Ratatouille" in Cantonese...good thing I've seen it several times in English. Lia would tell me what was going on in the movie, as if I'd never seen it before. Very cute. Her comprehension of Chinese is pretty good, I guess. There were a few places in the movie where Lia would say she didn't understand all the words. I told her as she got older, she'd learn more.

I found an easy crochet pattern for granny square slippers, and made a pair for Lia during this visit. She was totally delighted with them. Only problem with granny squares...they have holes in them....little toes have a tendency to peek through. I told her the slippers would work better in winter when she'd have socks on. Sarah requested a pair for herself...

And what would a trip to Fresno be without visiting A Book Barn, the most wonderful used book store on earth? While Lia was in school one day, Chris took me there. Love that place!!

Fresno water gives me..."issues"...so I always use bottled water when I'm here. Even with the filter on the faucet in the kitchen, I still have..."issues". Each morning I empty the ice trays I've filled with bottled water and refill them so I have ice the next day. But I will say this: my hair never looks so good as when I've washed it with Fresno water. I guess whatever is in the water that gives me..."issues"...makes my hair look GREAT!

We did a little shopping last night and will do the same today. Good visit all-in-all. Tomorrow I go home. And even though I'm almost beyond tired, I know when I call to let Sarah know we got home OK, I'll hear Lia in the background and wish I was with her...♥

Good Times With The Moo

As I said in Monday’s blog, the entire week I was in Fresno was a good one, full of many positives and many things to be thankful for. As for the title of this blog, one of Lia’s many nicknames is ‘Missy Moo’ or sometimes just ‘the Moo’.

Aside from the joy of just being there and playing with Lia, my main side agenda was to find shoes for the wedding. I have humongeous ‘special’ feet that require a certain type of shoe and Walmart and Payless just wasn’t cuttin’ it…SO…I deemed it appropriate to go to a REAL shoe store and get some decent shoes. There was a SAS shoe store in Fresno and I had gone online and knew the style I was going for. They had just what I wanted. They even had a sale going on, so I got the black dress shoes I wanted PLUS a nice white dressy sandal for the summer. It still put me back over $200, but I expect to wear these shoes for a long time to come. AND THEY’RE COMFORTABLE!! In the future, I’ll need to get another pair of black shoes for winter wear, but now that I know of the existence of that store, I can save up for the next shopping trip.

The other big agenda I had was trying to find some neighbor kids for Lia to play with. The last time I was down there, we had gone on a walk and I noticed some kids playing in one of the yards down the street. They weren’t there this trip, but down another street, I noticed some kids and an older adult playing hide and seek. Lia and I walked down there and it turned out that the grandma watched the 2 kids in the mornings. We introduced ourselves and chatted a bit and then I had to get Lia home for lunch. That evening, Sarah went over with us to meet the mom. The next day we went there a bit earlier and Lia had the time of her life with these kids. The girl is almost 3 and the boy is almost 5, so Lia fits right in the middle at 4. Unfortunately, that was the last play time while I was there. The next time we went over, they had something else going on, and after that Lia developed an ear infection and wasn’t able to go out for the next couple of days. So hopefully, Sarah will be able to keep the connection going.

Since next week is Holy Week, and then after Easter Marv and I are going to Virginia for Paul and Anne’s wedding, this will be the last blog until April 20^th. I’m sure I will have lots to write about when I get back!

So until then, God’s blessings to all. Happy Easter. Christ is alive!!