Rock the Chalk

Downtown Iowa City

Erin and the granddaughters and I had a “girls’ day” in Iowa City the other day. Iowa City is the home of The University of Iowa and the Iowa Hawkeyes. It’s a college town, and college towns are famous for showcasing our freedoms of personal expression.

One of the things we did was attend an event called Rock The Chalk. Several streets in downtown Iowa City were blocked off for individuals or teams of 2 or 3 to create chalk art right there on the street. 

The granddaughters love chalking and we thought they might like seeing some chalk art. We were hoping they would maybe get a chance to chalk for themselves.

This guy drew his company logo. There were several business and non-profit chalk art advertisements.

This young man created a chalk portrait of his nephew. At first it almost looked like a photograph.

And this one was a self portrait. (I have no idea if it really looks like that guy or not! I just liked the colors in it.)

  

The fish (bass???) and hawk were so cool. Every serious artist had a small grid-drawing of the piece they were creating in chalk.

Blue Hummingbird Chalk Art

Zentangle

Above is a Zentangle. The creators were part of a Iowa City park and rec Zentangle Art Club. They were impressed that I knew their creation was a Zentangle. They invited me to join them on Friday mornings!

The People's Choice was this puppy-dog curled up for a nap. His hair looked so realistic!

Of course, these two are my favorite artists. The community art square was a hit with all the kids.  Many of the creations by the little kids mimicked what they'd seen. It was cool knowing they were inspired by the art they saw. 

We had a great time! Rock the chalk indeed. Thanks Iowa City!

Go ahead. Step out in your community. You never know what you might find!

Until next time,

Be Good to Yourself,

~Nadine

Happy Birthday Willow!

 My sweet baby granddaughter will be one year old tomorrow. This year has just flown by!

Baby Willow came into this world with two big sisters. Four year old Adalyn and two year old Emelia. From the very beginning she was petted, patted, and poked. 

She’s the most laid-back baby ever. She has to be. Emelia, the sister closest in age treats her like a playmate and sometimes a play thing! Adalyn, the oldest in the family mothers Willow.

When Erin, Willow’s mom, was in kindergarten she asked me about the “lacy trees.” I didn’t know what she was talking about but after a while, I figured it out. She was asking about Weeping Willow trees.  In the spring of the year their leaves are small and limey-green. From a distance the trees look like they’re covered with light green lace.  (Take a look this spring!)

Courtesy of Goggle Images.

Baby Willow is like her name-sake. She’s a quiet beauty that is the lacey-ness in our lives.  

Willow, much to my delight, has strawberry blond hair. I’ve always been partial to gingers. My husband and our son are both gingers.

Willow loves to clap her hands and say “hi.”  She says Dada and Mama, too. Willow loves marshmallows. She mostly uses her left hand to pick up food and it seems when I comment about her being a leftie, she switches to her right hand!

She has always been a watcher. She doesn’t miss a thing. Only recently has she started to make a lot of joyful noise regarding her surroundings.

Like her sisters, she is taking her time getting teeth. At this point, she has two little bottom teeth that broke through at the same time.

Willow fills my heart with love and gratitude when she crawls over to me and puts both of her little hands up in the air for me to pick her up. I love knowing that she wants me to hold her.  I am a lucky Grammy!

Happy first birthday to my sweet girl, Willow.

God has blessed our family.

Until next time,

Be Good to Yourself.

~Nadine

Eyes Wide Open

As I’ve mentioned before, I love song lyrics.  Some have a profound impact on me. In 1999 I was a busy mom running my 11 year old and 13 year old to practices and games. I was helping with homework and making sure chores were done and activities with friends were safe and appropriate. I was making meals, washing clothes, cleaning the house- all while working full time. I was busy with everyday life.

That same year Creed came out with their song, Eyes Wide Open. I was too busy to even notice it. Then, four and a half years ago- 12 years after it came out- that song hit me right in the heart.

“Well I just heard the news today
It seems my life is going to change
I close my eyes, begin to pray
Then tears of joy stream down my face”

Half way through 2011, I found out that I was to be a grandmother! My daughter and her husband were going to have a baby and I fell immediately, devastatingly, in love with my unborn grandchild.

“With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
Now everything has changed
I'll show you love
I'll show you everything”

Erin and Phil were with the Air Force and stationed in Alaska at the time.  I did not get to watch my granddaughter grow. I did not get to watch my daughter “grow”, either. Every few weeks Erin would send me a picture of her baby bump. That was the only way we could enjoy this journey together.

“I hope (s)he understands
That (s)he can take this life
And hold it by the hand
And (s)he can greet the world
With arms wide open...”

Life immediately slowed down for me.  My focus had shifted. I was determined that the distance between us would not be a factor.  I would make sure this baby girl knew her Grammy and Papa.  We used Face Time, Skype or Tango every day.  Erin and Phil would prop their phone up and let us just watch the baby sleep.  Not much time passed and soon they were putting the phone on the floor so that we could watch the baby roll around, scooch across her blanket, crawl, and finally, walk.  And she got to know us too. We sang songs to her and eventually with her.  I frequently videoed myself reading stories to her, then I would sent the book to them so that she could have the book and watch me read it to her at the same time. We watched our granddaughter develop and grow this way- through the internet. 

Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph in the stable. The animals are out-
side. (Notice the eyelashes on the animal to the right.)
By Adalyn- age 3 years and 11 months.

This week my sweet Adalyn, my oldest grandchild, turns four!  Luckily, she and her family live only a few miles from us now.  That in itself is a true gift and blessing! Adalyn is a smart, sweet, caring, inquisitive girl.  She can draw unlike any child her age. (She asked me to show her how to draw eyelashes when she was 2 ½ years old.) She knows SO much and is a sponge for knowledge.  I continually try to find new things for her to think about and to try. She’s always up for the challenge. 

She was my game-changer. I’m a better person because she’s my granddaughter.

“With arms wide open
With arms wide open
I'll show you everything ...oh yeah
With arms wide open..wide open”

Happy fourth birthday, Adalyn! I love you!


Until next time, be good to yourself.
~Nadine

Happy Birthday Sweet Emelia!

Being a grandparent is God’s gift for all the hard work of parenthood.  Raising kids is not for wimps.  If you do it right, it’s hard. Period.  You’re so focused on keeping them fed and safe and raising them to be the kind of human beings other people want to be around. Now, as I look back, I realize that maybe I didn’t bask in the wonder of my children as much I could have. Sometimes, as a young parent, I couldn’t see the forest for the trees—so focused on the immediate goal, the big picture got lost…  And that’s why (thankfully)God graces us with grandchildren.

Watching my two granddaughters grow and learn, and develop their very distinct personalities has been, and is, one of the greatest pleasures of my life.  

Today is my sweet second granddaughter’s second birthday.  It hardly seems possible that she can already be two years old.

Emelia is her own person.  She’s had two years of watching her older sister, and she’s using all the information she has learned to its fullest extent! Emelia is a mountain climber, a marathon runner, and a WWE scrapper who is always ready for a wrestling match.  She is a singer of songs.  Her repertoire includes, but is not limited to, classics like Itsy Bitsy Spider, Ol’ McDonald had a Farm, and The ABC song.  Some of her latest hits include Let It Go, 1994 - singing about Joe, Joe, Joe Diffie, as well as Boys ‘Round Here  who are red, red, red, rednecks by Blake Shelton.  Emelia has a great imagination and has many adventures with her big sis.  She is a perfect and loving mommy to her babies.  She changes their diapers and sings them to sleep.  Occasionally, her babies like to fly through the air.  J

Emelia loves her Papa, evidenced by the many times she has sprinted past me into the arms of my husband. (Or maybe it’s because he always has goodies and treats in his pockets…) She and her sister’s lives rotate around each other, with their mommy and daddy as anchors to their orbit.

Today is a beautiful day!  Miss Emelia Marie is two years old today. Happy birthday, sweetie!

Until next time, Be Good to Yourself-

~Nadine

The Negotiator

My granddaughters are the light of my life.  For some time now, my husband and I have called our oldest granddaughter The Negotiator, and this is why. 

Like many good parents, our daughter and son-in-law give their children opportunities to make choices.  Typically, they’re given two choices:  Do you want to have water or milk for lunch?  Would you like to wear jeans of leggings today? We can go to Grammy and Papa's after nap.  Like that.

However, Miss Negotiator has her own ideas:  I want juice for lunch.  I would like to wear a dress today. I can take a nap AT Grammy and Papa's.  This just cracks me up. 

Typically, given two choices, kiddos will actually choose one of the options suggested.  But not this little three year old sweetie.  She has her own ideas and she’s not afraid to share them!

 Sometimes her negotiating skills wear her parents out, I know.  But in the long run, for me it’s satisfying to know that she can think on her feet, come up with creative solutions, and go for what she wants.   I hope she never changes.