I have a countdown clock on my computer ticking down the days until my retirement. If the economy gets better (come on, folks, work with me here), I will be retiring in a mere 1,051 days.  However, I have just found a very compelling reason to retire sooner.  Like right now.  This very day.  Sheesh, if I had my way, I’d walk out of work this very moment with nary a backward glance.

So, what’s the big deal, you ask?  Beatles Rockband, that’s what.

My tightwad little soul could never justify spending the money for a Wii and for Guitar Hero, even though I loved playing Guitar Hero.  Until, that is, my boss made a profound comment to me the other day.

I was lamenting the cost of the system and that at my age I ought to be socking that money away money for retirement instead of spending it on frivolous things like a Wii.  “What?” he scoffed.  “So you put away the $400 dollars and in five years, what do you have?  $100 dollars, that’s what.  You gotta enjoy life, Nina.”

Enjoy life indeed.

Since it was my birthday this week (aren’t birthdays a good reason to fecklessly blow wads and wads of money?), I finally said yes.  Yes, let’s buy a Wii.  Yes, let’s get Rockband.  But it has to be the Beatles version.  And, so we did.

Last night we set it up and played it.  Four hours later, my husband was snug asleep in bed.  My fingers were still clenched around the guitar.  Just one more song, sweetie.  Then I’ll come to bed.

As the digital clock virtually struck midnight, I begrudgingly stopped.  The neighbors were glad because their dogs ceased their howling in duet with my singing.

So here’s my idea for all of you cool grandmothers who read my blog.  I think it would be a great investment to buy a sports Wii and the Beatles Rockband.  Just think of all of the fun you can have bonding with your grandchildren as you make music together!  When (if) you ever tire of playing the music, you can enjoy the sports games.  (It’s a good thing that the bowling alley is a virtual one because I had a tendency to fling my bowling ball too high and it would crash into the lane.  There would have been volcanic craters if I were bowling in a physically real bowling alley.)

There are other games that you could get for your Wii.  My daughter has the Mario Kart and she says it is great fun.

Assuming that your grandchildren do not already have a Wii and/or a Rockband, this could be the cat’s meow.  You’d be a rocking cool grandma that your grandkids would love to visit and play with.  Even teen-aged grandchildren, or those in their thirties.

Rock on!

I recently ‘met’ Grandma Lisa.  (I met her through her comment to this site.)  She has a 16 month old grandson who lives in Arizona while she lives in Colorado.  I asked her to share what she does to strengthen her relationship with her grandson since he lived so far away.  Here is what she said:

“I have to admit that it’s a little hard to come up with things to do. One thing I’ve started is choosing an off-the-wall month of national designation (i.e. National Squirrel Awareness Month) and sending him something related to it (I found a silly book about a squirrel for the October one). I plan to continue that. Also, I’ve gone around and gathered a bunch of fall leaves to bring to him when we visit next weekend — or I’d be mailing them if we weren’t going to visit — because he lives in Arizona, where there’s little to no change in the foliage for fall. Other than that, my daughter and I fit in as much Skype time on the computer as possible so he can see me and I can see him. And I talk to my daughter on the phone nearly every day and usually get to say hello to him then, as well.”

I love the off-the-wall month idea!  And taking fall leaves to him.  How wonderful!  Thanks so much for sharing your ideas.

Take some time to check out Lisa’s website Grandma’s Briefs — especially her Recipe box.  I ask you, my fellow Americans (and all other nationalities who read my site) who can resist her Chocolate Chip Dip?)

In April 2008, I wrote about creating your own National Holiday. If there’s a month that you can’t find a wacky official  national month holiday, you might want to check out these ideas for creating your own national holiday.

I took this picture last year of the lane to our home.  I am eagerly awaiting the leaves to turn their beautiful fall colors this year.  They are still green. . . .

I recently came across some great activities that you could do with your grandchildren that involve the gorgeous fall leaves.

GingerbreadSnowflakes.com has directions for taking a fall leaf and covering it with modge podge.  By doing this, the leaf stays colorful, supple, and will last for years.  Fun, fun, fun.

That Artist Woman has a project for painted autumn leaves. I especially love the oak leaves she did.  Their vibrant colors contrast so nicely after being mounted on black paper.

She also has directions for salt dough leaf prints.  Remember back 30 years ago when salt dough projects were all the rage? This could be a fabulous activity that you share with your grandchildren, explaining the salt dough projects you did in days of yore while creating your salt dough leaf.

Grab a grandchild or two for a couple of hours and have fun making these fall leaves.  (These three projects are simple enough that even my klutzy craft-less hands could do them!)

Why is it that recipes connected with Halloween are so sugar laden? Sigh . . .

These marshmallow witches are super easy to make, delightfully fun to look at, and with enough sugar to fuel a rocket’s launch into outer space — or to launch a grandchild’s frenzied burst of energy!  Here’s the recipe. I didn’t realize just how versatile marshmallows are!

If you are planning on hosting a Halloween party for your grandchildren, you might want to check out some of the activities that I wrote about last year.  (The digital scavenger hunt is my favorite.)

Do you have some fun Halloween activities that you do (or will be doing) with your grandchildren that you would like to share here?  Feel free to post a comment and tell me about them!