This morning on the bus, one of my friends shared an idea that the mother of her son-in-law does.

(I pause here a moment to ask a question: do you ever feel competition with the ‘other’ grandparents of your grandchildren?  That your grandchildren might love ‘them’ more than they love you?  Do you worry that your grandchildren would rather spend time with ‘them’ than with you?  Do you worry that ‘they’ give your grandchildren more expensive presents for birthdays and Christmas?  Well, my friend exhibited no such feelings.  I was impressed.  Now.  Back to the regularly scheduled program.)

This grandmother has a closet full of pajamas.  When her grandchildren come to visit, they run to the closet to pick out a pair to wear while they visit grandma.  They put them on — even if it is in the middle of the afternoon!

Generally, there isn’t any bickering or arguing over who gets to wear which set of pajamas because grandma has so many to choose from.  That must be one heck of a pajama stash!  (I wonder if she has summer pajamas and winter pajamas and boy pajamas and girl pajamas.  I wonder if they ever have a pajama party . . .)

When it’s time to go, grandchildren give the PJs back to grandma — most of the time without complaints.  If there is resistance to leaving the pajamas at grandma’s house, grandma reminds them that if the child took the pajamas home, they wouldn’t be at her home the next time the grandchild came for a visit.

That sounds like a fun — and unusual — idea!

Do any of you do anything similar?

I enjoy great writing.  I once read an entire feature article in an in-flight magazine about mountain biking because it was so well written.  And I’ve never been mountain biking  (especially the wild riding that was described in the article) nor will I ever!

And that is what I like best about Grand Gifting.  The good writing.

Grand Gifting is a site that sells quality products to grandparents to help them create a grand life with their grandchildren.  (Isn’t that grand?)

You know what I like best about the site?  It isn’t cold and business-like.  It has a personal feel to it instead of being like a site for a business like the big box-store chain that shall not be named (but rhymes with K-Mart).  It doesn’t have advertising blarney.  It feels like you are sitting in your living room with a good friend having a chat.

Ronda Kay, the site owner, has a fun section called Revolutionary Thoughts.  She has an article about unconventional playthings.  A must read.  Great idea!   I think I’m going to add some of those unconventional playthings to my toy closet.

Then there is the Treasure or Trash.  Another must read.  And How My Mother Saved Mickey Mouse.  You guessed it.  Another must read.

Yes, this site is a ‘business.’  A business with a personal feeling.  After reading her Revolutionary Thoughts you might want to poke around and see what she has to offer.

Yesterday, Grandma Susan commented on my post about ideas for water activities.  She lamented that it takes a L-O-N-G time to make water balloons.  I totally agree.  Totally.

I was about to commiserate with her when - TA DA - an idea flashed through my head.  Don’t others feel the same way?  Why hasn’t someone created a gizmo that easily and quickly fills water balloons?

Within a minutes, I found the most fabulous thing that is a MUST for all grannies:  A Water Bomb Factory!

You can find them on Amazon for $8.98 (with $3.98 shipping).  Or at Things You Never Knew Existed for $8.98.  (I don’t know how much shipping costs.)  Or at Pinch A Penny for $6.99.  (Shipping is free but handling is $8.99!)  Leslie’s Pool has them for $7.99 (with $8 for shipping.)  There might be other places with a better price or better shipping.  These are just two sites that I found in my quick search.

Watch the following video to see just how easy it is to fill and tie a water balloon.  Amazing.  Totally amazing!

That clinched it for me!  I am so going to buy one of these little fellows!

On your mark, get set — SOAK ‘EM!!

These hot days of summer absolutely require activities to help your grandchildren cool off — and have fun.  The only way to do that is to have activities that include getting wet.  The wetter the better!

Flotsam and Jetsam
We all know that flotsam and jetsam refers to stuff floating in water.  Right?  Good.  So, the idea behind this activity is to get a Ping-Pong ball to float in a plastic cup.

Divide your grandchildren into pairs.  Give one grandchild an empty plastic cup with a Ping-Pong ball inside.  She is now known as the “Great Cup Holder.”  Give the other grandchild a spray bottle filled with water.  This grandchild is the “Sharp Shootin’ Squirter.” Have them stand six feet apart.

On ‘go,’ the Sharp Shootin’ Squirters try to squirt enough water into their partner’s cup so that the Ping-Pong ball floats.  The first team to get their ball to float is the winner.  Then, switch so that the Great Cup Holder becomes the Sharp Shootin’ Squirter and the sprayer turns into the cup holder.  Again, see which team can be the first to get their Ping-Pong ball to float.

There’s only one rule:  if the team members get closer than six feet, they have to dump out the water in their cup and start over.  (You might want to have a large bucket for easy refilling of the sprayers.)

You might want to have a squirt bottle for every grandchild.  Before the activity, they can draw designs on the bottles using markers.  Then, they can take the squirt bottle home with them — or keep them at grandma’s house for their next visit.

Gentle Jumping
Drag out your long jump rope and paper cups for this activity.  Your grandchildren will take turns turning the rope for the other jumpers.  Each grandchild is given a cup full of water.  The object is for each one to run in, jump six times, and run out without spilling water from her cup.  The one with the most water left in her cup is the winner.

Soggy Jogging
Divide your grandchildren into two teams.  Give each team an old pair of loose fitting sweat pants and a bucket of water.  Place a lawn chair for each team about 15-20 feet away from the starting line.

On ‘go,’ the first person dunks the sweat pants in the bucket of water and puts them on.  She runs down to the lawn chair and once around it and back to her team.  She takes off the sweatpants and gives them to the next person in line.

The next person dunks the sweatpants in the water, puts them on, runs down and around the chair and back.  The winning team is the one who finishes first.

Water Ball
This game is easier to do with just 2 grandchildren — or you and one grandchild.

You’ll need several water balloons, a plastic bat, and a bucket full of water.  Decide who is the pitcher and who is the batter.

The batter stands by the bucket of water.  The pitcher stands several feet away with four water balloons.  The pitcher tries to toss a water balloon into the bucket of water.  The batter ‘defends’ the bucket by hitting and breaking the water balloon so it doesn’t land in the bucket.  The pitcher scores one point for every balloon that successfully lands in the bucket.

Switch positions.  The new pitcher (who has four water balloons) tries to throw the balloons into the bucket while the new batter tries to hit the balloons so they don’t land in the bucket.  Continue playing until you run out of water balloons or interest wanes.

Hope these activities help cool off your hot summer days!