I wanted to share this video of a Grandpas' crazy antics to calm a crying baby. As grandparents we have been where these grandparents are with this crying baby. My hubby and I got a laugh out of this I hope you will too.

I played around here a little bit today to see if I could get some pictures of my grandson (AJ) into this blog. I believe I finally got one onto this page. I will see if I can find some that are more current than this one and put them onto this blog as well. In the meantime take a look at grandmas pride and joy.

I have an update on my grandsons dentist visit. My daughter and her husband agree that they do not want AJ left alone in the dentists office while he is working on AJs teeth. They too agree that there is just too many things that can go wrong and they do not feel that AJ is old enough to be by himself with people he does not know. They do not even leave him with people he does not know when they go out on their own (although this does not happen very often), AJ usually stays with us or with me and my mom. Angela has taken him to another dentist to see if she can get someone who will allow at least one of them in the office with AJ while the dentist works. They also want to see if they can get the work done for a little less, although they do have coverage through my son-in-laws work they are only covered for so much and there will be some cost that my daughter and her husband will have to pay on their own. My daughter is also concerned because the pediatric dentist she went to the other day will not do the work until May. She would like to get it done sooner, if possible, as AJ does complain about his teeth hurting.

Another concern we have is what type of sedative will the dentist use because they will give AJ a sedative. My daughter has been asking around to get information about the different types and she has learned that different pediatric dentists use different medications. I am conflicted in that I understand why dentists use the meds, I just do not know how comfortable I am with them giving my grandson this stuff.

Hopefully this will all turn out for the best.

Yesterday AJ went to the dentist for a second time, he has been complaining about his teeth hurting for a couple of weeks. The first dentist could not find anything wrong with his front tooth which he had chipped some time ago when he fell into a table. The second dentist (a pediatric dentist) looked at this tooth and says it needs to come out as it is absessing and rotting (due to being chipped). He also needs to fill cavities on both teeth at either side of this tooth as one is also chipped (not as back as the first one) and the other one looks like it has a cavity on it.

I can understand this as these teeth were damaged and are now causing problems and need to be dealt with, what I do not understand is the first dentist not seeing any of this stuff. Do you need to be a pediatric dentist to see that a tooth is rotting? If a normal dentist can not tell that a tooth is rotting or has a cavity maybe he needs to go back to dentistry school to retake the classes he appearantly missed.

I feel sorry for AJ, he is so young to have to see a dentist never mind having to have a tooth pulled. The pediatric dentist that is going to be working on AJs teeth has said that he will be giving him something to calm him down before he starts working on AJs mouth. AJ will also be given laughing gas to keep him from remembering what is happening when the pediatric dentist works on him. I read the papers that my daughter had brought from the dentists office and read that this dentist will not have parents in the room during this procedure. This scares me more then the drug they are going to be using on my grandson. AJ has never been alone with strangers before and this is going to be a freightening experience for him to go through alone. I really hope that my daughter talks to the dentist and states her misgivings about leaving her young son alone during this procedure.

Maybe I am being overly protective-but I just really do not like this idea at all. I saw a show once that showed what went on in dentists offices when children got scared or were not wanting to go through the dentist visit quietly. They were restrained and at that time I remember thinking thank god my child grew up without having to go through this. I am scared stupid for my small grandson.

I have not been here for a long time. I got caught up in the daily grind and then Christmas and have not had much time to visit here. So I wanted to take some time and share some quotes with you today which have given me a lift and I hope they do the same for you.

A mother becomes a true grandmother the day she stops noticing the terrible things her children do because she is so enchanted with the wonderful things her grandchildren do.
-- Lois Wyse

Grandmother-grandchild relationships are simple. Grandmas are short on criticism and long on love.
-- Author Unknown

Well Christmas is over and we had a great time spending it with family. My grandson was old enough this year that he knew who Santa Claus is was determined to stay up Christmas Eve and wait for his arrival.  We explained that Santa would not arrive until well after midnight as he had to come from the North Pole. This did not deter AJ, he was going to see Santa when he came to his house. My hubby and I decided that we would go home around 10:00 pm hoping that when we left then AJ would go to bed. My daughter informed me the next day that AJ did not go to bed until almost 11:00 pm and then he only went because Mommy and Daddy were going to bed. We had our family gift opening earlier in the evening and daddy was waiting for AJ to go to bed so that he could bring out the gifts from Santa.

My daughter says that the next morning (Christmas) AJ did not even look at the tree when he got up. He was very surprised to find a few extra gifts left under it for him from Santa. He then was very upset because he had not been awake to see Santa. Santa had come and he had been asleep. He did check to see if the cookies and milk he had left out for Santa were gone.

It was so exciting this year for me because I had an opportunity to experience the joy of being a child at Christmas once again.

As I sit and watch my grandson at play I can't help but wonder what has happened to my imagination. I believe I had one once. I even had dreams that would keep me going through the rough spots in life. Somehow I have lost them.

So my journey begins to try to recapture those dreams and my imagination. I begin by realizing that I have always wanted to travel. The reality is that Grandma has never really traveled. Oh, I have been to other provinces-Saskatchewan and BC, but I have not been anywhere that would offer a glimpse into a different culture, climate, or views other than the norm.

Grandma has found a site that has helped her capture a spark of excitement for traveling...perhaps to the Caribbean. Take a look at what I have found http://www.traveljournals.net/pictures/175347.html

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I did.

Do you act with maturity? For a grandmother this seems like a strange question to ask. One would think that maturity would come with age.

Recently I have had an experience which left me thinking that I don't always act with maturity. This was very disturbing to me, so I had to take some time today to find out what it really means to be mature or act with maturity. It does not always follow that because one is mature in age that one would be emotionally mature. An article that I read at Systemic Solutions indicates that emotional immaturity suggest past abuse or trauma. This should be helpful for those who feel they don't always act in a mature manner. Perhaps you are harbouring some issues pertaining to your past. http://www.soulwork.net/sw_articles_eng/emotional_intelligence.htm.

I also found a site that offers 7 Steps to Emotional Maturity http://library.adoption.com/articles/7-steps-to-emotional-maturity.html.

This information should be helpful to anyone who wants to make a change but is not sure how to do it.

As for me, well I know that I probably have some past issues I have to deal with. I have a made a significant number of positive changes in my life already, however; there may still be days when I will not act in the most mature way. I am a human being and I am not perfect, although, I do strive for excellence I may miss the mark occassionally.

So if you find yourself not always acting maturely, take it easy on yourself. You are not the only one who has a bad day now and then.

During my visit with my grandson today I noticed that he is a very imaginative child. My daughter and her husband where getting ready to take AJ to a friends acreage. They have animals there and AJ loves seeing them and petting and playing with them. He was very excited to go. While he was waiting he found his play cell phone and called my husband, aka Pa Pa, at work to tell him he was dressed and ready to go see the animals. I just could not get over the fact that he knew Pa Pa was at work and that he wanted to call and tell him what he was going to do today. He had quite a conversation going for awhile before he said good bye to Pa Pa.

It is a shame that as we get older we lose our sense of imagination. We tend not to dream anymore and things lose their newness. I have learned a great deal from my grandson. The biggest and best lesson may be the one on finding and using my imagination more.

My husband and I went camping this last long weekend and had a visit from my grandson, his mother, and my mother. They were there for a few hours on Sunday. It was nice to spend time at our campsite with AJ there. He seemed to enjoy making grandpa run around after him. After the game of "come find me grandpa" ended, grandpa and my daughter took AJ out on the river in an infatable boat. Everything was going fine until they came to rapids in the river. AJ became a bit scared and was holding on to the ropes along the railing and whimpering. Grandpa asured him that he would not let him fall into the water and then AJ calmed down and enjoyed the rest of the ride. When they got back from the river we had lunch and then it was time for the three of them to go home. After they left I realized how much I had missed not seeing my grandson during the long weekend. We don't usually get to see AJ when we are camping, so it was great that Angela brought him out even for a few hours.