For the last three weeks, my mother has been visiting.  We get to see her usually 2-3 times a year, since she and my dad live about 10 hours away.  Dad came along for the visit, but he could only stay the first week.  Because Mom doesn’t work full-time, she has more flexibility with her time, and she has begun making her normal visit around 3 weeks long.

As usual, we tried to cram too many things into the three week time-frame, and we managed to do most, but not all of those “things”.

One of the BEST “things” we did was spend hours (literally) filming and photographing the kids doing various projects for a new “Crafts With Mema” blog series.  (You’ll be able to see these videos and photo tutorials over at NanaHood.com every Monday for the next several months!)

Of course the kids loved EVERY minute of their crafting with Mema… as did she.  In fact, I’m not sure WHO loved it more – them or her.  They made everything from Sock Puppets to Homemade Flour Dough to Homemade Paint to Stained Glass (paper tissue) butterflies.  I counted up the projects last night, and I think there are FORTY projects for me to post once a week over the next…almost year!

Mixed in between craft projects, the kids also enjoyed almost daily trips to Walmart and the park…. a few trips to our local museum… a movie at the theater… and lots and lots and LOTS of yummy goodies baked and cooked by Mema.

And then she went home.

The kids are adjusting fairly well.  Well, if asking for her 30 times in about 45 minutes is “fairly well”.  All three kids have asked when we were going to do a project.  And all three have asked if we could go to Walmart.  (”Not now”, and “No” were my replies… no wonder they miss Mema!)

It’s such a huge blessing to my children (and to me) that my mother is able (and willing) to come and spend so much concentrated time with us.  I watch her with them – her easy and fun and relaxed way with them – and then I remind myself that I need to be more relaxed as a Mom… to take more time for FUN… to let them BE them.

I know I still need to “be the mom” and teach and discipline and “raise my kids up right”.  But I can also let a bit of Mema-fun creep in, even when she isn’t here.  I can say “Yes” more often to the requests for cookie making or brownies for breakfast.  It definitely won’t hurt for me to hug and love on them more, and tell them how special they are to me, just like she does when she visits.  It won’t even kill me to take ALL THREE kids to Walmart more often (gasp).

Yes, I can learn from my mother, and how she “grand-mothers” my kids.  As Martha Stewart says, it’s a good thing…

Ok, who wants to do a project???