We had a houseguest this weekend who is a longtime kindergarten teacher. One thing she told us was to not teach the grandkids to write their name in all caps. She said in kindergarten they want them to use uppercase followed by lowercase. She also said she is disappointed in how many kids can type in the directions for getting to UTube on the tablet but don’t know how to hold a crayon or scissors.
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@mom60 - my D1, the kindergarten teacher, agrees with this 100%!
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Got a text from SIL this morning. Twin B has an urgent request for me. Her favorite unicorn dress has gotten torn, can grandma fix it for her?
Touches my heart because Twin B remembers.
I’ve repaired several of her favorite things–like a popped seam on her favorite stuffed rabbit where the stuffing was falling out and put the ear back on a stuffed tiger.
Anyway, the dress is her favorite. She loves it and wears it almost everyday. And she trusts me to be able to fix it for her.
(Which I will, but since I’m 3000 miles away from her dress, it might be a while until I can get to it.)
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Are you planning to live close to your DD/SIL/Gkids again, or is it now you are living close to one DD and not the other?
Using those fine finger muscles for coloring within lines (which develops between K4 and K at Gkids’ school), and the use of scissors is maybe more in K. In K4, they write their name on the paper with only first letter of first name capitalized; in K they write first and last name on some papers, and again with last name, just the first letter is capitalized.
How to hold a pencil was something DD2 had to ‘relearn’ in K, as she was holding her pencil wrong. Between K teacher and me at home, DD2 was holding the pencil correctly all the time after a few weeks.
Another thing is how to print each letter, large and small correctly. Their school does some work sheets, and we also have a dry erase with marker placemat, as well as inexpensive workbooks at each grade level (from Dollar Store). When Nana is with them, work on some of those in free time. GD1 is a trail blazer with her reading, writing, coloring, cutting out things. Look forward to GS1 and GS2 following suit and then GD2.
At future time (3rd grade or maybe even 2nd) script.
Some schools had taken writing script out and then restored it.
My sister (retired school librarian) said her grandkids will learn to write in script even if their school doesn’t teach it.
I will be moving to live with D1 and SIL in about 6 weeks.
I stayed in CA to oversee the downstairs remodel of the main house and the rebuilding of the ADU in the backyard (which was supposed to be my house). Main house should be done in the next 3 weeks; ADU after Labor Day.
House will go on the market right around the time I leave.
No ADU at the new house, but I will have a whole floor of the house to myself with a separate entrance. Bedroom, bath, living room with fireplace, dry kitchen (no sink–sink is across the hall in the shared laundry room.) I will eventually look into having a water line run into my kitchen, but right now I’m really, really tired of living in the middle of a remodel. (Which has been going on here continuously in some form for the last year and half.)
My other daughter just bought a house in a western mountain state where she’s a new attending physician in private practice. I was 90 minutes by air from her here in SoCal, but won’t be after the move. However there are a couple of daily direct flights to her city and back. Takes three times as long as the current flight, but at least I don’t have to change planes.
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How exciting, @WayOutWestMom !!
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I hear you on living in ‘construction zone’. But it is terrific that you are able to see the things through on the current house - even though you are missing all the ‘adventures’ with the grandkids (feast or famine situation for you). You also have probably had some time to fulfill all the local sites you want to see before your big move. And new adventures ahead!
We are enjoying extra time with DD2 (single) - she is working remote last week and this week (had a wedding to attend to in our area). She has been working evenings on a piece of furniture she made with her dad in the workshop here – she had been using it w/o the front door panels (a low long cabinet) and now she has brought it back to finish the doors. She wants to do some kind of carving yet on the door panels (but may leave them finished and installed, with later doing that door carving IDK).
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To be clear, the house I’m currently living isn’t my house. It’s D1 and SIL’s house. I sold my house in NM almost 3 years ago to move out to CA to be with them. I started wrestling with the building permitting process in spring 2022. It took 20 months to get the permit and I had started the major remodel on the ADU around the time SIL got offered a job he just couldn’t turn down. D1 wasn’t happy about the move east because she had to turn down a lifetime career position/last job you’ll ever want she had just been offered when SIL’s job offer came through.
SIL had hoped to stay in CA until August/September, but D1’s new job back east had a May 1 start date. So they fly/drove out in early April and I stayed behind to pack up the house, manage the movers and oversee the remodeling.
I hadn’t planned to be here by myself for 5 months. I fully expected to have been moved out by the 4th of July–little did I know that even more permitting delays plus a surprise case of termites and wood rot in the garage supports under the ADU would set the building schedule back by 2 months.
I was managing pretty well until car registration became an issue. I had a car that was registered in the SIL’s name, but he had already moved OOS and his insurance was for his new state, not CA so I couldn’t renew the car registration and ended up shipping the car back east in mid-June. So I’ve been living in the SoCal suburbs without a car. It’s been…challenging. Thank goodness you can get groceries delivered.
So it’s been a process and I’m looking forward to it being over.
Can’t wait to see all the grandkids who have grown up so much since I last saw them.
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That was over and beyond. I don’t think I could have done it. Your kid is very lucky.
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We just celebrated GD’s 2nd birthday. She is so much fun, talking up a storm in both English and Spanish (she attends Spanish immersion daycare and SIL and his family are native speakers). She has started swim lessons and loves them. She also loves music, dance and generally being active. I feel very lucky to live 10 minutes away.
We bought her a “kitchen” for her birthday and she is a creative chef. D’s neighbors also gave her a kitchen they had for their children and that one is at Mimi and Grandpa’s house where I am setting up a playroom in an unused room.
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Wow on all the unexpected turns in your lives - but it sounds like your ‘kids’ have landed well, and you are doing what needs to be done.
You can see the finish line…keep at it, one day at a time.
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@WayOutWestMom, that is a lot on your plate. Best wishes for a smooth…well, everything. Are you a west coast native? If so, do you think you’ll like the EC?
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No, I grew mostly outside of Philadelphia. Went to college in PA, then moved to the midwest for grad school and eventually settled in the southwest. Lived there for over 40 years until I moved to CA 3 years ago
So I’ve lived on the EC before and I’'m not thrilled at the idea moving back…but I’ll manage. I hate humidity.
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Having been so long in SW, you had been used to a lot of years w/o humidity. But continuing the joys of the family life ahead. Certainly, some unexpected things have happened - major bummer, but more rainbows and sunshine ahead (mentally). Can cherish and embrace the positives with new area and mitigate the negatives on any weather issues.
We are probably years away from living closer to DD1/SIL/Gkids due to DH’s activities tying us to our area that we have lived in since 1983. But I make trips to help out and engage.
Right now we are proceeding on 3 interior rooms and roof being worked on (torn out Master Bath; some tear out on formal dining; emptied formal dining and living rooms) - major insurance check expected today (actually two claims, it is a story) so we can sign a contract for roof/rooms. Paid off the packer/mover company, paid off the tear out/dry out company. Noticed some damage and filed insurance claim 5-18. Delay with roof due to separate gutter remove and restore. Everyone was on the same page finally (with insurance go-ahead) for packing rooms June 24, moving items to storage June 26, and tear out of formal dining wall on June 27. Verified 2nd water source (plumber in April put a hole in our sink drain junction area in 2nd story master bath when clearing out a clogged drain – and the hole was behind the vanity in the wall above the formal dining wall) and generated second insurance claim. Tear out/dry out of Master Bath July 3rd. Rooms dry and equipment removed July 10th. Our estimator was on vacation and that was a hopefully final delay. Now awaiting the larger insurance check so we can hopefully get our contractor going.
DH was out of town a few short periods; I was with DD1’s family for two planned weeks with my return June 17th (her DH was on scheduled time helping his parents who will be moving from GA to LA to be near family sometime in the near future due to the dad’s declining health with Parkinson’s). LA location (where other son lives) is 6 hours drive for DD1/SIL/kids, so a ‘good’ move. DD1 needed me to help with the 4 kids ages 1 - 6, as she has a FT demanding job and needed the second adult helping. Insurance fumbled along, bumped up claim with no one assigned, insurance had generated early stuff which all had to be canceled out including a payment.
I get it. Born and raised and living in it, LOL. But we do have four seasons so we escape it most of the year.
Hey! New Mexico has seasons. There’s spring windy season, summer monsoon season, fall windy season, and winter.
So, 4 seasons and none of them are humid. If the humidity hit the 40% range–everyone used to complain. The thought of going back to 90 degrees and 90% humidity makes me shudder. Ick!
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I imagine there also are some climate differences within a state like NM too. I guess you will figure out how best to navigate past the high humidity days in your new location when you get there.
I was reading a book to GD yesterday, and the main character called his grandmother Baba. GD wanted to know why she was called Baba. I explained that kids have different names for their grandmas … “It’s like how call me Grandma, but you call your other grandma Nonna.” GD looked at me straight in the eyes and told me, “Nonna’s not my grandma. You’re my grandma. She’s my Nonna.” So she asked again why the old lady in the book was Baba. I gave up & told her that I have no idea. 
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My D1 had her second baby today. Baby boy was 9 lbs 13 ounces. He is so big!! He is my fifth grandchild (in 5years).
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