After spending quality time with my grandparents, I realized that over the years I've absorbed a fair amount of what I like to call "Granny Wisdom" - little nuggets of tried and true advice worth sharing.

So, without further ado, in honor of National Grandparents Day, here are some great "Granny-isms" that I always do my best to remember...and hope you will too!

1. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

This little gem is a challenge for me, but I know I'd be wise to take it to heart. For starters, consider our triplets, who were still in cribs by the age of three. My husband and I had a healthy debate about when to move them into beds, and people had commented (in a not so flattering way), "they still fit in cribs? Isn't it time to take them out?!"

But here's the thing - they were still HAPPY in their cribs. Why take three happily contained tots and set them free to wreak havoc around the house, morning, noon and night?

The Granny solution? Don't. Leave them in the crib!

Another relevant example is our minivan. When the lease was up, in the midst of end-of-year mayhem at work, holiday mayhem at home and the typical chaos of our lives, we decided to spend some time car shopping.

We spent hours attempting to jam our family of seven (and a 90-lb dog!) into a Ford Flex, Honda Pilot and several other mid-size cars.  You know what we ended up getting? Yep. Another mini-van.

The moral of the story?  Stick with what works and you'll save yourself a lot of time and headaches!


2. Tissues are like AmEx - don't leave home without them!

Ever. You know what's neat about Granny?  She can be dressed to the nines - silk blouse, sparkling jewels, pretty flats and a matching handbag - and you know what's stuffed up that silk sleeve?  Tissues!

And you know who didn't have any one Sunday for several tots battling a winter cold? Me. Guess who came to the rescue?  Granny!

This is an easy one. Keep tissues everywhere - in your car, in your bag, heck - even your sleeve!  If you don't, you'll end up as my kids do - using their sleeve (or worse yet, mine) as a tissue. Ew. Don't do this. Buy stock in Kleenex and stock up for the season!

3. Say yes to treats.

So, there we were in church one Sunday.  It was me, my 90-year old grandparents and the triplets, who were behaving quite nicely.  Not a peep out of them. I really wish more people were there to witness this angelic behavior.

Suddenly I noticed a minty scent, and upon closer inspection, realized that all three little fellas were happily sucking on Lifesavers. Granny had slipped them a sweet right under my nose. I couldn't help but notice the pleasant scent of peppermint wafting through the aisles, and my quiet, satisfied children. She gave me a wink and mouthed "Why not?" 

Why not indeed?

I'm not sure what other tricks my Granny has up her sleeve but, after raising six kids, I know she must have more. And I, for one, intend to find out! God knows I could use all the help I can get as I juggle the ins and outs and ups and downs of parenthood - and I'm truly grateful to have my Granny and her doses of wisdom to help show me the way.

*Originally published in January 2012.