A good dose of Granny Wisdom

Note: This is NOT my Granny but, the "I told you so" look is definitely familiar!

After spending some quality time with my grandparents last weekend, 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 that are worth sharing.  So, without further ado, here are some great "Granny-isms" that I do my best to remember... and hope you will too!

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 3-year old triplets, who are still in cribs. My husband and I have a healthy debate about when to move them to beds.  People have 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 are 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 recent relevant example is our minivan.  The lease was up in December and in the midst of end of year mayhem at work, holiday mayhem at home and the typical chaos of our crazy lives, we decided to spend some time car shopping.  We seriously spent hours attempting to jam our family of seven (and 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!

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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 last Sunday as snot oozed from 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, your bag, heck, even your sleeve!  If you don't, you'll end up as my kids often 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!

Say yes to treats.  So, there we were in church last Sunday.  It was me, my 90-year old grandparents (ok, Granny will be 90 in April but close enough!) and the triplets, who were behaving quite nicely.  Not a peep out of them.  I really wished that Des and the other kids were there to witness this angelic behavior but they were busy with another obligation. 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... which couldn't help but notice the pleasant scent of peppermint wafting through the aisles.  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 (five boys and one girl!), 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.