Meet Shaney, a.k.a The Improper Grandma.

Crème de la: The best of  ||  Clover: Luck

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I have turned 29 more times than I am prepared to admit. Whatever spin on it I choose, all trails inevitably lead me back to the fact that I am aging… aged… I am fine wine. (I’ll work on that!)

 

Three years ago, amongst all of the charming chaos of our blended family, news of a surprise addition broke. EXTRA, EXTRA- I’M SORRY, WHAT?! My youngest adult daughter gave me something I didn’t even know could fit on my resume. Mind you, I am already a full time workaholic, self-proclaimed cook, aspiring foodie, and juggle three little ducks of my own. No longer was my “middle-aged” self simply: mom, mother, or the occasional Madre depending on the day- Now I was *gulp* Grandma! Not the adorable proper Grandma I introduce on post #1... more the stressed out ‘just gonna have to wing it’ type of Grandma.

 

With the arrival of my now almost four year old granddaughter, Clover, came a change in life I had not intended to experience for some undetermined amount of years. I mean, after all, what 29 year old is prepared to hear they are going to be a Grandma?

 

Call me delusional (no really, it’s fine) but I feel a lingering pressure to be Mary Poppins-esque. I have joked for many years that I am, “practically perfect in every way!” Maybe I just really wanted her bag… and waistline. As you will find, I most certainly am not and will not be achieving her level of perfection. That is not to sound self-deprecating; perfection has just never really been a goal of mine. I am improper, I am imperfect, I am sensing a pattern here. Heaven bless the child who carries my sailor mouth gene and questionable sense of humor… I am a Grandmother now for fuck’s sake!

 

Fortunately, I have identified a few of the boxes in the Grandma Code of Conduct that I CAN check:   

 

√   Tiny human birthed/adopted/taken-in by offspring

√   Abundance of gray or white hair

√   Wrinkles in all areas physically & mentally possible

√   Judgemental-ish

√   Bakes, cooks, and genuinely worries about whether you are getting enough to eat

__  Knows when to respectfully bite ones tongue (it's a work in progress)

 

… Still discovering how I fit the mould, but I’ll keep you posted.

 

Through Crème de la Clover you will meet my grandbaby Clover, my Mr. a.k.a. Mark, The Improper Grandpa, along with my three kids – Ashlie, Myranda, and Christopher (we call him Toph). My Ashles, Manda May, and Tophalufa- painfully delivered in that order. We now call Phoenix, Arizona home but our adventure began in a small house in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They help me balance all the hats of life, and I theirs. Our Arizona home has become a regular B&B for many guests, a full-time office for the Mr. and I, our mad house of kitchen experimentation, and the place that is now known as Grandma and Grandpa’s.

 

Créme de la Clover is for all of the Grandma’s, whether proper or improper, fresh on the job or a bona fide Great. We have earned our wrinkles and greys! I am the improper Grandma. Créme de la Clover is just my friendly reminder to not take our aging lives too seriously, that we are all continuously learning, we all have messy kitchens and we all have failed bakes. These are the best of the precious moments, the trials and errors, with a little luck along the way!