How do you celebrate birthdays with your #longdistancefamily?
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Four virtual #birthdayparties in one day meant four creative #birthdaycakes and lots of singing and gifts and cards sent from abroad for our now little four year old. We started out with a tower of four #donuts for a #breakfast #birthday celebration with #Oma on #whatsapp, a cucpake for another set of #grandparents on #facetime, a pancake with sprinkles and...
Sep 19
Dearest Grandparents,
You are the light of our world! Thank you for everything you do and all the love, patience and spoiling that you share and have for your #grandchildren. We know being a grand distance #grandparent is not easy, it isn't what you ever imagined life as a grandparent would be, but your efforts to connect with them are sincerely appreciated. And with every stage and new chapter you are their to support all of us. It...
Sep 13
"Hey #grandma, hey #grandpa check out our #appletree this year!"
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#Apple picking is a great fall tradition and especially with children, and even better when you can bring your #grandparents from halfway around the world through the #orchard with you on #videochat when they can't make it there themselves to see "our" tree Sin. They experienced it all, minus tasting the delicious #elstars of @fruitlambrecht. ...
Sep 11
Ringing up the #grandparents anywhere at anytime is a normal everyday thing for us. Today we called them from our favorite #appleorchard & #grocer - #FruitLambrechtBaart in
#StElooisVijve #Belgium; which they have been experiencing virtually for four years watching through #videochat as we pick #apples, delight at 'our' growing #appletree which we fondly named Sin, had our first taste of the sweet and juicey #Elstar, run up ...
Sep 6
Will you join my #teaparty? Would you like an #icecream🍦? Can I make you a #coffee ☕ or would you like #moojuice 🥛? What kind of #eggs 🍳 would you like? What do you like on your #toast? Oh no I burned the #cheese...= 30 mins of #laughter and #play with a #toddler on a #videocall with #grandma and #grandpa. #Fun with the #grandparents can be facilitated #virtually in all sorts of ways. How are you engaging with your grandchildren? Or ...
Sep 5
And we made it- the #firstdayofschool! ***
The confinement in the spring and a corona-proof summer with limited #travel was weird; we miss our #family and friends (as our social contacts are still limited here in #Belgium), and nothing feels normal these days but this, #school, the hustle and bustle of the morning routine this feels half normal. Thank you #teachers!
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Now off to send a bunch of pictures to all the #grandparents! ...
Sep 1
A phone call to #oma, while playing #mikado and keeping busy with #playdough= just like she is there at our table.
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#granddistanceparenting #longdistancefamily #grandma #grandchildren #skypewithgrandma #grandparents #facetime #playinggames #callinggrandma #family #familytime
Aug 29
#homesick 'cause #covidsucks and missing my #longdistancefamily but still having fun in #Belgium #wallonie / #ardennen with my #family & haven't been posting as have no words for this pain and my son's #tears. Hope you have figured out a better balance to this madness than me; just trying to focus on the positive, but still sorely missing #family and struggling to find a balance with this #newreality.
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Jul 31
It wasn't a typical #birthday, due to #corona measures we kept the celebration small and had a few #playdate parties instead of one big one.
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We asked friends and #family to submit #birthdaygreetings in the form of pictures, videos and messages on a @kudoboard, which brought a huge smile to the face of our now #7yearold!!
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We opened #presents and sang #happybirthday with family and friends throughout the day on ...
Jul 4
"Hey #grandma, come sit with me in the chair. Check out the #tiedye shirt I made at #school. We made it by doing..." ***
Regular chats with your #grandchildren are important for facilitating connection. #longdistance chats may be a little different than the real thing, but you can still "sit" together. So pull up a chair #grandparents, and ask your #grandchild to bring you with them and just chill. Enjoy!
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Jun 27
Happy, relieved, exhausted, overwhelmed, sad, and tired are how I would describe how I feel as a #parent, now that my children are back for the last three weeks of school full time in #Belgium! ***
This period of isolation, #lifeinthetimeofcorona, has been intense having two kids under 6 at home and keeping up with #homeschooling and our jobs that are both full-time. I am delighted that they are both back in school and #chalkboard #writing ...
Jun 9
Sledding with #grandpa! ***
Who would have thought I would be digging through the winter clothes come #summer and reconstructing a #winterscene of early #antarctic #explorers for my #sevenyearold #futurefilmmaker 's #antarcticadventure; nor that an #indoorwinterland with a #sled and fake #snow would be so fun in #June, and especially for showing off to the #grandparents! ***
#granddistanceparenting #longdistancefamily #facetime ...
Jun 3
Nothing like a #spaceflight to start a conversation with #familyfromafar. Are you watching the @nasa @spacex #dragonflight, too? 🚀🛰🌠
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We are in our #spacesuits (thanks #Oma), rewatched the #launchamerica #launch 5 times this morning!!, exchanging messages with friends and #family about how cool it all is!, and making a #spacehelmet from cardboard as we watch the #nasalivestream, and skim through our fav #space #books - ...
May 31
We are so happy here, as in #Belgium the playgrounds have reopened Even had to ring up the #grandparents to share in all fun, as I chased these two around the playground. ***
Lots of hand washing pre- and post- playing, and keeping our distance from others of course. #granddistanceparenting takes on a new meaning now of keeping my distance from other parents, but for good reason. ***
#lifeinthetimeofcorona #grandchildren #playground ...
May 28
One more day sweetheart and your ten long weeks of longing will end, as (some) #playgrounds open again in #Belgium. The longing for going down that slide, climbing, swinging; but also for things we took as normal- going to the #library, #grocery store, #gymnastics, #school, is coming to an end (albeit likely temporary). ***
We were isolating for a good reason, and continue to keep our #socialdistance and wear our #masks to protect eachother ...
May 26
21 questions, guess what's on my head, any guessing game will work for encouraging interaction between #children and #family from afar in a #virtualcall. Since it was #bathtime and the #school theme is water, our #guessinggame with #grandma focused on #aquaticanimals. ***
Which #games do you play with your #grandparents during your #callshome? Has anyone tried #battleship? We have also had success with #yahtzee and #pictionary. ***
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May 23
"Look at our ducklings #grandma and #grandpa!", says my son with joy as we show off the two broods of #ducklings that inhabit our local park as onlookers stare at us as we casually talk to the #grandparents as if they were right there on the bench with us. And why the heck not?! We bring our #longdistancefamily with us every where- they have been on #bikerides with us, at #school performances, #rugby tournaments, #picnics and so on. ...
May 20
Just a normal #sunnymorning here- cleaning our #scooters, eating hard-boiled #eggs, while enjoying the warm #morningsun with Oma on the #frontsteps. Yep, that's #Oma there in the corner, on the phone. ***
Reimagine your first #coffee of the day or the first #kidsactivity you do by integrating #grandparents into your everyday life. ***
#granddistanceparenting #longdistancefamily #WhatsApp
#facetime #skype whatever call #grandma ...
May 17
