ABOUT GRANDCRAZY.COM

Grand Crazy is owned by Jan Filer, a.k.a. Grammy, who lives in Plymouth, MN.  Grand Crazy evolved almost simultaneously with the birth of our first grandchild, Noah, November 23, 2006 (Thanksgiving Day - he was truly a blessing for which to be thankful!). In addition to being smitten with my incredible new grandchild, I was overwhelmed at the interest and excitement, as well as cards and gifts we received - from other grandparents! They were as excited as I was to share photos and stories of grandchildren - I knew this new adventure was going to be FUN! It felt like I had joined a new club, and ideas for how to enhance this “club” experience - to get things from it as well as help others enjoy it more - began to formulate.  Within months the concept of an online community for grandparents was in the making. Combining my business background with my very social nature, my love of shopping, and my passion as a new grandmother, Grand Crazy began to evolve. Grandparents Having Fun Being Grand was my motto and soon became the focus for Grand Crazy. Creating an online gift shop an d connecting grandparents became my mission!  The website was launched, and then we had booths at several local events to promote our concept.  The response was overwhelming!  People were delighted by the fun array of goodies we offered, but thrilled at the chance to share their grandparent joy with other grandparents!  The experiences were so energizing and affirming - I am NOT the only crazy grandparent - that I decided I was on a mission to "unite my people"!  Creating a store for Grand Crazy was a natural next step.  We are Grandparents Having Fun Being Grand, and we celebrate all of the relationships a baby creates - Moms/Dads To Be, Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Grandchildren, Siblings, Nieces, Nephews! 

Darri Becchetti, a teacher and seasoned grandmother of two, exuberantly jumped on board as Grand Crazy became a reality. In addition to being an enthusiastic supporter from the beginning, providing unlimited time and energy to the tedious process of getting the website launched, to helping to set up the store and work when she's available.  Employees of Grand Crazy are other people excited about relationships babies have created in their lives - mostly aunts and grandparents!  We all enjoy meeting the guests who come through our doors, or visit us online, and love hearing the delightful stories about the babies who have created special relationships for them, too!  It truly is "our HAPPY PLACE" - and we hope to share it with you.

 The following article is the foundation of the evolution of Grand Crazy.  I hope you will enjoy my philosophical perspective about becoming a grandparent, and my intense desire to share being grand with everyone.  Grand Regards, Jan Filer, aka Grammy)

 

The real beginning for Grand Crazy came with the realization that from our perspective, "our generation" has done everything different than our predecessors, so why wouldn't we do Grandparenting different, too? When we were children, most of our grandparents seemed old to us, and many of our grandparents were already gone. But now that we are grandparents, we see ourselves as still young and vibrant.

When we had children, many of our mothers, who had been stay-at-home moms, many with large families, were ready to enjoy life for themselves.  They'd spent so much time and energy raising us they weren't really interested in spending lots of time with their grandchildren. 

We were the first generation of raising latchkey kids - trying to balance family and work, with all of the activities a young family has going on in their lives. Dads got more involved with the kids. Families were smaller than ones we grew up in, but challenges with time and money abounded. And while we were enjoying the chaos of our families, time evaporated and suddenly our kids were adults - now creating families of their own.

The reaction to finding out that your baby is going to be a parent and that YOU'RE going to be a grandparent is different for everyone. But for many of us, we believe that when you become a grandparent you are also becoming a member of the greatest club in the world!  Regrets of letting time take our children away gives way to joy when we hear that we are going to be a grandparent. We are going to make the most of the second chance life gives us with children. We will cherish the time - housework, busywork, bills can wait while we cuddle, rock, read, play with or just watch that precious grandchild. After all, they'll go home and we can rest after they leave! Now its their mom and dad who are trying to juggle everything. We remember and respect the rules our children have established for their household, but as more than one grandparent has been known to say, "my house, my rules!". When we're with our grandchildren, our focus and attention is on them. We indulge them with things we wouldn't have dreamed of letting our children do when they were young (like cushion diving into couch cushions on the floor, which we happily pulled from the couch for our grandchild’s delight).

Many things about raising and caring for babies and children has changed:

• No blankets, bumper pads, or teddy bears in the baby's bed
  
• Put the baby to bed on her back
• Tummy time is allocated to playtime, which many babies don't think is a lot of fun
• No snowsuits in the car seat - which is usually part of a travel system
• New parents seek (and take!) advice from strangers on the internet - our advice is too outdated

We successfully raised capable children, but from our children's perspectives, we seem to know nothing about how to raise children today!  But for as many things that have changed, some things are still very much the same. Grandchildren are cherished blessings that need hugs and kisses. They need someone in this world that they know will ALWAYS give them totally unconditional love, with patience and gentle guidance. And now, as grandparents with precious new handprints on our hearts, we get to have fun being grand.

We have become an internet based society, and the skills of "our generation" vary dramatically when it comes to the computer and the internet. It seemed that grandchildren were the reason many of our peers even got a computer - so they could keep in touch with their grandchildren! Initially it was a way for the parents to share photos and give instant updates to grandparents far away. As the grandchildren got older, it became a way for the grandparents to communicate easily (it DID become easier with practice!) and frequently with their grandchildren. It also became apparent that our children and grandchildren were very well connected with technology - with friends via texting , and with virtual strangers via social networking sites such as Facebook and My Space. Information for new parents was excessively abundant just by "googling"! "Our generation" seemed to be willing to connect ANYWAY as long as our grandchildren, and our role as grandparents, was involved!!

The Grand Crazy Club was designed to be "our generation's" way to use technology for our benefit.  Connecting  grandparents on the internet, not only with each other, but with their grandchildren!   Our goal is to have the Grand Crazy Club evolve to also create ways for Grands to actually connect face to face via local Grand Crazy Clubs!! The local connection is also geared towards generating activities for grandparents and grandchildren to enjoy together. It is apparent that many grandparents spend lots of time with grandchildren, and we hope to create and help coordinate opportunities for structured get-togethers in local communities for grandparents and grandchildren. Many communities have "parent and tot" programs, and most are open to having a grandparent accompany the tot.  We think it would be lots of fun for grandparents to participate in these kinds of programs with other grandparents - not only for the camaraderie, but for the activity level/pace/skill!  We also hope to be able to help grandparents whose grandchildren are far away, find ways to stay connected with their grandchildren.    

We have many goals, dreams, ideas and plans for www.grandcrazy.com and the Grand Crazy Club but we need to hear from YOU to know what things YOU want from us!!  Please send us your suggestions, ideas, feedback, as well as photos, stories, and experiences, that we can share and use to create a Grand Crazy Club that helps Grands truly maximize "having fun being grand".

Email:  Grands@grandcrazy.com

Mail:  Grand Crazy, Mall of America, 290 East Broadway, Bloomington, MN  55425

Phone:  952-544-0180, toll free 1-888-GRAMMA1 (472-6621)

We are committed to offering unique, quality items, as well as provide a place for Grands to share and enhance their Grand adventures through Grand Crazy. 

We'd love to hear your suggestions for items you'd like to see Grand Crazy carry, as well as hear about areas of grand parenting that you think would be fun for us to include at Grand Crazy. Please contact us at: Club@grandcrazy.com, or call: 1-888-GRAMMA1 (1-888-472-6621) or mail to: Grand Crazy Club, Mall of America, 290 East Broadway, Bloomington, MN  55425.