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Monday, May 13, 2019

The Ultimate Grandparenting Tool – Club Eimmie!

This is a sponsored post for which I have been compensated.
All content and graphics provided by Club Eimmie




The Ultimate Grandparenting Tool – Club Eimmie
The day you became a grandparent was a very special day. It was a time to welcome a new life into the world and marked the passing of your values to a new generation. Being a grandparent is amazing but comes with challenges.
As a grandparent, there’s a deep urge to connect with your grandkids – be a positive influence, be looked up to, love and be loved. But how do you do that when you’re not around all the time, lack deeper knowledge of their interests, and don’t want to give them senseless gifts such as gift cards?

The simple answer: Sign them up for a

subscription box!



                      

Strengthen Your Bond, Every Month



Imagine being able to bond over something, every month. Your grandchild would be reminded of you every time they played. You’d be there for every adventure they go on, as they grow, and discover themselves. They’d tell you about all the things they did with that month’s box, expressing their gratitude while creating meaningful memories.



Influence Their Growth and Imagination

The right subscription box engages in learning and development. You give them a meaningful gift that inspires imagination through creative play while stimulating their mind with each new box – creating influential childhood memories. All of this, without seeing them every day. The ultimate grandparenting tool.











Let go of Gift Giving Pressure


We’ve all been there – unsure of what gift to get someone, resorting to trending digital products and gift cards. It’s not that we don’t care, we just haven’t a clue what to get them.
Subscription boxes take that pressure away since they’re themed around your grandchild’s interests. Because boxes come monthly, you won’t have to worry about coming up with gift ideas or them becoming bored with it. That means less stress and more special memories!

                  The Perfect Gift


Looking for the perfect gift for your grandchild? Consider signing them up for a subscription box. It’ll help you in your journey of creating meaningful memories, being your grandchild’s hero, and let you focus more on what really matters, being an amazing grandparent!











Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Flowers For You, Mommy!







































Flowers for you, mommy....from our little hands!

Yep. One and the same! These are the busy digits that dump freshly folded laundry, put stickers on the dog, and carefully pick peas out of pot pie dinners. They're the ones that lock themselves inside the bathroom, let flies inside the house, and pinch younger brothers when no one's looking....

But Mother's Day is neigh....and all is forgiven! Little hands are also those that gather dandelion bouquets, lace their fingers through your own, and reach to hug you tightly. You employed them when they learned to count, and watch them point and poke and prod at anything delightful!

This treasure is such an easy make that you can have it picture-perfect-ready for mommy or grandma - or yourself - by Sunday! Trace hands in singles or pairs - and cut from pretty scrapbook paper. Craft punches make light work of floral accents, rubber cement fixes everything firmly and smoothly, and a fine point (05 Micron) marker is "handy" (see what I did there? 😉) for tracing captions printed from Word (sizes 24 and 22 in Comic Sans font). Don't forget kids' names and date....this gift's going to make month-of-May reappearances for years to come!

Pop your finished work into a frame (mine is 8" x 10") with or without a snappy hand cut paper mat.

Happy Mother's Day, dear readers and friends!

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

"Looie" Mattioli - This GRANDmom Is Boss of Pocono Raceway!

This is a sponsored post for which I have been compensated.
All content and graphics provided by Pocono Raceway


















Featured Image:  Looie with her five grandchildren









Marilouise “Looie” Mattioli – This GRANDmom Is The Boss of Pocono Raceway!
How did I end up here?? How did this happen? 
After many of life’s twist and turns, Looie Mattioli is the Chairman of the Board of Pocono Raceway. As she looks back on her life she keeps asking “How the heck did I get here?"

Looie Mattioli, proud mother of three and grandmother of five, learned very early on in her career that she was unemployable. After college, she would get a great job and remain at it for a few weeks, but quickly became frustrated and disillusioned by her managers, bosses, etc. Consequently, she would go to lunch and never return – “not something I’m proud of!” Looie knew that she had to work for herself which is why see believed she was ‘unemployable.’”  “At least when I fail I have no one to blame but myself.” Slowly, learning as she went, she started one business at a time.

Looie with her father “Doc” Mattioli





Looie never desired to participate in the family businesses, having had to work in them as a kid and because she believed she had to make it on her own.

“My father was a dentist and my mother was a podiatrist in Philadelphia., When I was about 10 years old, my father started investing in businesses (that he ran in addition to his dental practice). By a quick turn of fate, he invested in Pocono Raceway  After a few years he was not happy on how things were progressing and took over the business. He had never been to a car track. No clue on how to run one, but that didn’t stop him.”
Her father (known as Doc)  and mother came from very humble beginnings (not poor, because Looie believes that is a state of mind). Doc was determined to provide for his family. No excuses. The Raceway was a tough deal but with the confidence and mentorship of the France family he preserved. Now in its 50th year…
click here

Please enjoy this amazing video of the life and times of the amazing “Doc” Mattioli and his amazing family.

About 25 years ago her father started with, what she references as, the “Italian” guilt…saying “before I die it would be nice if people in the business knew I had another daughter! So, I would drive the 2 hours from my “real life” (couldn’t take the “guilt” thing) to do special projects for him. The more I learned from these projects and the business, the more ticked off I became about things that were not being done right. It’s not that I knew anything about a racetrack but having a few of my own businesses under my belt, many of the moving parts are the same with just a different product or service.


As a grandmother, my mission is to transmit the spirit, strength and fortitude of her parents to their great grandchildren.

“And slowly but surely, he sucked me into the business. It took me a few years to realize he played me like a fiddle.


Knowing the passion and struggle of starting your own business, her goal was to support her father in his mission, to accomplish what he wanted to accomplish, to build on his legacy continuing what he saw for his grandchildren and now great grandchildren. “Doc called me his AA – Agitator and Aggravator to do his bidding.” Now in the third generation and working towards the fourth, the children and grandchildren had been tasked with “making chickens” meaning developing other business endeavors to add to his legacy versus sucking the life out of this one. And she proudly states that they have risen to the task. “Family businesses are very tough haul. There is always someone who is not happy with me, daily.”

“Doc” and wife Rose Mattioli










As a grandmother, my mission is to transmit the spirit, strength and fortitude of her parents to their great grandchildren. To preserve; that you only fail if you don’t try again; that no one’s opinion of you counts except the one in the mirror. “I’m blunt with them; they know if they ask me something, my response is going to be unfiltered. They may not like the answer but there’s no sugar-coating life especially considering four of them are girls.”


Looie with her five grandkids at the Raceway – Mackenzie, Madison, Payton, Kennedy and baby Frankie


“Family businesses are very tough haul. There is always someone who is not happy with me, daily.”

“My maternal great-grandmother died when my grandmother was 10 and my grandmother, Louise, raised seven children. Through the years, when things seemed overwhelming, I would look in that mirror and tell myself to suck it up because your Nana really had it tough. I realized she shared the same strengths of my parents and a strong spirituality that I wanted to duplicate.”

L-R Looie’s son, Nick and his wife, Brandy, Looie, her daughter Ashley, husband Frankie, grandchildren, Payton, Kennedy and baby Frankie

Looie’s son, Brandon (2nd from right) and his beautiful family

Pocono Raceway has been a family affair for fans. “We understand that it is important for families to build memories with their children and grandchildren that will last forever.

The Raceway has incorporated special programs and offers for them. This year they implemented four kids free with a paying adult. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for families considering that one can purchase a ticket for $45 and bring up to four kids. Can’t get better than that!”