Teeny Ramblers

A Blog celebrating the Teeny Ramblers of the world & and all the things that make it work

Marrying into the Wizard of Oz Family

I've thought a lot about this post, about what I'd write that answers everyone's questions about what it's like to marry into a famous family.  For those new here, my husband's grandmother was the great Judy Garland.  Through the last ten years of being a part of this amazing, crazy, family, I've learned a few things that might interest some of you.




Jordan sitting on GG's lap while she's in makeup and hair before going on stage!


1).  We are the most normal family you could ever hope to find. 
Although my husbands family comes from showbiz, they truly are the most normal bunch of people who happen to know pretty much all of Hollywood (especially 'old' Hollywood).  What is neat for me, is listening to my mother-in-law tell me stories about the old days in Hollywood.  Of how her mother grew up in the studio and what is was like to be the daughter of a legend. Most people aren't privy to those kind of first hand stories--and I feel lucky that I get to hear them and then one day tell my daughter about her family.

2).  My husband and sister-in-law have nothing to do with the family 'business'
Yes, you heard that right.  My husband and SIL lead their own lives with their own paths that have nothing to do with show business and that has allowed them the privacy that wasn't afforded their family.  You might be surprised that music is still running strong in our family through the generations though.  My husband is a wonderful guitar player and has a great ear for music.  My sister-in-law could EASILY be an actress, she's outgoing and sweet and funny.  Yet, she's opted to carve her own successful path and is the best mama to my little nephew. 

3).  Just because you come from a legend's family, does not mean that you come from money.
This is the number one thing I get asked and the number one misconception, they assume my husband's family is hiding boatloads of money somewhere.  Wrong!  As a child actor in the early days of Hollywood, the studio owned you (is what I've been told).  There were no advocates or protectors or negotiators of money back in that day.  Our family has no rights to the movies that made millions, and it's a shame but that's the way it is.  My husband's family is made up of strong, driven people that work very hard for what they have.

4).  My husband's father was also in the business! 
My father-in-law, Jake Hooker was also in the music business.  He was co-writer on a little song called, "I love Rock n' Roll."  You see?  music runs in this families veins and it makes me wonder if my kids or nephew will be the next ones to carry the torch??

5).  My Mother-in-Law, Lorna, is the most accepting and welcoming person you could ever hope to know.
I'm a lucky girl that Lorna (Jesse's mom) is like MY second mama.  Even though I know it drives her bonkers, I call her 'ma', and think of her as just that!  She is a welcoming, warm, strong,  FUNNY, person that I'm so fortunate to know.  She's a spectacular grandmother and an even more amazing singer and storyteller.  Although she is well known in the showbiz world, I am still able to grab lunch with her and shop and do all the things that make us close.

6).  My daughter doesn't think it's strange to see her grandmother perform on stage or see her Great Grandmother on television.
Although I'm sure one day things will 'click' her her, and she (along with my son) will start to understand that it's not a typical occurrence to see your family on t.v. or stage, Jordan thinks it's completely normal and it CRACKS.ME.UP.  How wonderful it is to sit down and watch the Wizard of Oz and be able to tell her that Dorothy is her great grandmother!

So, there you have it.  I'm incredibly proud and brag daily about not only my OWN family but my husband's as well.  We are fortunate to be able to surround our kids with love from both sides.  My children have very amazing and unique grandmothers and grandfathers that give them very different things in terms of experience and I'm grateful for that!

Tell me how your families are unique!?

Xoxo,
Jaimee Lynne 

Our Weekend

Or more appropriately titled, our weekend...two weeks ago (details, details).  Ok, so back to my story, TWO weeks ago we went on the best afternoon adventure with the kids.  Tucked away about 45 minutes from where we live is a farm.  We usually just frequent here to pick fruit (when the season is right) as well as pumpkins but they also have a kids area that we have never explored.  After looking on Groupon (something I do a lot to see what activities are going on in our area), I purchased tickets.

Unfortunately, we got there super late (thank you road closures) but FORTUNATELY the weather held off and it was the best Fall day.  The kind where there is a chill in the air and crunchy leaves on the ground.  The kids had a blast riding on the rides, seeing the animals and jumping into a huge area of corn kernels.  On the way home we stopped because we saw some apple trees and decided what a great idea it would be to knock some down.  Wrong.  The apples were rotten and because I only took Jordan out of the car in the two seconds it took us to determine this, Luke started having a meltdown in the backseat (ahh, life with toddlers).



Jordan's ( dress / boots / bow) Luke's (hat / sweatshirt)
Oh well, just over here trying to check things off our Fall bucket list.  Up next, my mama comes into town for Luke's (and my) birthdays! I remember distinctly telling Luke (while in my tummy) the day before he was born that he needed his own birthday (not mine, lol) and that little stinker did in fact wait until October 1st to make his appearance.  October birthdays are my jam!

Hope everyone is having a great start to their week!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne  

The Great Fall Weekend

Happy Friday! 



I'll keep this brief today, we have a busy and fun weekend ahead of us.  Checking off the to-do list on the house with littles always feels nearly impossible but as long as I stick to the list (and don't get distracted cleaning the baseboards or under the beds...) we usually stay on top of it. 

We plan to fit in some birthday parties and some Fall activities as well.  I posted about these in my last Friday favorites post but it's TOTALLY something that you could DIY should you get the inclination like I did yesterday.  Jordan has quite the creative mind and LOVED cutting the pumpkins out.  She even had the brilliant idea of putting them on the 'fridge' of their play kitchen which I absolutely loved (my festive genius). 

We also plan to pick up a few more pumpkins to pepper around the house. Jordan gets most excited for any season when we start to decorate her room and nothing spells out Fall more than pumpkins to me!  The best deals I've been finding have been at our local grocery store to be honest.  Each year we always buy a few 'brooms' as well.  Tonight we have on our Friday movie-night line up, Double, Double Toil and Trouble!  Who else has seen this or remembers it from when they were kids?!  I was told OFTEN as a child how much I resembled the Olsen twins so in turn, I had to become a super fan, right??

Lastly, and this has nothing to do with Fall, we are in the great debate of two vs. three kids.  Pros/cons!?  If we ever had a third it wouldn't be for another year or so but it has me doing some serious thinking about if my family feels complete or not!  I'll (hopefully) be writing a post on this sometime next week. 

So, I hope that wherever you are tonight, that you are able to pop some popcorn, load it with candy corn and snuggle up to your favorite Fall/Halloween movie.  This is the season of dreams people.

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne

How to Enjoy Fall & Some Favorites

Happy Friday!!


I can't with this little nephew of mine.  Just grape stomping on a sunny Sunday afternoon!
Today's post is all about how to enjoy the Fall season...no matter where you may be living!  Up in the PNW, we are JUST seeing the start of changing leaves and cooler temps.  Give me ALL the Fall fun!!  I wanted to suggest a few ideas for you parents that may be wondering what to do with your weekends & also how to maximize the fun!

Fruit picking //  This is a GREAT time for all ages.  We go fruit picking throughout the year but nothing is better than enjoying time outdoors and teaching your kids that fruit doesn't come from a grocery store!

Family Farms //  Along the lines of fruit picking, most cities and towns have farms that accommodate fun, fall, activities.  This weekend we are hitting up a nearby farm with all kinds of things to do.  Bonus, usually these things aren't too expensive.

Nature Walks //  When I need to eat up some time and want to take the kids outside, we usually end up on a 'nature' walk where we have a list and collect different things the kids see.  If I'm feeling extra, I try and incorporate some of it in art projects but....that's a big IF ;)

**Update: Grape Festivals // (to replace the Maple tapping that I posted on earlier...my memory was fuzzy, not the right time of year for tapping trees...but you can still enjoy it on your fave pumpkin spice waffles).  In my hometown of Rochester, NY, they hold a Purple Foot festival at Casa Larga (where I got married!).  It's such a cute festival full of pie eating contests and grape stomping!  What a fun way to celebrate the season!

Finally, a few more fun finds:

How cute are these pillows from Anthro, and they are on SALE!

My favorite Fall sweatshirt (but it runs large so size down)

I purchased this pumpkin emoji kit to work on with the kids one day soon and I know they will LOVE them.

That's it!  Have a Wonderful Fall Weekend!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne

Halloween Books & Exciting News!

Hi Friends!!

Today's post is all about Halloween books.  For those of you who think it's too early to think about these things...this post isn't for you ;)  For the rest of us holiday lovers, I've compiled a list of must have books for the season.  I'm sure you've seen these floating around on other blogs and the internet and the reason for that is...they are THAT good.  Every year we love to grab a few new books and add them to the collection.  Books are always something I will splurge on.  Of course, we hit up the library too but it's always nice to have a nice stash at home!




Ghosts // The CUTEST book about all kinds of ghosts!  Did you know that there was such a thing as a refrigerator ghost (fyi: it IS a thing).

How to Make Friends with a Ghost //  A new book that we just got in, and i'm SO excited to read it!

Ghost in the House // Perfect for my little man.  He's into 'lift-the-flap' books lately.

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn //  This isn't a true Halloween book but it's super appropriate and the illustrations are #goals

Vampirina Ballerina //  Who else has a kid that obsessed with Vampirina on Disney Junior?  Jordan wants to be Vampirina this year for Halloween so I'm SURE this book will be on repeat from now on.

No Such Thing //  We loved this book last year!  Jordan always counted the 'ghosts' on each page.

Goodnight Goon //  This is a classic, and I always like to overemphasize the warewolf and 'boo' part...always a crowd pleaser!

Other honorable mentions (that I wish I could link & do a swipe up for on instagram but I'm not yet at 10k followers...!)

Gilbert the Ghost

The Monster Diaries

Annddd.....the exciting news!  I'm in process of creating a Halloween tee/sweatshirt that I'm hoping I can release in a small batch.  Follow along on my instagram acct (@jaimrichards) for more sneak peeks!

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne

Leavenworth, WA & Friday Favorites!

Ok, so I guess I'm just a casual blogger lately?  That's ok, I was busy enjoying my kiddos during my summer off!  Now that school has started up again, I'm back in action.  Last weekend we took a trip up to Leavenworth, WA.  You probably remember my post from Christmas when we last visited there.  Well....I wanted to see the town when it wasn't totally freezing out!

We looked up a few orchards to pick fresh fruit and the kids had such a blast!  Both of them ate their way through the field.  We picked some Asian pears, grapes, and peaches!!  After we headed into town.  It was surprisingly super busy but we were able to hit some cool spots including the gingerbread house and ended our night with brats and beer (for us, not the kids ;)  Overall it was a great time.  Yes, it was an over 2 hour car ride, but trips like that are always memorable for us.  Even though we are homebodies, I'll take an adventure with my little family any day.







Finally, a few Friday finds that I've linked for you and have been LOVING lately.  Who am I kidding, I am already buying Halloween pajamas and dreaming of cozy nights by our fire.  I'm seriously considering getting a heating lamp for our porch so that we can soak up all the rain free nights we can!

**I ordered these pajamas weeks ago for the kids (and just scooped up two more sets for my nephews!) We love Burts Bees baby!  I also got this pair for Jordan that should be arriving any day!

I've been eyeing a few things for myself and finally pulled the trigger on this sherpa coat and these Adidas sneaks.  I already have the pink pair and they are sooo comfy and go with most outfits so I'm excited to get the black pair.

I saw this candle and it made me miss New York instantly.  What a cool idea--definitely for your friends that live far from home!

The kids needed new sneakers for school and I got these for Jordan & these pair (in army green) for Luke.  So far, we are loving them.  I've been seeing SO much cute kid stuff lately.  I grabbed this jacket for Luke man.  And I also love these rainbow tees too!

Finally our book picks!  Luke's birthday is coming up and I've gotten a few books I know he will LOVE! This, this, and this for the little man who loves dinosaurs and super heroes!  And no Amazon trip is complete without a new Halloween book.  Jordan picked this one and we can't wait to read it!

Happy to be back to the blogging world again!  Follow along & add me on instagram (@jaimrichards) & of course the blog for more day to day shenanigans and Fall fun.

P.S.  Who is excited for This Is Us to premiere!!?

Xoxo
Jaimee Lynne