Nurse's Notes

Weekend Blog Hop

2011-01-08T10:55:00.000-06:00

If you don't have a blog you can link your site, Facebook, etc. Whatever you want, it's all in fun☺

It's simple to participate, here are the rules:

Please place the "Weekend Blog Hop" button in a blog post and/or on your blog somewhere. This lets us all know where to find each other!

Visit at least 2 blogs on Tara's list; she is the gracious hostess of the hop.
Add your name to the linky list on Tara's site so we can visit you back.
Comments are optional but always appreciated.

The creation of Nurse's Notes

2011-01-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

I am participating in the Blog Dare on bloggy moms. It is a month long challenge with daily prompts. The prompt for day 5 is "Why did you create a blog?" That question is easy for me. I have always kept a journal; this is simply an on-line forum for that. Also, I wanted to share ideas and expertise in areas I am knowledgable (i.e. healthcare, parenting, autism).

The really cool thing though, is not only have I taught, I have also learned. I have made a lot of awesome on-line friends, learned how to improve my blog, and learned more about the myriad aspects of social media. I think these are my favorite thing about blogging.

If you blog, why did you start your blog? What is your favorite thing about blogging.

MidWeek Mingle

2011-01-05T13:05:00.000-06:00

It's simple to participate, here are the rules:

Please place the "Mid Week Mingle Blog Hop" button in a blog post and/or on your blog somewhere. This lets us all know where to find each other!
Follow Tara's blog.
Visit at least 2 blogs on the list.
Add your name/image to the linky list below so we can visit you back.
Comments are optional but always appreciated☺

The 2011 To - Do List

2011-01-02T06:00:00.001-06:00

In keeping with the new year, it's a good time to consider goals for the year. I'm fairly simple and don't have many grandiose dreams. Anything on my bucket list can't be accomplished this year since most of those goals are long-term. That said, by the end of the year, I would like to accomplish the following:

Read the Bible through
Complete 20 hrs of grad school
Get a part-time job that fits my schedule
Help DS to prep for college
Help DD with a successful transition to the next grade

What would you like to accomplish this year? What are the places you would like to visit in 2011? What do you hope to check off your bucket list in 2011?

Weekend Blog Hop!!

2011-01-01T13:08:00.000-06:00

It's simple to participate, here are the rules:

Please place the "Weekend Blog Hop" button in a blog post and/or on your blog somewhere. This lets us all know where to find each other!
Follow my blog.

Visit at least 2 blogs on the list @ Tara's site.
Add your name to the linky list below so we can visit you back. I will be following everyone who posts.
Comments are optional but always appreciated.

Please support this blog hop by using your Facebook, Twitter, and forums to advertise. It's great for everyone to discover new friends, followers, and fantastic blogs!

Thanks so much for participating!
T♥

Resolutions!

2011-01-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

Ah, the time of year for resolutions. Anybody excited? Anyone plan to keep them long term? I make resolutions every year, but sadly, they usually don't seem to last long term. Whether it is lack of will power, issues of daily life, or what have you, they quietly fade away. They usually (on a good year) last until the end of January.

So, that said, what horrible traits can I remedy this year? I think I will work on maintaining my cool and not letting school, home, & family responsibilities get the best of me. Wish me luck!!

What is your resolution for 2011? Do you often make a resolution and not keep it? What is the longest you have kept a New Years resolution? What is your most often chosen New Years resolution? What do you think about New Years resolutions?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-29T18:27:00.000-06:00

I thought this was a neat pic with the sun breaking through the clouds. What is a good pic that you have taken?

Mid Week Blog Hop

2010-12-29T18:21:00.001-06:00

Weekend Blog Hop

2010-12-18T20:00:00.000-06:00

Free Online Interactive Children's Library

2010-12-11T14:25:00.000-06:00

I just learned of a fantastic free online children’s book library that is being developed which I highly recommend for you to visit and ‘Like’ their Facebook fan page to show your support and to be appraised of their developments. Children’s literacy is so important and the goal of this program is to create a public library online giving families and schools access to 100’s of quality interactive children’s books at no cost.

Here is the link to show your support for this wonderful program:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Online-Interactive-Childrens-Books/158576927518927

Statistics. Who automatically cringes? Read this ...

2010-12-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

I was totally excited when Tammy asked me to write about my experience during the Back to School, Back to Blogging Challenge hosted by Kludgy Mom. When I sat down to think about what I learned from this challenge, I was overwhelmed, I didn’t know where to start – I learned so much! I decided to do a Best of Back to School, Back to Blogging Challenge and post the favorite five things I learned and found beneficial! This is #5. Here we go……

Statistics

I’m guilty of obsessing over my blog statistics. I would check out my Google Analytics each night and would get excited that I had three more visitors today than I did yesterday or that the average time people spent on my site was now 2 minutes, 26 seconds! Yes, that is exciting, but other than that, I didn’t know how to get the most out of my blogs statistics. That’s where the B2S/B2B came in!

Kludgy Mom introduced us to the StatBook StatBook. She gave us an excellent tutorial on how to bring all those worthless important information we pulled from our statistics into one spot. She walked us through the making of the book, and what information was important to include. Kludgy suggested many important statistics to include that I hadn’t thought of as significant until then. Now that my StatBook is complete, each month, I will enter the prior month’s stats and can start to look for trends in my blog!

The Official B2S/B2B information about statistics can be found here HERE and here HERE!

This is the last guest post from Cori, she was a real life-saver. I hope you enjoyed it!

Stumbled upon Stumble Upon yet?? Here's how!

2010-12-03T06:00:00.021-06:00

Cori's take on Stumble Upon

I have to be honest with you; I haven’t been fantastic about using Stumble Upon. I love the concept, but am having a hard time remembering to Stumble! However, I see how important it can be to bring new readers and potential followers to your blog!

First off, you need to sign-up for Stumble Upon and I highly recommend you download their toolbar to your browser!

According to Gigi…

“Stumble Upon is a network of sites (not just blogs). When your site is registered with SU, you have a chance of receiving free traffic from other members (called Stumblers). But like with any other social media tool, you have to BE traffic to get traffic.”

Stumble Upon is very easy (assuming you downloaded the toolbar!) to use! When you visit a blog you enjoy, click the “I like it” icon on your Stumble Upon toolbar - that’s it, you’ve Stumbled!! If you are the FIRST person to like that specific page, you will be brought to Review Box. Type in your review and hit submit…easy!

The more you Stumble onto other sites and “like” them, the more people will Stumble upon your site!

Want a jumpstart to Stumble-Upon? There’s a weekly group on Kludgy Mom's Blogfrog Community], where you can add a post you want stumbled that week, and others will stumble that pages in exchange for you stumbling theirs! It’s a great way to begin climbing the Stumble-Upon chain!

The Official B2S/B2B information about Stumble Upon can be found here HERE.

Who needs ideas?? Go to the idea bankl!

2010-12-02T06:00:00.002-06:00

Courtesy of Cori

We’ve all gone through blogging slumps. We have nothing worthwhile to blog about. Life is boring. Thus, your blog is boring. Now can you get out of the rut, with Kludgy Mom's Idea Bank]!

The Idea Bank is comprised of nearly 700 writing prompts! Pick a prompt, and write about it! It’s as easy as that!

The Idea Bank is continually being edited and updated! Have a prompt you want to add…according to Kludgy we should “keep the Idea Bank fresh by depositing a new idea (by leaving a comment) if you make a withdrawal of an idea”. I challenge you to leave a deposit or two in the Idea Bank, let’s keep the Idea Bank balance high!

The Official B2S/B2B information about the Idea Bank can be found here Idea Bank, if you want to check out the idea book you can find it here HERE.

If you are enjoying the guest posts, I hope you are showing the love to Cori & Gigi!! ~ TP

Photography ~ guest series continues!!

2010-12-01T12:21:00.000-06:00

Guest series with Cori from Coris Big Mouth continues with her comments on how to add photos to your blog....

I think in my next life I want to be a photographer. Lately, I am so intrigued by not only photography, but also techniques and photo editing! Prior to B2S/B2B, I became a fan and follower of Alicia’s blog A Beautiful Mess and her beautiful photography. (If you haven’t checked out her blog, you must! You’re totally missing out!). Well, it didn’t surprise me that she was chosen to do a guest post on photography for the final week of the challenge!

Alicia reassures all us non-photographers or photographer-wannabees that “these days, you don’t have to be a photographer to have amazing photos”. Few! There’s still hope for me! Here are a few of her suggestions to add better quality photos to your blog.

Use Stock Photos – Perfect if you forgot to take photos or you don’t have photos appropriate for a blog post!
Utilize Photo Editing Programs – I’ve been getting better about using photo editors to improve my photos! It’s amazing what a couple simple enhancements can do to a boring photo! My personal favorite photo editor is an online program Picnik [http://www.picnik.com]. With Picnik you can edit and enhance photos and make collages! All very user friendly!
Watermarking – I’m bad at this, but I understand that in today’s world, you really need to watermark your photos, so other people don’t steal them. This is one aspect of photography and my blog that I need to improve! But with all the crazies in society today, you can never be too careful when trying to protect your family!
The Official B2S/B2B information about Photography can be found here HERE.

Guest post!!

2010-11-29T09:50:00.000-06:00

http://www.kludgymom.com/As most of you know, I'm whirling away on completing my degree (less than 3 wks, woot!). So, Cori from Cori's big mouth has graciously agreed to be my guest poster for the week while I finish up some last minute school projects. Here are some tidbits to help you get to know her:

started a hairbow making business
nanny for triplets
going to college and currently taking American Sign Language
Preemie Awareness Advocate
done a lot of traveling through caribbean cruises, even been through the panama canal
successfully finished the B2SB2B challenge
Love, Love, Love to scrapbook just wish I had more time to do it!

This fall we participated in an event sponsored by Gigi @ kludgymom.com called "Back to School, Back to Blogging" or #B2SB2B for you Twitter affecionados. Cori is sharing her favorite gems of wisdom from that event with you. Today's gem, NETWORKING! Enjoy!! Here's Cori ... :)

#1: Networking

Networking. You either love it, hate it or are scared to death of it! I for one, L*O*V*E networking with others, but I know that others are completely overwhelmed by the whole concept!

Well Kludgy Mom made it easy and broke it down into three focus areas: Blog Networks, Comments, and Social Media – even better she broke it down into an easy to follow diagram! The best part is….she made three separate diagrams (TP here, pardon the interruption, I was unable to get the pics to post ): )depending on how many followers you have to determine where you should spend most of your time in the blogosphere! How awesome is that?!

1. Blog Networks: Not only do you need to JOIN blog networks, but you need to be ACTIVE in the networks! Post questions in their forums. Respond to others. Participate in events. Visit the blogs of the day. I’m a currently a member of two Blog Networks, Blog Frog and Bloggers. I know there are tons more and I challenge you to find them and join!

2. Comments: I’m sure you’re like me and read blog after blog and enjoy it! But how often do you leave a comment? If you have something thoughtful or pertinent to say, take the extra minute to comment. Everyone loves comments, no matter if they are famous established bloggers or a newbie blogger - a comment is a comment!

3. Social Media: I use Twitter, Facebook and Stumble Upon on a daily basis as a way to promote and share my blog with the world! You can set-up self-publishing/auto-feeds for both sites. So as soon as you publish your blog post, it’ll post to Twitter and/or Facebook…how easy is that?!

Twitter: Kludgy Mom wrote an awesome eBook on Getting Over Your Fears of Twitter that has some great information on how to get the most for your blog out of Twitter!
Facebook: Facebook is a great way to share your blog feeds with your friends and family! You can even take it a step further and set-up a Facebook Fan Page for your blog! Fan pages are great because you can share your blog feeds with fellow bloggers who aren’t on your personal Facebook page!
Stumble Upon: See above!

The Official B2S/B2B information about Networking can be found HERE. If you want more information for New Bloggers (less than 100 followers) click HERE]. If you want information for Growing Bloggers (100-300 followers) click HERE and if you want more information for Established Bloggers (300+ followers) click HERE.

Okay, I know that was a lot of information for one blog post!

If you want to check out the ENTIRE Back To School, Back To Blogging Challenge, you can check it out on Kludgy Mom's blog. If you are curious what I had to say about the challenge, you can check out my posts for the challenge HERE!

Happy Blogging Everyone!

Wordless Wednesday ... video

2010-11-24T21:27:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-10T16:22:00.000-06:00

peekaboo!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!

Mid-Week Mingle

2010-11-10T16:18:00.000-06:00

It's simple to participate, here are the rules:

Please place the "Mid Week Mingle Blog Hop" button in a blog post and/or on your blog somewhere. This lets us all know where to find each other!
Visit at least 2 blogs on this list.
Add your name/image to the linky list below so we can visit you back.

Comments are optional but always appreciated☺

Weekend Blog Hop

2010-11-06T11:37:00.000-05:00

Weekend Blog Hop!!

I participate in this weekly blog hop hosted by Tara over at Graphic Designs by Tara

It's simple to participate, here are Tara's rules:

Please place the "Weekend Blog Hop" button in a blog post and/or on your blog somewhere. This lets us all know where to find each other!
Follow Tara's blog.
Visit at least 2 blogs on the list on her site.
Add your name/image to the linky list on her site so we can visit you back. She will be following everyone who posts.
Comments are optional but always appreciated☺

Join the fun!!

Saturday Silliness

2010-11-06T11:24:00.000-05:00

Alright, I feel really bad that everyone has been so neglected. Here are my excuses: boatloads of schoolwork & dealing with the aftermath of my FIL's passing last week. Any sympathy?? :)

Here's a cartoon to bring a chuckle to your day. Hope everyone is having a fantabulous weekend!!

Courtesy of Zits ®

What amuses y'all?? I enjoy deprecating teenager jokes/cartoons @ this point in my life; they are so close to my life! :)

Family emergency

2010-10-26T05:54:00.000-05:00

Sorry for my absence. Been busy, busy. My father-in-law who has suffered from Alzheimer's has declined and is in the dying process. We are leaving today to travel to IN (10-12 hr drive). The family would welcome your prayers.

Study or blog, that is the question

2010-10-14T10:21:00.000-05:00

I'm waxing Shakespearean this morning, lol. I came to the libray with the best of intentions. I was going to edit a project for school before heading to work. However, fate dealt me a cruel hand. When I opened the file, I discovered the library computer had a different version of Word. What's a girl to do? I mean seriously. Why spend time reformatting it when I could just wait and work on it after I get home. Right? RIGHT?!?! Who is with me? "Work smarter, not harder" is my motto. So, you can obviously see which decision I made. Really, it was the only rational one. :D

So, let's get you caught up on what is happening in my little corner of the world. Shall we?

Favorite recent B.ism "my private anger issues are my business!!" Said after I was trying to give her better anger management techniques than screaming "I hate you" @ the taekwondo instructor when she becomes frustrated.
Started B. on a med for ADHD. She is doing AWESOME! Woot!
J is still perfecting the surly youth persona.
Celebrated 17th anniversary by vomiting the very expensive dinner I had eaten. Blech.
Got a second dinner out of the deal though. :D
Went to a wine tasting where the owner became more talkative the more she drank. ;)
Started PT last week. Experiencing some mixed emotions, let me tell you.
Started orientation as the substitute nurse for the school district.
Getting caught up on projects around the house since I am more mobile.

That's enough about me. What is going on with you? Anything new, fun, and/or exciting?? C'mon, spill ...

Weekend Hop!!

2010-10-09T10:49:00.001-05:00

Welcome to my Weekend Blog Hop!

It's simple to participate, here are the rules:

Please place the "Weekend Blog Hop" button in a blog post and/or on your blog somewhere. This lets us all know where to find each other!
Follow Tara, she is hosting the blog hop.
Visit at least 2 blogs on the list.
Add your name/image to the linky list below so we can visit you back.
Comments are optional but always appreciated☺

Friendly Friday - Blog Hop

2010-10-08T13:28:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog, too! Just click "Get the code here..." at the bottom of the list. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way to get even more traffic to your blog and make Friendly Friday more beneficial for everyone.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier, Christi at Frugal Novice and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect - this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they're a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it's a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post - the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers!

We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we'll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week's Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

The Nesty Girl over at - you guessed it! - Nesty writes about pursuing a happy home and a honeyed life through simplified living! She updates her blog three times a week with recipes, creative ideas, scrapbooking projects, and stories from her day-to-day life. Her writing is charming and relatable and, well, a lot of fun to read!

Jill (who lives in Florida) and Denise (who lives in California) are the bloggers behind Cottage Sisters. Denise is married to Jill's brother Mike, so they're related by marriage but are, according to them, sisters by heart. Their blog started as a way to share their homes, recipes, great books, and everything in between. You'll find photos galore and get a taste of both coasts!

Kime' at Adventures of the Domesticated Mama is a Christian SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) to six children. She homeschools and loves to sew, knit, crochet and bake. She hosts a lot of great reviews and giveaways and is very active in the blogging community. You'll also see fun photos of her family for Wordless Wednesdays from time to time!

Now that you know about these 3 wonderful blogs, it's time for you to join in! Add your family-friendly link below and we'll see you! And don't forget, you can grab the code to share the link list on your blog, too.

All three hostesses appreciate followers through Google Friend Connect AND Twitter and we'll follow you back - just leave a comment with your URL and/or Twitter username. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Mid Week Mingle Blog Hop!

2010-10-06T08:00:00.002-05:00

It's simple to participate, here are the rules:

Please place the "Mid Week Mingle Blog Hop" button in a blog post and/or on your blog somewhere. This lets us all know where to find each other!

Follow my blog.

Visit at least 2 blogs on this list.

Add your name/image to the linky list below so we can visit you back.
Comments are optional but always appreciated☺

Please support this blog hop by using your Facebook, Twitter, and forums to advertise. It's great for everyone to discover new friends, followers, and fantastic blogs!

Thanks so much for participating!

T♥

Club Rules - Aspie style

2010-10-02T06:00:00.004-05:00

OK, I found these when emptying DD's backpack. Funny stuff (unintentional though it may be) from a 7y/o. Misspellings are hers.

No homework
bring - snack
No boys allowed
We meet at 8 p.m. in the afternoon
Wear your clothes
Only 1 boy allowed
Sleepovers are allowed
Bring cookies sometimes for snak.
We meet after school
Bring toys
Bring candy.
Bring sleeping bags
Bring drinks
No dirty + stinky peapole allowed
Only peaple 60 poands and below can be in the club
No squirming at slumber partys
No snoring at slumber partys
Use manners
Be quiet when the leaders talking
Don't grab other peaples arms
Don't hurt peaple
Don't yell at peaple
No back sass

Does anyone detect a trend...? What rules made you LOL? My personal favorite was #5!! :)

The Versatile Blogger

2010-10-01T14:12:00.001-05:00

I am thrilled to announce that I just won The Versatile Blogger Award from my friend Keri at Married to a geek! Thanks, Keri for selecting me! :)

**This is just a fun way to meet other bloggers and get to know one another, by passing these fun bloggy awards to other bloggers that we like! There are some FUN rules in accepting this bloggy award.

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 other bloggers who you recently discovered and think are fabulous.

4. Contact the bloggers you choose and let them know they won the award.

Hmmm...7 Things about myself:

I am a full time student; will graduate with my Bachelor's degree in nursing in December. Woot!
I am doing Taekwondo with my DD; currently sidelined due to a knee injury.
My husband and I met through a video dating service.
I would love to be a published author someday.
I am an advocate of individuals with special needs; my daughter has Asperger's.
I am a chocoholic!
I spend too much time utilizing social media. LOL!

**OK**My picks for the 15 other bloggers to win this fun award!

Wordless Wednesday: Awesome Aspie Pics

2010-09-29T16:50:00.000-05:00

Ok, so not totally wordless ... These pics were taken by my 7y/o Aspie w/only minor editing by me.

Girls with Asperger's - video w/Tony Atwood

2010-09-27T13:03:00.000-05:00

Hello all! Here is a video interview with Dr. Tony Atwood regarding girls with Asperger's Syndrome. It is approximately 9 minutes long, but well worth your time if you are interested in this subject. Courtesy of Autism Hangout ...

Girls with Asperger's Syndrome

Wednesday Blog Hop

2010-09-22T21:51:00.002-05:00

Tuesday Trivia -- viva Le France

2010-09-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

Here is today's trivia question:

What game was created by French mathematician Blaise Pascal, which he discovered when doing experiments into perpetual motion?

I will post the answer later in the day. Good luck!!

What other thought-provoking issues have you pondered today? :)

Monday Madness - - Trickle-Down Crimefighting

2010-09-13T18:48:00.000-05:00

Today's episode of Monday Madness is courtesy of Buck's Weird News Blog

For those of you unfamiliar with Monday Madness, this will get you up to speed

Trickle-Down Crimefighting: Stimulus Helps Solve Cold Case

Who says stimulus doesn't work?

Police say they nabbed this man in a 22-year-old murder case... all thanks to a federal DNA grant.

Harold David Toney was a mechanic and part-time roofer working for, and living in a trailer on the property of, Hulon and Elaine Hughes - a couple found shot to death in their home in 1988. Although Toney was arrested after witness said he argued with Hulon Hughes and threatened to kill him, he was never charged with the murders... until now.

Police say the federal DNA grant helped them reexamine cold cases, and the trail led them back to Toney, according to KTLA.com.

To which I say ... Seriously??

What Monday Madness have you encountered today??

Love or Hate, the choice is yours ...

2010-09-11T12:13:00.000-05:00

As everyone knows, today is the anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Several of you have posted your own thoughts, tribute, etc. regarding these tragic events and the aftermath. The root issue, as always, is life or death, love or hate. What is your choice? Choose you this day whom (or what)you will serve ... (Josh 24:25); the Bible also says you cannot serve two masters. So for those espousing hate in the name of God, I urge you to be cautious; God is not only a God of love (Deut. 4:31), God IS love (1 Jn. 4:8). Remember the fallen and choose well. Warning: videos are graphic, not for young viewers.

Hate
9-11 as it happened

Love
Because You Loved me

videos courtesy of You-Tube

What is your choice?

Thursday Triumph

2010-09-09T14:05:00.000-05:00

Today's Thursday Triumph is on a personal level. My son who has been, shall we say, unmotivated academically brought home a English paper with a grade of B+, 5 points from an A. Woot!! He also seems to be a bit more overall motivated. Also. Yay!! Here's to hoping the trend continues. :)

Monday Madness - Labor Day

2010-09-06T10:48:00.000-05:00

In honor of Labor Day, today's Monday Madness celebrates, well ... labor. The article is from EW's celebration of Labor Day, with a twist. They list the "20 most memorable movie/TV births; these made the cut:

The Office (Celia Halpert)
V: The Final Battle (Elizabeth & her terrifying lizard brother)
Knocked Up (unnamed girl)
Lost (Aaron Littleton)
Children of Men (Dylan)
Juno (unnamed boy)
Alien (alien)
She's Having a Baby ( unnamed boy)
Fools Rush In (unnamed girl)
Friends (Emma Geller-Green)
The Fly (Giant Maggot Baby)
The Cosby Show (A toy sailboat, a toy sports car, a giant sandwich, and a bottle of orange soda)
Sex and the City (Brady Hobbes)
Glee (Beth)
ER (Jared)
Stars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Luke Skywalker & Leia Organa) AND Star Trek (James Tiberius Kirk)
The Back-Up Plan (two adorable baby girls)
Apocalypto (2nd child of Jaguar Paw)
Look Who's Talking (Mikey Jensen)
Nine Months (Samuel Jr.)

Are these your top picks? Did they miss any??

Thursday Triumph

2010-09-02T13:48:00.002-05:00

I'mmmm baaaack! Did anyone miss me?? I have been out of commission for the last couple of days with a stomach bug. I will spare your delicate sensibilities the graphic details.
Anyway, so I am feeling better and ready for this week's post of Thursday Triumph or Tantrum; this week is a triumph. Yay!! I feel good, so let's share the love... :)

Artist opens show at Ramapo College

Alex Kasket, a 23 year-old artist, lives in Westchester County, New Jersey. Masket is completely self-taught and has freedoms unimaginable to most other artists. He doesn't have to buy his materials or make money for rent. He isn't worried about critics or a judgmental art world. He doesn't care. Really. But he's happy to stand in the spotlight while others admire his work. On the way to a show he might say, "I am a movie star."

But this isn't some independently wealthy, self-absorbed artist in action. "I am a movie star" is actually one of the few things Alex can say. He is severely autistic and what his mother, Elaine, calls functional non-verbal. He knows maybe 50 words, by her estimate, but he mainly communicates through sounds, facial expressions and his art. Read the entire story here.

What amazing, special, one-of-a-kind thing have you encountered this week? How do you overcome challenges?

Follow Friday - 50 questions

2010-08-27T09:10:00.001-05:00

I found this at Thoughts of a Working Mom, so I had to do it! Feel free to C & P, and fill out your own. Leave me a comment, and I’ll come visit!

1. Where were you three hours ago? Still in bed sleeping.

2. Who are you in love with? My husband

3. Have you ever eaten a crayon? Not that I can recall, but I can’t be certain.

4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? No, no, no

5. When was the last time you went to the mall? Honestly can't remember.

6. Are you wearing socks right now? No

7. Do you have a car worth over $2000? Yes

8. When was the last time you drove out of town? Yesterday

9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? No, but I have a Netflix movie to watch if that counts. :)

10. Are you hot? Hubbie thinks so! Oh wait, not talking about that kind of hot ... *sheepish grin*

11. What was the last thing you had to drink? MIlk

12. What are you wearing right now? Jammies

13. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it? Car wash

14. Last food you ate? Chocolate fudge pop tarts. Shh ...

15. Where were you last week at this time? Home

16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? Items for my DD's Brownie uniform & a T-shirt

17. When was the last time you ran? Can’t remember

18. What was the last sporting event you watched? If Taekwondo counts, last night.

19. Your favorite animal? Dogs

20. Your dream vacation? Paris or a beach; tough call

21. Last person’s house you were in? Mine

22. Worst injury you ever had? Recovering from a right tibial tubercle avulsion (bad knee boo boo)

23. Have you been in love? Yes I have and still am.

24. Do you miss anyone right now? no

25. Last play you saw? Can't recall

26. What is your secret weapon to lure the opposite sex? None, I am married

27. What are your plans for tonight? House cleaning

28. Who is the last person to send you a Facebook message or comment? Vickie

29. Next trip you are going to take? Taking DD to Nana's tomorrow

30. Ever go camping? Not recently

31. Were you an honor student in school? Yes

32. What do you want to know about the future? Nothing

33. Are you wearing perfume or cologne? No, the smell bothers me.

34. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor’s visit? Sadly, yes. Gyn. appt. next month. woot.

35. Where is your best friend? Don't have one.

36. How is your best friend? ??

37. Do you have a tan? No.

38. What are you listening to right now? Stupid dog barking incessantly

39. Do you collect anything? money??

40. Who is the biggest gossiper you know? Hmmmmmm

41. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over? 2 yrs ago for speeding. Got a warning.

42. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw? Yes

43. What does your last text message say? Sent - The AC is NOT on. My bad. Received - Sheesh mom, lol

44. Do you like hot sauce? no

45. Last time you took a shower? Last night

46. Do you need to do laundry? Always.

47. What is your heritage? Mutt

48. Are you someone’s best friend? Yes

49. Are you rich? Yes, but not financially

50. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Sleeping

Thursday Tantrum - - a bit of a rant

2010-08-26T16:58:00.000-05:00

OK, I've figured out what to do with Thursdays. I will either rant or toot someone's horn. Today is unfortunately a rant. I am a stickler for customer service, I admit. If I can work with people and treat them kindly and with courtesy, I think it is not unreasonable to expect of others. Lest you think me a heartless curmudgeon, let me assure you I am not. I completely understand if someone is having a bad day. With that said, on with the rant!!

For 3 years, I have used Norton products to provide antivirus protection for our home network. In January, I upgraded to the "bells & whistles" premier edition without hesitation as I had no previous difficulty. Then, I started having difficulties with the system. Not being the brightest when it comes to technological issues, I did not immediately attribute this to the Norton product. Over the course of the past 8 months, I have made various adjustments in an attempt to rectify the issue: purchased an external hard drive (placing all photos, music, iTunes library, etc on this), took it to my computer guy to delete extraneous files, etc. Finally, last month, he says "hey, you have Norton, that's almost like a virus in itself. It REALLY slows systems down." Eureka! So before I took the plunge to delete Norton, I downloaded a free antivirus software (plug for Avast here) and added an additional 2GB to my computer. After this, I continued to have issues with the computer running slowly, freezing & crashing. OK, enough is enough.

So the rant is regarding my treatment by the customer "support" staff today. Of course, the individual assisting me was an individual not residing in these fair United States. When I explained the issue, I was informed it had been greater than 60 days since purchase & therefore I was not entitled to any form of refund. End of conversation. Thank you for contacting Norton. OK, my bad. Next time, I will read the impossible to find, refund policy. So I decide, whatever, it is an inferior product. I will uninstall it & just eat the loss. Except, it froze when I tried to uninstall!!! ARGH!!! I can't use it & I can't get rid of it; what is up with that?!!?!

Fortunately, after the computer froze & crashed again, and a couple more attempts I was able to uninstall this gem. So, since this is my blog, I would like to say: I will think carefully about purchasing ANY products from Norton in the service. The product doesn't work, causes innumerable system issues, technical/customer support is nonexistent, and the site is difficult to navigate to find any helpful information. I don't need the aggravation when there are free products that are EASY to use.

Was my reaction over the top?? What are your thoughts on poor customer service?

What do you do when you have issues with a product purchased on the internet?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T08:10:00.001-05:00

OK, just wondering who thinks this sounds good?

Trivial Tuesday - are you smarter than a sixth grader?

2010-08-24T08:05:00.000-05:00

First, I would like to give a great big shout-out to @mrsnotouching, who is my 100th follower; thanks!! We traded favors, lol. You'll have to ask her ... ;)

I thought we would do something fun (at least to me) today. Trivia!! Before you click and run, I got this question from www.schoolfamily.com; it is from the sixth grade curriculum. Easy peasy, no? OK, here is the question:

If triangle ABC is similar to triangle DEF, what is the length of side EF?

12 inches
4 inches
2 inches
1 inches

What do you think? This is the honor system; no cheating :). Please leave your answer in the comments; I will post the answer this evening. Argh, the suspense!!!

Are you smarter than a 6th grader?

Monday Madness - Gold bullion stolen from Florida treasure museum

2010-08-23T09:49:00.000-05:00

Hello! I am trying a new schedule & content due to the resumption of university classes today. I will try to continue to post Monday through Friday, but will definitely post twice a week (probably Monday & Thursday). Please be patient as I figure out what I can successfully pull off. Regarding the new content, I've noticed other blogs have "themes" for particular days. As I've never been a nonconformist, I am following suit. Hence, "Monday Madness" will be excerpts of an article that I find entertaining, odd, irritating, or otherwise worth discussion; I will add my ~~two cents~~ witty commentary (in pink). I hope you find this addition interesting. If you find it loathsome, please send me an e-mail. Without further ado ... today's Monday Madness.

Gold bullion stolen from Florida treasure museum (courtesy of Reuters @ www.reuters.com; full article @ http://tinyurl.com/2bdv5tb)

The 74.85-ounce gold bar was stolen on Wednesday from the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida, in what executive director Melissa Kendrick called "a very quiet smash and grab." (not exactly pocket-sized @ 4.68 lbs)
The 11-inch (28-centimeter) gold bar was inside a glass case with a small opening where visitors could stick a hand inside and lift the bar to examine it. (again, not pocket-sized. Seriously though, "an opening where visitors could stick a hand inside!?!? Whose bright idea was that? Perhaps someone who is now unemployed?)
Gold has hovered near historic highs after hitting a record $1,266.50 an ounce in June, but the stolen bar's $550,000 valuation reflects historic value far beyond its melt-down worth.
Kendall said the bar had several distinctive markings, including Roman numerals signifying it was 16-karat gold, a symbol identifying its owner, and a series of dots indicating what taxes the owner had paid to the Spanish crown.
"It's a one-of-a-kind piece," Kendall said. (so unique, we wanted to make sure just anyone could touch it ...Doh!!)
Again, let me know your thoughts on the new format, please.
Regarding the article, as I ask my kids "what would you have done differently?"
Have a great week!!

Follow Friday - The ABCs of Me

2010-08-20T08:59:00.000-05:00

If you are checking me out to follow, I thought you might like to know more about me (or not, but it's my blog, so sorry)

Jen @ Thoughts of a Working MOM did “the ABC’s of Me” and I thought it was a fun tag so….I just had to do it.

Here’s mine!

Age: 45
Bed size: King
Chore you hate: Cleaning the litter box
Dogs or Cats: We have both + 2 hermit crabs.
Essential start your day item: Coffee
Favorite color: blue
Gold or silver: silver
Height: 5'7"
Instruments you’ve played: trumpet, baritone, french horn, drums, flute, clarinet, saxophone, viola, violin
Job Title: Registered Nurse
Kids: 1 boy, 1 girl, (1 husband)
Loud or Quiet: Quiet (too bad you can't always get whatcha want!)
Mom’s name: Sandy
Nicknames: TP, Tam
Overnight hospital stay: yes
Pet peeve: rudeness
Quote from a movie: "As you wish" (name that movie)
Right or Left handed: Right handed.
Siblings: 2 brothers, 1 sister (dead)
Time you wake up: 6:30 - 7:00am
Underwear: yes :)
Vegetable you don’t like: brussel sprouts (wrote a paper on this in college, got an A)
Ways you run late: waiting on kids, primarily
X- rays you’ve had: knee (x2), (mainly a CT scan or MRI girl, myself)
Yummy food you make: bread
Zoo favorite: monkeys

Thursday Throw-together

2010-08-19T11:03:00.000-05:00

Aack, I thought the manic Monday was supposed to end on Monday. Guess not. Le sigh. Ok, here's the skinny. I know you can't wait to read all about it!!

I'm on the computer this AM, merrily checking my e-mail, Twitter, etc. Then, blue screen. That's all. Yikes. Ok, no big deal, just a glitch. Right?? So I shut down, restart & run a scan. About 2 minutes into the scan. Boom!! No blue screen but ... TOTAL SHUT DOWN!!! What is going on?!?! OK, still no reason to panic. I have to go to the university to pick up books for the fall semester; I'll have the guys in the computer check it. They know so much more about this than I do. Right?

Wrong. I am at the moment sitting in the computer lab, running a second scan with Avast antivirus. I ran the first scan with Norton (btw, this is also what caused the total shutdown earlier. Word to all the Norton users), which ran in no time & showed no viruses. OK. So the computer guy says "it was probably just a thing". A thing!!! What in the world is a "thing"?!?! BTW, the Avast scan has been running for 10 minutes & is only 9% complete. Why was the Norton scan so quick?

So, with that said, I am frantically typing away to get this post up before my computer freaks again. If I vanish into the nether regions of the cyberworld, you'll know why.

So, how's your week? Are you have any similarly exciting events happening?

Tuesday Triumph & Tragedy

2010-08-17T09:28:00.000-05:00

It's Tuesday, one day closer to the weekend. More importantly, the last day of ~~my children's freedom~~ summer vacation. Yes folks, school starts tomorrow here. We have an even split -- one child (DD) is excited, one child (DS) is not. This is not surprising because DD is 7 & DS is 16, lol. To the best of my knowledge, there is not much that is exciting for a 16 y/o male; evidently due to the resultant loss of the "cool factor" with any show of emotion. So, back to the title of the post... A school related triumph was the successful, albeit grumpy, awakening of DD @ 7:00. A school related tragedy was the unsuccessful awakening of DS @ the same time (or @ 7:30, 7:45, 8:45); he finally dragged himself to quasi-consciousness @ 9:15. This is tragic simply because somebody is going to have a rude awakening (literally & figuratively) tomorrow @ 6:30AM. Sigh.

On a more personal note, my triumph which I am most exultant about: I AM EXCUSED FROM JURY DUTY!!!! Huzzah! That is all.

What are your tragedies or triumphs this week? How do you cope with tragedy or celebrate triumph?

Just another manic Monday??

2010-08-16T11:08:00.000-05:00

This is the last "summer" Monday for the year. Since school starts this week, I know next Monday will definitely be more manic than today. However, I'm feeling a bit frazzled, nonetheless. Since I hurt my knee last week, it seems to take me FOREVER to get things done. Sigh. Did I mention I'm just a smidge impatient. Plus, I'm very independent & being dependent for others to do things to my liking is also not my favorite thing. Again, sigh.

Is your Monday manic? What do you do to destress?

Since my friend Stephanie, got this stuck in my head, I now graciously share with you ... Enjoy

Follow Friday

2010-08-13T10:51:00.001-05:00

Rules: follow host blog & any others you wish. This hop is from Quality Time (just click the button). Please leave a comment to let them know you are following. Have fun!! This hop is from Quality Time (just click the button)

Thankful Thursday

2010-08-12T12:07:00.000-05:00

Stole this idea from Mrs. B. @ Who I Am (http://tinyurl.com/2dj33sm)

Things I am thankful for:

Aspie meltdown averted in a semi-public place
The start of school & some type of routine
The generic ~ God, family, friends, wisdom, & good health. Seriously thankful for all of these :)

What do you have to be thankful for this week??

Wordless Wednesday ~ where I'd rather be

2010-08-11T11:18:00.000-05:00

Do you have anywhere you would rather be today??

Guest post

2010-08-10T08:59:00.000-05:00

Good morning, all. Today, I'm guest posting @ gatherinspirit.com. Those of you who follow me on Twitter may already be aware of the TN family who is in great financial need. The post gives more details about their situation in the dad's own words. Please check it out. If you cannot help, please pass the information to others. Every bit helps. If we can promote saving a woman's uterus (@savetheute), we should be able to help an entire family. Blessings to you all!!

http://gatherinspirit.com/2010/08/helping-a-family-in-need/

Monday Mayhem

2010-08-09T11:03:00.000-05:00

Well, nothing to start off the week like a little Monday mayhem. Namely "unauthorized account access" (to quote MSN), or "hacking" (in the vernacular) of my Hotmail account. Yippee!! OK, tip for anyone I know. I never simply send a link; I ALWAYS have something to say, lol. Anyway, hopefully the problem has been resolved.

In other Monday mayhem news, took DD to the eye dr. She needs glasses. Good news, it is only for "distance" (like reading the board); bad news, she has Asperger's.The reason that is bad news: how many inches away does the work have to be before she wears/removes glasses. Why can't she just wear them all the time?!?! I understand the eye doctor's reasoning, just see this causing undue stress. Sigh.

Have you ever had an account hacked? If so, what was the fall-out??
Have you or your child ever needed a medical device only part-time; was it confusing?

Time off

2010-08-03T06:00:00.002-05:00

Hello all. Just wanted to let you know I am taking the week off to complete some long-overdue projects since the summer semester is over. One of which is to work on the blog, so hopefully it will have a new look when next we meet.

Thanks again to all of the awesome ladies who guested for me while I finished my Statistics class (got a B+, BTW!! Woot!)

Gah-mah’s Arms

2010-08-02T06:00:00.020-05:00

Today's guest is a Twitter friend, Sandra Heska King. Here's a bit about her. Sandra (AKA Sandy or even Snady, the result of a typo that stuck) lives in Michigan in the same 150-year-old farmhouse her husband grew up in. She is mom to two grown adopted children and grandma to Gracee and Lillee. Snady is a passionate chocolate lover, avid Detroit Tigers fan, Bible teacher and inspirational writer who keeps her
nursing license intact. Website: Sandra Heska King

She lies spread-eagled in the Pack-n-Play.
So vulnerable. So dependant.
I want to pick her up. Cradle her. Drink deep of baby. I want to savor the scent of formula
and lotion and sweat and damp diaper.
I want to stroke her hands and her feet. I want to smile and coo and sing.
My arms ache to hold her.
While her needs are simple and her wants are few.
Because I know how fast time passes.
When her little body will no longer fit neatly in one arm. When her legs will dangle off
my lap. When I won’t be able to even pick her up. When she’ll squirm away or avoid my
touch.
When little things won’t mesmerize her. When she’ll seek bigger thrills.
When she’ll smell of peanut butter and bubble gum and cotton candy and popcorn.
Of hair spray and perfume. (But please, dear God, not cigarettes or alcohol or blood.)
When she thinks she knows all, needs nobody.
But still so vulnerable.
My arms ache from holding her.
I gently trace her jaw line with my index finger, cup her face with my hand. It fits in my
palm. She stirs, and I pull back. She needs to rest. We’ve had a busy morning.
Walking, bouncing, rocking, rattling, bathing, talking.
Yes, she talks. Even at only seven weeks old. And she has a lot to say.
“Ooooooh! Ahhh-oooh. Goo-wah. Eeee-yah!”
And I know she said, “Gah-mah!” Yep. I heard it. She did.
For now I stand guard. Hover while she sleeps. Wait until she wakes.
I tuck this moment under my heart.
I wish I could tuck her under my wings. Hide her from any hurt or pain. But I know I
can’t. At least from everything. I couldn’t with her mom. I can’t with her sister. I know
she’ll pass through refining fires.
But I remember that I must let her go. To the One whose ways and timing are perfect.
And I can pray. That she won’t be burned. That she’ll make good choices. That life’s
punches will make her stronger. That she will know and cling to the One whose feathers
are broad. That she’ll rest in the shelter of His wings. Totally dependent on Him.
And that she’ll know that no matter how old she gets or how tall she grows, “Gah-mah’s”
arms ache to hold her.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:1-4 (NIV)
Copyright © 2010 by Sandra Heska King

Light vs Darkness

2010-08-01T06:00:00.003-05:00

This is has always been a theme over the ages! Night and day, summer vs winter, good and evil etc. We've heard them all but what does light vs darkness mean to me as a woman, a mother, wife and well plain old me?
For me, the differences between them are great. It means the difference in my attitude and the attitudes of those around me. The light and dark is shown to me as the day turns into night or as a bright sky turns into a stormy one. Each of those changes is amazing and new, clear and refreshing. Imagine if there were always daylight? Some places in the world get like that during the year. I do not believe I could ever live there, because I need the change.
Even in my relationship I am a night owl and my husband an early bird! Yes this makes it tough, but we've worked it out over 15 years. I enjoy being up all night and sleeping in the warm sun, but there needs to be that change between the light and darkness. I can even see the difference in our children from summer to winter, their energy levels change, their outlook, and attitudes as well. They become more active in the summer vs the winter, we all seem to change during these times. It seems that it is how we were made to live it out, to deal with the light vs the dark, warm vs cold etc. How do you deal with these changes?
As I am writing this post I look across the room and in the corner there is a keyboard leaning against the wall. I took a photo but the flash voided out so much of what I saw! I saw the shadows over the keys cast by the light from another room, beaming into my darkened bedroom. I see the beauty of the keys and how they form a ladder of light from top to bottom. What types of things in your life bring the light vs darkness out? What type of person are you?

Robertsrockfarm.blogspot.com

www.robertsrockfarm.blogspot.com

Friday Funnies (Valley Hospital -- pilot)

2010-07-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

In honor of Friday Funnies, I have requested the ladies from 2 Girls on a bench to visit. Lest I detract from their awesomeness, I will turn it over to them ....

The Two Girls on a Bench have decided to start branching out and writing pilot ideas. We are so excited to be invited by Nurse's Notes to do a guest blog.

Since we're not anywhere close to being able to understand what it must be like to be a nurse or anything involving math or science (yes we are a sad female cliche only strong in the humanities) we have decided to pay homage to all nurses with the following sitcom pilot idea. Please note that in this sitcom all the nurses look like regular woman and all the men look like GQ supermodels.

TRICIA

Yeah, I like that, it's like Grey's Anatomy, but different.

SIANA

Yeah, not really, but whatever you say. What should we call our sitcom?

TRICIA

We should do like a play on words, like the show "House" but we can call it "Shack".

SIANA

Wait, what? Oh, I get it, a "shack", that's so dumb, I can't even tell you how dumb that is, I'm speechless.

TRICIA

Shut up and let's just call it Valley Hospital.

SIANA

Ok, I like it, sound like General Hospital but with our own spin on it.

TRICIA

Exactly.

VALLEY HOSPITAL - PILOT

It's an ordinary day at the Van Nuys Valley Hospital. The sounds of clinking carts and people pacing back and forth hurriedly saving lives clutters the hallway with activity. JOANIE, a beautiful 30 something nurse with a true woman's body, sarcastic sense of humor and love of civil rights, walks down the hall with a premature baby in one hand, a box of donuts tucked under her arm and carries a cooler with a lifesaving kidney transplant donation.

JOANIE
Lila, get this baby into an incubator! Susan, get this kidney to the surgeon! Joe, get these donuts into the break room stat!

JOE, an unsuspecting strikingly good looking young man takes the donuts without delay.

JOE
I've got it covered, would you like some coffee? I know you just worked a double shift.

JOANIE
Thanks sweetie.

JOE
One Splenda and a dash of cinnamon?

JOANIE
You got it, what would I do without an assistant like you?

Joe runs off to get Joanie's coffee. Joanie heads to the nurses station to make sure the hospital is running in tip top shape.

SEAN, the handsome 40 something chief of surgery, stands at the nurses station waiting for Joanie.

SEAN

So, are you going to accept the Nurse of the Year Award this year or are you going to turn it down like you do every year?

JOANIE

You know I don't have time for that silliness, I've got lives to save here Sean!

SEAN

Just think about it Joanie, it would be good for the hospital.

JOANIE

Oh Sean, when are you going to learn that there's more to life than awards and prestige.

SEAN

When you say you'll marry me?

JOANIE

Oh get back to work!

As Joanie and Sean laugh, a code red alert sounds and they rush down the hallway to revive an elderly man.

Visit our blog: www.2girlsonabench.com

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/2girlsonabench

How I moved towards becoming a WAHM

2010-07-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today's guest post is from Aysha Iqbal. She is a delightful lady I met on www.bloggymoms.com. She is one of my rescuers as we race to the wire in the stats class. Short Bio:

Aysha has been writing online at various websites like Squidoo. She also manages 2 blogs “Journey of an Online Writer Mum” and a gift blog called “Wonderful Gifts for Wonderful People”. She also has an online store featuring photographic gifts at AddMoreColor.

Having come from an extended family where we provided support to each other when it came to child care and to help everyone balance their career and family effectively, moving to the US and starting a family indeed threw me off balance in the beginning. I wanted to play a good role in the upbringing of my child and not send him to daycare too soon. (Plus they cost an arm and leg here...literarily!)

In the beginning, I felt it was impossible to be both, so I chose to stay home to look after the family and household. But eventually, I started becoming less productive & efficient and more importantly, I constantly felt like my brains were rusting away. There had to be a solution.

So I started searching and these were my criteria to determine what the best way I can work from home was:

1. It had to be flexible hours. I mean I can’t say my son sleeps exactly at that precise moment every day. He is a boy not a robot.
2. I have to be able to give the job my best despite the fact that the home came first. In all, I need to be able to manage them all.
3. In case of unforeseen circumstances, I should still be alright and not in massive trouble. I can't tell ahead of time when the kid would get sick.

So I searched around and landed on ONLINE WRITING AND BLOGGING. I am very glad to have found this avenue as now I feel like I am doing something with myself. Something more than mundane housework! I learn so much each day and through each blog I visit and each forum group I join. This mode of work at home option has been working out so well for me that I actually started another blog to describe my online writing journey.

Blogging has opened many options for me and I hope to be able to conquer them one by one someday. And also manage that with my family. I am not sure if I am a WAHM yet but I am certainly no longer just a SAHM.

Short Bio

The Great Campus Security Maxi-Pad Caper

2010-07-28T06:00:00.003-05:00

***

I typically write introspective, thoughtful material. Spending as much time in hospitals and doctor's offices as I have, and burying a child, tends to have that effect on people. But I can't be serious all the time. Even in the Emergency Room and the ICU, we laughed and goofed off, just to stay sane. It's a survival skill I learned in college at a conservative Baptist school in the middle of a midwestern cornfield. It was strict: demerits, curfews, dress codes, mandatory daily chapel services, and single-sex dorms with no visits by members of the opposite sex. Without the trademark college diversions of drugs, sex, and alcohol, we had to improvise fun.

It was late May, steamy, restless, just a handful of days before final exams and graduation. Campus roiled with summer fever. Girls flirted, desperate to secure a boyfriend before summer. Boys... well, we girls never could figure out what happened in the dark of their man-cave dorms.

I wandered the rooms in my hall of the dorm on my nightly forage for food. (Every cent I earned went towards tuition, room, and board, so I went begging for essentials like microwave popcorn.) Screams of laughter and pounding footsteps broke the relative calm of our hall and we gaped as four girls raced by wearing only pantyhose over their faces and underwear.

"That was bold," we smirked. "How many demerits you think they'll get?"

I had just secured a bag of popcorn when the fire alarm wailed. Our u-shaped dorm bled girls into the parking lot. The responsible ones, usually student teachers or nursing students who rose at dawn, had already gone to bed and emerged grumpy and bathrobe-clad.

Rumors flew as we waited for campus security officers to sweep the building and give the all-clear. Some claimed the Panty-hose Girls had pulled the fire alarm on purpose. Others said that someone’s hair dryer had exploded.

When the officers arrived, I recognized two of my favorites. I had gotten to know them working for the campus paper. We needed campus security officers to unlock our dorms for us when we worked past curfew.

In a flash of inspiration, I grabbed a few friends.

“Quick, we gotta run back in and grab maxi pads and tampons!”

They stared at me. "Now? You're having a girl emergency NOW?"

“No, no, no. I’ll explain later. Come on!”

We snuck back in, threw supplies into a grocery bag, and raced back outside.

“OK, here's the plan. We're gonna stick pads all over the sides and front of the car, and then string the tampons on the antenna."

As three of us rapidly unwrapped packages, one girl who took the rules a little too seriously, crossed her arms and demanded, “Are you sure we aren’t going to get suspended?”

“Positive. They'll gonna pee their pants laughing.”

She shook her head. “No. Way. You’re crazy.”

A crowd of amazed girls and stunned boys (girls didn't typically engage in such behavior) gathered as we covered the windshield with a blanket of pads, adorned the wipers with tampon charms, and wove a tampon rope up the antenna.

As we finished, I caught a glimpse of a Resident Assistant watching, arms crossed. I prayed she'd decide to wait and let campus security deal with us.

When the fire alarm went quiet, so did the crowd. We all held our breaths waiting for the officers to discover our masterpiece.

They walked out, then stopped at the top of the steps. The woman began laughing so hard she had to sit down. She finally managed to gasp out, "This one's all yours, boys."

The two men turned 27 different shades of red as they rolled up their sleeves. The crowd roared as they marched to their trunk and began fishing through a massive duffel bag. They both donned latex gloves, masks, and biohazard bags. One delicately pulled each pad off the car with two fingers while the other tried to slide the tampons off the antenna with no success. He resorted to surgical scissors to free the windshield wipers and antennas of their cotton decor.

I confess my bravado wavered a bit when the biohazard bag came out. Just two years earlier, our school's theme was "Pursuing a Passion for Purity." I feared they might really think these were used products. Gross.

But, my bet paid off. To the wonder of the entire dormful of women, we emerged unscathed. I suspect the campus safety officers were secretly delighted to add "The Great Maxi-Pad Caper" to their arsenal of stupid college student pranks.

And I managed to one-up the Panty-hose Girls without exposing any skin and without demerits.

OK all, this momentary lapse of judgment was brought to you by Joy Bennett (@writingjoy on Twitter http://www.joyinthisjourney.com/). About Joy: she is a writer, mother, wife, follower of Christ, lover of rich soil, music, & sunshine & nurse to her special needs kids, bereaved, learner. In no particular order. She is a delight, check out her blog or look her up on Twitter -- you won't be sorry!!

Do or Die

2010-07-27T06:00:00.002-05:00

Todays lovely guest is Kelsey Hansen, the author of Polished Portrayl, a humor blog that portrays the thoughts and experiences of a worn out, sleep deprived, military wife and mother. She finds the humor in everyday moments, despite having her husband, Rob, overseas in Afghanistan for his second tour of duty. Her daughter Payton (two and a half) and her son Ryker (one and a half) are constant inspiration for stories of random ridiculousness, along with her American Staffordshire Terrior, Jewels, and Yorkshire Terrior, Abner. Life within the Hansen home can only be described as a chaotic insane asylum that seconds as a veterinary psych ward.

We've finally reached the point of do or die with our daughter, Payton. The time that I've been both anticipating and dreading. A moment filled with hope for the future, and horror of the moment. The potty years.

When we bought Payton her pink potty, six months ago, she was completely disappointed that we would buy her such a lame gift, when she's totally happy with her diapies (diapers). What a waste of an opportunity that could have been filled with a stuffed animal, princess doll, or pretty much, anything else. It was some kind of cruel joke, really.

Then came the potty books, dolls, movies, family enthusiasm, her Pappie pretending to poop on his toilet everytime they walked past the bathroom. All this managed to induce, was the perception that everyone in Payton's life is completely off their rocker. And I can't really argue that one.

One magical day, about three months ago, Payton came up to me and stated, "I pee on potty."

You have no idea the thrill I felt from these four little words, I was euphoric that she was even willing to TRY! She sat on the potty, closed the door, I heard her pee, and she called, "All done Momma."

I walked in to catch her using toilet paper like a big girl, with the hugest, proudest grin spread across her face.

An hour later, "I pee Momma."

And off she went. I was in heaven. How easy was this? The world was shining down on me, seeing my struggle with my husband overseas, and finally helping me out with something. High five world! And I'm not a high five kind of person, it makes me feel all kinds of cheesy. But, when a high five is deserved, it's deserved. Who am I to argue with that?

A few hours later, "I pee Momma."

I'm doing cart wheels and shots of tequila in my head as I hold my daughter's hand, lift up my one year old son Ryker, and walk up the stairs to her potty. "Ry too Momma."

"Ryker's not big enough to use the potty yet Payton, he's still a baby. This pink potty is just for you, just for big girls! It's so special."

Then came the look. The one that I see far too often. The mouth curls down, eyes narrow, hands clench and her body stiffens as Payton screams in rage, "NO POTTY! NOOOOOO!"

She then proceeds to pick it up and throw it in our linen closet, slamming the door. "NO POTTY MOMMA!"

To demonstrate her point, she pees. Sigh.

I wait a month. Another. Six months go by, and we're at the Disney Store together. Rob's on his two week leave from Afghanistan, and is leaving again tonight with plans to come home in December. He bought a Build a Bear for her, with his voice in a sound button, when he left last time, and we wanted to find her something special before he left for this trip too. She picks out a package of 5 princess lip glosses in a little purse, but there are also Ariel panties, her favorite princess. So we buy these too.

The next morning, Payton wakes up and asks, "Where Ariel go?"

Yes! Interest in the formally dreaded panties. There's a set of five, three purple, two white with purple accents. She holds up the two white pairs, "These Ry's, Ry wear Ariel too."

Rob and I look at each other and shrug. Why not? We take Ryker's diapers off and put some Arial panties on our little boy. As Rob watches his little man climb the stairs in his frilly, little panties, he says, "I can't believe I'm doing this to my son."

But Payton is happy to put hers on too, and keeps pointing to Ryker and exclaiming with enthusiasm, "Arial, Arial, Momma, there're the same!"

Things that are the same? They're all kinds of exciting for Payton.

Ryker is toddling around, making his personal fashion statement, and proceeds to crouch down and pee and poop, making a huge puddle under his bum, and causing little poop nuggets to fall from his panties as we pick him up. That might be enough pantie practice for him for a year or two.

But Payton seems undeterred, sitting on her potty, having a few accidents throughout the house, which are horrifying for her, but she's trying! She peed in the potty two whole times yesterday, which is so awesome that she's even willing to accept it. After a day, she's already decided that the potty sucks and she misses her diapies, but there's no way that we're turning back now. It's a marathon of biological training, and we've only reached the first mile mark. With Rob back overseas, it's going to be a ton of work, but I'm already so proud of her progress.

It's do or die. Between all of the messes I have to clean up from Abner, I'm only going to be able to take so much before I lose my mind. I figure she has about a one month learning window to reach success, or someone will have to die. And odds are, it will be me that dies from the combination of frustration and exhaustion. So let's get those pee pees in the potty and have some ice cream for doing SUCH big girl work. I'm hoping that I might be able to make it through the summer.

As I write, Payton is singing one of her favorite songs, "Twinkle Twinkle"

"Up above the world so high,

Like a diapie in the sky."

It might take just a little more time to get her to forget about her beloved diapies. I hope she doesn't really value them as much as a diamond, but nothing surprises me anymore. Nothing.

www.polishedproductions.etsy.com

www.polishedportrayal.blogspot.com

Living in the Storms

2010-07-26T06:00:00.001-05:00

Today's guest is Julie from http://www.dutchbeingme.com/ or you can also check her out on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/dutchbeingme . I ~~stole~~ copied this from her Blogger profile; she doesn't toot her own horn. "30-something. Daughter. Sister. Auntie-to-be. Friend. Traveler. Music lover. Blogger. Health Addict. Shopper. Outspoken but Shy. Workaholic. Reader. Athlete. Christian." She is also addicted to Diet Coke & afraid of car washes (shhh). Her original topic wasn't storms, but due to some nasty weather in her neck of the woods, her thoughts turned that way. Her are thoughts on living in the storms ...

Living in the Storms…
It always seems like the storms of life take us off guard. So much so that we become tense, or maybe
even afraid, when things get loud, distracting and keep us from the familiar quiet that we long for.

As I write this my area is going through some pretty heavy storms. Strong winds, heavy rains and even
hail and tornados in places. We don’t see these kinds of storms here that often. And this year it seems
- outside of a couple heavy doses of rain - it’s been kind of quiet on the storm front.

It’s the calm of life that really distracts us from being ready for the storms. These are the times that we
relax, we let our guard down and we become a little more carefree. Maybe these are times of
abundance, togetherness, or maybe even just being free from pain.

And we all know that the times of calm in our lives cannot last forever. The rains will come… and
sometimes they bring a pretty severe storm. Storms like losing a job, a diagnosis of cancer or maybe
the death of a loved one.

But when the severe stuff comes, we rally together. Not only with our families, but with the
community around us – the close friends and neighbors, and depending on the city you live in, maybe
everyone in the town. We gather and support each other.

My family felt this directly when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. Family and friends
prayed for us, brought meals and were there to lend a listening ear. Because the storms of life aren’t
meant to be gone through alone. We were designed to be together, to care for each other when the
storms get too hard to handle.

And when the storm passed, my family showed our gratefulness and celebrated the end of the storm
with the community. We threw a party. It was fun being able to thank everyone that had been there
for us, people from every side of the family as well as friends that we had known for years.

Since that storm, many others have come within that group of people… and we’ve all been there to
help each other, to pray for one another and to listen when times get rough. But the rough times pass,
the calm comes back to allow us rest and maybe even give us the energy to battle the next storm that
may come our way.

Isn’t it amazing what a storm that rages outside can make you think about?

Leaping the Wall

2010-07-23T06:00:00.038-05:00

Joining us today is Cassandra Frear. I "met" her on Twitter, then found her blog http://www.moonboatcafe.com/. She is a lovely lady & a gifted writer. Her profile states she is a "wife, mother, gardener, hiker, writer... walking the path ... and finding the joy poured out .... It's a good life." Today, she's sharing a post about obstacles and how we can respond to them.

I' ve been turning this idea around in my mind for weeks. I'm at a crossroads in my life.

What if I just leaped the next wall and started? What if I just started writing what was on my heart? What if I stopped thinking about what someone else might expect? What if I stopped worrying about what publishers might be looking for? What if I just wrote the book that I must write -- you know, the one that if I don't write, I will regret it when I lay dying?

I've looked back and seen where I took great risks and did "okay." I leaped a wall, I fought a hard fight, I'm still standing at the end -- but I didn't actually gain the things I really wanted from it. Somehow, I missed what was required to be fully successful. I'm clueless about what else I could have done or should have been.

When I turn and look at my future, what do I see? More risks. More uncertainty. Another series of challenges. This is not the best time for leaping over any walls. Best to hunker down and wait for better conditions.

Yes, I can see how the landscape is on the other side. I can see beauty and adventure and mystery waiting there. But there's danger, too. I need to be strong to travel, and I'm not.

Besides, I haven't had the heart for leaping a wall again.

I can't decide which is worse: to try with all my might and fall short, or to decide to let the opportunity pass me by. I can't determine, by looking from this spot, whether trying with all my might, facing fears, and leaping walls make my life any better. I know enough to figure that the cost will be higher than my estimate and the rewards will be less satisfying than I hope.

You see, I've been here before. I've taken the leap, made the plunge, took the chance. And yes, it was good. But not great. I lost things on the way, things I'll never get back. We can't go leaping walls and think we're always going to land in a bed of roses. It doesn't work that way. Not in a fallen world. Leaping isn't a path to paradise. More often it's a path to battle.

This is the challenge for those of us who have already leaped walls and fought good fights: how to go on. How to do it again as though we're doing it for the first time. We weigh the cost. We consider what we know. We've already discovered it won't always make our lives better.

But I know this. It makes me better. Not more successful. Not stronger or braver or more competent in any way. No. Instead, it changes my heart. It humbles me. It makes me more compassionate and more aware of others. It makes me better at loving.

Why this is, I cannot say. But the person God wants me to become is on the other side of this wall. I could leap over, or not. He leaves the choice to me. It isn't success He's after. It's my character. I remember his words to me, returning from years ago to refresh my soul. They pour over me like a song.

For it is you who light my lamp;

the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can leap over a wall.

This God—his way is perfect;

the word of the Lord proves true;

he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

For who is God, but the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God?—

the God who equipped me with strength

and made my way blameless.

He made my feet like the feet of a deer

and set me secure on the heights.

He trains my hands for war,

so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have given me the shield of your salvation,

and your right hand supported me,

and your gentleness made me great. (Psalm 18 ESV)

In the end, it is God's gentleness that makes me great -- makes me more like him. But I must do my part. We are partners, God and I. He looks to me to do what only I can do. I must leap the wall, run the path, fight the good fight in front of me. And there, I'll find my true reward, the one that can't be taken away.

___________________________________

How do you get yourself over a wall?

Becoming a housewife

2010-07-22T06:00:00.002-05:00

Sara Roberts is visiting today. We met on http://bloggymoms.com & she graciously agreed to provide a guest post about her transition to a SAHM. You should visit her site; she has great money saving ideas. So, drum roll please ... here's Sara!

My name is Sara Roberts and I am a SAHM of three. My blog is The Millennial Housewife. It was created because I was looking for ways to cut our budget down and give us some breathing room. I started researching grocery store deals, and stumbled upon all of the great deals that you can find online. Now, I like to do product reviews and share tips with my readers, along with still finding the best deal.

http://www.themillennialhousewife.blogspot.com

I often read posts from other SAHMs who claim that they’ve always dreamed about being a SAHM, and there was no other choice. Part of me believes that. For me, becoming a SAHM was not that easy or such a simple decision.

First of all, when I met my husband I was working and going to college. I was also only 19 when we met, so the thought that I would ever be a SAHM never occurred to me. We got married when I was 21, so again, it seemed perfectly natural that I continue to work, as I had no reason not to. Our first child came along when I was 22. During my 6 weeks of maternity leave, I did start dreaming of being home with him but, at that time, it did not make financial sense for our family. Like everyone else, we had bills to pay and it just wasn’t an option.

Baby number two came along a few years later, after my husband had been laid off and working at a new place. We were not in good financial shape, and me staying at home was more of a dream, but definitely not an option. I had a good sitter, and really trusted her with my kids. I just didn’t think I was the SAHM type.

All of a sudden, our sitter quit. We changed sitters again and, this time, I was not as satisfied. But, we kept trucking on. Around my birthday, we found out that Baby number three was on the way - and this time we were NOT planning for another one! I kept working and the idea of staying at home crossed my mind, but I didn’t think that it would even be possible. Right before our third child was born, our sitter started flaking out on us - big time. For the last month before I went on maternity leave, I had to use a backup sitter. That really started turning the wheels. The final kicker was when she quoted me what she would charge me to watch my three children - it was outrageous! We couldn’t afford for me TO go to work. Not to mention the fact that this woman was charging me this amount and I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why she thought she was worth that much! We sat down and put the numbers on paper, and it became clear - I could stay home and we would still be able to pay the bills.

Even after seeing it on paper, there was so much more to consider. All of these questions started flashing around my head: By me staying at home, all of the financial responsibility would now be placed on my husband. Was he ready to shoulder all of it? I would now be in complete control of the household, was I ready to shoulder all of it? What if we couldn’t make ends meet - would it be my fault? Will my husband resent my new role? Would I be doing the best thing for our family? Will I be able to go back to work one day and still have a career? Would I even want to? The thought that I was about to leave the “adult” world terrified me. What was I going to do at home?

I’ve been at home for 2-½ years now. I made the absolute RIGHT decision for our family. Things have been tight at times and it has not always been picture perfect. We have made lifestyle changes and had to cut back. But knowing that my kids will remember having Mom as their “sitter” and not someone else is priceless to me. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The important thing to remember is this: Do what is right for you. Quit worrying about what other people think or say. Everyone thinks that the way they live is the right way, and it is FOR THEM. Live how it is right for you.

Notes from the Senior Bench

2010-07-21T06:00:00.001-05:00

Hello all! Today's guest post is courtesy of Rhiannon Paine. She can be found on Twitter as @calbion or on her site: http://rhiannonpaige.com. She is a delightful witty lady, who it has been my pleasure to tweet with. Rhiannon loves to travel, both physically & figuratively (through books) & write. For her bio, please visit http://rhiannonpaine.com/biographyi . Without further fanfare, here is Rhiannon ...

The Senior Bench is a prominent feature at my old high school in northern California. It sits in glorious isolation at the top of a long, narrow campus, looking down a flight of steps towards the boys’ gym, and only seniors are allowed to sit there.

Not much of a privilege, maybe. But the Senior Bench was something to aspire to when my friends and I went to high school, before sex and drugs were discovered. (Fortunately, we did have rock & roll, like that promising new band called the Beatles.)

That was in the 60s. Today, we’re in our 60s, and “senior” has a different meaning, yet my friends continue to lead lives that surpass anything we might have predicted on the Senior Bench.

Take Mia. Now living an on-again, off-again expatriate’s life in Europe, she recently paid me a visit. Over breakfast, I asked her if she’d once slept in a tent in a war zone. I recalled her telling me so during a previous visit, but it seemed so unlikely.

“The bullets weren’t flying,” Mia said, “but when I was in Zaire during the

Rwanda

refugee crisis, I showered with the French Foreign Legion.”

Mia and her husband are raising two orphans, aged 10 and 12, and she routinely hosts dinner parties for 20-plus foreign visitors (“I just put a salmon in the microwave”). She was also on board the U.S.S. Roosevelt (“the Big Stick”) while the

U.S.

was bombing targets in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

None of the other classmates I keep up with has ever landed on an aircraft carrier. Still, our lives haven’t been devoid of incident. Maeve (these are not real names) started her adult life as a stewardess for Air France, only to morph, through hard work and self-education, into a management consultant in Silicon Valley.

She also fought like a bear – our high school mascot – on behalf of a sister who had a brain tumor, making sure that she got the care and treatment she needed. Maeve is not a woman who needs assertiveness training. “I don’t think so!” is one of her favorite phrases.

Our friend Fiona raised two daughters, organized a big city festival for 20 years, and worked as a church secretary, coping with well-intentioned volunteers who messed up her files, lost important documents, etc. She has also kept track of our classmates and organized our reunions. It’s almost scary what Fiona knows about us. I’m sure she remembers the time that I – well, no. I don’t think I should write about that here.

Morgen became a librarian, moved to Alaska, was widowed much too young, and then met a second wonderful man to marry. She’s now the senior librarian for a major government agency in Washington D.C., where her husband just went through his first earthquake. “That’s nothing,” we’ve told him helpfully. “Just wait til you retire to California.”

Finally, there’s Carly, who emigrated to

Australia

to be a teacher. Carly was almost as adventurous as Mia until she contracted multiple sclerosis. In 1998, another school friend and I flew to Oz and traveled for a fortnight with Carly and two nurses in a van equipped with a hydraulic lift for Carly’s wheelchair. We found that illness hadn’t dimmed our friend’s passion to experience life, to learn, to connect with people, and above all, to laugh.

I admire the grace and strength with which these friends have negotiated their way through rich, complicated, sometimes difficult lives. Our Alma Mater contained the immortal line, “With your faithful hand to guide us, we’ll preserve Democracy.” I don’t know that we’ve preserved Democracy, but we have preserved our sanity.

As Mia jets back to Europe, possibly to shower with some other Foreign Legion, the rest of us will stay in California. But are the adventures over? I don’t think so!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2010-07-20T06:00:00.003-05:00

Today's guest post is courtesy of Andrea @ http://rockchalkelmers.blogspot.com/. You can also catch her on twitter. Without, further ado, here's Andrea ....

About Me: I think my twitter bio sums it up best: I am a Working Mom of 2, Wife, Sister, Daughter, Aunt, American, College Graduate, Jayhawk, Blogger, Movie Quoter, Shower Singer, Road Rager, DVR-a-holic

When I was a kid, I went through phases like most kids do. There was a time that I clung to my mom and wanted to be with her instead of playing outside or hanging out with friends. Then there was a time where I wanted to do anything except for be with my mom including preferring homework over having to listen to her. I think it was just one of those "anti-parent" stages I was going through. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't wild or crazy, I just got so annoyed by the things she would say. Giving her a hug was like second nature to me at first and then I became more distant and giving her a hug was like a job instead of like a reward. It is sad to think I went through that, but of course it only lasted a short while and I came to my senses, but it didn't happen overnight. All I wanted to do was get away, not runaway, just get away from everyone at home. I wanted to be like some of my other friends who barely had rules. I always asked permission to do things, but I didn't always like the response. I would ask why I couldn't do something and my mom would say, "because I said so." I would say that so-and-so's parents said it was okay and she would say, "I'm not so-and-so's mom." Whatever. I'd move on and ask if I could stay the night at a friend's house and she'd sometimes say no and I'd ask why and she'd say, "I would just feel better if you were here." Ugh! I thought she was out to get me, punish me. What did I do? I wasn't a bad kid. I got good grades, was on honor roll, played sports, wrote for the newspaper. What is the issue? I wasn't out "raising hell" on the back of some guy's motorcycle wearing a leather mini and a tube top. I was going to be at a friend's painting my nails for goodness sake. Why did she insist on punishing me? Right then and there, in those moments, I made myself a promise. I told myself IF I have kids, I will NEVER use those lines. I will give my kids answers instead of supplying these over-used one-liners that instinctively make fire burn inside of them with anger. I wouldn't have excuses, I would have facts. Every time I heard lines like the ones my mom used, I'd roll my eyes, call her a name under my breath and behind her back, turn up my music and call my friends telling them I'd be over when my mom got a grip. Before I move on, let me be very clear...I respected my mom (in front of her), I loved her (even if she drove me nuts), but I didn't understand her. I couldn't. We were on different levels, we were different ages, but then...it happened.
My life took a turn down mom lane and there I was holding a beautiful 6 lb. 14 oz. baby who would eventually call me mommy. And it happened...I understood. I understood that at that moment I would do everything in my power to protect something so innocent and precious. If I had to be the uncool mom to do so, I would. If I could have paid my mom in dollar bills that day for how sorry I was for being...a teenager, she'd be a rich woman.
As the years have passed and our little baby grew up, now almost 5, I find myself answering his millions of questions mostly with answers as I promised myself many years ago, I would do, but when I get to my breaking point, it slips, "Jaxson, you can't jump off the stairs because I said so!" Immediately a shrieking noise came to mind the first time that slipped and ever since...those momisms come out like raccoons in the night. I can't even stop myself and to be honest, I don't want to. You try answering question after question and not get frustrated when no answer is good enough. I still remember Jaxson's first sleepover. I didn't want to let it happen as I knew it would open up a new can of worms. I was a worrier. Still am. Will always be. (That's a different post in itself.) I didn't want my 'baby' to sleep anywhere but in the comfort of our own home. When George asked me why I didn't want him to have a sleepover, another one of those one-liners flooded out, "I would just feel better if he was at home." Why was this happening to me? He was just going to sleep at his grandma and grandpa's house who lived just down the street. It wasn't that big of a deal. I know I was a young mom, but man, I just aged 20 years saying that! Regardless, it was true. Again, my mother's face came to mind as that second momism made its way into the air.
As Jaxson entered Pre-school last school year, I knew there would be things he came home saying that would make me so proud and others that would make me cringe. I think I asked him at least twice per day where he heard something from. He'd tell me one of his friends from school told him and I'd think...here we go with having to worry about what other kids are saying and not just my own. We'd talk about how certain words like "ugly, fat and kill" were not nice words (imagine the context I heard those words in) and I would tell Jaxson that he was NOT allowed to use those words and inevitably he'd say, "Well, so-and-so can say it." (quite the famous person so-and-so is today) to which I replied faster than ever before, "Well I'm not so-and-so's mom so I can't control what they say." Yep, there it was. Strike 3 Momism at its finest. By now, I can't deny it. I am doing things I said I would never do and there is no stopping me now. I know over the years, my kids won't always agree with what I say or do and I know just like them, I will fall down and sometimes not so gracefully, but they'll know when they're my age or when they become parents that I did everything FOR them and not TO them. Sometimes there is just no escaping it...sometimes you have to give into the momisms to get all the perks of being a mommy. It truly is the best, hardest job I've ever done and I'm so glad that I get to do it forever.
Andrea

Growing Up Early

2010-07-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

When I was 12, my father passed away. From that point on things really changed. My dreams shifted, my hopes went askew, and my aspirations were truly challenged.

I had a wonderful family who loved me, and all the support I could ever need. There was one thing I had – that I really wish I hadn’t… I had way too much freedom.

I think that my mom really tried hard to compensate for my dad being gone, by pretty much letting me do what I wanted. It was easier for her, with me being ADHD, to let me do my thing. I took my meds, so I was fairly well behaved, but I did what I wanted most of the time. From swimming for hours, then running across the house without a towel to go to the the bathroom to plopping down in my wet suit on the couch, I did it. And got away with it.

While I was young, this was just little stuff; not to mention we were in church all the time; so the trouble I got into was pretty innocent… that is until I turned about 15… and hooked up with my older brothers and their friends.

Then… well then I went a little crazy. It was then that I started experimenting with alcohol… and pot… It was then that I had a steady boyfriend that my mother couldn’t stand… and I ran around with a pretty fast crowd. I was pretty sure then that my mom had no idea what I was doing…

There were nights at the drive in with friends… drinking Boone’s Farm “Tickle Pink” and Miller Lite… There were many hours spent in the river swimming, cutting up, and making out with guys too old for me. There were bikers, smoking, and sex.

I remember going to my mom, about a month after my 16th birthday and asked her to take me to the doctor for birth control. She refused… told me I was too young to be thinking about that. I wasn’t ready.

What she said was true… I wasn’t ready – but that wasn’t going to stop me. By the middle of that year I was pregnant.

My daughter was born three weeks before my 18th birthday… I was a single teenage mother. I had to leave my high school, and go to a “special school” for pregnant teenagers. The school was awesome… it was called L.A.M.P. for Lee Adolescent Mother’s Program. It’s still going strong today, and has helped thousands of young ladies through teen pregnancy and graduation.

By the time my daughter was born, I had already gotten my GED and was enrolled in college for the Fall semester, which started on August 25th that year. I was supposed to have my daughter on July 4th… then July 18th… In reality, my daughter was not born until August 18. So… just a week after my baby was born, I was in school again. Now, I have not shared my oldest daughter’s birth story. Let’s just say it’s a long one – and was really difficult. I had 37 stitches. I sat on a donut… it was ugly.

But I went to school every day. My grandparents watched my daughter. My mom was in school in the 3rd year of a 4 year nursing program, so she was gone either all day or all night, depending on her rotation.

By the time my daughter was 4 or 5 months old I went to work in a grocery store full-time. Again, my grandparents, and mom when she was home, cared for my baby.

A week after my 18th birthday, I got married, against everyone’s wishes. He was a first class loser, cocaine addict, and thief. I spent my daughter’s second Christmas dying on our couch because he refused to take me to the doctor. When my mom finally got me there, I had to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. I had double pneumonia, and was breathing on about 1-2 inches of pleural space in one lung. The doctor said another 4 or 5 hours and I’d have drowned.

We divorced, and my mom and I resumed our life of parenting my daughter together. She was my support and my rock. She helped me through so much. And she never complained. I learned a lot about being a mom.

Friends who taught her the first “real” word she spoke… Gucci. (Thanks Aunt Pat). Friends who would load us up in an old International Scout and take us “mudding” for hours… Friends that I could call on day or night to cry, laugh, or just talk.

I had it pretty easy compared to a lot of the girls I had gone to school with… some of them didn’t even have their parents to count on… I knew at least three girls at my school that were living in the Catholic Home for Wayward Girls… thrown out by their parents because they got pregnant out of wedlock… an embarrassment

I was never treated that way. I know my mom was disappointed. But her love for me never changed or lessened because I made a simple mistake. She gave me options, and let me decide what to do about my baby. And when I made the choice to keep her, she stood up for me to the doctors – and told them to shut up when the suggested I was too young and maybe needed to “get rid of it”.

We spent hours shopping and preparing for her arrival. And days on end walking the beach, the mall, and beyond trying to encourage her to make the appearance.

For years, my mom would be my strongest ally and my best resource. And when things in my life took a trip off the beaten path, she stoically accepted my actions, and helped me choose the best thing. She adopted my daughter when she was 4, and with my step-dad raised her as their own. She knew who her mamma was… but I was totally in no position to care for her. When all was said and done, I did what needed to be done for my daughter. No matter what the cost… and I realized that even though I felt guilty about doing what I did… I had done the right thing.

In the end – that’s all any parent can do – what’s best for their child.

I’m glad I made the choices I did… especially now when I look at my daughter… Who, at 26 still doesn’t have any children, because she’s not ready. She learned from my mistakes…

Knowing that – I wouldn’t change a thing.

This guest post is courtesy of Elizabeth @ http://magimomsblog.wordpress.com/ (Name change: Set in my ways)

Top 10 things she thinks people would be most interested to know:

I have three natural and four step-children.
I have two grandchildren a boy and a girl.
I have five dogs, and three cats. Yes, we DO think we have enough animals…
My youngest son is severely emotionally disabled, and is currently being treated in the hospital.
I trained as a paramedic in college – then decided not to follow through.
My oldest son is currently in college studying to be a network administrator. He still sleeps on my couch.
My step-daughter has been dating the same boy for a year, and it is making me nervous.
My father passed away when I was young, and I was raised by a very strong woman.
I don’t need a man, I have one because I want him here.
I am however, looking forward to the day when I don’t hear “Mom, what’s for dinner?” EVERY single day of my life!

My new quote in life…mommyinLDN

2010-07-18T06:00:00.005-05:00

Bridgette Shima (aka mommyinLDN) is a first time mom who lives in Southwest London with her one year old son and husband. She writes about London with kids and shares just how easy it is to get around in the big city. As an American expat, originally from New York, she shares her experiences regarding living abroad and its challenges and is also very passionate about sports. You can visit her at http://eatdrinkpottyplay.wordpress.com/

"Let us be grateful to people who makes us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." ~ Marcel Proust

I love this. It brings a smile to my face every time I read it. It shines a light through the darkest of moments when things may seem overwhelming or when a day seems too long to handle. We’ve been told time and time again that “life is short so live as if it’s your last day”. But how many of us really take the time to reflect on this? How consumed are we by our daily routines? I remember those days when I worked long hours and dealt with a very hectic schedule, my mind was always on the “go”. Work was stressful and the pressure was constantly on, however, back then I was young and free so the responsibilities I have now weren’t there. I’d get off work and think about who I’d I meet for a drink or race to get a mani/pedi before the nail salon closed. I shopped til I dropped and took full advantage of New York City’s happening life. Spending money made me happy, very happy indeed. I’d spend it like it was going out of style, living the single, crazy life. Happiness was all on the surface. It wasn’t until I met my husband and became a Mom that I learned one of the biggest lessons in life: it is no longer about the want but the need and it was then that I realized motherhood changed me forever. My husband taught me this, taught me the real value of money. I’m a SAHM so my husband’s money is my money. I really can’t spend it like I used to spend mine as it can only stretch so far when feeding a family of three. So those days of going out to the ritzy, chic bars aren’t in sight. I’d much rather cook a meal and spend the day in the park watching our lil guy have the time of his life. This is what I live for now. I can count on both hands those people that make me happy; and I can tell you that my list has definitely shortened in the last two years. Without them I wouldn’t have my sanity nor would I have anyone to set me straight! We can joke around or talk about the serious things in life, its hardships and challenges. We tell stories and our relationships grow fonder. They’re all gardeners, planting their own seeds in my memory bank. When I feel like I need a quick pick-me-up, I think of a funny email between my brother and I or a time when our lil guy has a giggle attack (there have been loads lately!). Other times I think about the future such as our upcoming wedding anniversary next month and spending Christmas with my mother and sister here in London. All these things make me happy and are wonderful to look forward to. So, who are those that make you happy? I challenge you to take five minutes every day and think about a happy moment in your life. When you feel as if your day has gotten the best of you, think of a special someone. I guarantee it’ll put a smile on your face too!

Keeping a Comfort Box

2010-07-17T06:00:00.006-05:00

Being wife and mother takes up a lot of time! We get so busy making sure our husband and children are ok, that we often forget about comforting ourselves.

I picked up a book from a local 2nd hand book store a couple of weeks ago called The Woman’s Comfort Book by Jennifer Louden.

Jennifer offers up lots of ideas and suggestions but the one that stood out for me was her suggestion to keep a comfort box for times when you’re feeling under the weather, sad, lonely or just a little “meh!”.

So I plan to find a cute box and start thinking about what sort of things comfort me. Things like:

• a scented candle – I love the smell of vanilla.

• the softest tissues I can find

• a small box of chocolates – my secret stash! LOL although being perishable, they obviously can’t be stored in there for too long…although I don’t think there will be any problem with that!

• bubble bath – I love taking bubble baths but I don’t often get a chance to. It’s easier to just jump in the shower quickly each day. But every once in a while, I do get to soak in a hot bath and having my favourite bubble bath out of my kids’ reach will ensure there’s some left when I need it.

• herbal tea – I love my peppermint tea!

• a book of quotes

• a notebook and pen

• a favourite CD of relaxing or uplifting music

• favourite photos

So once my comfort box contains some of my favourite things, I plan to keep it in a spot where I can see it so it’s a reminder for me that it’s there when I need it.

What would you keep in your comfort box?

Tina Gray is a wife to one husband and a mother to five children. She and her family live on the gorgeous South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. You can find her blogging at Tina Gray {dot} Me (http://tinagray.me) where she blogs (sometimes with colourful words) about family, home, health, photography, shopping, giveaways, reviews and more.

Friday Funnies -- courtesy of the Mayor (of Crazytown, that is)

2010-07-16T06:00:00.027-05:00

Today's guest post courtesy of the wildly amusing Crazytown Mayor; Check out her blog @ http://crazytownmayor.com/blog/

As The Mayor of Crazy Town, she has dozens of minions doing scut work, & protecting her from negative press. Typically, her usual press kit goes like this:

Join The Mayor of Crazy Town as she juggles 4 kids under 12, through the ups, downs, & upside downs of parenting! A tongue-in-cheek look at a day in the life of Mommyhood...you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll run screaming to the nearest therapist. So sit back & enjoy the ride…but don’t bother trying to gnaw through the straps, it’s just not worth it most days. Someone will be around with the meds once your eyeballs start bleeding.

But that doesn’t cover my biting sarcasm, my mad skills in slinging caustic barbs, (or maybe it does…), nor, of course, my deep & abiding love for those four little rug rats of mine. Crazy Town began with the realization that I would soon be on my own…my littlest starts Kindergarten in the Fall. As the panic set in after 12 years of devoting my everything to the kidlets, I knew I now needed something all my own lest I find myself stalking the school yard just to be near them. Which brought me back to my first love, writing. In doing so, I discovered that we are ALL residents of Crazy Town & having the forum to vent & share allows us, occasionally, to make it past the borders of The Edge Of Reason & The Brink Of Insanity & get to a place where we feel normal & accepted…despite the bleeding eyeballs & recently acquired twitch. And of course, a huge shout out to Tammy for welcoming such insanity to grace the pages of her blog!
I am humbled & honoured to be guest posting for Tammy today! It’s always so validating to have your peers appreciate you, & it is this sense of community that has been my biggest reward for blogging! Friday’s in Crazy Town are all about the funny stuff, be it an e-mail, video, or personal story…whatever it was that brought you some laughs during those long hectic weeks, with the idea being to start the weekend off right, sharing some laughs with our friends. Tammy was kind enough to offer up her page for this week’s Friday Funny from the office of The Mayor! I thought she might appreciate the theme I chose!

I don’t even have to be a nurse to know that last one is true! Hope you all enjoyed the Friday giggles, & if you have a Friday Funny of your own that you want to share, post it & link it up in Crazy Town! Finally, a blog hop that’s not just another chore! Thanks so much to Tammy for hosting this week’s edition, & for welcoming me to her world! I greatly appreciate the opportunity to be here, & share some light hearted fun with your readers!

Signed,

The Mayor!

Dear Punk kid who stole my son's Yu-Gi-Oh Cards,

2010-07-15T06:00:00.001-05:00

Today's guest post is courtesy of the lovely & talented Kathy Richards. She (aka katdish) is not a writer, but she plays one on the internet. You can find her most days at her website http://katdish.net or giving unsolicited advice on twitter at http://twitter.com/katdish. She also designed and manages what she thinks is just about the best author website on the internet, http://billycoffey.com. She's also a ragamuffin, wife, mom, painter and church planter. She's been told she is mildly sarcastic.

You and I both know what you did. You told me everything I needed to know when you avoided eye contact with me. My son is a very trusting kid. Because you guys were hanging out and having fun at the comic store, he naively assumed that he could leave his deck on the table while he left for a few minutes. The emptying of the pockets and the backpack was fairly impressive, but you and I know that you stashed it where it would not be found. I know you think my son is some rich kid from the suburbs, but as I type this, he is doing extra chores to pay for the eight-dollar card that he had in his possession a total of 10 minutes.

When you took that card from him, you took away something else. You see, my son (much like his mom) is a bit of a square peg that never totally fits into the round holes carved out at school. When he goes to those tournaments, he is completely free to be himself and relax with other kids who are also square pegs. He will still enjoy going to these tournaments, but now that's one more place he will have to have his guard up. You taught him a valuable lesson that only experience can teach, but still...

I want you to know something else. We went out to dinner tonight. My husband usually says the prayer for the family, but tonight my son asked if he could pray. Guess who he prayed for? That's right...he prayed for you -- that God would forgive you as he has forgiven you. Do you know what I'm going to pray for tonight? I'm going to pray that every time you steal another kid's cards, you get caught. I want you to get caught stealing in a small way so that you stop while you're ahead. It's a much bigger deal when you move on to bigger things like old ladies' purses and cars. The authorities frown on those things and you might even wind up spending some time in jail, and how suck would that be?

Even though my son is convinced that you took his card, he will still be your friend and he will continue to pray for you. He really gets the "love the sinner but not the sin" concept. But don't be surprised if he wants to talk to you about Jesus. You might want to listen.

Life is like a toddler's cheeseburger -- kinda

2010-07-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

Just reflecting as I sit here watching my toddler busy himself with toddler activity. We already had an outing to the mall where we played at the indoor playground. We went on a mini jaunt around the stores- which, by the way, William's Sonoma has the cutest cupcake tin for sale this spring- it makes flower cupcakes... Toddler B and I stood by the window for about 5 minutes, staring at the cool cupcakes- I just have to have one for Easter!!!! I'm thinking Hubby wont be as enthusiastic...

Toddler B then decided it was time for a cheeseburger...

Cheeseburger- he yelled- CHEESEBURGER!!!!!

Toddler B, I explained- I don't have money for a cheeseburger right now. But, I can make you a cheeseburger when we get home.

Money? Cheeseburger? He asked...

That's right, Toddler B, we need money for a cheeseburger...

That explanation seemed to appease him for a moment...

On the way towards the mall exit, we passed by a conservative lingerie store...to which Toddler B exclaimed rather enthusiastically-

OOBIES!!!! MOMMY OOBIES!!!!

(he actually said it correctly, with a B, but I'm attempting to keep unwanted readers away who might be googling oobies with a B!)

I caught myself looking around to see who was in hearing distance...

I breathed a sigh of relief in realizing that no one was paying any attention- or at least- pretending not to pay attention....

So now, as I sit here- watching Toddler B entertain myself- I think to myself-

what a beautiful day it is here in the Northwest-

The sun is shining

The skies are blue

Toddler B is dancing and singing to another Barney song-

What more could I ask for?!!!

Oh- and about that cheeseburger-

I was able to find $2 worth of change in the car-

B and I were able to enjoy a McD's cheeseburger after all

To which he happily stated-

Yummy- cheeseburger

Yummy!- I replied, smiling at my Toddler B.

It's the cheeseburger moments that I will cherish forever-

This guest post is courtesy of Christelle @ http://belovedmama.blogspot.com where she blogs all things wife, mommy, kids, and faith. A true Southern California native, she is married to a high school history teacher from Nairobi, Kenya. Considering they met in blizzard country (Minnesota!) the two climates coming together to form a union works rather well. HA! Together, they have 3 boys ages 12, 10, and 3. Formerly, a women's ministries director, she now stays home with her 3 year old and homeschooled oldest child. She's finishing her degree in human development and intends to use it in marriage and family therapy. Join her on her bloggy journey or in twitter land at http://twitter.com/belovedmama

The Name of the Game

2010-07-10T06:00:00.001-05:00

Guest post courtesy of Crystal Rodriguez. A bit about her …

About me...sigh...so unglamorous! I'm a very young woman in her 20-10's. I'm a mother to two boys, 4 and 1. Married to my husband of 6 years. I'm a 'writer' (with very few publishings), blogger (seriously, who isn't anymore?), non-profit activist, non-conformist and habitual user of wet wipes. Worked in NJ/NYC for nearly 11 years in the financial industries and media, spanning corporate events planning and human resources. Majored in English Lit but have most recently decided to return to school and pursue a nursing degree.

My floors are never clean. I growl at my kids in public. At least once a week, I get a sympathetic glance from a stranger. Or an angry one. I love my kids and husband more than life itself, but I know why some mammals (and arachnoids) eat their offspring and mates. I'm Not Perfect, I'm a Mom!

The Name of the Game

The other day, I was talking to a mom I met at the park. She had a new baby girl, just 3 months old. The baby, precious and teeny in her little pink stroller and wee ballet slippers, was a BEAST. I was immediately reminded of those first (I call them "sucky") three months and found myself wanting to hug her. She was obviously overwhelmed and had her hands way full. In addition to new-baby drama, there were major feeding issues and she was getting up at least four times a night.

“Probably because she’s so hungry, right? I mean, if she won’t stay on long enough for a full feeding and won’t take a bottle...” The new mom blinked her foggy eyes at me. “Oh, yeah. I never thought of that.”

Poor girl. We’ve all been there. After she got her baby to finally settle down in the stroller with a paci, we started to talk more in depth. I tried to answer her new-mom questions the best I could, and tried to give her some advice without sounding like a know-it-all. Because seriously, there is nothing more annoying than that. After we had chatted for a few minutes, I was able to coax a smile out of her when I said, “Yes, many times when my kids were new babies I would wonder why I even considered having sex”. Apparently feeling comfortable with me, she guiltily ‘confessed’ that her favorite time of the day was when the baby was sleeping.

“Is that horrible?” She asked, frowning.

“Are you kidding? I still love that time of day and my kids are 4 and almost 1.”

She nodded, relieved. “What’s your favorite time of the day?”

I smiled, thinking before I opened my mouth that I had a great answer. This is a bad habit of mine; thinking I’m wittier and smarter than I really am.

“I don’t know…I never really thought of it before.” But the question got me thinking. And later that day, after I managed to get them both down for a nap at the same time, I thought, could this be my favorite time of the day? When I use the break to catch up on writing, emails, bills, phone calls, laundry, dishes, cleaning, this, this, that and the other? Can’t be. That would make me a masochist.

Or would it?

Maybe it just makes me a mom, and a housewife. Yeah, yeah, I know the PC term is “Stay-At-Home-Mom”. Just like its “Executive Assistant” and not “Secretary”. I was in Human Resources for quite a few years; I get the whole propriety of names and their necessity to our ever-shifting world of mass acceptance. But after I hired my umpteenth Executive Assistant, I realized she was doing exactly what I used to do 15 years ago when it was “secretarial support”. That said, do I meet my husband at the door everyday with slippers and a martini, while I lead him to the dining room for a four-course meal? Sure. But in my (our) world, I meet him at the door with a half-crazed four year old who needs to go outside and play soccer, and the martini is for me. A four-course meal is not an issue, as long as the bread and beverages count as two of the courses.

I guess the mom’s question had me wondering why my favorite time of the day was so shameful. I mean, if I were back in my career girl days of Manhattan and I answered that same question to a group of latte-laden supercareerwomen, I’d have to say something sharp and focused like, “Oh, well without a doubt it has to be in the morning, when my phone is silent and my office is empty. I’m so busy!” And we’d all burst into simultaneous laughter laced with a sly competitive once-over. But if I met those same superwomen with their alligator laptop cases and stiletto boots, how would I feel saying, “Oh, my favorite time of the day is when my two kids are napping at the same time and I can finish folding the laundry from two days ago! Oh, and if I’m really fast, then I can take a shower without anyone pounding on the door needing to go poopy!” And I’d burst into laughter. Alone. I’m also quite certain I would be met with loud crickets chirping and some very raised, yet artfully waxed, brows.

See, I’m not that supercareerwoman anymore. Before I met my son for the first time in the hospital, I was convinced I would still be climbing that corporate ladder and taking the business world by storm. I thought I would be the genius behind hiring the next great hedge-fund manager, or I'd recruit a portfolio manager that would catapult my firm’s profits off the charts. But as soon as I realized I’d have to leave my little 11 week old for the same amount of hours a day at a daycare, I bid farewell to my awesome laptop case, stiletto boots and Lancôme mascara. It was Baby Magic and All laundry detergent, and you know what? That’s ok with me.

So what’s in a name, anyway? I’m no longer a career girl, but a mom and a housewife/stay-at-home- everything. (And seriously, though I have it posted on a number of profile pages, what is with “Stay-At- Home-Mom”? What if you stay home but you’re not a mom? Then it’s just “Stay at Home”? What if you’re a mom but you don’t stay home all day? Then the ‘mom’ part of your designation goes out the window?)

The true name of the game is MOM. Wherever you are, you’re mom. And it’s often not pretty, often misunderstood, and often looked down upon by (sadly) other women. But to them and all insecurities alike, take a hike. Doesn’t matter what we’re called or how we think of ourselves, as long as it’s true and accurate. And in my book, that name is FABULOUS.

--

We Aren't Perfect...We're Moms.

www.wearentperfect.com

The Route to New Routines

2010-07-09T06:00:00.001-05:00

Guest post today courtesy of Katie Sluiter. She is a wife, mom, and high school teacher. She blogs about her life and what she thinks about it at Sluiter Nation (http://www.sluiternation.com ). She also reads. A lot. So she started a book blog called Katie’s Bookcase (http://katiesbookcase.wordpress.com). You can follow her crazy shenanigans on twitter too (@ksluiter).

The other day while washing sippy cups for what seemed like the thousandth time that day, I was struck by how different my summer is this year than it has been in the past.

I guess this is where I should let you know that I am a high school teacher and up until adding MOM to my resume, my summers belonged to ME. They were MINE. MINE MINE MINE…ahem. Sorry.
Anyway, summer was when I decompressed. I didn’t have any sort of schedule I had to stick to. Now that I have become “Eddie’s Mom”, I have found that there are all sorts of routines—big and small—that have become part of my summer.

First there are the meal routines. My husband and I didn’t really have a meal routine before. When one of us got hungry, this conversation would happen:

Hungry Person: Hey, what’s for breakfast/lunch/dinner/whatever meal we are closest to on the clock?

Other Person: I don’t know. Are you hungry? What should we have?

Hungry Person: Well, I am sort of hungry, and we should eat. I don’t care though.

Other Person: Yeah, we should eat. What do you want? In the mood for anything?

Hungry Person: Not really. I don’t care. Anything.
Other Person: I don’t care either. You pick.

You get the point. We just ate when we were hungry. Sometimes we would make a meal; sometimes we would order a pizza; sometimes we would pack up and head out for dinner and cocktails. Now there are specific times when food NEEDS to happen in our house. Whether the hubs and I eat at this time too is not important, although we usually do because it just makes sense. Either way, our day is definitely planned around when Eddie will need to eat and what he will need to eat.

This weekend, for example, we were going to be out and about for Fourth of July parties and activities at the lake. We couldn’t just throw a cooler and our swimsuits in the truck and take off, we had to go over Eddie’s entire schedule and grab all the necessary things—including food—since we didn’t know what would be served.

This actually leads to how my “fun” routines have even changed. When I got to the beach, I used to slap on a bikini, lay out a towel, grab a book and a beer, and that was it. For hours. Now the only part of that routine that is still current is the towel.

Take today for example. Today we packed up what felt like our entire house and headed to friend’s beach. Upon arrival all three of us had to get into our beach gear which is now a one-piece with a skirt for me. Yes, I said it: a skirt. Then we had to carry a bag of toys, a bag of towels, the cooler, and the swim tube thingy, along with Eddie down a zillion stairs to the beach.

Once down there, instead of just sitting on the towel with a beer, both the hubs and I were in the sand, then in the water, then grabbing other toys, the pulling driftwood out of Eddie’s mouth, then reapplying sun block, then…well, you get the picture. I think I only sat for about 10 non-consecutive minutes in the two hours that we were out there. Don’t get me wrong, it was sort of still fun. Just definitely not the same.

And there is SO much more that has changed too, but you all know how it goes. I’d like to say here that “it’s all worth it and I wouldn’t change a thing.” While the “worth it” part is pretty true, some days I would like to go back to when it was just simple, when I could sit in one place and drink beer all day—and somehow be 20 pounds lighter. But then I wouldn’t have Eddie. And that would just be no fun.

The True Story of a Red-Headed Wonder Woman Wanna-Be

2010-07-06T08:50:00.003-05:00

Today's guest post is courtesy of Sarah Salter @ http://sarahsalter.com/blog/

Here's a little about her.

So, now, who am I? I’m the writer. The secretary. The English major. The singer. The friend. The country girl. The Duke fan. I live a life of constant adventure– working in full time ministry, part time mission work, and part time writing. And although, I have wings, I also have roots– a wonderful (yet quirky) family, a fabulously loving church, and a little house in the country where my dog happily greets me when I finally make it home.

Welcome to my world– where I’m Living Between the Lines.

Lucie was four-years-old and had one major goal in life: to be
W
onder Woman. (In the late 80s/early 90s, what little girl didn’t

have that aspiration?) Meanwhile, her five-year-old brother,

Charlie, had quite a different goal in life: to torture Lucie.
Even though they were a year apart in age, the little red-heads
looked like twins and as much as Charlie hated it, Lucie followed

him around every
where and wanted to do everything he did. He
was tired of it and always looked for a good opportunity to get back at Lucie for her clinginess.

One day, a golden opportunity presented itself and the little boy j
ust couldn’t pass it up. Looking out the window, Charlie noticed
his sister running around the backyard in her Wonder Woman
Underoos with a bath-towel cape draped around her shoulders. He knew what he had to do.

“Lucie! Lucie! Come here! I know how to make you fly like Wonder Woman!” Charlie ran out the back door and down the steps.
Lucie raced over to meet him, her long red ponytail bobbing up and down. Charlie looked over both shoulders to make sure they were alone, and then leaning close, he whispered. “If you let me cut your hair, then you will be able to fly!”
The trusting little girl smiled from ear to ear, nodding her head and was fairly jumping up and down. “Okay, Charlie! You can cut my hair!”

Charlie sneaked into the house and found his mom’s scissors. Then, he led his little sister back behind the shed and gleefully gave her a very thorough haircut. And when the last of the red hair had fluttered to the grass, he put the scissors down on the grass and smiled.

Lucie didn’t head to the bathroom to look in the mirror. She ran straight for the picnic table on the back patio. She climbed up on the seat, then the table top. And then, making sure her towel/cape was fastened securely on her shoulders, Lucie ran down the length of the table top and jumped into the air with all her strength.

Charlie saw the handwriting on the wall. Before Lucie was in mid-air, he had abandoned her and the scissors and headed for his bedroom. By the time his mother heard the tearful screams, Charlie was as far back under his bed as he could get.

For an interminable amount of time, he waited under there with dustbunnies threatening to choke him. Too scared to cry. He knew that he was in more trouble than he’d ever been in his short life. He heard Lucie’s cries, his Mom’s stressed-out voice, and then the garage door opening and closing as his Dad came home. Finally, he heard his bedroom door open and heard his bed creak above him as someone sat down.

“I wish I could find Charlie.” He heard Dad’s low voice. “I wonder
where he’s hiding.” C
harlie couldn’t stop the little cry that came out of his throat.
“I wish I could find Charlie. I’ll bet he’s really scared.”
The tears really started to come then. Charlie tried to smush his face into the carpet to muffle them, but it didn’t work. And before he could even think, he heard Dad’s voice closer to him. He looked carefully and saw that his Dad was lying on the carpet with the edge of the blanket pulled back, watching his son.

“I’m glad I found you. Would you like to come out and talk to me?”
He hesitated for a moment. Wouldn’t Daddy be mad? But his voice was so calm. So, Charlie skooched out from under the bed and sat on the floor next to Daddy.
“You know that you hurt your sister today, don’t you?”
Charlie stared at the floor and nodded.
“And you know that I’m going to have to punish you, don’t you?”
Charlie nodded again.
“Are you ready to apologize to your sister?”
Another nod.

Nothing could’ve prepared Charlie for what he saw when he walked into the kitchen with his Dad. For his sister—with a shorn head, two black eyes, and missing front teeth—was sitting on the kitchen floor, grinning from ear to ear and eating a blue popsicle. When Charlie walked in, Lucie jumped up and ran to him, throwing her sticky, blue arms around him. And before he could open his mouth to apologize, his sister started laughing and shouted, “Charlie, didja see me? I flew! I flew!”

Please visit Sarah @ http://sarahsalter.com/blog/

A statistical nightmare

2010-07-05T08:31:00.003-05:00

Today's guest post is courtesy of Lanita Moss. Here is a brief bio:

She is married with two adopted girls. She is a lawyer & business woman. She and her husband have cattle interests in Texas and New Mexico.

She is also a breast cancer survivor and in 1998 co-founded the Young Survival Coalition, an organization for young women affected by breast cancer.
Her first husband was killed in 1998 in the Swissair 111 plane crash off the coast of Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia. This sparked a concern with aviation safety, including sitting on the board of directors of the National Air Disaster Alliance.
She always been fascinated by the different roles that today’s woman plays. For example, wife, mother, lawyer, business woman, nurse, chef, chauffeur, wanna-be artist, breast cancer survivor, etc., etc., etc.

Without further fanfare, "A Statistical Nightmare" ...

I am not a math person. Really. So when Tammy put out an SOS that she was taking a Multivariate Statistics class this summer, my heart went out to her. I felt her pain, but better her than me.

Let me say it again…I AM NOT A MATH PERSON. When I was in high school I took Algebra I because I was on the college track. I did OK, but it is something that doesn’t come very naturally. My plan for the class was to have a high enough average because when we hit the story problem section, my grade was going to take a nosedive. If I had a high enough average, then I could somewhat recover by the end of the semester.

My foolproof plan didn’t work as well with Geometry. Almost flunked that class. However, I did graduate with a GPA that would get me into college. The University of Illinois. (Go Illini!) I started out my college career as a psychology major. Each college within the university had their own graduation requirements. Psychology fell within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The College of LAS required multiple years of a foreign language and statistics. There was no way I was ever going to mumble my way through multiple years of French and I was SO afraid of the 5 hour Stats requirement that I changed my major. Yep…changed it. I didn’t want to really be a psychologist anyway. I wanted to be a sports psychologist…you know, study the psyche of athletes…or the physiques of athletes. I found out that I could change majors, study athletes (!) and avoid French and statistics. What a deal!

I eventually went on to get my BS in Kinesiology, which wasn’t a whole lot of help when I went to law school. The joke in law school is that lawyers don’t do math…that’s why they go to law school. The only law school classes that have anything to do with math are Federal Taxation and Business Organizations. Surprisingly, Fed Tax was my first A in law school…I think because I was SO afraid of the math…or the government. When we got to the part in Bus. Org that had to do with equations…you could hear the entire class hold their breath in fear and start to pop out in sweat…that’s how bad lawyers hate math…except on how to figure out their fees.

So, now I am highly educated. I have many degrees hanging on my wall, but not one of them…NOT ONE OF THEM required statistics. I should get a degree for statistical avoidance!

So my hat is off to Tammy for tackling a degree that requires Multivariate Statistics. She clearly is smarter than me. Good luck Tammy.

Please visit Lanita @ http://amothershood.com/

Saturday Safety Tips

2010-07-03T16:43:00.000-05:00

In consideration of the fact that this is a holiday weekend, I would like to take the opportunity to make some suggestions to help you & yours remain safe.

1. DO NOT BE AN IDIOT!!!

While this is overall a good tip, I mention this in reference to one of my ~~MANY~~ few pet peeves; bad drivers. If you are incapable, for whatever reason, of driving the posted speed limit (or preferably faster), PLEASE do not drive in front of me as this may be hazardous to your health. Same applies to people incapable of utilizing their turn signals or void of common driving courtesy (i.e. pulling out immediately in front of me, then acting all huffy when I honk @ you).

2. PLEASE DISCHARGE ALL FIREWORKS SAFELY

In other words, do not light any projectiles within 100ft of the firework stand where you purchased same (or any firework stand for that matter).
Do not put lit sprinklers down anyone's pants.
Do not combine fireworks and any other kind of ignitible substance unless you have a pyrotechnics license.
If in a residential neighborhood, do not shoot firework at oncoming traffic. This may prove hazardous to YOUR health as well as the the persons in the vehicle.
The rule above also applies to pedestrians, joggers, & cyclists.
If you shoot a projectile on the roof of the neighbor's house (or into their tree), please notify them of same promptly.
Do not place multiple fireworks into the grill, ignite, then shout "fire in the hole". See rule about traffic.
Do not throw fireworks @ your pets. Again, see rule about traffic.
Do not place fireworks into your fish tank.

3. AVOID LARGE QUANTITIES OF ALCOHOL AS THIS PREVENTS #2 FROM BEING CARRIED
OUT.

4. IF DISREGARDING RULE #3, PLEASE ALSO INGEST ENOUGH FOOD TO COUNTERACT EFFECTS.

This was mainly a forum to allow me to rant about unsafe, inconsiderate dirvers. However, if the additional suggestions prove helpful in avoiding injury, so much the better!

Have a fun and SAFE holiday weekend, my friends!!

Thursday Tickler - guest post

2010-07-01T10:10:00.000-05:00

Been a bit remiss in posting & for that I offer my most heartfelt apologies. In an attempt to remedy this & share some bloggers with which you may not be familiar, I have invited some friends to be guest posters for me this month. I still have slots open if anyone else would like to play!! Anyway, without further ado, I present today's guest, the hilarious Molly C. from 'Life With The Campbells' http://mollyc-lifewiththecampbells.blogspot.com/

OLD LADIES

Have you noticed that all old ladies the world over look alike? And that old ladies have ALWAYS looked alike? Since I was a child myself, I have noted the following old lady attributes: white hair, wrinkles, shuffling gate, sensible shoes, and big purses. Old ladies lack any kind of personal style. Comfort and safety seem to be of utmost importance. Old ladies are NOT concerned with how they look to the world. All of this is fine, but as I get nearer to being an old lady myself, I wonder how the transformation from normal stylish and young person to old lady takes place. Is it overnight? Does one suddenly wake up one morning with the need to wear knee high panty hose under a skirt? When do handkerchiefs trump Kleenex?

As a service to all of my girlfriends, who are approaching old ladydom with me, here is a list of warning signs THAT YOU MUST READ AND TAKE TO HEART. These could slow down the inexorable slide into the world of the elderly.

DO YOU HAVE A COLD? Is the approaching allergy season a challenge for you? Is Kleenex your best friend during these times? I know it may be convenient for you, BUT DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TUCK ONE INTO YOUR SLEEVE IF YOU DON’T HAVE A POCKET TO STASH IT IN. Old ladies do that. Even if it means you have to run to the nearest rest room to sneeze, or surreptitiously wipe your nose on your sleeve, DON’T STUFF THAT KLEENEX IN THAT SLEEVE! This is one giant step toward old ladydom, believe me!

HOW BIG IS YOUR PURSE? Does it have compartments? This is a danger sign. How long does it take you to find your keys? If you can’t locate your keys in your bag within ten seconds, you are acting like an old lady! If those compartments are used like a filing cabinet (one for coupons, one for your wallet, one for lipstick and things, another for your glasses) you are REALLY pushing it. Do you hang your purse over your forearm? STOP THAT IMMEDIATELY!

This is a huge one. It is a true indicator of age. DO YOU HAVE A CHANGE PURSE? Get rid of it! Your change belongs in your wallet. No one needs a separate small accessory for dimes and pennies. If you are starting to think that it would be easier to find coins by segregating them into a small conveyance of their own, you are old.

WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO THE MOVIES DURING THE SUMMER? Do you think that lately the theatres have turned down their thermostats? Are you tempted to take a sweater or coat with you when you go? You mustn’t. No one over the age of thirty gets cold at the movies, so just sit there and shiver through it with the YOUNG people like you.

IF YOU GO TO A RESTAURANT, EAT YOUR DINNER. If there is a little left over, don’t ask for a box. I know, the economy. But it is old people who can’t seem to consume an entire hamburger or finish their beans. If you take that food home, on the way out of the restaurant, all the kids will be watching you and chuckling patronizingly to each other.

This next category is so huge, I am not sure I can do it justice. CLOTHES. Here goes: young people read magazines and watch TV in order to see what the fashionistas are wearing. Old ladies think “fashionistas” have something to do with Italy during World War II. Old ladies dress for comfort, not style. This can begin very insidiously, so you have to be very careful about this. Are you looking at those espadrilles and remembering how you fell off them and sprained your ankle? Are you thinking that those Keds look a lot more comfortable? Oh, boy. Do you look at your legs and all of those purply little veins and decide that shorts are not becoming? This is actually a smart move, because shorts do look awful with spider veins. Capri pants are fine. Slacks are fine. Elastic waistbands, however, are NOT fine. Nine out of ten doctors agree that old women wear elastic waistbands.

IF YOU ARE TEMPTED TO BUY A TRACK SUIT THAT MATCHES, THIS COULD BE A WARNING SIGN. True, lots of young and fit women wear workout gear. To work out in. These women don’t wear their gym clothes to the Cheesecake Factory. What’s more, young women don’t care if their running pants have a matching hoodie. Nor do they spend hours at SteinMart choosing sporty clothes. Who is in those fitting rooms trying on coral running pants with matching jackets? OLD LADIES.

FINALLY, AND THIS IS A BIG ONE, WHEN DO YOU EAT DINNER? Because the litmus test for aging is this one simple fact: If you eat dinner before six o’clock at night, you are old. Something happens in the digestive systems of people in their fifties that begins this downward spiral. FIGHT IT WITH ALL YOU HAVE IN YOU! Have a snack at four! Drink a glass of milk at five! But whatever you do, do not go to that restaurant! And please, when you get to the restaurant, even if it is offered on the menu,

DO NOT ORDER EITHER THE COTTAGE CHEESE OR THE APPLESAUCE.

Blog Revamp

2010-06-27T10:01:00.000-05:00

I have added a poll (to the left) in an attempt to tailor the blog to your interest's. Please complete & thank you for your participation!!

Friendly Friday Blog-Hop

2010-06-25T10:50:00.000-05:00

Growing up

2010-06-24T22:27:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's official. My baby boy is growing up. Today is his 16th birthday. I remember him "driving" his L'il Tykes car & now he can drive for real. The day was bittersweet for me. Kinda made me teary remembering all the little boy stuff he did, sweet watching him mature into an awesome young man (testosterone rages aside, lol).

Mushy stuff over ...

He had a humongous chocolate cupcake for breakfast; compliments of chocoholic momma. He didn't really want to do anything special (in spite of my ~~nagging~~ encouraging); just hung out around the house & played xBox live games with his peeps. He was so sweet to DD who had to dispense the gifts, one at a time ... very slowly. Told me the Cadillac Escalade (HotWheels) was not funny as he laughed. Enjoyed his little sis's gift of Skittles & then played basketball with her for a bit. Then we went out to dinner, the end.

It's moments like these that keep me from justifiable homicide when he turns into Mr T (of Testosterone: Terrific or Terrible post)! LOL.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-23T22:09:00.000-05:00

Tuesday thought(s)

2010-06-22T22:21:00.000-05:00

DH & I were having a discussion last night about different styles of worship. He is very reserved & feels it is irreverent to get "too emotional" during church. He finds dancing, yelling out, raising hands, etc to be distasteful. So I said all of those demonstrations were scriptural & joked that at least nobody in church danced naked before the Lord like King David did. Can I get an amen on that?? **shivers**

Anyway, all that to say this: what are your thoughts? Do you perceive God as "Father" or "Daddy" (Abba, in the Hebrew)? I think people's perceptions of God are largely colored by the relationship with their earthly father.

For instance, if your dad was reserved & kept you at "arm's reach", you will likely think that is God's wish as well. If your dad was physically & emotionally demonstrative, then that will also flavor your relationship with God.

While I believe God is due all honor & respect, I kinda like the image of being able to crawl up on His lap & cry, laugh, or just talk to Him; I think He does too. What are your thoughts?? Please share ...

Friday Funny

2010-06-18T15:35:00.000-05:00

Before going to Europe on business, a man drives his Rolls-Royce to a downtown New York City bank and asks for an immediate loan of $5,000. The loan officer, taken aback, requests collateral. "Well then, here are the keys to my Rolls-Royce," the man says. The loan officer promptly has the car driven into the bank's underground parking for safe keeping and gives the man the $5,000. Two weeks later, the man walks through the bank's doors and asks to settle up his loan and get his car back. "That will be $5,000 in principal, and $15.40 in interest," the loan officer says. The man writes out a check and starts to walk away. "Wait, sir," the loan officer says. "You are a millionaire. Why in the world would you need to borrow $5,000?" The man smiles, "Where else could I find a safer place to park my Rolls-Royce in Manhattan for two weeks and pay only $15.40?"

Corny, but clean. So quit your groaning ... this is a family blog. LOL

Wordless Wednesday (aka speechless Wednesday)

2010-06-16T21:18:00.000-05:00

Blog Hop!! Join the fun :D Word up, Yo!

2010-06-14T22:10:00.001-05:00

I know - it's cute, right?! So what is Word Up, YO! exactly? Well, it's a word game...we give you a word of the week (WOW!), and you work it into one (or more if you're adventurous!) of your posts during the week. But these aren't ordinary words you'd use in everyday conversation, so you'll have to get creative! Once you use the word, you slap the badge on your post, and come over and link up on one of our blogs!

Rules:
Use the Word of the Week (WOW!) in a post as many times as you legitimately can
Use the WOW! correctly in your post, we've included a definition to guide you on this journey
Include the Word Up, Yo! button somewhere in your post
Write a post with the WOW! and link it up anytime during the week the linky is open (Sunday-Friday)
Link up below to your relevant post, not your blog home page please
That's it! No mandatory follows, no mandatory comments. Visit as many other linked blogs as you can.

At the end of the week, the Nerd Mafia will decide on a "winning" post. We'll feature the winning posts with the new word. A new Word of the Week and featured post will be published every Sunday.

So what's the first WOW! word that we're using? Here it is...along with a definition from dictionary.com:
Gullet

–noun
1. the esophagus.
2. the throat or pharynx.
3. a channel for water.
4. a gully or ravine.
5. a preparatory cut in an excavation.
6. a concavity between two sawteeth, joining them at their bases.
–verb (used with object)
7. to form a concavity at the base of (a sawtooth).

So go for it! Be creative! And don't forget to link up!

And so it goes...Thumbnails: This is a Blog Hop! 16 entries so far... you're next!What is a blog hop?

A blog hop is a linky list that is SHARED ON MULTIPLE BLOGS.
When several blogs put the same linky list code on their blog, the
exact same list appears on each blog.

Blog visitors can submit their entries on any blog that contains the list.
The entries will appear on each blog where the list resides.

Blog readers see the same list on each blog, and can "HOP" from blog
to blog seeing the same list of links to follow: BLOG HOP!

You know you have Autism or Asperger's if ...

2010-06-14T17:44:00.000-05:00

1. You can’t have two things on the dinner plate at the same time. Once you are done with the first food, you get a fresh plate.

2. You understand why the X-men are persecuted…because they are different.

3. Fashion is irrelevant.

4. You butter your toast all the way to the edges with an even layer of butter, but only if the toast is freshly out of the toaster. If it gets hard, you have to throw it out.

5. You figure you would be great on a jury because you won’t be swayed by facial expressions or blathering outbursts of emotions.

6. Sensual experiences are rapturous or make you freak out.

7. High-pitched noises hurt.

8. You look at the floor while listing to someone intensely.

9. You look at the floor while thinking how to answer intensely.

10. Foods have to be eaten in order of temperature.

11. When your partner says, “Let’s go out,” you pause, stare at the wall then say, “Why?”

12. Eating the same thing for a week is delightful.

13. Facts ‘R Us

14. “What did you say? I wasn’t listening”

15. “I should change instead of wearing my very soft fleece pajama bottoms to the store??”

16. “When the company comes over, what should I say?” “Be yourself.” “Oh good, I don’t have to talk.”

17. Animals make more sense than people.

18. Why do NTs (neurotypicals) waste their time on small talk when there are so many real things to talk about?

19. I’m frantic when I can’t find my earplugs.

20. I’m waiting for grandchildren so I can love them, educate them on everything, then send them back. I hope my grandkids are aspies and autties so we can really relate.

Reprinted with permission of Eileen Parker @ http://www.eileenparker.com/

Tears for tiny life lost

2010-06-14T11:22:00.000-05:00

Reposted from wearentperfect.com. Please read & repost.

We Aren't Perfect: TEARS for a Tiny Life Lost

Friday Funny

2010-06-11T10:14:00.000-05:00

The humble little accountant had his suspicion. One day he left the office early and, sure enough, at home he found a strange hat and umbrella in the hallway and sitting in the living room in the arms of another man was his wife. Wild for revenge, the husband picked up the man’s umbrella and snapped it in two across his knee.

“There!” he said. “Now I hope it rains!”

When you are done groaning, know this was not my own. I will gladly give credit where credit is due (or not):

http://www.ajokeaday.com/clasificacion.asp?ID=48

Hope you all have a FANTASTIC Friday!!

Wordless Wednesday (sorta)

2010-06-09T22:54:00.000-05:00

OK, since Blogger is lame & I have no insert pic icon, have to post the link to the pic. Grrr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50990713@N05/?saved=1

Tuesday Terror

2010-06-08T14:42:00.000-05:00

OK, spoiler right up front: this post has nothing to do with motherhood, family, special needs, or anything else I generally post about. If that's why you are here, dear reader, please leave before I share this terrifying tale.

OK, you're still here?? Don't say I didn't warn you!!

The summer semester started yesterday @ MSU, where I am currently working on my degree. Nothing inherently terrifying about that, you may say. Well, it is for me!! Guess what I am taking... basket weaving, beginning pottery, cooking for Dummies? While any or all of those might be helpful in improving my woefully inadequate domestic skills, those are not the class that inspires fear in the heart of grad students everywhere.

The class is PSY 527, a.k.a. Multivariate Statistics. For those of you who know something about stats, you may think this is no big deal. You are wrong!! This class is required so grad level students can compile & understand their own statistical data used for their thesis or dissertation. Guess what, we don't want to understand!! If we did, we would be math majors. That is why there are thriving companies for hire.
Anyway, I digress. The primary reason for my chest-tightening, nausea-inducing anxiety is that this will be the FOURTH time I have attempted it.
In fact, my utter lack of ability to grasp these concepts prompted me to undergo testing to see if I have a math learning disability (jury is still out on that, should know soon).

If there are any stats whizzes out there, please give me a holler!! Otherwise, see you on the other side ... hopefully.

Testosterone: Terrific or Terrible?

2010-06-04T17:55:00.001-05:00

OK, I realize that testosterone (aka Mr. T) serves a purpose, really I do. It is a steroid sex hormone (this blog is rated PG, right? It is OK to use the S** word?) responsible for the growth & development of masculine characteristics … with all that entails ... thankfully sparing you, kind reader, all of the graphic R rated details. This is the “terrific” part. I mean seriously, nobody likes a girly man. We all swoon over the hunky guy that makes us do a double take.

But there is a darker side to this fantastic hormone … it is also linked to aggressive & predatory behaviors. That is where I take issue with the fabulous Mr. T. When it rears its ugly head by possessing my baby boy’s adolescent body, enough is enough!! OK, lest you think my son is just a momma’s boy & I am some overprotective mom, let me share a recent experience. A time of mom/son bonding, if you will. Well, maybe not, because EVERYONE knows it is NOT cool to hang with your parents during the vulnerable adolescent years, lest their budding psyches be permanently scarred by exposure to acceptable social mores. Anyway, I digress.

One of DS’s passions (well, actually only) is video games. He started with a Nintendo DS @ age 7 and has been hooked ever since. No, hooked is not too strong a word … I swear he goes through withdrawals when denied the sublime joy of completing isolating himself from actual physical interaction with others. Nothing makes him more giddy than to shut his door, put on the headset, power up the xBox & play with his pals (XBOX Live, still not sure how that works, BTW). Sooo, for his birthday, he requested a super fantastic headset which apparently does everything except make toast (which for $60, I don’t think an occasional slice would be too much to ask) and some video gizmo that he can use to make videos of he and said pals gaming to post on YouTube. No, I have no idea why either. Apparently, though after he gets a gazillion “hits” on YouTube, he can make some moolah. So, said wonderful electronic gadgetry is duly purchased. Oh, did I forget to mention, DS rarely (well, OK never) makes sure he has everything he needs before undertaking an endeavor. Whether this is due to being male, or to ADHD, or to a combo of both, this is the case. That said, he says, ‘oh wait, I need an audio-video hoozitwhatzit (actually it was an AV switcher cable, which sounded the same to my uncool mom mind)’. This was on a Wednesday. At the time of this announcement, it is 8PM. So, of course (again being the totally unreasonable mom) I said “no”. Minor rearing of Mr. T’s ugly head, but nothing I couldn’t handle. I said, we could get it the next day because his awesome peeps said they were @ WalMart for “a coupla bucks”. Cool, 10-15 minutes of my time & $10 max from my pocketbook; I can handle that.

So, Thursday DS & I venture to WalMart. Can anybody guess what happened? C’mon, be a sport, guess!! Whoever guessed that the wonder widget was NOT @ WalMart wins the stuffed pony!! OK, DS being the totally reasonable, non-narcissistic specimen of adolescence that he is said “hey, that’s cool Mom. Whenever you find the time, maybe you can run to Radio Shack (about 20 miles one way) & pick one up for me”. ROFL!! Seriously, did you really think that’s what happened?? DS wanted to go post haste to said Radio Shack, because life as he knew it would cease if he did not immediately procure the wonder widget. So, I said “no”. Whoopsie!! Full-fledged Mr. T rant followed … He stalked, grumbling from the store. He was driving, so I told him he couldn’t drive like a jerk; obviously giving him the idea that was exactly what he should do. So, he proceeded to drive like the proverbial bat (out of the really hot place) the entire way home. Sadly, all the testosterone rant earned him was a loss of driving privileges & delayed procurement of the hoozitwhatzit.

So dear reader, I leave it to you to decide whether testosterone is terrific or terrible.

With a Little Hope

2010-05-30T18:36:00.000-05:00

With a Little Hope

Often, it is through
the most difficult days of our lives
that we come to know ourselves
and what is truly important to us.
No matter how sad you may feel at times,
be confident that hope will
awaken with you tomorrow.

Faith and courage reach out to you;
take hold of them, and you will find
that you will be able to smile again
and truly be happy once more.

How we deal with life
is really a matter of personal choice,
so choose to be happy.
Find joy in the simplest things,
and see beauty in each person you meet.
When times are difficult,
remind yourself that no pain
comes to you without a purpose.

Above all, trust in
God's handcrafted plan
that He has made just for you.
Let Him love you through life's
joyous and painful aspects;
if you do,
you will find inner peace
and unending joy.

~Kelly Wolfe~