Archive for ◊ 2009 ◊

20 Apr 2009 My Journey as a Mentor Mom continues…
Author: admin |  Category: Stay at home moms  | Tags: , , , , ,  | One Comment

As you know (if you’ve been following me :) ) that I am a Mentor Mom for YoungLives which is part of YoungLife.  In my last post My Journey as  Mentor Mom part 1 my Teen Mom was MIA!  Her phone had been shut off by her Grandma and I had no way to get in touch with her unless I hunted her down and I am not inclined to do that, it just isn’t my style at all.

So, I sent her a card shortly after that and had no response which sorta bummed me out a bit but I wasn’t totally surprised.  Then about a week ago I received a bunch of upcoming events for YoungLives and I thought maybe this would get her attention so I sent her another cute card with all the info on and asked her to  CALL ME!! (which I wrote all throughout the note as well :) I can be a bit obnoxious when I want to be!! ha!!)

And Wohoo!! last Monday she called! YAY!! Sure enough one of the “events” had gotten her attention so we are back in the loop again!!!  We had a Spa day yesterday which 9 girls attended and got pampered beyond belief.  My Teen couldn’t be there but she is interested in the upcoming Club we are having on Wednesday where we are taking pictures of the girls and their babies!  She also wants to bring a friend as well who has a 2 year old.  I am thinking, this is great!!! God is good!

We have talked several times and hopefully soon she will have her phone on again soon but in the meantime she has given me the times when I can get in touch with her via her Grandma’s phone and that yes she does want to still have me in her life which I am excited about.  From my own experience as a Mom I know that teenagers can be a bit flighty and change with the wind and I am hopeful the wind will blow in my direction for at least a little while.  I know the other women I am volunteering with have been praying for my situation and I am so thankful for that.

With the nice weather I am hoping my Teen mom and I can get together more and do fun things like play-dates at the park, hitting some yard sales, swimming, bar-b-ques etc.  She is a very sweet girl and a great mom and I am praying for the opportunity to really get to know her better, get beyond the niceties and fluff and who knows…..I am sure to learn something along the way!

So I leave you feeling hopeful!

Enjoy!

Grace

18 Apr 2009 Too Dirty to Ride in??
Author: admin |  Category: Day to Day Family, Stay at home moms  | Tags: , , ,  | One Comment

Hi all, feeling good today, was simply wiped out this week and that is why I haven’t posted much but I am firing on all cylinders today which is lovely! And it’s time to re-visit something from an earlier post ….Surgery day is finally here

I don’t know if you remember but back on the morning of surgery my dad wouldn’t ride in my car as he said it was “Disgusting” and I quote. It took me a week and two more trips across the pass but I finally washed it!

I am writing this to ask the following questions…

  1. “Has your car ever been dirty?”
  2. “In mid-late winter has it been just too cold to deal with it?” and finally:
  3. “Since you are going across a mountain pass did you feel like it might be pointless to wash it as it would just get dirty again?”

All valid questions as I am sure you will agree. :P Well, here is the hard evidence and all I can say is “WHAT?!!” (So, I am just not about what my car looks like… This one sits in the garage until I have to go somewhere far, far away!)

It's not THAT bad!

It's not THAT bad!

OK, so it needs vacuumed out!

OK, so it needs vacuumed out!

What????

What????

So, give it to me straight and let me know if you agree with my dad, was it just “disgusting” and an “embarrassment” to be seen in? (It’s OK, I am so over it that I can take it all in :) ) On this particular day I found the entire cleaning process very therapeutic as the whole thing with my dad has been very intense and tiring! And I have to say my car does look nice when it is all clean and shiny! But in real life I just don’t have two plus hours to dedicate to washing my car! (I usually run through one of those drive through places.) My daughter had a blast helping me clean it, she played in the boot (that would be trunk for all the yanks out there!) while I was vacuuming and cleaning out the inside.

Oh! So that's what color it is!!!!!

Oh! So that's what color it is!!!!!

For the moment my car is still clean but as I have several more trips across said mountain pass I am sure it will need another wash before I am through…sigh…

Go on, go look at your car….is it clean?
Cheers!
Grace

15 Apr 2009 10 Pressures about being a Stay at Home Mom:
Author: admin |  Category: Stay at home moms  | Tags: , , , ,  | 2 Comments

While it is truly a gift to be home raising kids sometimes there are difficulties and pressures in being a Stay at Home Mom, here’s my list:

  1. That since you are home all day you have time to do all these extra things!… NOT!
  2. Keeping on and creating a budget.
  3. Balancing between “work” (whether you work from home or it is just taking care of house, laundry, ironing etc.!) and fun with the kids.
  4. Keeping my house clean, we are in it all day everyday and it is more of a challenge than when I was working outside the home!
  5. Being a good at multitasking, there are always lots of interruptions during the day! :)
  6. Some days go by without a single adult conversation.
  7. Finding a little time in the day for “me” time.
  8. Feeling appreciated by your spouse for the things you do around the home and for your family, this is a biggie as I think #1 comes into play and there is the thought “You have lots of time to do this and this and wait how about this!” and the things you do can become expected of you rather than appreciated.
  9. Feeling a bit isolated being at home all the time. (Sometimes it’s difficult to connect with other moms that stay at home too!)
  10. Trying to be a good mom!

There are more I am sure but these were some things that came to mind today (tomorrow there might be a different list :) ) Let me know what some of the pressures you’re feeling about being a Stay at Home mom!

Go hug your kids and enjoy the day…
Cheers!
Grace

13 Apr 2009 Hip Replacement surgery; 2 Weeks out
Author: admin |  Category: Day to Day Family, Health and Fitness  | Tags: , , ,  | Leave a Comment

Today marks 2 weeks out from Hip Replacement surgery for my Dad. My family and I went over to see him this past weekend, since it was Easter weekend I thought it would be nice for all of us to go. We arrived just after the dinner hour on Friday night and my dad looked just great! Sat in his wheel chair he was chatty and looked very well.

I hadn’t seem him since Monday and the change and improvement both in his physical and mental state was quite apparent. He seemed much more with it and was in a pretty good mood. Last weekend he was having a bit of difficulty joining the dots I think mostly due to all the medication he is on.  He really seemed much better this time which I am very happy about.  He has been doing great with physical therapy and is moving much better and needs less assistance to do some of the regular things like going to the bathroom and such. He wheels around in his wheelchair to the dining room for his meals all by himself now and has been enjoying the company of his fellow residents.

Enjoying the Easter Egg Hunt

Enjoying the Easter Egg Hunt

They took off his bandage on Saturday and his wound is healing nicely, there is still some bruising but nothing like it was. I had a chance to speak to the Physical Therapist on Saturday about Dad’s recovery and she indicated he was doing really well and making marked improvement.  I had noticed they had posted a sign up in Dad’s room about his “hip precautions” the things he can and cannot do.  I asked her about that, she said it was probably to help him remember and also possible he had been over-doing it and to remind him to behave!

I was able to spend some time alone with him on Saturday while my family did some shopping and such which was nice, we had lunch together and I met a couple of the people staying there that he had gotten to know.  It is amazing the life stories you hear in a nursing home.  The older generation have a lot to share and I think we sometimes forget to take time to ask questions when we have the opportunity to do so.  I know my Dad loves to talk about childhood memories and relatives I never knew, his college days, being in the army, and even the work he did and it’s all very fascinating.

My husband and daughter joined us later in the afternoon as they were having an Easter Egg hunt which she enjoyed immensely and we came back again on Sunday for a wonderful Easter brunch they were having for all the residents.

Opening all the eggs, she even found a Golden one

Opening all the eggs, she even found a Golden one

My Dad has been enjoying the food (he is definitely one of those guys that the way to his heart is through his stomach :) ) and all the attention he has been getting while recovering.  The people that work there are just great and many of the folks there have asked him if he has considered moving in.  The nursing home he is recovering in is attached to a big senior residence that has apartments etc and he actually has a few friends that have been living there since it opened about a year ago.  Having the nursing home attached allows married couples to stay together if one spouse gets ill and the other can no longer care for them.

So, I will be heading back over again when the weekend gets here to see how he is progressing.  He is supposed to be there for 20 days but it could end up being more due to the “hip precautions” he has in place.  He cannot move past 80 degrees while sitting, he cannot put more than 30% of his weight on that leg, he cannot cross his lets or rotate his hip.  The one that concerns us is where he cannot put more than 30% of his weight on that leg as this means they will not allow him to go up or down stairs and he has two sets of stairs in his house and the bedroom and bathrooms are not on the main floor.  He also lives alone.  We are there, my sisters and I, for a bit of time but generally he is on his own so they may recommend he stays put a while longer.

Easter Sunday, showing Poppop her new Clifford Dog from the thrift shopping trip!

Easter Sunday, showing Poppop her new Clifford Dog from the thrift shopping trip!

Overall he is very happy with the whole experience, he feels pretty good and is kicking himself a bit that he didn’t do the surgery a long time ago.  My dad is a very hard sell on things and for him to say that is just great.  I am hoping he will be able to play golf sooner rather than later.

We had a nice weekend both spending time with Dad and being able to do a few things on our own.  I am pooped out but home now to catch up on everything….including sleep I hope!

Thanks to all our friends and family for their prayers, we aren’t at the finish line yet so do keep praying!

Grace

10 Apr 2009 Reflecting on Good Friday and what Jesus has done for us….
Author: admin |  Category: Christianity and Family  | Tags: , , ,  | One Comment

Today is a day that we mourn the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, we remember the passion and what he did for us as believers. This holiday more than any other should be remembered and celebrated for what God did for us that we could have a relationship with Him, that all our sins have been washed in the blood of the Lamb who was slain! It makes me cry just to think about how He was beaten and bruised for us, He was innocent but He was obedient to the Father and died for us.

We can look forward to a day of celebration knowing that Easter Sunday He rose again and is forever seated at the right hand of God interceding for us every day! How awesome is that? Way to much for my mind to get a hold of but in that I have hope, hope for my family and all the people I love and even hope for me that Jesus loves even me and cares about my life and my family.

I am soooooooo thankful everyday for His love and forgiveness and that He did willingly die so my sins could be washed away and for His grace and His mercy which are new every day!

If you’re reading this and wondering about where I am coming from, go to church, pick up a Bible!  Check it out for yourself, I am sure there are many close to you that pray for you every day and you don’t even know it! :) This is a verse I used to to say to my husband before he became a Christian and it’s so true!

1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV)18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

And if you’re thinking hey, how do I accept the Lord Jesus as my Savior then a good starting point is understanding the free gift of God is His son Jesus:  John 3:16 (NIV) “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Then believing God loves you and that He gave His Son as a sacrifice for all you have done wrong and for all your sins, admitting you have sinned (this can be the hardest part!) and asking for forgiveness for your sins by repenting of your sins (to repent means to turn and go the other way! to turn from your sinful life) and believing Jesus died for you and that he rose again. Once you have done this you are on the right road and need to find a good Bible preaching church and put your life in God’s hands and He will guide you.  Sometimes it can be a radical life changing moment and sometimes it’s a process and as long as you believe and keep your eyes on God he will lead you.

Lots of people will head to churches all over this weekend that don’t normally attend and I pray that the Easter message will touch the hearts of all those who hear! He has risen! He has risen indeed!

God is good ALL the time! and All the time God is GOOD!

Have a blessed weekend!
Grace

09 Apr 2009 Amongst the Craziness of Life & Teen grades, a Tea Party!
Author: admin |  Category: Day to Day Family, Stay at home moms  | Tags: , , ,  | One Comment

Whew! all I can say is the last two weeks have been crazy what with my dad’s surgery and me out of town for days at a time, the light at the end of that tunnel is not even in view yet! When I am actually home all the “home” things that didn’t get done need to get done in an itty bitty window of time! (And really I have trouble getting some of it done in the regular window of daily life! :) )

So, this week I am home Tues-Fri and off again Friday to see dad and I have been trying to “catch up” on everything as well as have some fun with my daughter along the way. Yesterday we made our first stepping stone for the garden and I caught up on my ironing (there always seems to be 87 dress shirts that my husband needs ironed for work!). Laundry, dishes, and weeding were also some of the highlights!  Right now she is at pre-school and I am obviously writing to you and after I pick her up I need to iron her dress (because I forgot to yesterday in the sea of shirts!) and we are off to a Tea Party with a friend of my husbands from work. Her grandkids are in town and so we got invited for a play date/tea party which my daughter has been talking about all week!  These are the fun things amongst all the craziness of errands and housework and just being a mom, wife, and woman!

Meanwhile when all this is going on I find out my son is getting two F’s in school and is not allowed to play baseball!  His dad, step-dad and I are just fit to be tied!  (again….still???) The keyboard has now left the building…..no computer of any kind until some improvement has been made.  The laughable thing is he is getting these in Art and PE, what is that all about?  I just had that feeling that I should get on line and take a peek at the new trimester which started two weeks ago or so… He is actually doing pretty good in the other classes, Math – C, Social Studies – C+, and in English the boy is actually getting an A so far!  He ended up so poorly at the end of the last trimester he was on probation for sports and now since he is getting two F’s he cannot play until those grades come up.  My ex had to call his mom and dad and say “Don’t bother to go to the baseball game as your grandson isn’t playing….”  That didn’t make him a happy camper!

And I have quite frankly had it with the whole attitude thing! When is this young man going to realize it just isn’t working for him?  That being the class clown isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!  sigh….

Well today is a new day and the sun is shining and soon we will be off to have tea with the little people in our lives, how much fun does that sound? Lovely!!  So, I guess with that in mind there will be time later to deal with the unpleasantness of bad grades and attitude and my dirty floors!

Keeping my chin up!

Grace

08 Apr 2009 10 Great Things about being a Stay at Home Mom
Author: admin |  Category: Stay at home moms  | Tags: , , , , ,  | 2 Comments
  1. Being able to be home with my kids, they grow up so fast!
  2. Having the flexibility to go to school events without asking permission from a boss!
  3. Being able to be part of groups like MOPS (Mothers of Pre-schoolers!)
  4. I can stay in my jammies alllllll day if I want to :)
  5. Getting to do things with other SAHM and their kids like playdates, getting together for coffee …just being my own boss!

  6. Being able to plan my day according to my schedule.
  7. Having morning cuddles in bed for just as long as we want to!
  8. Getting hugs and loves on and off all day from my little one (it’s the best!)
  9. Being able to do little things around my house, decorate, paint etc which I enjoy
  10. Having the flexibility to help in my daughter’s pre-school class when I want to.

There are so many many more reasons but there are a few of the ones I came up with.  What are you top ten things you like about being a Stay at Home Mom?

Go on, go do something fun with your kids! (We are making stepping stones today!)
Cheers!
Grace

07 Apr 2009 My daughter wants a tattoo….part 3
Author: admin |  Category: Day to Day Family, Stay at home moms  | Tags: , ,  | 2 Comments

Okay!!! One fun thing I got to do last week amongst all the hospital stuff is go with my oldest daughter to get her tattoo finished! Poor thing, she was so nervous as she wasn’t very well after her first sitting and was worried about how it would all go. She ended up with the flu or something the Monday after her first appointment so that may have had something to do with how she did, I really don’t know!

Where we left off!

Where we left off!

This time it was just the two of us (which I think is better :) ) and I told her she’d do just fine, just concentrate, get in the zone and be tough! She really did great! It only took an hour for him to finish it and as he was just getting over being sick with the flu the previous week so he was just tattooing and not chatting too much which was good I think.

Doing great, hardly seemed to bother her this time!

Doing great, hardly seemed to bother her this time!

She was just so excited to get it done, very pleased with how it looks and because it went so well…..maybe another someday down the line! And for me, it was just fun to be a part of it, so often kids do these kinds of things on their own or with friends and come home and say….”Look what I did!”

All done! Looks great!

All done! Looks great!

So, now that it’s all done let us know what you think!
Enjoy the beautiful sunshine today. Cheers!
Grace

06 Apr 2009 The road to recovery… hip replacement
Author: admin |  Category: Day to Day Family, Health and Fitness  | Tags: , ,  | 2 Comments

Sorry I have been absent!  Been back over with my dad since Friday, I took my youngest with me so she could see my sister as well as my Dad and gave Daddy the weekend off! My Dad is doing better I think although it is kind of hard to tell sometimes.  He is currently in a recovery facility/nursing home which is very nice. All the people I met there were wonderful and seemed to just want to help!

He is still very medicated for pain and the like so he is a bit dazed if you get my drift!  He had a couple of interesting nights where he couldn’t find the call button for the nurse to come which he wasn’t happy about and he got up out of bed by himself which is a big no no! (I’m still freaking out about that!)

My daughter was just a peach, on her best behavior, we stopped by Friday night for just a little while and my sister left with us to get something to eat.  She was ready to head out as she had been putting in 12-14 hour days for the last couple of days and was ready for a break as it is all pretty intense.  I went over for her as much as for my dad!  Because sometimes he just isn’t very nice! We stopped and got a bottle of wine and stayed up talking until 2:00 in the morning! :)

On Saturday we got up and around and got to the nursing home about 10:30 or so and dad had had a bad night ( as I mentioned above!!) he didn’t get a lot of sleep which is just hard as they have to come in and check on you and give you medicine etc but he had a good breakfast and acted glad to see us.  We stayed until about 4:00 which was a long day for my four year old but she did just great and I kept her occupied when she got a little antsy. They keep dad pretty busy with physical therapy and the like and we were able to have a nice lunch with him.  He had some friends stop by as well.

After we left, we headed to Goodwill to do some shopping and decompress and then went out for a nice meal……then home to collapse!  Up again on Sunday, we decided to both drive so I could leave if needed as I didn’t think my daughter would last through another big day, the newness would have worn off.  We got to watch him do his physical therapy again and were a bit embarrassed at some of the comments he makes to the PT gals!  Sometimes he just isn’t very nice!! (have I said that before?)

Again we all left for a bit of a break and to let Dad rest.  We hit some stores near by just to have a break then we went back.  My sister went back in to see Dad again as she was leaving for Florida today and wanted to spend more time with him and say her goodbyes and I left with my daughter to go home and wash my car (Did I mention my dad wouldn’t let me drive him in it to the hospital cos it was dirty…..what is that all about?!) so I went home and gave it a wash…..(possibly more on this later!)

Today we just cleaned up dad’s house a bit and got ready to go home, I had to take my sister to the airport, then we stopped to see Dad before heading home ourselves.  It has been a good weekend but very intense!!!! We will have to make a couple more trips over during the next few weekends and then my other sister is flying in on the 21st of the month.

It will be interesting to see how his recovery goes.  We found out that they will not let him go home until he can manage on his own.  He lives by himself and has stairs in his house and doesn’t have anyone full time to care for him so he may have to stay longer we just don’t know at this point.  I am glad he can’t just go home and that they are going to be looking after his best interest but I know that he won’t be happy about that!

So, he is on the road to recovery but it is going to be a long one I think, I hope he behaves himself and does what they tell him as I don’t want him to hurt himself and upset the whole process of recovery.  And I will worry while we aren’t there but I think he is in good hands…..he just needs to behave! behave! behave!!!!!!

Weary from the “road”

Grace

03 Apr 2009 Our works of Art!
Author: admin |  Category: Day to Day Family, Stay at home moms  | Tags: , ,  | Leave a Comment

I am finally getting an opportunity to share about and show your our finished artwork from my daughter’s birthday! We got them back last week but I have had so much to talk about I am just getting an opportunity to post this today.

We went to a little place in town called “Hands on Art” and did ceramics rather than the traditional kiddy party. Our little one did a tile and so I bought a frame of sorts and we can hang it up or use it as a trivet….I will probably opt for hanging it up. They turned out so cute I want to display them rather than use them at least for to start with :) .

A picture of her dad! How cute is that?

A picture of her dad! How cute is that?

When we picked them up my daughter was all set to do more, it is very fun but a little on the spendy side, something to save for special occasions or a special gift for someone but definitely something we will do again!

My daughter's four year old hands!!

My daughter's four year old hands!!

It was a great family thing to do together, next time my oldest wants to come too! Who knows we may get the whole family doing this!

Cheers!
Grace

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