Interesting Guest

We had an interesting guest today! He is HUGE, hairy and has 8 legs! Yes, a taranchula!!! I got really worried because how long has he been out there? Is it a male or female? Are there any babies? What about the kids? Can they get into the house? What????? (The person in this picture is no one we know).

My son was outside playing basketball. As he bends down to pick up the ball, there was our little hairy guest. He had come from behind the air conditioning unit. By the time my son manage to get my attention, and by the time I managed to get the kids settled before going outside, he was on the other side of the yard trying to hide behind a dandelion weed. He was absolutely HUGE!! Obviously an adult one.

I got a plastic bowl and a lid. Then I used the rake to move him away from the wall. As I moved him away, he would raise his rear end up and released some clear fluid. I finally managed to put the bowl over him. Once he climbed up on the side of the bowl, I slid the top of the bowl underneath it. We punched holes in the lid so he can breathe.

I called the exterminator and left a message. I don't want to kill the creature, but I certainly don't want him here!...lol. Hope I don't have nightmares about him tonight!!

Uplift to My Day

My mechanic is such a sweetie! (The car in this picture is not my car, but mine looks like this but it's white).

Friday, I took my 17 year old for his drivers license test. Unfortuately, I forgot about the crack in the windshield and that the horn did not work. Yes, we were extremely disappointed. Before the disappointment settled in, I started brainstorming with my son for our next strategy.

Upon arriving home, I called my mechanic, yes, the wonderful who got my car running again :). There were a few other small things that needed to be fixed as well i.e. get another battery, check the oil leak & do an oil change and put the rubber strip back on the passenger side door....in addition to the horn and the replacing the windshield. He said to bring it in on saturday and the car was ready on sunday! A windshield alone should cost about $220.00. He charged me that for everything.... :). I am so thrilled!

Unfortunately, DMV has not more appointments until next month. So, it will be awhile before my son can take his test. We thought about going to another location, but they are all so far away. We decided to schedule it then keep checking for a cancellation. I had to get a money order so I can pick it up to today :)>

Monday Blah

Though my allergies are getting better, today is soooo monday.

I've been pretty sick all weekend. I pretty much laid in bed and only got up to take care of my grandson. He too has been going through some form of illness. We have had to give him asthma treatments on his nebulizer several times a day. At night, he would be fine. His appetite is still good.

I've continued my supplements with decongestants. It has gotten better. I think part of my illness was that of being so tired. Sometimes we push ourselves with the intention of getting our daily routines completed, not realizing, we really need to stop and get some rest. I tend to do this all the time. As long as I am feeling pretty much "ok", I just keep going. It's not until I stop at the end of maybe 3 weeks that I realize how tired I am.

Well, update on the new child who is no longer in the daycare. On friday morning, when I went to pick him up, I was prepared to let his mom know that she could not bring him back until she took him to the doctor. His nose was running thick.

Instead, she told me how her mother had had an alcoholic breakdown and, as a result, wanted her and the child out of the house by end of the day. That meant, she had to find a place to for her and her son to stay. She had a friend in mind who lives in the next city. When I returned to bring her son back, with all his belongings, at the end of the day, she confirmed and removed him.

She realized she shouldn't have encouraged her mother to drink alcohol knowing she has a history of alcoholism They played a game called "Chugga-lug" a few weeks prior. Later, for her mother's birthday, she took her to a motel with LOTS of alcohol and strippers. The breakdown occurred a few days later. She said to me, "I guess taking her out for her birthday wasn't a good idea." I said to her, "Well, you didn't know she would respond this way." She said, "Yeah, I kinda did." That was when she explained about the alcohol history.

Every family has its dysfunction. My family definitely has its share.

Time for New Dosage

Well, my morning regime of lemon tea, supplements and decongestant has worn off. I am feeling quite fatigue and sleepy. I can feel the congestion building up again. The day did not go quite as I anticipated. My grandson has been fussy today. I don't think he feels too good. He's been coughing a bit. It's also possible he is teething. The daycare kids behaved very well, so that was a help. They have been coughing too.

I kind of think we are all coughing because I recently signed up a new 2 1/2 year old boy whose mom doesn't want to provide him with his second set of immunizations. His nose runs constantly. She claims he was a lot worse and that he is at the tail end of his illness. I didn't think too much of it because I do have an allergy child whose nose will do that and none of the other kids have gotten sick.

This mom says she is afraid to provide him with the immunizations because there is research that supports that some children turn autistic as a result of immunizations. I called licensing and they said this is true and there are tons of parents that do this. There is actually a affidavit for the parents to sign and to allow the kids to be enrolled.

So, I spoke with the mom and let her know that I spoke with licensing. I informed her that, for the sake of the other kids in the daycare, she needs to take her son to the doctor just to have him checked and to make sure he is not contagious.

Unfortuately, I think, if he is contagious, the damage is done. Fortunately, he only come three days per week.

Video Games

As you can see in my last entry, I posted a pic of a video game system (however old it looks). As I searched for a decent picture o f a video games, I was totally shocked at the violence these games portray for our children! :0.

As I mentioned, I am an extremely anti-violent parent. "I" choose the games for my children. They get a lot of sports and racing games. Yes, they get bored but that's a good thing because it will discourage them from playing for long periods of time. I limit the number of days per week and the number of hours per session.

When you think about it, kids are playing these games for hours and hours! What is the effect on their subconscious in terms of violence? Some of these games literally mimic blood, shooting with ALL kinds of guns and cutting with blades, swords and knives. Some use aliens or space equipment, yet some use human beings. Doesn't matter, it is still violence!! Some of the figures are down right satanic!!

One might say, "It's just a game." I believe anything used in excess can have a significant effect on one's behavior. It's like desensitizing the brain. If you see it or do it enough, it means nothing to the person. Some of these kids are very, very young. The actions in these games comes out in their play i.e. shooting, stabbing, explosions, etc.

It seems we have gone from the violence of cowboys and indians and army soldiers to high tech slauder!!! Younger children can be totally effected by this madness i.e. nightmares, behavior, monsters, etc. Older kids have enough to deal with trying to figure themselves out during teenhood. Teenagers tend to go through a whole lot of emotional transitions. Video games seem to influence anger in teenagers.

It's like when you go to a movie that takes place in New York. If the movie makes you feel good, warm and fuzzy, you almost want to go to New York and be in the place, at a minimum you would want to watch the movie again.

How do kids feel when they walk away from these video games? Does their state of mind, prior to playing the game, effect how they feel as well? Maybe I'm just being a mom, but I don't think so....Hmmmm....interesting

The Weather

By the end of the day yesterday, I felt just awful. I organized the kids and got them squared away. They did very well.

My 10 year old was extremely well behaved today...quite usual. He did ALL of his homework in a very focused manner, had his snack and went in the backyard to play basketball. His 2 year old sister behaved well as well. She is learning to follow instructions much better and learning to be much less violent...lol! I had both of them late night.

When my boys got home, my 17 year old played video games with the 10 year old. I am super anti-violent and I limit their time on the video games. It went well. The 2 year old, I gave her some toys and put her in the playpen so that I can bathe by grandson. After bathing my grandson, I also gave him to my 17 year old. My goal was to get them all in a safe place so that I could take a hot bath.

It's been a long time since I was able to take a "relaxing" hot bath. If I am not organzied enough, I have to rush my bath which totally defeats the purpose. I come out clean, but stressed out.

Once I got out of the tub, I set up the vaporizor, took some supplements, a decongestant, made some lemon hot tea and pulled out the heating pad. My grandson fell asleep just before the 10 and 2 year old went home. Once they were gone, I scooped my grandson up and put him in his bed, then crawled into mine with the heating pad. It felt sooooo goood!!

This morning, I did feel my symptoms, but I did feel better. It's hard to explain. The congestion was there, but mildly. I'm thinking the supplements, vaporizor, etc. kept things to a minimum. I'm one of the millions of folks with no medical insurance. I'm really hoping to turn this around. I can go to the clinic, but they seem so limited and costly.

Today should be an easy day. Only have two, well-behaved little boys and my grandson. I think today, while they nap, I will lay down. I won't sleep, but I will rest.

Moving On

I would like to thank you all for your comments and your honesty regarding my situation with this man. It was really helpful and confirming to my own thoughts. I haven't heard from him. I'm sure somewhere down the line, I will begin to capture those good memories and want to call him. However, the more I think about his behavior and how he lied to me, the easier it gets to accept that I am done with him. As for today, I feel good about where I am with this issue. I feel like I made a good move because I did it for me.

Though I feel good emotionally, my allergies are a wee bit worse. I plan to stop by the drug store and pick up some Night Quil. That seems to work really well for me. During the day, I drink a lot of lemon tea to help my throat, chest and cough.

I will have a full house today of all my children. Being that my allergies are so present, the plan is to feed the kids first, then take them outside to play. The weather is supposed to be a bit cooler today. When I do it this way, it provides incentive for those little ones who take forever to chew their food...lol! They realize in order to go outside to play, they must finish their food...lol! Works really well

Follow Up to "Just a Question"

I had a conversation with this so-called friend of mine. I told him exactly how I feel and I can no longer pretend that I am ok with how things have been going. I told him I can not pretend anymore that I'm ok just because he apologized a few times.

He said he has been trying to "make it up" to me, but that's crap because that is what he use to say back in the day. He has told too may lies. He did admit that he did keep some information from me but he tried to belittle it by saying "That's neither here not there." In my opinion, it is "right here" because I was the one who he lied to. I was the one effected by his lies. I hope I am not whinning. If so, please forgive me. I am highly p***ed off, extremely angry! I felt no remorse as this conversation took place. I felt/feel he got what he deserved. I'm not the cussing type, but I was definitely forthcoming with my expressions to him.

In conclusion, I did not rehash all those issues. I simply told him, in order for me to be ok with him, I need him to confess his lies, to admit he lied and agree what he lied about. He asked, "How am I supposed to do that when I can't remember what issues you are talking about?" I told him, "Sorry, I can't help you with that."

I am to the point, if the friendship is lost, then so be it. When it comes a time that you think about a person and you get a very negative feeling in your gutt that grows and grows, it is time to let go. It feels very similar to when I was done with my ex. I worked on our marriage for 4 long years without his cooperation.

I think it wouldn't bother me so much if he wouldn't ask me to marry him. It's like he's using the proposal like a bandaide, a fix-all when, in actuality, open heart surgery is required.

Thanks for listening.

Movie Question

I just finished watching "Kiss the Girls" with Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd. Fascinating suspense movie. Love me some Morgan Freeman :)!

Anyway..... :), as a detective, of course, he made mention that the guy who was "collecting" the girls had killed two of them because they were "defiant" and the others he spared their lives because they were submissive. This man was attracted to intelligent, professional, beautiful women, but it was their submissiveness that he really liked because it allowed him to have that control, which Ashley Judd lacked as a doctor/martial artist.

My question is, if you found yourself in such a situation (I will not spell it out because it is not that serious), would you be fisty/deviant or would you be submissive/obedient? I found myself asking this question to me. I think I would be so scared, I wouldn't be able to think straight. I have no idea how to fight. If someone hit me, I'd probably drop to the floor!...unless it involved my children!!! So I'd probably be the submissive/obedient one.

Hmmm.... interesting.

Just a Question

I want to pose a question, yes it's a personal question that I would like other opinions on, but first I must explain how this all came to be. Please be patient.

I have a friend, an older man (13 years older than me) whom I have known for the past 13 years. I met him one year following my divorce. He was in the beginning phases of his divorce. We became very good friends, even to this day. At some point, feelings of friendship began to become twisted, yes "twisted", into feelings of romance that neither of us wanted.

At the time those twisted feelings arose for me, I brought it up to him. He refused to talk about it. I wrote him hand written letters (every single one he has kept, approx. 22 of them) and I sent him emails all of which he has also saved. My explanation was that of I did not want the relationship to go in that direction and that we needed to discuss it or I'd have to cut it off.

As time went on, we'd talk about it but not indepth. He preferred to let it take it's own course. I prefer to get an understanding to avoid confusion. He continued to skirt the issue. I began to pull away and distance from him. Then we'd talk a little and he would go back to skirting the issue. I might inform you also that he lived/lives the kind of lifestyle that he has access to all kinds of beautiful women, women that are more his type. Trust me when I say, he was out there chasing panties!

After doing this little game for approx 8 years!, I began to think something was wrong with me!! I went to counseling to get a non-biased voice, to stay focused and to cut him off. Out of that came an agreement to "try" to be friends. One year later, I moved about an hour away from him (a VERY good thing). My moving was the best thing I could have done!

For the past 6 years, I have pretty much cut him off with exception of occasionally getting together to talk or have dinner. This man has asked me to marry him 5 times! I believe it is because now he has retired on disability having had surgery to both knees. He has began to settle down and doesn't want to be alone. He has gone from an apartment to a room at his son's house. His son is usually not at home, travels a lot.

Question is.....Should I continue to let him ask me to marry him or should I bring all this madness back to the surface and make him face himself? I don't have those kinds of feelings for him, nor would his lifestyle work for me. I will admit, a large part of me is becoming quite annoyed because he wants to act as if he has no idea of where I stand. He wants to have selective amnesia. This, to me, is what sneeky men do. They try to get over by brushing issues under the rug. The more he does this, the more I don't want to talk to him. He keeps bringing the "us" up and, for me, there is no "us". In order to explain that to him, I'd have to address all these past issues. I have explained, in a nutshell, that I could never trust him. He wants the opportunity to "make it up to me." I'm just not there in that space.

Comments please!!!

Signs of Aging

This morning, as I looked in the mirror to wake up, I noticed, even more, the dark circles under my eyes. I also wear glasses which have left pressure scares as well. It seems the older I get, the more I will look like racoon! I have tried everything! Either it does nothing or I end up with hives all over my face!

I've thought of a few possible causes, besides simply getting old. One is that we live very, very close to an extremely large lake. Everyday, I am reminded that the lake is not the cleanest of lakes. The lake is a natural run off and hit is (was) HUGE. Apparently, many years ago, long before we moved here, the city has placed a dam somewhere and the lake hasn't been the same since. At one time the lake actually began to smell pretty bad, that was shortly before we moved here. To repair the problem, the city raised money to build a system that would provide the lake with "movement" so the water would not be stagant and no longer smell. All those little "specks" around the lake...those are houses! Well....that money was used to build our stadium. So, there you go.

Another possible reason for my racoon eyes is that of allergies which I have had all my life. The final possibility is that of lack of sleep which I pretty much have done all that I can to get as much as I can. I've created and maintained a system with my grandson to be as consistent as possible...which is going pretty well. The only two things that really soothe my eyes are 1) closing out the sun...horrible on my eyes! and 2) applying cold compresses as often as I can.

In conclusion, I believe...in addition to aging... these dark circles are due to allergies. My reason and plan for moving away from our previous location was that it was not a safe, constructive place to raise my kids. My youngest is a freshman in high school. The plan is to return to our previous city, but not the same location, when he graduates. Our plan has gone very well.

Apparently, the dark circles is one of the prices I am faced to pay. No fun:(.

My Birthday!

I had the most wonderful surprise last night from my daughter :). My birthday was this past friday, April 17th. I don't particularly acknowledge my birthday because I don't like all that attention. Well, my daughter surprised me with an India Aurie concert in San Diego and the House of Blues! It was absolutely awesome!

We started out by dressing up. She actually bought us outfits. Then we went to take portraits followed by dinner, chinese food and on to the concert. Most of our travel was by car and some was by the trolley. I had no idea any of this was going to happen...except that there was a surprise coming and that I was to follow instructions...lol!

India is such a high spirited, sophistacated, graceful lady. She sang with such richness and wisdom in her lyrics. And, she is fairly young! I really appreciated her style of singing considering the young people today and how they deliver i.e. their presentation from clothing to dancing to the message in their music.

We left feeling so good! We talked about it all the way home. It seemed to open up a side of her that I haven't seen in a very long time...*sniff. When we arrived home, the boys had babysat the my grandson, they had baked a chocolate cake for me! They immediately dragged me to the kitchen and sang happy birthday.

It is so nice to know you kids do love you at this age!...LOL!

Baby Did Really Good!

I took the chance and put my grandson in his own bed in my room. It went very, very well! He only woke up once :).

Poor baby, he is teething again. His bottom two teeth have come in and I think the top two are beginning to come down. So, he was just a wee bit irritable last night, but very playful. His mommie was home early evening and spent time with him before having to study, at which time she brought him to me. She put him in the bed in my room which is actually a play pen with a padded mattress for more comfort. He was not a happy trooper! So, quite naturally, Nana to the rescue as he made is discomfort known with all his baby babble...lol!

Being that he was a tad irritable, I thought I'd give him some dinner, a warm bath, a little tylenol and some warm milk. This seem to calm him significantly. After rolling around my king size bed for a while, very happy and gigglie, he fell into slumber at about 8:10 pm which is quite early for him. I let him sleep til 9 pm or so before attempting to wake him up with no success so I put him in the play pen. Very shortly afterwards, he woke up and played on my bed til 10:35 pm. He had become fussy and Nana had to rock him to sleep.

Yes, he slept all through the night in his own bed, only waking up once (not really waking up, just whimpered a bit). His Nana is quite proud of him :).

Lazy, Lazy, Lazy Today

The kids are having a very good day. Me? Well, the allergies have subsided, but I am still just as lethargic as I was this morning...lol. Fairly easy day today, so I'm not particularly bothered by it. These types of days become difficult when I have a houseful of children. Wednesdays and Fridays are those days, full house all day plus night children til 10:30 pm! Yes, makes for very long days with children. Yesterday wasn't too bad. The kids, though being "kids", did well...especially considering I couldn't take them outside during early afternoon or early evening due to the high winds and cool air. Perhaps, that is why I am the way I am today...:) I really don't think about the day before and its effects. Hmmmm.....

See blogging helps us solve even our own delimas!

Here Today...:)

I'm up and busy this morning. Not sure which direction I'm going in or where I'm going, but I'm here!...lol! Just one of those mornings. I believe this is what Ms. FFF referred to in one of her blog entries, lol! Sometimes, we feel like we are just existing, can't feel ourselves. I think it's funny to me now because, after reading Ms. FFF's blog and so many people responding to it, I now know, I'm not crazy!

I think some of what I'm feeling is the change in weather. Those high winds can kick up a lot of dust, in addition to it being Spring now. All the pollens are out there too. My eyes and ears are quite itchy. Just now took an allergy pill.

My plan is to take the day slow and easy. I will only have two daycare kids today. They are well behaved 3 year old little boys. My grandson is in much better spirits today as well. So, we will see what the day will hold for these 3 little boys..:)

One of the Great Advantages of the Wind

I have always loved hanging clothes on the line. Back when my kids were very, very young and through elementary school, I hung ALL the clothes on the line. All four of my kids wore cloth diapers. Now my grandson is wearing them. Both my kids and my grandson are quite sensitive to disposable diapers.

Love the way they smell once they are dry!

Yesterday's Wind Storm

I wanted to blog this event yesterday, but I didn't have the brain cells...lol. The weather has changed from nice, comfortable, warm sunshine to strong, fast winds and dark skies. Upon picking up her child, one of my parents told me there was a sand storm coming in from another county.

Our city is spread out and surrounded by mountains, so we wouldn't necessarily get a sand storm per se. We have a lot of very large open areas. Sometimes we do see small sand

tornados where the wind will literally take the dirt up into a small tornado, about maybe 10 stories high....nothing major.

Yesterday the winds were so strong and moving so fast, I decided to take the cover off our brand new gazebo. It seemed to be under significant distress.

Today, the sun is back and the skies are beautifully clear, but the wind is still blowing. It's not as strong, but it is definitely noticeable!

Making Progress

My grandson is doing pretty good with sleeping in his own bed. On monday and tuesday nights, his mom (my daughter) is off work. She has been putting him in his bed (in her room) which he stays in most of the night. Yesterday evening, when he took his evening nap, she put him in the bed in my room. He slept for about 40 mins or so. When he woke up, I purposely let him stay there until he showed discomfort. He played for another 15 or so mins before beginning to whimper.

He is also beginning to scramble across the floor, lol! This stage is so cute. Last night, he actually made 3 crawls on all fours. He did it again this morning. It is truly a blessing to see him developing so well.

Interesting Comments

Thank you ladies for your comments to yesterday's blog. I really am ok. I look back and realize how far I've come. I just ponder a lot. I am a thinker and I love to hear the comments of other people. We are all so different yet, very much the same. We can teach each other alot from out own experiences. We know where we've come from, but often times, we don't know what's up ahead. We may find ourselves in the same or similar situations. Besides, if we don't share our thoughts or experiences, we become isolated possibly depressed which makes for more isolation.

Even now, though I am quite happy with my life (now that so much of it has settled down), I spend most of my time with children or alone. Reaching out to the blog, has helped me tremendously. For that I am grateful.

Life So Interesting

Relationships between man and woman are so interesting. How do some become so successful while others totally fail? Yes, I do know some of us have some severe baggage, but I've seen even those relationships make it through for years, very strongly.

My marriage didn't make it. Both of us, myself and my ex, look back and laugh. He said, "If I had just acted right, we'd still be together." I fought for him for 4 years! How long should I have stayed in that battle, that war? I had my share of faults as no one is perfect. Apparently, he was doing some things I was not aware of...I never wanted to know. What does it really take for a marriage to make it?

I know couples who have been married for 40 years and they know infidelity has occurred (and may still be occurring) yet they stay together. They sleep in separate rooms and have separate lives. It's like a divorce without the legal process. What happens when the people in the relationships change? How does that get handled? What is the effect on the trust in the marriage?

Today

I think I have had more support and more friends on the blogsphere than in my own neighborhood. You all have been really great and so very interesting.

Well,

I did try to put my grandson in his own bed. He woke 4 times and I felt horrible for him. The final time, I put him in my bed. By then he seemed almost traumatized. He keep putting his head up to look at me in the shadows of the night. Then he would feel my face with his hand, a couple of times, as if to make sure it was Nana laying there beside him. After expressing his dissatisfaction by crying and babbling, he finally fell into a sound, peaceful sleep.

Not sure if I should try it again. I'm thinking maybe put him in that particular bed on the weekdends to allow him to gradually get use to being in it....thanks Polly :). Babies can be sensitive to scents and sounds in their surroundings. Change in smaller steps would be better for him.

Just Read

I read a blog today that spoke of life phases at age 50, then someone responded to a similar stage at age 60. I guess with my own "phases" that I go through now, I am not looking forward to age 50 and 60. I'm just about 50. I've been struggling quite a bit. I always thought something was wrong with me.

It helps a little to know that I'm not the only one, but I was hoping it was temporary because of some major, stressful events in my life. Of course, it makes sense that as we get older, our bodies go through different changes, especially hormonal, both men and women. I guess I never thought about it like that....actually, I haven't thought about it at all.

Thank You!

Thank you all for your comments regarding the pictures of the daycare :). I appreciate your support. It was soooo much fun to do, both the arranging the yard with my friend and taking the pictures for the first time.

Nana Chicken

Well,

I got chicken. I couldn't do it. My grandson has been sleeping with me still. I wasn't ready to let him be alone in another room. I think I would be ok if his bed were in my room. I will give it a try this weekend coming so that if he wakes up, I can tend to him and get a little rest myself. Thanks Polly for your encouragement! :)

Becoming a Geek!

I am so excited! I finally bought me a digital camera, bringing myself totally into the year 2009! Lol! I thought it would be really complicated to learn and it was absolutely simple!

I took my first pics, plugged the little thing into the computer, it opened itself and I clicked/dragged them to the file (that my son made for me). How fun! Here are a few pictures of the backyard as my neighbor arranged it.

Baby's New Sleeping Schedule

Well, I think it's time to start training my grandson to sleep in his own bed. I was watching a program called "A Place of Our Own" and they provided some cool tips on transitioning a baby to his own bed and to sleeping through the night. It really made sense. Apparently, as the baby's needs change from nutrition to dependence, we have to help him/her to be "ok" with sleeping through the night.

They mentioned putting the baby in the crib while he/she is awake, providing the baby with a transitional item i.e. blankie, pacifier, teady bear, kissing/cuddling just before putting them in the crib, then leaving them. The baby may fuss a bit for the first few nights, but it is suppose to be a relatively quick learning process. If the baby wakes up during the night, DO NOT pick him/her up. Rather, give them their transitional object, pat their back or rock their rear end gently til they are on their way back to sleep.

What I like about what this Ph.D. said, is that it teaches the baby to be have to take care of him/herself. It teaches them a routine so that they know what to do. It works better for everyone i.e. the parents/grandparents, any siblings that might be in the room, and, most of all, the baby.

I am huge on having a routine with kids. It really helps their behavior when they know what to expect or what to do. In fact, I think kids actually look for boundaries and limitations to be set for them. They are constantly learning. Of course, they will always need, want and deserve out love and affection, but it really helps them to know how to handle themselves. Providing them with coping mechanisms and tools can actually make their future developmental milestones a LOT easier!...preschool, elementary school, high school, etc.

Much Appreciation

Good Morning People,

I want to thank you for your encouraging posts yesterday. Both make very good points. My mother use to say, when you feel bad, get a good, good cry, then take a deep breath. Then put a cold towel on your face and keep moving. Crying can be a very good thing.

Awh, yes! The car has been an extremely exhausting task. Mechanics are constantly trying to rip people off, especially women. When I was married, we went through the whole rip off process with a transmission. It was replaced but fell apart again. When we went back to the same mechanic, he had closed up his shop and disappeared...that was after he had given us the run around & all kinds of excuses. Turns out, when we took him to court, there was a long, long line of people after him. We won by default, but we were told, more than likely, we'd never see our money. That was back in 1995. Apparently, he would close one shop and open another under a different name and had been doing it for many years. Definitely a good point about being exhausted from getting the car repaired.

The Past Few Days

The past few days have been quite emotional for myself. Feeling a bit heavy, a tad sad. Not sure why. All is going so very well in my life lately. Everything that I have been waiting for has finally began to show some progress, nice steady progress. Yesterday, and a little today, I was rather irritable and sensitive. Even little things made me want to cry...little silly things. I don't like pity parties and I felt like a whimp, like a huge baby. Most of the time I succeeded in concealing myself expression, other times, I ran to the bathroom to wheep a bit and exhale.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Good, Good News!

I finally got the tags for the car! :0 whaaaooooo! :) :) This car has been down since August of 2007, for those of you who are unfamiliar with my situation. I have been very blessed to recover from a long time of hardship during that phase of my life.

As you recall, I refused to give up and refused to be ripped off by theiving mechanics. This mechanic is such a sweetheart! When every other mechanic was telling me it was the "compression"...which they could not explain how it works or what causes it to break down, and that I needed a new engine, this mechanic took one exploration throughout the engine and was discusted with the lies that had been told to me.

I am fully up and running. My son, 3rd child, has his appointment to get his license this month. His being able to drive will help the household soooo much! He is really a good boy too! I totally trust him.

Excited Mom

It is monday and it feels like it. I do have a major treat this week and that is my oldest boy is home for Spring Break. I love it when I have all four of my children together. It is so nice to see them as young adults and really handling life pretty well.

When my oldest boy graduated from high school, he tried moving out "his" way a couple of ways. His dad and I discussed that he can explore and experiment a little before we decided to make some choices for him. Then it would be time for him to live with dad and develop his "manhood". Well, that plan happened rather quickly, about a year after graduation.

Since he has been living iwth thier dad, all has been going very well. He is a tall, good looking, smart young man. This is the first time I've been separated from him for a long period of time. As we mothers do, we are concerned and worried that they are ok until we see them again. I will have him for the whole week and I can finally exhale for a little while.

I always dread when it is time for him to go back to dad's. I always miss him so much and it just feels like he will be gone for so very long. It is a tough job for mom to let go and let her little children become young adults. Their dad reassures me frequently that he is doing well and tha the is keeping an eye on him.

A Better Baby's Bottom

Hooray!

The cloth diapers are making a difference already! His diaper rash is starting to clear up just that quick. He is not as fussy either :). Nana is so much happier for her grand baby. As I mentioned before, all four of my kids wore cloth diapers. Yes, it is a lot of work, but you do what's best for the baby, right? :). Personally, I think the cloth ones are much more comfortable for the baby.

We will probably use the disposable diapers at night and when we go out, just for convenience. Of course, if he still develops a rash, then that won't work either.

Maintaining the Flow

Good morning people. Yesterday went very, very well. Wednesdays are my first really busy day of the week. I have a school age boy that comes in from half day at school. He is usually quite restless. There is not much for him to do because the little ones are in the middle of napping.

Well, I found a puzzle that was perfect for him. It kept his attention the whole time. I plan to go to a thrift store and pick up some more puzzles. He really seemed to enjoy them. I try to keep the older kids away from video games. I know the games are quite popular for this generation. I have no problem with the games in moderation like on a friday evening.

After the littles ones got up from their nap, I took everyone outside in the backyard. The weather was perfect, sunshine with barely a breeze. Not too warm, not too cool. They played really hard. Just before coming back into the house in prep for snack (and dinner for the 3 that stayed til 10:30pm), I had them do relays! It was soooo cute!

When they came back into the house, of course, they washed up for eating. Afterwards, they barely even played. They were well behaved and fairly quiet! I have used this strategy over the years. It is obviously very effective....Lol!

When they finally settled in for the evening, they watched movies ever so quietly. Just wonderful!

Edumacation

I think I hurt my 17 year old son's feelings the other day. Often, when I pick up my boys from school, my 17 year old will excitely share his progress in his weights class...yes, lifting weights. Well, of course, I enjoy encouraging him and being happy for his progress. However, if he would put forth the same, or close to the same, effort with his academic courses, could he make a little better progress in those areas?

Ok, ok...I'm being mom. Kids have to learn that life itself is not going to be easy. In fact, it gets harder and harder with each passing generation. School is an excellent place to learn to push oneself and to develop coping strategies that can be carried throughout their lives.

As my mom and grandma mema would tell us, "You may not understand what I'm telling now, but you will understand when you get older." How many times have I recalled those words of my elders since I've been grown and raising my own children.

Of my four children, those words have returned to me via my two oldest ones, my daughter age 21 and my oldest son age 19. I must admit, it is a relief to hear it! Means they were actually listening all those years of repeating myself over and over again! I love it.....Must be doing something right :).

Thanks Mama and Mema <3

Problem with Fast Food

Is this what our eating habits have come to? It's one thing if one can't help ones weight due to a condition that is out of their control with exception of medical attention. This is scary. What must there bodies be going through in order to support their weight? Look at how tiny thier feet are in proportion to thier bodies....Wow!

Just a Little Solemn

Good morning fellow bloggers. I'm just a tad concerned bout my grandbaby. He has developed a diaper rash. I think it is the diapers. We use Huggies and Pampers. When my children were young like him, they did the same thing. I switched to cloth diapers and it made a huge difference. My daughter, his mom, is picking up some cloth diapers on her way home this evening.

At first, we were thinking it may be his food since he started on his first foods here recently, a few weeks ago. He isn't getting anything that is acidic except for the applesauce which has the vitamin C or ascobic acid. Other than that, he is eating rice cereal, mix cereal, green beans, sweet peas and carrots. We have rotated these few foods and want to slowly introduce him to more. He eats very well and seems to enjoy food! He has that honestly from generations prior!