Flowers, Pearls and a Dooney

It is has been a wonderful couple days. My hubby made it all so special. Thank you honey.

I just sat down to check the local weather. We really need rain. Everything is brown. The grass I planted is looking bad and I am even watering it. Maybe we should all do a silly rain dance in the back yard. Could work….

Today I am picking up around the house. Company be here tomorrow afternoon/night. I am looking forward to it! Should be lots of fun!

Well, I am going to chase O around the house and hear her squeal in delight!

Have a lovely day.

1~ HB
2~ H
3~ B
4~ O

Happy Anniversary To Us!!!

Happy Anniversary HB.
Know that I love you dearly
and everything has been perfect since we first met.
You are my one true love!!!
I look forward to many more years with you.
I love you,
M

Happy Birthday To Me

I plan on enjoying my day with my family.

1~To be 33.
2~To have this time with my family.
3~Sun shining.
4~There are no dirty dishes…..

What a lovely surprise/day.

The cook-out at my dads was really really nice. It was just what I needed….time with my family. My mamaw and great aunt were there too. We had hamburgers and hot-dogs. They had a pretty birthday cake for me. I cannot remember the last time someone gave me a birthday cake for my birthday. It has been a very long time. I came home with 12 yellow roses.

H & B2 are with their dad so the house is really quiet. I have been fighting off a headache all afternoon. I also have a very over flowing laundry basket to fold tonight.

Anyway….this Supermom is glad the weekend is over and looking forward to a new week.

I wish everyone a lovely week ahead of them.

1~The time I spent with my family today.
2~The wonderful cake and flowers.
3~The beautiful weather.

It’s going to be a hot summer I can tell….

I brought the fans upstairs from the basement and wiped them off and have them in their designated room. LOL

H’s sleepover went very well. I wouldn’t mind her coming back at all.

B2 has been the pesky little brother all day–showing off for the ‘new’ girl in the house I am sure.

HB has been been working on the deck most of the day.

I let Lil O swim in her pool and play.

I moved all my veggies into the sun more. I think they will enjoy it more. I love my little container veggie garden!

I am in the progress of waxing the wood floors. It’s been two years and they are looking rather dry. I didn’t do them last year because Lil O was just walking and all. So, when I get them all done—-Slip-N-Slide at my house everyone! LOL

It looks like I am going to have company next weekend. They are a couple I met on-line about 9 years ago. They wanted to get away and coming to my town. And of course staying here. So, this week I’ll have to pick up the Beaver Lake B & B. I have already started my grocery list. LOL I think we all will enjoy the adult company. I have a good time talking to the kids all day don’t get my wrong. But some adults I can talk with–play some board games–cards….things like that.

It will be fun for sure.

Today I reserved the pool for H’s 13th birthday party. Her first party with boys coming. I am sure my dad and BIL are going to make their life hard. The boys that is. I pity who talks to H while they are around. They both are good ole country boys who love to hunt and stuff. Those poor boys don’t have a chance. LOL That’s not until June 8th, so H has time to prepare them. We made up invitations today.

My birthday (5-29) is 3 days away. I really haven’t thought about turning one year older. I have been too busy to think about it. LOL My 3 year wedding anniversary (5-30) is 4 days away. I have his leather pants purchased and wrapped! ha ha Then my niece turns 2 on 5-31. My grandmother has a birthday 6-3, my husbands birthday 6-6, my sisters birthday 6-7, H’s 6-8, my other grandmother 6-17 and my uncle 6-25. BUSY TIME FOR ME!! Oh and I cannot forget Fathers Day in the middle of that.

Well, my day has been busy and I am looking forward to crawling into bed. Night Night

A couple more to the list:

1~ I am in a comfy gown.
2~ Clean sheets on my bed.
3~ H is having a great time with her company.
4~ O is playing quietly to herself.
5~ I get to crawl in bed next to my husband in a few.
6~ I was able to listen to “Focus on the Family” today. I really like the radio talk show!
7~ I was able to study a few verses in John today.
8~ We had a lovely cook-out and used the deck. Just the floor is up but that is all we needed.
9~ I have a chance to grow some great veggies in the back.
10~ I have the weekend to spend with my family.

Checking Off More

Found H the perfect 13th birthday present
Bought HB leather chaps for our anniversary next week…..joking
Found O a sweater

I did find HB an anniversary gift though :)

I have been trying to find O a light jacket or sweater for some time. Just because it is spring/summer doesn’t mean you don’t need a sweater sometimes. When you go out to eat you never know if you might need one. LOL

I found H a pretty present, which I won’t name just in case she reads my blog. But I will say IT IS NOT A CELL PHONE! Sorry honey!

Well, I better go chase away the chipmunks and think about feeding O.

I feel icky. I most definitely have a cold. I am feverish. My throat and ears hurt. I just feel BLAH!!!!!

And did I mention H is having her friend over for a sleep over. To answer a ? that someone asked. I agree, why call it a sleep over when they won’t be sleeping. I don’t care if they stay up just so I GET SOME SLEEP. I am funny that way.

I wish everyone a lovely weekend!

I'll name 6

Since I have forgotten…

1~ The sun is shining.
2~ Tomorrow is Friday.
3~ The makers of Halls Cough Drops.
4~ The clothes are folded and put away.
5~ I read my devotion for the day.
6~ All my family will be home soon.

Have a nice night

Today I am marking one thing off my list!

Painting the walls that lead into the basement

Then next week I can start on the steps.

I am waiting for somethings to dry then I am going to give everything a second coat! I am thrilled to have that done.

I hope that everyone found something they liked about the workbook I shared my notes on. I can re-read it and find something else I like.

HB has the floor done on the deck and it look fabulous!

B2 has a birthday party to go to tomorrow after school. They are taking the kids to see POTC 3. It comes out tomorrow and they bought the kids tickets. He will like it. I never watched the second one but I heard it was awful….. Orlando Bloom looks nice in it though…. LOL and of course Mr. Depp.

H wants to invite a girl over for a sleep over. I am debating. It would be no big deal. They can take care of themselves at that age. Just so I get some sleep, I really don’t mind.

I have been on plant patrol this morning. So far so good. No one is stealing them yet.

Well the phone is ringing–GTG.

Underline Part 3

The Workbook: What Every Mom Needs~Balancing Your Life
By: Elisa Morgan & Carol Kuykendall
With Bible Study Activites by Betty Hassler

~I left off at making a list of 10 things I want to do before I die. I am still working on that one. It may seem easy but I find it rather hard.

Tell Someone Else About Your Dream
Everyone needs a nudger.

All of us have great, untapped potential.

I’m a good mother, but I don’t want to discover someday that my kids are grown and I have nothing else in my life.

Brenda hunter writes: “When God gives you a dream, he will help you to realize it. It may take a year or a lifetime, but God planted that dream in your consciousness for a reason. God and you will make dreams become realities.

Week 4~ Intimacy~~Sometimes I Long To Be Understood.

Being understood by another helps me understand myself.

That One and Only Lonely Feeling
Keeping up with the kids isn’t the hardest part of mothering; it’s the loneliness.
Mothers of preschoolers overwhelmingly report that their greatest struggle is with loneliness, a feeling of being disconnected or isolated.

Intimacy is being understood, sometimes when you don’t even understand yourself.

Stumbling Blocks:
I’m too tired to be friendly.
Keeping up with the constant responsibility of putting meals on the table, cleaning up, and doing laundry, few of us have energy left over for friends. Moms are often too tired to relate well even with their husbands.

“A friend is a gift you give yourself.” Robert Louis Stevensons

Ask. Listen. Act. Risk. Adjust. Forgive. All of these are suggestions for building intimacy with spouses.

Friends for the road are the people God puts in our life for a short time or a specific purpose. But a friend for the hear…that’s the friendship that’s meant to last.

Week 5~~Instruction~~Sometimes I Don’t Know What To Do

An informed mother knows best.

Maternal Knowledge~Mothering is a skill that will become easier with knowledge and practice.

Every mom has a built-in sensor of what her child needs.

“God would not have given you this child without also giving you the means to care for this child.” Dr Sears

Week 6~ Help~~Sometimes I Need To Share The Load

Help Yourself~Learning to help yourself is the first step in conquering this need for help.

It has been said that there are three ways to get something done: do it yourself, hire someone, or forbid your kids to do it. But there is another tactic. You can train your children to help.

Learn the art of delegation.

What we teach our children now will make a difference in who they become later.

Week 7~Recreation~~Sometimes I Need A Break

If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

~Even if I’m over at a friend’s house having coffee, I can “hear” my children. Even when I’m asleep, I’m still listening for them. There is no time when I’m “off” duty.~

Always on Duty~Most moms of young children report that is it not a single major crisis that brings then to the edge of breakdown. Rather, it is the constant accumulation of everyday hassles with no breaks. It’s also the constant drive to live up to expectations: “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” “Don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today.” “Don’t play until your work is done.”

We’re worn out! Wrung out! Sucked dry! The unceasing needs, the responsibility, the pressure to be all our children need.

A mom is constantly surrounded by her responsibilities, and that means work, work, work.

Moms need a break, but they don’t take it.

A woman is trained to be self-sacrificing. To get through her list of things to do, she first sacrifices her free time. Then she sacrifices her sleep.

Re-Creation
The word re-create actually means “to restore, refresh, or create anew”
Re-Creation Makes Us Better~Re-Creation Makes Us Better Moms

Taking a break is not selfish but self-preserving.

The fact that caring for our own needs better equips us to meet the needs of those who depend on us.

Learn to Laugh~Laughter is contagious. Smile awhile and while you smile, another smiles and soon there are miles and miles of smiles because you smiled.

Lighten up~What’s the big deal?

Slow down~What’s the hurry? Savor where you are.

Mom Fun~Every mom needs something that is enjoyable for herself alone. Expose yourself to new people and places. Develop a hobby.

Week 8~Perspective~~Sometimes I Lose My Focus

Fit today into the bigger picture of life.

You can’t control everything. You have to go with the flow.

I can’t do it all, but I can do what’s important.

Enjoy today. Make the most of life’s irretrievable moments…now.

Lighten up. Children are resilient. Handle them with honesty and humor.

When you make a mistake, learn to forgive yourself and let go our your failure. Say you’re sorry and move on.

I have to remember that I am a home-maker, not a house-keeper.

Keep things in Perspective~Perspective is the ability to stand between yesterday and tomorrow and understand how today fits and what matters most.

Make a moms stress sack. Include:
~A piece of chalk to use when somethings unpleasant happens, so you can “chalk it up” to experience.
~A tissue to remind you to dry someone’s tears with a kind word, a note, or a hug.
~An eraser to remind you to wipe your slate clean.
~A thumbtack to remind you to not just sit on your problems. A-tack them one by one .
~A favorite cartoon, bumper sticker, or greeting card to remind you to laugh-often.
~A small stone to remind you God is your rock.
A nail to remind you that Jesus coped with some pretty heavy stress too.

Week 9~Hope~Sometimes I Wonder if There is More To Life

Hope is a personal relationship with God, who meets all our needs.

Misplaced hope:
~circumstances
~optimism
~people
~self-help

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matt. 11-28

Stumbling Blocks of Faith~Emtional Barrier~Intellectual Barrier~Volitional Barrier

Perspective~Sometimes I Lose My Focus
Perspective means developing a God-view of life. When we learn to see life as He does, value what He values, to evaluate decisions and daily matters in terms of what matters in eternity, we obtain a whole new perspective. Real hope is finding the Source who meets all needs.

When you are wondering how to handle your child’s tantrum, ask Jesus.

Today brought back lots of childhood memories.

We took O to see Sesame Street on stage. It was exciting even for me! Ernie sang the moon song and it has always been a favorite of mine. 112 pictures later~~we were home. LOL

I ordered pizza and even had it delivered. I just wasn’t in any mood to cook. I just gave O her bath. H is in the shower. B & B2 are working on the deck.

Anyone have a solution to keep the critters out of my garden pots??? I came home to find 3 spinach plants pulled up and half a green bean plant gone! I put a yard decoration on the table to scare them away. What else would work?

Well tonight is big TV night. Idol and Lost. I am really not interested in either one but will watch Lost with hubby. Since I found out there were going to be THREE more years of Lost I threw in the towel. ~shrug~ I have better things to do with my time….lol

I am still drafting a write up of the workbook I am reading. I have the whole thing finished. That’s a lot of underlined things!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful night with family and friends.

Sweet Dreams. Nighty Night.

I wish it was Wednesday….

My thankful list is touchy today:

1- After having a fight with my 12 year old–my son saved 4 licorce jelly beans for me.

2- Dinner is done.

3- My greens beans are growing like a weed

How come having a teen is so hard??? I am really at my whits end with H. Whats a mom to do?

PS. I have lots to share with my workbook. Tomorrow….maybe. Tomorrow we are taking O to see Sesame Street live. Then I am going anniversary shopping for my hubby. I have an idea since your 3 year anniversary is leather.

Leather Chaps.
~JOKING~
LOL, I know you’d get a kick out of that honey :) I love you. ML

Breastmilk does a body good.

BreastMilk Does Every Body Good

Eye infections: Squirt in an open or closed eye. If the eye is closed have the person lie back, squirt it, then open his or her eye. 4 times or more per day.

Plugged eye ducts: Squirt into the eye crease at the nose. Do this 4 times one day and 2 times the next.

Conjuctivitis (”Pink Eye”): Same as Plugged eye ducts, but continue with 4 times daily until the crust is gone.

Sties: Same as Conjunctivitis.

Sore/cracked nipples: Rub into nipples and air dry.

Scratches: Squirt and air dry, bandage, etc. as normal.

Burns: Same as scratches.

Diaper rash: Squirt and air dry.

Mosquito bites: Squirt on bite and rub in. Stops the itching.

Ant bites: Same as Mosquito bites.

Ear infections: Squirt or pour into sore ear. Can follow with warm (not hot) olive oil and garlic.

Acne: Wash face with water, then follow with breastmilk squirted onto a cotton (be sure it’s cotton, that synthetic stuff can scratch the surface of your skin and cause problems) puff and apply all over face.

Sore throats: Anyone who will let you can be helped by a squirt of breastmilk. Either by direct squirt or if applied from a sterile plastic cup.

Stuffy noses: Squirt into nose and suction or squeeze out as you would with saline.

Contact lenses: If you have an irritant under your lens and forgot your eyedrops, take it out, hand express to get a nice little stream going to rinse contact off.

Eye puffiness and redness: Express breastmilk and pour over eyes. Does as good of job, if not better, than tea bags!

Breast cancer: Recent studies suggests that just the simple and natural act of breastfeeding can benefit mom as well by providing protection against breast cancer.

Cold sores/Fever blisters: Express a small amount of breastmilk onto clean finger and apply immediately to cold sore. Ends pain and helps speed the healing process.

Chicken pox: Use as you would Calamine Lotion or some other ointment.

Leg ulcers: Someone has claimed of hearing about a breastfeeding mother putting breastmilk on an elderly relative’s unhealing leg ulcers, it cleared them up too. I don’t know how long it took.

Chapped lips/skin: Express a small amount onto fingers and wipe over lips or skin. Do not rub it in…leave a little wet.

What Every Mom Needs

~things I have underlined so far in chapter 1, 2 & 3~

Week 1- Significance
You are the mother your child needs. God has chosen you for the job. no one else in the world can mean as much to your child as you.

Jeanne Hendricks warned that we are more concerned about making a better world for our children than we are about making better children for our world. Mothering matters not only to the child and to the mother, but also to the world in which we live.

Week 2- Identity
“Sometimes I’m Not Sure Who I Am”

To know me-who I am and who I am not-is to love me.

A mother tends to define herself most easily in terms of her external circumstances. She looks into a mirror and, instead of an identity in its own right, she sees the various facets of her life staring back at her.

A mothers business card: I am the CEO of my family. Well put.

To understand who we are, we have to come to grips with who we are not.

I am Unique. I am Imperfect. I am Loved.

You are imperfect. You are fallible human beings who are a process. you will make mistakes; you will lose your patience; you will sometimes act unlovingly.

We try to be good mother, but sometimes what we see surprises –and disappoints –us.

Valerie Bell says, “It’s hard for a child to trust an adult who is like an emotional yo-yo–loving one minute, angry and explosive the next. An unpredictable parent, one given to wide emotional swings, is an unstable parent.

God reminds you who you are. He tells you the truth that sets you free to know yourself, to accept yourself, and therfore to be yourself.

Week 3- Growth
“Sometimes I Long to Develop Who I Am”

What I am is God’s gift to me. What I become is my gift to God.

In this season of life, moms often make time for everyone and everything except themselves.

Mothering, by its very nature, requires self-sacrifice.

All around you are those who need what you have to offer.

I am still on Chapter 3. Something I am working on is a list of 10 things I want to do before I die. Narrow the list to 5 and rank in order of importance.

I am really pleased with this workbook! 2 Thumbs up!

My Plans For Tonight include Grey’s Anatomy

It is very simple.

Dinner. Watch Grey’s Anatomy season finale. Give O a bath. Play footsie with my HB.

Not a bad line-up.

Today I went out to breakfast with my sister. Chiropractor visit. Grocery Shopped.

Oh, and I changed sheets. I simply love clean sheet day. It makes the whole day just groovy. I know I am weird. LOL

I have decided to put the MRI off for another 4 weeks. Decisions decisions.

Well, I am going to enjoy my coffee while it is hot and put on some comfy pj’s.

Have a lovely night.

1- Spending all this great time with my family today.
2- Clean Sheets.
3- My Chiropractor.

YOU can live without these 10 kitchen items:

My husband sent me a link and I wanted to share. Here are the 10 things we are supposed to live without.

BREAD MACHINE You can buy mediocre bread easily enough, or make the real thing without much practice.

MICROWAVE If you do a lot of reheating or fast (and damaging) defrosting, you may want one. But essential? No. And think about that counter space!

STAND MIXER Unless you’re a baking fanatic, it takes up too much room to justify it. A good whisk or a crummy handheld mixer will do fine.

BONING/FILLETING KNIVES Really? You’re a butcher now? Or a fishmonger? If so, go ahead, by all means. But I haven’t used my boning knife in years. (It’s pretty, though.)

WOK Counterproductive without a good wok station equipped with a high-B.T.U. burner. (There’s a nice setup at Bowery Restaurant Supply for $1,400 if you have the cash and the space.)

STOCKPOT The pot you use for boiling pasta will suffice, until you start making gallons of stock at a time.

PRESSURE COOKER It’s useful, but do you need one? No.

ANYTHING MADE OF COPPER More trouble than it’s worth, unless you have a pine-paneled wall you want to decorate.

RICE COOKER Yes, if you eat rice twice daily. Otherwise, no.

COUNTERTOP CONVECTION OVEN, ROTISSERIE, OR “ROASTER” Only if you’re a sucker for late-night cooking infomercials.

Here’s the actual article~~~> New York Times

I feel pretty good because I only have two of those items. The rice cooker which I cannot do without and copper pots. I agree with the article because I hate cleaning them!!!!!

Raining here. I went to doc and they are scheduling a MRI for me. ~sigh~

Guess I’ll relax on the couch. Until….

I almost forgot:
1- The much needed rain.
2- My husband is home from work.
3- There are no dirty dishes.

Happy Monday

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. It was all about moms right?

I just made homemade lemonade and added sliced orange to the pitcher.

Baby O sleeping and I have a few moments to myself.

My 3 for today:

1- The sun is shining.
2- I have time to myself.
3- I saw my great grandfather yesterday on his 96th birthday.

8 Random Things About Me

Directions:Lists 8 random facts/habits about yourself in a blog post. List these directions in the post. At the end of the post, tag 8 people to complete the task. Leave the persons you’ve tagged a comment to tell them they’re tagged and refer them to your blog to read the directions.

8 Random Things About Me

1. I won a biscuit baking contest in high school.

2. My best friend in school was named Michelle as well, but hers only had one “L”….so she called me TWIG! I hated it!

3. I wear a retainer at night from when I had braces.

4. I took French for two years and was an exchange student in France in school for a few weeks.

5. I don’t like shoes to be worn in the house.

6. I didn’t get my license to drive until I was 23.

7. I only wear pressed cotton pj’s. I am really strict about that.

8. I’d like to dabble in photography. I am always taking pictures.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mothers Day!!!

May today be so special to everyone.

xoxox,
Supermom

What Does It Really Mean To Us:

(I wrote this years ago and post it every Mothers Day.)
What Mother’s Day means to all women, young and old. Before you dismiss or put this special day in line think about what it means.

This is a day for all Mothers to be celebrated for the life we have brought into this world. (After all without us you wouldn’t have your little bundle of joys.) For all the noses we have wiped and said it will be all right. For all the times we have bathed our children and tucked them in at night. For reading that story just one more time. For feeding and wiping off the walls 100 times because food has been thrown. For never wearing clean or ironed clothes ever again. For all the advice we have given and the advice not yet shared.

Being a Mother isn’t always easy. Once the ‘Oh my GOD!! I’m pregnant!!’ wears off; reality begins. We carry a baby for 9 long months. We gain 50+ pounds and feel like crap. We are nauseous and throw up. We don’t sleep. It’s hard for us to get around. Our slender figure a distant memory. Our doctors poke on us all the times and we feel like a pin cushion.

Then to our delight our labors are long or we have major surgery. Yes, we are thrilled to finally have our baby. The alien taken from our body. Then we have weeks ahead of us to recuperate. We have a period for 6-8 weeks. We have fluid dripping from some part of our body the whole time.

The only clothes we can wear are the ones we wore while pregnant. We go through our closet hoping to find that one piece of clothing we can squeeze into. And even though the little alien is out of our body we cannot help from feeling that we are from another world. As the weeks pass. And life is calming down. We still have a baby attached to our boobs and stinky diapers to change. With 30 extra pounds we finally just went and bought some ‘big’ clothes just to say we aren’t wearing those damn maternity clothes anymore. NO MORE ELASTIC BANDS AROUND OUR WAIST!!

Then we have the rest of our lives to take care of these little people. We clothe them. Feed them. Play with them. Take them to school. Help with homework. Send them to their room. And we most of all, LOVE them unconditionally for the rest of their lives.

One day we may even hold them to cry. One day we walk them down the aisle. Watch our grandchildren be born. One day we celebrate them being a Mother on Mother’s Day. (Father on Fathers Day) So, to all the Mothers out there: HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!! May this day bring you all the happiness you deserve being the great woman you are.

After all we are Mothers. (And perhaps feel like we aren’t appreciated at times. We take care of our children not because it’s a job. We do it because we love them and want to take care of them.) So before you put our special day in order of it’s importance make sure you really know what it means to all Mothers, young and old. Anyway wouldn’t you rather celebrate a day you gave life than a day you turn one year older?