Grannies Raising Grandkids

Blue Gene Blues

2009-06-07T15:12:00.008-05:00

I've Got The Blue Gene Blues

Not the kind of jeans you wear...the kind you are born with, brought to you courtesy of your parents DNA transferring to your DNA. What a blessing it can be, or what a horror it could be!

If you read my last post about family visits, you'll understand where this post is going. If you didn't read it, go back and read it, you may get a laugh out of it.

My mother-in-law has been visiting us for over a month and will be here for another two and a half weeks. Don't let my rantings fool you, I love my MIL dearly. She is the sweetest southern woman you'll ever meet. Never met a stranger in her life, and would never do any harm to anyone. Truly a Christian woman. Same goes for her five children, one of which passed away last year, sadly. :-(

It has been very interesting having her here. My mother usually visits often from PA, but my MIL has only been here once. This is the second visit and certainly the longest visit she's ever made anywhere. I'm giving my sister's-in-law in CA a break from taking care of Mom. (they owe me now! LOL) When my mother visits she usually stays a long time because she's unable to travel alone, so between my sister and myself, we drive her over seven hundred miles, one way, just to get her out here to see her grand kids and great-grand kids. As you already know, they are always here too, making life even more interesting at the Sullivan house!

I mentioned this visit as being interesting...well it really has been. I noticed for the first time how strong family genes are! I watch and listen to my MIL carefully studying her moves, speech, looks, and motions and I feel as though I am getting a preview of what my husband will be like when he's older. I am not saying that he looks like his mother, he doesn't, but his motions, attitude, personality, along with so many other little intricacies are JUST like hers! It's very scary.

My MIL began her life in Arkansas in 1928. She only has a 9th grade education because she had to leave school in order to help the family on the farm. She met my FIL when she was very young and married at the age of 18. They lived with my FIL's family because they didn't have much money. They worked the land and scraped for everything they owned. Things got very difficult for them and they "loaded up the truck and they moved" to Shafter, CA. (Not Beverly Hills!) They had one child born in AK, and four more born in CA. My FIL worked as a share cropper, living in a small box they called home. All of the workers lived in these quarters located on the property owned by the family who owned the ranch where they worked. All of the families helped each other raising all the kiddies they all had...and they had a bunch! The stories from my husband and his sisters are endless and really funny. They had many freedoms our kids only dream about! For a family who didn't have much, they sure lived rich, fulfilled lives!

Things changed for this family when my FIL became the Foreman on the ranch. My MIL and all of the kids worked in the potato shed, in the cotton gin, and in the vineyards. They worked very hard all of their lives. All of the living kids are successful in their own right, living very productive lives. We lost Dad last year as well as the eldest brother, it was a rough 2008! This family has been through a year of grief and loss!

One very prevalent issue that screams out at me is the ability for my MIL, and a few others in the fam, to go into a total state of DENIAL! I believe there are so many deeply buried secrets or pain in this family that the only way they function is to stay in denial. Now, I know denial, personally. I've been there, and at times I may still chose to fall backwards into denial about some things...but to constantly live in it, NO WAY!

An example: MIL takes so many medications she needs to pack a separate suitcase for her meds! The airport security took one look at it and just waved her through. They didn't want any part of that mess! They probably could all lose their jobs if I were to report them for doing that! LOL (I wouldn't) Even though she has some very real medical issues, there are so many behavior altering meds in there that I see it as the perfect cocktail for someone who doesn't want to live in reality because it's either too painful, or she has just given up on her life.

Not only does she have all this medication for her ailments, she notices certain similar symptoms in my husband, like restless legs in the evening. She wants to give him her anti-anxiety medication to help him! Yes, this behavior is often practiced in their family...they share medication between all of them depending on how they are feeling that day. Oh, maybe I have a little pain in my arm...here's a vicoden! LOL!

As I stated before, I love this lady, more than you'd ever think. I love my SIL's too, as if they were my own sisters! You're not believing this because of what I'm saying on this post, right???

Well, here's the point:

We all need to watch our mother's and father's...closely, for that is what we will become when we grow old. If you are fortunate enough to have vibrant, active parents...you are very lucky. If you are like me; I have an 84 year old mother who eats about eight meals a day because she has forgotten she already ate, and I have an 81 year old MIL who lives her life in total denial from a recliner most of the time and thinks she has a medical degree.

It's just as important that you watch your in-laws just as carefully because you will be living with the product of that family when you both grow old. Now that's the scary part because you have NO CONROL over your spouses behavior!

It may have taken me a long time to get to the point of this message, but here it is!

You CAN change some of the things you come to realize are not attractive or acceptable traits in your own behavior and life, but you CAN'T do a thing about the decisions your spouse makes about improving his own "golden years!"

What an observation, isn't it. Maybe a life changing observation for me...what has it done for you?

The 3 Day Rule

2009-05-16T22:07:00.009-05:00

If you are a fish lover, you probably know what the 3 Day Rule is. If you don't know I'm here to explain this most important rule. A rule that should always be followed throughout your lifetime. This is also a rule which would be beneficial to pass on to your children and grandchildren.

When visiting out of town family members NEVER stay more than three days. Like fish, company begins to smell after three days!

Well, that's it, that's the rule. It has taken me a very long time to accept this rule because my immediate family has always lived far away from me. The closest relative lives over 700 miles away, not an overnight trip!

For years I struggled through an endless number of visits from family members...all ending, well how should I say it, not so good. I always wondered why was it happening this way, was it me, was it them...what the hell! I just could not understand.

Visits from my Mother were the most volatile. For about ten years, each visit lasted at least two weeks, unless I sent her home early. Yes, I have put her on a plane after only a few days! I know I sound terrible, but you just had to be there to understand. When I visited my Mother, I would drive myself and the kids PA, driving all night to arrive in the AM. I would stay about two to three days, then leave for home. These visits always left me feeling like I needed to spend more time there, but knew it wouldn't work. Over the years, this has worked very well. Mom stayed home, and I visited her, she stopped visiting me.

I think it was after I reached forty years of age I realized that I was the one that needed to change. Maybe it was as simple as maturing with age, I'm not sure, but things changed after that. I began to feel differently about my mother, and other family members spending time at my house. I like having them around, but I also like having them leave too!

Now, I have to tell you about my Mother-In-Law who arrived from CA on the second of May. Yes, she is still here and will be until June 6th! Don't get me wrong, she is the sweetest thing you'll ever meet! Eighty one years old, lived a very hard life of a share cropper. She suffers from arthritis, poor hearing, and poor memory. I totally admire her faith and her devotion to her church all of her life. She is a good 'ole Southern Baptist! Never met a stranger in her life.

This visit is going quite well, I think, but I'm at the point where I need a break. I still have my grandchildren, who I care for, then add my Mom-in-law! Oh yeah, my husband, her son, left for a WEEK on business. Can you believe that! He probably spends a total of three hours a day with his mom anyway, but he had the audacity to leave the state during her visit, leaving me with no one to rescue ME! ACHHHHHH!

We've planted about every inch of ground I have around my house with veggies, or flowers. Even dug up new spots! I guess her obsession comes from her background. We also spend at least one hour everyday staring at the top of the dirt to see if the seeds are popping through yet!

Living in CA she is used to watering her flowers and veggies everyday. Here in the upper Midwest, we've had enough rain to take care of our lawns and gardens for a month! Well, she was watering everyday, soaking the beds until water stood on top of the soil. I have mushrooms growing in my perennial flower bed now...everywhere! I calmly explained to her that we don't have to water everyday where I live. She had about as hard of a time understanding that as I did explaining it!

I took her to the grocery store today about 1 PM. She had "a couple of things" she needed to get. Her SON was coming home today from his business trip and she wanted to make him some vegetable soup for her little baby boy! Ahhh, isn't that cute :-) Two hours and $250 later, we got home from the grocery store. Hubby was home by then too, so all is good in her world again.

It took her another two hours to cut up all the "stuff" to put in her soup which ended up in two stock pans! She was moaning every once in a while, making sure I heard her, and I'd ask what was wrong. She said her back was hurting because she was on her feet to long today. Hey, I was helping her, I didn't let her do all the work! I continued to help her as much as she'd allow, moaning all the way! Well, I found the secret to her contentment...I opened up a bottle of wine! My grand daughter was turning the light in my wine refrigerator on and off which is what gave me the idea. (God bless my little Lily!) Wahoo! She had two glasses to my one and I didn't hear her complain about her several ailments the rest of the night! Good thing I have an abundant collection of wine!

I have found the secret to quash the 3 Day Rule!

Feed your visitors alcohol as much as you can and lots of it! It kind of made me more tolerant as well, so it works for all of us! If they don't drink, I suggest that you continue to drink, by yourself if you have to, as much as you can!

After all is said and done, there is NOTHING in this world like family. Love and cherish them because they won't always be here, and you never know how long your time is on this earth either. Tell them you love them, everytime you talk to them!

Germs Are Everywhere!

2009-04-18T08:46:00.007-05:00

What happens when you put two young children (one in Elementary School) in a house with two "older" folks who are stressed out and sleep deprived?

Germs take over and turn our bodies into breeding zones along with every surface in the house, and small objects that the baby puts in her mouth! Where did all these germ originate? Well, my daughter took her kids to one of her friends house, who just happens to babysit other children as well. This was on one of those days that I had free of kids in my home. Relief, I thought, all day! Little did I know that "the GERMS" were going to arrive the very next day!

That was last Friday (Good Friday), my day "off." On Saturday I took care of the youngest grand baby, my grand daughter. All was fabulous that day, we played, had fun, took a nap, and ate our meals together, as usual. THE DANGER LURKED WITHIN!!

On Sunday, Easter Sunday, we, my husband, the dog and I, went to my daughters house to watch the kids hunt for their eggs and eat dinner before I took the kids for the rest of the day and night. "The baby seems really tired," my daughter said. She was laying on the floor, at her home, with her blankie wrapped around her. This was NOT normal behavior as she goes and goes until we PUT her to bed, then she crashes. Humph, must be all the activity, we thought.

Little did we know what I was in store for in just a few hours.

I put her in the bath tub around 8PM. She cried the entire time, which was not her normal M.O. She loved baths, and bathing me too, this was very strange. Her brother was watching something on TV with Pop Pop but when he heard his sister crying he immediately came to the bathroom to supervise my bathing methods, critiquing me along the way. Surely, that was the reason for the baby's constant bellowing, my inability to bathe her! Oh well, he's a guy after all, I must make concessions! (Sorry, couldn't resist)

We made it out of the bath and put clean PJ's on. I made a bottle, got her blankie, and snuggled into the soft recliner/rocker to give her the bottle. I breathed a huge sigh of relief, shewwww, I survived the worst of the storm! Or so I thought!

She quit drinking after half of the bottle was gone and I sat her up. All of a sudden everything she drank and ate that day came flying out of her mouth, not once but three times! In order to keep it contained between her and me I pressed her really close to me. My very supportive husband and grandson both screamed in unison, "EWWWWWW." Thanks boys, that's exactly what I needed to hear. Notice I said they screamed, they didn't get up! I managed to get up, then my hubby jumped to our rescue. He led us, from a distance, to the bathroom as I "waddled" behind him trying to keep all the mess on me, not the floor.

When we reached the bathroom he started drawing water in the tub for us, then left the room. I did ask him to check the chair and the floor for residual vomit I guess he cleaned it up, he never said! I checked later and it looked fine. Not long after that I was presented with a diaper full of some foreign substance of which I haven't seen for many years! Not only was it in the diaper, it was all up her back, down her legs, all over the blankets and sheets in the crib, and finally all over me, including on my nose when I tried to pull her bottoms off carefully! GEEROOOSSSS! Come on Grandma, you've done this so many times with your own kids, this should be a breeze...right???

We made it through the night, no more problems, thank GOD!

Monday night I ended up taking the kids home because my daughter was going to get home from work earlier than normal and she wasn't working the next morning. She could deal with it! We all went to their house after dinner and I put them to bed there. I waited for my daughter to come home from work about 9:30 PM. She walked in the door and collapsed on the couch saying she didn't feel good. Ten minutes later, she ran to the bathroom and the fun began! I know I'm a sick person because I couldn't help but chuckle...just a little bit! Then another thought STRUCK me!

I'M NEXT! Oh no, what am I going to do if I get sick?

Monday night, my grandson woke his mommy up throwing up, and I woke up Tuesday AM with the same illness. Yep, it's now officially in MY house. I was sick for three days, as were the others. My husband has yet to be infected. I don't know how he avoided it, or IF he avoided it, but so far, so good. Maybe it because he keep his distance from all of us anyway, like we were aliens from another planet? Who knows? :-)

We survived so far. The baby got it twice, or a different strain of the virus, but seems to be okay now. It's a good thing because I have her tonight and I really am NOT in the mood for more vomit or diarrhea!

This whole story brings me to one huge point:

What would my husband have done if he were the one at home with the baby, alone, without me there to bail him out? Now that's a scary tought! :-)

A Dreary Monday In Illinois

2009-04-13T12:59:00.011-05:00

A day like today brings to mind all of the topics, songs, discussions, and articles on how the weather is responsible for causing several physical affects on us simple human beings. All of these things are triggered by, YES, you got it, the WEATHER!

Depression
Anxiety
Headaches
Aches and pains
Arthritis
Asthma and more...

Of course, many physicians won't agree with me on this, but they aren't the ones experiencing the trauma we are, are they! Now, the trick is to find one that actually believes you and maybe find one who has one or two of these symptoms themselves. Want a tip? Find one that's close to your own age! LOL, seriously, I'll tell you what happened to me with my third pregnancy.

I'll preempt again by saying this was my third pregnancy and I was about eight months pregnant. I HAD a husband that traveled a lot, so I was alone with the kids, no family within 800 miles, only a couple of REALLY good friends up the street. As fate would have it, I became sick during one of my darling husbands out of town trips. I couldn't keep ANY food or liquids down at all. My weight dropped in one day! (YEAH, but I'm pregnant! Not good) So naturally I called my OB/GYN. Who was a....MAN.

Here's the advice of the century!!!

He was very upset about my weight dropping so drastically and asked if I was "taking it easy?" I think I laughed, I can't quite remember, but I did said that my husband was out of town and I was alone with the kids and taking care of my home. His advice...stay in bed and take care of yourself! I know I laughed when he said that! Come on, how the heck am I supposed to do that when I have two little ones running around? He did give me a choice though, either call your husband and tell him to come home so you can rest, or you will go into the hospital and I'll make sure you stay in bed. Ok, I'll call hubby.

How many times does one person have to get hit over the head with a hammer before they learn not to "go there?"

The response from my "darling husband" was NO, he couldn't leave to come home. Well, I knew that was going to be the answer, I did after all know how this man ticked! So, after two more days, I was pretty weak, I ended up in the hospital, in isolation. They put me on the post surgical floor, in the last room next to the Labor and Delivery doorway! My nice friends took my children and took care of my kitties for me until JACK@#$ got home the next day.

It was a short hospital visit, but it was relaxing...come on you know what I mean!

No kids, no housework, food preparation, making beds, changing diapers, picking up toys, and lots more! I had these post surgical nurses checking on me all the time because they were so afraid I was going to go into labor and they don't like having someone in my situation in their ward! They even offered to give me a back rub! I recovered with several IV bags of fluids full of electrolytes, along with plenty of bed rest. What did I learn from this experience, you might ask?

I couldn't depend on my husband
I could depend on my friends and neighbors
I missed my kids :-)
Male OB/ GYN's need sensitivity training!

I loved my Dr. really I did, but he actually told me I was obsessive compulsive because I couldn't stay in bed and be at home at the same time. Oh come on, he had NO clue what it was like being a woman, wife, mother, nurse, child psychologist, manager, crisis interventionist, housekeeper, chef, personal shopper, laundress, mechanic, decorator, activity director, taxi driver, accountant, behavioral specialist, dietitian, plus many more things. You can add your own job skills to this list if you like! Anyway, you can imagine what I "wanted" to say to this guy....but didn't!

That was almost 26 years ago, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. Do I harbor any resentments?...NO WAY! I think it's called contempt! :-)

Seriously, what doesn't kill you will make you stronger.

I know you've heard that before and maybe even said it to yourself or someone else before. It's true, as I've discovered in my 50 something years. Events in my life, like the one above only prepared me to handle a lot of the other hard knocks life brought my way. I know they aren't all over with yet either, so I say:

BRING IT ON, I'M READY FOR IT!!!

I think

A Night Without The Kids

2009-04-11T18:51:00.005-05:00

It really did happen. My husband and I had a night without the Grandkids. We were alone from about 3PM, all night. I worked until about 6PM and my husband came upstairs from his office about 5PM, as usual. He sat on the couch and grabbed the ALMIGHTY REMOTE CONTROL for the TV. That remote control has a very strange power that affects him unlike any other. The minute he gets to his favorite channel...The History Channel, he falls asleep. All it takes is about five minutes and I'll start to hear snoring. Now, when I work I need to have a little noise around, not loud noises, just something to help me stay focused. I find his selection of TV viewing the most annoying distraction there ever was! No wonder he falls asleep!

I have tried on several occasions to get the remote control out of his clenched fist while he's asleep, but he wakes up wanting to know what I'm doing. I tell him that he was snoring and wasn't watching the TV anyway, but he insists that he was! I don't know about you but when I see someone stretched out on the couch, wrapped up in his favorite fleece blanket I made for him, and starts making that God awful noise that comes from his nose or mouth ...THEY ARE ASLEEP! Don't you agree?

Oh no, not him. First of all, he says he does NOT snore! That's a real joke, he snores so loud that when the kids lived here they heard him in the basement bedrooms! I'm not kidding. Like I stated before, I like noise, it's comforting in a way, like "white" noise, it helps me to sleep. I think that's why I can sleep through that nighttime war in his sinuses.

Secondly, he insists that he was "listening" to the History Channel, he wasn't sleeping! So, I sit back down, put the computer back on my lap and continue typing. In another five minutes, YEP, it happens all over again! Sometimes I like to play with him a little and keep picking on him, but I usually just let it go and try to ignore the gunfire on the TV screen. There's usually some documentary about one of the many wars we fought in our country's history. Don't get me wrong, our country's history is very important to me, but reliving it over and over, watching people getting shot, stabbed, beaten or run over, and the noises from the TV and him snoring, it's all too much.

Well enough, back to what we did. We went out to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for dinner. He starts a conversation about what was in the news today, telling me about all the interesting stories. I asked him if he heard about the study that determined males now have a "biological clock" as well as women! That's right, on the Today Show last week they said that the older a man gets, the chances of him getting someone pregnant decrease, and if he does, the chances of birth defects increases. Science has leveled the playing field...finally!

I went on to say that now, these young girls that want an older man with money and figures she'll reel him in by getting pregnant, may want to think of another way to hook her man! And lets not forget about the many men out there that want to have a bunch of fun most of their lives and don't want to "settle down" until later in life and have a family. Maybe he should consider growing up a little earlier! When I was finished talking about the study, my wonderful husband opened his mouth and uttered the most profound statement of the evening, "where do all the sperm go" "Are they all watching the History Channel?" What could I say after a statement like that? I just laughed...for quite a while I laughed. If you're not laughing, I'm sorry, maybe you had to be there, but it was really funny.

That was our night. We came home and I got back on the computer and he got back on the History Channel so he could fall asleep, I mean watch TV! We are old and boring people. Our Grandchildren bring something very special into our home...LIFE!

I hope you all have a very Happy Easter!

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2009-04-08T23:30:00.006-05:00

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Tomorrow, I will write again about my grandkids and the day we had today. The funniest thing is the conversation I had with my husband. This one will bring a smile to your face. At least I hope so. I'll talk to you then.

Go ahead, leave me your comments, I'm interested in what you have to say!

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2009-04-08T00:18:00.001-05:00

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Surviving Spring Break

2009-04-01T09:15:00.001-05:00

Spring break is over and the kids are back to school and I'm BACK to the old schedule, or new schedule...WHATEVER! See, I'm even beginning to sound like my grandson now!

Break actually went well. The weather in NIL was cloudy, rainy, and cold. Of course it was, all of the kids were home to haunt their parents, grandparents, or caregivers for the whole week. You'll never guess what my daughter did to my six year old grandson the Sunday before break began...she grounded him for two days because he didn't listen to her! I pick him up on Sunday so I can take care of him and his little sister for three days, and I'm greeted with this wonderful news. My response, oh great, you get to go to work and leave him with me put up with while being grounded!

Here I go again...WHAT ABOUT ME? I know, I don't count, I have a lifetime of being reminded of that, over and over again. Just about the time I was beginning to recover from a lifetime of co-dependence and unhealthy behavior (putting everything before myself), I end up caring for my adorable grand kids! I'll have to put off continuing my "recovery" until after my kids are done "abusing" me!

You know I'm only expressing my sarcastic take on what is supposed to be "my Golden Years," which seem to be only a repeat of my past years! :-)

Here's what I've experienced so far this week:

One year old granddaughter came down with a cold on last Friday
Daughter took her to walk-in clinic and got some stupid anti-biotic for her that didn't work
I pick her up on Sunday, sicker than she was on Friday with a fever added
I spend Sunday night in the rocker/recliner with her in my arms, nose running like a faucet
I call my daughter on Monday, tell her about the baby, she says wait one more day before calling the Doc
I call the Doc anyway (of course) because I can't believe she actually said that!
Doc couldn't get her in until 9AM Tuesday.
I sit up in the rocker/recliner again all night Monday
Tuesday AM the Doc tells me she has a double ear infection and the antibiotic she was given last Friday was a waste of time. (DAH!!)
She is now on Amoxicillan, the bubble gum medicine! Hoorah!!!
We come home from the Doc's and both of us fall asleep all day causing me to be late picking my Grandson up from School at 1:55 PM

My granddaughter was such a trooper through this whole thing. One thing I remember so well from raising my own kids, it's so frustrating when babies have so much congestion in their sinuses and they can't blow their noses! Oh, it is so hard to just hear them rattle each time they try to breathe. This is the suffering we both tolerated the past few days. Do you remember hurting FOR your kids? Yep, that's where I was, and still am. I throughly enjoyed having her sitting on my lap, so relaxed and falling asleep. That's something I remember from my own kids, they would usually not want to just sit on my lap. They were always doing something, or going somewhere. But, when they're sick they want comfort and warmth. THAT is a complete JOY for me! I love that part! Oh, one more thing:

We really need a special training on how to use that terrible little blue nostril thing that is supposed to "suck" their boogers out of their noses!!!!!
I used to manage hourly employees that worked better than those things do!

It's hump day, Wednesday, so I need to get over this hump and start working for the weekend! I wonder what my schedule is going to be this weekend. It would be so nice to unwind in my garden, moving my perennials around, planning what my summer landscape is going to look like this year. I don't think mother nature is quite finished with us here in Northern Illinois. We actually have some snow in the forecast for Sunday...again! But, it won't last forever, then I can start talking to my massive number of plants outside, they are the BEST listeners and I always feel so much better after I've spent several hours in the "dirt." Isn't this what Grandma's are supposed to do????

Good Night :-)
It's all good, really!! (isn't it?)

P.S. Here's a picture of my garden last year. Each year I usually dig up another part of my yard for more plantings. It's less mowing, so my hubby doesn't mind.

Grannies Raising Grandkids

2009-03-27T20:07:00.000-05:00

Here I am, in my fifties and raising kids again!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining...wait, yes I am. Let me explain my story in not so much detail for you.

Let's see, I left my very successful career as a Human Resource Manager at a well known company which will remain nameless. Nameless because at the age of 51 and being a, shhhh, female, there wasn't a position available for me any longer, so I was politely forced to retire early. I find myself 50ish and unemployed in May of 2008.

In January of 2009 I decided to get involved in this Internet Marketing "thing" I keep reading about and hearing about on TV. Wow, I can work from home! What a concept. I found a reputable company to work with, or I should say that was willing to work with me! I have learned a lot, unfortunately I haven't had the need to learn how to handle my millions which I've heard so much about! I'm sure that will come with time. I'm still not very good at patience! Now seriously, I am still in training, but it really is time for me to put some of all this knowledge I have retained to good use before it begins to trickle from my already feeble memory!

Back to the subject...GRANDKIDS!

My oldest daughter found herself in just about the same position I found myself in when I was her age, single with kids. She has two wonderful babies, one 6 year old boy and a 1 year old girl. These two are the center of my life, have been since the day they were born. My daughter has to work two jobs, totaling about 70 hours a week, poor kid, just to support them and pay her mortgage. Unfortunately the kids don't have a dependable "father" to help her out very much.

With that being said, guess who has the kids?

Nana!!! Here I am, back to raising kids again! I am so grateful for being able to help my daughter out this way as I didn't have any help except from a few good friends. But come on, isn't this supposed to be my time? Isn't that what this younger generation is always saying...they need "their" time? Well, what about me???

In my generation there was no such thing as "my time." My time belonged to my kids, my husband, the kids school, girl scouts, boy scouts, and the numerous athletic activities they were all involved in. If I did have time alone I didn't know what to do with it! :-) It was what it was! You know what...it hasn't changed either, I still belong to my kids with the addition of the grandkids now!

In my generation there was no such thing as "my time."

My time belonged to my kids, my husband, the kids school, girl scouts, boy scouts, and the numerous athletic activities they were all involved in. If I did have time alone I didn't know what to do with it! :-) It was what it was! You know what...it hasn't changed either, I still belong to my kids with the addition of the grandkids now!

It's hard, some days so stressful I just want to cry, but I forgot how to do that too!

I know why God gives us children when we're young. Geez, I only have one at home everyday, until school lets out, and I find it hard to find time to sit down with my laptop on my lap and get some work or training done! I'm frightened that I'm falling behind and will never catch up. I'm wondering what I'm going to do this next week. It's Spring Break in Illinois, yippie, all the kids will be home and wanting to do lots of things. It is a preview of what's to come in the summer of "09 for me!

Here's what I need folks, lots of crafty ideas for my 6 year old grandson, yes, that's right, he loves crafts! Now come on, he's only 6 years old, don't make any assumptions yet, no stereotyping here, remember, I am still in my HR mode! He is always cutting, pasting, coloring, oh by the way, coloring these days is done with Markers! Crayons are a thing of the past. Shame, isn't it?

Overall, I am so fortunate to be able to be such a huge part of my little grand babies lives, to be able to instill just a small amount of the "old" way of doing things! I love it, and I hate it!

I think I'll go out and buy some crayons and show him how I used to put them between two layers of wax paper and melt them in the sun mixing all the different colors. Or, do they use microwaves for that now? :-)