One Hundred Posts!!!!!!

Good Grief! I didn't realize I had written so many posts! I've kind of enjoyed doing the posts....I find it to be somewhat of an outlet....especially when my life goes a little crazy, which is usually 3-4 times a day!

Last night my 13 year old homeschooled daughter Megan asked, 'Are we going anywhere tomorrow?'
I replied, 'No, tomorrow is a home day'
'Yay', she says, 'I like being home!'

Wonderful, I thought.

This morning, when she came into my bedroom, it was 'Good morning, mommy, are we going anywhere today?'

'No, Megan, we're not.'

After her breakfast, I told her to go and get her face washed and teeth brushed.

'Why, are we going somewhere?' 'No, we aren't, you always wash your face and brush your teeth in the morning.'

She gets dressed but doesn't put socks on. 'Megan, go and put some socks on.' 'Why, am I going somewhere?' 'No, you just need socks on your feet or they'll get cold'

As I come out of my bedroom after Igot dressed, she looks at me and ....you guessed it....'Are we going anywhere?'....'No, we aren't.'

A half an hour later, Megan comes to me and says, 'Are we taking grandma to an appointment today?'
'Megan, have you asked me before if we are going out today?' 'Yes' , 'and what did I say?' 'We're not'. 'That's right, so why are you asking me?' 'I don't know'.

See what I mean,....you thought I was exaggerating when I said 3-4 times a day didn't you?

Or, one more example....

Megan was watching her favourite episode of Little House on the Prairie...the one where Laura sells her pony to Nellie so she can buy ma a stove for Christmas...she's watched it at least 5 times in the last three weeks. She turned to me at one point and said, 'Is Laura going to sell her horse to Nellie?'....I said, 'yes, I think she will this time'.

sigh.....

Motherhood

My eldest son Ryan is always blaming me for something....now there are some days that I laugh at his accusations...like it's all my fault that he can't dance because I didn't let them attend school dances while growing up...or because my father has a balding head and my husband also has one, that it's my fault that he has a bald head...well, getting there.......

there are somedays that they get me quite down...you know those days when your parenting skills seem absolutely nil and I either get quite angry at his 'accusation' or just feel like crying....

I hope that all his accusations are in jest...if they're not them I'm in huge trouble...usually I'll tell him to 'put it on the list and make sure it gets on my tombstone'....so...I found this thru a blog today...I thought it would just about cover it!

Miranderings (again)

It's the start of a new week......and I'm afraid it feels tedious already. Homeschooling Megan was difficult today...because of her intellectual delays, some days are good and some days are very frustrating. We went to quilt class and because I ended up helping her a lot of the time, I got very little done on my quilt....I'm very disappointed because I had hoped to have the grandgirls quilts done by Christmas but it isn't going to happen. Then after school Maya had a basketball game which they were tying with the other team until the last quarter and then the other team shot ahead. Then my hubby called on the way to his teaching class from his day job and I was making Kraft dinner for supper...Kraft dinner!!! We eat so well when hubby doesn't come home!

Maybe it's fall...which okay, contrary to popular blogging community opinion, is not my favourite season...oh, I love the colours but it stops there...I dislike seeing everything dying, the trees going bare...and fall is the precursor to winter...which...well...the only good thing for me about winter is that Christmas is in there. I love Christmas! Once winter sets in I seem to just endure til April.....do I sound old or what!!!

I spoke with a good friend of mine who is hurting terribly right now...her teenage daughter doesn't agree with her and has left home. My friend, who just became a widow last January is devastated. Maybe, those of you who take things to the Lord could remember my friend in your prayers.

On a good note, hubby and I got more of the basement cleaned and sorted on Saturday...and.....second eldest daughter decided to give us an early Christmas present and is redecorating the downstairs bathroom! I should have taken some before pictures so I could do the before and after but daughter did point out that it was quite disgusting so maybe you wouldn't want to see it anyways. It's only disgusting because I've left it the responsibility of the teenagers that live downstairs to clean it and they never did so.....well, maybe never is a little strong...how about not very often....anyways you get the idea......I took the attitude that it's like their bedrooms...I just keep walking on by and when they finally move out I'll gut the vacated room and start over! Sounds like a plan to me!..I'm too old to nag......life is too short.....I want to still be alive when retirement comes along to enjoy it...and so on!

So that's the start of the week...although we are suppose to go up north and visit our friends on Friday...the ones that we were suppose to see last month but hubby became ill and we couldn't make the trek. Plus Saturday is the first day of November...and Hallowe'en will be done ! I know, I sound like a party pooper...no fall enjoyment, no nagging the kids,...I'm just in one of those moods...but....I always look forward to waking up the morning after Hallowe'en because it's like a bright fresh morning....I know,....I've seen the blogs...everyone loves Hallowe'en, all the decorations and parties.....sorry, I'm just glad when it's done. In fact, my kids know me, they know that mom 'doesn't do' Hallowe'en! Don't worry...I really do like all the other festivities! Okay, okay...I'm weird.....

My Hero

This is my dad.....he is 86 years old and he's my hero ....... and this week I thought he was going to die.......and it really scared me....really scared me.

I know that this should be expected and in a sense you should be ready for it...but...are you really ever ready to let your parent go off to heaven and not see them again for awhile? Not that you have a choice, mind you.....

My dad is a diabetic and his kidneys stopped functioning so he has dialysis three times a week...plus this past summer, after many trips to the hospital because of hemorrhaging, they diagnosed that he had ulcerated colitis and he had a mild heart attack..........

For the last few weeks his sugar levels have had times of being quite low and this past Wednesday he had one that went extremely low.....my mom called me and said....can you come over....dad is just sitting there...he's not acting right.....I hurried over after calling my older sister...fortunately she was closer than I and by the time I got there she was already on the phone to the emergency people......all the way over there, as I was driving...I was wondering ..is he dead? please Lord...don't let him be dead.....I'm not ready.....

Dad was in a semi-conscious state...barely able, at times to give a verbal response,....the paramedics arrived and assessed the situation..did some tests and gave him an injection through an I.V. to bring his sugar level up......slowly he came around...slowly he started talking, and smiling and wondering what all the fuss was about.

My dad is a war veteran of World War 2,...ten days after he and my mom married he went overseas for three years!! When he came home they started having babies...4 of them, each 3-4 years apart...2 girls, 2 boys. Before they got pregnant with me my dad was doing some welding, on a bridge, 30 ft up in the air when he fell,..broke his back in 3 places...was in a body cast for 6 months......but it didn't stop him....my dad was a hard worker........always working, always fixing something......we were a family that never had a lot of material things and we never expected it either....but when he brought home a surprise of a chocolate bar for each of us, we were excited and the day that he opened his coat and there was a little kitten.....well, we though we had touched the moon!

My dad could fix anything and one of my brothers just commented not long ago about the wealth of knowledge that my dad had in his brain...he wished he could tap it all before my dad wasn't around anymore. One year, my dad only got one week of holiday and I had to have one of my surgeries. The surgery took place in a hospital about an hours drive from our house and I was going to be there for ten days. My dad decided to stretch out his holiday week to two by working every morning and then him and my mom would drive every afternoon to the hospital to see me. Some holiday!

The day that I got married I didn't realize that my dad was in pain....apparently his gal bladder had been acting up and unbeknown to me, while I was on my honeymoon, he was getting it removed....I never knew til I called home...he didn't want to spoil 'my big day'...what a guy!

My dad has become very vocal about his belief in God the older he has become......he was always a fine example of a strong moral man as we were growing up but since we've all become adults and parents, we have seen what a godly man he has become, very strong in his faith.

I thought it would be easier, the older I get, to let my parents go...but it has turned out the opposite.....but the reality is that they wont be here forever.....and as I was saying to the Lord on my frantic drive to their house this week....I'm not ready yet....but afterwards the realization hit quite strongly......are we ever ready?

My Long Weekend.....

So, it was a very busy weekend...on Friday night the kids had youth group at the church and at supper I accidently broke a piece off one of my molars...annoying...but the dentist was closed.... so we dropped them off at the church and then hubby and I went for a stroll through the local mall...I usually avoid malls but I'll spend time with my hubby anywhere, especially without the kids....malls aren't too bad when you don't have someone whining for something that you can't afford! On Saturday morning we just had to get to the grocery store...payday was the previous day and by the time that day rolls around the pantry is fairly bare! Then in the afternoon we worked on my hubby's latest project...the basement...about a month ago hubby declared that he'd like to have all the excess out of the basement by the end of October....well, it's coming up and so far we hadn't got to it.....so, for the afternoon, we sorted and threw out and made a pretty good dent! The part I like is around the laundry area.....I don't have one of those lovely laundry rooms that you see in the magazines, our laundry 'area' is in the basement and when the piles of dirty laundry pile up..well, it isn't pretty....you don't even want to do the laundry...in fact I can usually find any excuse not to go down there! Well....you should see the 'area' now since we got rid of a lot of 'stuff'...you can actually walk around it, without stepping on laundry spread everywhere! I could even feel encouraged to do more laundry......well, let's not get too carried away.......I had to keep reminding hubby that we were going out in the evening..we had been invited to go to a coffee house at the church and they were going to have a ton of yummy desserts..now that point is very important....because while we were having a bite to eat before we left......part of one of my other molar's broke off!!! Unfortunately this is an annoying recurrence for me.....in fact it occurs much more than I want it too. You see, when I was a young kid there wasn't a high priority on brushing your teeth....now, I know that sounds just gross...also.... there wasn't fluoride in the tap water.....so that resulted in a lot of cavities and a lot of fillings....a lot of fillings.....and now I'm paying the price of my reckless youth....broken teeth! This molar, though had a very sharp edge that keeps cutting my tongue! It hurts to swallow, eat, talk and drink!
I left a frantic message(s) on my dentist's answering machine and then I called this morning, just begging to be fit in.

Meanwhile, this morning I had to go with eldest daughter and her four kiddies to the hospital to meet with a doctor in regards to some genetic research. (You see, both myself and my oldest grandchild were born with a disability that comes under a similar umbrella, so...they want to do a study on us and all of the grandchildren so that they could see why oldest grandson and not the other grandaughters). When it was my turn to meet with the doctor she casually mentioned about everyone getting blood work done! WHAT! Bloodwork!!!!! Bloodwork for me is a very painful process..over the years they've exhausted all the veins in my arms and now the always have to get it from my foot! I wasn't impressed and the doctor knew it but I dutifully complied....and then we got to the blood lab.........I say to the lab tech.....you have to take it from my foot and please use a butterfly needle...she says...we can't take it from the foot without a note from the doctor...I said..well, there's the requisition.......she says...no, a separate note...so, she says...look, we're professionals, I take blood from little newborns with tiny veins...I'm sure I can get it from you.....well , yes, she did....but, it came out so slowly and so sporadically that after one tube, she was suppose to get three...she gave up and said...well, that's all they're going to get!
Later on in the afternoon I took Maya to her after school basketball game(they lost..). I came home and Emma had made some brownies...nice, soft brownies......well, you guessed it ..more of the first molar broke off......I had soup for supper.....
The dentist can finally see me tomorrow afternoon........I just hope he can fix it (them) this time.....good grief!

Thanksgiving.......family and food...

Thanksgiving was at eldest daughter's house this year and I got hubby to put the pictures on last night so I thought I'd post a sampling. The pic above is part of the table...there were 18 of us...the food was good....always tastes better when you don't have to cook it...right?

This is Honour, 5 years old and eldest grandaughter......

This is Jairus, eldest grandson...he's seven...we weren't sure just how much turkey he'd eat since he ate most of the yummy appetizers....
This is Baby Afton, just 5 months...too little for turkey yet...but I'm positive it wont be long til she's copying her big sister Verity....you'll see her down below...
This is second eldest daughter, Lauren and her beau Ryan, along with Verity, Corey and Megan in the background....

This is how my hubby finished off the day.....in fact, you'll often see him like this.....he works hard providing for us all.......

and this is sweet little Verity, she's three...and she decided to try the drumstick this year....don't let that charming smile fool you.....she's a going concern......I think Afton will be just like her...oh my!

The Budget

So, a few weeks ago I decided to get involved with our budget...I've tried to do this before..but haven't really persevered. You see, with having so many kids my hubby and I have kind of divided up things....kind of traditionalist, but never the less...he looks after the financial end and I look after the kids....I do the inside and he does the outside of the house...but I'm afraid that over the years that has changed somewhat....my hubby does a lot in the house, I am very fortunate. Since a few friends have died over this last year and left spouses floundering in not knowing how to handle the areas in the household and family that they weren't accustomed to....I decided that I needed to get a little more involved in the finances. Now there are good things about that and there are bad things.....very bad things.....like finding out that just running to the grocery store for a little something to go with supper, after you've already done the grocery shopping for the next two weeks..really cuts into you next pays grocery budget.....or when you have Thanksgiving dinner, and it comes out of your regular grocery shopping budget that it takes a huge chunk! Or when you all of a sudden have a birthday spring up or a shower gift to buy...where does that money come from when you have an extremely tight budget with no room for extras like that.....I think they call it robbing Peter to pay Paul.......
So the good things are that I really get to see where the money is going, I get to know what bills have to be paid and when, I have become more conscious of impulse spending....especially when I realize there isn't any impulse spending category and I become more responsible in the regular, necessary spending that I have to do.
The bad side is that it stresses me out...when it's three days til payday, and laundry to be done and I have no fabric softener left, when my son says that the one dog we have is almost out of dog food, which is $50, three days before pay...when all my eggs were used up at Thanksgiving and I have none for the week.....before, I just let hubby carry the load...I'd just go out and get the stuff, cause after all, I needed them and let him figure out how the money was going to cover it...I really did him an injustice, that was very wrong of me.
So, for the good and bad.....hopefully this was a good move for me, I think it was...even though I've always told my hubby that he has to die first cause I don't want to bury him......we really have no control over that....but God is in control and that is reassuring...and after all He looks after the lilies so Iknow he looks after us......if you need something to read that puts it better than go to www.cindybeall.com. She does have a way with words.

The Quiet

It's nine o'clock and the church bells are ringing...yes church bells....I live in a very small community and the local Anglican church has church bells set to go off at 9 and 3 and 6........I love hearing the bells....I'm really quite surprised that someone hasn't complained.....you know...infringing on their religious rights or something......I promised myself that I'd get up at nine....I've been awake...the kids left for school over an hour ago....I've been savouring the quiet...reading blogs......you see Megan has one day per week at school...and Friday is the day.....Hallelujah and Praise the Lord! It's been an interesting week...a week where I found myself Wednesday evening saying....no, I will not take you with me to the drug store...I want to go kidless, somewhere...anywhere.....but come on now..the drugstore!!! Do you hear desperation here???......So here it is Friday....it's a gorgeous day...promises to be a gorgeous weekend...we're finally suppose to get to the trailer tomorrow to do the final closing before winter sets in...a lot of people will be there doing the same thing and celebrating Thanksgiving!
It makes me think...well, what am I thankful for......great husband, kids (that drive me insane) but something has to....anyways,grandkids....family, God and having him in my life.....and the quiet....I love the quiet......

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

A Friend

For over thirty years I have had this particular friend....in the early years it was on and off but in the last fifteen our relationship has been pretty good. We would visit when we could and talk on the phone everyday. Until this past summer.......a really terrible thing happened to my friend, nothing that I can blog about but it has had a very negative effect on our relationship. At first, we communicated several times a day...my friend was devastated and I did what I could to help. After a few weeks, out of the blue my friend hurled an accusation at me.....you see, in one of those degrees of separation situations, I had been affected by what happened to her also. My friend had started the healing process in her situation but I had not......I had been so busy helping her and being concerned about her that I had not stopped to consider doing anything about my feelings.
Our relationship is strained and I am in despair.

I have been working on my feelings, praying, discussing with my hubby and friends. I have come quite a ways ....... but the damage has been done to our friendship and I really am saddened that it will never be the same. It was a good friendship......and I miss it.

Or.......was it really a good relationship/friendship in the first place.......or was it just in my imagination.........I feel such a terrible weight on me.......

Just call me stupid!

Two days into homeschooling Megan.......yesterday she went to quilt class with me...I decided to draw a simple picture on a piece of felt and then I spent an hour teaching her how to sew buttons on the outline. It was rather tiring....for both of us......then she did some colouring and looking at books til the end of class. She was very excited and keeps calling her piece of felt 'a quilt'. By the time we returned home, after having lunch with my sister and her husband, it was time for the highschoolers to come home. Maya had a game at the school and Megan wanted to join me but I told her she needed to spend some time on other activities.....(I didn't tell her that I needed a break too).....it's tiring always working (and living) with a teenager that has the comprehension level of a four year old!
Today, I had my weekly bible study at a local church....we're doing a Beth Moore study (by video) and I thought she'd at least be able to find it easy to watch the video......and she did, but she also sat there and fidgeted constantly, so lesson learned...next week I'll take some quiet work for her to do......
After Lunch, at home...I got out all the workbooks I have that has reading comprehension and math facts and she spent about an hour doing a page or two in each. Then it was story time....and before you knew it the highschoolers were walking in the door again. They aren't too thrilled with me homeschooling Megan....they think it's a royal ripoff......they think that I should be homeschooling them too......well, just open up the door to the loony bin and reserve me a bed!

The Weekend...

Well, it was a lovely fall (autumn) weekend here in our neck of the woods. Hubby and I were suppose to go up north on Friday but he had been feeling under the weather all week and unfortunately it came to a head Friday morning and we were both very disappointed. We had been looking forward to a good visit with friends of ours for months, they used to be the ministers at our church and when they retired they moved about four hours away from here. All day long we were lamenting that it would have been a beautiful day for a drive. Praise the Lord though, hubby is finally feeling better...I was starting to get concerned....my husband is one of those that hardly ever gets sick and when he does he doesn't get his shirt in a knot over it....I teased him that he is the most self sufficient sick person that I know.
Yesterday. we had a church shower for a young couple who are leading our teen class in Sunday school...it was a brunch....how lovely is that! Then I took Emma and Maya to the mall....me at the mall is not a good thing!...I hate shopping (and the Christmas season is coming up very quickly).......sigh...anyways,...Maya needed dress shoes for church.....she was convinced if she got black running shoes that they could pass as dress shoes....it took some convincing and then Emma started in...she just had to have new shoes...which was kind of true cause she was still wearing flip flops...which would be fine if we lived in San Antonio, where it's 79 degrees, right now, 10:13 pm....but hey, we're in Canada, eh......cold, you know...not freezing but definitely not flip flop weather...but I was standing firm....only one pair of shoes could be afforded! It was her lucky day because PayLess had buy one, second half off...so, I relented and Emma lucked out!
When I finally got home...hubby was feeling better finally and we were foodless.....so off to the grocery store.......oh joy, what bliss!

On to Sunday....busy, busy morning.....Leslie and I are leading the Sunday school program and it's very high energy non-stop from the time I get there at 9:30am till it ends at 12:30pm....I know 3 hours doesn't seem very long....but have I mentioned lately just how old I am!!!!!??

Then we came home and all I wanted was to rest ...but....you see, I started a stew yesterday and the vegetables had to be prepared and put in with the meat and broth that I started cooking yesterday. .....So, supper is done, the kids are in bed.....another weekend is done......and in a few hours it will be Monday.....and it starts all over again.......