Things My Grandma Taught Me!

I was richly blessed to have had a wonderful grandma. My grandma was the glue that kept our family together. She made every holiday memorable, sleepovers special, and visits delicious. I remember going to her house and always seeing yummy treats of some sorts. Treats ranged from candy to cakes an homemade pies. My grandma was the best pie maker I’ve ever known. If my brother and I were ever in trouble with our parents and our punishment was no dessert, my grandma would work her magic to have our punishment changed.

            Christmas at my grandma’s house was beyond amazing. She had a piano room that would be filled from floor to ceiling every year with gifts from everyone.  The most special gifts were the ones she made us. She was a talented knitter, seamstress, baker, cook and organ player.

            My grandma was unfortunately diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age. She had a mastectomy in one breast and underwent chemotherapy and radiation. I can still remember when she lost her hair due to the chemo. She insisted on wearing this beautiful white wig most days. She remained positive and strong through all her sickness and treatments. After a year to treatments we believed she was in remission. This, however, was not God’s will for her. The doctors found that the cancer had spread into the other breast. Chances of remission were slim to none and less than a painful and tearful year later on November 26, 1996, my grandma went home to be with the Lord.

         

   The life my grandma led taught me so much about the woman I want to be. She taught me:

·      Always put God first

·      Stay strong no matter what the circumstance- you can get through anything with God on your side

·      Family is important. Always keep family close and be there for them when needed

·      It’s never God’s fault- Like Job my grandma refused to blame God for her sickness and other ups and downs in life. She always gave God the praise even in the toughest of times. She knew that God had a plan for her and His plan was always perfect.

·      Always respect and treat your spouse right. When I was 16 I came across a tape of her speaking at a woman's conference about marriage. Her advice resonates with me today as I enjoy my marriage and family.

·      Be yourself

·      You’re beautiful no matter what. She went bald due to chemo and was still just as beautiful as she was when she had a head full of gorgeous white locks.

·      She taught me funny stuff like blow your nose on your sleeve (this was taught to 5 year old me) and passing gas when you exercise is normal when you get older. You just laugh it off keep on exercising.

My grandma was such an amazing woman of God. I am blessed and better for having had her for the 9 short years of the beginning of my life. Even though she is gone from this earth, she is still watching from above. I know I will never stop learning from her. I love and miss the incredible woman I still call Grandma Jean. Happy Mothers Day Grandma Jean. You are incredibly missed and always loved.

Happy Mothers Day

       Your mom is many things and takes on the roles of multiple people. She is a taxi driver, medic, teacher, care giver and maid. She is your confidant, biggest fan, supporter, role model and disciplinarian. She’s the person who raised you, clothed you, fed you and sacrificed so much so you could have a better life.

            Your mom may or may not be the woman who gave birth to you. Whether the woman you call mom is your birth mom, stepmom, or someone who care so much for you that she spent her time to raise and love you; consider yourself extremely blessed.

            Since becoming a mom, I have learned many things. I have learned the love and joy every mom experiences for their children. I have experienced the every day fear moms have when thinking of or dealing with their child’s safety and well-being.  I now know what sleep deprivation really is, what sacrifice looks like and what patience feels like. Moms don’t have an easy job. They work around the clock and ask very little in return. Hugs, kisses and cuddles are our best forms of payment. Seeing huge smiles on our family’s faces and knowing that they are well taken care of is our best reward.

            This year for mother’s day don’t just give your mom a gift and card. Spend a day walking in her shoes (if you don’t already know what motherhood is like). Really appreciate her and all she has done for you. Once you understand what she had to sacrifice and all she did for you growing up, then you’ll truly appreciate what the role of mom is all about. Mother’s day is a day set aside for our mothers, but we should spend every day appreciating and honoring the amazing women in our life. 

To all you moms and grandmas, Happy Mothers Day. May God continue to give you the strength, love, compassion and joy of motherhood. To my mom, I love you so much and am so thankful and blessed to have such a wonderful role model and friend. I never knew how tiring and exhausting this job can be, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I am so thankful that you never gave up on us kids and put all you had into teaching us and helping us grow. I pray God blesses you every day and increases your joy with your grandchildren. Happy Mothers Day to the most amazing mom and grandmother!  

My Endless Night!

     As I write this I am so tired. It is now 10:30 on a Monday night. I am supposed to be in bed fast asleep, like my lucky husband. Sadly though I am wide awake with a very hyper 1 ½ year old… Or as wide awake as a 25 week along, sleep deprived, in pain pregnant mom can be. I have to stop every few seconds to check on the well being of my cats whom are being endlessly chased by my wide awake monkey. 

    Her usual bedtime is 8 pm. She had a late nap so we put her down at 8:30 instead of 8 tonight. She did her usual cry for a few minutes, play in her crib for half an hour and when she was tired of playing in the dark (she has a small night light so it’s not completely dark in her room) she decided to cry some more. We let her cry for an hour at the most. 9:30 rolled around and she was still awake so we went in to let her know we are still here and she’s ok. We gave her a little sip of water, checked to make sure she was ok, see if she needed a diaper change and then after kissing her again said goodnight. She cried again for another half hour. 

   Now at this point I am ready for bed. I have had a shower, brushed my teeth, cleaned the living room of toys and miscellaneous items and was about to hop into bed and enjoy a nice cozy, comfy night of sleep.  I checked the baby monitor to see if our little monkey had dozed off to dream land yet but was thoroughly dismayed when I heard her crying. 

AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!! 

I guess my warm cozy bed will have to wait. When asking my hyperactive child why she was still awake she promptly began to meow. She meowed several times and as silly as the sound was, her facial expressions were even funnier. I couldn’t help but laugh. Sadly this was all she needed to begin her rampage of terror on the once cleaned living room and kitties who unfortunately thought they were safe for the night. She is now running around throwing her toys, terrorizing my poor cats, jibber jabbing nonsense and reeking havoc on my couch. Sigh* I guess this mama is going to be up for a while. I hope you all have a better nights sleep than what it would seem I am going to get.

Misconceptions of being a "Perfect Mom"

      Perfect. We all strive to be the definition of this word. Whether we are trying to be impeccable parents, children, employees, business owners or trying to perfect a skill, we strive to be unequaled. The sad truth is that no one is perfect. We cannot and will not ever be faultless people or beyond compare at anything. So why do we push ourselves so hard to achieve a level of perfection that we set? We work our fingers to the bone and only end up hurting ourselves, pushing people away and creating this false sense of perfection which we will never amount to. Why do we do this? I believe we are made to feel guilty and take our cues from society, TV, Pinterest and Facebook.
      I am a Pinterest addict. I cannot lie about that. I am usually on Pinterest pinning things that I like or want to do (which most things I pin I never recreate or use) in the least 3 times a day. I get all of my ideas from there.  I won't lie but Pinterest has saved my butt many times when it has come to gift ideas, crafts and quick dinner recipes. There is a major downfall to Pinterest, however, other than making you such an addict. Pinterest gives mothers a false sense of what a perfect mother should be. I can click on a pin which will take me to the blog which that pin was linked to and read all the wonderful things that mother does with her kids. Multiple pins from the same mom are posted with all the cool DIY projects, crafts, dinner ideas and so on. I look at these blog posts and pins and start to feel like an inadequate mother. I begin telling myself that I have to be a better mom. I have to do more things with my kiddo crafts wise, cook better dinners, keep my house sparkling clean, and make my kids snacks from scratch. I'll be darned if I'm going to order a cake for my kids birthday instead of be the creative and do-it-all mom who makes a perfect themed cake.

          Now don't get me wrong, Pinterest is awesome. I love Pinterest. I love repining and getting ideas, reading the blog posts that are linked to these pins and trying to better myself as a mom. My problem with some of these pins and blogs is that they give a false sense of what a mom should be able to achieve. I myself started to stress and freak about about my house, my kiddo not learning enough or me not doing enough DIY. I wore myself down just thinking about all I had to do that day and trying to complete these long lists I had written. Facebook, TV and society all advertise moms that can do it all. One minute they are making their kids lunches for school, the next they are finishing their kids science projects and baking cookies for class snack day all before they head off to work. When they get home they make dinner, help with homework, clean the house, do the laundry and even have time to do a DIY project. Before bed they have date time with their spouse, some mommy relaxation time and then off to bed for a long peaceful nights sleep.  While all that is great and wonderful, lets be honest, can you do all that? The reality of it is you're lucky to have made your kids lunch and even remembered to eat breakfast before getting the kids to school on time.
     Moms these days are overworked. We don't need society telling us that we aren't great moms because we don't have our houses cleaned each day or that we don't do enough with our children. We need to stop looking at all the things that some moms are able to accomplish and start looking at what we are able to achieve. I have come to realize that the perfect mom isn't one who can do it all. The perfect mom isn't a mom who wears an apron all day, has a smile slapped on her face every minute, and is a perfect replica of skills like Mary Poppins. The perfect mom is one who spends time with her family, keeps them healthy, shows she cares and is there for them no matter what. The perfect mom is one who kisses booboos, tries her hardest to do all she can for her family, and when the going gets tough, is the calm in the storm. Looking back at my childhood I don't remember a perfectly cleaned house all the time (although my mom kept our house pretty clean and is known by other family members as a clean freak- love you mom!), my mom making our food from scratch each night, or each craft she did with my brother and I. What I remember most was the love, attention, fun trips, her kissing our booboos and her being there when it mattered.

       We as moms need to be there for each other, encourage each other and stop tearing each other down. I love mommy blogs. I learn so much from them, but I have to remind myself each day that I am not a false sense of what a perfect mom is. I cannot do everything that these moms can. Every parent has a different situation which allows them to do different things. We all raise our kiddos differently and have misconceptions of what we need to be and do to be perfect.
       So moms, help each other out, boost each other up and be perfect. Perfect in the sense that your kids see you as a superhero. It's time you should as well. What will they remember when they get older? Would you rather them remember a mom who was a frazzled mess all the time trying to do so many things that she didn't have the time to just sit down and play? I'd rather be known as the mom who gave my children the best memories possible just by being there and loving them. To my mom, thank you for giving me great childhood memories and for showing me what being a great mom is all about.

Happy 2015!

Well another year has quickly passed us by and a new one has just begun. Every year I tell myself that I am going to change something. I make some sort of resolution that seems achievable but life laughs at me and those resolutions are never... well...completed. I always tell myself that I am going to save a certain amount of money or read the Bible in a year or even blog every day. Well wouldn't you know things came up that needed paying for, I'm so exhausted by the end of the day that I didn't read my Bible as much as I should of, and as you can tell by the number of posts I have on my blog... I didn't blog every day. I'm lucky if I have time to post one blog a month!

How many times have we heard the sentence "This year will be different! This year is a new beginning. A year of change!"  Yeah I have heard this so many times. Sadly I have said this... soooo....many....times. It gets old quick. I have even changed the word resolution to plan. I used to say "I'm not making a resolution, I'm making a plan!" Ha! So much for my plans! Well this year I have decided to make some resolutions. Yes, yes I know what I just said. This years resolutions, however, are much more attainable.

In 2015 I resolve to do the following:

1) Study Gods Word more- Not reading the Bible in its entirety but actually learning how to study the scriptures to understand them better and learn more than the stories that are on the surface

Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

2) Put away some money (no set figure because lets face it, something will always come up)

3) Continue to be an awesome mom! I may not have it all together but my kid is alive, healthy and happy. I do my best to teach her right from wrong, her colors, shapes, sounds, and animals and I try to make her laugh as often as I can without spoiling her... too much.

4) Continue making new friends and trying to be a great friend in the process.

5) Continue loving my family and letting them know often how much they mean to me. Life is short. Don't let it slip by without your loved ones ever knowing you loved them.

6) Continue to be happy with whatever God's Will is for my family. I may not always like it but I know that whatever God has planned for us it is perfect.

I hope your New Years Resolutions are as attainable as I think mine are. Hopefully I don't break any of them! I pray that in 2015 you find happiness, good health and Christ in all you do. Here's to a great New Year!