My family's journey down the road less traveled....

Sunday, February 26, 2012

The Simple Woman's Daybook

 FOR TODAY

Outside my window...the glorious sun is shining ad it looks as if the raging winds have finally died down.


I am thinking...of all the cleaning I need to accomplish today but how this cold and headache are going to make it harder.


I am thankful...for the little moments of joy.


In the kitchen...is a HEAP of dirty dishes!!


I am wearing...warm sweatpants and one of Mr. Awesome's © flannel shirts.


I am creating...I will hopefully in the near future be creating a pair of PJ pants for myself.


I am going...no where today!!!


I am wondering...what my diagnostic mammogram will show??


I am reading...nothing right now, if time allows we will head to the library today.

I am hoping...that my littlest Oompa get's over this nasty virus very soon....I hate to see my kids sick.


I am looking forward to...next weekend....Mr. Awesome's© family will be getting together in Cincinnati for a very belated Christmas celebration and we finally get to meet baby Emerson!


I am learning...how to make maple syrup at work.


Around the house...ugh, it's scary.....very scary.


I am pondering...what to make for dinner tonight???

A favorite quote for today..."he threw up in my shoe?!?!?!?!", thus said by Mr. Awesome© when he learned littlest Oompa went on a vomit spree last night!

One of my favorite things...the smell of a clean house(which mine will have shortly)


A few plans for the rest of the week: Diagnostic mammogram on Monday, work briefly on Wednesday to put order away, shopping for the final belated Christmas gifts, laundry, laundry, laundry, school work, working on ServeSafe class/certification for myself, packing and party time in Cincy on Saturday!!!


A peek into my day...

Simply Yours.............Deborah


The Simple Woman's Daybook.....make your own and enjoy the simple things in life!!!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

It Ain't All Fairy Dust and Rainbow Farts...

First off, I'd like to that OFG over at Adventures in the Good Land for the oh-so-descriptive title.  Her poetic writings inspire me so!!  However, she's right folks.  Life isn't all sunshine, unicorns and pixies.  Life is dirty, sneaky, painful and often times downright SUCKS!!  The joyous fun we'd have if there were fairy godmothers with magic wands, ready to wave away our troubles.

It is in no way, shape or form my intention to be a Debbie Downer with this post....only to point out that life doesn't come with a can of Fix-A-Flat.  There is no magic pill, special elixir or Genie popping out of a bottle that can fix most of life's woes.  They can only be repaired with honest to goodness determination, grit, and a hell of a lot of hard work.  I fear people today are unfamiliar with hard work.  I'm talking the hard work where sweat stings your eyes, you feel your muscles strain and it takes every ounce of your will to not break or stop. 

Of course, sometimes the sweat can be of the metaphoric kind versus the drippy, stinky kind.  Not every problem in this great universe is solved through manual labor.  A great many conundrums must be solved with brain power.....and given the state of our society , that power appears to be dwindling at a fast pace!!!  I digress...

I've been digging deep lately into the far reaching fathoms that are my soul and finally grabbed my boot straps and pulled them up.  If I'm being honest it's been a long while since I've even wanted to walk among the living.  I was content, not happy mind you, but content in my dark little cave.  Not much was asked or expected of me and I was good with that.  I was scraping by with just enough gumption and energy to meet the basics of life and parenthood but had nothing in reserve.  No extra time spent with the kids, no extra time spent with Mr. Awesome© and absolutely no extra time spent on myself. 

It has been a struggle and I've produced a ton of both the metaphorical sweat and the real kind.  I've read, prayed, exercised, cried, yelled, contemplated, scrubbed and purged.  There have been changes, real changes.  Changes that are not temporary band-aids that will fall off in a few weeks, I'm talking lifestyle changes here folks.  I've only got one life, one body, one Mr. Awesome©, one moody teenager, one bubbly cheerleader and one exhausting boy.  They and I need me present and accounted for, now.  

Thankfully, that season of darkness is closing and would you look at that....there is light at the end of this ol' tunnel!!  Well, I'll be!  It is a slow process but now that the ball is rolling, I'm picking up speed.  I have to remind myself that I'm not, nor ever will be Super Woman, and that's okay.  As Stuart Smalley once said, "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me". 

Daily Affirmations with Deborah P.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Admission I'd Rather Not Make...

As a parent, you often times view your child as having no flaws.  They seem smarter, prettier, more athletic, more well liked and generally superior to all other children.  Feeling and thinking this way can, if left unchecked, cause major problems.  Most of us remember the Texas cheerleader's mom who put a hit out on a rival's mother.  However, I think most of us have a healthy amount of this denial in our systems.  I know I do.

When the time comes and it will, that we need to recognize faults in our children it can be a crushing blow.  Bringing up thoughts of, "where did I go wrong", or, "what could I have done differently?".  Most times the short answer is that we've done nothing wrong.  Our children are who they are and as God designed creatures with free will, they have faults.  Some less troubling than others!! 

I have come to accept that my oldest, while amazingly talented with music and art is often anti-social.  She prefers the company of books and her own thoughts to parties.  I'm okay with that, well I will be.....eventually.

I have come to accept that my younger daughter is going to be a cheerleader.  I don't mean that she'll be on a cheer squad on the sidelines of a football game(although she probably will).  It's more that she'll be a cheerleader for others in her life instead of rooting for herself.  She doesn't seem to have any thing she's passionate about so she encourages others.  As a person who's done the same her entire life I know the emptiness it can bring.  Watching others enjoy and succeed in ventures and activities while you sit on the sideline.

I have come to accept that my son has attention problems.  I have come to accept that he is different in every sense of the word.  I have come to accept that he needs help that I may not be able to give him. 

The last admission is particularly hard to verbalize.  I've tried to deny it for a few years now but realize it's only setting him back farther.  He learns differently, acts differently and thinks on a whole other plane than I do.  Not saying it's either bad or good, just different and unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure what to do with him.  I've researched several herbal and natural remedies for ADD/ADHD and will start with those.  I am reluctant to bring up these issue with the school for fear of the label following him and generating an IEP.  I went through that with my middle daughter for her speech therapy and it's an aggravating process. 

We ordered the herbal blend last night and expect it to arrive by early next week.  Fingers crossed we see a change.  Watching him struggle is breaking my heart.  Either way, I love that kid with my whole heart and will sit on my bruised ego over not having perfect kids to see he gets what he needs.    After all, I'm not perfect either.

Imperfectly Yours.............Deborah

Monday, February 13, 2012

Hello Again,

Good morning dear and faithful readers!  I say this with heavy sarcasm because I'm aware that I get a whopping 1-2 hits per week!!  The intent of this blog is more a therapy tool than anything else.  I'm boring and I'm okay with that.

It's been a busy time around the homestead lately.  Doctor appointments, work, Cub Scouts, bad practice and games, oh my!!   Littlest Oompa and I are working hard on school work so he will be finished by the end of May.  The girls' last day of school is May 31st and I'd like to have a week or two of full relaxation and sleeping in before I get busy at work with summer camp.  Last year, due to switching to this school in November, he had to work into early July to complete all the coursework.  Made for a grumpy kid, mom and put a huge damper on summer break.


I thought I'd start the week off with my Simple Woman's Daybook, so here goes....................

Simple Woman's Daybook #4
FOR TODAY

Outside my window...the sun is shining making the dusting of snow on the ground blinding.  The sky is light blue that reminds me of spring.  Too bad it's only 20 degrees out!!

I am thinking...that I like myself today.

I am thankful...my near migraine from last night is gone.

In the kitchen...are dirty dishes from the girls' breakfast and I've got hot coffee in the French press.

I am wearing...pjs and an old sweater my Dad lent me years ago.  It's a cream cardigan with big wooden buttons.  I was over visiting while pregnant with my son and got really cold, he gave me the sweater to wear and insisted I wear it home.  Now, every time I put it on it's like getting a big hug from him!!

I am creating...new chore charts for the Oompas.

I am going...hopefully no where today.

I am wondering...when I started saying things my mother said to me??

I am reading...The Vampire Diaries.  They were a gift to my oldest Oompa and she left one laying out so i picked it up.  It's not my usual style but a nice diversion.

I am hoping...school work goes smoothly today.

I am looking forward to...nothing really.  There have been an increasing number of disappointments around here lately, even over simple things, so to lessen the letdown I've stopped looking forward to things unless I am the one making it happen.

I am learning...about herbal medicine.

Around the house...it's quiet, I will enjoy my coffee and peace for a few more minutes before getting the boy up for the day.  The headache from hell last night kinda wiped me out and I'm moving a little slower than usual. 

I am pondering...where to put the garden gnome my sister-in-law left as a surprise for me yesterday.  She's a sneaky little thing!!

A favorite quote for today...I really haven't heard anything yet today.

One of my favorite things...hot coffee :-)

A few plans for the rest of the week:  Middle Oompa has a doctor appointment to follow-up on her new asthma meds, I work on Wednesday and Friday and have an appointment with a new gastro on Thursday.

A peek into my day...











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