I'm a mom on a mission to get my kids through the jungle of puberty while keeping my sanity along the journey.
Welcome
Join me in my daily walk through the joys and struggles of parenthood. Share a word of encouragement or be encouraged. Cry a little, laugh a lot, but know it is all in divine order.
It’s Friday,
time to do a happy dance! Start your weekend by exercising your cheek muscles…in
other words, get your laugh on. Below are a few funny signs and tweets from The
Ellen Show. I got the idea of the Ellen tweets from a fellow blogger – thanks Dana!
It’s Monday…again,
and you have so many things that you want to accomplish that your head is
spinning just thinking about them. This is a sign that it is time to let loose
and act silly. If you are afraid that a random act of silliness my ruin your
reputation, it’s ok to carry out the task in private.
I can’t say
that I’ve had any trouble with being silly and I think it has rubbed off on my
boys. If I tend to get out of control, one of my sons will look at me while
shaking his head and say, “you’re doing too much.”
Here’s what
silly looks like at our house:
When things
begin to feel overwhelming add a little silly to your life by trying one of the
following ideas:
1.Take a silly photo
2.Watch a movie that makes you laugh
(even if you’ve seen it a million times)
3.Make up a silly poem –
Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
I’ll clean the house, if you help too
4.Do something you always tell your
kids not to do…try it
-Play with your food (make a happy face on your pancakes)
-Chew with your mouth open
-Run through the house
Your kids will either think something is wrong with you or they will join
you.
5.Talk like a pirate all day
6.Do the Chicken Dance
7.Conduct a silly science experiment
with your child
8.Play a silly game
9.Create a silly word of the day –
every time your child uses the silly word of the day he earns a reward of your
choosing
10.Have a silly hair day (just rolled
out of bed hair doesn’t count)
I have
always told my boys that they can talk to me about anything. However, when my
fourteen-year-old son asked me to explain climax,
I nearly choked on the salad I was eating. And it isn’t easy to choke on spinach
leaf lettuce. It happened
after dinner the other night; my son was sitting next to me on the couch,
tweeting someone on his phone. I was doing my usual, snacking with the laptop
by my side. That was when he asked the question…
“Ma, how to
you explain climax to someone who
doesn’t know what it is?”
My response
was quick, “WHAT?! You want to talk about that now?”
“Yes,” he
said calmly.
“Do you
really want to talk about the birds and the bees NOW?”
That’s when
he lost control with laughter. “I’m talking about the climax of a story. You
know, you’re a writer.”
I hit him
with a couch pillow and ended that conversation. That episode is what can
happen when you release your imagination…all kinds of thoughts spill out. That
was the second episode of an imagination gone wild that day. My first
experience occurred earlier that day.
I was on the
treadmill at the fitness center when my imagination took over. A fellow member
said something to me while I was wearing my ear buds and watching the TV
monitor. I smiled and gave a response, but I didn’t really know what he said.
After the
workout, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. What I saw led me to imagine
that my friend on the treadmill may have said (with a smile)…
“Boy, you
look a mess today.”
I smiled
back and said, “thanks, you too. Have a nice day.” As I let my
imagination go where it will, I am reminded to also use better listening
skills.
Have you
ever let your imagination run wild? What was the outcome?
Pull up a
chair, get cozy and savor the flavor of a blueberry muffin as you listen to a snippet
of a conversation with teens.
Today is a
federal holiday in the U.S. It’s the celebration of the birthday of civil
rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King is most known to youth and
others for his famous, I Have a Dream
speech.
A recent
trip to the International Auto Show for my boys, led to our discussion about
Dr. King. Prior to the trip one son asked, “Is there anything to do at the auto
show besides look at cars you might not be able to afford?”
His brother
responded with, “You can always dream, Martin Luther King had a dream.” Although both
boys knew Dr. King’s dream speech held more substance than just dreaming of
material things, we began a conversation about accomplishments and dreams. They
even learned a little family history about how my mom marched a few rows behind
Dr. King during his march on Frankfurt. She was attending college at Kentucky State
at the time. When our
discussion ended I searched for more information about Dr. King. Below are
quotes I came across, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. HELPING OTHERS
“We are prone to judge success by the
index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles, rather than by the
quality of our service and relationship to humanity.”
OPTIMSM
“Faith is taking the first step, even
when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
CHARACTER
“The ultimate measure of a man is not
where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at
times of challenge and controversy.”
HELPING OTHERS “Everybody
can be great… Because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college
degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace and soul generated by love.”
HARD WORK
“If a man is
called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michael Angelo
painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should
sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say,
here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”
For more
inspirational quotes by Dr. King click here.
It’s
basketball season at our house, which means time to travel. I was somewhat
ready for the journey to our recent “away” game. The GPS navigation wasn’t working
on my phone, so I printed mapquest directions. However, my son’s role was to
help keep me on track, a simple enough task, or so I thought.
What do you
do when your navigation system is broken? A back up plan is always a good idea.
The person in the photo below was my back up plan… the teen who was supposed to
help me navigate. He fell asleep.
My sleeping navigator
Here are a
five solutions that I have for surviving a trip with a broken navigation
system:
1.Don’t ask a sleepy teen to help you
navigate.
2.Don’t be afraid to stop and ask for
directions along the way.
3.Take someone with you to keep you
company in case you get lost.
4.Travel with snacks to help ease any
tension or frustration.
5.Borrow someone else’s navigation
system.
What
suggestions do you have for getting somewhere new without a navigation system?
Everyone has a special gift, skill or talent, however you want to describe it. I saw a video recently on America's Got Talent of a guy and his dancing skill. It was soooo cool. Hope you enjoy.
Warm up your
day with a homemade cranberry muffin, then prop your feet up, relax your
shoulders and read on.
Do you
remember that famous line from The Wizard of Oz—“Lions and tigers and bears, oh
my!?” Here’s a line you can sing as you walk through my kitchen—“Pot and pans
and bowls, oh my!” It all began when I told my son to put away the clean
dishes.
Pots and pans gone wild (kinda).
My son
shuffled into the kitchen with the speed of someone just sentenced to death
row. I tried to tune out his protests of “Why do I have to do it? I put away
the dishes last time.” I left him to finish his sentencetask in
solitude.
When I
returned to the kitchen to prepare dinner, I found items in disarray. You would
have thought my son had just moved in with our family, nothing was where it
should be. As I opened one cabinet, plastic bowls flew from the shelf.
I could feel
the pots and pans screaming from their place in the cabinet. When I opened the
cabinet, there were large pots stacked on top of smaller ones and lids
scattered. Nothing neatly assembled as it usually fits.
As I pulled
out the items I needed for dinner, I reassembled a few things. It was like
working a Rubik’s Cube as I restacked pans, twisted pot handles and turned lids
around.
My son later
told me that his friend helped put away the dishes. His friend had heard me say
that the chores had to be done before, he could have an overnight guest. I
guess that’s the color of friendship. But, I wonder if the friend would have
willingly put away dishes at his house? Hmmm.
Have dishes
ever taken over your kitchen, clean, dirty, or otherwise?
It’s Friday,
time to get the weekend started with a few chuckles. Today I have a few stories
to share to make you smile. These are not my own, but ones I found around the
web.
The child and his mother
A curious
child asked his mother, “Mommy, why are your hairs turning grey?” The mother
tried to use this occasion to teach her child: “It is because of you dear.
Every bad action of yours will turn one of my hairs grey.”
The child
replied innocently: “Now I know why grandmother only has grey hairs on her
head.”
Wrong email address
A couple
were going on vacation, but the wife was on a business trip. So the husband
went to the destination first and his wife would meet him the next day. When he
reached the hotel he decided to send his wife a quick email. Unfortunately,
when typing the address, he mistyped a letter and his note was directed instead
to an elderly preacher’s wife whose husband had passed away the day before. When the
grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a
piercing scream and fell to the floor in a dead faint.
At the
sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this on the screen:
Dearest
Wife,
Just got
checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow.
P.S. Sure is
hot down here.
For more
stories similar to the two above click here.
Out of the mouths of babes
A small boy
is sent to bed by his father. Five minutes later…”Da-ad…
“What?”
“I’m
thirsty. Can you bring me a drink of water?”
“No, you had
your chance. Lights Out.”
Five minutes
later: “Da-aaaad…”
“What?”
“I’m
THIRSTY. Can I have a drink of water??”
“I told you
NO! If you ask again, I’ll have to spank you!!”
Five minutes
later…”Daaaa-aaad.”
“What!”
“When you
come to spank me, can you bring me a drink of water?
Welcome to a
new year and a new episode of Muffins with Mom. Recline in your favorite arm
chair with a muffin and a warm beverage. A Banana Nut muffin and a steaming cup
of decaf with Hazelnut is my choice today.
This year
was a different kind of New Year’s Eve Celebration. My teen boys went to a
lock-in at a recreation/church sponsored event. We left at the same time,
exchanged hugs and wished each other a Happy New Year.
I went to a
service that featured actors David and Tamela Mann. He entertained the audience
with comedy and she bellowed out the sweet sound of one of her famous gospel
songs, Take Me to the King. The event
culminated with a preached message and I was on my way home before 11pm. On my way
home…that is when I had a quiet moment alone in the car to think (especially
since the radio wasn’t working). It’s amazing the things one can think about
during a quiet car ride. I discovered how dry my skin really is. Since it was
a snowy night, I kept my legs warm by wearing tights with my skirt. As I
scratched my leg, I discovered a new sound. It was sort of musical as I rubbed
my hand across my leg. Close your eyes and imagine the sound of wood kindling
in a fire. Only the crackling sound was my dry hand going across my tights. I
don’t think I snagged a hole in them. While
driving I had a flashback of the closing prayer, where the pastor asked
everyone to hold hands. Oooo. I had to connect with someone while I had
alligator skin and no time to grab the hand lotion from my purse. I made it
home, found some moisture rich cream for my hands, and then snuggled under a pile
of blankets. After sending well wishes to friends and family, I welcomed in the
New Year then went into a deep slumber.
I came across a phrase recently that I want to share with you today. As you reflect on the year that has just passed, how would you complete this phrase, "God has blessed me with...?"
My answer would include:
Health - I kept a consistent workout routine in 2013, took vitamins (sometimes) and ate fruits and vegetables (maybe not the daily recommended amount, but I got them in).
Strength - I had the strength to maintain a workout routine, work, attend my kids events and even wrestle with my son on occasion (he tries to prove he's stronger than I am, of course I quit if he has the upper hand). This included emotion and physical strength.
Writing Networking Opportunities - It was great to attend a writing/revision retreat in the fall where I reconnected with friends and met new people. And I can forget the blessing of a new laptop (Mother's Day) that traveled with me to the conference and other writing journeys.
What about you, what were some of your blessing highlights for 2013?
After recently listening to the song, Lean on Me by Bill Withers, I was reminded of what friendship is all about, supporting each other. Happy New Year to all my friends near and far.
