Muffins with Mom – 3 Things I learned from my sons over spring break

photo credit: Not the Average Mama

“A parent’s job is never done.” I now understand that statement that my grandmother used to say. I’ve tried really hard to prepare my sons for adulthood, but some days they have me questioning my parenting skills. Because parenting is a job you never retire from, you learn to ride the waves, roll with the tide, roll with the punches and have fun.

As your children grow from, toddlers, to teens, to young adults, they still say the danrdest things. My sons were home on spring break from college at the same time. (Note to self – have the colleges stager their time off dates, just for my sons). Our house was overflowing with…hmmm…laughter, sarcasm and plenty of chaos.

Below are the things I learned while my sons were visiting.

1.      I’m aging – even more rapidly when the guys are home. One of my sons decided he needed more pillow son his bed, so he came into my room as I was winding down for the night. I had cleansed my face, tied my hair up for the night, and slithered underneath thick blankets.

As my son reached across my body for a pillow, he paused and stared at my face and said, “Are your eyebrows grey.”

I don’t know how he ended up on the floor with that pillow. When he regained consciousness, I explained that he may also have strands of salt and pepper in his eyebrows, on his toes and anywhere else he has hair.

My son gave me his brightest smile and kissed me good night.

2.      Birthdays are different as you get older – I was pleasantly surprised when I returned home from an errand and my sons presented me with flowers and a card for my birthday. It was my 53^rd birthday, so on the inside of the card, in one corner there was a folded five dollar bill taped. In another corner, there were three one dollar bills taped.

“Awww, cute. I get it,” I told them. “But 5 plus 3 equal 8. Is this new math? You short changed me if you’re trying to make $53.

Eyes rolled at me, but it was all in love.

I decided I wanted to go out to eat for my birthday. Off I went to a family restaurant where I could get one of my favorite salads and warm, soft bread. This wasn’t a restaurant that I went to often. I asked the waitress, “Do you do anything special for birthdays?”

“We can sing to you.”

I had already heard the staff singing to someone over in a corner behind our table. I declined her offer. “No, I don’t need a group of people screaming at me right now. I’d just like a quiet dinner.”

I used to like all of that clapping and shouting – “SOME-BODY’S GOT A BIRTHDAY TODAY.”

Birthdays are different now.

3.      I love the comfort of home – spending the day in flannel pajamas and a fleece house coat is my idea of a good time. Sometimes I even fall asleep with a book on my chest or my laptop open. My son said, “Why did I come home for break, you guys don’t want to do anything.”

My son used to love family night, playing board, games or card games. I said, “I told you I would play card, we just have to do it before I get sleepy. You have until 8pm.”

Maybe during the next break my son will connect with me during my awake hours.

As parents, we never stop learning. What have you learned from your child lately?

Words of Wisdom - Be Unstopable

All photos courtesy of Pinterest

Motivational Monday – What’s your vision?

Plush Party Palace - 14 N. Washington Street, Ypsilanti, MI

Plush Party Palace, this is the place I visited recently for a Vision Board Party. I was immediately intrigued by the name of the business because it involves alliteration and just rolls off your tongue – Plush Party Palace. Say it out loud slowly, Plush-Party-Palace…see what I mean?

LaFawn Pughsley (L) and Cherisa Allen (R)

It was the desire of entrepreneur, Cherisa Allen, to bring women together in support of one another. She accomplished this desire in the form of a Vision Board Party. Several of the women in attendance were budding entrepreneurs. Others were there to support the small businesses, share their stories and to put their visions in writing.

The evening affair was all about self-care, wellness, and supporting one another. One of the activities that stood out for me was when the ladies were asked to write a love letter to themselves. They were to write words of encouragement and things they wanted to accomplish in the next 90 days. Each woman ended her letter with the salutation, “With Love…and added their name.

After the letters were signed and sealed, they were collected and will be mailed to the ladies in 90 days. Receiving the letter in the mail will serve as motivation and remind each recipient of what she said she wanted to accomplish.

Holding the vision party at the Plush Party Palace was two-fold. It was a welcoming and relaxing environment and it also brought awareness of this new business in Ypsilanti. The business is owned by LaFawn Pughsley and located at 14 N. Washington in Ypsilanti, MI. LaFawn officially opened her doors October 2018.

The vision behind Plush Party Palace was to provide a place where little girls could experience the self-care of manicures, pedicures, and overall pampering. LaFawn wants to encourage girls to have positive self-esteem, but first, they must understand what that looks like.

The Plush Party Palace is available to rent for girls pampering parties, both for little girls and grown-up girls. Check out their website for pricing and other details.

Have you put your vision in writing yet? Hold yourself accountable, do it now.

Photo Credit: photo taken by another entrepreneur, Katrina Humphrey, at the Vision Board Party. 

rsvpbooth.

Fun Friday - Lying in Church - Comedian Marcus D. Wiley

YouTube Video Credit: Marcus D. Wiley

Wordless Wednesday - Happy Valentine's Day

Photo Credit: famous quotes by famous people

Motivational Monday – National Make a Friend Day

photo credit: Tumblr

I remember walking into Mr. Brown’s seventh-grade music class and thinking, why do I have to take music. I do NOT like to sing. Mr. Brown seemed to always wear a starched white shirt, with the cuffed sleeves rolled up just above his wrists. Strolling around the room with his slightly protruding belly and a stern look on his face, he was still able to make music class…interesting.

The other thing I remember about Mr. Brown’s class is that I sat next to another quiet girl who like music about as much as I did, which was just a little. It mostly had to so with that awkward stage of having a squeaky voice. What I remember most is singing a song that had to do with making new friends.

Today is National Make a Friend Day, so I’ll share what I remember of that song.

“Make new friends but, keep the old one is silver and the other is gold.”

With that being said, go out and make a new friend today. Why? Because friends challenge us, support us, and even help us see new perspectives. You can celebrate National Make a Friend Day in the following ways:

·         Share your smile – sometimes a simple smile can make someone’s day or start a conversation.

·        Join a club or take a new class – this is a fun way to make friends. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to try ballroom dancing, take an art class or try tap dancing (oops, these are things I’ve done recently).

·        Revive an old friendship – reach out to someone you haven’t talked to in a while, set a date to meet face to face over lunch, coffee or something else of your choosing.

Just to take the pressure off of yourself, don’t feel obligated to make everything happen today. Any day is a good day to make a friend. Use National Make a Friend Day as a starting point to a new friendship.

How will you celebrate National Make a Friend Day?

Fun Friday – A funny thing happened

photo credit: eBay

As I was contemplating a blog post idea for today, I rediscovered this one I wrote several years ago. Enjoy.

Has anything funny happened to you lately? In some cases, something so crazy happens that you have to laugh to keep from screaming. When I hang out with my mom, I can almost always expect something out of the ordinary to happen. Last week was no different.

We were on our way to an appointment in an office building; before going into the office where we were meeting, we stopped by the restroom. The door to the restroom was slightly open. Taped to the door was a handwritten sign that read “WOMEN.”  That alone should have been an indication of what we would find on the inside.

If I were a germaphobe (is that a word?), I would have turned and run away, but I tried to stick it out without touching anything. After entering the two stall restroom, I noticed the paper towel dispenser was broken. However, there was a full roll of paper towel sitting on the sink (relief).

As I pushed the first stall door open, I was greeted by a sign taped to the stall wall that asked me to “PLEASE READ.” I didn’t read all of the small print on that sign, but I did read the one across from it that said, “THIS TOILET DOES NOT FLUSH PROPERLY.”

I backed away from the first stall, then gently kicked the door open to the other stall, only to be greeted by more signage. My first thought was who is going to read all of these signs before they take care of business.  

My curiosity got the best of me so I read the sign titled, “DO NOT PUT INTO TOILET.” First on the list was tea bags.” A tea bag definitely would have been the last thing I thought to take into that restroom.

The final line of the note said, “IF YOU CLOG THIS TOILET…we will leave it unrepaired like the one to your right. I asked my mom, “do you think this is one of those hidden camera shows?” I pulled out my camera phone and took photos of the signs. I really couldn’t believe the condition of that restroom.

I think a port-a-john/portable toilet would have been better than what my mom and I experienced that day. We laughed, I screamed and I ran from that restroom like the Gingerbread Man.

What funny situation have you experienced lately?

Wellness Wednesday - Fitness Motivation

photo credit: Pixels.com

photo credit: Deposit photos

photo credit: Bites of Wellness

A-Train's SuperFit Women's Fitness

Motivational Monday – Be Disruptive

photo credit: GreenBook Blog

Little Johnny wandered around the classroom while the teacher was conducting a lesson. Disruptive. An employee stormed out of a staff meeting. Disruptive. What comes to mind when you hear the word disruptive?

Dictionary.com says the word disruptive means unruly, disorderly, rowdy and undisciplined. When we hear the word disruptive we immediately visualize something negative. What would happen if we were to spin this word into a positive?

A recent blog post that I read said to disrupt aging. The two little words packed a powerful punch for me. The premise was simple…be unruly, disorderly, rowdy and undisciplined, in the face of aging. The article said to empower yourself to live healthy.

My interpretation of disrupting aging is to go against the grain, go against the norm, and shake things up. AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) says we can “change what it means to be an older American by disrupting aging.” You accomplish this by living a healthy lifestyle. This may mean doing things differently than you usually do.

We’re familiar with the definition of insanity – doing the same thing, the same way, over and over, but expecting different results. It’s time to be disruptive. In what area do you need to be disruptive? Perhaps you want to get your finances on track, improve your eating habits or focus more on your spirituality.

A friend, Annette Webster wrote a book titled, The Blueprint – Playing & Winning With A Losing Hand. She says her book is a ground plan for change. “Its purpose is to disrupt your current thinking. To encourage you to go from where you are right now in life to where God desires you to be.” Visit her website for more information.

Disruption.

While it is not appropriate for Little Johnny to be disruptive in the classroom or for an employee to storm out of a meeting, disruption has a place.

How can you be disruptive in a positive way?

Fun Friday – Love and Inspiration – 3 Ways to celebrate the month of love

photo credit: hurleylibrary.org

Red hearts, chocolate, roses, and poetry…ahhh, love is in the air. February is the month of love (as well as Heart Month and Black History Month). Show a little extra love to yourself and spread that love to friends and family.

When you spread love, you’ll also get that warm fuzzy feeling on the inside. Here are 3 ways to celebrate the month of love…

1.      Watch a romantic comedy

2.      Send a card to a friend you haven’t seen in a while

3.      Write a poem – even if you don’t think you’re a writer. Go ahead try it, you might surprise yourself

Just for fun, take this challenge, create a love poem about something you love. I’ll go first to show you how easy it is. All you need to do is fill in the blank.

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

I love _____________

How about you?

So, my poem would read…

Roses are Red,

Violets are Blue

I love “writing”

How about you?

Your fill-in-the-blank can be funny, serious, inspirational, whatever you want. It can be one word or a phrase. If you want to play along write your word or phrase in the comments for a chance to win a copy of my book Menopause Ain’t No Joke – Blending Faith and Humor in Perfectly Imperfect Situations.

Post your word/phrase by midnight Eastern Standard Time, February 3, 2019.

May this month of love inspire you to do something that you’ve always wanted to do.

NOTE: the book will be shipped free of charge if the winner resides in the United States.