Jun6

Today I added a Can of Crazy to the Pantry!

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I want to start by saying kudos to the stay-at-home mom, especially those home-schooling – I bow to you for your endeavors at home; and frankly wish I could be a stay-at-home mom, although…the home-school thing would definitely NOT be happening in our house.  I dearly love my children, but if I had to be their teacher I’d have to be committed.

Now, you working moms….I feel your pain, and some days I mean that literally.  Working moms aren’t able to spend as many hours in our own homes or with our children as we would like to, although we are still responsible for the day to day running of our homes….that’s why mine looks like a tornado hit it most of the time.  On those rare occasions when someone comes over and the living room/dining room/kitchen areas are so so very clean…..I’m laughing on the inside because I know what an absolute dump the back bedroom is…..because that’s where we stashed all the lingering ‘stuff’ that was littering the living room and dining room.  Don’t be fooled, us working moms might LOOK like we’ve got it all together but realistically something has got to give, there literally just aren’t enough hours in the day for us to possibly get it ALL done.

The best laid plans….let me tell you from experience; no matter HOW much you plan, schedule and think you have everything set to run smoothly…..HA, you’re fooling yourself.  At least two days a week my day goes to poo and I have to completely revamp the plans and schedules – it could be a sick child, a sick co-worker, car problems, a phone call from a friend in need….doesn’t matter what it is, it happens.  So, we moms, whether stay-at-home moms or working moms, we have a 3 year old temper tantrum (you know the one, with the stomping, yelling and arm flailing), then we take a couple very deep breaths and turn on those very creative XX chromosomes that God graced us with and deal with the NEW chaos so that we can finally get to the end goal of the day….our nice soft beds and sleeping children.

Society no longer refers to us as “moms”, we are now labeled as “super-moms” and our family thinks we’re magicians, after all, the groceries magically appear in the frig and the laundry magically appears clean in the dresser drawers right?!  We work very hard with usually no or little appreciation from society, it is now regarded as “our duty” whether we are stay-at-home moms or working moms to maintain the “Donna Reed” persona.  We are not super-moms but in reality we truly are many things; chefs, maids, doctors, veterinarians, chauffeurs, bookkeepers, gardeners, teachers, personal consultants, receptionists, referees, if you have girls – hairdressers…..and I’m sure there is much that I have not listed but you get my point.  Society says our house should be spotless with everyone in cheerful moods and neatly dressed……life is not a 40′s or 50′s TV sitcom, this is REAL life and life is messy.  My house is not filthy, it’s clean but it’s also very cluttered and things don’t get put away daily.  I know I can’t accomplish everything every day so I had to deal my deck of mom cards and cleaning daily was dealt the crappy hand.  I work, I accomplish the necessities (laundry, cooking, dishes, baths), spend time with my kids and I try to find a small bit of me time, in exchange for the clutter – and I’ve come to the opinion, if you don’t like my clutter then don’t look at it.

Ladies, keep heart and remember that regardless of  who gives you whatever title, you are first and foremost a person and secondly a mom.  There are only so many things you can humanly accomplish each day, you are bound to make mistakes, to forget something or fail someone or fail at something you’re doing.  Don’t try to live up to society’s persona of what mom “should” be, but instead be who you are and be happy (and sane) with yourself and your family.

My daughter and I have been re-watching the 7 seasons of the television show Gilmore Girls; worth watching if you haven’t seen it.  We watched an episode the other day that made me laugh hysterically; Lorelai (the mom) was talking to her daughter Rory and telling her how she was supposed to be writing a letter.  She was completely overwhelmed and her mind was a wild jungle of scary gibberish…..this is exactly how I feel some days when chaos breaks out and I can’t think straight.  Watch the short video and see if your mind isn’t a wild jungle of scary gibberish during your moments of chaos.  Next time you feel overwhelmed just say to yourself “Monkey Monkey Underpants”, I guarantee it will put a smile on your face!

Jul5

Today I Stashed some Separation Anxiety in the Pantry!

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Maybe not all, but most children go through a phase of separation anxiety. It’s a glorious thing to be standing in the doorway to the kindergarten classroom trying to unclasp your child’s arms and legs from around your body while they’re screaming like a banshie so the entire building can hear them and flooding the front of your clothing with a waterfall of tears; all the while 4 parents and the teacher are all staring in awe with judgmental expressions on their faces. You then begin to wonder; as you continue trying to pry your child off of you; what demon has possessed your child and allowed them to acquire this Hercules-like strength and hurricane driven lungs able to produce glass shattering screams. Finally the teacher snaps out of her trance and assists in peeling your child off of you and you leave your flailing, screaming child in the teacher’s arms as you begin to make tracks for the exit. First at a brisk pace, then at a power-walk speed while slowly increasing to a run, but of course trying to make it NOT look like you’re actually running away. You finally make it back to your vehicle, start the engine and just sit there taking a few slow calming breaths as you shake with nervous tremors. After a few minutes you buckle up, put the car in drive and go about your day, knowing that tomorrow morning is going to go down as a nightmarish repeat of this morning. And so the mornings will go for an unknown number of days until your child finally realizes that you ARE coming back. This whole scenario may take place at school, at Sunday school, at Grandma’s or even at your own home as you head out and leave a sitter their to hold down the fort. There is bliss in the knowledge that EVENTUALLY your child will outgrow this phase and move on to other blessedly annoying phases of their maturing lives.

Now we flash forward between 12-14 years to the college departure when mom goes through her tantrum of separation anxiety. Although, to be totally honest, there are mini episodes earlier than this as your child leaves for 2 weeks of camp, or a week away from home with friends or the church group. See, it’s preparation; a test run if you will; to see how mom will handle the real thing when they leave for college. I have to admit that we here at our house have not reached the point of no return yet; we are not leaving for college quite yet, but my 15 year old daughter is taking yet another trip across the country without us. She has made 1 trip to Boston Massachusetts, 1 trip to Washington DC, 1 trip to Gatlinburg Tennessee and will be making another trip to Washington DC in just a few days. This time she will be commuting from Mobile Alabama to Washington DC with strangers, staying with strangers and be in the care of strangers. Two plane rides and 11 days later I will see my first born again. Like I said – trial run, right?! Still, none too easy though. Frankly; so far, I have not been one of those hysterical moms that practically chokes the life out of their kid by hugging them around their neck with a ninja grip while babbling something incoherent through soppy tears. Don’t get me wrong, even if you aren’t the hysterical blubbering mother, anxiety still does kick in and you start to have a myriad of thoughts that all begin with “What if!!”…. Guess what?? They may not be what we as parents consider fully grown adults yet, but they can handle themselves. If deep down inside we honestly thought they couldn’t handle it and wouldn’t be alright then we wouldn’t have agreed to let them go in the first place. Yes, travel with family is a spectacular experience (and we have the photos to prove it); but traveling without family, meeting new people, making new friends, stretching their wings and taking advantage of opportunities like this is a phenomenal experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives. Kids need a little time away, a little independence, to learn and grow on their own without mom and dad leading them around by their noses or changing their path for them and pushing them in the right direction. It’s actually a practice run for everyone involved! Of course, then as a parent you have to take the sibling or siblings that are left at home into consideration. Brother or Sister gets to take a huge trip all on their own while they are stuck at home with mom and dad – Woo-Hoo, right?! Use this time to bond and do something special with the kid or kids at home, don’t sit their pouting like a 3 year old because one of your chicks has left the nest for a short while. Not only will your kid or kids at home be completely flabbergasted as to what to do with this basket-case they’ve been left with; but they also might feel like they’re not as worthy of your love and attention as brother or sister is.

I remember as a kid it was quite an adventure going away without mom and dad. Of course, all my adventures was with friends I already knew, but it was still an adventure. The world when I was 15 was a totally different plain of reality. You could glance away from your toddler in a store without the fear of him/her being snatched; people actually looked out for other kids whether they knew them or not. You could go into a public restroom without wondering who was going to follow you in there and rob you. It seemed to be a safer time than these days. But was it really safer or was our perception blurred because we were kids and unaware of the realities that went on?? Yes there are threats out there but we can’t cage our children from the big bad world and keep them in seclusion all their lives. They have to be let out, they need to gain their independence, they need to see our great landmarks and have these phenomenal experiences without us. Teach them to be safe, to be cautious and trust that they’ll use good judgement and remember what they’ve been taught.

In the meantime, while they’re away having the time of their lives we’re sleeping and peeing with our cell phone in our hand NEVER putting it down so we don’t miss their call; watching the weather report for some part of the country we previously had no interest in; possibly using an exorbitant amount of tissues while claiming it’s just allergies; and checking their online banking accounts for any transactions that might give us a clue as to what they’re doing today. Even though it seems like an eternity, finally their trip of a lifetime is over and they’re home again, safe under our roof in their own bed.

“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence”.
Quote by Denis E. Waitley; he is an American motivational speaker and writer, consultant and best-selling author.

“You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence”.
Quote by Abraham Lincoln; he was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865.

Jul2

Today I’m shoving my youngest child into the Pantry (and the shower)!

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Alright, no fibbing you moms….I know this has happened in your house too, fess-up.

This is one of those “pick your battle moments”:

Last Thursday after work I took my daughter to the mall to purchase some…..unmentionable articles of clothing…..that she needed for a trip she’ll be taking this weekend (I’ll share more about that in another post).  Anyway, her and I went to the mall to find her clothing, we even found myself a couple new shirts for work.  Then, once I pondered on it for a moment, I determined that if I came home from “shopping” with items for my daughter AND items for myself but NOTHING for my 8 year old son…..the world would end as we know it as far as he’s concerned.  So, conveniently located by the register in JCPenny’s were some boys T-Shirts. I took a minute to glance through them to find one that I knew he’d like and I found a red one with the logo and picture of Lego Ninjago.  Some of you are saying “What?” and some of you are saying “Oh, I know what that is!”   It is a cartoon of Lego people who are Ninja’s and fight the Snake Clan amongst other ‘bad’ clans and characters.  Now, I do have to stop the story at this point and say…..if you don’t know what Ninjago is – that’s okay, it’s new; BUT….if you don’t know what the Lego part is – ooohhh shame on you, they’ve been around for over 60 years (since 1949 to be exact).

Back to my story; so I picked out a red Lego Ninjago T-shirt for him; pay for all our purchases  (cha-ching and Ouch! I might add)  and my daughter and I run one more errand and then head home.  After arriving home my son was very excited and had to share the “highlights of his day” with me, Gracie the dog was also very excited to see mommy and wanted up in my lap (all the usual routine).  A little while later after everyone calmed down I went to retrieve the bag of clothing that my daughter had set on her bedroom floor.  I took my son’s T-shirt out to the living room where he and his father were and told him I got him something.  “Oooo what is it!!!”  I held up the T-shirt and he was super excited.  He immediately stripped off the shirt he was wearing and put on his NEW NINJAGO T-SHIRT.  He thanked me profusely and said he LOVED his new shirt.  He decided he wanted to sleep in it that night; since it was new and it was actually getting late anyway I agreed.  I got up the next morning and went to work (as did my husband) and the kids were at home with friends.  My son decided that he wanted to wear his new T-shirt for “one more day” since it was “so cool”.  I got home that evening and he informed me that he wanted to wear the T-shirt to bed “just one more night”…..umm, well…..that was 3 days ago LOL!  I haven’t been able to convince him all weekend long that he needs to let me wash it.  Now if we’d have been going somewhere or we had company coming over I would have played the mom card and insisted that he take it off.  Since we were home all weekend alone, I decided to pick my battle with him and that just wasn’t it.  I’d rather he pick up his toys than change his shirt.  He also refused to take a shower this weekend because then “he’d have to take the shirt off”.  He thinks he’s a Ninja while he’s wearing it.  I told him last night before we all went to bed that when I came home tonight, he’d better have taken that T-shirt off and taken a shower or I’d cut the shirt off him and burn it.  He asked why?  I told him he was a stinky little boy and if he wore that T-shirt for one more day it would grown arms and strangle him.  Hubby had today off work, daughter was scheduled to work her volunteer shift at the hospital and I had to work; so….I’m not sure yet if he stripped his ‘Ninja gear’ off today.  I certainly HOPE he did, his father took him out to the grocery store.

Remember moms – Pick Your Battles!!   Even though you’re the mom and you think you should win them all that’s not the case.  Pick the more important ones and let the little ones go.  I’m not saying let them go naked to the store LOL.  But if they want to “pick out their own outfit” even though it doesn’t match AT ALL and you think they look like a little HoBo and it makes you cringe at the thought of running into someone you know……breathe!!  It’s an outfit, not a tattoo.  They’ll eventually outgrow this phase of mismatched clothing or not taking clothing off for 3 days.  Eventually they’ll get into the phase of actually matching their clothing; clothing that looks like a Hoochie-Mama, or a Punk Rocker – but it matches  :) LOL……this too will end I promise.  (Just remember to take LOTS of pictures for blackmail purposes later in life, you know, at Graduation, their Wedding, to show their kids).  And admit it….how many of you have spent the ENTIRE weekend in the same PJ’s before???

Jun28

Today I’m sharing a Laugh from the Pantry!

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There was a somewhat humorous situation that occurred at my house last Friday night. We were all enjoying a movie in the living room together; my husband, myself, my daughter, my son and the family dog. My daughter glanced out the back door and saw one of our two Siamese cats coming into the screen porch through the pet door. She started to say “Oh look Tut is back” but stopped speaking at that point and yelled “Oh No He Has A Bird”!!! Yes, the stinker cat had either found a baby bird on the ground or climbed a tree and snatched it. According to the local Environmental Center ‘fledglings’ (baby birds that aren’t quite ready to fly but are getting close) are jumping out of their nests this time of year, they said they’re all over the ground. So…we’re giving Tut the benefit of the doubt and assuming he found it on the ground. Anyway, we all immediately jumped up and ran out to the screen porch. My son and daughter were running around the screen porch trying to get the dog back into the house, my husband was chasing the cat around the screen porch trying to catch him, the cat had dropped the baby bird and it was hopping around the screen porch and I was trying to catch it…..looked like a 3 stooges episode. I’m sure the neighbors were wondering what the ruckus was all about. My husband finally caught the cat, the kids got the dog in the house and I caught the baby bird. Then I just stood there wondering “what do I do with it now”?? The dog was mad that she was shut up in the house and not allowed to participate in the fun, the cat was perturbed that we took his new toy (or snack) away from him, and the baby bird’s little heart was racing. Made for quite an interesting Friday night! :)

Baby Bird


Tut the cat


Gracie the dog


Jun27
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Some people say, “We’ll have kids when we’re ready for them” -OR- “We’ll have kids when we can afford them”.

It is a fact that you’ll NEVER be “ready for” and you can NEVER “afford” kids.

Life before kids and life after kids are completely different worlds.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

  • SLEEP:

You used to sleep 7-9 hours a night. Now you get about 5 on average if you’re lucky. You can’t store it up in reserve, you can only learn how to adapt to the lack of it after kids. There will be a multitude of reasons that you will go without sleep throughout the lifetime of your kids. It will start with reasons like colic, ear infections, croup, stomach virus, etc. Then the reasons will change to things like slumber parties with 8 giggling girls in your house all night and school projects that are due tomorrow even though you weren’t told about them until 8pm tonight.  You will learn to function quiet proficiently with only a couple hours of sleep.  You used to drink coffee as an enjoyable beverage, now you drink it to stay awake.

  • FOOD:

You used to eat hot fresh meals of things like lasagna and salad, steak and potato, Chinese, or chicken wings at the sports bar with friends or a nice semi formal or formal restaurant. Now you eat things like peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, hot dogs and mac-n-cheese or better yet….how many days of your life can you possibly eat at McDonalds.  From now on the restaurant choice will be determined by whether they have chicken nuggets or what kind of playground equipment they have.

  • CLEAN HOUSE:

Your version of clean used to be nice debris free floors, slick clean counters, no toilet rings, full toilet paper dispenser, furniture spot free and cushions straight and in place, dishes washed and put away, no dust on the furniture, clean stain free clothing washed pressed and put away where you can easily find it in it’s appropriate dresser drawer or hanger. Now the cleanliness status of your house is crumbs on floors, sticky counters, something that doesn’t belong in the toilet in it that the kids attempted to flush but failed, no toilet paper when you need it, stains on the furniture and the sofa cushions lined up across the living room floor and known as “safe” or some other imaginary place, dirty dishes in the sink and probably some on the counters, silly pictures written in the dust on the furniture, clothing that has been washed but that you must dig out of the basket labeled ‘clean’.

  • TIME:

You used to be able to sleep all night, take a long hot shower or soak in the tub, lounge around, do some yard work, run quick errands, read, craft, or visit with friends or even take a spontaneous weekend trip. Now you are woke before you’re ready to be awoke, demanded to become a short order cook before you’ve showered, finally take a shower but it’s so fast you barely get wet, then run out the door with kids in tow making errands take 3 times longer than they should and spending your weekends at kids birthday parties. Your time is no longer yours, your best laid plans will be shot down with an unexpected sick child, a sleep over, or last minute school work/reports.

  • STUFF:

You used to have a house full of nice stuff; all the newfangled electronics, nice furniture, disc golf or regular golf equipment, 4 wheeler, hobby supplies, etc.  Now you have a whole new classification of ‘stuff’ that includes tiny toys strewn on the floor that you step on which causes you to jump up and down on one foot mastering your sense of balance, bicycles left in the middle of the driveway so you must get out and move them in order to pull in off the street, skateboards precariously positioned in front of steps and doorways, barbie houses and large paraphernalia that takes up 1/2 of the room, crayons mostly broken in 1/2 with the paper peeled off under the furniture so they’re sure to be sucked up in the vacuum which stops it up.

  • MUSIC and MOVIES:

You used to listen to the morning radio news on the way to work, or you enjoyed Evanescence, Radiohead, One Republic, Toby Keith or Brooks and Dunn. You used to watch movies like The Day After Tomorrow, Fast and Furious, National Treasure. Now you listen to Nursery Rhymes put to music, or Kids Bop. Now you watch movies like Cars, Aristocats or Toy Story. I might add that you won’t be listening to the music or watching the movie ONCE per day. Kids like to choose something and play it over and over all day long – you’ll get to enjoy it 4-8 times each day and sometimes for consecutive days

  • FAMILY VACATIONS:

You used to pack up you and your spouse and head off to some romantic bed and breakfast, or beach or mountain resort; enjoy a relaxing week seeing the sights and enjoying the local cuisine. Now you pack up you, your spouse and the kids; stuff way more in the vehicle than you could possibly need but yet still forget several things, drive for what seems like an eternity with arguing siblings in the back seat, spend a hugely fun but exhausting week running around a park like Disney or Dollywood and yet again eat your weight of chicken nuggets and mac-n-cheese.

  • THE GOOD STUFF:

You might have to survive on 5 hours sleep a night for the rest of your life, eat chicken nuggets until you begin to cluck like a chicken, get puked on pooped or peed on, clean up forever ending messes, never get to actually enjoy a long shower or soak, wear semi clean wrinkled clothes from now on, never have a minute to yourself, have enough toys in your house to supply a small country, learn every verse of every nursery rhyme and children’s song that was ever made, be able to quote every Disney movie verbatim, and never have a romantic vacation again.

BUT…..

You WILL actually enjoy some of the drastic changes in life as a parent.  You’ll treasure that first smile, the first words, watching your kids walk for the first time.  You will have someone who wants to snuggle and needs your lap when they’ve had a bad day or got hurt.   You will have little toes to kiss, receive lots of hugs and kisses, and special artwork.  You will have someone looking to you for help and someone who wants to ‘grow up to be just like you’.  You will hear “I love you’s” at bedtimes and receive unconditional love.

Kids are exhausting, and hard work but they are SOOO worth the effort.  You’ll never “be ready to have” or “able to afford” kids but you’ll muddle through just like everyone else does and you’ll absolutely LOVE the new messy chaos in your life called….kids.

{{I’m going to leave the dirty dishes in the sink, trip over the toys in the floor, go snuggle in bed with my son and get my 5 hours of sleep now before I have to go to work tomorrow :) }}

Today I stored some Optimistic Pessimism in the Pantry!

Jun27

Today I Whisked up some Wit from the Pantry

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Whoever said that TV and Video Games rot your kids minds obviously didn’t have kids.

My children have learned plenty from Video Games:
First of all Video Games help develop great hand/eye coordination; which frankly…both my children need. They both used to trip over their own feet ALL THE TIME, they’re growing more coordinated as they get older but my son is still quite clumsy. Plus some types of Video Games require you to meet challanges or complete certain tasks in order to win or move on to the next level. They learn to assess the situation in the game, decide what would be the best thing to do in order to resolve the problem or get where they need to go and then carry out the plan. They are having a blast doing it, but they are learning to assess, resolve and accomplish all on their own; they gain great satisfaction, self-esteem and confidence. Of course, around my house that sometimes involves some foot stomping, yelling at the ‘stupid’ game or maybe even some tears when the goal isn’t accomplished the first time, or even the first 3 times. I just encourage them to keep practicing and try it again. They’re usually on level 5 of games that I can’t even get through the 1st level of anyway.

My children have also learned many things from TV:
TV – Now I’m not talking all educational shows; we do watch those but I’m talking about every day regular shows, the ones we watch merely for entertainment value.

My daughter is 15 years old and this last school year, as a freshman in high school she blew away her teacher and classmates when she was the only one in her history class that could answer the teacher’s question. They were talking about medieval or mythological history (or something like that) and she was able to answer the question; the teacher asked her how she knew the answer and she sheepishly smiled and said “from a TV show we watch”. She has answered other questions in history because she knew the answer from watching movies like “The Mummy” and “National Treasure”. She has also found some answers in Science class to be a little easier to figure out from watching shows like NCIS and CSI; I’m sure they will also benefit her next year when she has to take Biology as well. Her classmates are amazed at her plethora of knowledge on strange subjects and jealous at the same time…..maybe they should watch more TV!!

My son is currently 8 years old and has ADHD + Dyslexia so reading is a nightmare for him. He is most positively behind and has great difficulty reading. However, anything audible he absorbs like a sponge and retains like an elephant. He has blown some words and phrases by us that completely have us rolling with laughter. He has used phrases like: “Oh, the irony”, “Are you peckish mommy, I think we need a snack”, “I’m devastated”, “I need a beverage”, “Well that was awkward”, “That’s completely disgusting”, “I have a proposal for you mommy, I’ll clean up my mess if you’ll make me some spaghettios”. He has also informed me about alien DNA, how it’s acquired and what you can tell from it; about Neurotoxins and how they effect certain types of bugs; how to properly bait, catch and contain an alligator amongst other animals. He has explained to me that the very first page inside the cover of a book is called a ‘Title Page’. There are many, many more things he has said that are not ordinary things that we say around our house or terms we use. Everytime he spouts out a new phrase or word I ask him where he heard it and his response is…..you guessed it…..television.

So….how bad could TV and Video Games be for kids as long as you the responsible parent are monitoring the ‘content’ of the shows and games. Of course you certainly don’t want them watching rated R shows or playing super violent games, but TV and Video Games can truly be a good thing if done with boundaries and in moderation. Children still need fresh air, physical activity and to practice their social skills visiting with friends but give your kids some ‘mental stimulation’ too, not just the education stuff, make it some of the enjoyment stuff. Broaden their horizon with something entertaining instead of boring them to death. Here’s a bonus!!….while they’re involved with their ‘mental stimulation’ you can have some ‘mom time’ to read, talk to a friend or family member on the phone, pay some bills, do some online surfing, or get some of your ‘mom chores’ done. Then when the kids are done with their ‘mental stimulation’ and you’re done with your ‘mom time’ then you can have family time.

I have determined that around our house we’re going to continue to watch those entertaining television shows and play those challenging video games and see what the kids learn next :)

So what are we watching tonight??!!

Jun23

This week I added a Bag of Endurance to the Pantry!

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“Endurance is patience concentrated.”

Thomas Carlyle quotes (Scottish Historian and Essayist,
and leading figure in the Victorian era. 1795-1881)

What a nettlesome week it has been!! “Endurance is patience concentrated” and I sure pushed the limits of patience this week. It’s been an exhausting and frustrating week at work. We started the week with a huge issue at work and it seemed to snowball from there, each day bringing a new problem. I was sooo glad to be able to sleep in this morning and deal with only minimal issues today in the comfort of my own home.

Some days you are handed vexatious circumstances or a myriad of things that have been added to your list of things to do that just weren’t in the plans for the day. Some days we are forced to dig deep and pull all the endurance and patience out that we can muster up in order to make it through the day. Sometimes it’s enough and we finish the day exhausted but fulfilled that we made it thru. Some days our determination just isn’t enough, no matter how hard we try the day just doesn’t end the way we had hoped it would.

All we can do is concentrate all the patience we have and endure the day with the knowledge that the day will eventually be over and a new day will start fresh in the morning. Find where your endurance comes from and use it – prayer, meditation, a few encouraging words from a friend, a pick me up snack, or maybe even a stiff drink :) …..whatever works for you. Find your method of endurance, throw in some concentrated patience and we’ll see you tomorrow when a new dawn breaks on a brand new day.

Jun12

Today we’re pulling some Deals out of the Pantry!

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With the economy in such bad shape, it’s hard to afford household necessities, clothing, groceries and still pay the bills.  So who wouldn’t jump at a deal!!  Today I’m offering the names of places online to find some great deals.  These deals will come in many different forms so be sure to check them all out.  They could be printable coupons, coupon codes to use online, notices about items on sale at specific stores, or a place to find some secondhand items.  Don’t forget to check out your local sales ad; if you misplaced your Sunday paper you can find them all online, just look them up.  You can also check your area and see if there is a coupon swap going on or if you have friends or relatives that clip coupons that would be willing to swap coupons with you.  You can find a deal on almost anything if you just take the time and effort to look for it.

Type these into your search engine (I would have supplied actual links but I am unable to supply these links through my Blog, sorry):

http://www.SecondHandSisterhood.com

http://www.FrugalFairhope.com

http://www.OneSaleADay.com

http://www.SouthernSavers.com

http://www.Coupons.com

http://www.SmartSource.com

http://www.CouponCollie.com

http://www.Save.com

http://www.KidsEat4Free.com

If you’ve been trying to get rid of some clutter from around your house like we have, and having yard sales just doesn’t seem to be working; before you donate those items, try selling them on a couple of these sites….who knows, you might actually make a few bucks, wouldn’t that be fantastic!

http://www.SecondHandSisterhood.com

http://www.CraigsList.com

http://www.EBay.com

Who else has a deal to share with us???

Happy Shopping!!!