Graduating to “Grand” status!

Graduating to “Grand” status!

Being a MOM is fun! That said, being a mom with 3 girls within 4.5 years was stressful along with it. That was 2 in diapers at a time, from 1998 to 2004 at least! That was 3 princesses who think they had to change 14 times a day. That was 3 times the boyfriend problems and “mean” girl problems. Three times that MOM and Dad had no clue what they were talking about and three times the “Save me from my mess”.

Now I have graduated to NANA! Yes! My 2 oldest have both had boys. Think of it! 21 years of hair-bows, party dresses and fingernail polish and I get BOYS! Rough and tumble. Mud and dirt. Frogs and bugs. I had sisters then girls! Now my sisters and I as well as my girls were outdoorsy and tomboyish. But I can’t wait to see how these boys react to all the camping and cookouts.

Tay’s B-man is 20 months and OMG it is so different. He jumps off things and crashes, then he gets up and does it again. My girls would have done it the first time and got hurt and stopped. NOPE! B-man is a daredevil. And soooo dramatic! He loves to pick things up and sneak off. If he gets caught he will throw it as far as he can. If he gets in trouble, he acts like the world is ending. Flopping and waving his arms. Not quite a tantrum, but his will be epic!

X is 4 months. Sis had him on 9/11. What a way to celebrate! Bringing a child into the world on that day…Anyway, X has a ton of personality already. He is desperate to communicate and run. He bounces and burbles trying to be heard. He is finally sitting up enough to be in the bouncer. He loves it so much! He is trying baby food out too. He will be a foodie. He gets so excited when that spoon gets close!

AND they are both BIG boys. They are So tall. I had tiny girls so this was unexpected. B-man started walking right at 1 and he could already reach our bar.  Now you have to be sure to put stuff up or it’s gone. LOL, he is sneaky about it too.  X is in the 95^th percentile for his age. His daddy is over 6 feet tall and sis is 5’7”, so he’s going to be TALL. We are in for a ton of fun with these two.

Being a Nana is so much better than I thought it would be. I pictured handing a stinky child to his mom saying, “not my job” and laughing. I do that, lol, but it is so much more. They are snuggley, sweet and lovey. I get kisses and hugs. Playing with them is so much fun. And at the end I get to say, “where’s mommy?”.

Watching SD being Papa is great! He always wanted a boy and now he is loving it. Rough housing and wrestling. He did that with the girls, but he says it’s different. He is helping T out and watching B-man for a few hours right now between contracts. He loves it!

Our family is growing! We are loving this growth and look forward to more and more!

The main purpose of this post is for me to pour out my blessings and get those pesky troubles out of my head. If this Blog helps you in any way that is just a bonus. I would love to pray for you and yours if you need it just say.

Reintroduction: From MOM to Nana

Reintroduction: From MOM to Nana

Hey all you blog reading people! I have not posted in a few years and finally found the time to get back in here. I thought the first logical thing would be to Reintroduce myself and my family.

So, I am a Wife, Mother, new Nana (grandma) and Working Babe! I am a recruiter and spend my days matching people who need work to open positions. I also do resume reviews to help people format the best possible resume for them. I coach people before interviews and other staffing/recruiting things.

When not working I love to spend family time with hubby Kenny (my Super-dude), Girlie's (Tay oldest, Sis middle and Syd youngest) and now my boys (B-man, Tay’s boy and X, Sis’s boy). We love to camp, go to games of any kind and cookout. We spend most weekends it is over 70 degrees outside doing something.

Kenny, is my hero. He is my rock for 22 ½ years now. Not sure how we made it but we are still going strong. Been married for 21 and he has been the best father and Papa ever. Former military and civil servant in every area you can think of. He is a fantastic chef and Mr. Fix-it when I need it.

Tay is the oldest. She tried military but got hurt in initial training and had to get out. She is a great mom to B-man and works hard as a single mom. She is goofy and quirky. Likes Animae and Harry Potter.

Sis is my middle one and she is every stereo type you can think of. Blond bombshell and so very empathetic. She married her sweetie (Zach) and they have X.  She is a hairdresser and stay at home mom.

Syd is my feisty one. Super smart and athletic she will RULE THE WORLD! She sure rules the family. She is tiny but I wouldn’t cross her. She is graduating this year and will be off to college this summer. Double majoring in less than 5 is the plan.

So, there are my people. They are my world and I can’t imagine life any different. Look out for more Posts and Videos, if I can figure out how to attach them, LOL. Thank God for tech savvy kiddos.

The main purpose of this post is for me to pour out my blessings and get those pesky troubles out of my head. If this Blog helps you in any way that is just a bonus. I would love to pray for you and yours if you need it just say.

Gift of Grace

I'm back again... ready for a fabulous New Year. Looking forward I see great things in our future.

You see, our family has had it rough. Rough tough and tumble life with three teens, loss of income and a house falling apart around us. But we have Love. Love of our Father, love of our family, love of our church and love of each other.

We made one major change this New Year and are already seeing the fruit of that decision. Acceptance of Grace. You know, as we all do, God's Grace is ours for the taking. The thing is that even though we know it, we have to accept it for it to work. Accepting Grace means not blaming Him or ourselves for our troubles. Not taking credit, even if we want to, for our successes. And most of ALL praising Him for it ALL.

We have turned our family fully over to the One who know what we need. Our money is His that He has trusted us with. Our children are His that He has trusted us with. Our lives are His that He has trusted us with. And the burden has lifted from our shoulders. Not completely because we are fallible. We have to practice at this. Daily. But it's getting easier.

So far, our living situation has changed. A bit more cramped, but stable. My Superman has a job offer. And my health is getting better. At least more comfortable so praise God for that.

Love, Grace and a whole lotta God will get us through.

Until next time....

M.O.M.

Ecto, Meso Endo … Say what?

Ecto, Meso Endo … Say what?

     Well the summer is almost over and I have managed to lose exactly 0 pounds. Well to be honest I haven’t been trying really. But with all of the gluten free scramble, and the craziness of getting kids here there and everywhere, I haven’t done much exercising. I have been outside a lot, and wanted to walk the new walking path around the schools when I drop Bug off for soccer practice. I just seem to have twenty things that need done NOW and that is a trip to town I can’t waste.

     Tiny is becoming adjusted to her new food choices. I am going on the gluten free roller coaster along with her. One for moral support and two it takes a lot of carbs out of my diet and that has to be good right. We have discovered that no-bake cookies are everyone’s new favorite desert. Cheap, easy and yummy! Pasta is the tricky one. Corn pasta seems the best but leftovers are a NO. And I only buy cereal that everyone can eat. That way sleepy kids don’t eat the wrong thing, and there is no “that’s mine only” fight with the cocoa crispy rice cereal (they all like that one!).

     I recently read an article about body type. I hate mine and thought maybe I should try to get a better perspective. Might boost the want to exercise, or at least help me understand what I need to do and why for best results.

Here is an excerpt of that article:

·       

                                       How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love My Body Type, Elle July 15, 2014 By Justine Harman  https://www.yahoo.com/health/i-asked-a-professional-to-diagnose-my-body-type-91310276707.html#

 [Many resources suggest that there are three main body types (or somatotypes): the ectomorph (delicate frame and bone structure, low body fat); the mesomorph (rectangular-shaped with a tendency to pack on muscle); and the endomorph (rounder or curvier shape with a high capacity for fat storage). Many people are a combination of two somatotypes.

Mary Jane Detroyer, a Columbia-educated and New York-based exercise physiologist: "A mesomorph naturally has more muscle and will be able to build more muscle," she tells me. "If you came to me and said, ‘I don’t want to get any bigger,’ I’d say, ‘Well, don’t use weights. We’re going to do exercises with your own body weight.’ And endomorphs have to do cardio. Tons of cardio because they look at food and they gain weight."

"Some people are just like that. It’s their genes,” Detroyer says of the poor endomorph. "Is it fair? No. But some people end up getting cancer and some people don’t. Some people lose their hair and some people don’t. It’s part of who we are. Some people get acne some people don’t.”

I feel a bit helpless. “Why do you think it’s important that people accept their own body’s limitations?” I ask. “So that you don’t have unrealistic expectations,” she says. “Everybody wants to be something they’re not.” And fitness professionals looking to make a buck, she says, further bolster a lot of these expectations: “There’s understanding your body type, and there’s understanding what’s realistic to try to change. Most trainers don’t sit down and have that conversation with their client.”

“But how do you know if you’re at a healthy weight?” The picked-apart image of me vs. Megan getting blurrier by the second. She breaks it down for me—and her answer has nothing to do with the scale: “If you have to starve yourself, if you’re thinking about food for most of the day, if you over-exercise, which means feeling guilty if you haven’t exercised, or exercising more than you’re enjoying…” she pauses to make sure she has my full attention. “If you’re not enjoying life because you have to give up all eating, all drinking, and going to nice restaurants, you’re not at a healthy weight.”]

     After reading this I understand the issues I have with exercising now. I cannot change my genes and need to deal with the things I can change. Walking 10 times more than I do, eating healthier and doing some kind of cardio weekly will help. The only thing she didn’t address is…motivation. Where do I buy that?

     The one thing I have found is if you have an accountability partner you are more likely to not flake out. Just be sure that you are not both procrastinators…then no one will be accountable.

Look at the time. Goal 1: Walk on lunch breaks. Got to get moving!

 

Till next time…

She’s allergic to what???

She’s allergic to what???

I spent the month of April this year off work. Tiny started feeling bad and it progressed to full on PAIN. It killed me to see her like that. We saw 3 doctors and had 9 test and an upper and lower GI scope done. Finally found the problem.

She has Celiac disease. Which means what exactly? It is an autoimmune disease that causes her body to attack itself because it sees her small intestine as the same as gluten. And to her gluten is BAD! Then we find out it is genetic and now the family needs checked. Well needless to say the whole family is going gluten free.

It is hard to explain to a 12 year old why she can’t have pancakes when everyone else can. Our first attempt at gluten free pancakes came out weird. I ended up adding cornmeal and potato flakes to it and serving the potato cakes for dinner with cheese. Which worked so no waste, but she was mad. And she shares her daddy’s temper. Well I have all summer to figure this out and plan on packing her lunch for next year. It is hard enough explaining sis’s allergies, trying to explain gluten free to the school…not looking forward to it.

So this means…total purge of my cabinets. Cleaning, vacuuming, and scrubbing flour residue out of the cabinets. Finding noodle and flour substitutes that work. Believe it or not the bread was the easiest to replace. Potato bread is “white” now and not much more expensive.

Nana has been struggling with Bee’s allergies and is thinking about trying gluten free too. It’s not much different from dairy free so not much harder. Her kids’ allergies defy reason. One has pork, turkey and oranges. One has beef, bananas and carrots. And Bee has beef and dairy. No logic involved. And F is allergic to raw veggies.

Makes me wonder what I am really allergic to. Tiny having celiac means either me or Superman has it also. And since Superman has had an upper and lower GI scope and it was never mentioned…it’s probably me. So I am going gluten free too!

Well enough for this time…if you have comments and/or suggestions on making the gluten free transition easier let me know.

Till next time…

Help! My computer won’t let me post! and Meet Jo-Nana!

Help! My computer won’t let me post!

Finally…back online. I have been having trouble posting lately. I have lost 3 posts, due to my assumption that electronics work when they are supposed to. Ha-ha, like that ever happens.

Meet Jo-Nana!

          This past fall my Sis fell in love. With a baby! We all did. And her parents and sisters and brother. 

*Entrance Jo-Nana*

          Jo-Nana, her superman, 3 girlies and one boy have become regular staples in our home. And us in theirs. Super card players, pitch in meal ideas and me with built in baby sitters! Well Jo-Nana and her crew go to church with us and even though the kiddos are not even close in age they fit right in. I get baby time and she sees what her girls are gonna act like in 5-10 years.

          Her children are A 6 years, Buddy 4 years, Bear 3 years and Bee just turned 1. Jo-Nana and F (her superman) are younger than me and mine but we don’t notice. They are as crazy as we are. F and Superman have similar interests and backgrounds. And crazy enough the same sense of humor too. Jo-Nana and I are too peas that lost their pod. Crazy, frugal, and seem to love that weird sense of humor the two guys have.

          Of course, if you knew sis you would know she is addicted to children. The babies love her and she loves them all. Strangers’ children come to her in the store for a hug. I have never seen anything like it. Bug likes the older ones. She likes that they play games with her and snuggle. Tiny and A are buddies. A loves that she gets to hang out with a “big girl” and she feels special.

We are driving my Superman crazier than usual. Two girls, turned women, think they are ruling the world. The tiny one just thinks she is a big person and has the attitude to match. As my dad always said…We need stock in TP and Maxi Pads! Wow! Hormones are raging and tempers are flaring. We need spring! We all have cabin fever and I feel sorry for my Superman and Jo-Nana’s too. (He’s just too quiet and doesn’t complain like mine.) When we all get out of the house it should be easier.

So, just after Christmas we tried the freezer meals idea. One day of cooking marathon style and a month worth of freezer meals.

Issue 1: We talk too much! One day turned into 2 and only half of the recipes we wanted to make happened.

Issue 2: One stove. Some of the things need pre-cooked and we didn’t have enough burners.

Issue 3: Too many kids. Well I don’t foresee them leaving soon. Hopefully it will be easier when we can throw them outside.

What we learned

1. Marinades are great! Pour them in with frozen IQF chicken or any other meat and freeze. It marinades as it thaws in the fridge. *Must be thawed in fridge. Fast thaw in cold water doesn’t give it time to marinate.
2. Noodles don’t freeze well. At least not cooked ones. They come out chewy and weird.
3. Glass doesn’t either. I have had bad luck with mason jars in the freezer. I just have a no glass rule now.
4. Canning is awesome. Superman made his awesome tomato sauce and we canned it. I don’t know how long it would have lasted because it only made it 3 weeks at our house. We LOVE it! (Sorry I have not been given the recipe so I can’t share it. I do know he said simmering for 1 hour or more makes it magic.)

Are we going to try it again? YES we are. We are frugal MOMmas and we have to save money somehow.

          

 We are also trying a DIY dishwasher tablets recipe. I’ll let you know how that goes.

(Jo-Nana tried them and this was the FB message I got)

JO-NANA: The homemade dishwasher tabs suck. Leave a film worse than cheap tablets the homemade low seems to work okay an keeps towels softer without softener, but I do. Like the chunks. I have 2 more bottles, do u wanna try it and see what u think?

ME: sure, i also have a set of curtains if you want them. I've been using vinegar as fabric softener and haven't had to use dryer sheets.

JO-NANA: Jeez u could interpret that? What i get for typing on phone

Translation: They didn’t work, but she made the laundry detergent and it worked ok.

Well I have rambled enough for this time. Hope you could keep up.

Till next time…