Life as we know it

Remember my last post? The one where I was lamenting that my nest wasn't so empty and that I was ok with that.? Remember that?

Fast forward to 5 days ago and everything changed. Not only is my nest firmly full again but it is filled with the most wonderful thing.

A BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL!

No I did not give birth to her, no we did not adopt her. She is my grand daughter and she is living with us.

It does not matter the circumstances to which that came about. What matters is she is here now and life is very very different.

It is a big change to go back to changing diapers and feedings, attempting to get a baby on a routine is something I haven't done for a long time. 

But you know what? Every single  second is worth it. Holding her in my arms at 2 am when she thinks its play time, is so worth it, Watching my husband who was certain he would never know what it was like to have a baby in the house full time -so worth it.

Watching her grow and change even in the short time she has been with us, well you guessed it- worth it.

Life will be really different for us for next little while, and I will try to keep you updated but if I neglect this blog well you know I am beyond busy watching this baby girl Aliyah grow and change. 

Here are ten things my granddaughter has taught me:

1)Motherhood for the most part is like riding a bike, most of it you never forget and it comes naturally after a very short time.

2)There are not enough raincoats in the world to keep you dry while a happy baby is enjoying bath time.

3)Strained peas and mashed spaghetti are still gross and and even more so when pooped out.

4)You can never have too many face cloths

5)No matter what kind of day you are having the greeting a smiling giggling baby gives the second they open their eyes  in the morning will make you float on cloud nine.

6) You might be number one all day in the baby's eyes - until the minute Grand Dad gets home from work, then its all about him.

7) Babies are still expensive.

8) Hell hath no fury like a baby who has been put into her playpen so you can pee, make a bottle or any other trivial thing, She will scream like she is being killed until you come back , then we are all smiles again.

9) A warm wet terry cloth facecloth to a teething baby is the better than any teething ring , unless Nana remembered to put the teething ring back in the freezer, then that is better.

10) The world seen through a baby's eyes is an amazing place and everything is new, wonderful and joyful. She makes me thankful for every aspect of my life.

Hope you all have a great weekend, I know we will.

My empty nest is not so empty

 So I caught my two year old playing in the toilet this morning... Now most of you know my home is child free now, as the kids are grown and are off at university or living on their own now.
So what is this about a two year old?

Allow me to explain, before I do however let me tell you a little story,

When my kids were small, I had thoughts about what I thought them being grown up would be like- for me. I had visions of a finally clean house, long dinners made of something more exciting than kraft dinner, sleeping in, finally seeing the bottom of my laundry hamper, even going to the bathroom with out a child standing on the other side of the door, demanding my attention.

 Ahh the stuff dreams are made of!

 I don't care who you are, when you have children you have days where you dream of having your life back , sometimes you even count the days, and after years of waiting, It finally happens.  They go away.. The house is yours... FREEDOMMMMMMMMM!!! 

Then reality hits you and you cry, because now your kids are gone and how will they survive with out you? will they wear their coat? Are they eating enough? Are they washing behind their ears and wearing clean underwear? (they have been bathing themselves for years now and have been successfully putting on clean underwear unassisted for quite some time, but this matters not, because now you have been transformed into the insane empty nester and must obsess about these things ) to reassure yourself you call their cell phone, no answer , your heart leaps , and you hit redial, no answer again! You repeat this process several times all while envisioning your baby broken in a ditch somewhere..... Then your phone dings and you receive a TEXT, from the child whose phone you have spent the last two hours blowing up, saying " What you need mom? I was sleeping?" 

You look at the clock, its 2 p.m - He was sleeping at 2 in the afternoon, you raised him better than this. 

Eventually you get over it and accept that the house is yours... unless you are me.

If you are me, in mid celebration of the newly acquired house to yourself freedom dance, you discover that about a year or two before the last child left the home, you were introducing new children of the furry variety, to ensure you never get that clean home or solitary bathroom time you dreamed of so very long ago. I now have a 4 year old cat, a 2 year old cat and a 1 year old dog. And they act just like children of the same corresponding ages. 

Fast forward to today. Remember that small fantasy of using the bathroom alone? Never got it. Now when I go to the rest room, one of the animals must come with to watch. This morning it was Storm, the 2 year old. When the kids were small, they used to join me in the loo, because if I let them roam free they would destroy something in the 38 seconds it takes me to do my business. When they got older they stood outside shouting  at me through the door, Chris, when he was little would wiggle his fingers under the door through the gap all while going,  " Mom... Mom.... MOOOOOOOMMMMMM! are you coming out soon??" I had been in there 2 seconds...

Now today, Storm wiggles his paws under the door jiggling it until it pops open, in he comes and sits staring at me while I do my number two. While I was washing my hands I look over and there he is, splashing toilet water all over the place, Why?? I have no idea...

Remember that nice clean home I dreamed of, that never happened either, now I spend my days sweeping piles of fur off the floor constantly, these critters shed A LOT! How they still have a full fur coat, when there is enough fur shed here a day to clothe 5 more animals? I have no idea.... 

Sometimes I get to enjoy nice clean freshly washed floors for all of two seconds before the 1 year old Karma, (the dog) forgets she uses the bathroom outside and does number two on the floor with out fail, EVERY. SINGLE. TIME! 

 Reminds me of the time when Brent was the same age and he went through a phase where he would remove his diaper in the wee early morning hours (before I was awake) after he had filled it and then proceeded to smear it all over his wall, his crib, himself... at least Karma hasn't figured out to do that yet. Why does she poop every time I wash the floor? I have no idea......

Remember that dream of an empty laundry hamper, NOPE! never got that either, because the 4 year old Sophie, has nice beautiful long white fur, and an uncanny ability to sense warm dry freshly out of the dryer folded clothing - as soon as her kitty senses pick up on this wonderful thing, she must sleep on it, roll in it and deposit a days worth of white fur all over it, (I suppose I could be faster at putting it away, but I was fishing Storm out of the toilet) Kinda like when I would just get the kids clothes washed dried and put away, then they would tear everything out of the drawers trying to decide what to wear and then throw it on the floor making it impossible for me to determine what was clean or dirty and have to wash it all again. Why did they do this? I still have no idea...

So my empty nest is not so empty, but its not so bad, I still dream of the day the house will be mine, but I love my kids human and furry, Did they all eat today?... why do they never answer their damn phones????

Karma the freaking wonder dog

So a few months ago we adopted a puppy. Her name is Karma and she is a valley bull pit bull mix.  It has been a long time since I raised a puppy. It has been a learning experience for me. 

 I went into it thinking it would be easy. She is very easy to love and is adorable. And she is very very loyal. She has brought me joy and has made me say dammit and f**k  A LOT!

First let me say I love her. 100% . But with some of the things she does, it is a good thing she is cute.  

Let me explain:

Puppies like to chew, some of the items she has chewed/eaten, are the following: an entire package of toilet paper (the jumbo rolls) she did this when we were not at home, to punish us for leaving her. This was before we learned about kennels and how wonderful they are. 
 She ate my entire Terry Goodkind collection.. (I have a glass book shelf Karma could reach the bottom shelf, guess what was on the bottom shelf)She did this while I was home, every time I went to the bathroom or looked in another direction she read destroyed a book)

Every single one of storm and Sophie's cat toys. Like human children, there is sibling rivalry among pet siblings.  Although half of her size Sophie and Storm are the boss and she knows it, but thier toys taste soooo good, so she munches on them whenever she can.
Anything wood, or with a zipper. 

Cat poop from the litter box.(ew)
Her OWN poop (even more ew)
The eyes out of every single stuffed animal she owns, ( nothing else just the eyes, there is now a collection of teddy bears in my home that look like they belong in a horror movie)
My work headset which I need to do my job.

There have been many other things but the worst by far was a loaf of bread I had rising on the counter.
In case you are not aware of what happens when a dog eats raw bread dough, allow me to paint a little picture for you. 

Raw bread dough is toxic to dogs , it can have one of two effects, It can turn to alcohol in their stomachs causing them to get alcohol poisoning and need an immediate iv and stomach pumping ( you will know this has happened because they will be wobbly and you will know they are not o.k also the stomach will be extended and painful -I learned this during a frantic phone call to Dr Barry our vet). The second thing is what happened to Karma.

 Diarrhea of epic proportions and vomit the projectile kind. 

For an entire week I followed my dog around with a mop and a bucket. Our home smelled like a drunken frat boy party in which several kegs of beer had been spilled and let dry. No surface was safe, I swore  a lot, I cried a lot I threw several things away. 
 I have not baked bread since. Until then we didn't even know she could reach the counter or that she might steal something sitting on it.

Once she seemed better John decided to take her with him in the car on a trip to Lunenburg..  I received a frantic text : The dog is NOT better, OMG MY CAR!!!!. When he got home , EVERY  surface inside the car had been hit, and stink oh my goodness! more stale beer smell.

Raising a puppy is so much fun.

 There have been funny things too, like the time Karma watched her brother Storm jump from the couch to the glass shelf set. Storm is agile and graceful, Karma tried to follow and the shelf set didn't make it, 

You are not a kitty ! is a common phrase in my home.  

In this photo Karma is pretending to be a cat and trying to sit on the back of the furniture like they do.

She is also an escape artist, to this day we have no idea how she was breaking out of her kennel, but when we would return home there she was waiting at the door, house destroyed.

Thank goodness we found a second kennel that is escape free.. so now she has one for bedtime and one for when mommy and daddy leave the house.

 We did learn that puppies like human children do so much better when they have friends, Enter Roper( an Australian sheep dog ) and Neeka,( a huskie) her friends from down the road. Roper and Neeka have a fenced in yard, so when Karma goes to visit they play leash free. Once she started regularly having play dates, she calmed down a lot. 

 The best part about Karma is the snuggles, she loves to be held even though now she is too big, and she makes no bones about that she loves us dearly.  I cannot imagine life with out her

Pure happiness (Karma playing outside with my son Brent)

Can't help but love her!

Messages from heaven? Or am I just crazy?

I found a penny today
just laying on the ground
But it’s not just a penny
this little coin I’ve found

“Found” pennies come from heaven
that’s what my Grandpa told me
He said angels toss them down
oh, how I loved that story

He said when an angel misses you
they toss a penny down
Sometimes just to cheer you up
make a smile out of your frown

So don’t pass by that penny
when you’re feeling blue
It may be a penny from heaven
that an angel tossed to you.

- – - written by Charles L. Mashburn

Its a very nice poem and I have thought of it many times when I see a penny on the ground especially after my son Chris passed away almost 6 years ago. I know a lot of people think that when a loved one passes away they may return or send messages to you in the form of pennies or in the frequent appearance of an animal that they loved seeing in life.

I have a friend who believes that her dad sends owls to her and she sees owls very frequently, especially when she is missing her dad. I have had a little bizarre experience that has been going on now for about 4 years. It doesn't happen every day, not even every month. In fact sometimes several months will pass with out incident.  Let me explain with a little back ground.

When Christopher died I held onto his belongings for quite a while. I didn't want to give them away, I couldn't throw them away so I stored them. Looking at them was painful the thought of not having them was even more painful.

Finally I did manage to start getting rid of them I kept a few special pieces but the rest I found new homes for. I did the same with his toys. I kept his favorites but the rest I gave to his friends. 

Fast forward about a year. It began with his socks.  One day doing laundry I discovered one odd sock in the laundry, It belonged to Christopher. It was unmistakably his. His little feet were so small and his socks never fit anyone but his. I could not figure out how it got there. The interesting part was it was wet and dirty!

Christopher loved tramping about in the mud, the child's socks were terrible always wet always muddy. In the middle of a drought he could always find a mud puddle.  I puzzled over it , had a small cry and then I washed the sock. I mentioned it to Brent who laughed and told me I must have been mistaken. I began to think he was right because IT WASN'T IN THE DRYER! I don't know where it went, I never saw that particular sock again.

I was having an off kind of day and was missing my little boy a great deal that day. John said to me maybe it was his way of telling me he was still with me. I remember saying , but why a dirty sock why not a t- shirt?

Be careful what you wish for! Chris must have heard and now every so often one of his t shirts shows up in the dryer. Random odd socks still appear too but at least they are also clean and in the dryer.

Never in the laundry going in, always in the dryer. For a while I thought Brent was doing it. I have to admit I was annoyed, he claimed innocence but I still thought it was him playing a joke. Then Brent went away to University.  Two months after he left, guess what? a pair of jammie pants showed up.  The thing is many of the items that have showed up, I very clearly remember giving away. I remember crying over each piece , not wanting to part with any of it but knowing that I had to try and rebuild my life somehow and keeping clothing for a child who was never returning made no sense. Not only that Chris was a very giving child, He would want me to give the clothes away. That is just who he was. 

Fast forward to today and it is a beautiful day , perfect for laundry. As I take the the clothes out to the line, guess what , there in the bottom of the basket is Christopher's little gray and blue Pokemon shirt. It is wet but its clean. and I know darn well it was not in that load of laundry when I started the washer. The truth is this time of year always makes me think of Chris a lot. He died in August so warm weather and the date coming closer brings that on. Not that he is ever far from my mind, but I miss him more than ever in the summer. 

And maybe that is the point. Maybe he is trying in his own little way to let me know that he is still with me in a way I will never miss. Finding something of his when I am not expecting too, really sends that message home. At first it drove me nuts, but now 4 years after it started it brings me comfort. I began tucking the pieces of clothes that I found in a drawer, but they don't stay. Often when I go to add a new piece to the drawer there will be a few pieces found earlier, missing. 

I don't even try to fit my head around that one any more. I guess he just needed clean laundry? In any event it brings me comfort. and it doesn't matter if you believe me or not, Everyone in this house has experienced it  at least once.  So we know it is true. Has anyone out there ever had anything like this happen to them?

Want to work from home? Things to consider

 If you have been reading my posts, (thank you by the way) You know I work from home. Working from home has its challenges and its rewards. I started working from home about 4 years ago. I started looking for a work at home position about 4 years before that.  Why did it take me so long? Well, it is not as easy as one might think to find a job that allows you to work from home. At least is wasn't 8 years ago, Now that has changed.

 More and more companies are giving their employees the opportunity to work from the comforts of their own home. It really pays for companies to do this for a variety of reasons. The biggest one is it is way cheaper to have employees stay home and work then come into the office, If a company is completely virtual like mine, there are no building costs, no heating costs, no equipment costs. 

 For the employee there are big savings too, the biggest for me is travelling expense.  With out the daily commute everyday there is no need to have a second car and all the costs that go with it. The second big saving is clothing. I don't need to invest the money I used to spend on work clothing. In fact most of the time I can work in my pajamas if I want to. More on that later.

 There are a lot of reasons a person may choose to work from home instead of the traditional workplace. If you are a mom or dad, you might want to might want to be home with your kids, but still need to earn a living so this is a good solution. Perhaps it is not possible for you to travel to an outside work place for one reason or another. What ever the reason, there are some things you should consider before you take that plunge. 

Space to work

 Seems simple enough right? If you are going to work from home you are going to need a place to do your work stuff, surprisingly, some people think that they can just set up at their kitchen table and they are good to go. Now depending on the type of work you do, this might work, But for most jobs you are required to have a separate space with a door that you can close to work privately. If you are in a small space and every room is occupied then working from home may not be possible for you. 

What about the kids and pets?

 One of the biggest rewards and drawbacks to working from home is children and pets. Rewards happen because you are home with them instead of a babysitter. Or that is the theory anyway. It really depends on the age of your children and level of care they need. It also depends on whether or not noise will affect the quality of work. For example, my job requires absolute quiet. If I cannot have a quiet environment to work, that is a deal breaker. Before setting up your office and burning all your work clothes, think realistically about the noise level in your home. How much attention do your children need? Are they older or really young? The smaller the child the more attention you need to give them. Depending on your job, this might not be possible. Even older children can demand a certain amount attention and don't always understand that they need to be quiet and not bother Mommy or Daddy while they are working, The same things apply to pets, if your dog barks a lot, this may not be optimal work conditions for you. For these reasons  you may have to keep your babysitter so you can work.  Or invest in duct tape... I am just kidding! please don't duct tape your children! 

What kind of work do you want to do?

  If your company has created a work from home position then this one is a no brainer, most likely you will be doing the same thing you did at the office. But if you are not so lucky and you need to find a new job then you will first need to decide what it is you want to do.  Not every job is for everyone. Can you live on the money they are offering? Can you commit the hours that you will be required to? Just be cause you are home you will still be putting a full work week. This is really hard for some people. Before you apply for any job offering whether from home or in a brick and mortar situation, do some research, Google the company name and read reviews, Find out if anyone else you know works there, and if so what has been their experience?  Do they like working there and why? Is there a strong reliable support system? What don't they like? I cannot stress this enough, Please for the love of all that is holy, READ THE JOB DESCRIPTION! There is nothing worse than quitting your current job only to find that the job you thought was going to make staying home a reality is nothing more than a scam.  More on that later too.

What about Cost?

Before jumping on the next work at home position you hear about, really think it through, remember you will be at home, you will not always have a supervisor to go to when you get stuck , you may have to figure things out for yourself. Make sure you can handle it and your tools are up to the challenge.  To start working form home you may have to invest in a new computer, a better internet connection and other tools, You may have to renovate a space if you own your own home to make it more suitable for your work needs.  Do you need to buy additional equipment? Most companies will give you a list of the things you must have when you speak with them about the position, really good companies will have those items listed in the job posting. Make sure you can meet these needs before you commit.

The Pros 

The commute.

 Simple walk from my coffee pot to my office all of 20 feet. This means no fighting traffic, no driving in snowstorms , no gas bill. It's bliss.

Sleeping in. 

Depending on where you live and what time zone your company operates on , you can potentially sleep until a half an hour before you work, This means no getting up at 5:45 am to get ready and then drive an hour to work. Again, this is bliss.

More family time. 

This was a biggie for me, Even though my son was in high school when I started working from home, I knew he would soon be going off to university. It was absolutely priceless to me that he could come home from school each day and just come and sit with me for a few minutes or if he needed me for something I was a simple knock on my office door away. The same goes for my husband. He can pop in to refresh my coffee, or ask how my day was. Or just sit with me for a minute if I am not too busy. This too falls under bliss.

Tax breaks.

In Canada and I believe also the U.S.A, (not sure about other countries) the government offers tax breaks for working from home. You can legally claim a certain amount of your rent, electricity, and supplies on your taxes. It is really easy to get information on this if you check with your government. 

The wardrobe. 

As mentioned previously, So long as you don't have to attend some sort of video conferences with other co-workers, it really doesn't matter how you look or dress, you can wear your comfy jammies if you like. This how ever can become a con.. as you will read shortly.

Freedom from work place illness.

If you work in a large office space -or worse, a smaller cramped office- then you know what happens when someone comes to work with some particularly nasty and persistent bug, with in a few weeks everyone is sick and that includes you. This won't protect you from the nasties your spouse and kids will bring home but it will certainly lessen the times a year you may get sick.

The Cons

Finding a legitimate work from home job

This is a big one, NEVER accept a position that expects you to pay them for the privilege of being an employee. Some " companies" will charge ridiculous amounts for you to work for them. Then you find out you don't get paid until you sell something or meet some sort of requirement. There are a lot of places like this out there. READ THE FINE PRINT. This also goes for  companies that don't want to pay you for training. If you are giving them your time you need to get paid. Period. 

Do they deduct tax or are you considered an independent?

 While this may seem like a bonus to your pay check if you are considered an independent, you will make a little more money, BUT at tax time, this can really hurt you when you are required to pay all the taxes that were not deducted. It will also effect unemployment benefits. If you don't pay in, you can't fall back on it later if you need it.

Never leaving your home.

This is way easier then it sounds. It is important to have a life out side your home. I work at least 40 hours a week and lately more than that, so it is not uncommon for me to not leave my house for 2 weeks or more. I don't mind that, because I am not a big people person. But isolation can make you go a little nutty. My husband is really big on making me get out once in a while, He insists on it.  He is afraid I will become a hermit. 

The wardrobe.

Not having to dress up and being able to wear comfy clothes all the time is a bit of a trap, when your jammy pants outnumber your jeans then you should consider a wardrobe change. And FYI, I am guilty of this.

Bad support system.

If you have technical issues will there be help? Does your company have a support system in place if you need help or encounter a problem? My company uses Skype messenger to communicate and there is always a supervisor online, but not all companies have that. If the problem is with your own equipment can you fix it, I had no choice but to get really familiar with how my computer works and how to fix it, Even so I cannot fix everything. Things will break and will wear out. You have to be prepared to replace things right away if needed. Or it could mean losing your job.

Unless you are single and have no children you will also need a good family support system. You are still working a normal work week. Just because you are home does not mean you can just get up and go do laundry or wash the dishes. This takes dedication on your part. It is still a job. You are still required to show up and put in the required time. You will still need your family to pitch in around the house the same as they would if you were working outside the home. They will also need to be understanding and respect your work space, This means learning to be quiet and not blare the t.v or the radio while you are working, Most homes are not sound proof and what may seem normal if you are not working can be really detrimental when you work from home.

So there you have it, Working from home is very rewarding and it is the only way for me. I love that I am home and still earn a paycheck every two weeks, but it is not for everyone. If you have questions or want to learn more about the challenges and the pay offs please feel free to drop me a line or leave a comment I will do my best to answer anything I can.

A day in the life...Wait are you KIDDING ME????

One of the great things about the internet are all the  blogs to read out there. You can find some truly wonderful ones. Some are very inspiring and some are just plain funny. Its kind of like looking in someone's window..Watching their lives unfold before your eyes. Sometimes though you have to take what you read with a grain of salt.
 While reading another blog written by a mom who writes about her life and her three kids I encountered one of these. The blog I was reading was about the daily frustrations of raising three kids with another on the way, and I have to admit the woman is hilarious. Mostly because I can remember having the same frustrations once upon a time.. She mentioned that she could no longer read a particular blog she likes to follow because it made her feel like a bad mom.

She shared a piece of the offending blog and it is as follows:
    "On a recent day in December on a day much like any other day this year, I watched as
      Calvin rose earlier than anyone else in the house to take care of his chickens. He
      opened the coop and changed the water, freshened the food, brought them scraps, and
      gave the bedding a stir. Coming back in, with his littlest brother just toddling into the
      kitchen, Calvin made them both breakfast. There was some reading after that in front
      of the fire, and a game of chess with his older brother. At midday, he volunteered to
      help his Papa butcher the remaining turkeys taking breaks here and there to build
      his tree house, and target practice with a bale of hay with his home made bow and
      arrow. As evening neared, we left the house, stopping first at the natural foods store
      where he sells his eggs. Proceeding to the city, my little guy joined his friends back
      stage, and donned his black tights, ballet slippers and stage makeup and danced onto
      the stage. In between these moments, I am certain that he also held the baby while I
      showered, knit a row or two on his scarf, probably polished his Converse and may
      have made his sister and orange fleece hat. and definitely listened to some hip hop."

WOW, all that ... the kid is just 11 at the time she posted this.. The blogger who is now no longer her subscriber went on to express her disdain , well rage , really, at this other blogger. I thought surely this must be made up or she misread, because no one has a kid that perfect. If they do they hatched him from a pod. I went and looked at the blog myself, and what I read were months and years of posts all depicting this storybook perfect life of a mother with five children all under 11, all in ballet, all very helpful to their parents, all perfectly well behaved. Raised in a perfectly neat as a pin sprawling home (with pictures to prove it) Where nothing preserved is ever served and where all the food is home grown and raised. The mom makes all her own personal care products and laundry detergent, diapers and sews each piece of clothing on her families backs all by hand. Most of their furniture is hand made. The children never fight or talk back and never speak a single word that isn't sugary sweet. Oh and did I mention that each child has learned to knit and spends several hours each day making the mom wonderful handmade crafts to express their love for her. Oh yeah and there is no T.V in their home.
Really???? Come on! If I was to take this blog at face value I would think I was doing something wrong.

 Because a day in my life never looked like that. Not in anyone's life that I know for that matter. Not even the people I know who don't have children, let alone 5 kids. Most of my days while raising my children were at best controlled chaos. Some days were a downright battle. Even now with an empty nest most days are barely better than chaotic. SO while I don't know that the blog is fictional, I am betting that it is dressed up a bit... But then I spent part of my day explaining to my puppy that going potty on the floor 10 seconds after we were outside and she refused to potty in the yard is not ok. Of course this conversation ensued because i discovered the puddle by stepping in it, so what do I know?
 I do know this , if you want to write a blog you should. But PLEASE keep it real. No you don't have to write about every disastrous thing that happens but please don't dress it up to the point of having everyone who reads it want to hang you in your own perfectly knitted scarf. You cannot please everyone, but somewhere there will be a person who will measure themselves by your measuring stick and find they don't measure up. Everyone , everywhere has a bad day sometimes and if you are that insanely perfect, then please lie to us once in a while so we know you are human. I for one will stick to reading the blogs that I know are real , where life is crazy and children are not pod people, just crazy adorable and frustrating sometimes.

Busy Busy Busy

So it has been a little while since I updated the blog, The short story as to why is very simple, Life gets in the way, Christmas and new years have passed and Brent has been home and is now back to school.
As you know we adopted a puppy in November and who knew how much work that would be? She is a joy to have around but she really keeps me busy.

My first grand baby is about to be born to my oldest son Max in just days, I am so excited to meet this little one and have lots of hopes and dreams for her. I really want to be the best Nana I can be, and I hope I am able to just let her mom and dad learn all about being a parent and keep my mouth shut!

That is a hard thing to do, I have been the mom for so long it is sometimes hard to remember I am not the mom here, what I say does not go, what THEY say goes. Even more so in this case because I did not raise Max, I had him young and gave him up for adoption when I was 17. Fast forward 19 years and we have found each other again and he is now back in my life for the past 5 years. But he has another mom, whom I get along with most of the time, but sometimes its hard. Sometimes you just want to say stop and take over, but I cannot do that.

Max has made it very clear I am to be a part of this little girl's life as her Nana, I am very thrilled about this. There are so many things I want to do with her, I am very pleased to get the chance. So I will keep you posted as to when she arrives, I am sure it will be a learning experience for all of us, The first baby for Max and Jocelyne, and the first grandbaby for me and John boy,not to mention the first girl, I have had only boys so this will be a totally new thing as well.

For now we are all just waiting with baited breath to say Welcome, we love you! and snuggle her for the first time.

I am sure I will most likely be filling this blog with lots of pictures and stories about her so stay tuned!