I'm sorry. I'm a day late posting. Time just flew yesterday and I was just exhausted last night.
I think I have rainbowed the girls out. They don't want to do anything rainbow today 😒. 🦄🦄. Oh well, it was fun all week. We still have rainbow 🌈 cupcakes and bread to eat.
Ah ha!!!!! We still did something rainbow to finish our week. It didn't require baking so I want gain 20 lbs. 🤪🤪
Rainbow necklaces. Caroline had to bling daddy out too. 📿📿
St. Patrick's Week Day Four:
Phew, this one wore us out. It takes muscle working the coloring through the dough. 💪 Rainbow 🌈 bread. Just look at those colors. Now, we're dipping it in ranch dressing. Hey, you pick your battles. This Gmaw needs a nap. 😁😁😁😇😇😇😇😇🤪🤪🤪🤪
St Patrick's Week Day Three:
It's been rainy and stormy, but we've had unicorns 🦄 and rainbows 🌈 in my house. ( had to drown out the noise of the thunder ⛈😳).
Rainbow 🌈 cupcakes 🧁😋
First time using my piping kit my sweetheart got me. Just look at those colors. If you thought I wasn't gonna eat one, you're crazy. 😁😁😁
There is always that one.....🦄🦄🦄
My little unicorns 🦄 rocking our 🌈 rainbows
It wasn't long afterwards that mommy and daddy came to pick them up.
I don't know if I told yall or not, but God has been answering prayers 🙏 for us. God is restoring a marriage. Our son and daughter in law are slowly working things out and I can sleep a little better. 😴 This makes this momma very happy 😊 and I am just going to continue to keep praying. I ask that yall would keep doing the same. God is still in the miracle working business.
St. Patrick's Week Day Two:
Rainbow 🌈 grill cheese. Look at that mozzarella pull............
We took baths and showers and by then it was nap time. We conked out.
After nap we had to run to town and run errands so we just went to the park to play and I treated them to McDonald's.
Got back home and daddy came to pick them up. We had a good day.
St. Patrick's Week Day 1 and it's rainbow 🌈 everything this week. Today is rainbow waffles 🧇. It's a rainy 🌧, cloudy ⛅, messy buns 😋, pajamas 👖 kind of day but we got rainbows in our tummies. Caroline really is happy, don't let her scowl fool ya that's just her. ❤❤❤🦄🦄🦄🦄
We are going to have so much fun this week.
We made today pj and movie day too. We had to watch Frozen II for the 1,000,000 time.
Then they had another rainbow 🌈 waffle before nap.
Wheen you've told them 100 plus times to quit marking on themselves. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🙄🙄
Yep that's not washable marker. 🤦♀️🙄
Rainbow 🌈 snack
Coloring rainbows
While we were coloring, daddy came to pick them up. We got our rainbows done though.
Tomorrow is another rainbow adventure. 🌈
Today I got to spend with our other son. Well, he kind of is. This is our nephew and he grew up with our boys and he would have lived with us if he could have and still would today. His name is Hunter and He, Dallas and another friend took a trip to Six Flags over the weekend, which made my heart skip beats, but thankfully made it back home safe early this morning. Dallas has to work and Hunter spent the day with me. He went to church with me and I took him to lunch afterwards. This is a very kind, loving, sensitive soul. He is precious. He has big dreams for his future and wants to make big changes and hopes we are a part of it. We will help him as much as we can and will let yall know.
The past few days have been good. We have had decent weather and got outside more to play. I am so excited that today is the day we spring ahead. Well, at 2am anyway. I love longer hrs in the day. I hope we don't have any more freeing or inclement weather because I'm beginning to see new buds and green growth on trees and bushes in my area. My rose 🌹 bushes are getting some new green growth to them. Me and my girls love our flowers 💐.
We have been doing some more school.
They love the last set of manipulatives I bought them. And then they love the learning electronics I have. I actually bought the little play tablet at a thrift store for $3. It was the best investment I ever made.
That morning it was time to make another batch of chaffles to go in the freezer. For those of you who have asked how to make them, it is the easiest thing ever. The recipe is suppose to be one cup of cheese to one egg ratio but for some that may be too much cheese. So I just dump a bunch of eggs into a bowl and pour cheese in it until it looks about even. If that makes sense. You can tell by the picture that it is still a little more egg because it is wet. If you go by the original recipe it will be thicker and not as wet. The way I do it is OK for us because I want them to get use to the eggs for more protein. They still fluff up good. You can add anything else you would like. Then you put them into your waffles iron and cook. That's it. I make a whole batch at a time and put the rest in the freezer. Take out as needed.
Of course the girls wanted to spend the night with us. 😁 so we had another sleep over.
Last night, we made pizzas 🍕 and I let them make their own. They are getting really good at it. I am having to convert alot of recipes especially anything with flour because dear hubby is pre-diabetic and we are having to be very careful. If you catch it in the pre stages it can be held under control with diet. I substituted the ap flour for half wheat half ap. I will keep playing with flours until we get use to the conversion. I'm going to check into whole wheat pastas too. Carbs turn to sugar so maybe this will help. Whole wheat doesn't have as much carbs. I still want him to enjoy alot of things we enjoy. We will see.
Then we got ready for bed and had popcorn and movie. Daddy came and picked them up this morning. Of course they didn't want to leave either 🙄 bless them.
I have to update you. We have prayed so hard for our oldest sons situation and things are starting to look brighter. I know the Lord is working but I don't want to get too fast and get my hopes up. I know that sounds contradictory to having faith, but if you knew how many times I have gotten my hopes up and thought prayer was being answered, to then only going backwards, you would understand my hesitantance. I am just going to sit back and wait on the Lord. Time will only tell if I can come out and tell everything.
Another prayer is still being prayed for our youngest. He is still struggling with his decision about his future. All his life since about 3 hrs old all he has talked about was going into the military like his dad. It is his passion, however, he has also wanted to do something in criminal investigation 🔎. Either FBI, NCIS, law enforcement etc. He is really struggling trying to make up his mind. He is stressing over it. He has talked to his recruiting officer and us and we have told him no one can make this decision for him. This us one he has to decide for himself. We would never be disappointed in him if he didn't join the military. His recruiting officer told him the same thing.
On a funny note, well, it wasn't funny to me, he missed cap and gown pics at school last week. If anyone knows anything about me you will know I LOVE my pics of my kids. Especially important ones of first and last things of their lives. CAP AND GOWN PICS Y'ALL 😒🙄 I was so upset. He did go to the school and was dressed but one of his buddies came out and saw him and said he just heard them announce that Sr pics were going to be rescheduled, so they left. Well, come to find out, it was the SR class pic of the graduating class not cap and gown. I have told him 100 times to never ever ever take some bodies word for something and to check it out for himself. If he would have just gone on into the room and looked he would have seen. I can't make this stuff up. 😫 However, he is one lucky guy that we have a family photographer that is going to retake his tux pics and try to take some cap and gown pics for me and submit them to the yearbook staff. When he had his tux pics made we didn't order any because he didn't like that his hair was smooshed because of his cowboy hat. 😤 She can get access to a mock tux cape and a cap and gown and she is going to do all of his sr pics for me at one time. He is so lucky. I could just, well, I'll stop ✋ there.
I have been going through some recipe books and trying to find some crock pot and instant pot meals.
There are so many recipes you can make and turn into dump and go freezer meals. If you haven't heard of them, you should check them out. YouTube has so many ladies with videos on their channels that do this. Kimmy, from She's In Her Apron, Kelly from Kelly's Corner, Jamerill Stewart, and more that I follow. Basically what you do is take a crock pot recipe (preferably one that just says to place all ingredients into pot and cook for so many hrs, this might not work for one that has alot of prep work like sautéing anything) and place all the ingredients into a ziploc bag or airtight freezer container and freeze. When it is time to cook it, you can remove it from freezer and let it thaw and dump in crock pot and let it cook, or you can dump it in frozen and let it cook longer. These can also be converted and cooked in the instant pot. Thawed or frozen. You can prep and freeze several meals at one time. 😋 This helps for a busy couple who work and wants to have a home cook meal but doesn't want to be in the kitchen cooking all night. Since I'm home I can just throw everything in the crockpot in the morning myself or in the afternoon in the instant pot. I love spaghetti in my cooker. I have a pressure cooker and it works just like an instant pot. You put it all in at one time by directions and wholah. One pan.
Put some ingredients in my bread machine and wholah..... homemade bread 🍞 to go with it. Check out this process to make meal times more easy. I'm also looking at sheet pan dinners.
The past two days have been very pretty weather. I am getting so excited about the time change coming up. I love when the sun shines longer in the day. It makes me happy 😊☺.
We have been able to enjoy some outside time. Yep, I was soaking it up. My joints were so thankful.
After umpteen years our horse is finally home where she belongs. Our boys have rode off into many a sunsets on Dixie. Now the girls will too. YEEHAW!!!!!!!
We bought Dakota this horse when he was 2 yrs old. That was 21 yrs ago. Then Dallas played on it. Now it is going through another generation.
I bought the girls another preschool activity from Amazon. They love it.
And then Atleigh was contented coloring while Caroline wanted to see what I was mending.
I don't know how to link something from Amazon to here but here is a screen shot so you can look it up.
I was multi tasking this morning while the girls were in the tub. They love to just play and play in the water so I took advantage of it. I managed to get my makeup on and fix my hair and fold two loads of laundry and put then away.
I was on a role today. Moms, use your time wisely. It is possible.
I want to make this post for parents. If my thoughts seem jumbled, trust me, I'm probably jotting down thoughts as they pop into my head. That's just how an overthinking mind works. 😕
Parents, stress, anxiety and depression does not just effect grown ups. It effects even down to babies. Yes, even babies pick up and sense moods from people. They can sense if you are tense, scared, nervous etc. Then they copy cat or they don't feel secure. It is proven.
Toddlers: they can sense it too. They may be too young to understand circumstances but believe me, they pick up on words, expressions and movement. Then they can process it in their little minds and start pitting two and two together. Example, separation of parents or divorce is a number one factor. Parents please, DO NOT have adult conversations, arguments, and God forbid, fights in front of your children. My husband and I have never fought, much less in front of our children. We've never fought period. Now, we've had disagreements, but we have always discussed them away from our children. Our kids can tell you they have never seen us argue or fuss in front of them. Certain things don't need to be discussed in front of innocent ears. Kids need security not chaos. Find somewhere else to discuss problems out of ear shot of kids.
Anxiety and stress effects children just like grown ups , just at a different level. It effects them emotionally and physically. It can interrupt sleeping, eating etc. Yes, it can. Teachers in public schools can testify to this. They are the ones that kids dump all their bad moods on and feelings. Some will confide in teachers. Kids this young need to be guided in to how to cope with emotions and circumstances and it's hard. But by them having someone to talk to helps.
Our church deals with alot of kids that come from the school on Wednesdays and you would not believe some of these kids home lives. I can't name them for confidentiality reasons but trust me when I say, it's hard to send kids back home into that environment when you just want to cuddle them and keep them safe. Its hard not to say something.
Preteens: start paying attention real hard to this stage. Well, all stages but this one starts becoming harder. Kids these days have more temptations thrown at them thanks to television, internet, and social media. 😑 It's not like it was in our day and age. It had gotten worse. Satan doesn't even hide anymore. He is walking around proudly in broad daylight and plain view.
If you watch TV you will know.
Red flags to look for: mood swings, loss of appetite, sleeping issues, isolation quietness and private, depression, suicidal thoughts. I swear, when my kids hit this age, I thought aliens 👽 came and abducted my children and left me with someone I did not even know. When you start seeing these changes, you better start getting nosey. Because before long they will start thinking that what they are hearing and seeing from other sources are normal activity. And these things may go against your morals, beliefs and values.
Get nosey with what they are watching, seeing and hearing from sources or even people. Find out who their friends are, what their parents are like, who they are related to. Y'all, I'm not playing, these are all factors to take into consideration. Bad influences can corrupt your child that has been raised right by biblically sound morals. Trust me on this.
This is a crucial stage also because of shift in hormones and puberty. PAY ATTENTION. Do not leave them alone to electronic devices. Even things can still get past parental controls. It kills me to see a kid this young or even in elementary school to have a cell phone. Don't get me started on that soap box.
Teenagers and High Schoolers: OH BOY, here we go.
This is a whole new ballgame. If you think you needed to pay attention to the previous stages, you better up your game on this one.
This is the stage that can get tense and tricky. Simply because they know they are becoming of adult age soon and they are going to test your boundaries and their wings. This is the stage where you gotta give them some space but at the same time hold your ground. This is also the stage where they think they know more than you as parents and they are set out to prove it.
I'm going to pour my heart out right now. Let me be the first to say my kids are not perfect and never have been just because they were raised in a Christian home with morals and biblical standards. My kids have caused me heart ache and sore knees from praying and crying out to God. They have caused me many sleepless nights, anxiety, headaches, and stomach aches. 😫 They were disciplined and grounded more at this stage than their whole life.
This age is getting more complicated because of all the peer pressure, temptations and influences out there. This age group suffers with more anxiety, stress, depression and sleep disorders. Then you throw in the mix if these kids have troubles at home like abusive or neglectful parents, alcoholic parents or divorced parents. I have had several of my kids friends want to use our home as a safe haven. It is awful and my heart goes out to them. They are my other sons. I have comforted and counseled many of my kids friends. However, my own kids wouldn't come to me to talk mostly because it would probably go against what they wanted to hear and what they wanted to do.
Be careful with this age. I can't tell you how to discipline or parent your kids because you have your own set of rules and convictions but there has to be consequences for wrong behavior without being so tight that they get rebellious and take a chance on running away. Lots of communication is the key and a whole lot of grace. One of our boys is stubborn but eventually listens to reason and will sometimes comply or compromise. The other, not so much. He is strong willed and kind of a rebel. He insists on doing things his way which is usually totally against our house rules. He is the kind that is going to have to learn things the hard way because he doesn't want to listen. 🙄
This mom is tired. One kid aggravated me more with his antics, the other exhausted me more with his.
You have to find a common ground with this age. Even a kid who is grounded can fall by the wayside by bad influences and peer pressure. Now you really need to get nosier than ever about who they are hanging out with and what they are like and their parents are like. My number one question was always does their parents drink or do drugs. Well of course I was not going to let my kids go spend the night with them. Get nosey about where they are going to hang out. Have GPS on their phones if you have to. I know alot of people are gonna get on the "that invades their privacy" band wagon. Oh well, we pay those truck payments and insurance so there's that. They also still live in my home so there's that too. You have to put your kids safety above their feelings these days. If they live long enough, they will and should thank you when they get older.
When they get 18 and they are still in school or they move out. It really becomes a whole new ballgame because if they do something against the law, they will be tried as adults in a court of law and there is nothing you can do about it. I refused to enable my kids by taking their side and still don't. If you do something against the law, and you were raised better, I'm not bailing you out. You will take the consequences and deal with them. That may sound harsh to some but I'm trying to raise respectable men that can function in society and obey the law. Its been a struggle but we're getting there.
Like I said, I can't tell you how to discipline or raise your kids, but please pay attention to the different stages and things going on in their lives. You should be able to tell when something is off by the way they are acting. If not, you better start noticing.
We are not living in older times now. Things have changed alot and gotten worse since we were teenagers. Sex, drugs, alcohol is rampant more now than ever. I swear it's worse now than Sodom and Gomorrah. Satan is stealing our children and their minds throughTV, internet, social media, bad influences, drugs, alcohol etc. Please, for the love of God, start paying attention, we are loosing our young people. Step up, become the parents God called us to be. It's ok to say NO to your kids. It's hard to be their buddies when they are mad at you but eventually they get over it. I'd rather them be mad because I said they couldn't go somewhere or hang out with someone rather than putting them 6 ft under prematurely. They will grow up someday. Those kids that had parents that just let them go and do whatever had landed themselves in jail or prison or worse. I know some friends of my kids that this has happened and this is sad. Now on that note, I know a kids behavior can not always be blamed on the parent either. I know parents just like us who are good parents who raised their kids in church and taught them right from wrong and their kids still go down the wrong path. It is heart breaking I know. It is our prayer that these kids get back on the good and narrow. Hopefully God will bring back to memory their loving parents and their raising. Bring back the erring one the Bible says. It's not always the parents fault.
I truly hope this has helped someone. It has helped me just by talking about it. If you and your kids are still struggling and having trouble, please get help and counseling.
We had some very happy girls this weekend. Poppie was off work a few days and he got to spend time with his girls. They loved having all of hisattention.
We took them to town to let them spend their lock box money and of course Poppie bought them some things too. Atleigh wanted her a few little dresses to wear for everyday and at $5 a piece, why not. We went out to eat with Dallas and Brylee and then came home. We let them spend the night with us.
The next day, Daddy came and got them and took them to see the baby calf.
I got to get in my canning supplies and clean up. Y'all just don't know what this looked like before I got started. I am so happy now. 😊
This morning I got up and had my coffee ☕ and devotions and started reading a book I bought that I think will help me alot.
Y'all do not know how much I need this right now. 😭
Then I got ready for church and stopped by and picked up girls and took them to church with me. He got ready and went to church with a good Christian couple friends of his. I am so glad they are in his life right now.
Basically my morning in church has consisted of trying to get Caroline to quit making crazy noises during church. When I asked her if she wanted a spanking, she looks straight at me with a smile and says, "Yes I want a spanking." 🤦♀️ No you don't baby girl, no you don't. 😳 Atleigh is contented just coloring. We get in the truck and Atleigh tells Caroline "Just ask God to help you. Just say God I'm having a bad day, will you help me to have a better day." This girl has been listening. Caroline looks at me and says, "I'm having a bad day Gmaw. " My heart melted. I said, "It's ok."
I apologize to everyone who Caroline made a stinky face to in church. 😛😜🤦♀️
Then we get in the truck and she takes it out on her doll.
We got home and ate lunch and then it was nap time.
This girl loves her Poppie so much I had to give her one of his shirts with his smell on it. She has literally loved on it and was asleep within one minute at nap time. Bless her. 😍❤
Well it's off to bed. Gotta rise and shine in the morning.
I've had two days without the girls and I miss them. They are with mommy since she has two days off before her schedule shifts. When you have kids around all day every day then all the sudden one day you don't, it makes a difference. The quiet is really quiet. But I just cleaned a little and took one day to just pamper myself and run errands.
I spent alot of time in prayer and just thinking for two day. Well, pouring my heart out to God and just letting it go while no one was around. It's OK to do that some times then you recollect yourself, straighten your crown 👑 and remember who you are. You are God's child.
This is what all I have been thinking. There have been circumstances that have come into my grown kids lives and Mom just can't fix everything although it is designed and instilled in us to try to do so.
So here it goes. I hope this helps someone because it did me again also to just wrote it down.
I have been thinking about stress lately.
Stress can be a killer. That's not a slang statement. I mean a literal killer.
Stress can come in and consume us physically,mentally, and emotionally. It eats at your very being inside and out.
It costs your body, mind, relationships, and health.
It causes you to do things that help drown it or get rid of it temporarily like drugs, alcohol, tobacco, medications, influences from the opposite sex.
We ruin relationships because we bring these outside sources in thinking we are relieving the stress. When in turn we have opened a can of worms.
Alot of times we bring unnecessary stress on our selves. We make ourselves TOO busy by packing our lives with too many activities, running around, a sense or urgency etc. You can only pack so much into one day. We blindly let ourselves get into situation we have no business getting into.
I know work is a number one factor for stress. Thanks to Adam and Eve. You have to find a way to deal with work situations and leave work at work. Don't bring it home with you. I know that's easier said than done. You may hate your job but you need the job so you put up with it. Just do the job, get your paycheck and go about your business. If it is still too hard, maybe start looking for something else. Get a little better education to get that better, more enjoyable job. If you can be a voice, speak up for all the employees. If not, tough it out until you can find something else. Just don't bring it home. Its ok to talk about your day with your spouse when you get home, just don't let it ruin your night with your family.
If you have so much on your plate everyday that you are in a whirl wind and don't know what day it is, you better find a way to slow the heck down and breathe. You need to prioritize, and possibly have to let something go or put something on hold til a later time. You can't do it all.
Finances are going to cause stress. YES. But you can deal with those too. Start learning to budget your income. Live within your means. Dont spend money you don't have to spend. Necessity and preparedness comes first.
If your having marital problems ( stress from other areas have mostly contributed to this one) GET HELP PLEASE. Do not let stress tear your family apart. God never intended that.
Seek a Christian counselor, true friends who are not biased, family help, marital help books. I don't care, but some kind of help.
Your immediate family in your household is your main priority and focus especially children. Your home, spouse and children should be your safe place to come home and escape the outside world. Our children should not suffer because we don't know how to handle stress properly.
The outside world is what is causing it. Our home and family should be our sanctuary.
Get back to God. Look, God intended for us to enjoy life but he also knew when sin came, we were going to deal with alot. That's why he became man. He lived it and used these things to teach us. That's why we have the Bible as our Life Manual. Start putting God first again. Go to church, pray, seek his will, have devotions with your spouse.
Talk, love, laugh, live, play, have fun, dance in the kitchen, get in the floor and play, cut the TV off or find something fun to watch nothing negative, GET OFF YOUR PHONE, if a 3 yr old tells you to get off your phone and they don't even know about cell phones, then you know you need to get off it. Prioritize, put family first. Cook that meal together, fold that laundry together, play games.
You have to learn to balance life, work, marriage and parenting. It's doable and can be stress free with no influences of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, medications etc.
Let me make a disclaimer:
If you have a medical problem that is causing problems like depression, anxiety etc. Please get help. Therapy first for proper diagnosis. Then counselor first. It can probably be managed with counseling and management and possible natural or herbal supplements. If it's worse than that then professional help from Dr. But be leery of medications. They have horrible side effects which d0 more damage than what you are actually dealing with.
We are letting circumstances come before family and it is costing us our families.
Start making changes instead of drowning your sorrows. Let that sink in.
I have had to do alot of these things for my sanity. I am a mother and I worry and stress alot over my kids. Mostly because they love driving me insane. But as a parent and they get older it's hard to let go. It's hard to see your kid struggle and you can't fix it for them. You have to lean on the good Lord to work. You pray more than you ever did and you cry more than you have tears for. But I have had to come to terms that I can't fix the problem. All we can do is give advice and hope that somewhere down the road it is used.
I hope this has truly helped someone and thanks for letting me pour my heart out.
