Monday Happenings

Well, I'm back to my normal posting. Just trying to get back to some normalcy here. 

The girls got here around 6:30am. I had my coffee and read my devotions before they got here. Yes, Moms and Grandmas,  you need some me time sometimes. Alone with God and your thoughts. You have to find the time ⏲️ that suits you best. Try before anyone wakes up in the morning or after everyone goes to bed. Alot of times when the girls spend the night, I don't get my alone time in the morning because we all wake up at the same time. I don't like alarms if I can help it. Lol. When I put them to bed and they fall asleep, I will have my quiet time for a bit before my bedtime 🌙.  I might read, blog, watch some YouTube videos I follow etc. 

We watched a little movie so we could get awoke. We had breakfast with waffles 🧇 with Whipped cream and sprinkles. Well, I had a chaffle.  

After breakfast, we did our stretches. I have missed my stretching buddy. 

We then took baths 🛁 and shower 🚿 and got ready for the day. 

Gmaws Preschool Academy (I call us):

I bought some preschool dvds 📀 and I love them. (Not affiliated link)

We practiced drawing our shapes. Cool idea: I bought these see through paper pocket holders and put their printable pages inside. They can use dry erase markers and trace and work on their papers then wipe them off. This was , the papers are reusable so I can use them for other grandchildren. ❤❤ 

We worked on our letter for the day which was A. We had story time. 

While they ate a snack, I got supper in the crockpot.  I opened up a jar of vegetable soup I canned and I had some corn bread  🍞 in the freezer. Wholah! 

It's all about multi tasking and balance. I'm trying to get into a routine and manage my time wisely because some days they just say, "I need you." That means pick them up, hug them and love on then. ❤💘

Then, my favorite part. Nap. Yea, by then I was wore out and so were they. They fell asleep so fast. 

We got up, had a snack and my coffee. They helped me water our tomato plant and Peace Lilly. They love helping me with my plants and herbs. 

If you notice their clothes change. Atleigh loves to play dress up everyday and loves dresses. She calls then Princess dresses 👗.  

Then I just let them play while waiting on mommy to get here to pick them up. It is her week. I told yall last that things were looking up in their situation. Well, they have went backwards. I am really just torn. My son is in such a turmoil. All I can do is keep encouraging him to take this time to work on himself and pour his energy into our girls.  They need him now and he needs them. His head is just swimming right now and I'm just asking God for guidance and discernment for him. 

Here is a thought:

I'm gonna post one for the guys.  When you think they don't care and don't talk, you better pay attention. They hold in things you don't even have a clue about.  They carry their own burdens,  concerns, worry, and stress. Please please pay attention. We expect them to pay attention to us don't we?

Well, enough about things that make me sad. 

I was keeping the girls busy while we were waiting on mommy to come get them. They wanted to do more school. Great. 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️

I love using these magnetic letters to spell out 2 and 3 letter words. Atleigh is catching on quick. 

 She had to stay late at school 🏫 but I had errands to run so I got them ready and we went to town. She met us in town and picked them up. 

We picked up some candy and cards to make for everyone for Valentine's Day. 

We were eating snacks and watching TV in the truck. 

Even when she came to get them,  they didn't want to leave Gmaw.  😊😊😊 

I finally got home and unloaded everything and got the kitchen cleaned and the living room tidied up from the day. 

I went ahead and baked the cookies that we are going to make for Valentines 💝 Day. We are going to decorate them in the morning and get some packaged up for Poppie to send to him. I am going to let them make cards for everyone. ❤ 

I am finally settled down for the night and I am exhausted.  I am calling it a night. 

Happy Birthday

 Today is my sweet daddys 77th birthday 🎂🥳🎉🎈🎁🎊. He came into my life when I was 14 and he had no idea what he was getting himself into but he loved me the same and it took me a long time to know what a father was suppose to be. He passed the test and is awesome.

He's had a rough past year and a half but  he is getting there and coping with change. We love you Poppa. We hope you have a very happy birthday.

Blah Day

 Today has been one of those days. We were supposed to get up and go to church this morning but no one was feeling good and they gave it to me. So we had breakfast and read Bible 📚 stories and had prayer time. 

Dakota came and picked them up around lunch time and hung out a little bit. He was not feeling good at all. He felt warm but no fever. Bless him. 

I took a nap and woke up and had coffee and started me a fire in the fireplace. Just enjoying my quiet and me time now. 

Tidied up a little and washed bedding and got clean sheets for tonight. 

Gotta let my fire die out now so I can shower 🚿 Yes, I have been that lazy. 

I shared these two thoughts on Facebook earlier.  Thought some more could benefit from it. 

 I'm gonna post one for the guys.  When you think they don't care and don't talk, you better pay attention. They hold in things you don't even have a clue about.  They carry their own burdens,  concerns, worry, and stress. Please please pay attention. We expect them to pay attention to us don't we?

Ok. God just put this on my heart and y'all know me, it's gotta come out of my mouth. 🤷‍♀️😳

If you start noticing a pattern in your life that keeps repeating, have you ever thought it's not the circumstance that needs changing? It might be you that needs to change.  Change your ways and it might change your circumstances.  Hmmmmm....🤔

Yea, that hit me too, hard. And believe me I will be making some changes. ❤

A Time of Grieving

 We would love to thank everyone for your patience during my time off from blogging due to needing a time to grieve and recollect ourselves. Dear hubby has had a hard time.  The girls stayed a week with their other grandmother who we call Lolly.  Dear hubby and his sister had so many things to do concerning his mother's arrangements and affairs. They went through some important papers an such that she told them to a long time ago. Nanny  had all these things planned out years ago including her arrangements and even had her headstone and casket purchased. She had all her papers in a safety deposit box for safe keeping and made sure her kids knew what to do and such. This made it so much easier for her children. The children have already made a pack that her house is not to be sold. She worked from sun up to sun down even til the wee hrs of the morning to provide for 6 children on her own. She sweated and paid for her land and house. This woman had it all together. 

It was easier also on dear hubby to sit by her bedside just holding her had in her last few hrs. He could deal with it better and was able to tell her goodbye and know that she was happy with going home. The funeral was very lovely. Her church and 0ur church provided meals for us.  We had food for days and we were very touched by their prayers and support during that time. 

For that week the the girls were not here, dear hubby just needed time to grieve in his own way. We set most days just side by side on the couch in silence. No TV no nothing. He just needed me to hold his hand and be there. Our boys are dealing with it in their own way. I believe it hit our oldest son the hardest. So many times dear hubby has said something about needing to get up in the morning and go check on her or go somewhere for her. He had to stop himself and realize she was not here anymore. It is just such a habit of his to take care of her. It just doesn't seem real. 

We got back to normal and the girls finally got to come back to stay with us during the days.  They were so excited and missed us dearly.  We made that lost time up with them. We let them spend a few nights with us.  

Footie pjs and Curious George. My little best friends for sleep over. ❤❤🍿🍿

One day Dallas and Brylee played with the girls. When the Princess Caroline says, "Unkie Dallas, get in the castle!" you get in the castle. 

One day they came and they were not feeling good. 

Fever:✅

Comfy pallets:✅

Juice:✅

Movies:✅

Kleenex:✅

Bunch of kisses:✅✅✅✅✅

This was pretty much our day.

Dear hubby was trying to get alot of outside stuff done before he had to go back to work.  

One morning we got in the kitchen and I was teaching the girls to make homemade cinnamon rolls and they made their own. Pardon the messy hair and pjs but that's how we're Rollin that morning.  Can't get a smile out of Caroline. Just a famous Caroline Scowl. They were delicious by the way. 

It came time for dear hubby to go back to work. Oh how he has enjoyed his time off. 

Ag said let's make poppie jealous while he's at work. 😅😅😅😅🤣😅

Even Princesses 👸 can have bad days.  She has said NOPE   to almost everything all day.

Another quick cleaning tip I do is while they are getting dressed, I will clean out the tub and wash toys down and put them to dry for the next bath. My tub always stays clean. I usually get them to help after they get dressed but they stayed in the tub so long playing this particular morning that they were cold 🥶 when they finally got out. 

I have tried really hard to start potty training Caroline again. I made a sticker chart and everything and trying to make it fun. However, she is still having trouble. She just doesn't know how to yet and sometimes she is just not aware of when she is wet. We went through every single pair of training panties and alot of pants this day. 

 I'm still gonna keep trying and get her use to the potty and getting on it and one day it will click and it will be easy from there. In the mean time, she has two to choose from. 

We had another sleep over one night because Dakota had to get up early the next morning and I did not want the girls to have to get up at 3:30 am. S0 they just stayed with me. They really got to spend two nights because they worked til 8pm the next day. Dakota was so tired and sore and now he has a cold like the girls do. 

I love sleep overs because we bake cookies and have tea parties 🥳🎉

After nap today, it was  kind of ok to get outside. They weren't feeling good again today but they needed some fresh air.  We bundled up and headed outside. We couldn't stay long though because it started getting cold again. 

We came in and I warmed them up by getting them into a hot bubble bath.  Then we ate supper.  We worked together as a team and they picked up the living room while I cleaned the kitchen. I have been teaching them about teamwork for alot of reasons. It teaches them to work together, it makes our cleaning go faster and keeps them occupied so I can get my stuff done. Wholah. 

It was time for bed and we crawled up into my big bed and watched a Bible story on DVD 📀.  It's got to where these girls don't even want to go home. 😊 I'm so glad Gmaw and Poppie can make them happy and secure. 

Tomorrow will be church and then they will go home after church. They will be back bright and early Monday morning.  

The Big 18

 Even though our family is amidst grieving over the loss of dear hubby's mother,  we are dedicating today to our youngest who is so over the moon with turning 18. He is a man now and there is no telling what he's liable to do. I guess we will just see. I say that jokingly, but deep down I'm kinda hesitant. 🤣🤣🤪🤪

So Dakota decided he wanted a baby, and 18 yrs ago today he got one.  He is his brothers keeper for sure. Dallas is one blessed feller. 

You know that song,  Bad To The Bone? Well, I think they wrote it just for this guy. He is a cross between Chuck Norris and Johnny Cash. 🥋🎵

 His personality consists of, stubbornness,  hard headed, truthful (even if it hurts your feelings), a good debater (he can argue with a brick wall), independent (wants to do things his way), flies by the seat of his pants and on the wings of my prayers kind of guy, logical (he can talk about anything from politics to religion, to guns and ammo), however, I need to find a box of common sense on sale( he just lives in the moment, there is no telling what hes gonna do next), private, tough exterior(no bullying him). But at the same time, honest (even if it lands him in trouble,  he cowboys up and takes his punishment),🤠,loyal(you got a friend in him), sensitiv🦄, soft interior (he wouldn't want you to know that)🥀 determined(more like stubborn and hard headed),  moody ( he could have been a girl), 👸 witty(no telling what hes liable to say),goofy 🤡(only I get his dry sense of humor sometimes), and has a protective instinct (Silence! He will kill you!) and an "I got this"   or "I'll figure it out" mentality (usually after 10000s of times), I did not get gray hair from being a Gmaw. If ever a kid has made me step up my game on parenting, it's this guy. Phew! 🤦‍♀️  

These are all good qualities that gets him into a little trouble right now,  but someday, out in the real world  he will do great. 

Seasons and change has come into his life at times to where he's had to improvise, overcome and adapt. He will have the hang of this when he goes into the USMC one day just like dad. 🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷

Maybe someday he will finish unfinished business. 🥋🥊

I always prayed that God would use my boys and they would have a great testimony, but didn't know how much my patience would be tested and that I'd hit my knees in prayer more. This one has made me laugh,😂😂😂 made me cry,😭😭😭 made me scream, 😤😡😱made me want to pull my hair out, pray the hardest, 🙏🙏🙏and longest soooooo....his testimony better be GREAT.  

But you know what I like most about this guy? HE'S MINE!!!!!!  He is just like me and my mini me. I can't think of anyone I'd rather have on my team or have my back. 

Son, always do the RIGHT thing, always trust God to lead and guide you. I want you to dream big, but at the same time play it smart and safe. 

I hope you have a very Happy birthday 🎂🎂🎉🎉

We love you very much and never forget that.  We just want the best for you and for you  to grow into a respectable man full of honor,  dignity and integrity.  Always do your best even if you don't  know why you're doing it. 

We love you son. HAPPY BIRTHDAY

We went in this morning and woke him up. 

No more sleeping in, you're 18 now. Welcome to adulthood.  🤪🤪🤣🤣

We all got dressed and took him to brunch. We played a few games of pool. 

I don't ever win anything. But I W0N.  🤣🤣 . It took me 20 tries to chase that little black ball around.

We got back home and we all took naps. Dear hubby has not slept good the past few days. He is getting wore out. 

Dallas got up and got ready because he started a new job today. Yep, he decided he wanted to get him a night shift job. 😴 He says he has trouble sleeping anyway so he wants to try it. Who knows, it may be right up his alley. He may pull this off. My biggest worry is how he is going to be able to sleep with two toddlers running around. 🏃‍♀️😅  we may have to get him something to stuff in his ears or something. He also said when he gets off work he can probably go to grandmothers house and sleep, then come home. This is a good option since she doesn't need to be alone now. We will just have to play this out.

He wants to be treated more like a man and we totally get it. He wants to earn his man card and right of passage into adulthood.  That's what we have been trying to raise him to do for 18 yrs. It's hard as parents to let go of our children and them go out into the real world. 

He will not get off work until the morning, so it is just me and dad the rest of the night. 

Our Hearts Are Broken

  It is with sadness that I am posting that my dear hubby has lost his mother. She passed this morning and it has been a rough day. We are all just now dispersing to our own homes to get some rest. Funeral arrangements will be made tomorrow morning.  We are all at peace with this because she went peacefully in her sleep, no pain or suffering. She is with her Savior now and running up and down the streets of gold. I know without a doubt she found her other children and hugged them tight. ♥

Saturday Tidbits

  Today has been a day of just spending time with family. 

Dear hubby got up this morning and got ready and went to his moms first.  I had a slower start to my day. After not getting home until after 1am, I was just sluggish this morning.  I finally got enough caffeine in me and got in shower 🚿 and got ready and left to go to her house. We changed shifts and sent some home to rest. 

Hospice came out and cleaned and changed her and her linens. They gave her something for pain and finally got a catheter in to drain her bladder. 

This is all we can do at this point is just to keep her comfortable. Family is discussing things to do. We are still waiting on a son to fly in from out of town. 

Friday Tidbits

 Well, this morning 🌄 that alarm ⏰went off at 5:30am. I woke up kind of refreshed. 

Got up and had our coffee ☕ and got cups of milk ready for girls. They were in a good mood this morning.  

They just wanted some cereal for breakfast and dear hubby made us some sausage and biscuits. It is the deer sausage he processed himself and it is delicious. 

He cleaned his mess up. He has always known how to clean up after himself since he was a teenager. His momma worked a full time job and then came home and worked in the garden harvesting, bringing it in and processing it. Sometimes she was up until 2 am canning. Then have to get up at 5 or 6 am and get ready for work. She is one strong 💪woman. So dear hubby would come in from school or work and cook 🍳 supper for them and clean the kitchen. He is such a good son  and I am one blessed wife. 

I escaped to the bathroom and took a quick shower and got ready. I wanted to look a little nicer today for my sweetheart. He was entertaining the girls 👧

Some days by the time I get out of the shower and getting ready, I'm pooped 💩. I am just not as young as I use to be. 

I ran them some bath 🛁 water and they took a bubble bath. Another trick I use to multi-task,  is Swiffer the floors with my Swiffer wet jet while they are in the tub. That way they are not under foot. They weren't ready to get out when I was done so,  I folded some laundry and put it away in our closet. Mind you, they were in eye sight. Our bedroom is connected to our master bath so I could see them. Our closet door is right in the bathroom. 

They got ready and wanted to play for a bit. Well, Caroline followed me and raised her little arms up and said, "I want you." So I knew it was time to just sit down and hold little Princesses 👸.  

I was tired by then so I told them to grab some books and we would sit down a few minutes and just read. Then they wanted their princess castle put up so......

They grabbed them some books and retreated to their castle with lots of imaginative play. At least they were getting along. 😇

While they were playing, I started cleaning and organizing on my bedroom. 

I took a break on the room, because it was lunch time for them to eat. 

Naptime came next. Caroline was getting sleepy. After naptime we had a snack and coffee. 

Dear hubby has been at his mommas house all day sitting with her and his sister. He ran some errands for them. 

It wasn't long til Dakota came to pick up the girls. They were going home to get ready because they were going to a rodeo. We love us some rodeos.  

I had been cleaning on and off on our bedroom all day.  Man, was it so unorganized.  So when they left I tackled some more. Dear hubby came in and cooked supper and got comfy. 

We were eating supper and planning on watching a movie when the phone rings and it is his sister. She needed him to come back to his mommas house. She was getting worse. He leaves.  I get back to doing what I was doing and he texts and asks if I wanted to come see her. I knew right then something was wrong. I quickly threw my day clothes back on and left. I got to her house and everyone was there, no where to park. My heart sank. ❤.  I walked in and everyone was in her room by her bedside. I found dear hubby and went to his side. They were letting her FaceTime with a grandson and his family out of state. She can't talk but is coherent. She is getting weaker everyday. Her kidneys are failing and they are beyond dialysis or anything. She does not want to go back to hospital.  This was her decision from the beginning. All they can do now is keep her comfortable.  All I could do was comfort my dear hubby. He has been so devoted to her all his life. He has been the spoiled baby of the family all his life. There is a story that I will share of their relationship but it will have to wait. I will be working on a page I want to add to our blog in the future. 

Last night, she would look at him and just give the sweetest smile from ear to ear at him. It melted his heart and I know he will always see it when he thinks of her. When I sat beside her, she smiled at me with approval and grabbed my hand so tight and did not want to let go. To be like this woman or my mother will be an honor that I hope I can live up to. If we could all have her heart, this world would be a better place. 

She began to get settled and eventually was able to rest.  His sister and niece sent everyone home. I am so glad we have so many nurses in our family and some are in the medical field. Three family members have been in home care givers for the elderly, 4 family members are Nursing Home Administrators,  and two nurses. 

It is 2 am and we are all exhausted.  We would covet your prayers. 

One Of Those Days

 Well, today has been one of those days.  We had a rough night last night. I managed to get the girls in bed early. However, I don't know what was wrong but they woke up several times a piece. They had a couple of dreams. Dear hubby didn't get home from his mother's house until midnight. They got her in and all settled. He wanted to make sure she was OK before he left. 

We were both so exhausted this morning but much to our surprise, the girls were in good moods. Dear hubby said Atleigh was just like me, chattering first thing. 🤪bless his heart ❤.  

They played really good together today. All they wanted to do was put on Princess dresses and do school. 

I threw something in the crockpot for supper.  

We made it to naptime and we all crashed. We got up and had coffee ☕and milk 🥛 and a snack since supper was just in a few hours. 

Dakota got off work and came and picked them up. 

All I had to do was just add some sides to what I had in the crockpot.  While the sides were cooking, I speed cleaned the kitchen. We ate supper 🍽 and dear hubby made us a fire in the fireplace.  We just enjoyed some down time for the rest of the night.