Guest post, from Ms. Baby
Hey y’all, this is me, Ms. Baby. My Mom has been having a hard time posting lately, there are to many things happening with her, and she does not want to come across all sad, and confused and stuff, so she asked me to post on her blog, so her readers would know she was still alive.
First off, this is me in the picture. I was trying to do my “sexy” pose, so I could get more treats. For some reason my Mom and Dad looked at me and laughed. How rude. Since Mom is giving me my own time on her blog there are some things I would like to address, and hope she reads this so I can get my point across.
First, if my paw touches it, it’s mine. That includes everything and if I happen to put my paw on your plate, it’s mine. Seriously.
Secondly, I think my Mom is cheating on me with some other kitties. The reason I say this, she is gone all day long, and then when she finally does get home, she has the smell of other kitties. What the heck, She is supposed to be a one kitty woman!
And another thing, I am supposed to be able to go outside in the morning and then in the evening. I usually don’t go far, just in the backyard for a couple of minutes, I like to eat the grass. I don’t like to go that far after that time the birds in neighborhood dive bombed my butt. For some unknown reason, they only let me out for about a minute in the morning and then a minute in the afternoon. Dad said something about not trying to heat the outside with our heat, whatever that means, pfft, I have a fur coat for crying out loud, it doesn’t affect me.
That’s another thing, Mom is falling off on her job of brushing me. I have a mat in my fur, what the heck is that about? I try really hard to get to all of my parts, but I may (cough, cough..uhmm…furball) have missed a spot.
I heard something too, the other day, and then that thing they use to take me out of the house showed up in the garage, which by the way is my domain. I have a window that is all mine and I sit in and guard the house for Mom and Dad. But this thing showed up and I heard whispers of the “Vet”. Now, I am here to tell you, That’s not gonna happen. I will hide under the bed and they will have no chance of getting me out. I don’t like the Vet. period.
I really don’t understand my Mom and Dad, they truly think THEY run this house. hehehe…They don’t know much. I am an alarm clock, when they sleep to late. I go in and kick them awake. I chase them up and down the stairs to make sure they stay healthy and all’s I ask for is a little treat now and then….
It’s a hard job, but I do the best I can. It’s hard taking care of these humans. Especially, since they are my Mom and Dad. But I know when they are upset, and I do my best to keep things going.
So, for all of you wondering, Mom is okay, she just needs a little break, and Dad is taking care of her, with my assistance. Don’t worry, she will be back in a couple of days and bore you to tears…..no problem… Until then, this is Ms. Baby signing off…..Thanks Mom for letting me post!
Happy Birthday to the College Student
Today is the College Student‘s birthday. This is a letter from me to her:
My darling daughter,
While you were only 4 when I met you, you were a force to be reckoned with. You are a beautiful woman now. But you were oh so cute when you were little too. I didn’t know how to react to you at times, for you see, your Mother was in your life, and you did not like to share your Dad with me.
But somehow, through the years, we managed to find a bonding. We have fought on occasions, and we have cried on occasions, but I have always loved you. 
Things may have seemed bleak lately, but they are not. Nothing has changed, and you are still the “baby” of the family. While today, you have reached your 22nd birthday. I would just like to let you know, a couple of things.
1. I Love you.
2. Your Dad loves you, as well as your brother’s and sisters.
3. I am so proud of the woman you are becoming, I could shout it from the rooftop.
4. I may not be your Mother, but I am still your Mom, and friend for life.
5. I am very proud to call you my daughter. (Even if I’m the Step Mother, and the wicked one at that.)
6. The world is your playground, and you embrace it and enjoy each and every day.
7. While I giggle when you call and say “it sucks to be a grown up”, I’m proud of the way you are handling it.
8. To have you come home, and then spend a couple of hours just laughing with your sister, and watching you with Cam-man, those hours are priceless to me. 
9. We still have the note you wrote to your Dad and I on the fridge, the day you left for college. And Boo-Bear, Your Welcome.
10. I Love you and am oh so proud of you Girl! 
I could go on and tell some embarrassing stories “Octo-Mom” with one kid, but I think you know what I mean.
Thank you Boo for being in my life, for calling everyday, and just being you! Happy Birthday little one, and I love you!!!
Signed,
“The wicked Step-Mother”
hehehe
Family..to me…
Most people recognize family, as just that, family. Be it brothers, or sisters, Moms and Dad’s and the like. I have a different version of family.
I have realized that sometimes, even though you are blood, it does not make you a family. The reason I know this? I’m about to go into some personal issues, and they are solely my issues, but the end result is what I have learned in my OWN experience.
I had a birth Mother, whom I have never met. It was her loss, not mine. I was cared for by my first step-Mother, who did not share the same blood as I, but who loved me. She never had any children, and I was it. ( I believe I told y’all last night she died when I was 11.) Her family, My Grandma Kile, and all of the family, accepted me. They all loved me, and I spent a lot of summer’s at her house and then to my Grandma Ruth’s house.
My second stepMomma, the one I write about, married the Farmer, after I had left home. She dated my dad for a couple of years, so I knew her and loved her, and accepted her. She is my Momma, and has been my friend, in my “grown up” years.
I never had any “blood” brother’s or sisters. But I do have a lot of brother’s and sister’s. I was lucky enough to go to a Boarding School for my 10-12 grade years. London Central High School. Which, for those that don’t know, it was an American High School, which housed day student’s, 5 day dormies, and 7 day dormies. We were all American kids, on British soil, on an American Air Station. We all shared a common bond. We lived in a dormitory, we were away from our parent’s, and we were all family. The funniest thing about this, is that we are a group, we have all bonded from our situations. We are all friends, even people who went to the school after I graduated, to people who went to the school before I ever got there. There are some of those people, I call my brother and sister. I also know, that should I ever need anything, anyone of them would be there. I truly believe as well that after staying in contact after 33 years, means something.
I have met friends in my life, and I call some of them brother’s or sister’s. Because they love me and I love them. I’ve also met some people in my life that I do NOT call brothers or sisters, and their time in my life, was for me to learn something or another. The lessons were hard at times, but I learned them. I don’t take love lightly. I also have a close circle. Sometimes, I don’t always speak up, but I do a lot of thinking in the back ground. But, seriously, once I let you into my circle, you will be there always.
To me, a family isn’t necessarily blood relations. It is simply who chooses to accept me, who love me, and would do anything for me, as I would for them.
Baby Boomers, Sandwich Generation and Me….
I learned a new term yesterday and I’ve been mulling it around in my head, and I guess, it makes some sort of sense.
My generation of folks, are often referred to as the “Baby Boomers“. According to Wikipedia this is the definition given:
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom between the years 1946 and 1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Yesterday I heard the term “The Sandwich Generation“ I had never heard this expression before, but I looked it up, again on Wikipedia:
The Sandwich generation is a generation of people who care for their aging parents while supporting their own children.
- Traditional: those sandwiched between aging parents who need care and/or help and their own children.
- Club Sandwich: those in their 50s or 60s sandwiched between aging parents, adult children and grandchildren, or those in their 30s and 40s, with young children, aging parents and grandparents.
I guess that I thought, that while I am not the ONLY person taking care of their parent who has Parkinson’s disease, or any disease for that matter, it never occurred to me that other people take care of both a parent, and their grandchild, or their child for that matter.
So, after realizing this, I feel a bit comforted in the fact, that I’m not the only one that has feelings of being overwhelmed at times. My current state of mind lately has been just that. Overwhelmed. Sometimes, there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day, to accomplish all I want to.
The funniest thing about this, my favorite saying to everyone used to be “The world is round, and I’ll get there”. This saying has been used on me in the last couple of days, and I guess I just have to laugh, and realize the truth in this statement.
After being invited to use my post on the web site http://www.scoop.it/t/sandwich-generation, and then going to the actual site and reading some of the other bloggers posts. I have found, I am not alone. While I have a lot of blogger friends that are going through Parkinson’s with their loved one’s, and I read each post, and sometimes make comments, sometimes not, I take their experience and see if it will work in my situation. If I see other’s in experiences that I have gone through, I try to give another spin on it, by what I’ve dealt with. Because believe it or not, while the faces are different,. the situations are different, we are all dealing with a seriously sucky thing.
Caregiving is a difficult thing to do, be it you are the spouse, the brother, the sister, the daughter, the son or whatever. But it appears to me through the blogging world, we all kind of make a difference to each other.
So, thank you to my blogging world, I do appreciate all of you. You all have also helped me in more ways than you know, be it clicking like on my blog, or just reading it, even making comments.
Night ya’ll!
4 Pizza’s and Baking Bread…A day.
Today dawned far to early for it to be a Saturday. I had to go over to the Farmer’s to watch momma for about an hour and a half this morning. I got to the Farmer’s and he LAUGHED at me (HEY, I DID change out of my p.j.’s). The first words out of his mouth were, “Hon, you can take a nap, Momma’s had her meds.”
Well, the nap didn’t happen. I made another cup of coffee, and got busy. I changed Momma’s pants, and covered her back up, and then went down to get the paper, started a load of laundry (where does all this laundry come from? I think there are little elves over at the Farmer’s house that purposely dirty stuff up, so I can do laundry). I did sit on the couch and watch Food Network for a bit though. And NO, I never did get that nap.
Joyce arrived and we chatted for a bit and then she went in to get Momma up and the Farmer got back home, so I left. You see, today was a big day in my house.
Yesterday, the Electrician went to Monical’s Pizza and got 5 pizza’s for today. But, I’m distracted, let me get back to it. I got home and got things ready because, my house was about to fill up again.
Today, The Nursing student, Fisher dude, Cam-Man, Brayden boy, Oldest son and newly engaged Fiance were coming to my house to “hang out” and talk about wedding stuff, and just have a good time.
They all arrived and we cooked 4 of the 5 pizza’s, and got full. Then the “manly” bunch went outside to do some fishing in the pond. Today Brayden Boy got his first fishing pole, and they were going to try it out. The fiance hung out with the Nursing Student and I for a bit and then went outside to join the fishing gang.
The nursing Student and I have been faithfully mushing our bags of “Amish Friendship bread”. Today was the day to bake the bread and make more bags to pass onto friends. Before we even started, we realized that a trip to the store was needed for Instant Vanilla pudding, and oil. So the Fiance and Nursing student ran to the store. I got things prepped and then realized uhm, oops, I don’t think we are going to have enough milk to perform this task.
So, we did the only thing we could think of when the 2 girls got back, we sent the Electrician to the store. Well, I don’t know how some families do it, but when MY family gets together its chaos. Plus, you put me and the Nursing student into the kitchen and there will be a lot of giggles and one hell of a mess. At one point, because we had 3 different full batches going, well, one of the batches might have got 1/2 cup of extra flour, because we were talking and we both kind of lost count.
Let me just explain that one bag of mush, makes 2 loaves of friendship bread. Yes, we were adventurous and had 6 loaves of bread, not to mention the 12 bags of “new” starter kits. We had enough loaf pans to make them (Thanks to the Farmer for donating the 3 aluminium ones, and yes, your loaf is ready for you). We put them into the oven and went outside to join the rest of the gang.
All in all, it was a really good day in my house. The 6 loaves of bread turned out great. The Nursing student and I gave the Fiance a loaf of fresh-baked bread, AND a starter kit with instructions. The Nursing Student took home 2 loaves, and I have 3, 1 for the Farmer, 1 for us, and 1 for our neighbors.
This is the “manly men” down by the pond, getting ready for some serious fishing….
Brayden Boy caught his first fish today, and we were all so proud. Another fisher-dude in the family.
Uncle Nate, Aunt Kari, and Cam-Man, I think they all had a good time today.
I wish the other kids could have been here, today, but I know that one of these days, we will ALL get together.
Switch Up Friday…
Today in my world, we switched it up. This morning, I woke up at 5:30 am because I was afraid I would be late picking Cam-Man up at 7 am. So, I got up and drank some coffee and hit the road at 6:30. I left a few minutes early because I had to drive by a certain residence in my small town (which will be another post). After driving by, I giggled.
I scooped up Cam-Man who was happy to see me peering into his crib asking “Hey Cam-Man you wanna wake up and go see Poppa?” After getting his pants changed, and me grabbing another set of clothes plus his shoes and socks, and having him grab his jacket, and his blankey. Kissing and hugging his Momma bye, off we went.
Cam-Man looked a little confused when I told him where we were going, as we got closer to my house, that lil dude livened up BIG TIME. We pulled up and got all our stuff and came inside, Cam-Man yelled “POPPA” when we got inside. Usually Poppa meets us at the door, but not this morning, he was uhm…busy. Poppa finally came upstairs and there was a squeal from Cam-Man.
I drank another cup of coffee, and fed Cam-man breakfast while the Electrician took a shower. Then, Poppa came up and told Camsgranny, “Hit the road k? I got this”.
Off down the road I went to the Farmer’s. When I got there, I gave Momma her meds, and got her dry. I made a cup of coffee and went in to chat to the Farmer. He was going to do a road trip today, so, I shooed him off, and he left.
I had a game plan today. It was raining and gloomy outside, and on days like this Momma usually does not do to well. So, we made an agreement, when I went in to get Momma up, I asked her, “do you want to get up now, or be lazy and sleep a little while longer?”‘ She replied with a little grin “Can I sleep in my bed a little longer?” “Yes, you can sleep in your bed a little longer but we have to make a deal”.. she looked at me and asked “what’s the deal?” I replied (trying to keep a straight face) “You can sleep as long as you want, but every 2 hours I am coming in here and you are going to change position, and I’m gonna change your pants, and you can’t complain when I tell you it’s time to get up and YOU have to help me ok?”. She giggled, folks, she looked me straight in the eye, gave me her hand and said “DEAL”.
So, I let her be lazy today. However, while she was sleeping I mopped the kitchen, bathroom and dining room floors, did ALL of the Farmer’s laundry, did ALL of Momma’s laundry, cleaned the Farmer’s bathroom, cleaned Momma’s bathroom, baked some Oatmeal raison cookies (for the Farmer, they are his favorite). Cleaned out the fridge (I think the Farmer is trying a science experiment with mold). Washed all the dishes and then read the paper.
After letting Momma sleep for a while, and I checked her and shifted her butt over 2 times, I finally went in and asked her if she was ready to get up. Folks, I got the Sunny smile and was told, sure, I feel great.
So, I gave her a bath, got her dressed and between the two of us, and Momma worked hard. We had therapy while she was in her bed, and then when she was sitting on the edge of the bed. I will tell you now, I was a little scared, and nervous. On a regular day it takes me and the Farmer to get Momma up and walking. Today, Momma and I did it together. I made sure she had all of her limbs “loose”, and I asked her if she was ready, and she told me “Joanne, you and I have this ok, trust me”. “I always trust you Momma, and I’m glad you trust me” was all I said.
SUCCESS story, We made it with bells ringing, (literally, there was an ambulance screaming down Route One with its sirens blazing). Momma sat in her chair and then her and I chatted. Momma looked out the window and she said, “Wow what a grey day, it reminds me of England”. “I know, Momma, how are you feeling?” “Sleepy”. was her reply. Yea, you guessed it, she fell back asleep in her chair. Me? I dozed off for a few minutes, until I heard the back door open, and in walked the Farmer.
“Can you help me unload?” he asked me as I walked into the kitchen. I spent the next few minutes unloading from all of the purchases from “Sam’s Club”. I put everything away (or so I thought) and I hugged both the Farmer and Momma and headed down the road to my house. Half way there I realized that I had not put the freezer things away, and I called the Farmer. “UHM, Dad, I think I forgot to put the butter and bacon in the freezer, I carried them downstairs and got sidetracked putting the paper stuff away, can you check for me please?”
I was right, I got completely sidetracked, and the Farmer put the freezer stuff away, I arrived home, and the Electrician had stuff he had to do, so he left Cam-Man (who was totally wiped out) with me. The rest I will save for another post.
My day today, as a switch up day, The Electrician had a FANTASTIC day with his Grandson, that he will never forget, I had a Great day with Momma, the Farmer got his road trip, and well…I’m kinda tired, so for tonite, My world is good and the FUNK is gone….
I’m just Blessed with alot of things, I’m thankful for a lot of things, and I’m whacked, kinda like Cam-man…so Nite y’all…
Time to Stand UP and STOP the MADNESS….
To all my Friends, all of you all over, our community was rocked by this, a case of bullying,
A 10 year old killed herself because she saw no way out of a situation. To me that is just down right sad, at 10 years old I was playing with my friends and didn’t have a care in the world….so I ask you… Stand Up…
I am borrowing the words of my friend Trish: What a sad, sad day it is to have to mourn one of our youths. We, as adults, need to lead by example so that children do not learn how to be cruel. Parents, friends, neighbors and educators must all work together to combat bullying. Schools cannot do it alone, parents need all the support they can get…we must empower our youth with respect for themselves and others as well as instill the importance of kindness! STAND UP against bullying!
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A Momma’s curse…..
Has your Momma ever told you this line? “I hope you grow up and have a kid JUST LIKE YOU, so you’ll understand what you are putting me through.” The reason I say this is because well…uhm…that’s what I told my kids. Guess what? hehehe PAYBACK time….
Ok as a Grandma, which I accept whole heartedly, I’m ready…(okay truth, I have 4 Grankids). The one’s to which I am referring to in this post are these:
These would be my oldest son’s kids. Kendra, and Jr. Now Kendra, who I would say takes after her Momma, is a sweet, smart and very inquisitive little girl, although she has some of her Daddy in her (i.e. cutting her hair and some other escapades). Now we get to Jr. First off, I am of the thinking there should never be a Jr., simply because well…just take my advice and know there should never be a jr. He is the one to whom this post is dedicated.
This kid is the spitting image of his father at this age,
right down to the facial expression. I wish I could find the picture I have of him and put the two side-by-side. This lil’ guy is giving his parents memories of what I went through with his father. (BIG GRIN) I get phone calls from the oldest son that start like this. “hello” “Hey Mom, I just want to say I’m sorry.” “Sorry for what”, “Whatever I put you through because Jr. is teaching me that I really should apologize to you”. Then there are details of whatever he has gotten into now, and how did I deal with the oldest son? Uhm…I whipped yer butt and put you to bed. That he remembers VERY well. (Uhm, I’m 4’11″ tall and this 5’9″ grown adult man is STILL scared to piss his Momma off).
Then follows the conversation of all the lil’ mishaps and alot of good times that were had while they were growing up. There were alot of them this past 30 years. And now he is going to start them with his kids. They have alot of memories so far, and like I tried to explain to him, they only get better with time.
My first advice is to get a shotgun because when this lil’ charmer gets to dating age, he’s gonna need it….
She is so cute, and so smart (must take after her Granny)…(hehehe) This lil girl sent me a Mother’s day card that was so beautiful it made me cry…but I digress. She is full of giggles and I’m proud of her. (Although, she can give her brother what for on occasion).
I don’t get to see these Grankids, as they live kinda far away and I don’t get the opportunities with them that I do with the other 2, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think about them or wish I could spend time with them. Someday I will get to hold them closer than I do, and until then, phone calls will have to suffice….By the way…J – have you called your Momma lately?
But my advice for the oldest son is this…..Give them the Momma or Daddy’s curse and then sit back and wait!
Love ya, J, Misty, Kendra & Jr.
Cam & Momma
Ok, I’m feeling a little Snarky tonite. Sorry, but yup, I’m there. I guess I understand what the Nursing Student says and feels now. You see…Cam-the-Man has only said Momma a coupla times and said “wub u” to a few people.
Oops, let me start at the beginning and then maybe you will feel snarky too. You see, I went and got Cam-the-Man this morning (I forgot it was her Lab day and I would have him from 8:30 -12:00). She went to lab and played with cadaver’s or whatever…Me and Cam went to the Farmer & Mom’s house.
We got to the Farmer’s house and the Farmer was a little surprised to see him (he didn’t know he was coming over so early), But after filling his cup with milk, and Granny Jo and Great Grampa got coffee, we sat down to hang out for a few before we got Annie up, or so I thought. Cam-the-Man promptly went into Annie’s room and woke her up by speaking whatever speak they have, but my Momma sure woke up with a smile on her face and was giggling.
So…I went in and got her up and gave her a bath and well….changed her diaper, I guess Cam understood that because her and my Mom were talking through it the whole time.
I got breakfast made and EVERYONE ate a good breakfast. Cam-the-Man had brought some toys with him which he lost interest in real quick so we improvised and he made toys out of an empty coffee can, which echo’s when you yell in it (which he gave to Momma), a couple of cardboard boxes , that we made shapes with (which he gave to Momma), a couple of old cat food cans of food (hey, they roll really good on the floor, BUT he gave to Momma). She was laughing the whole time, and then sent the lid of the coffee can like a frisbee which started a whole “new” game. After getting told “NO” for the umpteenth time Cam walked over to Momma and grabbed her leg and said clear as day…”I wub you”…
Now I have been in this kids life his ENTIRE life and he has NEVER told me that….but ya know what, him and my Mom’s relationship is special, which I have said for a long time. They both understand each other, and they both communicate on a wave length that I can’t possibly understand. I respect that. BUT…dang gum it I wish he would tell me “wub you” just once…..
I brought him home after leaving Mom & the Farmer’s and told the Nursing student what he had did….welp, she’s kinda like me….she laughed and told me What the heck? (well I changed the words but I think you get the picture.)
