Category: Uncategorized

Don’t You Dare Throw Those Scissors

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Ok so maybe this picture is a little drastic but I felt like this yesterday afternoon.  Yesterday was a crazy day at school, one that I hope not to repeat anytime soon.  I am a substitute teacher at our local school.  Now that is a hard job in many ways.  One big one is just earning the respect from the kids.  I have noticed lately that respect has gone out the window.  Maybe we were like that when I was young but I would have never dared laugh in an adults face or talk back to them.  It just wasn’t done and you didn’t do it.  I don’t feel like I am that old (in my 30’s) what has happened.  

So I am at school for the whole day and from hour one it just did not go as planned.  The kids were crazy.  Maybe spring fever, lack of respect, or just the kids themselves.  They were body slamming each other on the tables, they were throwing scissors across the room, they were fling kernels of corn (I was in the Ag room).  It was nuts!!!! That is an understatement.  This all happened by 2nd hour.  Wow this day is going to be long.  

Now to anyone that has hearing loss knows that background noise is not your friend.  It masks speech sounds or at least for me it does.  So in this Ag room there are shop noises, LOUD fan noises, high ceilings, just lots of industrial noise.  I need to concentrate to the max in there and then add this behavior on top of it EQUALS stressed.  The day was crazy but luckily ended much better then started.  The last couple hours were much better than the start of the day.  I don’t think I could have handled 8 hours of that amount of crazy.  

I was emailing my mom throughout the day yesterday, in between classes and during lunch.  She had written she wished there could have been a video of the craziness of the classes she could watch.  I just laughed and said you could have probably seen the gray hair forming on my head.  

Luckily my family could feel my mood last night and were huge helps to get dinner done and cleaned up.  We were all in PJ’s by 6:30 and watching a movie.  A good nights sleep and a day with my husband today has been the perfect prescription.  Out to lunch and a little grocery shopping.  

Now tonight my son has a TaeKwonDo test.  A whole different kind of stress.  A kind of stress that will cause me tears but only because I am so proud of all my little guy has accomplished this year.  

On to a fun family weekend.  No big plans, just time together.  No one better be throwing scissors.  

Lucky Girl

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What a nice day we had as a family on Saturday.  I live about three hours away from my parents now so we met about halfway between us  for lunch.  We all met at Bonanza for lunch and my parents treated us all.  It was such a nice time and we had a great time visiting and seeing pictures from their recent vacation.  The kids loved to see Grandpa and Grandma.  I am very lucky to have good parents and we enjoy to be together.  We even all went to ALDI together.  The kids loved to shop with Grandma.  I am lucky to have a wonderful mom who I can speak to about any subject like friends and equals.  Not everyone is that lucky.

On the way home I suggested to my husband that we should spend the night at his parents house.  They are playing the act of snowbirds right now so the house is empty.  I love going to the farm it is like a refuge from the world for me.  There are no neighbors, there is space for the kids to run and be crazy.  There are adorable barn cats and a big kitchen to cook in at the farm.  What more would you want?  I love my in-laws dearly but it was nice to have a night there alone.  We made homemade pizza, ,kids ran around outside, my husband putzed around the machine shed and garage totally in his element.  What a wonderful evening.  It was a free evening in a farm house out on a beautiful piece of land.

I look at this weekend and it drills in my head how lucky I am.  There are people that don’t have family, don’t talk to their family or associate with them.  I am very lucky I have wonderful family on both sides.  I have parents and in-laws that are supportive, loving and caring.

I read jokes and see things on Pinterest and Facebook about how awful a mother in-law is.  I guess I was blessed.  I love my mother in-law just like my own mother.  I enjoy talking with her and spending time with her.  I look forward to spring when the guys will be out in the fields and we the girls will be together to maybe shop a little then bring the men lunch.  I love those days.  I don’t know if I will ever be a farm wife but I will go to the farm and live the life or as close as I can get to it on those weekends.

I hope you all have family or people you can call family in your lives.  A friend, a cousin, a co-worker they can all become our families.

Yes I am lucky that I have two great families I can be part of and call my own.

Procrastination

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I have two wonderful beautiful children that have alter egos.  I believe their alter egos are tasmanian devils.  Yes the house can be clean well as clean as you get it with two kids and a husband that can be a bit of a collector of everything.  The kids get loose or as many people would say, Get home from school, and they run through the house and drop their jacket.  Then to the kitchen where their bag gets dropped.  Then I may find one shoe in the kitchen and one in the bathroom.  WHAT??? REALLY??? Just kick them off at the door.  Is this an everyday struggle in everyones home? Am I alone on this.  

So today I have a meeting with Deaf and Hard of Hearing services.  I am so grateful that they travel to our region and I don’t need to travel to them.  That being said the tornado of carnage in my house has to be picked up for this meeting.  I think I am in procrastination mode.  I am sitting typing this so yes procrastination.  I think everything is picked up just need to vacuum and sweep my floors.  I thought it was so funny I told Greta last night to pick up her stuff last night so her stuff is put away today.  Her reply was I have cleaned up my stuff in the past,  YEP so do it again.  I need to get this through everyones head this is an ongoing process not once or twice a year.  

Well I wish you all well today.  I better go do my floors and get ready for my meeting.  Take care and I am sure the tasmanian devils will come home today again.  Oh well gotta love them.  

The Liebster Award

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The Leibster Award

liebster1A huge THANK YOU to my fellow blogger, Finding Coopers Voice http://findingcoopersvoice.com for the Liebster award nomination. I am loving this award because we can all share with each other what are our favorite blogs, and what blogs have gotten us through the tough times.  We don’t walk these paths alone.So lucky Liebster’s have to do the following:

  1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.
  2. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
  3. Nominate 11 other blogs with less than 500 followers.
  4. Post 11 questions for your nominees to answer.
  5. Tag your nominees & post a comment on their blog to let them know you nominated them.

Here are my questions:

1. What kind of vehicle do you drive?

Well I have a new vehicle well new to me in the past couple weeks.  I was just in a car accident and I totalled my beloved Trailblazer.  I now have a Dodge Grand Caravan.  I like the van and the best part is the moonroof that was opened today.  In Minnesota when you hit 50 degrees that is a BIG DEAL.

2. If you could live anywhere where would it be?

I actually think it would be in this area but maybe out of town and on a lake.  I don’t want to leave the community and friends I have made but laying on a dock with my book in the summer sounds darn nice to me.

3. What is your dream vacation?

I think my dream vacation would be taking my family to Alaska to visit family but also to let them see the beauty of God’s earth.  Alaska is the final frontier and it has so much beauty to behold.

4. If you won 10 million dollars what is the first thing you would buy?

Wow how long is my list? My first thing is going to sound so boring but it would be a second hearing aid for myself. I know boring but needed so then from there would be my lake house, a new vehicle for my husband and then a dream vacation.  AHHH the dreaming.

5. What is your favorite sport?

My favorite sport to watch would be my children in TaeKwonDo.  My favorite sport to watch on TV would be baseball.  I love watching the Olympics also.

6. Name something you are bad at?

I would have to say baking.  I know my husband wishes I would be better at this but I don’t enjoy it and the kitchen looks it blew up with flour when I am done.

7. Would you rather have one best friend or 5 good friends?

This is a tough one.  I think it would be 5 good friends for me.  I believe there are different people that you need to have in your life for different aspects of your life.  From marriage to children you need friends in all areas.

8. What is the last movie you watched?

In the theatre I saw The Lego Movie, sorry to say I did not enjoy the movie.  My last movie on Netflix was The Hammer.  I very much enjoyed this true story about a young deaf man that was determined to become a state champion wrestler.

9. What is your favorite tv show from your childhood?

Little House on the Prairie and now I live on the prairie.

10. What makes you happy?

Family, my children getting along, a day out, feeling the warm sun- those are a few of my happy things.

11. And lastly, what famous person would you give anything to meet? Dead or alive.

A tough question.  I think Harper Lee as she wrote one of my favorite novels, To Kill  A Mockingbird .

Here are my favorite blogs right now.

I love these blogs and I feel I can learn something from all of these blogs

1. Lipreading Mom

2. Sudden Silence

3. Chris Martin Writes

4. Can you hear me now? 

Questions for my nominees.

If you don’t have time to do this don’t worry. Just know that I am loving your writing!

1. What is your favorite season?

2. When in school what was your favorite subject?

3. What did you want to be when you were little?

4. What is your favorite meal to cook?

5. Family vacation anywhere- where would it be?

6. Money is no object what do you buy first?

7. Favorite animal?

8. What is your favorite city to visit?

9. What tv show do you hate to miss?

10. Who would play you in a movie of your life?

11. Who or what inspires you to write?

A Good Cry

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Do you ever have a day when the world seems so very heavy and you don’t know if your shoulders can bare the weight of all of it anymore.  I am not typically a person that freaks out, or cries or wallows in pities of life.  I know of people that beat themselves up almost daily for decisions they have made and how they carry out their daily lives.  I have faults and have many mistakes but I try to move on.  

Yesterday I don’t know what happened.  I stepped away from the craziness of two kids playing the Hunger Games and just spent sometime by myself in my room.  I played some music and all of a sudden I felt a feeling come over me that made the tears flow.  I always try to be the person that holds it all together.  To be the person that finds the bright side to every dark situation.  I may not always believe in the bright side but I need to bring that out for the others involved.  Yesterday life just hit me and I cried.  I cried and cried and it felt good.  It was a release of all these pent up emotions.  There was nothing horrible I was harboring, but it is just the stresses and reality of everyday life.  There were issues in my childrens lives that I thought of, there were issues in my husbands life that came to front, there were issues in my own life that all seemed to hit me.  

It is odd how little things can do this to you.  How seeing something, or listening to something can bring up such emotions.  It was just a cummultive effect for me.  I received some information in the mail, information that was very useful to me but seeing it just brought reality to life.  Then hearing the lyrics of a song it allowed the floodgates to be opened.  I remember being a little girl and something would happen and I wouldn’t cry.  I wanted to be the strong one, the one that stood fast and had the brave face.  I can remember my dad coming into my room and explaining to me that crying frees the soul.  That a good cry is actually good for you and can get rid of toxins and other things that you are keeping in.  That usually did it then the tears would come.  

I believe in prayer.  I believe in Gods love for us and that we can always go to him in our time of need but also remember to go to him in our good times also.  I try to pray and be a good pray warrior.  I pray for others around me and I pray for my family and myself.  I believe that like this quote says above that the things that are going on in my life and in my families lives are being done for a greater purpose.  Things happen for a reason, these things we can learn from, we can grow from and we can change ourselves and others around us with the knowledge we have gained.  God has a purpose for us.  He is shaping us into the person we are to become.  It may be putting a burden on our heart for service, or a group of people that need a voice.  I pray I see this purpose and I may be put to work for the greater good of others.  

I had my good cry and from that I will work and pray to see what the greater purpose is and where I am needed.  

 

Passing on a great giveaway opportunity

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There is a book I have on my list I would like to read and it is this book.  When I saw the author was having a giveaway I thought I had to get in on this.  There is nothing I like better than winning a giveaway.  So here is the link and all the info but if one of my friends win this book you need to promise to let me read it.  Ok you don’t have to share but it would be nice.  Have a great day to all you!!!

Book Giveaway: Celebrate the One-Year Anniversary of My Memoir.

Welder

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I don’t talk much about my husband on this blog. Yes he is real and the father of my children and my husband for soon to be 14 years.  He is a quiet guy unless in a debate about something he is passionate about then quiet would not be the word.  My husband took off of work today and he and I drove to do a couple errands and we ended up at the Welding Supply store which is his favorite place on earth.  His eyes light up like a kid in a candy store when we walk into this establishment.  I don’t understand you weld for 40 plus hours a week why do more?  I only wish we had millions in our bank account so he could buy all his heart desires.

So today our visit lasted a while.  My husband wants to get his TIG skills up to par so there was some Argon gas purchased, tungsten (no idea what that does), some filler rod, and lens for his helmet.  The guys at this store just amaze me with how nice they are and how great they are to hook you up with what you need and in a quantity you need for a home welder.  I am amazed at this because most parts places are not like this at least for a woman walking in the shop.  I have been running errands for my husband for over 15 years and no matter where I go I am treated like I have no idea what I am looking for.  I must have never seen a tool, or a welder, or a pair of welding gloves.  I am a woman there for stupid in their eyes.  This has been my experiences at auto part stores, welding supply stores, etc… Guess what I am not an idiot.  I take an interest in what my husband does and I know what gloves he wears, I know what a speedglass helmet is.  I know what are metric sockets to standard.  I was prompted to write this post because of how awesome the guys are at Oxygen Service in Willmar MN (www.oxygenservicecompany.com).  They are wonderful on all counts.  They treat me like I may know what my husband needs.  They are nice guys to talk about and do business with.  We spent some money there today and I am sure there will be more spent in the future.  I will gladly run an errand for my husband anyday at this establishment.  Keep up the good work!!!! My kids like going here now also since there were given hats last time we went in as a family.  Free hats and pens what more would you want, throw in some nice conversation, and wonderful customer service and you earn 5 stars in my book anytime.

I am glad there are places out there that will take a woman seriously because they are far and in between.  My husband and I enjoyed our morning away even if it was spent looking and drooling over a new welding machine. Oh well I was told before an old Welder never dies.

MY HEART

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This past weekend was one of pride.  I love watching my kids showing respect with the judges, and making new friends at a TaeKwonDo tournament.  They both did great!! They came home with 18 inch trophy’s and Greta came home with the Beast Trophy for breaking.  I think that trophy is a prized possession now.  There were only 4 given away in each age group and she got 2nd place.  I don’t know if I have seen a bigger grin.  The above picture is Henry in blue.  He ended up getting 1st place in Sparring.  Pretty proud of my little guy.  

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Greta is in blue.  Wow look how high her leg is on this head kick.  She amazes me everyday with what she can do.  She ended up getting 2nd in Sparring.  She did great and is learning the higher she gets the competition gets harder also.  

As much as kids can drive us nuts and mess our house up to the point of the Horder producers come knocking they are amazing.  They are amazing of what they can accomplish.  When Greta was little she couldn’t walk or even balance on her own.  She had the littlest little foot braces and PT.  There was a time when the therapist wasn’t sure she would ever walk normally.  Now she is a 2nd degree jr black belt.  I am amazed when I think back at that time.  Henry couldn’t enter a room with people in it without a complete meltdown.  I thought of both of these things as we were driving out to South Dakota this weekend for both of our children to compete in a physical sport that will be loud, with a lot of people.  God works miracles and I have two of them.  

Who am I…according to a quiz

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If you don’t live under a rock and visit Facebook with any regularity you have seen quiz after quiz lately.  I have fun doing these quizzes and then having my husband do these quizzes and laughing about our results.

If I were to live my life by these quizzes I need to make a lot of changes, I am doing so many things wrong.  First I live in the wrong state.  As we have 1 degree right now with blowing snow I have a hard time debating this quiz.  One quiz I took said I should be living in the city of Portland.  My husband also got this result so maybe it is the correct answer.  I sure could get out of this horrible cold tundra.  I usually love Minnesota but right now it is getting me a little down.  I also got a quiz that said I should live in Kansas.  That wouldn’t be to bad.  Middle of the country and looks a lot like here.  Something to think of if life here gets too horrible.  I am sure these short quizzes with pick which song you like best knows the best for me.  Does the sarcasm come through.

Next I am a child of the 60’s according to one quiz.  I am going to agree with this one.  I come off as very conservative but if I could let some of this shyness go yes a child of the 60’s would be it.  I love the music of that era and the free-ness of it also.  I love the message of love yourself and others no matter who they are.  Isn’t that what we are called to do? Love our neighbors.  So I will play my 60’s music and teach my daughter how to make simple long hippie skirts like I did in college and try to pass it on to someone.  She might be a hard nut to crack.  Been around her dad, love him dearly, to long.  He is NOT a 60’s child at all.

Next is my career.  I should think long and hard about these results.  I was told I should be a writer.  I like that idea and when I was very young I wanted to write for a newspaper when I became an adult so again not so far off.  I went to college for Communicative Disorders and psychology.  I then worked at a maximum security prison for ten years before moving to the prairie.  I have done little jobs here and there but the main one is being a substitute teacher.  I enjoy it and I like seeing the kids grow and mature, well some of them.  I do want more and I think that is normal to want more.  I have thought about trying to do something in my field without getting that masters degree.  I have thought about getting a masters and I have thought about writing for a small town newspaper just like when I was a young girl.  So many question come up when taking a simple Facebook quiz.

The last one I am going to touch on is a quiz I had our whole family take this weekend.  It was what side of the brain are you?  Are you a left brain thinker so more logical and thought out or right brain which is spontaneous and creative.  I have this in the bag I thought I am the right brain.  I love trying to be crafty and create something.  Was I wrong!!! I got 91% left brain.  For some reason this crushed me.  Am I not creative? I am not spontaneous at all?  My husband got 50-50 which I thought was a joke.  He is not creative at all (I say that in love).  My daughter and son were also almost equal but with more going to the right brain side.  Wow these results really bothered me.  Was I so order driven and logical?  We talked about these results all weekend and I think they were correct.  I am left brain.  I love searching Pinterest for craft ideas.  The thing I noticed is I look at a craft and in my head it is what do I need, how do I set this up, when is the best time to try this.  Holy cow I think of order and logic in terms of creating, not just create.  Any health crisis that has come to my family I do more research then the FBI.  Any school meeting, IEP meeting etc…I seem to almost know more about the subject then the other members present.  I crave knowledge and information.  I research something every single day.  I think having 91% left brain is an OK thing.  We need all kinds to make the world go round.

Now do I believe that a simple quiz on Facebook can tell me about my life and how to live my life?  Probably not but it sure makes you think about the decisions I have made and my future that has not been written yet.

ADVOCATE

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advocate

noun |ˈadvəkit|

a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy : he was an untiring advocate of economic reform.

• a person who pleads on someone else’s behalf : care managers can become advocates for their clients.

• a pleader in a court of law; a lawyer : Marshall was a skilled advocate but a mediocre judge.

verb |-ˌkāt| [ trans. ]

publicly recommend or support :

Advocate it is a word that I hear a lot and have my whole life. We should be an advocate for others and advocates for the weak, advocates for our animals. It is a word that can bring people together and can cause tempers to flare and tear people apart.

When in high school and college I was a member of the Sierra Club and PETA. I was an advocate for nature and to animals. As I grew older my heart didn’t turn my back on those items but my life changed directions. I became an advocate for my family and for my children. Just to have the best shot in life in general. I became an advocate for kids with Sensory Processing Disorder and Autism.

When my son was little he was very sick. We had him to the doctor and ER all the time. He would spike 105 degree fevers at least once to twice a month. I tried with our local doctors to do something and finally an ER doctor said to us, you need to be an ADVOCATE for your son. You need to push to get him the help he needs so this can stop. I stepped up to the plate and pushed every button and put my foot into every door I could to get him the health care he needed. I was his advocate and still am. I am the one that goes to the school, meets with the doctors and therapist. I am the one sitting in his IEP meetings I am his ADVOCATE and his mother.

My question comes to why is it hard to be an ADVOCATE for yourself. There are times in everyones life when something could be done to make something a little easier. In my experiences of life asking for yourself is hard. It is hard to step up and say I need this or could this be done for me. I have run into some of those roadblocks recently and my husband just says, “Stand up for yourself and say what you need.” That statement is so much easier said than done, at least for me. This needs to be my resolution for my life. As much as I am an advocate for my family and what needs they may have I need to turn the mirror around and ADVOCATE for myself also. I need to let my wall down and when I do need extra clarification or something written down I will ask for that not smile and pretend I heard what was said. I will not be ashamed to say “I am hard of hearing can you please repeat that or rephrase that” I will ask for what is right and fair. It sure won’t be easy for me to do but I will try.

If no one is going to do it for you, you need to do it for ourselves. We all are human and we all deserve to have the best life can offer. A person has to have a purpose. We need to be an advocate for someone or something. Pick a cause something that is near and dear to your heart. Be an ADVOCATE.

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