My boy is moving out!

Well color me sad; my oldest son is wanting to move from sunny Florida to Green Bay, Wisconsin. OMG!

He's 21 and yes I know it's inevitable that he will eventually move out but hell, all the way to Wisconsin. Oh Man! His girlfriend lives there.

Sure I'm glad he wants to move out but why so frickin far away? Nooooooooooooooooo.

The only reason he is still here is because his Dad is working in Memphis. When hubby gets back he plans on leaving. If I want to cry all I have to do is picture that day happening.

We have been through a lot together; I mean a lot. I can not express how much I will miss him. Let's just say it's way more than a lot. Like now; the only reason I'm making it through this experience with his Dad being in Memphis is cause of Jesse. Otherwise I would have already had a lot of meltdowns. He makes me laugh when I'm sad. Takes me shopping when I feel down. I love him so much.

Crap, here comes the tears. He's a great son and a great big brother to his sister and brother.

Guess that's enough on this subject.

Will have an awesome article in my next post.

Dinner with the Family

When was the last time you sat down and  had dinner with your family? It is the meal we often miss  because we work so late, the kids have after school events or we are just tired from daily activities. But, missing dinner with the family can show your kids that "Family Time" is not all that important.

Family meals are more than just dinner. It is about the only time that families have to share their daily events that happened through the week. Whether you all sit down to the dinner table together or enjoy a meal on fold out tables in the living room, the important thing is that you are together.

There are some interesting facts surrounding family supperr time. For instance, teens that spend dinner time eating with their family are less likely to get involved in drugs, alcohol or other such activity. This is a point many parents will find interesting. Out of all of the things you do to try to keep your kids away from bad influences, the one thing that is the greatest influence is still the event that we skip routinely.

Why is dinner so important? For one thing, it is a time to share thoughts and feelings. All day, kids are influenced by teachers, friends and the outside world. At the dinner table, they get a chance to connect with their parents on tough issues like schoolwork, peer pressure, friendships and other things. They can each share and help one another with helpful suggestions. Parents can even talk about work or family finances over a meal.

The main point is that conversation is taking place. The average parent talks to their child less than 40 minutes a week. It takes a second to say “Hi” when you come in at night, but that isn’t effective communication. When dinner is shared by the family, you spend at least 45 minutes to an hour talking about everything and anything that may be on your mind. Even if you are watching a television program, engaging questions can arise from topics addressed in the program.

Young children learn how to communicate with their siblings and parents. They are the center of attention with questions about their day and it makes them feel happy. You know that kids always want to be in the limelight when they are a certain age and this helps them learn to share the spot with others.

Are You Dressing Down For Your Man?

When your spouse comes home from work what are you wearing? Sweatpants maybe! Is your hair in a ponytail? Do you have lipstick on? If you answered yes to these questions,then yes,You probably are dressing down for him and don’t even realize it.Think back to when you started dating your spouse!

Remember the excitement you felt as you rushed to get all dolled up for him. Did you Spritz on a little cologne? Did you polishyour nails? I bet you fixed up your hair, made sure your legs were shaved and maybe even rubbed on some skin lotion.

There was a comment I heard from a Latino Gal who said that “American women dress for comfort” while Latino women dress to impress their men. That got me thinking that maybe she’s right, because as I’m writing this article I’m barefoot, wearing stretch pants and a baggy tee shirt. My Hair is in a ponytail and I have no makeup on. And yes, I am comfortable.

So, are you in the comfort zone too? Most likely you are if you are a stay at home Mom, a homemaker or retired. Just out of curiosity I emailed a group of women friends and asked them a few questions covering this topic.

The questions I asked them were:

1) Do you change out of comfortable clothes into something maybe, not as comfortable before your spouse gets home?

2) Is your hair always in a ponytail?

3) Are your fingernails polished?

4) Are your legs shaved?

The results I got from these girls were kind of what I expected; it seems the younger and more recently married girls did get dressed up before their husbands showed up. And the women that have been married for a longer length of time stayed the way they dressed earlier in the day. No make up, no fingernail polish, no lipstick.


Again, just out of curiosity I did an experiment with my husband. After 21 years of marriage I kind of slacked off on the "Get Dressed Up" kind of thing. So when he came home from work the other day; I had on some makeup, had on some nice clothes and even went so far as to use the curling iron on my hair. All evening long he kept telling me how good I looked.

I think I might have messed up though, because, the very next day he came home with all kinds of new makeup: blush, foundation, lipstick, mascara, cotton balls, polish remover, a set of fake fingernails and 7 bottles of fingernail polish.

Oh dear, does this mean I have to "Get Dressed Up" every day. Yikes!!!!


Well Ladies, maybe we should take this as a hint and think about dressing up for our man instead of dressing down. Just try it once and see what his response will be; who knows, maybe he will think he forgot an important occasion and treat you to a dinner and movie.

Handmade Gifts

Gift giving can be an expensive part of our lives nowadays. In this article I will share some handmade gift ideas that will save you some money and will show that special someone how much you appreciate them.

Food Gifts:

Who doesn't like the smell of homemade cookies or bread? If you enjoy the idea of smelling food baking just think how much the recipient of homemade cookies will feel. You can put them in a regular old canning jar and tie a nice colorful ribbon around the top. If you're not such a great cook you can always just go to the store and buy some fruit and place them in a nice basket.

Craft Gifts:

Most people (Women) have some kind of creative talent lurking around. Some women have a talent for sewing, knitting, or crocheting. If you're not a real creative kind of gal you can always just go to the dollar store and get a basket and fill it up with products. Say your neighbor is having a baby; get a basket from the dollar store and fill it up with baby items such as baby powder, shampoo, and such. Wrap it all up in a pretty wrapping and wa lah you have a great handmade gift.

Writing:

Yep, writing is also a great way to make a handmade gift. Just think about the person you are giving the gift to. Write down exactly how you feel about that person. If you write poetry; that is a great way to show someone how much you care about them. Roll the paper up and put in a nice bottle and wrap a ribbon around the top.

These are just a few handmade gift ideas I've come up with. Whoever is receiving the gift will really appreciate the time and thoughtfulness that went into you making such an awesome gift.