A Mother Is...

“A Mother is someone who upon realizing that there are 4 people and only 3 pieces of pie, will flatly state that she never really cared much for pie.”

Go hug your mom for not only the big sacrifices, but also for all the little and unknown sacrifices she made for you. Or say a quiet prayer of thanks if she’s an angel in heaven.

Supporting Them & Letting Go

“The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride a bike. A shaky child on a bike for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard.”

~Sloan Wilson

If you have ever taught your child to ride a bike, then you know exactly what this quote is saying. The day you teach your child how to ride a bike is one of the hardest things to do because you have to give them enough support to get them going and then know just the right time to let go.

It can be so hard to let go of them, knowing they are going to fall sometimes and even possibly get hurt. You do everything you can to teach them how to do it right, sharing your own experiences, giving them the advice they need, then give them support to get them rolling, but it still all comes down to you knowing when to let go.

Some of you may be sending your babies away to college for the first time and others like me who are sending them to every day school for the first time. It doesn’t matter where or how, it is still scary to let go.

We do everything we can to teach them how to do it right. We share our own experiences and instruct them on how to stay safe, but just like teaching them to ride a bike for the first time, we have to give them enough support to get started and then know when it is the right time to “let go”.

We know they will fall sometimes, we know they may get hurt, but one of the most important things we can teach our children is to fly when we let go of them, make sure they know we will be there to support them while they are learning to fly and be there when they fall and get hurt, to run to them, pick them up, dust them off, nurse their wounds, then set them back on course to try again.

Having both that support and freedom are so important for our children and the hardest things us parents must do because they only work when in balance. Too much of one and not enough of the other and the child will suffer. Finding that balance as a parent is much harder than the child finding his balance on a bike, but we keep trying till we get it right.

So if you are facing that lesson with your 18 year old or your 5 year old, take heart, for your strength comes from God who let His own Son go knowing he was going to fall and get hurt, but He also knew He would raise Him back up again. His experiences have helped the rest of us to learn to fly and to ultimately teach our own children to fly by supporting them and then letting them go.

Julie

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Quote: If Your Kids Are Giving You a Headache

If your kids are giving you a headache, follow the directions on the aspirin bottle, especially the part that says, "keep away from children."
~Unknown

Quote: “I realized at the start that whether a child..."

“I realized at the start that whether a child is biological or adopted, one does not know all the ingredients in the package. That is what growth is all about. A child is the slowest flower in the world, opening petal by petal, revealing the developing personality within.” 

~Robert Klose

What a beautiful quote. Yes, children are slow to mature, but how wonderful that slow journey is. Actually, I don't think it's that slow of a journey. No truer statement has been made than the, "The days are long, but the years are short".

It is amazing to watch that little person's personality develop. Sometimes you sit back in awe of the person they are becoming and are so proud. And sometimes you sit up, take notice and fear what they may turn into!

They are ever changing. They want to keep solid routines, doing the same thing at the same time over and over again, all the while they are constantly changing both inside and out.

Everyday we witness a miracle. Everyday we get to view this delicate flower opening petal by petal. And we are so much the richer for it.

Things We Say To Our Kids That Makes No Sense To Them

When we are right in the thick of the parenting trenches we often say things out of desperation that makes absolutely no sense to our kids. The confused look on their faces says it all, but we all do it.

Do any of these sound familiar?

> Said to a baby or young child who won’t go to sleep – “Do you have any idea how tired I am?!”

> Often said in the heat of the moment – “If you don’t stop crying, I’m going to give you something to cry about!”

> Said to a child with separation anxieties. I have said this myself more than once – “Trust me honey, there is no back door in the bathroom. I have to come out the same way I went in.”

> Said usually before some type of punishment – “This is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you.”

> Said in an attempt to justify your decision that your child does not like – “Because it is for your own good.”

> Said to a child who is learning to wipe himself – “You don’t need all that! Only a third of that will do!” (My husband caught me saying that to our son – like a 3 year old knows what a third is)

> Said with a nervous smile – “I know what I said, but you cannot tell Grandma that I said her hamburgers tasted like hockey pucks.”

> Said to an adolescent wanting to do everything her friends do – “And if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it, too?”

> And the favorite one is…..drum roll please…..                                                                                  ”Because I said so!”

I Just Love Little Boys

At the doctor's while we are in the room talking to the nurse, my son announces as he looks down his pants, "Mama, I have to go! Mama, my pee pee is getting long. I have to go!"

The nurse busted out laughing.

Red in the face, I smiled sheepishly and said, "Don't you just love 3 year olds?"

Here's another one in the same day.

We are walking through the parking lot. As I'm holding his hand I look down and see him with his fingers near his mouth. I say, "Honey, get your fingers out of your mouth."

My son responds, "Mom, they're not in my mouth, they're in my nose!"

Oh, that's even better.

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Project MAHMA(Moms at Home Making A Difference…and a Lot of Money!) is a global coalition of moms (and dads) who are earning an income from home and giving themselves the gift of freedom— including more time with their families—while at the same time offering others the gift of better health and a better life.

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Quote: Age Does Not Diminish.....

"Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop if ice cream fall from the cone."

~Jim Fiebig

Quote: "You can learn many things from children....."

"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance."

~ Franklin P. Jones

Quote: What a Mother Should Save.....

What a mother should save for a rainy day is patience.

~Unknown

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one."

 ~Leo J. Burke

Isn’t that the truth?

Remembering back when my son was an infant, I thought I would never get to sleep through the night again and I still haven’t.

My 3 year old son gets up now to use the bathroom and he still wants me to go with him and then help cover him back up once he climbs back into bed. Sometimes it’s more than once, plus he’s an early riser.

Add to it that I cannot go to sleep till I know he’s asleep and is alright. I wait till he’s asleep and then I go in and check on him. Yes, I still check to make sure he’s still breathing. Even though I know he is not at risk for SIDS, I still like to make sure he’s alright before I go to bed. When does a mom outgrow this? Are we ever supposed to?

Even when the time comes where he doesn’t insist I go with him to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I’m sure I will awaken when I hear him up. And knowing me, I’ll sneak into his room later when he’s asleep to make sure he’s alright and to cover him up once again. I’m confident I will outgrow this by the time he is a teenager.

I decided to add to this post with an excerpt from my old post The Funny Side of living Without Sleep. It reflects how I felt at the time with the sleep deprivation. I’m sure that same old feeling will come around about the time my son starts to drive.

Here are some of the stupid things I do or forget to do when I am running on fumes. See if you can relate. Have you ever done this before?

While in the shower you can't remember if you just shampooed your hair or not. You look down at the bottle, you run your fingers through your hair, but you just can't remember. Now you are aggravated. You say to yourself, "Did I or didn't I? This is so stupid and I don't have time for this!!!" So you shampoo again. Now chances are you did the first time because we all do a routine in the shower and shampooing is usually one of the first things most people do, but you just flat can't remember. So you end up taking more time, use more water and run out of shampoo faster. However, you really are too tired to care anymore.

While driving to work you think of the horror stories of people wearing two different colored socks to work or worse, two different shoes! So you risk an accident by looking down to confirm that you not only have the same two pair of shoes on, but that your socks match too. The car slows down fast when you take your foot off of the accelerator to look doesn't it? Then you feel so stupid, but you are too tired to care.

Someone at work or at the store points out to you that a bird crapped on your shoulder and it ran down your back. You look over your shoulder and pull up on your shirt to have a look. Then you smile, thank them and walk away. You know the truth. The baby projectile device got you again, but you are too tired to care.

You stare at papers with writing or figures on them at work or at home for heaven knows how long until someone walks up to jerk you out of your stupor only for you to say, "huh?" You stare at them wondering what it is you’re looking at, why you are looking at it and what the heck were you supposed to do with it. But then again you just are too tired to care.

You forget how to spell the word, "the". You know it's a simple word. You're sure you have spelled it before, but for some reason it totally escapes you now and you are in awe of yourself and how stupid you are at the moment. You sit there, your brain reeling over the fact you can't remember it, wondering if maybe you are having a stroke, but you realize it's just lack of sleep. It eventually comes to you in an “a hah” moment and you are amazed at forgetting it in the first place, but you are too tired to care.

Drive a car to a destination and no recollection of the drive. Now that's scary. You can't remember if you stopped for that light or stop sign, etc. You do care about this one, but then again you are just grateful to have arrived so the caring thought is fleeting.

You wonder how long you can possibly last without sleep and you ask other parents around you if there is any end in sight. When they just laugh and walk away you know that didn't sound good, but hey, they are living proof you can live through it. I find it a privilege that I am a card carrying member of the new baby = lack of sleep club and I want to shout it from the roof top. But I know if I somehow miraculously had the energy to climb on the roof I would just lay down and take a nap instead.

Sweet dreams.

Julie

*For a good night's sleep try Gentle Sleep Complex
or you can ask someone to hit you over the head with a rubber mallet, but I think the Sleep Complex costs less.

Quote: "A Mother is a Person...."

"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie."

~ Tenneva Jordan

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Quote: "When I Was a Child...."

"When I was a child, my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk you'll end up as the pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso."
~ Pablo Picasso

What we say to our children can have such an impact, can’t it? Whether it’s positive or negative, our comments can leave a mark.

Sometimes I forget that when I am in a hurry and trying to rush my son or I’m tired and cranky and I say something that I really shouldn’t have. I’m sure all parents have messed up a little from time to time and said things to their children that they later regret or worse, the child later in life brings up a moment when something hurtful was said to them.

I remember certain hurtful things said to me when I was a child. Though I may have also heard nice things, it’s the ones that hurt that tend to be remembered the most. Is there a memory you have tucked away where a parent may have said something hurtful to you? You can still feel the sting from it, can’t you?

I think as parents we have the ability to either build up our children or tear them down. That is such a huge power to have over someone! Think about it, what we say to our children and how we treat them can literally affect the rest of their lives. Though I have joked in the past and said things like, “I have to give him something to talk about in therapy later in life.” That kind of power to me can be very scary.

I worry sometimes over things I have said to my son in the past that may make him feel sad in the future. We think when our children are very young they won’t remember, but children have amazing memories and the ones that have the most emotion tied to them, either positive or negative, are the memories they remember the most.

This quote from Picasso helps me to remember to be very careful what I say to my son and how my words can have such an impact on his entire life.

This is an enormous responsibility, one I will take more seriously now.

Picasso’s mother is a wonderful example on how a parent can encourage their children to be anything they want to be.

Quote: Serving Leftovers

"The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found."
~ Calvin Trillin

I thought this quote was hilarious.

I remember eating very few left overs in our house growing up. Having six older brothers meant my mom would cook a big feast with desert, but there were very few left overs.

Me on the other hand tend to make bigger meals and freeze the left overs for another time. It’s cheaper and easier to make a bunch all at once and freeze the extra for those nights I just don’t feel like cooking.

And I have noticed that those nights where I don't feel like cooking seem to be coming more often.

I remember though on more than one occasion when I told my husband that we were having left overs tonight, he would ask me, “Leftovers from what?” We could never remember when the original meal was. Usually I just pull out something from the back of the freezer and serve that up.

I figure if I pull from the back first, then that’s the oldest. Sometimes I take the time to date the container and mark what it is and other times I don’t. So when I am serving left overs it’s more like mystery meal night – You know you’re getting a salad and veggie, but the main meal remains a mystery till defrosted.

It’s just my way of adding a little excitement to a meal.

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Be the Change...

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
~Gandhi

Guess I Should Do the Laundry

I guess I should not wait till my husband is down to his bathrobe and my son is down to his Halloween costume to do the laundry.

2010’s Funny Facebook Postings Part 2 of 2

I forgot about Part 2!

I never thought about all the little sayings I posted on Facebook about my son and how someday he might enjoy reading them. So I went back through them and copied them all down. Whew! That was a job and I don’t even post that much! So here is the first six months. When December is done, I will post them, too.You might want to do something similar for your children. They may enjoy hearing what was happening when they were little at the time it was happening.

July

• I have officially become THAT mom whose kid has a screaming meltdown in the grocery store. Luckily I was able to diffuse it quick, but I could feel that look of death stares from the other non-moms. They should have an express lane for those with little kids.
• Had to laugh at my 2 year old the other day. We were all at the bookstore, he proceeded to pull up a stool, sit down, pull out a book off the shelf and start reading it. He was turning the pages one by one so seriously. The book was titled, "How To Make Step Families Work" We all had a good laugh.

August

• My 2 year old thinks the rungs on the back of the rocking chair are wheelie bars. He has a one track mind. lol
• One little man here has found where the dog cookies are at. Caught him feeding the dog handfuls at a time. His partner in crime (the dog) was eagerly following him around. No wonder they are such great buds!
• Ever since Jake saw my car doing wheelstands, he has been obsessed with doing "wheelie poppers" as he calls them on everything.
• It's hard to see your child inherit some of your behaviors. Makes you say, "Uh oh"
• You know you are serving too much not-so-good-for-you food when your oven timer goes off and your 2 year old yells, "Pizza done!"
• Nothing like sharing some homemade strawberry-banana smoothies with a cute (little) guy in the morning, then watch him color with chalk on the sidewalk in the morning. I have deadlines to meet, laundry to do, house to clean, grass to mow and I don't care!
• I learned not to tell a 2 year old to hold it. While in the chiropractor's office, he kept telling me he had to go and I said, hold on we're almost done....he didn't make it. Peed all over the floor. Poor little guy was so upset and I was so embarrassed. I kept saying, It's not your fault honey, it's mama's fault.” All the while apologizing to the doc. I am sure they will lock the door the next time they see us coming!

September

• Just got home from Indy – Our son’s first Indy trip and he loved it! We were close to the starting line with the fuel cars and he was grinning big. During warmups, he wiped the nitro from his eyes and grinned. That's my little "hotrod".
• My son has a splinter in the bottom of his foot that I didn't notice. Now it's swollen and red and the splinter is buried under the skin. No way to get it out w/o digging it out. Tried to this evening and I coudn't bear his screaming. That and he is way too strong. Not sure how I'm going to get it out. May try epsom salts tomorrow. Dad ended up doing it. He was able to hold him down and pull it out quick! Yea!!
• My son found out that if he colors on my kitchen floor that he's the one that's going to clean it up. I gave him a scrubby pad with some Basic-H and told him scrub all the color marks off. He did a good job. Yes, I make my kid clean up and do chores. :)
• 2 year old: Mom, Mom, Mom, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mommy, Mommy, MOM! MOM! MMMOOOMMM!!! Me: WHAT?!!!! Jake: Hi. It doesn't just happen in cartoons....
• I love how cute a little child singing the A B C's is, especially when they have their own ways of pronouncing some of the letters. The sweetest sound is the voice of your own child. Unless they are screaming in the middle of a store!
• Went to Entertrainment Junction yesterday. Thanks to my niece for the free tickets! Pretty cool, worth seeing. We all loved it. All was fun till we had to leave...meltdown bigtime.
• So far this morning, I've fed a hungry, screaming Banshee, cleaned up after a tornado, fixed two dragsters and replaced the wheels on a hot rod. For now I'm the hero. I will relish in that till he learns that I'm really just a mere mortal.

October

• My 2 year old wants something. I told him if he was good and helped Mama out today, he could. I hear the buzzer telling me the clothes washer was done. I walk into the laundry room and find him already taking the clothes out and putting them in the dryer. He finishes, looks up and says, "Me help Mama!" Wow!
• Came home to roses and the most beautiful card ever written in crayon. It warmed my heart after a cold, long night. I am truly blessed.
• At my age White Castles (or as my son calls them - "Toot Burgers") really isn't a wise choice.
  

November

• I love the grocery store's parking lot. It runs downhill and you can really build up some speed to ride on the back of the cart. My 2 year old loves it when we do that. He thinks it's funny that mommy acts like a kid and when we reach the van he yells, "Finish Line!"
• My son got his first heartbreak today. The grocery store's one race car cart was already taken when we got there. He had a meltdown, then he saw the cart later with another little boy in it. He looked so sad as he watched him go by. I knelt down and put my arm around him and tried to comfort him, but his little sad face expressed it all. :'(
• So last night my son looks out the window and sees the neighbors with their tree up already. He asks while holding up his little hands and with a pout on his face, "Where's our tree?" Guess I know what we're doing today.

December

• It has begun....my 2 year old just stuck a crayon up his nose. Goodbye sweet little innocent boy. Hello future Emergency Room visits!
• We were watching Pass Time. My 2 year old got in trouble and had to go to time out. When he came back they were showing the previous car that ran. He said, "Huh, I missed one! Mama, I missed one?" I said, "Yes, it ran when you were in time out." He was not happy. lol
• My son has a new car passion to add to his many others. Tonight as he ran around the track tower as he calls it, made out of legos he keeps repeating, "Mama, I'm drifting! I'm drifting!"

2010’s Funny Facebook Postings Part 1 of 2

I never thought about all the little sayings I posted on Facebook about my son and how someday he might enjoy reading them. So I went back through them and copied them all down. Whew! That was a job and I don’t even post that much! So here is the first six months. When December is done, I will post them, too.
You might want to do something similar for your children. They may enjoy hearing what was happening when they were little at the time it was happening.


January

· Jacob is watching the Cars movie for the zillionth time. He LOVES this movie so much! He calls it "Pachow". I don't like for him to watch too much TV, but letting him watch this once or twice a week sure allows me to get something done! OK, I admit it, it's my favorite movie, too!

February

· It’s amazing how a 2 year old turning the computer’s power button on and off really fast while it’s trying to install updates can cause more damage to your operating system than any virus! Ugggh!

March

· My 2 year old brought me his battery operated toy car that quit working. With big sad eyes and very upset he holds his car up to me and says, ”Fix car?” New batteries didn’t work, so I decided to take it apart. After mending a broken wire, handing it back to him and seeing his big smile, that was worth more to me than any paycheck I have ever received before. Five minutes of my time made me a hero in his eyes.

April

· A typical 20 second conversation with my 2 year old. “Jake, will you pick up your crayons please? “NO!” “Jake, please drink your juice in the kitchen.” “NO!” “Jake, are you done eating?” “NO!” “Then sit back down.” “NO!” “Jake, do you have to go potty?” NO!” “Jake, did you just go pee-pee in your pants?” “NO!” “Jake, do you want to go to the track to see the cars?” “YES!”

· What I would give to have an ounce of my 2 year old's energy level.

· My 2 year old locked the front door behind me as I went outside to get something. Luckily I managed to beat him to the backdoor before he did! What have I learned? To always take my keys with me!

· Why do little kids at night in bed flop around like fish in the bottom of a boat? I am up 3-4 times a night covering my son back up. He wakes me up as he gets cold and I find him huddled up in a ball crying with the blanket balled up on the other side of the bed. I guess I am going to have to velcro it to his body.

May

· We were laughing the other day when Jim's blue '63 vette and Stevie's red '63 vette were on the line, Jake started jumping up and down screaming that The King & Pachow (that's what he calls Lighting McQueen) from the movie Cars were on the line racing! He loves those cars. That's my boy!

June

· I've worked for some pretty demanding bosses in my time, but by far the most demanding is my 2 year old. Though he's tough to please, my performance reviews from him have been great and unlike other bosses, I'll accept his kisses as payment. lol :)

· How do you convince a 2 year old that there is no racing today? He doesn't believe me!

· Take 1 screaming mad toddler + 1 haircut + exasperated hair stylist = 1 big, fat tip.

· Finally got cable with Speed channel. While staying up with sick little one, watching neat shows like Pass Time and Pinks. The motor sounds help Jake to sleep as he loves race cars. :)

· So proud of my little one! He is now using the bathroom on his own. Only thing he needs help with is turn the water on and off and help with putting his pants back on. Not bad for a 28 month old!

Sometimes We Need Comforting, too.

"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you," says the Lord.
~Isaiah 66:13

In this holiday time, sad feelings can overtake us. Even though we may feel joyful around others, when we are alone such as driving home from work, in the shower or standing in line at the grocery store, sad, even lonely feelings can somehow overtake us.

Does it mean we are depressed? Does it mean we are ungrateful? Does it mean we are oblivious to our blessings? The answer can be both yes and no.

Sometimes we do have a chemical imbalance in our brains and are clinically depressed. If your feelings of sadness last for weeks with no breaks from it, then it’s time to see a doctor. However, if the feelings come and go and are short term, then you might just be suffering from burnout or a case of disconnect.

We can have the best of families, the most fulfilling career and all our basic need fully met and then some and still feel like something is missing. You may ask yourself why you feel that way. Maybe you’ve over-committed yourself and are just tired. Maybe there is some unresolved conflict you need to address, whether it be with a co-worker or more closer to home with a loved one. Either way you need to “fix” it. Or maybe you realize something is missing, but just aren’t sure exactly what that is.

It could be that you’ve lost your way to God. Though we may feel loved by God we may not feel connected. And we only have ourselves to blame for God is always there. It is us that have disconnected the ties. We only need to reconnect with God to fill that void that may be causing our unhappiness. And like a patient parent, He waits for us to come back to Him.

There are times that our blue feelings have merit. Missing a loved one who is gone, worry over finances or job loss, a child who has somehow lost his way. The reasons could be endless. This is the time to go to God and ask for more than just His help. Sometimes you just need to be comforted. Just like a child sometimes needs to climb into your lap and be comforted.

We do more than help our children when they need us, we also comfort them when they are hurting, both physically and emotionally. Just as we are with our children so is God with us. All we need do is to ask, to reconnect, to reach out and ask to be comforted. He is waiting for us.

So remember what the Lord has said,
"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you."
~Isaiah 66:13




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Over-Commitment This Holiday - Sounds Like Something You Do?

"Over-commitment kills relationships and steals joy."
~Susie Larson

Are you starting to over-commit yourself already this holiday season? Are you secretly dreading the holidays and can’t wait till they’re over because of all the work that’s in store for you? Then maybe you are over-committing yourself.

When you promise too much to too many people you aren’t helping any. You are actually harming. You are harming yourself and the ones around you, because when you over-commit by promising too much, you end up worn out, grouchy and depressed. This causes the people around you harm when your actions reflect your bad mood. In essence, you hurt their feelings. You get short tempered with your kids for causing more havoc and chaos (why can’t they behave better?), you get angry at your spouse for not helping more (after all they are his parents!), and irritated with your family for expecting you to do it all (can’t someone else host the party this year for a change?)

So, how can you stop over-committing yourself and still get all the things done on your to do list? Well, the simple answer is, you can’t.

Sometimes, doing less is actually doing more. Sit down with your spouse and your children if they are older and make a list of all the things you think you need to do. Then prioritize. Do you really need to attend all the parties you’ve been invited to? No, of course not. Find out if there is one thing that is really important to anyone in your household they want to attend and only commit to those activities. School plays and any religious ceremonies might be some important ones not to miss.

If you feel you must attend more than one holiday party, then make your appearance brief, but friendly. An hour is long enough as long as you make a point to try and visit with everyone briefly and remember to be lively. Just long enough for them to know you were there, but not so long as to cut too much into your time.

And don’t bother making something from scratch if you feel it’s too much to do right now. Just swing by the grocery store and pick up some cookies or cupcakes. Buy a cheap plastic, decorative plate and have it ready for you to transfer the goodies from the store’s plastic box onto your plate and no one will be the wiser. Some inexpensive bouquet of flowers or wine for the hostess is also a nice touch.

When it comes to hosting your own family holiday party, it’s OK to ask for help. Ask everyone to bring something to share. So what if everyone shows up with desserts. Most people won’t complain about having more choices in goodies.

Also, though we are all trying to be more Eco friendly, I think it’s OK to occasionally break out the plastic utensils and paper plates. What dishes you do have, ask for help cleaning up. Some great conversations are to be had when one is washing, one is rinsing and one or more is drying.

Keep the menu simple, no big turkeys or hams unless you really want to. If someone makes a snide comment about the store bought cold cuts tray, then smile and say you look forward to attending next year’s party at their house!

If you do want to cook, then ask for help making the side dishes. Light some candles, put on some music and crack open a bottle of wine for the helpers to make it fun. Cooking can be fun and festive with a group of people and some good conversation. Your guests will enjoy themselves and you more if everyone, including their hostess is having a good time.

Shortly before the holiday’s craziness begins make an appointment for yourself at a salon. Just make sure to make your appointment weeks ahead of time as this is their busy season. Get your hair done, your nails and maybe even a massage. Taking some special time for yourself and maybe giving yourself a new look does wonders for your mood and your outlook.

Most of all remember what the season is all about. It will help put things into perspective.

Then sit back, enjoy your loved ones and accept all the compliments on a great time had by all!



~Relieve Stress In As Little As 30 Minutes* with Stress Relief Complex

My Answer To the Idea of Re-Incarnation

I met someone who believes in re-incarnation.

He thinks that we keep coming back till we “get it right.”

He was expecting an argument out of me based on my religious beliefs.

He was surprised when I excitedly said, “Cool! That means I’m going to live forever!”

He shook his head and said, “No, we just keep coming back till we get it right.”

I said, “I know! That is so great! Since I’m such a slow learner when it comes to getting things right, I’m going to be around for eternity!”

He walked away.

I either made him re-think his whole belief system or he’s putting in a request to be re-incarnated in other place on the planet to stay away from me.