Day 14...what's in my handbag

Okay, I have been out of commission for a few days. Struck down by the flu.  It was awful.  Ugh, but I am slowly on the mend.

Okay, not what is in my handbag:

• plastic zip lock bag with a vitamin in it.
• charger for my Fitbit.
• Wallet, and oh look, I have little cash and change!  woo hoo..winning.
• Various "savings" cards for stores.
• library card
• old receipts
• eye drops
• Two small crayons from Steak-n-Shake from a visit a while back
• Lipstick 
• blush
• foundation
• Burt's Bee's chapstick
• tissues, uh old ones. eww, I needed to clean out my purse, apparently.
• 1 soft chew tums, orange flavor
• Inhaler
• Also in a wallet is various things that are in everyone's wallet, debit card, voting registration care and the like.

Pretty boring and hey I cleaned out my purse of old receipts and tissues.  I used to have a much more interesting collection when my kids were little. I never knew what I'd find. Cars, barbie shoes, dolly diaper, glitter, rocks, twigs, it was always a mystery grab bag. To be honest I kind of miss those days, even when I'd find a half eaten damp sucker someone tried to save for later without me knowing.

Now, go forth and clean out your handbag/pocket book or as Jennifer used to say your "pocket purse". LOL

Day 13:Favorite Quote

This also varies from time to time. It depends on many different things and times.

(All rights and privileges for this quote and picture belong to Dr. Suess and Horton)

I have watched my children over the years, face the fact they are smaller than the average bear with utter joy and bravery, even when in the face of a bully or two. We taught them from the very beginning that they are fearfully and wonderfully made. We taught them that size means nothing when it comes to what God has planned for their lives. God took a shepherd boy and made him a king. God took one little baby boy, born in a manger and HE became the Savior.  God doesn't do things by man's definition of ability or strength. I have taught my kids not that they could do anything but that with GOD nothing is impossible and if they build everything, their ability, their future, their hopes and their dreams on God's plans that they will do great and mighty things for God no matter their size. It only takes a mustard seed of faith to move mountains. So, when you take a kid who may be small in size but has great things it is amazing what can happen.  

Day 12: If I won the lottery, aka if I came into money

I really don't play the lottery. I have better things to spend my hard earned dollar on than a chance to win mega millions. I have a greater chance of coming into a windfall from an unknown relative, LOL.

If I won the lottery, I would pay off all my student, debt, medical debt, our car payments, etc AFTER I gave a huge chunk to our church and the missionaries we support.  Then I would live off the interest and we would use the money to help others. I dream of being able to randomly pay off someone's car or pay their mortgage off, without them knowing who did it.  I don't need a fancy house or a fancy car. I would love to just secretly help people.  I wouldn't want them to know it was me so I would do my best to keep my windfall to myself.

I would send a family that had never been on a vacation on an all-expenses paid vacation with spending money.

I would find a mom and dad with a special needs child and pay for them to have a nurse come in for a weekend so they could get away on an all expenses paid vacation for two.

I would pay off people's layaway.

I would buy random people's groceries.

I would donate to schools and various research for diseases.

OH, the things that I could do............

Day 11 Most Proud Moment

I don't think there can be just one. Every time I held one of my newborns's in my arm it was a most proud moment.  Watching them make their own choice, all by themselves to accept Jesus as their Lord, it was a most proud moment. Watching them help someone, and give of themselves to someone in need, was a most proud moment.  Seeing them grow in love, compassion and faith those are my most proud moments.

Before I had kids, I had no idea what the accomplishments, growth, and actions of another person could do to you inside your deepest most heartfelt emotions. I did not understand you could feel so proud of something your child did that your heart physically felt it.  I did not understand that what your kids do could make you happier than any lottery prize, any personal award, or any promotion.  It is that deep, watching your kids becoming, loving, compassionate, good people. That emotion goes beyond pride, it is like soul joy. Joy and pride so deep it can't be explained well enough by human words.

So, I say all this to say, my most proud moments are wrapped up with a mother's love and tied with a bow of joy.

Day 10: First Celebrity Crush

Oh my, this is a hard one to say. I guess I would have to say that it is a tie between:

Tom Selleck as Magnum P.I.




And Erik Estrada as Ponch from CHIPS:




I never missed those shows.

One of my most favorite memories is that I did indeed get meet Erik Estrada when he came to our town to promote a movie about human trafficking and internet safety. I was so excited, checked meeting a celebrity off my bucket list. I may or may not have been grinning so big you could see the smile from the space station.  LOL

I think he may be thinking, help attack of the middle-aged mom fulfilling her lifelong dream. LOL

Day 9: Piercings and tattoos

I have my ears pierced. That's it.  Pretty boring but it's just what I like. I have an aversion to pain, LOL.  I do not fancy tattoos or the needles that go with getting a tattoo. I have thought about getting the piercing that prevents migraines, but as of late migraines have decreased, so I have declined.

I don't have anything against tattoos or piercing but it's just not my cup of tea.

I have been known to wear some pretty cool temporary tattoos with my kids...LOL.

Day 8: An old picture of me. Little me...a long, long time ago

This photo has to be around 2nd or 3rd grade because we I got glasses in 2nd grade, I think. In any case it was a very long time ago. It's a picture of a picture. I don't have a lot of photos of me but I enjoy seeing my girls' faces in my pictures. LOL

Day 7: My 10 Favorite Foods

To say I love food is a vast understatement. I am a "Foodie". I love to eat, I love to cook, and I love to explore new foods. Now, that being said, I do NOT like seafood. Other than that, I like most foods. To pick favorites is very hard to do. Now, I am going to list them in no particular order because some days I like one thing more than another and another day it is something else altogether.

1. Fried chicken, southern fried chicken. Not KFC, not Popeye's...but my Mama's southern fried chicken, I have picked up her art of frying chicken but none is as good as hers.
2. Mexican/Tex-Mex food. I love this type of food. The spices appeal not only to my taste buds but to my nose. I love the aroma of this type of cuisine.
3. My newest favorite I get at work. It is the moistest scone I have ever eaten. It is a brown sugar pecan scone. To say it is good is to put it down. It is quite honestly so decadent and rich and delicious that it will make your tongue slap your brain with joy just for putting it in your mouth.
4. NYPD Pizza.  I love pizza but in our area, this is the best place to get pizza and the slices are not skimpy. It has the right balance of cheese and sauce and I love cheese. 
5. I have to put Coffee even if it is a beverage. I love coffee. I love the smell, the taste, and the feel as it goes down your throat, warming you from the inside out. 
6. Chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I love a moist cake and I love to put it in the freezer and eat it frozen. To me, it makes it like ice cream cake without the mess of ice cream.
7. Milk, again, it is a beverage but I love a glass of ice cold milk. I have to have a glass every night before bed. For calorie's sake, I went to skim milk and taught myself to like it. Now it is what I am used to and what I enjoy.
8. Salad. I love salad but I love all sorts of things in my salad, peppers, onions, banana peppers, olives, croutons, spinach, lettuce, carrots, cheese, bacon bits, mushrooms, scallions, bean sprouts and so much more. The more diverse the salad, the more I enjoy. I love ranch dressing most of the time.  I do branch out on occasion. BUT....IF I am at my mother in law's house I love her bsalmic vinegar salad dressing. She makes it herself. I would eat it with just the dressing and the bread if I could get away with it. IT is that good.
9.  Melted/fried cheese. Just the cheese. I love when cheese gets crispy edges and you pick the baked on cheese off a pan you cooked something with cheese. I have yet to figure out to how successfully just fry cheese or cook cheese without breading. I love it in all its cheesy goodness.
10. Sugar snap peas. I love to eat them like chips/or freeze dried green beans/snap peas. They are so good.

Mom Blog Monday

One of my favorite people and favorite blogs can be found over at http://simplymoms.net/.

Jennifer has an insight into life that is caring, compassionate and real. She has faced so many challenges over the years but she keeps on believing in people.  I "met" her years ago when Hannah was a mere baby at a forum for well Moms. We have shared so much over the years, grief and sorrow, joy and celebration. I feel like she is the family even though we have never met in person. She has organization skills that I envy. She has ideas for home, family, and household management for I think just about every stage of parenthood.  Now she is rocking being a grandmother and passing all that awesomeness on to a new generation.

Go on over and check her out.

Day 6-Three personality traits I am proud of

To be quite honest this one is uncomfortable for me. I don't like talking about myself or bragging, but here goes.

1. I am good with kids. I always have been good with kids. The younger women at work call me the "baby whisperer". LOL. I love kids and I love to get on their level and play with them or let them just be kids. I love seeing them develop and grow as they learn so many new skills so quickly.
2. I am compassionate. I believe this comes from my Granny Thelma. She was one of the most compassionate people I have ever know. Add to that, we spent a year in LaPaz, Bolivia when I was little that impacted my life greatly. I never forgot the poverty or sadness in people's eyes.
3. I forgive easily. I learned long ago that unforgiveness can hurt you physically, emotionally and spiritually. I learned that forgiveness isn't about saying what the other person did was okay but it is giving you freedom. It is taking the power from the person that hurt you away from that person, at least where the pain is concerned. They can't hurt you with what they did to you if it no longer caused you pain because you have let go and given all of it to God. Forgiveness isn't about the person that hurt you, but about freedom from that person and the pain.

Day 5 My "guilty" pleasure

Well, I don't feel guilty about it at all and it isn't terrible. I guess if I had to pick one it would be my international coffee french vanilla creamer. I use more than the "recommended" serving...LOL.  So that is my biggest splurge each day. I no longer drink sodas. I don't eat a lot of sweets and rarely eat junk anymore so that would be it.  I love my coffee with a LOT of creamer.  YUMMY.

Day 4--Earliest childhood memory

The light filters softly into a dark room from a doorway. It is a soft light. There is a soft creaking sound as I gently float back and forth.  I hear the melody of my mother's voice singing in the night.  I am wrapped in a fuzzy pink blanket and I feel safe and warm.  I hear the sound of her breath and voice and the creaking of that old rocking chair and I feel safe and warm. She brushes her fingers softly across my forehead and cheek, soothing me, willing me to sleep. I keep watching her face holding on to wakefulness and the light...just to stay in this feeling....I feel so safe and warm.

That is my first memory. I remember it. I remember the color of the blanket and I was too young to know the colors. I asked my mother about this memory and described how the light came from the right of me and where the rocking chair was sitting based on the door and the light. She said I had to be less than a year old. My mother always sang the same few songs to us when she rocked us to sleep. Faith filled songs of love. In The Garden, Abide With Me, Rock of Ages and a few more.  The one I remember most is In The Garden
:" I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses and the voice I hear falling on my ear the Son of God discloses and He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known....

That song, that song still moves me and in my mind, I always hear it in my Mama's voice. I sang it to my own kids.  I sing it at work when rocking a restless baby to sleep. It is most likely my favorite song in all the world.

The blanket I remember was heavy and fuzzy. To this day I love the feeling of a heavy blanket when I am cold or just needing some comfort. Now I outgrew the need to be rocked, LOL and I don't particularly like creaking sounds but back then..that sound was like listening to crickets on a summer night.

My mother did not tell me this memory. I asked her about it after I was a grown up. She was so surprised. I think sometimes a memory can be so profound and so special it imprints on your soul and heart in a way that other memories do not.  I will always treasure this first memory.

Tales From The Crate

I read both A Dog's Purpose and A Dog's Journey by Bruce Cameron.  I could not put them down and read them both in two days. I really liked the story from the dog's perspective. It has inspired me to on occasion, write from Sammy's perspective. Thus Tales From The Crate..is born. In the book, the Dog calls things by the name it is instead of the crate it is crate or such things as that.

From Sammy:

Today, I don't get it. Mama, she cleaned my bed that she also calls crate.  I don't understand why. It smelled just like me and all my smells I bring in from backyard.  I don't get why she doesn't like those smells. It smelled glorious. I don't want to sleep in crate with that clean smell. I have protested a lot, but she finally told me I had to go to sleep.  It just doesn't smell right.  They also took blinds off the window and too much light is coming in. Ugh, really, how do they expect a dog to sleep when so much is going on outside the window and my crate is so clean.  Silly Mama, dogs don't like clean crates and naked windows. Dad tried to fix blinds but the "new" one was just a bit too big. He says he will fix it tomorrow. My boy, Chris...he is smart. He decided to cover crate with a blanket and the best thing is the blanket smells just like my boy and it is dark inside my crate. Mama hopes this helps.
Love Sammy

Day 3..meaning of my business name/what I do at work

Well, I don't have a business name but I do work for a preschool/Mommy's day out program. It is called Mission Preschool. It is a church run business. We provide care for children from the age of 8 weeks until they go to kindergarten.  We have a group of kids that come on Monday and Wednesday and a group of kids that come on Tuesday and Thursday.  I work with the youngest group and am about to be the lead teacher for the 8 -week to the walking group. We had to change it around because we have in our one room 8 weeks to almost 2-year-olds. We have a huge waiting list for the little babies. I am super excited about this fact. I love little babies.  We have two teachers to a maximum of six babies.  That will remain in all classes.

I love my job. I have had people imply that all I do is watch kids, that I don't "teach". I disagree. We talk, cuddle, read and dance with our babies. We play with them and get on the floor with them and teach them how to share. These are important, vitally important developmental skills. Learning to share, take turns, wait for a couple of minutes when you need something and your teacher is busy is important. We love them and cuddle them and talk to them all day long.  Teaching in an infant room is not "book" learning or memorization of letters,, shapes or numbers. Teaching in an infant room is helping them as they learn to grasp objects, sit up, crawl, and walk. It is helping them as they are in the side by side play development stage. It is helping them learn to not just grab a block from a friend. It is helping them learn to say words and pronouncing the words. It is saying, this is a blue ball, can you throw me the blue ball...over and over and over again because in play...they learn.
Babies and toddlers and young children learn best through play.  We explore textures when we do finger paint as we try to keep said finger paint on the paper. We have water play at a water table and see their delight at what happens when you slap the water or pour it from cup to cup.

Teaching infants is holding an 8-week old baby on your lap and singing the itsy bitsy spider or rubbing his colicky tummy and swaying and rocking to classical music.
So, being a child care provider for an infant room IS teaching. It just isn't measured the same way it is measured in a school system. When you look into those little eyes and they light up because they love you as their teacher, you know you are doing it right.

20 Things About Little Ole Me

Disclaimer:  This is longer than I planned. I started writing and it just kind of grew. LOL. IF you get to the end God bless you. LOL

1. I am an identical twin and love everything about being a twin. Growing up with a best friend is one of the greatest blessings of my life. I am so thankful that God gave me a best friend from the womb. We call ourselves "Wombmates".  
2. I lived in LaPaz, Bolivia when I was 5 years old because my Daddy was stationed there in the army. I have so many memories from there, even though I was so young.  It had a deep impact on me. I remember how hungry the people were and that they were "poor". We were considered rich over there even though in America we were nowhere near rich. I remember little children with no shoes and no coats and begging for food.  I truly think that is where my love for others began. I remember worrying about the little children not having food or a warm bed. I remember llamas being herded by old men and little children down a cobblestone street. I remember babies on their Mama's backs like a papoose.  My parents were required by the US government to employ a maid and a gardener.  It was how they helped the people over there and let them keep their dignity. One day our maid Maxima was trying to light our gas heater. It blew up in her face burning off her eyebrows and singing her face. Thankfully she wasn't seriously injured by some miracle. That day my fear of all things gas was born. To this day, I will not have gas heat or gas stove.
3. I used to be addicted to Dr. Pepper. My Mama gave me the love of Dr. Pepper. There is a picture of her from 1943, before her Daddy died, sitting on a porch in a little rocking chair drinking Dr. Pepper.  He is looking out the screen door and she was holding her bottle of Dr. Pepper smiling at the camera.  I wish I had a copy of that picture. It is incredible.  A  year and a half ago, I gave up Dr. Pepper. I only have them on occasion now and don't enjoy them as much. It helped me lose some weight...even if I have lbs to go before I am where I want to be.
4. My children and I were diagnosed with a little-known syndrome when Jennifer was 4. It is called Noonan's syndrome. Basically, for us, it makes us smaller than the average bear. My kids come in fun size. I do too, well height wise....I just happen to have a little extra fluff than I used to. LOL. My kids are way smaller than their peers but it does not keep them from anything.  It apparently runs on my Mama's side of the family. My great grandfather was only five feet tall. I say often, we may be tiny but we are mighty. 
5. I wanted to be a Mommy since childhood. I had all sorts of things I wanted to be when growing up, but my constant was being a Mommy. The day my son was born, I felt like all my dreams came true.  Being a Mommy is my passion, my calling and while it isn't always easy and at times down right hard, I LOVE BEING A MOM. 
6. Thinking of 20 thinks is more difficult than I thought. This is probably cheating but sometimes thinking is hard to do when your teenage son and your dog are being goofy.  Oh, and on a side note, being a dog "parent" is like having a constant toddler with fur and teeth. LOL
7. I have run in 3 different 5Ks and plan on running another in August. I am about to begin a "training" program of my own design. I have googled and read and well, I can't afford a personal trainer so I will just do the best I can.  I am hoping to have lost a lot more weight by June as my 30th high school reunion is coming up.........wait............30 years...I have been out of high school for 30 years, how did that happen. 
8. I grew up in a small, rural town with one red light. I went to a school that had 800 students total in Kindergarten through 12th grade. I loved growing up in small town America. Chattanooga, where I live now, is nice but sometimes I wish my kids could grow up that way. It was an awesome place to live....well most of the time, unless my Mama found out the mischief I had gotten into at school BEFORE I got home because everyone knew everyone and Mama always found out.
9. Speaking of mischief...I was the mischievous twin. I kid you not, my sister was the "good" twin. She rarely got into trouble. I didn't mean to cause mischief but I was full of energy, vim, vigor, and personality. I guess today I would have been diagnosed with ADHD, but back then my mischief was solved the old fashioned, way, a good spanking. I turned out pretty good despite that fact. 
10. At this very moment, my dog is sitting in his crate staring at me as if I am keeping him from sleeping. It is my fault, always my fault if something doesn't go his way. When he was neutered, yep, my fault. IF it rains and he is stuck indoors, yep, my fault. Silly dog. And DADDY.....he is the king and the sun and the moon to our dog Sammy. Daddy is his favorite person, forever and always. Mommy will do, especially if she bribes Sammy with cheese. Ahhh, the power of CHEESE.
11. Sometimes I come down on myself too hard and focus on my faults. I am trying to be better about that. I am a human being and I make mistakes but I allow for that in other people and not myself. I want my kids to see in my that being positive about yourself and others is important. I am a work in progress.
12. I just had the most awesome talk with my teenage son. He is a great kid and has great ideas and lots of compassion. He is learning and growing in ways that are amazing.
13. Jennifer has serious tummy migraines and it concerns me as a mother, greatly. I haven't figured out the trigger and I have to fight anxiety where that is concerned. Seeing her in pain hurts deeply. I have tracked what she eats and does but haven't found the trigger yet. As a mother, when our kids hurt, it hurts us. Before I had kids, I heard people say that but didn't understand it. Now, I get it. I just keep on praying for the answers.
14. I am double jointed in my hands and toes. I can write with my toes, legibly. Now that I am almost 50, though, my hips will not allow me to be as creative with that as I could be. LOL
15. Hannah is my mini-me in so many ways, but in others ways not so much. She is so girly and I, well, I am a tomboy. Always have been. The whole make up scene is almost a complete mystery to me. I have a huge learning curve and need to learn fast because before long, baby girl is going to be wearing makeup
16. I am slightly addicted to Facebook. I love sharing the lives of others and for the most part, can let the drama and political mumbo jumbo roll off my back. I am also very good at hiding posts I do not wish to discuss. I would rather just stay out of the political fray. It's not worth the drama. 
17. I am a woman of faith, this is probably the most important thing about me. I would not be who I am without my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my anchor in the storm. He is my rock and my foundation.  I try to live my faith, not just speak it. I make mistakes. I am far from perfect but my faith keeps me going. I do not know how I could have faced some of the many things that were hard in my life, without my faith. He, my Lord is the air I breath and the song in my heart. I can't stress enough how important He is to me. I love Him and thank God He has always been there for me. It doesn't mean life was easy or perfect, it just means I felt His love help me get through it.
18. I am less than a year away from 50 and it blows my mind. I feel so young and immature at times. Then other times I feel as old as the hills. I look back on my life and I see good things, bad things and lots of in between things. I have to say, despite the hardships, life has been good to me, not easy, but yeah, I did okay and am still taking it, one day at a time.
19. My favorite flowers are daisies, wildflowers, and sunflowers. They just scream HAPPY HAPPY  HAPPY to me. I just ordered free wildflower seeds from Cheerios and can't wait until they arrive. I plan to fill my front flower beds with wildflowers.  
20. I didn't forget my husband...lol. We have been married almost 18 years. We met in an AOL chatroom. Life has been a roller coaster but for now, we can say we are still on the same track, going up, down and around life's curves. I might change a few things, but I would still do it all over again.  LOL

31 day blogging challenge Day 1 INTRODUCTION

Pinterest is my friend. I am going to attempt to do this........


I got it off Pinterest. I tried to link to the original poster but the "page was not found". So I tried to give credit where credit was due but it did not pan out.

As a way of introduction, I will say I am Thelma, married to Mike for almost 18 years.  Our kids are Chris, Hannah, and Jennifer. They are 16, 13, and 10. When I started this blog, way back in the beginning they were so little. We have all grown and changed over the years.  My husband and I finally got out of the rent scene and bought a house 3 years ago. IT is awesome. We love our house.
I now work part time. When I started this blog...I was a stay at home Mom. Now I work part time with babies.  I also work for our church keeping babies during services.  Yes, why yes, there is a theme to my life...BABIES. I love babies, toddlers, kids. I love taking care of them and watching them grow and learn. Now some days are hard but for the most part, I do enjoy my job.  Life has thrown us for some loops but we are still taking life, one day a time.  That's me..in a nutshell.