1000 Motherhood Stories before Mother’s Day 2010

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When I had my first child life, as I knew it, changed forever. We were a military family and my husband was doing a fellowship. We were stationed in Hawaii, which while nice, was very far from family; I had only myself to rely on. My son was also extremely high-energy and bright…to make matters worse; he stopped taking naps at around 7 months. Long story short, there wasn’t much time during the day or night to have the luxury of a nice, long bath. As my family grew, from one child to three, the luxury of a bath or any real ME time, got less and less.

This particular project/book idea started 31 years ago when my son was born. My children are now 31, 29, and 27 and I have an 11-month old grandchild. I recently spent a month with my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter and I had to smile as I relived my frantic life back in those days. As crazy as it seemed at the time, those were wonderful years. Now, in retrospect, I can see and appreciate that. It is time for the book to be written.

This project/book is about collecting 1000 Motherhood Stories before Mother’s Day, May 9, 2010. The stories will become part of an anthology on motherhood that will be published sometime in the future.

GIVEAWAY

To provide a bit of incentive, I’m giving away one Mother’s Day luxury gift basket (1 name chosen at random from all submissions, blog entries, and tweets) and if your story is selected for the book you will also receive a copy of the book.

You can submit an unlimited amount of stories. (One entry per story)
You can blog about this project. (One entry per blog, please link back)
You can tweet about this project. (One entry per tweet, please send the tweet)

PROJECT

If you’re a mom, grandmother, or even a father raising a child, this project should speak to you. The working title for the book is: Motherhood Means Never Taking a Bath Alone Again, and we can all relate to that. It doesn’t matter the age of the child or young adult, motherhood doesn’t stop when they grow up or move out.

Let’s share those stories and enjoying learning that we’re not alone.

All stories need to be a Word document and emailed to: 1000motherhoodstories@gmail.com

Celebrating New Grandmothers

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My latest place to hang out seems to be the local fabric store. Today I was in Hancocks because they have patterns on sale. For those interested the Simplicity are $1.99, McCalls are 5 for $5.00 and Vogue are $3.99. Huge savings, but that’s not what today’s blog is about.

You meet the most interesting people in fabric stores and some really cool Glammas. Today I met Honey in the interface section and we bonded over the projects we were working on. She had the best idea and I just had to get home and share it. She was buying fabric to make “Grandma Bags.” Fortunately I didn’t assume I knew what they were (I would have been totally wrong) and asked her. Grandma Bags are bags that she and her friends put together when one of them is becoming a new grandma. I just love this idea! We have showers for the mom and perhaps the dads bond over a cigar when the baby is born, but we don’t celebrate our new place in the world; Grandma, or as I like to call us Glammas (Glamorous Grandmas).

In their Grandma Bags they put a variety of items that the new Grandma will need when she is with her new charge. How much fun is that? This is definitely an idea that needs to catch on and Honey, thank you for sharing it with me.

Running Hugs,

Glamma Grandma

What’s Possible in 2010?

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Did you make New Years Resolutions? I always say that I’m not going to do it because it adds additional stress to my life that I just don’t need. So this year I decided to do something different. Instead of writing down resolutions of what I’m going to do, I wrote myself a letter dated Dec. 31, 2010 and I told myself about the year I had had. As a Life Coach, I ask my clients to do this all the time, but just like the plumbers home, I don’t take my own advice … until this year.

Initially I thought it was going to be difficult (and short) but as I began to write, the letter took on a voice of it’s own. What I found myself doing was writing about possibilities rather then expectations. It was not only good to think about the possibilities, but also there is definitely something powerful about writing them down.

At the end of each year I ask my clients to revisit their letters and to see how it matches up with the actual year. Time and again, they are shocked at how much of what they wrote has actually happened.

So, if you’d like to give it a try, here’s the process. On a sheet of paper, write the date, Dec. 31, 2010. Then begin a letter (sort of like those holiday letters you may get from friend’s each year) and tell yourself about your year. What did you accomplish or put off? Who was important in your life and what was important in your life? You can write anything you’d like. Once you finish, put it in an envelope and seal it and put it somewhere that you will be able to access on New Year’s Eve. Before you begin whatever celebration you have planned for the evening, take out your letter and read it. Then write one for the following year. I promise you will be surprised and pleased at your possibilities and yourself.

Running Hugs,

Glamma Grandma

New Years Resolutions or Possiblities?

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Happy New Years! January 1, 2010, a new start, an empty page to fill, and endless possibilities for the year. So where do I begin …

I fell asleep around 9:30 pm so for the first time in years, I didn’t see the ball drop. My mom tells me that if you’ve seen it once, you can go to bed early. I did. My daughter called me from what sounded like an amazing party and my oldest son called just before midnight, my time, to wish us a happy New Years. He’s on Pacific Time, so he still had a few hours before his friends were due over for their party.

Most people look back over their year and then make resolutions that usually get broken immediately. I choose not to look back, but rather look forward. The past is over, so why go there. The future is yet to be explored and therefore holds endless possibilities. I’m all about possibilities.

So my possibilities for 2010 are to enjoy life, be creative, be healthy, and enjoy my family to the fullest.

Christmas Chaos and Possiblities

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I mailed the last of the Christmas boxes today and it’s bitter sweet. None of my three children will be home this Christmas, nor will my stepson and his family. Somehow the holidays just don’t seem the same without kids and therefore chaos. My biological children are in LA, Boston, and NY and my stepfamily are in Alaska, I live in Texas. One would wonder why I don’t just take off for the holidays and visit, but my almost 92 year mother is here and although she is very independent, Christmas just isn’t the time for anyone to be alone.

Initially I wasn’t going to put up a tree or decorate, and basically I was down in the dumps feeling sorry for myself. Then I remembered that in my former life … before the children came … I have a tree. As a matter of fact, our first tree was a $5.00 “Charlie Brown” tree and with no money we strung popcorn and cranberries and made bells from discarded formula bottle tops (my husband was finishing his medial residency in pediatrics, so there we lots of bottle tops). I also remembered that there are a lot of service men and women who won’t be with their families for the holidays either. We are a former military family ourselves, and those days aren’t so long ago for us.

So, I have created the possibility that this will be the best Christmas ever. I will volunteer to help serve meals and possibly go to a nursing home and visit people who haven’t had any visitors. I’m learning that there is always a way to create the life I want as long as I’m open to exploration.

My journey as a mom-of-young-adults, glamma (glamorous) grandma, and wild & wacky woman is just beginning.

Running Hugs,

Glamma Grandma

Day of Thanks

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Today is Thanksgiving Day, or another way of saying it is, it’s a Day of Thanks. We all have many things to be thankful for, even in the face of some of the economical difficulties we may have experienced this year.

I received an email yesterday from friends whose family had suffered a terrible lost. The husband of her niece had died after a 4 month battle with cancer; they were both 30 and had been married for 5 months. How devastating for such young people to have to go through such pain. It just doesn’t seem fair.

I also received an email from another young friend who had her second liver transplant this year and had been in and out of the hospital all year. She let her friends know that although she is doing been, prayers are still needed. Another friend, a year in remission from breast cancer, had a false scare that the cancer had metastasized. So much stress for these friends and their husbands and children. For me, the most remarkable thing about each of these women is there outlook on life. They are positive, strong women have taught me that God, supportive friends, health, and family are the gifts of life.

I wish each of you a wonderful Day of Thanks and an abundance of life’s gifts.

Running Hugs,

Glamma Grandma

Read a Bedtime Story from Afar – A Story Before Bed Giveaway

Filed Under Family, Fun, Grandparents, Reading, memories | 2 Comments

I’m so excited about the new website, A Story Before Bed that I’m writing about it again today. This site is so user friendly that even my mother (my granddaughter’s great-grandmother) will be reading her bedtime stories.
The process is simple. The bookstore can be sorted by title, publisher, ages, or length and as you move your mouse over the cover, it gives you a synopsis of the story. Once you choose a book, you simply select it, and then begin reading when it tells you to. If you wish to stop while you are reading, you press pause and you can return to it later. Once you finish reading, you click on “finish” and then you can preview what you have read. If you like it, you save it, pay for it and you’re done. It also gives you the option of saving your reading for 24 hours prior to paying. If you are not satisfied with the reading, you can record the book again or choose another book to read.
In my last blog I suggested that a parent might choose to read a childhood favorite to their adult child serving in the military. Of course it would also be wonderful for the military parent to send bedtime stories to their child while he or she is away. To facilitate this, the designers of the site have a special offer for parents in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The designers are allowing me to give away a special code that would allow you to receive one free book. Come on, who doesn’t love free stuff and in this case everyone can win.

Want to win one for your family?

• Visit A Story Before Bedtime and visit the bookstore.

• Leave a comment below with the name of the book you would choose to read?

• Blog and/or twitter about the wonderful website and leave a link here.

Make sure you leave your email on your comment (if you space it out like this –glammagrandma @ gmail . com – it will prevent spam crawlers from grabbing your address.)

This giveaway will end on November 24, 2009 at 8:00 CST and everyone who enters will receive the code by November 25th. All free stories must be recorded by November 30th.

No compensation was given for this review. My opinion is based on my interaction with the site.

Connecting with Grandchildren from Afar

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Bedtime Stories

I’ve fallen in love with a new website and I must share. The site is www.astorybeforebed.com and it was created because the designers live on the opposite coast from their parents and they wanted their children to have the grandparents in their children’s life.

If you can’t be near an important youngest at bedtime, then you can record a story, and they can play it back whenever they want to. There are a variety of books and if you don’t see the one you want, you can suggest it.

I love this site because I have grandchildren in Alaska and Massachusetts and I live in Texas. This is a wonderful way to do what I loved to do with my children, read to them at bedtime.

As crazy as this may sound, I think a parent as a special memory could also use this site for an older child. Just imagine; your son or daughter grew up hearing you read a certain book and now this young adult is servicing in the military in a foreign country. Just imagine his or her surprise as they relive their childhood memories.

I feel that this could also be an invaluable gift to a child in later life when his or her grandparent is no longer alive. My father use to read to my son and when he died I always wished I had video taped it so that my son could see the love from his grandfather.

Check out this website, you will not be disappointed.

The Joys of being a Glandmother!

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It’s been a gizillion years (it seems) since I last blogged. I have to say that my reasonis a good one since the last month I’ve been fortunate enough to spend with my granddaughter. Not only did I get the luxury of playing with her, feeding her, taking her to “school” and picking her up, but I got to make memories for myself and hopefully her. Okay, I know that she is only 9 months tomorrow, and yes I know that babies don’t really remember things this early in life, but my granddaughter is brilliant, so I know that every single giggle we shared is fixed in her memory. Oh yes, I also enjoyed my son and daughter-in-law, but it’s funny how once a grandchild comes into the picture, the “children” aren’t quite as significant (shhhh, they aren’t suppose to know this).

I live in TX and they live in MA so when I visit I do it in weeks, not days. When Aliya was 3 months old I moved in with my fingers crossed that I would be a “good” mother-in-law, and not tread on my daughter-in-law’s wishes and that I’d be welcome back. It looks like I succeeded. During this trip my son told me that they were apprehensive before my first trip but they now welcome me to come any time, and stay as long as I’d like. Yeah!!!

Okay, so I have to brag about my little darling … she is beautiful, brilliant, and strong (future athlete) … the triple threat. As I said, she will turn 9 months on the 14th and she is ready to walk. She pulls up on everything, turns and attempts to step. Anything that can be pushed … is. When you have children you never get the time, or have the energy, to just sit back and observe … that’s a privilege that is reserved for grandparents and oh how I enjoyed it. I watched as Aliya explored each new item, taking them (of course) to her mouth, but also feeling them and observing the smallest of details. She also explored in a fearless manner, never letting a fall or obstacle get in her way. Thank God for baby gates and child protective locks.

Halloween costume for "school."

Trick-or-Treating as a butterfly with friend Brody the flower.

Friend Lily got to ride through Trick-or-Treat

The twins Winston and Christian with big brother Jacob.

Devon and Jacob were the only 2 who knew what was going on.

Daddies and their girls!

I was fortunate to be with them for her first Halloween. It was actually 70 degrees in MA on Halloween night, which made the fun of getting lots of friends together to share the moment that much better. Several of my son and daughter-in-law’s friends came over with their little ones and a few other grandparents and although the kids could have cared less (with the exception of the two 3 year olds), the trick-or-treating was a success. The one good/bad thing about trick-or-treating with babies is that you end up eating all the candy!

So, my next few blogs will be about my wonderful trip and I’ll include more pictures as I go.

Day 2 of my Healthy Living Plan

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Day 2 of my new exercise plan for healthy living.

I had my plan … get up at 7:30, get to the gym by 8:00, do 1 hour of cardio and be home by 9:15. Then I’d still have time to do my Wii Fit 30 – day challenge before my 10:00 client call. So much for plans : - )

I added the smiley face, because my DH decided that he’d sleep in this AM and he woke up with my alarm. He had other plans for me, which admittedly included exercise, but not exactly what I had scheduled in. So ladies, how many calories do you burn having sex?

Not a bad way to start off my day, but it did through off the schedule and I didn’t get to the gym until almost 9:00. This still gave me the time for my hour workout and then I was home before my call. It would have been sooooooooooooo easy to give in and jump in the shower following my client, but since I’ve committed to the Wii 30 – day challenge, I forced myself to do it. Yeah!!! I followed through!!!!

So now I’m all showered, and put back together and I feel great. I have a lot more energy, in just the two days I’ve been doing this, but even better then that, I’m falling asleep and getting a good nights sleep. This is a new occurrence for this insomniac.

Hope some of you will give me encouragement and feedback and if I can motivate you off the couch that would also be great to know.

Running Hugs,
Glamma Grandma

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