The world of medicine....



I'm under the weather and the medicine is making me extremely sleepy and "out of it". I hope to be back tomorrow.

10 Things to do with your child for fun

I'm riding the Tuesday Train with The House on the Corner.

I may be a grandmother, but I'm not grown up yet. I still know how to have fun and how to enjoy spending time with the grandkids. Here are some ideas of ways you can enjoy your children or grandchildren without having to spend a lot of money. But you do need to have some imagination and remember what it was like to actually PLAY before the kids had video games, computers and DVD's. Some of the items below can be done in the house or outside. This is a mixture of indoor and outdoor activities.

1. Spend a lazy afternoon setting out on the back patio playing jacks or marbles. To us it may be just something we used to do. But to a child who have spends to much time with electronics, the simplicity of jacks and marbles.

2. Is your child an animal lover that loves to go to the zoo, but trips tor the zoo isn't in your budget? Go to your local Dollar Tree or Walmart and buy a few inexpensive bags of Wild Animals. Designate one room in the house that the child doesn't normally get to play in as the Zoo. Allow him/her to set up exhibits around the room i.e. the zebra area, the giraffe barn, etc. Print up some tickets for other members of the family (Mom & Dad as well) and then take the whole family and visit "The Zoo". I have played Zoo so many times with Garret that I could probably run a zoo. We have a blast. If you have Lincoln Logs, they can build enclosures with the Lincoln Logs.

3. Tea Parties for little girls are always a big hit. And believe it or not sometimes, you can even get the brothers to participate with the right temptation. We play tea party with one of my real  tea sets, but you can buy child china or plastic tea sets for around $5 if you don't want to use your real ones. Print or hand write an invitation to the tea party and give one to each child in your family. I keep a cheap plastic tablecloth around the house for these occasions. You can buy one for $3-$5 at Walmart and Dollar General. I like to buy the 108" rectangle so we can use it for many things. I make popcorn and buy the package of the little mini cookies. I fill the teapot with their favorite drink (milk, tea, juice) and we set on the floor and hold a tea party. With the vinyl table cloth under us as our table, spill are of no concern and clean up is really easy. I let each child have her/his turn to serve the "tea" and goodies. We hold little miniature adult conversations while we snack and just have a wonderful time "visiting".

4. Hold a car/truck show for your little auto enthusiasts. Most little boys go through the car/truck stage. But a car show can not just be a simple "sit your cars out and we'll look at them". Put a stool at the bathroom or kitchen sink and run a little bit of sudsy water. Give each son/grandson a rag to "wash" the cars he wants to enter in the car show. Then let him use another soft cloth to dry and "buff" his car until it shines. Let them sit the cars up in the designated car show area and then the family can walk around and judge the cars. You can print your own awards and cut it out in a circle and glue a ribbon to it. If you have more than one child entering cars, make enough awards that everybody gets one. Here are some award ideas:   Shiniest Blue Car, Best Semi-Truck, Favorite Firetruck....you get the idea.

5. Hold a play yard sale. For some reason, children love to emulate what they see us do. Buy or make some play money and set up a yard sale at your house. Let them "shop" and  help them determine how much they have to spend and how much what they want will cost them. I like to dig in the toy chest for items that were once favorites but haven't been played with in awhile. Buying their own items back will give them something new to occupy their minds for awhile and the money lesson is very educational.

6. Dominoes is a great game to play with young children who are learning to count. They have to count the dots on the dominoes so they can match them up. And there is just something fascinating to a child about playing with dominoes. When you are done playing the right way, you can always let them line them up and touch one to watch the rest fall. Endless hours of fun with something that is so simple.

7. Bingo is another great game to play on rainy days. It helps them learn their numbers and letters together. You can even go to the birthday party aisle and buy some of those cheap packages of little gift bag items and put it in a "treasure chest". Whenever someone bingo's, let them get a gift from the treasure chest. This works well for two reasons. You get the fun of spending quality time playing with the kids, but when you need to get back to housework, they have a few new toys to occupy them for awhile.

8. Hold a Barbie fashion show. Trust me, you would be surprised how much your macho little man who is all boy will even want to be involved in the fashion show. It's not so much about him wanting to play with Barbie as wanting to spend the time with mom and sister. Let everybody have several turns dressing Barbie in various outfits and "walking" her down the runway (Hot wheels track can make a great runway if brother has some.) The use the same theory on the awards for the car show and do some awards for "Best High Heels" "Prettiest Outfit", etc.

9. This is a great idea for a long winter day when you've been snowbound for days and our sick and tired of being in the house, but can also work well for once a week or once a month family night. Take the family to "dinner and a movie" without leaving home. Prepare the kitchen ahead of time. Keep another plastic tablecloth on hand that is red & white checkered and keep some frozen pizza in the freezer to be prepared for this one or order delivery. It's good to have paper plates and cups as well so you don't have to spend a lot of time on clean up. Put the checkered tablecloth on the table and decorate light some candles to put on the table for atmosphere. If your dining area has any "lower" light options, adjust the lights so they are so bright. Have everyone "dress" for dinner in their favorite Jammie's, lounging pants or sweats so they will be comfy for movie time. After dinner, provide the kids with a pillow and blanket to get comfy on the couch or floor of their choice, put the movie on and turn the lights off. I recommend you print some "movie tickets" for them to turn in to attend. It adds to the something special effect of the night. Stop it midway and have intermission where you can serve them drinks and snacks to munch on for the remainder of the movie.

10. Spend some time introducing your children and grandchildren to "The Family". Most of us have boxes and books of old photos of when we were growing up and when our children were younger. Drag out all the old pictures and sit down with the kids and look at them. Tell them a lot of the stories about their Uncle's and Aunt's when they were little and even some about their grandparents if you know any of their stories. They will love learning about your life when you were little and the older children love looking at themselves when they were babies and hearing the special stories you remember about them.

Happy Labor Day

According to Wikipedia, Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that
celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.

To me there has never been a song that pays homage to Labor Day as well as 40 Hour Week by Alabama. I hope you enjoy the video and have a wonderful Labor Day.

Keep it Simple

When you go to bed at 12:30 in the morning and you get back up at 1:30 because you can't sleep and then you go back to bed at 3:00 because you need to sleep and then you wake up at 6:30 and want to keep sleeping, it's probably not a good idea to tackle a serious blog for the day. So I thought I'd keep it simple today.

I've been on a key chain kick lately trying to find one I really like and that was "me". Well, I found one yesterday for $3.00 that fit the bill....

I have been looking for small gold ball earrings for over 8 months now. My ears can take "cheap" and I change them every day so I didn't want to invest in even a $20 pair. I wanted cheap. Well, I finally found some at Target. They are nickel free and were $4.99 for one pair of gold and two pair of silver. While I was in their $4.99 jewelry a gold necklace caught my eye and I fell in love with it so I had to have that as well.

Then we went to a store that was called Famous Labels. Now, I gotta tell you, I am either very behind the times or these famous labels were famous before their time because I did not see one single label in the store that I recognized. However, they had this section in the back called $2.00 Bargains so I ventured back there. One of my many weaknesses is warm fuzzy socks. And with fall approaching, I've been keeping my eye open for some wild ones to keep my feet warm on those cool fall mornings and evenings as I lounge around the house. Well, I found the perfect pair in the $2.00 section. The wilder my indoor socks are the happier I am so this made me very happy.

Doesn't take much to make me happy. And the good part? I still have some of my "spending money" left over to go shopping for bargains again on Monday.  Hope your Sunday is full of life's simple pleasures.

Dear White Shoe I must bid you adieu.....

For a grandmother of 5, I like to think I can go with the flow. I can ride with the tide. I can accept change and keep up-to-date on today's do's and don'ts. The older I get, the more I find myself relaxing and not stressing about some of the little things that drove me crazy. If I decide to run to the store with no make-up....Big Deal. If I want to walk up the hill to the mail box in flannel pj's and a t-shirt....No Sweat. If I want to wait that one extra day before washing my hair....I'll survive. If company comes and the house is less than perfect....they are still welcome and I don't make excuses. I live in my home....it's not a showplace for a magazine.

HOWEVER....no matter how old or how relaxed I get in my thinking, I simply cannot and probably will never be able to wear white shoes after Labor Day. That was drilled into me for so many years that I just can't even fathom the idea of doing it. I actually picked out my shirt this morning with this thought going through my mind "I need to wear something that goes with my white flip flops because I can't wear them any more after Monday." How lame is that?

How naive am I? Is there fashion police lurking around every corner come Tuesday just waiting for a chance to write me a citation if I DARE to appear in public in white shoes? Would I be submitting such a faux pas by wearing white shoes that my friends would gasp in horror and whisper behind their hands?

But, alas, I can't help myself. It's phsycological. I cannot wear white shoes after labor day. Yet, I will wear summer sandals until October or November if the weather permits. Go figure. It's just one of those things that our Mom teaches us that stick with us. I guess I'm afraid if I wear them just one more time after that, Mom will call and ask "Did you put your white shoes away?"

Guess I'll just play it safe and put them back in the "summer shoe" storage until time to bring them back out next year .... AFTER EASTER OF COURSE!

Finally Friday



What to do with a 4 day weekend? I know one thing, I will not spend it doing labor! I'm going to celebrate the idea of how hard I work all year and take a few days off to enjoy NOT working. After this flu bug that hit me this week, some time off sounds really good.

I had a great day yesterday since my Thirty One gifts arrived. I was so excited to unwrap each item and think of all the ways I could use it. I've already used the all-in-one organizing tote and the mini-zipper pouch with the wristlet. Have plans to use the snack lunch tote and the 5 pocket clutch over the weekend.

I think I'll start digging out my September decor this weekend. (And no I don't consider that labor when it is something I want to do.)Time to take the spring pastels out of the kitchen and go back to my fall colors. I don't care if it is still hot outside, we are having cool mornings and some of our evenings have had some lower temps so it won't be long until summer is faded into a memory.

I love redoing my Baker's Racks for the seasons. Over at Visits with Mary the other day, she had pictures of her Baker's Rack with an assortment of vintage bowls and dishes. I fell in love with it. Now I'm back in my vintage Pyrex mode and want to get some things to incorporate into my Baker's Racks this fall. I fell in love with this pattern and it would go well with my roosters.

But on the otherhand the color isn't exactly fall, so I may try to find some things in this pattern.

Or even this pattern

There are just so many wonderful things out there in vintage Pyrex land. I want to thank my sister for hooking me up to a wonderful website called Pyrex Love. Don't go there unless you have a lot of time. It is very addictive. I never knew that Pyrex made so many patterns.

(Picture from Etsy.com )

I saw this pitcher on Ebay and think I might just have to buy it. For $5.00 plus shipping, who could resist?

 And I really fell in love with this set as well.

 Well, apparently my 4 day weekend is going to be spent meandering around the county looking for some Pyrex bargains.

Have a great weekend!

Welcome September!

Summer is nearing an end. Most all schools are back in session with a few stragglers starting the day after Labor Day.

September is the month for making apple butter so my long awaited trip to Carver's Orchard will take place about the middle of the month.

I can change my wreath on my front door. I'm looking for a new one, but not sure what I want. It's too early for my Scarecrow fall one and I'm too tired of my beach one. I see a trip to A.C. Moore in my future. They always have some neat ones.

September 11th will live on in our memories forever. So many lives were lost; so many unsung heroes were created. The country took a major disaster of gigantic proportion and used it as a lesson to no longer take our way of life for granted. We took a stand; we sent prayers up; WE THE PEOPLE, bonded together like no other time past or present.

Football games are gearing up all over the country. Midget League, High schools, Colleges, Pro Teams all ready to rumble.

I'm already seeing a few changing of the colors on the trees along our road. It won't be long till the Fall Peepers will start pouring into town.

The Grand Rod Run and Shades of the Past will be arriving in a couple of weeks to Pigeon Forge; bringing nostalgic memories of days gone by with their antigue and muscle cars.

But most importantly Septemer 18th is National Back to Church Day. I love this non-denominational video promoting the importance of being in church. To top it off, our church, Beech Springs Baptist in Kodak, TN is having our 128th Homecoming that same day. What a wonderful way to celebrate Back to Church Day. I hope you take a moment to watch this video.