Friday, February 25, 2011

Lately....

I've been just one big ball of craziness.  Happy, yet really down deep, sad.  Functioning, but not wanting to do anything but stay in bed all day.  Talkative, wishing everyone/thing would just go away so I don't have to deal!  Yeah, one of those kinds of times (NOT pms either).  I've heard this song on the radio quite a few times driving back & forth to work or running the kids around.  It's been a little bit of a pick me up, even tho' tears run down my face as I listen!  I must not be the only one who feel this way in my house.   Yesterday & today, both of the girlies stayed home.  They are coughing, sneezing & snotty-nosed.  No fevers, no puking....but daddy & mommy don't have the energy to get around & force them to get off to school!!!!  BAD PARENTING, you can ream me out here (comment form) or on twitter (@lefrumpette), FB (Greg-Jeanette Frump) or etsy convo (The Frumpy House (but only if you buy something while you're there)).

So here it is....it's all I wanted to come up with for the blog today!
Happy weekend everyone, yeah, even you sitting in the corner with your thumb in your mouth, having a pity party.......



Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Happenings....

around our house. For those readers who haven't gone waaay back to my first posts, you may not know that my hubby's mother has lived with us (one of the MAJOR reason's I felt the need to start writing, stress relief)for 2 years now. She was diagnosed about 6 yrs ago w/ Frontal Temporal Dementia. While I try and respect her & her condition by not telling all the frustrations, annoyances & plain ole I can't take it/her anymore type stories. I thought I should write a bit of my life lately. That's why I have this blog, to write it out & let it go.

The whole caregiver, family aspect of this is like the warring Capulets & Montagues. We love GP, but this sickness makes it almost unbearable to live w/ her. Some of the newest "annoyances" seem to be uncontrollable crying, following us around wherever we go & of course not being able to understand what she's trying to tell us.

About Christmas time GP forgot where the bathroom was, so we now have to take her there each & every time she acts antsy or starts wandering aimlessly. We found out the hard way that her BM's were on a very early morning schedule (say around 5 a.m.). After waking up 2 mornings w/ some major cleanup to do we decided we would have to take turns doing "watch (is. Sleeping on the couch so we could here her get up).

I don't want to sound all negative & whiney. Let's just say I'm training the girlies on how to take care of me & the hubs when we are old & decrepit.

Not that there are no upsides on this insane trip.....
Yesterday morning we were in the living room. GP was doing her usual pacing, moving things & making baby noises @ the girlies. She walks up to the wall where the girlies school pictures are hung. She stands facing them & says, "do u want some?" & when they don't answer her she says to them, "don't u like me?". Now given the fact that GP hasn't had good speech for about 4 yrs now , when something like this happens it's kind of noteworthy!! I say, "GP who r u talking to?". She turns way from the wall & says "I don't know". I said that they were pictures & they won't answer you, when she starts laughing & walks away.

The girlies never even knew what happened. They are pretty clueless when it comes to GP's blunders. The only time they REALLY take notice is when she gets in front of their cartoon or picks up a toy they are playing with.

That my friends is just the tipitty tip of our big iceberg. We slip down the slippery slope into insanity a little more each month, week & day! It's not what we would have chosen for GP or anyone, but it's where we are right now. In our house we don't talk much about sanity.....SANE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD! We revel in our insanity!

Blessings to all who have to deal with family members who are ill. Wether you are the day to day caregivers or not it's a lot to have on your proverbial plate!

A HUGE thanks go out to Aunt Linda (Patty's sister) & the wonderful caregivers that help us with GP's care! Without you, this momma would have been in the asylum a lot sooner!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Because I don't have enough....

humor of my own, I now have resigned myself to watching animal humor!  Ah, enjoy it....it really is quite brilliantly funny!






found from a Facebook post of my Friends.

Spring Thoughts....

about some remodeling?  renovating? or updating?

Here's a pic gallery of some things I'd like for Spring!

SUBWAY TILES
 source


I'd like these colors, pattern & everything (yes, even the canister set) in my kitchen, then some 
nice shiny white ones in my bathroom!!





NEW KITCHEN FLOORING


source

I'd love me some bamboo flooring in the kitchen~dining room!  This color is one I really like (plus I think it goes well with the backsplash, right?)


PRETTY CURTAINS






soft green living room Green Living Room Design Concept
source

One of my curtain rods & curtains got pulled off the wall by GP last week.  I love the sheer curtains, with the blinds look now.  Thinking about doing a DIY project with this idea!


BED LINENS


il_fullxfull.203482559.jpg

Of course, this is what I'd like to have on the master bed, in place of the down comforter.  I can hardly wait for the nights to be warm enough to leave windows open, & listen to the spring peepers!!  Chenille baby!


NEW PAINT COLORS




We've been in our house for 4 years now.  I think it's time for a little refreshing, a change of pace so to speak, of paint colors.  I'm loving the clean white look, but with two little girlies probly not gonna happen.  Maybe some greys, some greens, a nice yellow in the kitchen with white cabinets!!  Oooh la la!


How about y'all?  Do you get the cabin fever/spring renewal bug like I do?  We've had 40+ degree weather the last 2 days & that just makes me more antsy for the warmer weather!  When warmer weather comes, look out house & family.  Momma's gonna get her groove on & make some things purdy!

Also, noted, I'm looking forward to getting into my flower gardens this spring too!  With GP having some help in the mornings that means I'll actually have time this year to work outside & not have to worry about where she is!  Yeah!!
That's what the hubs got his girls for Valentines day.....flower seeds.  What a thoughtful man!



Friday, February 11, 2011

Too much going on....

and my brain can't come up with anything good to write about.  Sure, I could write about many things going on in my life....

Like how GP (grandma Patty to the new readers) no longer knows her way to the bathroom.  How the Hubs & I take turns sleeping on the couch to keep track of her nocturnal wanderings (2 such wanderings have resulted in us waking up to a smelly mess to clean up).  How she talks like crazy to anyone, & yes even strangers, but there are no words coming out of her mouth.  Just gibberish....ubba, groob, jooms you get my drift!?!?!  It's very sad, at the same time frustrating (for her & us) and mostly tiring.  Who knew that by the time my 2 girlies were fixing themselves lots of snacks, toileting themselves, dressing themselves & bathing themselves; that we would be doing that for GP?  Didn't see this one coming 8 yrs. ago when we married!

All in all in this situation.....God is good & each day is a new beginning (granted it's @ 5 am when GP starts wandering & looking for the bathroom)!


Or, I could write about the fact that my 7 year old daughter is learning how to knit.  She attends a private Christian school, and one of the ladies that volunteers there, as part of the Foster Grandparents Program, is teaching the kiddoes to knit.  Lauryn is very excited about this.  She sat knitting at the table last night as I ate dinner after getting home from work.  Talking away about a book she is reading, telling me cute anecdotes from school, etc.  She mentioned something about having cast on 15, and then when I made her put it down to go to bed she counted 31.  Don't know what that means, but she assured me Grandma Hazel told them to just knit & practice.  Okay, I know I won't be of any help!

I could possibly tell you the fact that I fight with the girlies often about wiping themselves after using the bathroom.  So far these words of mine have fallen on broken ears!  Neither one of them cares, & that really disturbs me to a level I can't even explain.  So this morning as I'm showering the 4 year old (yeah, you've seen her cute little face posted on this blog) comes in to use the bathroom......typical.  I tell her make sure you wipe....typical.  She looks at me & says, "I don't want to.".....typical.  Then I say, "You really need to wipe when you are done going potty."  To which my loverly daughter responds, "Just call me Princess No Wipe"  Huh?!  Are you kidding me....the child is evolved enough to use puns, but can't wipe her butt!!  On top of that to make sure I understood her she repeated it, "Mom, you know PRINCESS NO WIPE!"  Then she waited for me to assure her that yes, yes I did get it (Snow White).  Yep, that's how we are in the mornings....all pun & games.

I could definitely share with you the fact that the hubs & I are drifting apart....no worries people.  We are now sleeping in different places, eating meals @ different times (that's been that way for a few years now), caring for two girlies & more for his mom, seems like we are always apart from each other.  Yuck, we gotta get our groove on, & set up some respite time for GP, plan a sleepover for the girlies w/ the other grandparents (or aunty Cheryl) & get us a date planned......

Or if that is too much of a downer I could write about how it's February in MI, & how my emotions are definitely ruled by the weather.....no matter what I do, what meds I take, or how many comedies I watch....these dreary winter months really wreak havoc on my brain!  I think, feel & deal with the dreaded depression.  Some years are better than others....some not so good.  When the horrible thoughts start plagueing me, I know it's time to plan a mental health day.  You know when thrifting doesn't make my heart beat faster, that it's a very bad day!

There really is so much going on in my home, family & brain that I can't seem to focus on any certain topic to write about.  I could come up with something, maybe, but then it would be so unorganized I'm afraid the readers wouldn't want to come back....

Here are some great linky links to a few of the blogs I've found that really lift my spirits.  Inspire me to be creative & make me laugh!

http://www.frecklewonder.com/
http://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com/
http://dishesinthedryer.blogspot.com/
http://thejoyefuljourney.blogspot.com/
http://thompsonfamily.typepad.com/
http://heywhatsfordinnermom.blogspot.com/

These are only a few of my favs!  I recently won a giveaway from Breeanna over on A Brilliant Melody.  She sent me a nifty vintage purse (big enough to carry books in!) & a 1950's Encyclopedia of Cooking book (I've already picked out 2 recipe's to try).

There are so many other blogs out there.  For moms, dads, crafters, cooks, bakers, thrifters, sellers.....it's a never ending community.  A community that supports you as a blogger & gives you something wondrous to do when the winter blues strike!

Much love to the readers of my blog.....thanks for hanging in there with me!  Spring will be here soon!!


Thursday, February 3, 2011

What I did....

to alleviate some boredom & help soak up a little creative juices!

I found some great REALLY, REALLY heavy card stock @ the thrift store (.99) a few weeks ago.  It's been sitting there, mocking me, making me question how I was going to use it.  Then I was looking through some of my old DIY/Bargain Decor/Flea Market Magazines & saw a picture of a hand-stitched lampshade.  It.was.gorgeous!!

So, I've been thinking about doing some stitching on this heavy paper.  I finally found the time & the energy last evening after the girlies were in bed & GP was watching AI.

I pulled a little ceramic blue bird off my wall & traced it onto a chartreuse colored paper.  Took some bright aqua colored yarn, a large blunt tipped needle & went to "work".....


Then I sat & suffered enjoyed some American Idol....did a simple straight stitch to outline the birdie.

Added a little yellow yarn for the beak!


Then I got out my sewing box, and did a little free styling with some red & white thread!









It was fun, relaxing & a great way for me to use up some of my creativity!!  I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with it, but I think it's pretty!  I will come up with something.  Never fear, I've got some more "crafty" ideas running through my little brain!

How about you?  Crafted/fashioned/created anything lately?  Leave me some comment love, and a link to something you've done lately (heck, something you've done in the last 10 years is fine too!!).







I made it out.....

and I'm alive!!  Oh, yes, I made it out to work today!  Sadly, I had to leave the hubs home with the girlies, who are still on snow days, and his mom!!   (devilish grin)!!  HA!

No, really, we did have a nice day all scrunched up together in our little 1200 sq. foot home!  We find these little nooks and crannies that we can sit, lay or hide in.  Find our entertainment in books, games, videos, or twitter (as my case may be!).

Here's some pics of a few things that went on during the "Great Blizzard of 2011".
WAIT!  I thought I had legs!!

eh, a little snow here, a little snow there.  what's the big deal!!

The pretty side of getting snow.....waves!


laying in the snow, looking for a good place to tunnel!


still smiling, even after all the hard work of walking through the white stuff!


don't be deceived...there may be sun shining, but it's still  20 degrees or lower!



maddie loves the snow,,,,,,


little momma is just perturbed! 


Then, later in the evening we had some fun inside with the girlies and daddy doing a talent show!  We have those impromptu quite often.... what kid doesn't like to have adult's undivided attention while doing something fun?
It's Spider Woman!!  Lauryn climbing the wall (something she usually has ME doing)!
Ladies & Gentlemen....Liyah, singing her sunflower song.  She is the composer & lyricist!

For your viewing pleasure, daddy will now try to attempt balancing 3 pennies on his elbow & then catching them in his hand.  Please, do not attempt to try this at home!  heehee


A round of applause, if you please, for our very talented guests tonight!!  

Were you snowed in?  Did your family find some fun in the snow, & fun in the house?  Share me some links....I'm gonna need some fresh ideas as it is only February in Michigan!!

Enjoy your day, whether in the snow, sun or rain!  It IS another day you are alive!





Tuesday, February 1, 2011

I'm preparing myself.....

For what may be another snow day in MI! The weather that has been going through Missouri, Indiana, Wisconsin & other states is heading our way! That means there may be another day at home for the girlies, GP & one or more parental units!! We already made arrangements at work tomorrow for the chance that we may not be able to get out of the driveway! That means there's already plans going through this momma's tired brain. Things that will keep the girls occupied, out of trouble & off each other's nerves!
Baking, craft, story-time, maybe writing & making some sweet Valentine's! If I force them to make each other lovey-dovey cards maybe they will actually act like they do!!

Anyone got any linkies for quick & easy Valentine crafts/cards for the 4-7 yr old age groups? Hook a poor mother up! I may be needing something to take the edge off before drinky time!!
Many thanks....before hand (just in case)!!