#61 Be your own Hero~

Oh my darling fox,

Sometimes I find quotes or sayings that inspire me to write things that I feel are important. When I find a treasure like this one, I usually think of you. Then I think, what a great life lesson..and from there  I write.

You know, I  use to believe that when I met a man and got married I would be whole. I thought it would be him who would carry me through my difficult times. My husband would make absolutely everything better. In reality, and with a slap in the face I learned fairly quickly that I was the one responsible to pick myself up, he would only hold me up once I got there.

Let me explain, I don't want to sound like your father wasn't supportive, protective, caring and nurturing. We both know that without him, I wouldn't be who I am today. He has and  always will be my rock, and when my life fell a part on days that he was at work, the moment he came home I would immediately feel a peace come over me. I knew everything in the world would be ok again.

To this day, it still feels this way. I am so blessed. 

But with all this said fox, there has been many times when it has been my own arms that have had to lift myself up. Honestly as heavy as it may have been at the time, it was the best life lesson I could have learned. You must be able to sit down with only yourself and understand that under any conditions you are going to be ok. 

Another important perspective is to remember that most people are fighting a battle that you know nothing about. So do not put expectations on others to hold you up when you are down. If someone does show up to help you, that’s wonderful. Appreciate their time, and always be thankful. If you find yourself wanting to help someone, make the time. Having the chance to step up and support someone is one of the most selfless acts you can do. Just don’t loose yourself in the process. Always remember to save some strength in your core for the battles you will fight. 

So I do believe that I may have already done a post similar to this one. But I still feel this topic is so important. I find these days too many people rely on others to “help” them out. To help fix their problems, or even take their situations from them and make them yours. 

I want you to always remember as a young, confident, sophisticated woman the importance of being able to care for you~

My hope is that someday you find yourself with a husband as wonderful as your father. A man who will highlight your strengths and underline your weakness. A man who will absolutely pick you up when you need that, and one who will stand silently beside you while you learn to be a stronger, better you~

Until next time Fox, good night and god bless~

100 Things I Want To Teach My Daughter- #62 Bake Cupcakes...as often asyou like~

100 Things I Want To Teach My Daughter

#62 Bake Cupcakes..as often as you like~

Cupcakes can ultimately be the cure for anything. On crappy days, good days, sad days and quiet days I bake cupcakes.
Cupcakes can bring happiness to absolutely everyone in your life, I say bake them for family, friends and co-workers. If you find yourself having a hell'ish day, bake cupcakes.
They will always bring a smile to your face, and also to your loved ones faces.
 

I love baking them, really for any reason.
 

The best kind are home made, complete with homemade icing.
 

 

You know how much I love to bake. Sometimes I will bake for no reason. It can even be therapeutic.

 

Someday when you are grown, possibly a wife and mother you may find yourself baking cupcakes as well. Involve your children, make it a fun activity. And then you can enjoy the treat on a Sunday evening before back to school.

 

Or Fox, bake a batch of cupcakes on a Tuesday evening. Just for fun, before you and your family watch a fun Disney movie.

 

Take cupcakes to your friends, for no reason~

 

I have two homemade icing recipe's that I use for cupcakes. I will share them here with you. The first one Nana has always made, she learned from her mother.

I believe its called "Boiled Icing" its the kind of icing that I will need to show you how to make. Its a tricky one, very sensitive. One small mistake can ruin the whole batch.

You start with Brown sugar laid out on the bottom of a sauce pan, you drop some water into the brown sugar, just enough to wet the sugar.

On low/med heat slowly bring the sugar to a boil. DO NOT stir, only run a fork through the sugar to evenly dispense the heat.

While waiting for the sugar to boil, take 2 egg whites and using a hand mixer whip the egg whites until the egg whites are firm and stiff, forming peaks when fluffed. Add 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla extract.

Once the sugar is boiled, and forming bubbles that pop, slowly poor the sugar mixture into the stiff egg whites while mixing with hand blender. Slowly poor the sugar, as the heat mixes with the eggs it will cook the whites. Keep mixing until the icing becomes thick.
I will show you this a few times, it took me awhile to learn how to properly make this icing. Once you mastered it, it will be a favorite amongst your family as well~

The second Icing recipe I got was from Jill, she was a nurse who worked with Braden but became a wonderful friend to the family.

It is a buttered based icing, and is your favorite. I LOVE it as well, I think the other recipe just reminds me of my childhood so I tend to favorite it more.

You will need:

1 cup of milk
4 TBSP of flour
1 cup of white sugar'
2 TSP of vanilla
Cook milk and flour slowly until thick, set aside to cool.
Heat butter with sugar, add vanilla
Add thickened milk, using a hand electric mixer on high until smooth.

This is one that I use all the time, and I love that it came from a dear friend.
Well Fox, that's about it. Keep these recipes and use when you need to share your love.


 

100 Things I Want To Teach My Daughter #63 Tea is the best medicine~

100 Things I Want To Teach My Daughter

#62 Bake Cupcakes..as often as you like~

Cupcakes can ultimately be the cure for anything. On crappy days, good days, sad days and quiet days I bake cupcakes.
Cupcakes can bring happiness to absolutely everyone in your life, I say bake them for family, friends and co-workers. If you find yourself having a hell'ish day, bake cupcakes.
They will always bring a smile to your face, and also to your loved ones faces.

I love baking them, really for any reason.

The best kind are home made, complete with homemade icing.

You know how much I love to bake. Sometimes I will bake for no reason. It can even be therapeutic. 

Someday when you are grown, possibly a wife and mother you may find yourself baking cupcakes as well. Involve your children, make it a fun activity. And then you can enjoy the treat on a Sunday evening before back to school. 

Or Fox, bake a batch of cupcakes on a Tuesday evening. Just for fun, before you and your family watch a fun Disney movie.

Take cupcakes to your friends, for no reason~

I have two homemade icing recipe's that I use for cupcakes. I will share them here with you. The first one Nana has always made, she learned from her mother.

I believe its called "Boiled Icing" its the kind of icing that I will need to show you how to make. Its a tricky one, very sensitive. One small mistake can ruin the whole batch.

You start with Brown sugar laid out on the bottom of a sauce pan, you drop some water into the brown sugar, just enough to wet the sugar.

On low/med heat slowly bring the sugar to a boil. DO NOT stir, only run a fork through the sugar to evenly dispense the heat.

While waiting for the sugar to boil, take 2 egg whites and using a hand mixer whip the egg whites until the egg whites are firm and stiff, forming peaks when fluffed. Add 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla extract.

Once the sugar is boiled, and forming bubbles that pop, slowly poor the sugar mixture into the stiff egg whites while mixing with hand blender. Slowly poor the sugar, as the heat mixes with the eggs it will cook the whites. Keep mixing until the icing becomes thick.
I will show you this a few times, it took me awhile to learn how to properly make this icing. Once you mastered it, it will be a favorite amongst your family as well~

The second Icing recipe I got was from Jill, she was a nurse who worked with Braden but became a wonderful friend to the family.

It is a buttered based icing, and is your favorite. I LOVE it as well, I think the other recipe just reminds me of my childhood so I tend to favorite it more.

You will need:

1 cup of milk
4 TBSP of flour
1 cup of white sugar'
2 TSP of vanilla
Cook milk and flour slowly until thick, set aside to cool.
Heat butter with sugar, add vanilla
Add thickened milk, using a hand electric mixer on high until smooth.

This is one that I use all the time, and I love that it came from a dear friend.
Well Fox, that's about it. Keep these recipes and use when you need to share your love.

  

Oh Fox, you know how much I love my tea. You want to know a secret? Its the single most valuable staple in my day. It is what helps me start my day, it lifts my soul around 4pm and then it tucks me in a the end of the day. Brings me comfort when everything is unsettled.

 It was my 4pm witching hour drink while you kids were little. You will learn that when you become a mother yourself. There's the one hour a day when you will wish you were anywhere else but getting dinner ready with a couple tired, miserable, hungry, snotty children screaming at your feet.
The witching hour is a real thing...just wait!

It was my drink of choice when you would nap and it was my "night time" drink when I would be up through the night with my babies.

Tea has become the one word question I get most texted by friends and your dad.

Tea?

When I receive that text its a question that always brings a smile to my face.
Mostly because I know I get to see someone who I love.

When I was little my nana would make me tea, she would have it steeping all day on her stove. Why was it always better at my nana's? She drank it black, but she always had carnation milk and lots of sugar. It is my one true childhood comfort that made me feel loved, safe and comforted and of course I only had that at my nana's. My parents of course had tea at home, but I don't remember the carnation milk, I believe it is high in calories and my mom would have been cautions of that. Rightfully so.

I hope you know, when I become a grandmother I will continue on with that tradition. When you and Braden were little you both drank tea (so cute), and then Ethan came for sleepovers and he drank tea too. Always one of my favorite things to have together, especially on a cold day.

Find your fix Fox, tea was/is my comfort. Its my strength and its my wisdom. I have the best thoughts, feelings and lessons during a nice hot cup of tea. I have nursed babies, rocked children and snuggled sick babies while comforting myself with a nice cup of tea.

I have cried, laughed and cursed over a warm cup of tea. At the end of the day, tea is what settles my mind, body and soul.

Well my lovelies, I hope you have enjoyed this post as much as I loved writing it. Until next time, good night and god bless~

100 things I want to teach my daughter # 64 Make your own baby food~

100 Things I Want To Teach My Daughter   #64 Make your own baby food.

It's surreal to think of you as a mother as I sit here watching a scary movie on a Saturday night. But I know the day will come, and god willing I will be there to watch you maneuver through the hands down most important job of your life, becoming a mother.

Fox I am here to tell you becoming a mom is the best. You will never love anyone like you will your own children. I will say, a woman should love her husband with the same passion as her children. In reality, you do. Always and I mean always put your marriage before and above anything else. The best gift you can give your children is to love their father with a passion that could move mountains.

The second best gift is too and honestly the most important is to make your own baby food. Now in order to be successful with this you must be organized.

When I had Braden, it was your Aunt Sue who taught me how to do this. She was doing it with Josh and then Jordan. She told me to cook all my food, puree it, let it cool and then put it in ice cube trays.

 

I loved the idea. So I started with vegetables, moved to fruit and then meats. It was a lot more work than buying baby food but so much healthier, not to mention cost effective.  Each day I would take what ever meals I wanted for him/you during that day and let them thaw. Then when I had to make it a thinner consistency I would add some formula/breast milk to thin it out and warm it up. I will forever be grateful for that lesson in life. I want to pass that on to you fox. Make your own baby food for your children, of course that's something I would help you with when the time comes :)

 

 

There are so many more ideas these days for mom's and dad's. So many healthy treats, natural ingredients that benefit your baby.

 

 

I am certain by even the time you are feeding your children this will once again be different. Regardless of all the other options available to you at that time. Just promise me you will keep your children's meal time fun, healthy and practical. Not simple, quick and easy.

Some days fox its ok to follow the rules, its ok to take a break from cooking. Whether its you or your husband making meals, sometimes its perfectly fine to eat cereal, eggs, or pancakes for dinner. It's expectable and expected to cut corners on busy days.  There are no rules, do not stress yourself out with dinner plans and meal options.

My only advice to you is with a baby starting solids, make sure its healthy and homemade.

 

Well my darling, until next time..good night and god bless~

100 Things I want to teach my daughter #65~ Own a dog espcially while raising a family.

100 Things I Want To Teach My Daughter~

#65 Own a Dog while raising your family

 

Dear Fox, one of the best things we did while raising you and your brother was owning a family dog!

 

Harley was initially all for me, I had wanted a yellow lab my whole life. My god, I thought those labs were angels on earth. I couldn't wait to own one. My dream came true in 1998, March 7th we got the call that our litter of pups were born. Originally I wanted a girl, but in the litter there was only 2 girls and both had been spoken for long before we put our name down for one of the pups.
We were given the option for boy, I had never owned a boy dog before...how different could it be?

I remember you were just over one years old, Braden was 4 and we had a new 8 week old puppy. Thankfully I believe when we got him home things were stable. I don't think Braden ended up in the hospital so we had some time with Harley as a family and we bonded with him. The breeder sat me down and gave me these words of wisdom. Words that have stayed with me all the way until we got Ella and then it all went to shit. lol

She told me, being a young mom with a lot on our plate to always remember Harley is a dog. He is a part of our family but teach him to be independent. He needs to learn to be on his own. SO crate training began with him. That's not something we did with any other dog, even growing up my parents never crate trained.

The first two weeks were hell, we put him in a crate, in the basement far away from the family for 6 hours a night. Awful right?
In all honesty, it was the smartest thing we ever did. When I needed him to get out from under my feet let me tell you that crate was a god send. So my dearest girl, when you have your own puppy someday as hard as it may be...please crate train your dog.

I remember taking him out for his last pee every night at 12am and then dad or I would get up between 5-6am for the first month or so. We get him up take him out for a pee and most times stay up from there. If I were to do it again, we should have walked him at 12am and then again at 6am it would have tired him and then we could have probably gone back to bed for a few hours.

Eventually Harley joined dad and I in the bed, he would sleep at the bottom. I loved that, he was such a comfort.
Not only was Harley the best thing in the world for me, he was  the best dog for you kids. He LOVED you kids. You could see it in the way he looked at you. He knew exactly where to sit every meal time. Right at the floor of your highchair, and he also knew who to follow around when you had a cookie or treat.

 

 

We truly believe a happy home owns a dog, I couldn't imagine not ever having a yellow lab in our lives.

 

The purpose of this blog space is too leave to you all the words of wisdom or life lessons that I have learned over my life. I hope to have 100 Things to teach my daughter finished and left to you so someday you can read through this and have some laughs and possibly even some tears~

 

 

To finish off this post fox, when the day comes that have your own Harley my advice would be to start and end each day with a quick walk. Before your day begins, grab the leash and take your dog out for a walk. I promise you it will make your day and his begin much brighter~

 

There are so many I want to tell "Go f*^k yourself"~

 

So I just want to take the time to publically share how proud I am of Braden. He recently took a trip to the Dominican with two friends and Kailey. He managed to book this trip all on his own, for some that may not seem like a big deal. For Braden, its not a big deal.
 Me however, finds this as a milestone reached. One in which so many people tried to convince me wouldn't happen.
Why wouldn't it happen you ask? Because those people felt I was making too many mistakes raising him, and that my decisions for him did not promote independence.
Some of those people felt I was too involved with his daily life, I didn't allow him to be on his own.
In my defense I was only protecting him from their views and opinions from those assholes.
Today, Braden is over it all, he by no means finds himself "special" for his abilities for voicing his rights or pushing for his deserved quality of life. So this post is not about him, the whole attention embarrasses him as he doesn't see it as I do.

This is for me.

The countless nights I spent screaming into my pillow, or the afternoon tears that I wiped away before turning to face my children. Or the meetings that I sat not so quietly listening to someone who "disagrees" with my judgement.

There are many examples that I could share with you, but one of the most recurring ones was my decision to NOT put Braden on a "Special Needs school bus". Every single first day of school, the bus would show up and wait for me to get him out the door. Every single September I'd tell them the same thing " I told the school that I would be driving Braden this year." They just couldn't get it through their heads that I didn't want Braden on that bus, how awful it would have been to send his sister on a difference bus with all his neighbour hood friends. While he shuttles off on the little bus, without any of his friends. NOT on my watch bitch.
That wasn't the only reason, I was a stay at home mom and truly had no issues taking them to school. Many of the other mom's were driving their kids to school, why was it such a big deal for me?
Honestly, I would tell them NO school bus thank you...but it would still show up and it made me feel for just a moment that maybe I was making a mistake.

In my reality however, in the real world we don't have "special needs" airplanes, trains or even destination travel vehicles. Did they ever think of that? NO, because they only worked in the world of "special needs" kids, they didn't have a clue what living in it was like.

My desires from a very young age was to teach Braden just that, things will go to shit in life and you're going to have to problem solve and find solutions. Most of my reasons for not following the aggressively passive school board regulations was my appetite to teach Braden how to function in a NOT readily accessible world for physically challenged individuals.

My anger stems from those who made me feel "terrible" for my resistance for following the guidelines placed on those in the school system with disabilities. They were wrong. Much of their governing was not suited for the best interest of Braden, and that wasn't going to work with me.
I had meeting after meeting with people trying to tell me how I was making mistakes, how I was doing harm because "He'll never be independent". Talking behind my back, judging me and then calling me in to discuss the "challenges I was creating" for Braden, the teacher and classroom. Imagine feeling like a burden or a problem maker when all you wanted was the best for your child.

To those people I say "Go fuck yourself".

Every single one of you who rolled your eyes at me or turned away with curse words at the tip of your tongue. I would love to meet you today, I would love nothing more than to sit down and have coffee to discuss how "dependant" I have made Braden.

I must share with all of you, that my son single-handedly booked his own trip to the Dominican, found his own accessible hotel, accessible room complete with accessible washroom. Booked his own accessible transportation to and from the airport, and handled transportation to an excursion in the Dominican. If I hadn't had taken the path that I chose when he was young how would he have learned to self-direct the services he needs during times of  disorder or uncertainty.

You see, when it came time to leave for his Monkey excursion during his holiday the tour bus showed up and was not accessible. If I hadn't taken the time during his childhood to prepare him for problems how could he have functioned in times like this. He knew exactly what to do, he didn't panic, didn't get upset, he took charge and had his needs met.
That's exactly what those people in the school system didn't understand, they don't live it! How could they understand the problems that arise. Still infuriates me!

Maybe I need to just explain why choosing to drive him to school as opposed to using the school bus caused him to be an independent thinker. Not everyone in our life had a wheelchair accessible vehicle. So those times when I possibly got sick, or was running late Braden would be stuck at school. Guess what? Who's going to pick him up? We would have to problem solve, nana could go get him, or maybe a friend would get him and bring him to me. Whatever the situation was he had to adapt and learn to be flexible. Things weren't always going to work out as we originally planned. Those situations happen to kids everyday, when a parent is running late afterschool so you send your child home with another student. I wanted my son to have those experiences as well, we needed chaos in our lives....its those moments that help us grow. Possibly if he had not experienced those moments, he would not have been prepared to handle the mobility problems faced in the Dominican.

 He managed to travel successfully with all his friends, equipment, supplies and making sure (on his own) that everything was accounted for, let me tell you after years of travelling this is not an easy task
How's that for independence? How did I do know? and that's just one of the most amazing things he has done ALL on his own. NO help from anyone. His own apartment, his own truck, college and dealing with all his medical supports, equipment vendors, doctors and everything related to his overall health.

I am so proud of him, you are beyond amazing and continue to impress and surprise us daily. I like to believe it had something to do with all our sweat, blood and tears...but in reality I know this is all him.

I was difficult, challenging and at times one hell of a bitch to deal with.(Still can be)  Although I cried, screamed and fell to the ground on some occasions, I did get back up and each time just a little stronger. With all that, we have taught him to do the same.

I would also like to thank those of you who did support us, those who stood tall beside us during difficult moments. The ones who never backed down from the school board, and always put Braden's best interest above and at times in front of even your job security.  We did a great job friends, thank you for your dedication to my family xo

Next trip is Chicago and then Dubai. With each trip we worry less, you did a great job son. It was so nice to lay our heads each night on our pillows and not worry.

**I also want to make it very clear to those of you who may have rode the "special" needs school bus or any parents who make the choice to send their child to school on the bus. I DO NOT in any way find fault in that. If you enjoy the bus, if it makes your life easier to use that service then I do believe you are doing the right thing. What worked for me, may not work for you. I am not saying my way was better, I do not think I am a better parent because of my choices. I do feel I am a better parent to Braden because of my choices. I did what I felt was best for us. SO please do not feel like I am in disagreement with you, I know you are doing the best for you. I truly see nothing wrong with the school bus, I just feel if I didn't want to use it I shouldn't have been made to feel bad for saying no.

Well my lovelies, rant over.
I'm out,
Cheers~

100 Things I Want To Teach My Daughter #66~Develop ways of enjoying being older.

#66 Science has made it possible to live longer, but it hasn't spent anything on developing ways to enjoy being older~

Dear Fox,

I am now in middle age, mid-forties, married with two adult children whom I absolutely adore. I have 3 dogs, a few good friends, a part-time'ish job, a blog and I love to run on my treadmill.
I enjoy spending time with you, Braden and your dad, nana and papa and on the rare occasion going out with friends to socialize.
Mentally I am in a good place, physically I am getting better. My body is showing signs of a life well lived. I have some aches and pains, slow to start and not near as limber as I use to be. I suppose some of that comes with age, but in reality lets remember my 20 + years of lifting and transferring.
Spiritually and mentally I still feel like a young adult. I find pleasure in walking, painting, photography, writing, and being creative. Those are the things that bring me peace.
I have written a blog a while back about the importance of keeping your mind, body and soul all aligned. In order to have complete peace and happiness I truly believe you must be balanced. 

Staying balanced is not easy, it takes a lot of work and consistent striving. That is something that must follow you into old age. I know I have said to you before, actually I preach to you that people change through the course of their lives. ("No, I don't think we change", "Ya I think we do, we change a little") lol Bridesmaids* That's our typical exchange between you and I ;)

As stated in the title, science has made it possible to live longer, but it hasn't spent anything on developing ways to being older.

We are curing illness, treating life threatening diseases and providing home care for those who are aging in our society. Generally we are living longer, this is good right? The only problem is we need to catch up with the aging population. Our society and communities needs to invest more into our seniors. Get them out, take an interest in their lives. Teach them to have an interest in their own lives.
For me, I believe in the natural progression of aging. If you live a healthy life then you should find no problems with aging.

People assume that just because you are 65 years old, and your knees hurt, or your back hurts it gives you permission too feel that its because you are aging. In fact, it is NOT because you are 65 years old that your body aches, more often than not your body aches due to unforeseen circumstances from something in your past. Possibly staying in a competitive job for 30 years where you are doing the same body mechanics for 8 hours a day, the toll has caught up.
 Or maybe your memory isn't as good as it once was, its not because you are 80 years old, your age shouldn't effect the aging process. There would be other reasons for your bad memory, maybe inheriting Alzheimer's.

So, my advice to you dear fox is too stay active, live a healthy lifestyle and age naturally. Do not take advantage of your healthy, fit, beautiful body because if not taken care of properly that will slowly erode.
It scares me, this whole aging process and I will continue to remind you that taking care of yourself is the most important part of life.
Grow into your adult life with healthy habits, interests that encourage you to learn, open mind, community engagement and a strong faith based love of god.
Age happily, its a privilege to become old never take that for granted.

Love you Fox, with all my <3 p="">