Category Archives: Moms

What I did on my summer “vacation”

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Before the nice people in the unemployment offices read this and think I wasn’t looking for a job as part of the last four months, let me assure that it was at the top of the list every day.  Our summer days started with my rising to find on average four to six emails had been delivered to the email box dedicated only to the job hunt.  While the puppy ate breakfast and Cole slept in, I read and responded to the most appropriate opportunities.  After all efforts of application and follow-up were exhausted, there were various household chores that needed attention.  Stay with me, this “vacation” gets better.  I bore you with the standard schedule to present the over-arching theme of the summer (or so I thought) was to find a job.  There was something far greater to seek and embrace.

Time; a season with Cole that I would have never had; morsels of priceless moments that included impromptu water gun fights, silly singing in the car, afternoons spent at the swimming pool, and conversations that I will cherish for the rest of my days.

We worked together on household chores and I taught him to mow the lawn.  We took a few minutes to one night to look outat the full moon.  Another night we sat on the deck and looked at the stars.  He showed me the big dipper and the little dipper. We baked our favorite Christmas cookies and pressed them into non-Christmas shapes.  We volunteered at Lifebridge, sorting clothing and school supplies for those in need.  How wonderful to see Cole’s enthusiasm for helping others.  I had time to not worry about bed times and chores I only had evenings to complete.  With a slower pace, it seemed our time was less hectic and more meaningful.

This was the summer before Cole started middle school.  Yes, middle school, these are said to be three clumsy awkward and wonderful years a parent never considers when they first hold that sweet smelling infant.  From those who have gone before me on this parenting journey, I have been warned; but I choose to not fret.  Over the last four months, we have had these golden moments of connection that further solidified a relationship that began long before his birth.

We are over a week into the school year and have had few bumps.  The bumps will come, but when they do, I will be ready to listen first and then respond.  What I learned this summer is that the response Cole needs may be with words of wisdom, or just asking gentle questions to help him further figure out his own solution. Either way, I get to be there for Cole.

It has always been my goal as a parent to raise Cole to be a man of faith, who at the age of 18 will go off to college and his adult life.  At that point my relationship with him will change but will be soundly rooted in many hours of prayer and time well spent with him.

I wondered why God allowed this season of my life, if only for the memories the past few months gave Cole and me, I am grateful.  A job will come and I will work full time again, but I will do it with a new perspective on balancing family and work.  I will remember this pace and practice gearing down to take in moments that last a short time, but are treasured
for a lifetime.

How was your summer vacation?

All the best,

KK

Didn’t Make the Couponing A-Team

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When I was growing up (40ish years ago), coupons were clipped from the Sunday or Wednesday Courier Journal (or Louisville Times, depending on how far back you want to go).  Women would make their grocery list based on the family needs and the coupons they had.  Clutching their list and their coupons they set their course for the grocery store. Depending on how savvy a shopper they were, they might wait for double coupon day; but that was about as extreme as it got.

Now I’m the mom going to the grocery and would love to save a little on the bill, but somehow it just doesn’t work for me.  I’ve tried – couponing has become something of a sport and the rules keep changing.  First of all, there are coupons in the paper, but who wants to buy 5 of something to save .25 cents?  Recently though, a friend tried to explain to me how you take those kind of coupons, save them for a day when the item is on special and you go on double coupon day.  WAY TOO MANY THINGS TO REMEMBER, while trying to use the coupon before it expires.

Oh, that’s the other thing, the expiration date.  I can promise you any coupon I attempt to use, expired the day before.  While my couponing friends will tell me that the date doesn’t matter many stores will take them, I can also promise you the cashier in my line will have just graduated from cashier school and will read every coupon and find the one that is expired.  “No exceptions, lady.”

The sport of couponing takes on new dimensions with the likes of coupon websites like, www.livingsocial.com, www.groupon.com, www.couponing101.com, and www.thekrazycouponlady.com.  When I share with my couponing friends an item I’m looking for a coupon or good deal on they immediately send me to these sites or sites like www.slickdeals.com, www.skoreit.com or www.Deals2buy.com.  Ok I think, I’ll play, millions of people are simply jumping on-line, finding the deal, printing the coupon or finding the site and saving money.  I tried this recently as puppy food was added to our grocery list.  Here is how my adventure went, I Googled “coupons for Science Diet puppy food”.  Found the site that promised coupons and “big savings”.  From that link I had to register my email address, download some kind of toolbar, and go to my email to activate the account, go back to the site and print the coupon.  The process took the better part of 20 minutes, but the coupon promised was several dollars in savings so it would be worth it until…I printed the coupon that was not for puppy food, it was for the lite version of Science Diet.  I have a puppy, not an old fat dog. UUUGGGHHH!

Although I agree with the preface that you can save money and have what you need when you need it,  I really don’t have the need to become an extreme coupon player.  But I would like to be able to just save a little money here or there.  I am open-minded enough to take suggestions, but I am not going to create a binder of coupons that I have to review and rotate based on expiration dates.

Can I join the coupon-using team?  I will settle for second-string…

All the
best,

KK

It’s Fall, go shopping – in your basement?

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Driving home this evening I glanced at the dashboard in my car only to learn that at 6:30 this evening it was only 56 degrees.  I turned up the heat in the car.  Guess my blood hasn’t thickened for cooler weather.  Anyway, I came home and decided to see what fall clothes I had stored.

When I pulled back the sheet that covers my rack in the basement, I was reacquainted with some of my favorites from last fall.  Adding them back into my closet and taking my summer wears out made me feel like I have new clothes to choose from.  I will feel like I have some new looks going on.  And by the time I want to buy new clothes, they will all be on SALE!!!

I do this with my purses too.  And if you ask my 9 year old son I don’t need any new purses, I have an abundance of purses.  But seriously, if I’m thinking about a new purse but either don’t have the funds or can’t find something I like, I go down to the basement where I store my purses and “shop”.   I can usually find an old favorite that I will carry for a while.   No, I’m not one of those women who changes purses every day.  Oh, and obviously I am not a slave to fashion changing my wardrobe every year.  But I do cull through to pull out aging items and add new pieces along the way.

If you are like me, you hate to see summer go.  It’s going.  Embrace and go find something “new” from last year to build back into your wardrobe. 

Let me know how it goes.

All the best,
KK

Hey moms, what do you do for you?

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Recently after a family dinner at my sisters we were sitting around the table talking.  My mother began to ask us (my sisters and I) how we managed our lives; full time work, kids, kid activities, housekeeping.  You have to understand that my mother is 73 years old.  She is from that generation of women who were raised to be homemakers.  They would get married and their “job” would be to raise the children and run the house – cooking, cleaning, and carpool.  You know the drill from reruns of Leave It To Beaver.  June Cleaver made running the vacuum in pearls look appealing.

Anyway, mom continued to ask questions to try and understand how we managed our time, children and home.  After reviewing a weekly schedule with her, she asked when we had time to clean.  My answer was that I find a chunk of time – a couple of hours that I can blow through my thousand square feet with a vacuum.  No, my house may not be ready for “the boss to come to dinner” every night, but we manage to keep from being on the haz-mat top ten list.  We keep it within an hour of being “company ready”.

It was clear in our conversation that each of us manages our time differently, but we all agree that we would rather spend our time with our kids and family than worry about buffing the kitchen floor.  Kids go to sleep, then we can clean out the closet or finish the dinner dishes.

The last question mom asked was “what do you do for your self?”  In unison my older sister and I said, “We soak”.  Most of the reading for fun I do in a day is done in the 20-30 minute soak in the tub.  It doesn’t matter what kind of day I’ve had, that soak can melt away most stressors.  I come out of the bathroom a new woman.  Even my son and husband know to not bother me while I soak.

My soak may or may not include bubbles and almost always includes a good book.  When bubbles are in order, usually it’s a soft citrus or peppermint scent.  If I really need my brain to disengage, I will put a little candle on the side of the tub and just be – low light, bubbles and a warm bath.

Mom’s today do have a full load.  Our day is as full and our priority is still the family.  The way we serve our families is just different then our mothers or grandmothers.

Tell me, what do you do for yourself?  At the end of a long day or week what is your “special thing”?  If you don’t have something that is all yours that helps you relax and re-center be encouraged to  find it or rediscover it.

Keep me posted…

KK