Grandma's Cry Too

I think I have heard said, and even said it my self that being a grandparent is the greatest.  And in general that is a true statement.  I hope if my older granddaughters read this they don't get all funky and get mad or worse yet just blow me off as being an old lady.

Now I spent many a hours crying and being on my knees praying for my daughter when she was a teen.  A little rebel she was.  It is different when you have grown grandkids.  You love them to bits and you pray for them but you sit on the outside and have so very little influence in their lives.  One minute you want to hug them and lavish them with anything they want and the next minute you want to shake the living daylights out of them and tell them to "Ask me".  Now that is something that a grandma, at least this grandma, rarely hears.  It hurts when I see them doing things that are destructive.  They don't see it.  They think that they are all grown up and they have all the answers.  The fact is they don't.  Yes times have changed, but their parents and we as grandparents have walked that road before, and have made similar mistakes and would so much like to help them avoid them.  There are a few that do heed parents/grandparents advice but there are so very many more that choose to believe that they have all the answers.

Yes Grandma's do cry.  And sometimes all the comfort in the world that people offer

just cant stop that ache in your heart for your grandkids, and you just have to cry until it is all out.

A Glass of Water

A young lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience with a raised glass of water. Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'half empty or half full?'...


She fooled them all ... "How heavy is this glass of water?" she inquired with a smile.

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. To 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter.

It depends on how long I hold it.

If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.

If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.

If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.

In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

She continued, "and that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced. So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night. Pick them up tomorrow."

Brain Freeze

I thought this information helpful about the dreaded Brain Freeze.  Maybe it will help you too

So what causes ice cream headaches in the first place? It has to do with the nerve receptors above the roof of your mouth. When you take a bite of ice cream, some of it touches the top of your mouth, otherwise known as the hard palate. That in turn triggers the nerves above the palate to cool down — and quick. The nerves send an emergency message to the brain that it’s about to get cold up there, and the blood vessels in the brain constrict to accommodate. When the warm blood rushes through the blood vessels again — presto! You get a searing headache similar to a migraine. Ouch! But don’t worry though, this kind of headache does not signify a serious problem.



So what to do? Well if your ice cream headache has already started, chances are it’ll be over quickly. To speed things up a bit, you can touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth and hold it there, warming up your palate and calming down the brain’s reaction.


To keep yourself from getting the freeze in the first place, try eating cold foods slower than usual and keep that ice cream away from the roof of your mouth if you can. Seem impossible? It’s not: I tried it to research its efficacy for this article, and not only is it possible; it works. (That’s right, I gave myself a brain freeze for this article. That’s how dedicated I am. As dedicated as Matt Damon gaining 40 pounds for a role.)
By Chanie Kirschner, Mother Nature Network

Fathers Day

On the way to work this morning, they were talking about memories of your father.  It made me think of my Dad.  My Dad passed away in October of 1972.  A better man I don't think could be found.  He was such a wonderfully kind person and a hard worker.  I loved my Dad so very very much.  When he passed away, I was REALLY mad at God for a very long time.  I was only 26 years old.  I needed my Dad longer then that.  My Dad came from Sweden when he was 25.  He had contracted polio and it left him with a slight bent back that got worse as he aged.  I never noticed it.  Friends would ask me what was wrong with my Dad and I would say "What do you mean?".  After all these years, I still miss him and look forward to the day when I will see him in Heaven.

But a couple of memories that came back to me of my Dad was when I joined 4-H.  We were required to bake bread.  The first time I made it, it turned out sooo bad that not even our dog would take a bit of it, and Sparky ate everything.  But my Daddy, took a slice of that bread and said it was VERY good.  The rest of the family made fun of it, but Daddy assured me that they didn't know what they were talking about (really I knew that they knew what they were talking about and Daddy was just being very kind).

Another time that came back to me was when I was pregnant with my son.  He was about a month over due (don't think that would happen in this day and age) and I didn't know how worried my Dad was about me.  But when I called to tell them that they had another grandson, Daddy cried.  He was so relieved that I was OK and that the baby was OK.  That really touched my heart. 

I was so blessed to have the Dad I had.  Thank you God.

A Gilbert Moteberg Jr. family reunion - impromptu

I made it, so did Jim (poor fellow, I have to give him kudos for putting up with us all).  It started Thursday night when my daughter Tonja and family arrived from WI.  I sure don't get to see them enough.  Time goes so fast.  The big girls now almost 20 and 21 and the the soon to be 11 and 9 year old.  Where did the time go?  Friday Eric and Kim and his family , children girl soon to be 12 and 2 boys ages 8 and 2 arrived .  Except for Sat night when Eric and Kim and little guy went home, we all pretty much hung out here at our house until Monday night.  Now mind you that is 12 people in a 3 bedroom house, which really has only 2 bedrooms on the main floor because hubby #2 decided he needed a room for himself.  (How come I don't have one??)   So there were bodies all over the place.  But all in all we had a good time.  Some went shopping, some played outdoor games, and the little ones went roller blading and scootering, and some indoor games (which with the make up of my descendants can get a bit firey at a time).  I told them it is just a game,, who cares who wins.  But they tell me it is in their blood to win at everything.  But a game??? come on..  Oh well, they are who they are and I love them all.

AND alot of eating was done so that meant lots of cooking was done.  Lasagna Friday night, Saturday night Swiss steak and all the fixings, Sunday night it was grilling brats, wieners and hamburgers, and Monday night Tonja cooked and she made stir fry and pot stickers.  All so yummy.  Even tho I did alot of the cooking, Tonja helped a heap too.  Kim also helped with the clean up.  So it wasn't so bad. 

I hijacked this picture from Kim as I rarely got my camera out this weekend.  Cutie Patooties, aren't they?  See that impish grin in Dewey's (the little one) face... he is every bit the little imp it shows.  Smart as a whip and he can get around way faster then any of us adults.  

Anyway, I have today off (Wed) and I was all set to do laundry and get some other stuff in order in the house and I got the first load done and put it in the dryer, and NOTHING.  It wont start.  But I pay monthly for Home Service Plus through our gas company and the dryer, furnace, fridge, washer and a/c are covered.  It pays for itself.  So glad I have it.

So I guess I will go and get the kitchen back to pre-impromptu reunion status.

Thanks for reading my ramblings

Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with me

I happen to have the best daughter in the world.  And today I made her cry because I am the biggest JERK in the world.  Sometimes, I dont deserve to live!!!!

I Agree With This Statement

I think Congressmen should wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers so we could identify their corporate sponsors.

A Mish-Mash post

Last Sunday Eric and the family were out.  I took this picture of my boy with his boys.  I thought it cute and wanted to share it!!  Which one of his boys do you think looks more like him?

 I posted another shot of these peonies on Facebook.  But I liked this shot so thought I would share it here.  (Like there are so many readers here (^_^))  The peonies on the south side of the house always bloom early as they like that warmth coming off the house both in the soil and the air.

AND today, I made yet another rhubarb strawberry pie.  Last year I must have made at least 4 of them that were failures.  This one looks good coming out of the oven, don't you think?  Well in a bit we are going to try it and I will let you know if it was a success or another failure.  This is Jim's favorite pie and I so want to be able to make a good one for him.  I am a good cook and baker, I don't know what my problem is lately.  you wouldn't know it by reading this blog huh?

In Memory

The Saturday before Memorial Day Jim and I drove out to Ft Snelling Cemetary where Gil is burried.  It seems impossible that it is 9 years that he has been gone.  Still miss him much.

 These following pictures are just pictures I took of the cemetary.  They keep it up so very well, and of course for Memorial Day they had all the flags out in full force. 

Rest is peace Gil.

I like the wisdom of Abe

"You cannot help the poor

by destroying the rich.

You cannot strengthen the weak

by weakening the strong.

You cannot bring about prosperity

by discouraging thrift.

You cannot lift the wage earner up

by pulling the wage payer down.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man

by inciting class hatred.

You cannot build character and courage

by taking away people's initiative and independence.

You cannot help people permanently

by doing for them, what they could and

should do for themselves."

Abraham Lincoln