Cup of Coffee, Anyone?

My son, Steven, has somewhat struck out on his own with his infant daughter. He moved far away from home…across the street to the small house my mom used to live in. It is a great use of the house as he has a “convenience store” across the street, OUR house, which is VERY convenient because he has neither money nor car.
Thinking as an adult, Steven bought a used Kuerig coffee maker. Using those little coffee cups to make coffee can be quite expensive for someone who has limited money. He came over the other morning, and looked at me with his puppy dog, young adult trying to be grown up, eyes. He was out of coffee! Could I help? Sure! I had about 10 jars of instant Maxwell House coffee that I’d purchased for $2.50 at the local Walgreens. Each jar made a zillion cups of coffee. He looked at it quizzically; for his Kuerig? Sure! I handed him a little coffee holder for his device, and showed him how to put a spoonful of coffee granules in it. Off he went happy, none the wiser that he could have made the same cup of coffee with boiling water instead! Someday, when I have a lot of money to buy coffee, I will explain the difference to him. In the meantime, grown up Steven can have his cup of coffee in the morning without it breaking the bank!

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The Apple Tree: Raising 5 Kids With Disabilities and Remaining Sane
Authored by Linda Petersen
The link to the book:
https://www.createspace.com/5321986?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026

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Singing Do Wa Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy……..WHAT???????

Driving around with my daughter, Marie, is always spirited fun, especially during the nice weather. She loves to “listen” to the radio by feeling the vibrations from the speaker when she leans her leg against the door. Today, with the windows rolled down, we were bopping away, tapping our hands on the car door, and shaking our bodies in time to the music. The music was not generally my “type”, but in a way it was, because any music that brings me and Marie together is my kind of music, even if she did the choosing, (and she choose based on the sound of the base vibrations.)

As we were bopping along with the windows down, I became self-conscious of the booming vibrations coming from the car. We were having fun, so what! THEN I became shocked when I heard a word in the song that should not be spoken…a word I didn’t even know the ASL sign for. Previously not even listening to the words, I started to pay attention. There were many words not suitable for family listening, as well as words that are not socially acceptable. I was MORTIFIED! Here was this sweet little, ole mom and her teenage daughter listening to urban (VERY urban) rap!

Marie didn’t understand my quick channel change, and I did manage to find some tamer, not as exciting base vibrations for us to bop to. I explained that the song had “dirty” words in it and it wasn’t appropriate to listen to. Marie said she couldn’t hear the words, anyway, so what did it matter? Thinking of all of those cars stopped next to us at red lights and in traffic throughout the day, I shuddered!

So this is an apology to anyone who was driving near us and heard the booming, top level, uncensored urban rap blasting from my car. I didn’t meant to do it…REALLY!

******

The Apple Tree: Raising 5 Kids With Disabilities and Remaining Sane
Authored by Linda Petersen
The link to the book:
https://www.createspace.com/5321986?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026

Got My Hand Caught in the Cookie Jar

As a busy mom, improvising is a way of life.

Have YOU ever used:

Aluminum foil as a scrubber when your cast iron pan is real dirty?

A hair dryer to warm the bent frame of your glasses so you can bend it back into position?

Butter to remove your wedding ring? OR to put on chapped lips?

A plastic fork to substitute for a hair pick?

Eyeliner as a pen?

Socks as mittens?

A bathing suit bottom to substitute for underwear?

52 pieces of paper, with appropriate hand drawn markings, to replicate a deck of cards?

Guilty of all of above. My biggest new “substitution” happened the other evening. Being on an everlasting diet, I try not to keep chocolate and candy in the house. After a hectic day, an overwhelming chocolate craving overcame me. Frantically searching the house for one last piece of Easter candy, (or even a Halloween candy that had fallen behind the seat cushions,) my search came up empty. Desperate, I expanded my search, standing on a kitchen chair to look high into the cupboards. AND THERE IT WAS!!!! Hiding behind the flour and the spices sat the jar hubby proudly used to make chocolate covered strawberries. CHOCOLATE!!!! So there I sat, on the kitchen floor, sticking my finger into the jar of chocolate and licking it off with great satisfaction. Sometimes, you just have to improvise!