Forget About Throw Back Thursday

THIS IS FRESH and it's...

ALL ABOUT GRANDMAS!!!!

What is your favorite day of the week?  I bet most of you probably answered Saturday or Sunday with maybe a few Fridays mixed in for fun.  Not me, or my family, our favorite day is Thursday because it is Grandma Day*.   This post is dedicated in honor of Grandmas all over this globe. Grandmas are certainly one of the most important individuals in the whole entire world!  FOR REALS.  Grandmas really do know best!

*Grandma Day was founded by my mother-in-law, Karla when her first grand baby (Haleigh Jane) was born. On that day, she declared Thursday to be Grandma Day.  I think this is so cool she dedicates an entire day of the week just to spend time with her grandkids.  Over the years it has evolved.  At first she was snuggling babies and changing diapers, then she had to keep them safe through the toddler years and introduce them to play doh and now she is picking kids up from school or practice and overseeing homework.  One constant remains: Grandma Day is sacred in our family.  If Karla is in the state of Michigan, on a Thursday, she can be found happily playing among her tribe of Grand kids.  

First of all, I wanted to share this from one of my most favorite writers, Jenny Lawson.  Jenny fringes on the edge of unacceptable dark and somewhat offensive humor, but still I love her for who she is:  Someone brave enough to talk about her very personal mental health struggles, openly, honestly and without apologizing.  She really should be the spokesperson for Mental Health Alliance, she is that good (and funny).  And while she isn't religious by the typical standards of modern organized religion, I still think she is in her own way because she helps other people overcome adversity. She lifts up those less fortunate, gives voice to vulnerable, often ignored, forgotten or devalued people who struggle with mental health issues and the best part is, she is sincere, honest and oh so funny while she does this.  If you want to check out her writing, unlike me, she is famous and her blog is The Blogess Jenny also has a super cool Grandma who offers solid advice like this...

So don't be shitty about some stupid bullshit! 

I feel badly that some people never get to experience Grandma time. It makes me extremely sad. It is a true travesty. Or tragedy. Or both.  It just plain stinks.  As for my kids, they won the Grandma lottery! BIG TIME... TWICE. They are extremely blessed with not only one, but two, wonderful grandmas and a bunch of amazing great grandmas to boot!  

Our kids have Grandma Karla who is willing to take them anywhere, do anything with them and knows everything there is to know about fashion and travel.   She is also organized, detail-oriented and no nonsense about all things always.   Time with her is efficient, structured and yet fun because she insists everyone has a good time.  They are learning about fashion, planning and other important organizational skills from her. Skills I would NEVER be able to teach them because I don't have any of those particular skills.  Karla

And they have Grandma Neva (Grandma Smith as she prefers to be called) who is eternally patient, knows a lot about childhood development, is hard working, down-to-earth and exposes them to all things natural: farming, canning, gardening and other various outdoor activities to name just a few.  She likes to teach them about responsibility, making good decisions and being generally decent human beings; and the best part is she does so in a sneaky way; the kids don't even realize they are in manners school. It really is amazing. She teaches them that sometimes staying home for the day can be every bit as fun as going to the amusement park, if you just use your imagination, keep a positive attitude and for the love of God be nice to each other!  Grandma Smith

See what I mean?! They totally won the Grandma lottery!  TWICE.

Yes, I think grandmothers are extremely special people. They give kids extra love, hope, confidence and one-on-one attention that parents are often unable to provide (or even if parents are providing it Grandmas do it better).  And they are such important members of our family.  I hate to even consider a world where our kids didn't have the grandmas they have; because they would be lonelier, the world would be scarier and I would certainly be a whole lot crazier.  

     

And let's be honest when Grandma is involved this is how it tends to go.  Grandma is after all the Supreme Court of the modern day family unit.

Many days I feel like this...

And in those moments, I am so very thankful for Grandmas (and my mom) and Grandpas (and the rest of our damn extended family) because people it really does take a village to raise these kids! And while Thursdays are all about Grandma Karla, my mom serves in more of an ongoing support roll.  She bravely stands by, always on-call, awaiting emergencies like this...

Happy Grandma Day and God Bless!!!

  Vern Out

Strange but true occurences

Strange things seem to be the norm for me.  Yes, strange things happen. All. The. Time.  I am often left saying, both in my head and sometimes right out loud, "what the heck is going on?!" or... "How is this even possible?!" or... "WTF?!"  You get the idea.  I am often baffled and confused at the extremely strange happenings in my world!

Here are a few cases that illustrate this concept:

Frisbee Overload
This very morning, I was carrying an overflowing FRISBEE full of leftover food scraps-in various stages of decomposition- to our little flock of chickens in their cute little red chicken hut all while in a dress and mud boots. Oh and best of all, this happened as the bus pulled up to fetch our kids for a day of school.  Our bus driver must really think I am crazy!

Stalked by Chickens
Another day earlier this summer our dwindling flock of chickens STALKED me down the road while I was dressed in my nicest business suit prepared for an important work meeting! You see, I decided to walk to the corner to hop in with my boss for the occasion. I figured exercise is never a bad thing. NEVER. And it would save us a couple of minutes and my boss a mile's worth of gasoline.  So all dressed up in full corporate attire, I hit the road and our chickens all followed right along behind me.   If only I had video of this occasion, I probably would've won AFV and I would be packing my bags for Disney right now!  At least the bus driver did not drive by that morning!  I suspect I felt a bit like this poor kid!  Hunted by chickens!Yikes

Tay Tay has been abducted!
This one isn't so much strange as it is MADDENING.  My Taylor Swift CD is missing. It's gone. And I am pissed. It is the one that I had been using as motivation for keeping the house cleaned.  I won't stand for such obvious acts of defiance and housecleaning destruction.  This is clearly a case of sabotage regarding my new cleaning system. I no sooner publicly declare the new Taylor Swift housecleaning technique somewhat successful and now someone is trying to keep me from cleaning our house.  It's preposterous, enraging, and down-right-mean and worst of all right before the holidays.  Heartless thief.  I won't stop until I get to the bottom of this.  Fire up the Mystery van, Scooby, we have a big mystery to solve!

Cooking ordeal:
Oh and equally maddening as my missing Taylor music, I burned the quinoa.... Again... 

The pan may not fully recover from this incident which really makes me sad because this is my favorite sauce pan, Shirley.  Shirley has been with us since we got hitched so she has sentimental value and is a pretty green color that I so love.  Oh and most importantly she cooks quinoa like none other, unless I go to hang a load of laundry on the line and my children fail to notify me that the timer is beeping and I burn the quinoa beyond recognition.  Then Shirley doesn't work out so great for me, or for her I suppose.  After all having quinoa scorched and stuck to your sides probably doesn't feel very good.  She is in the burn unit, if you'd like to send her a Get Well card I will pass it along next time I go for a visit.  Usually Shirley makes light, fluffy delicious, darn-near-perfect quinoa, I guess it goes to show that you should not leave your children in charge of cooking quinoa!?*;

I guess I can best sum this story up by saying, "Weirdness follows me like our flock of chickens!"

Vern Out

Feeling Irma Bombeckish

Yes Bombeckish is a word because I made it up and because I am one of Irma's biggest fans!  I do feel a certain presence of hers lately what with my ever growing lost sock bin and my use of multiple crock pots I am basically the modern day Irma this week.  Anyhow... 

Before 8am yesterday I had already:

• successfully sewn two knees on some of my son's pants
• glued a barbie head back on to Hazel's favorite doll (thus saving her world)
• fed my kids waffles for breakfast (and not eggos, but real ones that start with flour and eggs)
• packed three semi-nutritional lunches for my trio
• signed all school forms required for the day
• safely delivered three kids to the bus stop
• hung a load of laundry on the line

Yes I feel like I may reach domestic domination someday yet...

However, I still have:

• a son who went to school in pants that have a ripped knee and paint stains on them 
• a house that is messy 
• a level of disorder within that messy house that is quite appalling
• a mudroom that "smells funny" according to my hubby
• leftover, leftover, soup with outdated dinner rolls to feed the fam

On a more humorous note (although I actually never go on Pinterest) ain't nobody got time for that:

and to be honest most days I don't even shower...I call it a water conservation initiative and/or training for Haiti, but I might possibly have personal hygiene issues.

PS my older sister would call the dinner rolls "aged" to make them sound fancy and better, but the reality is they are outdated by two days.

Praise be to God.  We are alive and healthy.

That is all
Vern out

Udder Chaos

So one of my dearest friend from high school, her family has a dairy company called Udder Chaos. I love the name it is so very clever so I totally stole it for this post! The Company Udder Chaos produces and hauls milk in slick 18 wheelers across the greater West Michigan area.  This one is dedicated to the Beechams.  Love you all like family.  

Chaos is essentially my lifestyle.  I tend to hop from one ridiculous thing to the next without missing a beat.  I lack planning and organization skills and do better with a loose schedule that can change at the drop of a hat.  My house is almost always a wreck and my car is a nightmare all its own.  I lose things often.  And the worst part about  this lifestyle is that I mostly don't care.  I just don't.  I do try to improve, but I certainly mostly don't lose sleep over it.  But then every once in awhile it catches up with me, or someone's offhand comment about my personality get stuck in my head and I beat myself up about it. And I wish I could be more Type A personality. More orderly. Less spontaneous. Less Type (C)haos personality.  Why can't I just make a damn schedule and stick to it?  Or why can't I just become more like my organized friends with planners and strict schedules and processes and procedures?  And why, oh why, is remembering stuff so difficult for me?  When I beat myself up long enough, I almost always end up borderline depressed and feeling badly about myself.  It can get ugly, but I will spare you the details. Other times, I am able to just embrace it.  I own it.  I declare I am mostly disorganized, Type C personality and it is part of who I am and therefore I accept it.  For the most part, life goes better when I take the second approach and focus on the positives to my lifestyle.

Positives of being Type C(haos) Personality Individual

I am spontaneous and willing to take risks.  This means I don't miss out on opportunities that come up unexpectedly merely because I had something else planned, or I am too afraid to try something new.

By owning my mistakes and imperfections publicly, I help others to feel better and free them to do the same. This is liberating people,  if you find yourself exhausted from constantly trying to be perfect please try this one, if even just for a day.  Just say I am imperfect and that is okay and own it.

As a result of my personality disorder, I am adaptive and evolve with situations while maintaining a positive attitude in most all situations. A lot of people struggle with change. I am married to one of them and you know what? Life is change;  how you deal with change, makes a HUGE difference on your outlook on life and I for one am glad that I deal with change well.  It's a big part of who I am.

Epiphany of the week alert:  Caution this gets deeper than the deepest Michigan pothole....And pothole season is just around the corner too!

 I have recently come to realize that I am a master of nothing and the idiot of most everything else.   But what I have also discovered is this: I am really good at people.  I can people all the live long day.

Peopling, as defined by Vern's Dictionary, is a verb used to describe interacting with other humans in a positive way while taking the time to get to know individuals; their talents, their motivating factors, personal needs and passions and then using this knowledge to help them to reach their greatest potential.

Connecting with people comes very naturally to me.  It always has.  I can almost always find the right person for any job. When I worked in animals shelters, I often found just the right person or family for a dog or a cat in need of a new home and I could consistently select the right staff member for the current task at hand. Even if an undesirable task that is tough to sell comes along, I find the right willing person to do it and do it well!  I have found many successful hires for many different jobs over the years.  And it doesn't stop there. I do thoughtful things for my employees, friends and family members consistently to let them know their efforts, talents and uniqueness don't go  unnoticed.  These are all examples of successful peopling.  I can people.  And that my friends is a gift. A very special gift.


Now I leave you with this powerful message....


Friends, every once in awhile it is good to follow your heart, even if it means you find yourself running to the neighbors house down the middle of a country road wearing nothing but a smile and your swimsuit (that is a true story thanks Miranda and Christy for that memory)!  It is good for your soul to do so.  In fact, Dr. Vern prescribes you to be slightly foolish and follow your heart by doing something that makes no sense logically, but that will make your heart happy.  Do it today too, tomorrow is not promised.

Things that make my heart and brain go crazy are when my kids do things like this:

Despite my Type C personality, constantly messy kid's rooms still drive me nuts! Nuts! NUTS! Out of this world NUTS.

The end...

Vern Out

Wonderful Wanda

So here's the thing about life.  It can totally sneak up on you if you're not careful.  You can get really busy with all kinds of good things, really good things and before you know it you are married with a slew of kids and a bunch of animals and they all rely on you every single day. To care for them. To provide for them. To clean them up when they get dirty.  And to fix them, when they get broken.  It is exhausting just thinking about it.  Life. Sneaky, Sneaky Life.

Anyhow, these hubbies, animals and children also need you to provide clean clothing and so enters Wanda the Washing Machine. Now Wanda has been an okay performer for the past three years. She is average. Just average. Since we moved into our new house on New Years Day 2012, I would say conservatively she has on average washed 2 loads of laundry daily. And our laundry isn't subdivision laundry either where it is worn, but not really dirty.  Our loads are country folk laundry and it is down right disgusting most days. So life has not been easy for Wanda. I can admit that.   It has been a constant struggle barely keeping her head above the constantly rising sudsy, dirty, laundry water.  Yes Life totally snuck up on her and now here she is all washed up and DEAD three years later.  Yes Wanda died.  She's dead. Gone.  Forever. And only three years old.  She is off to the appliance cemetery that is a landfill or metal recycling plant I am uncertain which one.  It matters not, she is gone and we await a new washer.

On the positive side, at least I get to name a new appliance!  But still I am mostly pissed because since when do washing machines last only three frickin' years!?  And Samsung kindly explained that they are only manufactured to last between 3-5 years nowdays which is why their warranty only last a year! What!?  Where are us humans going to live when all these old appliances take over all the space and available land?  It will be a real appliance revolution and I predict in about twenty years we may all have to take up residence in a dump, or home made of recycled appliances...

Wanda's Portrait January 1, 2012.

I can't share a post mortem photo because I will not allow the years of abuse to be broadcast to the entire free world.  That would be disrespectful and preposterous for Wanda.  Plus our laundry room is a filthy mess which for different reasons would be equally embarrassing to share.

I will leave you with this short eulogy.

Wonderful Wanda 

Not a day shall pass
That we shan't miss your ass

Already we've had to drag laundry across fields
(to grandmas) in order to have clean clothes yields

Everyday you washed our clothes real well
Even though they looked as though they'd been through hell

Until we meet again
Up in appliance heaven

We hope that you'll find peace
And finally be free of poop from the geese

We would've fixed you
but it was too expensive to do

RIP Wanda 2012-1015 Three years of faithful service.

PS Samsung is the worst Appliance Company I have ever dealt with so please FOR THE LOVE of GOD and ALL THAT IS GOOD AND PURE IN THIS WORLD do not buy a washing machine (or any other appliance) from that company.

That is all.

Vern Out

Haiti or Bust!

So What do Alex Trebek, hydrocephalus and Haiti have to do with each other!?

Absolutely Nothing. There is no punch line either. This is not a joke cleverly written by me.  However, the news I am about to share does somewhat loosely connect the three seemingly unrelated things.

 As for the Haiti bit... well I am actually going to Haiti in January 2016!!!  Now if you have a terrible memory, like me,  you may not recall my post from some months back when this little dream began.  The original post is from February so if you have no idea what Haiti Dream means read this link.

This is where Alex Trebek joins the story because you need to insert the
Jeopardy theme song here for special effects...and Alex Trebek onlooking...

Mug shot of Alex Trebek

A little assistance with that one in case you have no idea who Alex is!  But shame on you if you do not know of him. He is kind of a big deal.

Okay all caught up!?  So I am going!  I am going on my crazy, Haiti, God, Deny and a bunch of orphans and me trip.  I can’t wait to see what I learn and how I grow while I am gone.  Most importantly, I can't wait to see what good God will be able to do with my time spent there.  It is so exciting, scary, mind-blowing and kind of crazy. But this is really happening. The plane ticket was purchased.  I even have a packing list people!  And a "what to do when you land in Haiti" letter too. I have one of those too! WOW just WOW!

Prayers Please
Oh but I need your help.  I need lots and lots of help with this dream of ours.  Mostly I  need lots of prayer power so please pray for me, this unorganized, slightly crazy, lady chasing her dream, to handle the pressure of traveling to and from Haiti unaccompanied. Pray for safety of everyone involved with the trip and at God's Littlest Angels the orphanage that will be home to me for eleven glorious days.  Pray for God's Littlest Angels everyday because finances are tight and children in need are many.  Pray for Jeff, Kara, Aven, Hazel and the rest of my family left stateside while I am off doing what I can only explain as God’s will.  Please Pray.  It is the most important way you can help me.

Others ways to help

Now of course, chasing my God inspired plan that requires a trip to Haiti isn’t cheap either so if you wish to offer financial assistance that is cool too, but no pressure.  It is going to cost me about $1600.  If you would like to help with the costs of me staying in Haiti, you can support me by sending a check written to God’s Littlest Angels to me and I will send them in to the orphanage to be credited toward my expenses prior to my January 7,  2016 departure.  If you would like to help support the cost of my airline ticket, then a donation directly to me would be most appreciated.  I had to buy that large item myself.  If I pay for the entire cost of chasing this dream down, I am okay with that.  But I know some people want to help and I have learned that help is never a bad thing.  Never.  I am not asking anyone to cutback from their Christmas Funds or live without what they need, but if everyone I know sends me just $5 it will fund most of the trip... and I will remain happily married while I am at it and get to prove to Jeff that God does do amazing things when you follow His lead:)

Oh and then I plan to take my luggage full of stuff for the kids so if you prefer to help with goodies that is another option.  I am a minimalist and I have less than stellar personal hygiene practices so I will not be packing much for myself.  My luggage will be all about the KIDS.  I want to bring stuff that they can use at the orphanage.  Watch future posts for a complete list of needed items, but I know gently used sandals are in need.  It is always HOT there the expression "hotter than Haiti" didn't come from nowhere. They come by that reputation honestly.  

Deny is the inspiration for this trip! 

Here is where the hydrocephalus comes into the story.  As most of you know, I developed hydrocephalus in 2007.  To say it left a mark on my heart would be a vast understatement. The diagnosis changed my life forever.  Deny, he was Born in Haiti with hydrocephalus to a poor farming family.  His parents abandoned him at a hospital as a baby because they knew they could not care for his medical needs. He was transferred to God's Littlest Angels at the age of five and is now slated for adoption. Our family has been sponsoring Deny for the past year and will continue to do so until he reaches his forever home!   I can't wait to celebrate his 10th birthday with him... unless he is already with his adopted family by then in which case I will still celebrate it still, but it will be less festive and I will possibly cry tears of both joy (that he is home) and sadness (that I didn't get to meet him in person).

I don’t know what else to say other than this has been a long time in the making (like years).  Many of you know me and you know I don't mostly do the traditional, churchy, standard Christian practices things all that well,  I just don't.  I tend to find God in the most unlikely places-- like port-a-johns, hospital beds, out in nature and I suspect in Haitian orphanages.  In these moments, I feel His presence greatly (not that I never feel it at church. it is just less often for me).  I honestly feel God has been preparing me for this very journey for YEARS and YEARS and YEARS.  Praise Him for His great insight and planning skills because I certainly have very little.  Those of you who have traveled with me know that this is not my strong suit... planning ahead, packing, being prepared, traveling unsupervised, but I am trusting that this is where I need to go and what I need to be doing for His greater plan.

I found this and it really resonates with me given my track record with church, religion and God.

Please pray for this trip to be a wonderful learning experience and for great impact to be had and good to be done while I am there at God's Littles Angels.  Most importantly, pray for me to not get lost and end up homeless (or worse) in Haiti. And for all of us to move a little closer to Jesus.

Vern Out

ON a completely unrelated note

On a completely unrelated note because let's face it that is how I roll, IF I ever write my book, which I swear someday I actually will, these are a handful of the chapters I have planned!  It is like my own little book preview!

CHECK IT OUT!

• What happened to my yellow vacation request slips?
• A bacon lover stuck in a sausage lover family?
• My knight in a shiny egg shaped car
• Die TV (and other stupid electronic gadgets) DIE
• Split personalities and other psychotic episodes!
• Freedom tastes a lot like guacamole
• Portajohns, toilets and everywhere in between!
• Life lessons: how to survive motherhood!
• This is not kid friendly, but it will make you laugh
• The Appliance Alliance and other heroic stories of household victory 
• Snowstaches, mud boots and nature all rock
• A guide to basic woman logic: a gift to husbands around the globe

So Whatcha think?!?  And more importantly, who will buy a signed copy and stop by to visit me when I am out doing my tour across America!?

PS my book will probably have a similar dedication to this guy's masterpiece 

you know only with my family's names inserted in place of his because otherwise it would be weird. And it is going to be more like six years earlier for me assuming I get off my ass and write this book in the next two years!

Vern Out