Archive for July, 2010

I needed a break – a break from being mom. As much as I adore them, I needed to be Tina and Tina only – not “moooooooooom” or “mommy”.

We’ve had these concert tickets for several months now – we were going out with friends. We’d planned the whole evening. I was very much looking forward to it – I just needed a break. A break from the stresses of life.

We’re tailgating at the concert – I was really enjoying myself. My dad sends me a text message – “call me”. He wants me to come home soon – home meaning where I grew up. My 60 year old mother is in the hospital – in congestive heart failure. He wants me to see my mom before it’s too late. He doesn’t want to have to call me to tell me she’s gone. I don’t want that either.

I’m 36 years old – married with 3 small children. How do I put “my life” on hold to be only my mother’s daughter again? How do I not bang my fists on tables and yell at doctors who should have taken care of this YEARS AGO? How do I keep my heart from breaking when I walk into a hospital room to see a woman I barely recognize – a woman far too young to have to deal with this.

My babies and my wonderful husband are sleeping soundly right now – I lie here awake. I lie here with my heart heavier than I’ve felt it in a long time. I’m stuck – I truly don’t know what to do. Someone please tell me what to do.

I’m on a mission – I’m on a mission to get rid of half of everything we own. This house contains enough to furnish ANOTHER house/apartment and clothe another family. That’s a bit much. There are constant piles of dirty laundry in my house. I can never get through it fast enough, so I’ve stopped trying. I don’t like that – my husband doesn’t like that. My well being doesn’t like it either. My goal is to get us back to the basics. I want to be able to keep my house clean AND tidy and have my laundry caught up, so I can spend more time playing with my family and doing things for ME. I’ve filled 2 huge boxes with kitchenware and shoes/clothes. I anticipate filling at least 10 more boxes. I can’t wait.

My aunt passed away in April – my only aunt. We weren’t close. There were many issues and I tried hard to get past them. But, years of habitual lying will break down a relationship. The lying broke down MANY relationships between my aunt and other family members. I’m sad for my mom (her only sibling), my cousins and my grandmother. I pray she’s in a better place.

My mom has recently been evaluated for a heart transplant. She spent almost a month in hospitals – some time was spent with small town doctors not having a clue how to treat her and some time was spent in the 9th best hospital in the country with amazing doctors treating her. I’m 10 hours away from my mom (by car), so my sister is having to deal with the majority of the stress involved. I sometimes feel like I’m being punished for living so far away. I also feel like my husband gets punished for it, which is not fair AT ALL. We, as a family, chose to live here. When I need to be there, I’m there. I hate guilt – especially when it’s adults who are throwing it around.

My oldest son Will played baseball in the spring – he was amazing and had loads of fun.

We spent MANY days at the baseball field watching him play – I love seeing him doing something he loves. He also made the league’s all star team.

We also did our obligatory trip back to see family for the summer. We had a mostly enjoyable time. I won’t go any further than that. We always call it a “vacation” – mostly because my husband is getting paid for it. But, based on the true definition of the word vacation, it’s the exact opposite……

So, as you can see, we’ve been really busy. Some good, some not so good. I guess that’s called life!

Glue Dots are a Godsend to scrapbookers. Well, at least they are to me. So, when I got the chance to review some Glue Dots products, I was giddy!

I’m a mom of 3 boys, so I rarely get to do any girly scrapbooking projects. But, I do have a niece, so I jumped at the chance to make something for her!

The Mini Glue Dots are my favorite – they are PERFECT for use with small embellishments when regular adhesive just won’t work.

I used the Mini Glue Dots on the pink bow and the small button on this page. I love that Glue Dots makes small dots to use on things like buttons and bows – they’re clear and hide well on projects, but they still provide great “stickiness”!

I love the bigger Glue Dots for photo mats. I love the dispenser, too – the dots come off the paper very easily. LOVE them!

Check out the Facebook Fan Page for Glue Dots – Facebook Fan Page You’re sure to find lots of great info.

**I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Glue Dots blogging contest to be eligible to receive a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click HERE**