Jump On The Bandwagon And Choose Earthdays Over Birthdays

WOW!!! Have you noticed that is what most parents say when they realize their wee ones are having a birthday? We are faced with not only with our children having a birthday but that means we have another year to add to us. Of course us as parents have long since stopped having birthdays and don't like to be reminded of such nonsense. OK well, at least I have. Yes, my babies keep increasing their age by numbers but the older kids have jumped on my "ban-wagon" and stopped keeping track of how many years have flipped by. Let’s correct that I have just gotten some of wee ones to jump on now. Love my parental influence.

I have 5 babies that will be having birthdays this next month. I'm happy they are here to enjoy them but I think we should throw the age and birthday thing out the door. I have called my birthday my "Earthday" for years. I never have to think about my age until someone asks me and it always happens. How old are you? How old are your kids? You don't look old enough to have that many kids and you surely are not old enough to be a grandma, another word that I don't use. LOL I get asked this because I was blessed with looking young and acting even younger. Mostly because I refuse to grow up or grow; won’t use the other word.

I guess if society as a whole was not so stuck on the age thing and everything was not centered on having fewer wrinkles and being young I could handle it. I have had this age issue since I was 13. Yeap, when I turned 13 I decided to stop having the birthday thing and stopped telling people how old I was. Seriously at times I have forgotten. Of course until I have to flip out my drivers license or at my doctors office. Yes, here I'm sitting in the office and they announced my birthday to everyone and continued to do the same to everyone. I happened to be the youngest there and the most applaud or the one that has a big enough mouth to say something. Well, did they get a huge ear full from me. I even told them that I would refuse to go back if they kept this up. They have since stopped doing this. I thought it was just wrong. If I wanted everyone to know my freakin age I would plaster it to my shirt. NOT.

Even though I gotten many compliments it doesn't matter because at some point people start saying you’re too old for this and that. They attach age to everything even if age has nothing to do with what is going on with you or the situation.
When I first started having kids I got harassed because I was a baby having a baby by most standards. Then I got told I was too old to have a baby and how did I expect to carry my child's luggage to their dorm room, nothing like a slap in the face. I had years to go before I would even turn 4....well you know what I'm trying to say. On the other hand, many use age as an excuse not to do something. I can't go back to school, change jobs, have kids, move, etc. because I'm too old. Everyone is an age critic.


Don't get me wrong I'm thankful to be here because I'm not ready to be pushing up the daisies yet. But for us chronologically challenged people and for society as a whole I think the world would be a better place if we got rid of the age stigma. If people just looked at people for who they are and for the knowledge that they posses, instead of attaching an age to it. My personal step to becoming deliriously happy creating happy thoughts and free from age restrictions.

Calamity As An Inspiration...

What inspires you? There are many things that inspire me such as people, things, quotes, stories and calamities. Yep, calamities the situations that bring you down, slap you in the face and turn your life upside down. No, they haven't always inspired me and sometimes it is very hard to find the light in the calamity to inspire you. If you look hard enough you will find the light. It might be very small and not easily identifiable but it is there. What you do with this little light of inspiration will have in impact on the rest of your life.

The impact can be positive or negative, but as we all know negative only brings more negativity to your life. One of the hardest lessons that I have learned is to find the light in the calamity that has hit you in the face, but when you can turn it into a positive situation you will enrich your life with growth and strength. Doing this is no easy task and simply very painful at times, but it is your choice whether you want to live in the pain and let the pain suck the life out of you or do you want live and grow from the pain. You have only one life and spending in the dark levels of pain will only bring you down further and more negativity. Now that does not mean you can not have time every day to cry and feel down about the calamity that is slapping you in the face but only allow so much time every day to do this. Again, I know this is not easy but to survive in life this is one thing that everyone needs to learn how to do.

So the next time you have a calamity use it to inspire you. Find the light, and if you need help to find the inspiration find someone who is a good listener, nonjudgmental and who will not interfere. Remember to grow from this calamity and don't let it eat you. One more step to being deliriously happy.

Determination And Will Power Of A Baby

Everyday I watch this little girl go after everything she wants with unending determination and unyielding will power. It would drive most people nuts, insane, crying out for Calgon to take them away. This determination and will power is 24/7 for her. She never gives up....

First thing in the morning when she hits the floor, she is running around yelling babies, babies; that is what she calls the kittens. She runs as fast as her little feet can take her from one end of the couch to the other end. Give up, no way. She tries to cut them off at the end table and gets mad and cries for them because her plan to catch the kittens has failed and they escaped her trap. She gets stuck under the end table and cries help. She will do this non stop all day until we bring the dog in. Then the kittens get a break and then she cries baby again but this time it is for the dog. The dog seems to handle the baby torture. She is constantly hugged, kissed, poked, sat on and snuggled by the baby. Poor doggie. LOL!!
You ask is this the only time she acts like this, nope. When she wants something she will cry for hours until she gets it. No lie. When you wash her blankets and she sees, she will stand by the washer and dryer until the blanket is done and run back and forth to us crying for her blanket and wanting us to help her. She has this same behavior with everything she wants. You just have to laugh at her and try to redirect her which usually never works.

Silly child has this same determination about not wanting a diaper on. She wears one at night and for nap. She will take her diaper off so she does not pee in it. She will then pee in her bed. So every morning her bed is wet and her diaper is dry. She cries because she is wet. LOL!!

I applaud her determination and will power it makes me laugh. She is strong willed and never gives up. She has more determination then most people will ever have. Yes, I love it when it is her nap time and bed time. For that is the time I can have peace and quiet. She is a great baby. She does listen except when is has a baby brain freeze and is stuck on one subject then her will power and determination will kick in.

I'm working on having the same determination and will power she has. She is my baby "idol" lol.!! She is my inspiration with helping me accomplish my goals. One step closer to being deliriously happy which I'm.

A Mouse In The House

The last Friday night my daughter and I were working on our computers watching TV, when we both caught something from the corner of our eyes. It was a small gray varmint running in our family room. Immediately, we both stood on our couch and screamed with all our might. What do we do we asked each other. How do we get the mouse out of the house? My daughter thought of the hornet spay we just purchased. She asked if that would kill the mouse. I said I'm not sure but we can try. So armed with hornet spay in one hand and a broom in the other hand we began to hunt the mouse down from on top of the tables, stools, and couches.
First stop was the breakfast room where our screams scared the mouse and it ran under the hutch. We hosed everything down with hornet spay. I was on the table and somehow my daughter was brave and stood on the floor. The mouse ran by her into the dining room. She screamed and started to cry then froze in the door way unable to move. I was encouraging her with a yelling voice and a firm pat on the back that we needed to get in the dining room to get the mouse. We both hopped on top of the dining room table with one leap. Amazing we did not break any dishes. We amid our hornet spay and spayed every nook and corner in the room. The mouse was running from behind the high chair to under the hutch not knowing what to do and I'm sure was thinking what are those two weird chicks spraying at me. We were screaming like our screams would scare the mouse to death. The mouse managed to escape us, yet again. We are now back in the family room. I was on the stool and my daughter was on the love seat. We were moving our couch from the top of our perches the best we could. Screaming and now laughing and scared to death of a little mouse that we could stomp to death with our foot. I told my daughter good thing there are no elephants around. Oh wait, we are the elephants! LOL!! The mouse disappeared from behind the couch well, what do we do now? We both stated we could not sleep in a house that has a mouse. So we came off our perches and started our search for our uninvited guest. We were banging on the walls trying to scare the mouse so it would come out. We were hoping it didn't run downstairs or into the bedrooms. The little varmint was hiding behind large basket on the floor. It ran out desperately trying to get away from us into the laundry room. We both screamed and ran to the laundry room. Now we are both on stepping stools. I went and got a shovel to hit the mouse if it got close enough and I didn't freak out. Before I swung the shovel the first time, I had a brief moment of sanity. If I hit the mouse with the shovel I have a chance of breaking my ceramic tile. Not good so back to the brooms. The mouse ran from the one dryer to the washer back to another dryer. In the mouse’s attempts to find safety, Hornet spray was flying all over the laundry room. We were now getting braver ready to get the mouse with the brooms. We would have gotten it but when it came towards me I yelled or maybe both of us yelled and then it disappeared. We desperately looked for it but it was not to be seen again.
My daughter who is not a huge pet lover said, "That is it, we are getting cats." She went on Craigslist and found us two female kitties. By Sunday we had two new pets. The kids are thrilled. They are doing a good job with taking care of them. They will be house kitties providing my sons' allergies don't kick in.
Monday morning I started to clean the garage, the only place around the house that the varmint could hide and have fun in. I took back my garage from the way the X had it and made it mine. I found where the mouse had been living and the evidence of a snake who had visited. Snake skin was left behind. Yes, I did scream again. I had a fleeting thought that it would be nice to have a man to do all this nasty work but the more I did the stronger I felt. I was taking back my garage. From there lead to the sanding of the half bath walls that the boy toy said I needed just to take the dry wall down. I did it my way. I sanded the walls and it worked. Now I will have them ready to paint soon. Mind you these walls have been needed to be sanded for 2 years. I moved to my yard next. I cleaned the leaves and things behind the heat pumps where there was a snake earlier this year that I had to kill. I then continued with the rest of the yard. Using an axe (which I have never used before) and a hammer, I began chopping up and moving 8 big stomps full of gross nasty bugs, beetles, and slugs. I was taking my yard back to help get keep the pest away.
The mouse gave me strength and motivation to do things that I have never done before. I have gotten so much done because of this mouse visiting my house. I guess I should have thanked him instead of chasing him around with hornet spray and a broom. So little mouse where ever you may be here or in the other world thank you for the strength and motivation that you gave me so I could take more of my life back and for making me stronger. I will still chase you and you will lose. Don't take personally but I will never like mice or rodents of any kind so please don't visit again. One more step to becoming deliriously happy is being strong and taking back your life.

Embracing The Differences In People

We all have noticed people that are different from the norm of what society thinks is normal. Are they trying to make a statement or are they free and comfortable with being themselves? Some people are quick to judge and immediately think that they are not worthy of being friends with them or acquaintances of them. They ridicule and criticize the person who dares to be themselves which is different from the norm. They just shut the door to acceptance and growth. How sad is that.When personally I think they should be embracing the friendship, acquaintance, and growth of your life from the person who dares to be different. You could have a great friend.

When I'm talking different, I'm talking about people who might have tattoo's, piercing, multicolored hair, chains, dress differently, have different views, different ways of life. Kinda like the hippies from the 60's.

Most people I find that dare to be themselves no matter what society thinks are usually very intelligent people who have great views and love for life. They have a sense of freedom that most people don't have. They do not try to keep up the "Jones" instead they usually are great lovers of life, knowledge and the environment. They think out of the box and have different ways of looking at things. Now this doesn't mean that all different people think that way but most that I have came across are like this. They are usually warm and generous people and are very accepting.

You ask how I know about being different from the norm. Well, I have tatoos and 14 holes in my ears. When my hair is down and my tatoos are covered I'm treated one way but when people see the tatoos and ear piercing they immediately treat me different. I'm not talking about the people who know I have them. I''m talking about strangers. They don't try to get to know me. The door is shut. How sad because they would find out that I'm a loving mom, with a positive attitude, have an online business, have a dual degree one in Nursing and another one in Child Development and I go to church. No different from the person that follows the norm. I just love myself and embrace my differences. I strive to be myself and love who I am. To me being your true self and following your path and not someone else's path is one the greatest steps you can take to becoming deliriously happy and bursting with joy.

So the next time you come accross a person who dares to be themselves don't critize instead leave the door open and find out who they are, you might find a good friend who enriches your life. ~Ann Marie anessa.me