A lot of our life didn’t change, even with a worldwide pandemic. Last spring I was babysitting our 3 Foster grandsons 3-4 days a week, I was going to church to record online Kid’s Church so I was seeing my friends at church. We live in Florida so we only had about 2 months of shutdowns then life opened back up. My schedule had changed around but my activities hadn’t changed much.

I taught piano via Zoom for the last 6 weeks of the school year, please don’t make me ever do that again. Ron’s business is down 85% which has been difficult. The bulk of his business is repairing band and orchestra instruments for the school system. Kids were out of school for the 4th quarter of last year and this school year they aren’t using the school owned instruments so he has nothing to repair. I started a new side hustle selling Color Street Nails and that is going well. Our granddaughter was born June 20th and it sucked that we couldn’t be there for the delivery but all went well.

What I Learned

• I am stronger than I ever thought
• My faith is deep and sustains me
• My God truly will supply all my needs, His provision is miraculous and beautiful
• I need people and connection more than I would have ever guessed
• My marriage is strong
• I’m thankful my best friend is always just a phone call away
• I can stand up for my rights when pressured
• Patience is a virtue I am still working on
• Everything isn’t as it seems
• Fear is a liar.
• I don’t enjoy jigsaw puzzles as much as I thought I would.

What We Binge Watched

When we were originally told stay home for 14 days to flatten the curve, I dreamed of all the shows and movies I would watch. I was sure I would finally catch up on my Marvel Universe viewing, (I am way, way behind) or maybe I’d watch all the Star Wars films, I’ve seen the original trilogy and that’s it. Well, I have watched a lot of TV and movies but I have watched zero Marvel or Star Wars in the last year.

I watched a lot of musical theater! Thanks to some free shows on Broadway HD and Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber sharing many of his shows on YouTube, I had the delight of watching several shows for the first time.

I binged a lot of old TV shows, some I had seen and some I hadn’t. I was keeping a list, but it has been misplaced so I will do the best I can to list them all here. Disclaimer: We only watch shows that are mostly clean and PG13 or less rating. We also watch a lot of Disney+ though not everything on there is appropriate either.

• Full House-I’d seen it all before but it was fun to watch it in order again
• Fuller House season 5- It was just ok, but I can say I’ve seen it all
• Boy Meets World-I had seen random episodes when it first aired. I LOVE this show and I’m planning on watching it all again soon.
• Girl Meets World-I’ve watched all of this show several times. I didn’t realize how many things throw back to Boy Meets World until I watched it.
• The Wonder Years-again, I had seen random episodes but not the whole show. It was good but not great. It did bring back many memories of my 60s and early 70s childhood.
• Lizzie McGuire-I’ve been harassed for years for never watching this. It was ok. I had also been told the movie was the best part…it wasn’t.
• Pick of the Litter-very interesting
• Encore-so fun!
• The Imagineering Story-loved it and want more
• Kim Possible-I’ve watched this so many times over the years, I have some episodes memorized
• Tangled: The Series-watched some of it, got too dark magic for us, stopped watching
• JONAS- season 1 was fun, season 2 not so much
• A.N.T. Farm-had seen it all before, why not watch it again
• Family Affair-I’m about halfway through but it’s getting so repetitive I probably won’t finish it
• Cedar Cove-I watched it when it originally aired. Ron is watching with me. We haven’t watched since October. We have 17 episodes left on the DVR.
• Cheer-I enjoyed it more than I thought I would
• Outdaughtered- I’m about halfway through but I had to take a break from all the whining from the kids and the dad. I’ll go back to it and finish it soon.

I’m sure there is more but I’ve forgotten.

Have you tried something new? Watched something new? I’d love to know how your last year was.

The post One Year Later appeared first on The Mom Maven.

So, back to the big event…In the middle of July I received a phone call from my oldest son Aaron. He said he had big news and asked if I was sitting down <gulp> I was sitting down. He announced that he and his wife Summer were moving to Tennessee in about 45 days, right after we all got back from our cruise! No!!! I don’t want my kids living 10 hours away! I was in shock and disbelief. This all seemed so sudden. We are a super close-knit family and the thought of having them so far away didn’t sit well with me.

They worked on preparing their home for sale and started looking for a home in the Cleveland/Chatanooga, Tennessee area. They decided to rent an apartment for a year so that they could get a feel for the area and decide where they wanted to put down roots. During this time Summer was busy applying for jobs and arranging interviews for early August. In late July, while Aaron and Summer were working YEX youth summer camp they found out their friend Hannah was also considering a move to the same area. They decided to pool their resources and get a 2 bedroom apartment together.

At the beginning of August, Summer and my mother-in-law, Sharie, headed to Tennessee to check out apartments and so Summer could go on her job interviews. This trip proved that this move was exactly what God had ordained for them at this time, EVEYTHING fell into place. They got an amazing apartment that would allow them to have two 50 pound dogs! Summer got a job in walking distance from the apartment. Aaron will be working as contract labor for the company he worked for here in Florida. He is also starting his own business of audio/visual consulting and engineering. He was the most sought after audio engineer in the area here in Florida so he is going to take that knowledge and ability and use it in Tennessee. On August 19th we had a going away party for Aaron and Summer. While that party was going on Aaron sold his car and they got a contract on their house!

On Labor Day, September 4, 2017 we spent the morning finishing up packing the UHaul and cleaning up the house. They loaded Hannah’s minivan on a trailer behind the UHaul, which Aaron drove. The girls and dogs were in Summer’s Explorer. At about 12:30pm they pulled out and headed north. They have been in their apartment for 2 weeks. During that time they have housed 6 evacuees who were escaping Hurricane Irma. Hannah has also started a new job.

I am so proud of all of them and I still talk or text with Aaron daily. I hate the fact that they are so far away but they are where God wants them to be and I will not stand in their way. Now we have a good excuse to visit Tennessee!

The post Just Like That-They’re Gone to Tennessee appeared first on The Mom Maven.

After spending the week hunting up scarce drinking water and non-perishable foods Ron, Jordan, Mushu, and I headed the mile or so up the street to ride out the storm with Nana, Poppop, Paris the cat, as well as their friends N & M and their cat Callie. We arrived Saturday, September 9th around 7pm. The winds started picking up late Saturday night. We were supposed to be taking an almost direct hit from a category 5 hurricane. For the next day and a half there was prayer, games, storytelling and some resting going on. Irma’s track kept changing, she shifted to the east, then to the west. Where was she going to go?

Thankfully for us, Irma lost steam over Cuba and headed further east than was anticipated. It was still a powerful storm but here in Bradenton, we wouldn’t be feeling the worst of it. At 9:45pm on Sunday, September 10th we lost power. Thankfully we never lost cell service so we were able to watch the track online. All night long the winds and rain raged. I have lived in Florida for 37 years and I have never experienced anything close to this kind of storm. It was scary. We were blessed with some sleep. Thankfully power at my in-law’s house was restored by 8:15am on Monday morning.

Our house wasn’t quite so lucky. Our power went off at 5:52pm on Sunday. As of this writing (2:00pm Friday 9/15/17) there is still no power at our home. The electric company estimates we will have power back by midnight on  9/22/17, a week from now! We also lost the Jacaranda tree in my back yard. It twisted and fell onto the roofing over our bedroom. Friends in the neighborhood texted me pictures. Thankfully, there was no damage to the roof!

Ron, along with some friends from church, has gotten the tree off the roof, and some of it has been chopped up and put out front for removal. Ron has been working for about 4 days and the tree is about 1/2 done. We don’t own a chainsaw so this is quite the tedious task.

I am so thankful that we were spared from the worst of Hurricane Irma and her destruction. I am thankful all of my family came through with minimal damage. I am thankful that I have a place to stay that has air conditioning, internet, and water because many people do not. I am thankful for all of the linemen and everyone else working so hard to restore power to the millions of people in Florida who lost it in this storm.

There are 74 homes in my neighborhood still without power. Our next door neighbor is oxygen dependent. The other day she ran out of full tanks. Ron was able to bring his dad’s generator over and hook up her oxygen machine and a room air conditioner to keep her alive and make them more comfortable. Of course, we lost a refrigerator and freezer full of food, but we will survive.

Please pray for everyone who has been effected by Hurricane Irma. Many are much worse off than we are. The 90+ degree temps make living without power very difficult.

The post Hurricane Irma Aftermath Update appeared first on The Mom Maven.

photo from The Weather Channel

Today we are in hope for the best, prepare for the worst mode. You see, Most of the state of Florida is only about 150 miles wide. Currently, Irma’s hurricane force winds reach out about 45 miles out from the center and tropical storm force winds reach out about 140 miles from the center. So, we will have at minimum tropical storm force winds and at the worst, a category 5 hurricane which will surely be devastating.

What We Are Doing Today to Prepare for Hurricane Irma

• Check plywood and screw supplies to board up house
• Get sandbags for garage door
• Get water, at least 21 gallons
• Get non-perishable foods
• Get dog food
• Keep making ice and filling zippy bags with it, this is when I hate not having an ice maker
• Charge all battery packs for phones
• Gathering medications and getting refills for those running low

I hope and pray we are spared but I have a feeling we won’t be. I am seriously considering evacuating to my best friend in West Virgina but I am hearing from friends further north in Florida that the interstate is already packed and I think being stuck on the interstate would be worse than being stuck at home, but I am just not sure.

Hurricane Preparedness Information

Florida Hurricane Shelters

Pet Friendly Shelters

State of Florida Hurricane Info

The Weather Channel

Hurricane Protection Tips

Hurricane Protection Myths

Please be safe. Remember to stay off of flooded roads, turn around don’t drown. Check on elderly family, friends, and neighbors, make sure they have a plan in place. I will update here and on my Facebook page as I am able but know that my focus is on the safety of my family and friends.

The post We Are Preparing for Hurricane Irma appeared first on The Mom Maven.

I woke up early on Friday, April 1st because I wanted to listen to a special radio program at 7am. I turned on the stereo in the living room and then I grabbed my iPad and none of my social media apps would work, I had no internet!

I turned on the TV morning news and found that there was a problem with AT&T cell phones (they were not working from about 7am-9:30am) but I have Verizon Wireless so that didn’t effect me. I knew that April 1 was the day Frontier Communications was taking over the Internet, TV and Landline service for Verizon so I texted Aaron, my son who works as an IT manager to see if he knew what was up. He said that the transition didn’t work for a large percentage of the Verizon customers and there was a lot of packet loss. He’d keep me posted. I took to Twitter and quickly learned the problems were centered in the 3 large markets Frontier was taking over, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Los Angeles. Since it was still early most of the trouble was notice in Florida because the other states are in later time zones.

A large part of the Frontier issue was fixed by 10:00am, but not where I live. I spent the majority of Friday on Twitter reading and responding to others using the hashtags #frontier and #frontierfail. Those that tried to reach Frontier’s customer service by phone were complaining of talking to people who did not speak English and who could not answer questions that didn’t follow their script. Many people often said they were hung up on after being on hold for 2 hours! The problems were similar for those trying to reach Frontier’s website on their phones. The chat didn’t work well at all.

I did receive an email from Frontier, based on my Twitter conversation and some DMs. They needed me to give them my Frontier account number. I don’t have an account number. I had received nothing from Frontier or Verizon telling me to create a new Frontier account prior to the switch over. This is another Frontier fail!

Our internet service was finally restored at 11:30am on Saturday, April 2nd 28.5 hours after it went down. I have since tried to create an account on Frontier’s website and every time I try I get error messages.

I work online from 11:30am-2:00pm on Saturday. By 2:00pm the cold front and heavy thunderstorms have arrived and I shut down my computer. At 3:00pm our electricity goes out! Really?!? By 5:00pm total boredom has set in and FPL is saying our power should be restored by 7:15pm. Hubby and I decide to head to the mall to walk around and get out of the house. At 5:50pm I get an update call from FPL telling me they had to call in professional tree trimmers and my power should be back on by 9:00pm. At 7:00pm we meet Jordan for dinner. We arrived home at 8:30pm. I take a shower by lantern light, which was very relaxing! At 9:30pm I check in with FPL’s outage service and it now says they no longer have an ETA of when our power will be back. Finally at 11:00pm, as we were heading to bed, the electricity came back on.

That was a total of 36.5 hours with no internet! Thankfully we have a lot of data in our cell phone package, while we didn’t stream or play games, we could at least keep tabs via social media without worry. I’m also thankful that I always keep my battery chargers for our phones charged. We all needed to charge our phones Saturday evening and we were able to do that.

Lessons Learned

1. Keep your backup battery chargers charged at all times.
2. Don’t obsess over the outage, take the screen free time to get other non-Internet work done (like house cleaning).
3. Keep an extra gift card on hand so you can afford to eat out if you have no electricity and no money in the budget to dine out.
4. Relax, don’t stress over things you have no control over.
5. Always have at least 1 fiction book on your Kindle app ready to read when the power goes out.

I know these were very #firstworldproblems and we are very fortunate to have everything we do have. This weekend proved to us how much we rely on internet and electricity and honestly, I think we rely on the internet even more than we rely on electricity! I hope that Frontier will get its act together because we didn’t choose them. We never had any issues with our Verizon FiOS and hopefully the rest will be smooth sailing with Frontier.

So, how was your weekend?

The post 5 Lessons I Learned During a Weekend in the Dark Ages appeared first on The Mom Maven.

When Ron and I got married, I found out he was not a football fan how did that happen? Over the first few years of our marriage I taught him all about football and he taught me NASCAR and we have enjoyed our sports viewing life together for over 24 years now. Our boys love football too and we all love to get together on Sunday’s after church to watch football. We always make it a point to be together for the Big Game, even when one of our teams isn’t playing.

Preparing for the Big Game takes time and planning. I need a trip to Walmart to pick up the ingredients for my Big Game spread as well as a few things to help us look our best. When I get home I whip up my Spicy Queso Dip, some Buffalo Chicken Dip and some Walt’s Balls and the kids will bring sodas and something sweet and our game day food is ready.

While things are cooking it’s time to make sure everyone is ready that includes freshening up after our busy morning ministering at church. Now is the time to brush our teeth with the Oral B Vitality Toothbrush and some Crest Prohealth Advanced Toothpaste to keep our smiles bright and our teeth healthy.

While winning is always fun, our game day traditions are more about fun and family than winning and losing. Any day that I can spend with my grown kids, focusing on a game we all love is a good day in my books! If you want to see more game day traditions check out the #gamedaytraditions hashtag, and follow P&G on Facebook & Twitter and Walmart on Facebook & Twitter.

The post 50 Years of Game Day Traditions appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Review of March Goals

Business

• Pageviews are way down this month I didn’t even hit 10,000. I know part of this is because I was offline 4 days straight while I volunteered at Friendraiser but it is still frustrating.
• Thankfully, the Type-A Challenge for March still hasn’t been posted because I still haven’t gotten to February’s yet!
• I got some work done on my ebook but I am still behind schedule

Personal

• I did better on my steps in March but I am still having trouble even hitting 5000 a day on most days.
• Water, I did much better on. Now I just need to keep it up.
• I hardly read at all in March even though I enjoyed it so much in February.

Spiritual

• I did not finish the Covenant Bible Study on time. I have 9 days of work to finish but I really hope I will finish it by Easter. I always spend noon-3pm on Good Friday in the Word and worship so this year I will be focusing on completing this Bible study.
• I decided not to sign up for the next online Bible study, partially because I was behind on Covenant. Instead, I’m going to start Thrive by Mark Hall after Easter.

Household

• With Jordan leaving last week we are in the midst of shifting chores around.
• I’m getting better at completing my daily chores.
• We have also gotten more work done in the den/office.

April 2015 Goals

Business

• Get up to 12,500 pageviews.
• Spend at least 8 hours working on my ebook.
• Launch my Young Living Essential Oils Business.
• Get caught up on the Type-A Challenges.

Personal

• 5,000 steps a day minimum. Start doing a Leslie Sansone workout 3 days a week to help reach this goal.
• Get to 64oz of water a day, every day!
• Read 30 minutes a day.

Spiritual

• Finish the Covenant Study.
• Thrive is a 30 day devotional so hopefully I will be 75% of the way through it by the end of April.

Household

• Daily chores.
• Keep the kitchen sink clean.
• Continue meal planning.
• Move the white dresser into the den/office and hang my whiteboard over my desk.

Have you blogged your goals? Add them to the linky so we can all support each other in our efforts!

The post Goals for April 2015 appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Review of February Goals

Business

• <Gasp> I haven’t even looked at the Type-A February Challenge. It came out late, mid-month and I haven’t had time.
• I’m almost done with my media kit from the Media Kit Smash class! The class was awesome. I just have some tweaking to do.
• My pageviews are up over 20% YAY! Thanks for your help.
• My weekly newsletter  is set up and will start in March. You can subscribe here. Also, I’d love for you to take my 3 question Newsletter Survey
• I have started writing my eBook but I am a bit behind schedule.

Personal

• Still failing at the water consumption.
• I’m averaging 3,392 steps a day. I need to get moving more.
• We still haven’t found a time that works to get together with Aaron & Summer regularly. Aaron is working a lot of evening events lately.
• I have done well on my reading goal. I finished Kingdom Keepers V: Shell Game. 

Spiritual

• I am a few days behind on my Bible study but I am loving Covenant: Gods Enduring Promises by Kay Arthur.

Household

• Meal planning is still on track
• Living Room corners and media area de-cluttered
• Game closet de-cluttered

Overall, February was an ok month. Some goals have been hit and others still need a little more work.

March 2015 Goals

Business

• 15,000 pageviews. we are close and with your help, we can get there.
• Type-A Challenge for February and March
• Get half way through eBook writing

Personal

• 5,000 steps a day minimum-this is going to take a lot of work
• 64oz of water a day
• Continue reading a chapter a day for pleasure

Spiritual

• Complete the Covenant Bible study on time
• Sign up for another Bible study with WomensBibleCafe. I’m leaning towards How to Study Your Bible: Discover the Life-Changing Approach to God’s Word.

Household

• Keep up the meal planning
• Get back on schedule with daily chores
• Continue work in the den/office
• De-clutter kitchen

You may remember, I am part of a Facebook group that encourages each other as we set and work towards our goals. We have created this linky so that we can share these goals. If you write about your goals, please feel free to link up with us

The post Goals for March 2015 appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Review of January Goals

Business

I completed Content Brew! This course is a wonderful way to fill up your editorial calendar and start thinking creatively about upcoming blog content. If you are a blogger and haven’t taken this course, I highly recommend it. It is self-paced so you can start any time! I am participating in the Type-A Parent 2015 Next Level Blog Challenge and I completed the January Challenge. I am in the middle of the Media Kit Smash class, it runs through February 6th. Soon this will be available as a self-paced class as well. Make sure you are following my Facebook page so that you can know when that happens. Unfortunately, my pageviews are way down for January

Personal

I did pretty well at going to bed by 11pm most nights. I was horrible at drinking my water, I have done better with it now that I am sitting at my desk and I keep my water glass with me. I set a low goal for steps and I still failed miserably. Two days I forgot to wear my Fitbit! Two days I reached my goal one of those was a Disney day and the other was when we went to Monster Jam. I will do better in February because I have signed up for the Vionic Walkabout. This will help be be even more accountable. Have you signed up for the Walkabout, it starts February 1st!

Spiritual

I did much better, reading my Bible and praying at least 5 days a week. I am also loving the online Bible study I am currently in.

Household

I did meal plan for January and we actually stuck to the plan about 75% of the time. Daily house cleaning was hit or miss. I never found another decluttering challenge that suited me but I have been focusing on one area of the house a week to declutter and progress is being made.

February Goals

Business

• Participate in the Type-A Parent 2015 Next Level Blog Challenge and complete the February Challenge.
• Complete the January/February Media Kit Smash class and finally have a professional media kit!
• Increase my pageviews by 10%, you can help by sharing my blog posts on your social media!
• Create a weekly newsletter.
• Start writing my first eBook

Personal

• Drink at least 64oz of water a day and log it
• Get in at least 5,000 steps a day-this will be easier with the Walkabout-I hope!
• Spend one evening a week with all 5 of us together-getting on Aaron  Summer’s schedule has proven to be difficult.
• Read one chapter a day in a book for pleasure.

Spiritual

• Read my Bible daily
• Spend time in prayer daily
• Take part in a Bible Study-There are 5 weeks left in my online Bible study

Household

• Meal planning-keep it up
• Daily cleaning-get back on schedule
• Declutter living room (media corner-end tables-misc junk)
• Clean and declutter the game closet
• Put dresser in office and re-organize

You may remember, I am part of a Facebook group that encourages each other as we set and work towards our goals. We have created this linky so that we can share these goals. If you write about your goals, please feel free to link up with us!

The post Goals for February 2015 appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Thirty years ago today, Sunday, December 23, 1984 started as a typical day except I was 20 years old, single and pregnant. I had been home from college since the middle of September and I was due to give birth, soon. I’ll give the back story another time, I hope you’ll stick around for that some day soon. That evening my dad was out Christmas shopping. I was home playing Trivial Pursuit with our neighbor Rick. As the game and the evening wore on, I had some intermittent back pains. I attributed these pains to being very pregnant and sitting on the floor. After the game I got up to walk them off and I was hit with a bit of a worse pain. I told my mom and we decided I was probably in labor. At the time we had but 1 car and my dad was out shopping. Of course, we had no way of reaching him, this was before cell hones and we didn’t know where he was shopping.

I remember telling Rick he might have to drive us to the hospital in Sarasota and I remember the look of panic on his face. Rick was a good friend, a quadriplegic, a few years older than me. I gathered my things for the hospital and my mom called th doctor and thankfully, my dad arrived home to drive us to the hospital.

My doctor was not available, he had recently broken his leg on an African safari, so his associate, whom I had met at my last check-up would deliver my baby. I wasn’t in the Labor room that long before they decided to wheel me to delivery. On the way there was a traffic jam in the hall and I remember telling the doctor that the baby was coming now! I was assured there was plenty of time. I arrived in the delivery room and things moved along. I can’t remember how long I was in labor but it wasn’t too long. Yes, there was pain and yelling and my younger sister swearing she would never give birth (and she never did). At 12:24am on 12-24-84 Brynn Ann was born.

There was no baby’s cry. There were hushed tones, nurses scurrying around and other doctors coming into the room. Brynn was whisked to NICU and eventually I was taken to the maternity ward where I shared a room with four other mothers. Later I was told that Brynn had Meconium Asptration Syndrome and Hyaline Membrane Disease. Her lung x-rays showed that her lungs were black like a coal miner’s.

The Sarasota NICU couldn’t care for a child this sick so they were going to fly her via helicopter to Lee Memorial Hospital in Ft Myers. I was able to visit her in the NICU for a few minutes, looking at her in her isolette, lying on one of the hospital beds. A nurse took a Polaroid picture of her for me and gave me her footprints before she left the hospital.

That afternoon I was released from the hospital. I went home to spend Christmas with my family and the plan was that dad and I would head to Ft Myers the day after Christmas. In the meantime, the hospital called us with updates of Brynn’s care. Early Wednesday morning we received the call that every mother dreads, Brynn’s lungs were just too bad and they couldn’t keep her alive. My daughter had passed away and I had never even held her.

For 30 years, Christmas has been a difficult holiday for me. Brynn was born on Christmas Eve and she passed on the 26th. For the last 20 years I led the music at the Christmas Eve service at our church and every time I sing “Silent Night”, I get choked up.

It is hard for me to imagine having a 30 year old daughter, how different my life would have been. I do believe with 100% that this was all a part of God’s plan for me. Yes, even the heartache and pain. This experience made me a better person, a stronger person and it drew me much closer to God. As hard as it was is, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Happy Birthday to my Christmas Angel! I know I will see you again some day, and we will have a wonderful reunion.

Thank-you for sticking around to read this story that is part of my heart.

The post Thirty Years…A Story of a Mom and her Christmas Angel appeared first on The Mom Maven.