Menopausal Mother

Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, there are three of us bloggers inviting you into our homes to see what a fly might see (or overhear). 

     My daughter-in-law, my baby granddaughter, and I all share October birthdays, so we've been celebrating pretty much every weekend. But that's not the only reason for our recent celebrations; we have some very exciting news to share: MY SON AND HIS WIFE ANNOUNCED THAT THEY ARE EXPECTING  THEIR FIRST BABY IN MAY!!! This will be my third grandchild and I am over the moon with joy right now!! This is by far the best thing to come out of 2020----news that we have waited so long to hear. 

Grandbaby's #2 Birthday

My granddaughters

Husby found his infant hat

***WANT MORE MENO MAMA? My latest article, "Grandparenting During Covid-19: I Gave Up My Social Life For My Family And I Have Zero Regrets" is up on Family Project: https://familystoryproject.org/grandparenting-during-covid-19-i-gave-up-my-social-life-for-my-family-and-have-i-zero-regrets/

 

Click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

 

Baking In A Tornado                  https://www.BakingInATornado.com

Never Ever Give Up Hope             https://batteredhope.blogspot.com

Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings, hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, four bloggers are bravely inviting you into their homes for a sneak peek at what goes on behind closed doors.


At our house, life is slowly getting back to normal. We are emerging hesitantly from the quarantine and into the outside world. I'm feeling a bit like one of the Morlocks from H.G. Wells' movie "The Time Machine" ( and I probably look like one, too!). The lifting of lockdown restrictions in my area has meant more time spent with my adult kids and grandkids, which has been awesome. We were able to celebrate my daughter's 31st birthday after a quick stop at the cemetery to take flowers to her twin brother (you can read Jason's story that was published last year in The New York Times HERE). She and her fiance just moved into a house and lucky for us, it is nearby, plus it has a pool! Yay!

The not-so-great thing that happened earlier this month was that my youngest pug became very ill out of the blue and needed emergency lung surgery. He had an extremely rare condition but it was fixable through surgery, so of course, we did whatever possible to save our fur baby's life (Yoda is only three). I'm happy to report that he is now doing GREAT, running around, and playing with his other puggy siblings. Life is good!

As for the fly on the wall, he has overheard a few interesting snippets of humor around our house this month:


"By my calculations, I expect I'll be giving birth in December to my pandemic food baby."
"Lucky you. My COVID-19 food baby is already full-term."

"This coffee went right through me. I need to go to the bathroom ASAP."
"Me too!"
"That's how you can tell we've been married a long time---our bowels are in sync."

"Our water bill has gotten ridiculously high. Maybe we should only shower once a week to lower cost!"
"That would most definitely enforce social distancing."

"I was once young and virile."
"Now you're just old and sterile."

"You give me such large portions at mealtime that I'm afraid I'm going to get a hernia carrying my dinner plate."

"Aren't you going to stay and watch Good Morning America's 'Play Of The Day' segment?"
"No, because Mother Nature is calling and I need to go do my poop of the day."

"Hey Mom, can I borrow your air mattress? I think it's in your closet."
"I doubt that I can find it. There could be another family living in that closet and I wouldn't even know it."

     And....that's a wrap! See you next month with all of the other Morlocks!



Buzz around, see what you think, then click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

     Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings,. hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, four brave bloggers are inviting you into their homes for a peek of what goes on behind closed doors.

     At the Doyle house, we're gearing up for fall festivities. I have a birthday coming up next month---the BIG 60! Yikes! But I plan on celebrating it like I'm still 30. I also love Halloween! Candy corn is my jam, so you can bet I'm stocking up on it right now. November brings my favorite holiday of all---THANKSGIVING. I'm blessed to have all my kids and grandkids living nearby, so the holiday is always a beautiful, sentimental time for me. Honestly, it's having grandchildren that make the holidays even more special. I love my girls and spend most weekends with them. Recently, my oldest granddaughter took an interest in the Titanic. We watched the movie together and then I gave her the Heart Of The Ocean necklace. Her eyes LIT UP! My kids and my grandkids are my life, so you can understand why I am so EXCITED for the holidays to get here!!


     In the meantime, I'm still taking note of the odd bits of conversation that go on around here with the hubs and the kids when they come over.. And I'm totally sure that nosy fly on the wall has been entertained by what he has heard around here.....


"You look really tired today. You have bags under your eyes"
"Yeah, I didn't sleep well last night."
"Oh, so that's why United Airlines called---they want their bags back."

"I'll be happier at 75 because by then I will have a hip replacement, knee replacement, and no more pain."
"Too bad they can't give you a memory replacement."

"How about we try the Nine Dragons restaurant?"
"Which one is that?"
"The place with the red dragon on the roof."
"Only one? No thanks."
"Why?"
"That's a bad omen. It means eight of them are already dead."

"Oh my God, your fart is smelling up the whole room!"
"Yes, I know because I can't stop laughing!!"
"If that's what real laughing gas is, then I don't want any the next time I go to the dentist."


"Daddy, did you have a bad day at work?"
"Yeah, actually, I did. My boss bitched at me plus I forgot to bring my lunch. I also cut my finger on a mower blade. It really hurt."
"Awww poor guy. I guess you should have called the WHAAAAambulance."


"You always want more pugs. I'm going to refer to you as the Pug Queen from now on."
"Oh yeah? Since you're so interested in collecting Christmas elves, does that make you an Elf Lord?"

"What's your mom doing?"
"She's online buying illegal exotic pets."
"Oh, okay....wait, WHAT?"

"Why are all the photos on your phone so tiny?"
"Because everything on me is tiny."
"Well, I know one thing for sure thing that's tiny...."
"That's NOT funny."


     Maybe Elf Lord is a bit insecure, but you know what they say.....the bigger the elf, the bigger the.........

     Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings, hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, four bloggers are welcoming you into their homes for a glimpse at what goes on behind closed doors.

     The fly buzzing around the Doyle house has witnessed a frenzy of holiday activity in preparation of Christmas Day. We've been shopping and baking and decorating like crazy, but more importantly, we've been spending time together in appreciation of who we are as a family.

     This year, Christmas is extra special with the addition of my second granddaughter. I was blessed to have my sweet Isabella, but now I am doubly blessed with angelic Alessandra....so much to be thankful for this holiday season!

     I've spent a few weekends baking with my family (and making a sugary mess of things):



     Got in some Christmas shopping and lunch with my oldest daughter. She brought Alessandra, who passed her first shopping excursion with flying colors!



     We did quite a bit of decorating----no small feat with the 23 large containers of holiday items that I had stored in the attic:


     And then there was one particularly poignant moment when I took a break from cookie baking to watch my oldest granddaughter playing in the backyard garden. She was wearing one of her mother's old dresses and when she stood under our arbor, I had to catch my breath. It was as if I was looking into a crystal ball, and there was my Izzy, twenty years from now on her wedding day. My eyes blurred with tears as I said a little prayer of thanks for the gift that is my granddaughters.


     Family is everything to me, and the people in these photos are the reason for my joy during the holiday season. They are my sanity when life becomes messy, and my heart when I feel their love surround me.





     From our house to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas, a peaceful holiday season, and a happy New Year. See you in 2019!