Camp Mommy 2009 - Two Weeks Already?!

It's Friday, Day 9 out of 54 fabulous days of Summer Break & Camp Mommy, and I'm tired, ya'll...I'm currently hiding out with the dog and my computer after separating the kids in their rooms for 15 minutes of QUIET TIME before we go across the street to the park for some fresh air and exercise that does not involve video controllers and battling/questing/goo-ing whatevers...

Our Friday Night (Family) Date Night plan is to load up the Jeep with pillows, blankets, lawn chairs and movie treats (candy & popcorn, oh my!); pick up a hot pizza at Whole Foods (I've heard they are delicious and not quite as non-nutritious as some other pizza providers-who-shall-not-be-named!) and park it at the Starlight Six Drive-In for a double feature: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian & Star Trek!

As far as Camp Mommy 2009, so far, so good:

• Last day of school for us in Atlanta was Friday, May 22nd (but we go back to school August 10th, so it basically works out the same - we just get a headstart!).
• Monday was Memorial Day. We went to the opening of our newly-renovated community pool at Piedmont Park, which is awesome!!
• I don't remember what we did Tuesday & Wednesday of last week, but we were getting ready for our Early Summer Long Weekend Getaway (Thursday - Sunday) to Concord, NC: gem mining, geocaching, Lowe's Motor Speedway & the Hendrick Motorsports Museum & Shop (woo hoo!), Discover Mills (a big mall) & the NASCAR Speedpark (faux racing!) - oh, and a day at CaroWinds, which is a big amusement park outside of Charlotte.
• We got back Sunday, cleaned up and did the laundry Monday, to take our 14yo Puberty Angst Boy (PAB) to the airport early Tuesday morning: He's off to family in Washington State for a whole month!
• We've barely known what to do with ourselves, me, almost-12yo Drama Queen and almost-9yo ADHD Phenom(they both turn in July), without PAB, but we managed...
• Wednesday: Another visit to the fabulous new pool at Piedmont Park - lots of friends, lots of fun.
• Thursday: Rainy day, we went to see the movie UP!, which we love, Love, LOVED - squirrel! - even 9yo ADHD Phenom who hates going to the movie theater, but made an exception for this movie - totally worth it! (Even though it made me cry - two times!)
• Friday: Doctor's appointments and errands, with the brief oasis of QUIET TIME in the late afternoon before we go to another movie, but this is at the drive-in, so it's different!

See you back here & on Twitter.com (follow rebelupdate!) next week for the continuing adventures of Camp Mommy 2009.
Have a GREAT WEEKEND!!

Rebel Housewife on Twitter!

I mentioned Twitter back in November...

I'm on Twitter!! (Again, why I don't exactly know, but it has something to do with keeping in touch on the iPhone and not having to TEXT.) Friend me and I will respond, but I'm not exactly sure how to make it work, or why, but they tell me it is going to be a great way to keep in touch (hubby, kids)...

Since then, Twitter has become a primary means of communication within our always-busy, five-different-directions-at-once immediate family: Mom, Dad & 3 kids. It's like a carry-around bulletin board with post-it messages of 140 characters max (this limitation is a good thing, especially for me) - a great way to know who is doing what, where, when, etc., and when/where he/she needs to be picked up. Very convenient.

I'm also following several Twitters of personal interest:
NASCARONFOX
piedmontpark
couponmom

As much as I love Private Family Twitter, I could not imagine anybody outside the immediate nuclear transportation unit being interested in my 140-character comings and goings. I have been surprised at the number of Follower Requests to the private account and I always feel bad to decline, but seriously - ya'll don't want to know if I'm in a bad mood or what we're having for dinner!

However...interpersonal and professional communication is changing rapidly in the modern technology-addicted age. Even I have noticed. In the past couple of months, it seems everybody, every organization, every company, large and small, is on Twitter and/or one of the other big social networking sites. I am happy to Twitter, and have fairly successfully acclimated to it, but I'm not going to be MySpace-ing or FaceBook-ing any time soon. The biggest reason not: TMI!

In general, I've discovered my preference for receiving 140-character updates over longer emails, articles, newsletters, etc. - just the facts, please! I also discovered I like the limitation of 140 character messages when sending - Too Much Information, people. I am trying to simplify my life and suppress my own natural tendencies toward verbal spew...

So this summer, for Camp Mommy V, I've set up a Twitter account for RebelHousewife.com, for quick, succinct updates and information...140 character message to follow:

Follow me: twitter 'follow rebelupdate' if you are already on or sign up for a free account if you're not! Watch the video on twitter.com!

Camp Mommy 2009

Welcome to Camp Mommy V - our 5th year! It's a little different now that my campers are 15, almost-12 and almost-9...easier in some ways, more challenging in others, to cater to the needs, wants, whims and hormones of a rising 9th grade boy (high school), 7th grade girl (middle school) and 4th grade boy (elementary school). (Did you notice me pointing out I've got three kids going to three different schools in August? Yay! This Midlife Mom stage is just awesome!!)(And that's not even considering the 4th dependent since February - my 73-year-old mother...)

Wow, I didn't mean to start off sounding so pathetic, really.

Trying to get myself organized here --

I proceeded to sit here for the next two hours, setting up a separate Twitter account for The Rebel Housewife (rebelupdate) AND even getting it to show up on the website -- hopefully, you can see that up above (if you are on www.RebelHousewife.com). We'll see how this goes...

Adventures in Caregiving & Stroke

New book review in Rebel Reviews: WHEN I MARRIED MY MOTHER by Jo Maeder - a timely tale for the Sandwich Generation.

I have included Jo Maeder's FIVE SIMPLE WAYS TO GET ALONG WITH THE ELDERLY -- excellent advice I have used recently! -- on the Rebel Blog.

April 20th Update: Still hanging in there, after a brief, but glorious getaway to Florida with Dear Hubby in early April. The following Monday, the kids were off from school on Spring Break. Unfortunately, my mother had a second stroke that same Monday; fortunately, I was with her at the time.

My mother's stroke was the strangest thing I have ever experienced, and I'm trying to decide if I should describe it, how to describe it: One minute, we were sitting together, chatting along just fine about her therapy, the food at the nursing home, my weekend escape and the kids' Spring Break...and in the middle of this conversation, as she was speaking, she started talking gibberish -- real words, but random and completely out of context. She knew what she was trying to say, and she immediately recognized the wrong words were coming out. She couldn't find the right words. We both got worried. This continued for several minutes, and then seemed to clear up and she was able to capture her words again. She was checking her ability to move her arms and legs, which she was able to do just fine, but she said she felt kind of strange.

As her nurse and doctor at the nursing home were arranging ambulance transportation to the hospital Emergency Room, just to get everything checked out, she lapsed into the gibberish speech again and that's all we had for the next eight hours, increasingly agitated and eventually delirious, until she was sedated.

I can't even express how horrific it was in the Emergency Room. That is some scary life experience, and I don't know how we both survived it. She lapsed into wailing in tongues and reciting random number sequences. I hung in there, holding her as best I could, repeating over and over and over: "Just breathe, just breathe," to her and to myself.

By the next morning, she was back from this awful journey -- a miracle -- anxious to return to physical and occupational therapies and her amazing recovery progress at the nursing home. She had to stay in the hospital for the week, but returned to active rehab at the nursing home Thursday night. She is doing great, and I am busy researching Independent Living Facilities (as opposed to Assisted Living Facilities - ALFs) for her anticipated discharge in the next couple of weeks.

Five Simple Ways to Get Along with the Elderly

FIVE SIMPLE WAYS TO GET ALONG WITH THE ELDERLY
from Jo Maeder, author of When I Married My Mother

My mother and I were not close when her decline began, and I had a very busy life. I was not exactly thrilled with the idea of living with her and being a 24/7 caregiver. Yet what I feared would be some of the worst years of my life turned out to be some of the best. Here are a few tips I'd like to pass on to anyone who has dealings with the elderly. -- Jo Maeder

1. Watch Your Words

The way you speak, speaks volumes. Avoid talking about them in the third person in front of them as if they weren't there. Don't yell if they're not deaf or speak to them like they're five years old. If they have dementia, try not to say "Do you remember" or "Don't you remember?" Replace "Let me help you" with "What would you like me to do?" Be gentle but firm in your communication, not condescending.

2. Mi Casa es Su Casa

If an elderly person moves in with you, integrate their belongings with yours and call it "our home," not "my home." Ideally, they should not have to negotiate stairs, or step over the side of a bathtub to get into the shower. A walk-in shower with hand railings within and without is a big help. Keep floors uncluttered. A fall at this age can have disastrous results.

3. Embrace Curiosity

Take this golden opportunity to learn as much as you can about the elderly person you are caring for. You will probably learn a lot about yourself, as well. Go through photo albums and write down anything the person remembers. Read old letters. Stir up their fondest memories. Maintain contact with the elderly person's friends. It will widen your view of life and warm your heart, as well.

4. Stress Busters

From yoga and mediation, to support groups, to anti-anxiety medications like Ativan that can be used on an as-needed basis, find what works for you to diffuse the perfectly normal anguish you are bound to feel if you love the person in decline.

5. There But For The Grace of God Go I

We've all heard this phrase many times. If you're ever unsure about what to do, ask yourself: How would I like to be treated if I were in their place? It will usually answer any questions you may have. And remember, one day you'll be elderly, too.

See the Rebel Review: When I Married My Mother by Jo Maeder.