Work at Home Grandmothers

We haven’t had a “featured grandmother” in quite a while, so it was wonderful to hear from Debbie Johnson today and have a chance to share her story with you.  I hope you enjoy reading it…oh, and if you would like to be featured, please write to me at claudiascorner[at]gmail.com.

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After receiving a legal secretarial degree from Bryant and Stratton and working at GE for engineers for six years, I quit to raise our two boys, born exactly one year and three weeks apart. (My husband said, “We’re not going to have your mom watch TWO, are we? Mind you, I was sobbing at the time as he went out the door with our oldest.)

Seven years later a third son arrived on the scene and I worked at a quaint little local restaurant an evening or two a week to bring in a little extra cash. (And, admittedly, to remind myself that I still could “process thoughts” – Oh, the stories I can tell!!)

I’m thankful to have been able to work around our family, but where does a closing-in-on-40 year old woman go to find a job? For me it was an Oral Surgery satellite office 20 minutes away which I managed for two doctors. They kindly allowed me the opportunity to work while updating my computer/office skills. Six years later, with one son in college, another a senior in high school and the third closing in on high school, I needed a full-time job to help with college expenses and high school extra-curricular activity bills. And that is how I ended up at a local business as a sales coordinator for nine years.vI know – trained for lawyers and worked for engineers, doctors and salesmen – nothing “relates”, does it?  Plus, nobody needs “secretaries” anymore – everyone does their own thing on computers! And, NOW I’m closing in on SIXTY!!

After we were blessed with 6 (yes, six!) grandchildren, with two more on the way, I left that job two years ago. In hindsight I am even more thankful because my father went to be with the Lord (and mom) this past Dec. 26.  These past two years were filled with many medical appointments for him that I am SO thankful I could do.  (I was thankful at the time, but even more so now!) I LOVE being with my grandchildren, but I’d also like to help my husband financially. Plus, they say our brains “go to mush” if we don’t use them.

Ameriplan®, USA, offers the chance for me to do it all. Yes, it’s network marketing and I’m learning, learning, learning – which is FUN! It’s VERY affordable to begin your own business. Plus, this company provides things I NEED in addition to a paycheck – discounts for dental, vision, prescription and chiropractic needs, as well as help with child ID, legal fees, medical expenses, identity theft (the fastest growing crime in America) and much more.

If you’d like to check out what this company has to offer, please visit one of my websites at:

www.freedomathometeam.com/DJohnson70 or

www.IBOPlus.com/DJohnson70 or

www.mybenefitsplus.com/DJohnson70 .

Or I’d love to hear from you via e-mail at DJohnson70@ameriplan.net or by phone at 716-355-4223.

We women need to STICK TOGETHER!! And we aren’t getting older, we’re GETTING BETTER!!

God Bless you all!

Debbie Johnson

I made a discovery today while I was working/playing with a Squidoo lens. Do you know what Squidoo is? It’s another way of quickly and easily getting your “presence” out there on the web. You can make what they call a “lens”  about things that interest you, things you’re working on, just about anything you can think of. You can see what I have done if you visit my profile page on Squidoo.

One of the pages I did was “Find a Grandmother or Grandmothers on Twitter“.  Stop by for a visit and learn more about using hashtags (#) and which word, “Grandmother” or “Grandmothers” is the best search term.  I hope to add more helpful information, and perhaps more about how to use Squidoo to your benefit on this blog.

Here is a cute and VERY funny story written by friend and parenting expert, Pat Montgomery. You’ll see she’s also learning a lot about Grandparenting, too.

After you read this delightful story, please be sure to visit her sites through the links below. She has a great radio show and a book available through any book seller and her website.

GRANDMA NEEDS TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE

This week I babysat two of the grandkids (ages 1 1/2 and almost 3), which is challenging in itself. Add to that me trying to make some business calls and it was a very full day.

After his nap the older one, who is not potty trained, was dry so I asked if he wanted to go potty. Telling me NO, he ran into the other room. Not willing to give up, I followed him and commenced a discussion about “big boy pants”. He asked if Uncle Mike wore big boy pants. I said yes. Then he asked if Mommy wore big boy pants to which I, of course, said yes.

He ran (Benton never walks anywhere…he either rides or runs) to the cabinet and pulled out a pair of Lightning McQueen big boy pants. Patiently I explained that he had to pee in the potty before he could wear them. Finally I had victory. He crawled up on the potty and peed. Yea, I was so good. Silently I congratulated myself at how clever I had been.

That was when he asked for toilet paper. I wanted to encourage him so I handed him a couple of squares of toilet paper. Holding them in his small hand, he looked at me as if to ask what he was supposed to do with the paper. Immediately, I told him to wipe his pee-pee (what I called my boys’ penises at that age.)

Again he looked at me with a funny look on his face, which should have clued me in to a problem. Before I realized what was happening, he reached into the water and started wiping where his body fluids had just changed the toilet water yellow. Yes, he was doing exactly what I told him to do–wiping the pee-pee.

Pat Montgomery

Please take a moment to visit Parent’s Rule with Pat

Be sure to listen to Parents Rule! every Thursday 2-3 pm on 1620 AM at http://www.radiosandysprings.com/

“Now You Know What I Know What I Know: Parenting Wisdom of a Grandmother” available on my website or any book seller.”

I just added a link to the blogroll, “Mom to Grandma” and thought you might enjoy a direct link to a series of posts on the blog, “15 Tips for New Grandmas“.

I hope you enjoy the posts, and the blog!

This week I have been taking advantage of articles from Selling With Articles to catch up on my blogs quickly, as they were put on the back burner while we were on vacation. I hope you enjoy!

Building A Bond Between Grandparents And Grandchildren

By: Scarlett Capelli

Grandchildren are one of the special joys you receive as you get older. While raising your own children, you may not have had the time or the energy to spend as much time with them as you wished to. Now you can build a special bond with your grandchild.

If you have more than one grandchild, you should try to spend quality time with each one individually. If both their parents are working, these children may not get much attention separately. Plan a unique activity for each one, a memory that only the two of you will have. These activities can be as simple as a nature walk in the woods or playing a board game. You can also teach your grandchild a skill, such as how to play the piano or how to cook. When he grows up and uses these skills as an adult, your grandchild will fondly remember who it was that taught to him.

Another way to get close to your grandchild is just to talk to him and then to listen to what he has to say. Again, with both his parents being busy, the child may not have anyone who really listens to him. Establishing open and close communication when the child is young may lead your grandchild to maintain that communication when he is older and you may pleased to find that he seeks your advice when making important decisions about his future.

You can also share the family history with your grandchild. A child can feel more secure knowing that he belongs to an extended family group. Tell the child about relatives that he may not know and share with him any information that you have about your ancestors. Most children are interested in knowing where their family came from. You can spend an afternoon going through old photo albums and scrapbooks, telling your grandchild small facts about each picture. Also share with him stories of your own youth and his parent’s childhood. Not only will this entertain your grandchild, it is a way to ensure that the family histories get passed on to the next generation.

A young child will become excited when he receives mail with his name on the envelope. In addition to birthday and Christmas cards, you can also send him cards for other holidays as well as short notes and letters. This can make your grandchild feel that he is special.

If you do not live close to your grandchild, you can still form a bond with him. In the age of cell phones and computers, pictures are easy to send back and forth between you and the child. You could also mail a video tape of yourself showing him activities that you like to do and in return you can ask the child what activities he likes to do. When there are family get togethers, you can still plan to spend quality time with your grandchildren, although you may have to plan a group activity as time may be an issue in trying to plan activities with each one of them separately.

Being a grandparent can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. Building a strong and loving bond with your grandchildren can lead to a close relationship that will last you the rest of your life.

Author Resource: Find helpful and creative ideas for parents and grandparents while you shop our great selection of affordable kids furniture and classic toys. Another article with more information on this topic can be found at http://www.safetytipsforkids.com/kidsfurnituresafety.html.

Article From Selling With Articles

I’m so happy to introduce you to another Grandmother many times over who’s creative gift has become a source of income for her, and at the same time brings joy and comfort to her customers. I’ll let Jackie tell you all about it in her own words, enjoy!

“My name is Jackie Thompson and I live in Killeen, Texas. I am the proud mom of 2 boys and 1 step daughter. My husband and I have 9 grandchildren and 1 more on the way. They call me nana, grandma, mawmaw and each time I hear those words it is the sweetest sound to me.

“I started out making cloth dolls and have done well with that but I wanted more. I decided to make a purse for a friend of mine whose husband recently joined the Army. I wanted to make something for her that made her proud and represented her husband, so my purses were born.

“The day she received her purse she had people coming up to her wanting to know where she got her purse and how they could order one. Needless to say I have been blessed with orders since I began my new venture. The best thing about my business is getting emails and phone calls from my customers telling me how proud they are of their purse/bag. These bags/purses are not just regular purses, they are keepsakes, reminders of your loved one who is serving or has served in the military. What better way to keep your soldier close to you while they are away than to carry one of these purses with you. It’s like having a part of your soldier with you every time you walk out the door.”

Stop by and visit http://crafters.zawire.com/profile/jpattyjack49 to see the many beautiful purses Jackie has made.

I think of my Grandmother at this time of year, because each Christmas, for as many years as she was able, she made Scotch Shortbread.

She came to America from Scotland through Ellis Island when she was 12 years old. I shared a bit about her in another post. I’ll have to edit in a link to the information about the ship she arrived on with her mother, sister and brother. Her father came over first, and set up a business, then sent for her. I have letters that my great-grandmother and great-grandfather wrote to each other…she was unable to come over as quickly as great-grandpa hoped she would, because their little 5 year old daughter, my grandmother’s little sister, contracted Leukemia, and did not survive. It is heart-wrenching to read the letters, and how my great-grandfather wished he could be home with his little girl in her last days. But that wasn’t to be, and very shortly after her passing, my great-grandmother packed up my grandmother, her sister and her brother and boarded a ship for America.

Well I have gone off on a tangent, haven’t I?

It was a treat each year to have my grandparents with us for Christmas as they lived in the suburbs of Boston, 5 hours away. I have carried on her tradition of baking shortbread each year, though my sister has said she wants to give it a go this year. I’m hoping she’ll say she’s too busy so I can make it as my donation to our dessert gathering

I did write more about this, and have our recipe at another spot on the web, “Grandma’s Scotch Shortbread and Scotland“.