Month: February 2018

DIY…Thank you note, with a Twist!

| resumeofamother

I think we have lost the art of saying “Thank you”!  It is an easy 2 words to say, text, write etc…and yet we go on our way and forget.  I made it a point a number of years ago when we were having a really hard time in life, to take note of the things done for us. So many people prayed for us, brought us bags of food, sent a check, shared a kind word and the list goes on and on.

I could not afford to repay them but I could say thank you.  A simple note was all I could do at that time and I thought it was so small. Yet the reaction I received back from so many, was that they were thankful to receive a simple note. Fast forward a number of years and we are still blessed by many things given to us, but most of all just having some really great people in our lives.

It is easy to take things for granted in the business of life.  But for today….I want to take the time and say thank you for all of you who read my Blog today!

Sometimes it is nice to write a note and other times…to add something special with it.  I have included a bookmark, a teabag or two and other similar things in the card.  I now have a new candy mold that you will see in the pics.  I decided to add this to a thank you note for extra special occasions.

Items Needed:

  • Candy mold
  • Candy chips to melt
  • Glass bowl or similar
  • Microwave

Very easy to do….

  • Melt the chocolate in the microwave ( directions are also on the candy chips bag)
  • Pour into the candy mold
  • Place in freezer for about 10 minutes
  • Pop candy out
  • Put in decorative box or similar with a thank you note attached.

Have fun being creative with this project.  Send me pics and comments of what you did.  I would love to see it!

Thank you from,

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

A5…Personal or Travelor’s Notebook…that is the question!

| resumeofamother

I know from being in the planner community that “Planner Peace “is what we strive for.  I laugh when I hear people so satisfied with only 1 planner and talk about it as if they have died and gone to heaven.  Not me….l LOVE all types!

I started with a Filofax Malden and Yes it is still my first love.  Then I moved to an A5 and I loved the size for writing and recording, but it was too big to carry.  So I tried a Travelers Notebook for a year, but found it was too confusing for me with all the notebooks. A TN is great to journal in but I don’t like it as a planner. So I went back back to a personal size and I love the size for carrying around in my bag….but, yes it happened again that I needed more room to write.  So you guessed it back to an A5.

So today is the day I waiting with excitement, anticipation and overwhelming JOY for the arrival of a new planner.  After touching it a few times, smelling it and holding it tight. I then turned each page like it was the first time I ever owned a planner. Do you find yourself doing the same thing and switching it up?

Oh the JOY of watching for the box to come…opening the box…looking into the box….grabbing the planner…and then opening it. So many wonderful feelings all rolled up in one! So here is goes, the unboxing and my new planner for at least a while. More details to come with what I am doing with my other planners too.

Watch for “Planner Tuesday”….where I will chat with you about my planners, planner goodies, planner ideas, layouts, and more.

Send me your what your favorite planner is and why in the comments below!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Autism and Essential Oils

| resumeofamother

This past weekend has been so rainy and gray around our area.  My son has Autism and my husband has epilepsy and this weather really affects them both!!!

We belong to a support group for Autism. Last night I posted on the Facebook group site about this very thing. I asked them if any of them have family members that are affected by the weather.  I asked if anyone saw any mood swings that went from happy to angry in a matter of seconds.  I no sooner posted this question and I was getting thumbs up and comments being posted like crazy. Everyone agreed how they had family members with Autism who were struggling all weekend with moods too.

Is there anyone else out there struggling with this?  After we struggled through the weekend….I then thought I would try some essential oils.  I have used this on my husband and it has helped him with his Epilepsy.  So I grabbed my oil roll-on that I made for him and tried it on my son.  WOW!!!! Within 5 minutes or less ….his mood went from a loud, angry and stimming to a happy, chilled and quieter young man.

What I used was oil of Oregano….I have had so many people tell me to use Franchisee but we have found that Oregano works better.  (at least for us).  I made a roller bottle with 15 drops of oil and filled the rest with Almond oil (any oil will work), then shook it up.  I rolled this on the back of his neck, down his spine and on both wrists.

He later came to me and said that the oils helped him and his head didn’t feel so “shaky”.  What a relief.  Now this will be one of my go-to’s for when we have these types of days around our house.

Does anyone out there use oils for these types of neurology issues?  If so what do you use and how?

Share with us what you do so that we can all benefit from this!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Why do Church? Why do Faith?…

| resumeofamother

Here it is another Sunday and some of us have spent the morning in some type of church service.  What did you do this Sunday Morning?  Do you spend it in church….if so did you ever ask yourself why?  Why do I do this…is it tradition, or something that you are just supposed to do?

I was brought up going to church most Sunday’s when I was young. Then later I watched my parents, as I was approaching my teen years make a bigger commitment to church.  Something gripped their hearts and I could see a life change in them.

We would go as a family to every event. My parents would make sure that each of us girls had a job to do and made us feel part of what they did.  We never felt like we were going with them to the event or service but that we were actually part of it!

When I was very young, I accepted Jesus into my heart and I knew that it was real. As I grew older and began to serve with my parents….my desire grew for the things of the Lord too.

Why do Church? Why do Faith? …I am not sure why you do what you do but for me it is truth and real.  I know that Jesus is my Lord and Savior and I know what I do will matter for eternity.  I am far from perfect and there are days I could hang my head in shame for the way I have acted.  But I know that a heart to heart talk with Jesus and a confession of the soul will make all things good again.

I now am privileged to serve alongside of my husband, married son and daughter –in-law and younger son too.  We all serve in different ways…some youth, some to teens, men’s groups, women’s group, in the kitchen, community work and more.  We support each other in the work being done whether we are involved that day or not.

We raised our kids the same way our parents raised us. By showing by example and teaching them our faith. In the end it was still their choice to make. They all needed to make it a personal decision and not based on what we did or think.

I hope that you too know the Lord….if not why not pray to Him today.  Read John 3:16!

Have a wonderful day today and know that Jesus Loves you!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Simple Cleaning To-Do List….

| resumeofamother

I always like watching and learning from others.  Whether it be from reading a book they wrote, a You-Tube video, some hands- on training or what have you.  I want to know what worked for them and where they started from so that I can see how that fits where I am in life.

When I first was married and starting my family, I read the book “More Hours in my Day” by Emily Barnes.  Her insight was right where I was at.  I needed step by step instructions as to how to set up my home, how to create a chore list for my kids and so on.  Her organizational skills amazed me!  She even has a section on how to organize your pocketbook, which I still use to this day…30 years later.

As in anything you evolve and adapt to where life has you now….so fast forward 30 years and where I am today is a little different.  I used Emily Barne’s card file system for years for cleaning. But now I need something a little simpler and updated.

You-tube has become my best friend for info, and some of the people I follow I consider my friends.  I would love to meet them in person someday, and thank them for all the tips they have given me!

When I was looking to update my cleaning schedule and make it a little simpler for me and our life style now, I found some tips on You-Tube. “Andrea Mills” and “Parsnips and Parsimony”, are two families on You-Tube that I follow and LOVE… and I can really relate to.  I have taken things they have shared and created a new system for a cleaning routine for me.

Here are some of the charts and things that I now use. Maybe you will find that they will help you put together a new system for yourself too.

The first one is a chart for a 30 day cleaning challenge. Each day of the month from the 1st to the 30th, there is a special area to bring my attention too.

The second chart is my daily/weekly cleaning schedule for routine items.

Let me know in the comments below how you set up your home and cleaning routines. I would love to hear from you and maybe even learn from you too.  Also, tell me who you like to watch on You-tube!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Minimalism…Simple….Simplify-where does life have you?

| resumeofamother

What does this mean to you?  Minimalism comes to my mind. So many of the younger generation are going this way.  Many of them have watched their grandparents and parents collect things over the years so they now have taken up with the new trend of “less” is better.

I do find that the old saying…“less is more”, can be true!  But what is less?  I have watched some “extreme” shows, where they will have a beautiful “large” house and only have a mattress on the floor, 1 dish, 1 cup, 1 fork…you get the picture and they seem truly seem happy. This is not the life that I want.

I have a friend who LOVES to collect things…did I say loves it.  She collects any and everything that you could imagine.  She has now gone through her collection and resized it.  To most people…you would still say that she has a lot of “stuff” but to her …she has simplified her life in her own way with her collections and she is a happy girl.

wilson gang

In my life…which is full of special needs and most days cioas….I need “my” type of simple.  Let me explain. My husband has Epilepsy and my youngest son as Autism…..for me this changes my life on a daily basis.  I have always enjoyed a full schedule of events, lots of involvement in family, work, church and life in general.  I like lots of hobbies, things, stuff, and decor in my home etc…I like to enjoy life as I see it….but then life doesn’t alway fit what I like!!!

Recently in my home….I have had to simplify things. Less stuff, less things and to be more practical and less nostalgic. This has been very hard for me but as I get into it …it does becoming easier. I need to create a very practical world for my two men. I need to label where things go in the refrigerator and label whose jacket goes where etc… And yet find a way to make my home still seem special and pretty to me and our guests we invite over.

Recently with my schedule….I have had to simplify that too. How do you take a girl who LOVES a full schedule and adapt it to “SIMPLE” one…so that I meet the needs of my family as well as myself.  I have and am still learning how to balance life ….I really don’t know how to explain that in words with exactly I am doing. I probably need to do a VLOG on a day in the life of me.

This might not be “minimalism” to some, but for me I need to carry a planner, snacks, change of cloths, meds, water, essential oils, band aids etc… in many different bags.  I have a travel bag, pocketbook, workbag, church bag etc…each one is filled with what I would need for that event and the extras for that “just in case I need it” moment.  This works for me….my car is full of bags stuffed with stuff.  But all this stuff to me equals an organized, simplified and simple way of living.  To me my life is now not full of stressful moments and I don’t have to think as much when life takes over and craziness begins. If you have anyone in your family with special needs you would understand. We never quite know what’s going to happen at a given moment and having these extras with us at all times and organized in designated bags for that particular event definitely helps.

Simple is defined by YOU and only you.  We should not jump on a trend just because!!! Yes, we should evaluate our lives and simplify them… but this does not mean throw everything out that you own, and live in a sleeping bag.

God has given and blessed our family many times over with things and not necessarily money…I need to use what I have, simplify what I buy and sometimes bless others with my overflow.

Remember to enjoy life and where life has you. I know that this is a unique way of looking a “simple life” but it is the way I do it.  How do you do it..leave a comment below.

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

“KISS” – starting over

| resumeofamother

I have heard this saying many times….”KISS”  and yet I need to be reminded of this simple quote on a daily basis. Have you heard of it?….”Keep it simple stupid”!

Well here I am starting over and getting my blog back up and running.  I think for a long while I thought it had to be this “perfect” something, and of course I am not perfect and neither is my life.  I envisioned it being… “WOW “…right from the start and WOW it is not….but WOW it can be down the road. I have a fear of failure and what will people think. What if it does not meet a certain standard ….what will your response be…and this list goes on.

For now…I need to “just start” and get it done, as my husband always tells me.  He always talks about how most people talk and talk and just never start. Life can go on for days, months and even years and we never in the end start what we wanted too.

So for today….”Resume of a Mother”… is back on track.  Blogs might be simple at times, fun and exciting at other times…but they have started again.

My goal is simply this….and it is also my personal mission statement, “to touch one life that will in turn touch another life”.  My blog was and is designed to encourage moms at every level… to bring joy, wisdom… and information that will make you a better mom.

“Resume of Mother”…was founded with me being a wife and a mother who is living a different life than most.  A Homeschool mom, special needs mom, adoptive mom, Autism, Epilepsy, full-time working mom, crafter, blogger, speaker, planner….and more….”I found my new normal and it is a moving target”. ..is my claim to fame.

Come join me again and follow me as I continue on this journey!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother