I was reading Worrywart, Yep That’s Me by Musings From Me and I can connect with her about how I worry about my own son.

I wonder when if he is happy and what he is doing when he is not with me. I wonder if he is safe. I think for a lot of dedicated parents, it comes as a natural instinct. I do not want Angel to suffer. I had as a child and my family still has episodes where the past comes haunting at odd times.

I think I am lucky with Angel. I have seen some kids his age (he is 7) and they are just in a nasty disposition. Angel is zany, and literally happy. I think sometimes he might be spoiled when he is with his father, but with me, I try to get him to appreciate the simple things. Too many people expect things to go their way and that is not always how life works. For those who learn the hard way, it is a rough reality to adjust to.

All I can do is help him learn what he needs to do, make sure he has his basic necessities, and show him all the love he deserves. However, even though I know he has everything, I will still worry. It is just natural. It shows that I care.

What do you think? Do you worry about your child(ren)? What do you worry about in particular about your child(ren)?Do you think it is a natural instinct?

I was recently reminded of a peeve I have: kids with cell phones. I do not mean 15, 16, and 17 year old children, I mean those 14 and under. Why do they need a cell phone? Who do they talk to and what do they talk about?

As a parent myself, I just do not find a reason that giving my son a cell phone at his age is necessary. It is an extra bill to pay, and the phone, even if I went with a cheap charlie cell phone, I know my kid would lose it or damage it. How do I know? He already did it to my own. It was okay though and no harm done. It is just a phone.

Some of the phone services out there are trying to promote kid safe cell phones with GPS tracking. I understand the concept, but as much as it is safe for my kid, it is not safe for my wallet. Is it really necessary to give a child a phone?

I grew up fine without a cell phone. In fact, I did not have my first cell phone until I was 26! When I was in high school, beepers were all the rage. And those were also not allowed in school. By my senior year, cell phones were included on the banned list (I graduated in 1999.) I just do not see a point. There are so many other necessities and it is just another distraction. I keep hearing how someone’s daughter or son drive up the phone bill, or someone cannot pay the bill.

They are really only necessary for those who choose not to have a land line telephone at home, or people on the go. If children are given phones, then that makes me wonder who is watching them? The phone cannot.

What are your thoughts?

My first attempt at beads

I grew up learning how to do different crafts, but because I love to handle beads and make necklaces, I finally just decided to try making my own. Of course, it was a learning process. I looked online for tutorials, and just did a simple Target cane. I wanted mine to look a bit tiger-ish, so I cut the soft polymer clay into several pieces, rolled them up, stuck a hole through the middle, and then set in the oven to bake.

This is how they turned out. They are not perfect, but for a first attempt at making my own, it is not too bad.

My first candle and flower arrangement

This is a simple candle and flower arrangement I made for my stepmother. She was thrilled with it. The candle was vanilla and cost only $2 from Walmart. The materials for the arrangment, including the lead crystal holder at the bottom totaled only $7.

It was something I made on a whim. When you cannot find something, make something…right?

In the past, I have sold things like hand-sewn handbags, bracelets, and even earrings. I did make a few dollars, but I was not really promoting it a lot. At the time, there were really no great social networks to try to connect with people who might be interested in at least taking a look at my DIY (Do It Yourself) crafts for sale, let alone even persuade further to buy.

However, in the past 5 years alone, people do not have to turn to using eBay as an expensive place. Here are some ways you can promote your work.

1. DeviantART – Even having a free account, you can load pictures of your items to show others. To connect, use their forums and seek out groups or individuals who seem to be interested in DIY.

2. Etsy – This place allows you to list your items for cheap.

3. Your own website. Whether you use a shopping cart, or WordPress with a shopping cart plugin, you can control your content more. There are some pretty good web hosts. I actually sell 5GB of webspace and 25GB bandwidth for $25 per year at Host Solutions.

4. Forums on the Internet. For those who are moms, finding and joining mommy communities might be ideal. Other moms sometimes enjoy buying DIY for family to keep their gifts unique.

5. Find SAHM (Stay At Home Moms) or WAHM (Work At Home Moms) sites and if they have a site directory, submit your link. I do want to note that some sites might have a minimal fee or even a link back requirement or other submission requirements.

What other ways can you promote your crafts?

I am a little late on this, but I better say something before it is too late to mention Holiday cards.

Yep, I am offering to send a Holiday Card to anyone who wants one. It is not much, just a card, but I know some people really like to receive things during the holidays and what better way to do it than mention it to those who read or comment. It does not matter where you live, whether within the US or outside, I will sent you one. All you do is send me an email at nile AT blondish DOT net or use my contact form here.

I plan to not send any cards out later than December 21st (I mentioned December 20th on my LiveJournal blog, but that is a Sunday…oops), so I guess that will have to be the last day to accept requests. If you wish to exchange cards, please mention that in your email so I can include my address. Otherwise, exchanging is not necessarily a requirement.

When I was married, it was like all my single friends avoided me. I made myself available at times, but I guess taking about my son or my ex husband put a wedge. However, even though I am single now, my friends who are married, are the same.

It is quite confusing. Even being in a relationship with my boyfriend, some of my single friends I have met out here in Centralia have just faded into the background. It is kind of annoying since we hung out on the weekends.

Being in a relationship does not necessarily mean a person is on the backburner. It is a time to learn how to be a better friend. Of course, with being a mother, it might be hard to not involve talk about children. I have found it a touchy spot, and made sure my family life more brief and ask about my friend more. However, for me it is a challenge. Sometimes it is disheartening to not hear from one of my best friends for some time. I have felt a bit betrayed, but in the time I do get to talk, I try to ask about my friends.

I know from other mothers that this has been a big issue. It sucks when you think you are losing a friend. You might even think you were being used. However, it is not. Your friend is just unsure to approach the situation. Being single and being married or in a deep relationship is different. Even being married or deep in a relationship with children is much more of a difference then just being married or in a relationship.

What are your thoughts if you are single and have friends who are married? – married and have single friends…?

Socks, my cat and my sandals

My cat has this thing about shoes. Usually when I or my boyfriend get back from somewhere, he will rub himself on the shoes. The past two days, he has been buddying up and laying on my sandals. I am thinking my cat has a shoe fetish.

Angel’s birthday is December 3rd (which would make him 7 this year.) Considering money has been really tight this year, I find it a bit difficult to try to make a distinction with buying his Birthday presents versus Christmas presents. With me being divorced, Angel gets twice the Birthday party and twice the Holiday celebration.

While I grew up, I never had this issue as my birthday falls in September. My younger sisters also did not have birthdays anywhere close to Christmas.

Toys are never the issue, but usually clothing is where I have a problem choosing which occasion to give him those.

1. Do I split the clothes and give half for his birthday and the other for Christmas?
2. Do I give all the clothes on just one occasion?

All of his clothes have the characters he likes or the colors he likes to wear. He is pretty easy to please. This might seem like a dumb ordeal, but I would like to know how other mothers decide on issues like this for their children who may have a birthday near Christmas time.

My son is playing basketball this year for the first time. Although the league in his age category does not take scores, his team was great and made more hoops. The league emphasizes on really basic rules and at least teaching the kids to get the ball moving down the court. He is the third tallest on the team, and I think his team got the best color. It might be the fact I am a Spurs fan.

Angel playing basketball

Angel running to his position

More basketball pics