FUTURE BUSINESS ENDEAVORS - Still getting calls and spending time with new kiddos this week. This has been exactly what I had hoped, and maybe, just maybe, I have found my Empty Nesting Calling! I am going to share this again, because every time I do, it seems to work in my favor!
Here are the details...
I will stay with your kiddos for one to three hours. (Not over three.)
I will come to your home. (No judgment about messy, lived-in homes. Been there, done that, know how it feels.)
My NANA-FOR-HIRE services are available Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.
I am available for Moms in the Fultondale, Morris, Mount Olive and Gardendale areas.
Reasons you may need a NANA-FOR-HIRE:
1. Your regular babysitter cancels at the last minute.
2. You have a doctor’s appointment for you OR one of your kiddos, and you would rather not take the whole crew to the doctor’s office.
3. You have a haircut/manicure/pedicure scheduled, and you need uninterrupted time.
4. You need to run quick errands alone.
5. You need an uninterrupted lunch date with husband or a friend.
The list goes on and on and on.
Rates:
1 - 3 Kiddos - $10 First Hour; $10 Second Hour; $5 Third Hour - Total $25 for Three Hours
4 - 6 Kiddos - $10 First Hour; $10 Second Hour; $10 Third Hour - Total $30 for Three Hours
Contact information:
You can private message me on Facebook.
You can e-mail me at mfaulkner1306@charter.net.
All about me:
My name is Belinda Faulkner.
I am a Christian.
I am a 54 year-old wife of one and mother of three grown children.
I am a recent Empty Nester striving to fill my time in a useful, productive, Christ-honoring way.
I have a very old Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood Development.
I love working with children. Always have, always will.
So there you have it. A new business venture at the ripe ol' age of 54.
RANDOMNESS #1 - I have a few other business endeavors I am contemplating, you know.
Four total.
I may start Business Endeavor #2 next week while Mikie is in Boston.
Did I mention Mikie was going to Boston for a business thing next week?
No?
Well, he is, and you can tell he is super excited about being away from me for a few days.
Before he returns, I hope to have my multi-million-dollar-new-business bringing in the big bucks.
Let's just say, it will be a very nice little surprise for him when he walks through the door.
And if Business Endeavor #2 falls flat on it's face, I will quickly and quietly move right on to Business Endeavor #3.
I'll give you a little hint about Business Endeavor #3.
Four words...
Nana... B... Action... Figure!
You might want to go ahead and place your order.
RANDOMNESS #2 - 54 Year-Old Woman Probs - The other day, I saw a segment on a talk show about make-up.
The make-up expert was asked, "If you had only five minutes before you had to walk out the door, what would you do with your make-up?"
I found his answer fascinating...
Especially, since my answer would have been something like, "Locate and try to put on ALL of my foundational garb in five minutes. There would be no time left over for make-up."
His response, "Do your eyebrows and your lips. That is all. Quickly work on the 'frame' of your face."
Hmmmm.
The "frame" of my face. I had never thought of it like that before.
Guess what?
This week, I needed to get out of the house in five minutes or less, AND I was fortunate enough to already have found and put on all of the necessary foundational garb. I actually had the five minutes to devote to my "face frame."
I don't have any eyebrow make-up, but because of gray hair and such, my brows are much lighter these days.
I decided to use a little of my mascara to "set the tone."
Okay, Friends.
That was a mistake.
My mascara was MUCH too dark for my eyebrows, and even when I tried to distribute it by brushing it through, I ended up with a very Groucho Marx look.
Two of my five minutes were gone, and I quickly grabbed a cotton ball, some eye make-up remover and tried to de-emphasize my above-the-eye area.
My eye make-up remover did not remove the BLACK eyebrows as much as it just spread it over a wider area all the way onto my upper forehead.
Another minute long, long gone.
If you're doing the math, I had two minutes left.
I grabbed my bar-o-soap and a rag and went to town.
When yet another minute passed, I was relieved to see the black had been replaced by bright, bright pink...
And I decided the bright, bright pink would have to do as my upper face framer.
With one minute remaining, I quickly moved to the lip area.
I rarely use a lip liner, but I always use lipstick.
In light of my upper-frame-gone-bad situation, I decided to do a really spectacular job on the lips, and I paired two of my favorite lipsticks to give me the prettiest color on my lower-face-frame.
Did I mention there was some slight swelling in the brow area, too?
Yeah.
Definite swelling.
I was looking mighty fine.
Longer story shorter...
Because I had less than one minute before walking out the door, instead of carefully applying my lipstick, I totally missed my lip with the second tube and jammed it into my mouth onto 14 of my teeth.
Just between you and me...
My face frame had looked much, much better...
On many, many other occasions.
RANDOMNESS #3 - Mike, Josh and Roxie had a grand ol' time in Arkansas last weekend, and except for the loss in FOUR OVERTIMES, the trip was a success.
How is that for a pretty SEC stadium? Love the mountains in the background.
The guy eating popcorn next to Roxie is my favorite.
Our dear friend, Jonathan Askins, lives in Arkansas, and when Mike called him to see how close they would be to him during their travels, it turned out to be not far at all.
He met my guys and took them to a local Arkansas restaurant and a good time was had by all.
Our kids had never met Jonathan, but they had heard the stories...
And meeting him in person did not disappoint!
It never does.
Pinterest Stuff
Gifts Ideas for Older Kids
Passes to Recreational Activities. Purchase passes to the local Bowling Ally, Laser Tag Venue, Rock Climbing Facility or Museum. This will not only entertain them through the cooler winter weather, but give them something to anticipate.
Camping Gear. We are huge on outdoor activities at our house. Why not get the kids a new sleeping bag and other gear they can call their own.
Outdoor Ride-On. Razor has some awesome crazy trikes, scooters and dune buggies the kids are sure to love. Give the kids a thrill with a motorized cart or scooter. Skateboards and Ripsticks are also a great gift. If you wanted to spice it up and get something a little more extravagant, either build or buy a ramp.
Gymnastics Equipment. Both boys and girls like to rough house. Get mats and pads for the kids to practice at home.
Different Dates
Find a unique restaurant at least an hour away from your home and road trip there for lunch one Saturday, just because.
Go on an impromptu gelato search in your town. Go to at least four or five locations trying gelato at each one before buying your favorite flavor at your last stop. Cut the sweetness by splitting a plate of bacon fries at a greasy diner afterward.
One Saturday, have your guy meet you at the local animal shelter and volunteer to walk a few of the dogs through the park. NOTE FROM THE ENCHANTING BELINDA - I don't know if the shelters actually let you do this, but call and check it out. It would be a lot of fun.
Book the chef's table at your favorite fancy restaurant, and watch your meal come together from scratch as the chef works his magic in the kitchen.
Halloween Party Games
Pass the Pumpkin
What you will need:
Stuffed or plastic pumpkin, medium-sized
Halloween music
This game is played similar to Hot Potato. Music is played, and then randomly turned off. The kid left holding the pumpkin is eliminated. The last one holding the pumpkin at the end is the winner. Game can be repeated until everyone wins a prize.
Candy Corn Relay
What you will need:
4 bowls or buckets
2 large spoons
Bag(s) of candy corn
Divide kids into teams and designate a starting line and a finish line. Set out a bowl full of candy corn for each team at the starting line and an empty bowl at the finish line. The players must use a large spoon to scoop candy corn out of the full bowl and then carry it to the empty bowl and fill it. They cannot spill any candy corn or use their hands! If any candy corn falls off the spoon, they must immediately pick it up and bring it back to the starting line bowl and start over with that spoonful. Once a kid successfully gets a spoonful of candy corn into the bowl, they go to the end of the line and the next person on their team goes until all the candy corn is in the finish line bowl.
Spider Web
What you will need:
White yarn ball
Perfect for a group of four to eight kids. Arrange kids in a circle and give the ball of yarn to one child. Have that child hold the end of the yarn (or tie it around their wrist) and then throw the ball of yarn across the circle to someone else. That person catches the yarn and holds on to a part of it before throwing the ball. Taking turns, each kid tosses his yarn to someone else in the circle. When they reach the end of the yarn, they’ve created a spider web!
Throw Me a Bone
What you will need:
Large piece of cardboard (at least 36 inches by 36 inches)
Black marker
Package of Scooby-Doo bone graham cracker snacks or dog bone treats (not to be eaten)
Decorate cardboard by dividing into 9 squares using a Tic-Tac-Toe pattern. In each square, write a number between 1 and 9, but not in any order. The game is played by laying the cardboard on the floor and having kids stand 6 feet back, tossing 6 bones on the board. They score points based on where the bones land in each square. Add up their total number of points, the person with the most points wins each round.
Pumpkin Relay
What you will need:
Medium sized plastic pumpkins
Divide groups into teams of 5 or 6 and line them up.
Explain the first person in each line passes the pumpkin back over his head to the next person in line who must then pass it through their legs to the next person in line. This pattern, above the head and through the legs, is repeated until the end of the line is reached. Once the pumpkin gets to the end, the child at the end runs to the front of the line and starts over again. This continues until everyone has had a turn at the front of the line and the person who was first in line becomes the last. First team to have everyone compete first through last wins.
Weekend Happenings
1. Okay. Tomorrow, as you may or may not know, is Halloween.
So all of my kids are grown now.
I'm pretty sure I have mentioned that fact in an earlier post.
Mike and I are going to Hartselle in the morning for a Halloween Pumpkin Picnic with Josh, Courtney and Judith.
We are going to decorate pumpkins with stickers, read Halloween-friendly kid books and eat chicken fingers and pumpkin snacks.
I may or may not take a pic or two.
I am so excited.
2. Saturday night, Mike and I are having a chili dinner AND we're going to do something different.
I am not a scary movie kind of person, but I told Mike to record the very first Halloween movie. (It has been on one channel or another all week long.)
We're going to watch it together tomorrow night.
Just the two of us.
In a dark house.
And if I decide it's a little too much for me...
We're going to pop in Saving Mr. Banks!
3. Early Sunday morning, Mike is leaving for Boston, and I will be holding down the fort here.
Could I BE more boring?
Have a spooktacular weekend. I'll be back next Friday with our Halloween Pumpkin Party pics and the beginning of some Thanksgiving posts.
Take care.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
