A Different Kind Of Mother's Day

I’m starting to see a lot of posts about Mother’s Day.  In recent years, Mother’s Day for my mom has taken on a different “look” – she has Dementia.  Most days she is very confused and afraid as she doesn’t remember who my dad is or what has happened to all of those she knew and loved (who have passed away).  Thankfully, she is still at home being cared for by my single brother and my dad but it is a huge undertaking.  I live 8 hours away so can only get there every six weeks or so to help out but try to do things from my end to help ease the burden.  I’m getting ready to go for a visit and am taking her Mother’s Day gifts with me as I won’t be there on the actual day.  I thought I would share some of the gifts I’m taking her as they are all things that we are using to bring meaning, calmness and joy to her daily life.

Do any of you remember these?? I loved these as a kid.  My mom attends an adult day care and often other residents will make little gifts for the others.  I thought this would be something we could work on together and she can take them to her friends.  You put the pegs on the shapes and then iron them – they melt and you pop off the designs.

Mom never really liked arts and crafts or coloring but she seems to enjoy it now so I bought this coloring book and a nice, new box of 64 Crayolas for her.  She LOVES birds so we’ll give this a try.  It’s not one of the new “adult” coloring books – those are way too detailed.  This is just a simple, kid’s coloring book with large and simple pictures. I hope she gets that same "thrill" of opening a brand new box of crayons!

This is my first time buying these “Find It” games.  Mom LOVES pink so I think she’ll enjoy this.  Basically, there is a list on the lid and on cards with everything that’s “hiding” in the beads.  You just shake, roll, twist and look for the objects.  It comes recommended by the Alzheimer and Dementia sites as something that is often well received by patients.  It’s also self-contained so can be taken to places like doctor’s offices where a lot of waiting is involved.

The last time I visited I took a puzzle.  Springbok has some really nice puzzles that are especially good for those suffering from Dementia.  They only have about 24 pieces and the pieces are big.  The themes are not childish and again, since Mom LOVES birds, I took this puzzle for us to work on.

It’s not something she can do on her own so we work together to get the frame made by finding every piece that has a straight edge.  I kind of ‘give her hints’ like, “where is that yellow wing for that bird?” and I kind of push two in front of her with one being the correct one.  She gets very pleased with herself that she found the correct one.  The key is SUCCESS – making her feel that she has been successful at something!  Once we get the puzzle together, we talk about each of the birds and the colors and has she ever seen one in person, etc.  Where does she think the birds sleep?  How do they feed their babies? What do they eat, etc. 

 

I’m also taking her a new wig.  Mom was always SO finicky about her appearance and always was ‘dressed to the nines’ wherever she went so it’s hard to see her not be able to do that for herself anymore.  Wigs have helped to keep her looking as sharp as possible. Mom was known for her fur hats and coats (sorry animal lovers!) and her jewelry.  This picture was taken probably 40 years ago on a Sunday morning before church -- doesn't she look stunning?! I found this necklace on my last visit in her drawer and she said I could have it -- it's big and chunky and a wonderful piece that I enjoy wearing when I get all 'gussied up' as she used to say.

It’s interesting that my mom never liked games or crafts, etc. but seems to now.  My advice is try lots of different activities.  Don’t go by what they used to like or not like.  Things definitely change with this disease and will continue to change day to day and week to week.  So even something they didn’t like last week, try it again – they may now like it.  In the same respect, if they appear to not be enjoying something – don’t force it.  Move on.

This picture was taken in front of her church before she was married to my dad -- she was about 25 years old.  I think when I look at these pictures of her, I'm reminded that that young girl and woman and mom is still in there somewhere and while she may not be the person she was, a part of her is still "mom" and needs love, care and joy in her life.

Do you have someone in your family suffering from this terrible disease?  If so, what tips and suggestions might you have for activities?

 

Tea Cup Exchange

Recently I had the great pleasure to participate in a Tea Cup Exchange sponsored by a lovely blogger, Stephanie from The Enchanting Rose blog.  She has hosted several of these and while this was my first time participating, I know it will not be the last.  Stephanie has such a lovely blog -- really, you NEED to go check it out!  Each participant is matched up with another and given some ideas of what kinds of things they enjoy, favorite colors, favorite teas/coffees, etc.  Deanna got my name and while she doesn't have a blog, we have enjoyed corresponding (I still owe her a thank you note!!) via email and I certainly enjoyed the gifts she sent in my package including the sweet little cup and saucer pictured above.

 I'm a huge fan of lavender tea so she sent along a package of loose leaf, Lavender Dreams white tea from Teavana -- oh it IS wonderful!

 In my "bio" I mentioned my love of all things retro and vintage.  Included in my package was this simply AMAZING little brocade purse that she said she picked up in Tennessee at the Apple Cake Tea Room. I've used it several times already -- it is simply beautiful!

 The inside is a lovely, buttery soft satin with this tag showing it was made in West Germany.

 Deanna even included little bags to create individual tea bags using the loose leaf tea.  Please head on over to Stephanie's blog -- you will find something new and fun there almost every day!  Unlike ME, she is so good at posting often haha! 

Changing Table to T.V. Stand

 Recently we purchased a t.v. but we needed something to put it on.  I was thinking about the pieces of old furniture, etc. I have and remembered I still had the kids' changing table so hubby hauled it out to my 'work area' in the basement and I began re-working it.

 

I had to make some minor repairs and since I wanted to only use one of the drawers, I had to remove the drawer guides for the other two.  I also drilled holes in the back for the cords.  A few coats of Pure White Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and I was ready to move on to some of the other details.

After a coat of Annie Sloan clear wax, I lightly distressed the entire dresser.  

A few years ago my daughter was in India and she brought me a bag of hand-painted, porcelain drawer pulls.  I've had them in a decorative bowl but I knew they would be perfect for this piece.  I had already removed the old hardware and filled the extra hole with wood filler.  I decided to just line the drawer with scrap booking paper.

My goal was to spend little or nothing on this piece so for the shelves, I used old fence boards I had gotten on Freecycle.  I cut them and then sanded the edges lightly.  I wanted to keep this simple so they are just laying in there and can be removed if we want to move the stand. They are all different looking and slightly warped but I really like the look they created (and did I mention they were free??).

Now do you know what has given me the MOST trouble on this piece?? Finding containers/baskets that would fit on the second shelf! The opening with the boards is only 4" tall and 15" deep.  Seems like it would be simple -- but every basket I looked at was 4.5" tall!  Finally, I found these trays at Michael's on sale and I like that they were already lined with a color of paper that perfectly matches my living room!  So my total cost for this t.v. stand . . .  $24.00 and THAT was for the trays.  I still would have rather had baskets and I may keep a look out for some -- what do you think? Baskets or bins?

I'm super happy with how this turned out and even more so that it holds so many memories of changing little bottoms on top of it.  My how time does fly . . .  Do you have a favorite 'conversion' project?

Magnetic Verse Holders

Recently I was asked if I could come up with a craft for our church's women's retreat.  The theme was "Women Seeking Joy".  I have a ton of scrap wood/fence boards so I wanted to find something using that which would keep costs down.  I decided that cut into small pieces, the wood could become a magnetic verse holder.

 I printed out the theme verse ahead of time on scrap book paper.  The ladies applied the paper to the wood using Mod Podge and then distressed the edges using small pieces of sanding foam included in their kits.

 I chose twelve different Bible verses on "joy" and printed them on card stock.  The ladies were able to choose from an assortment of stamps and ink to decorate the verse cards.

 By adding the ribbon and paper flower as well as high-powered magnets on the back, all of the ladies were able to create something they could use and enjoy in their homes.  I enjoyed making these so much that I'm thinking of making more to sell in my Etsy shop.  You could use these to hold note paper, grocery lists, photos and of course, your memory verses.  Now to find the TIME to create more . . .