The right place at the right time....

I've been thinking of starting my own business for awhile now, a couple of years, to be exact. It all started when I realized that Grandma really needed some help to keep her lifestyle intact, but she lives in Richmond, and I live in Charlotte. Grandma loves her home, and really doesn't need or want to ever move and live somewhere else. Not even into this pretty little guesthouse I could have fixed up with her things for her.....

So, I started doing some research about a year ago. What I found was that there are really no widely known options for care for senior citizens who are healthy and able to go about their daily life with a little assistance. Assisted living homes are outrageously expensive, so that's not really an option for Grandma while she's totally healthy and independent. The type of home that you can get paid for with Medicare is not somewhere I want my loved one to live. Since Grandma doesn't want to come live with me (and being in her own home environment is what's really best for her), I needed to find someone who'd come to her.

Well, I had some around the clock nursing care for Grandma when she was recuperating from a broken hip. Grandma doesn't need that kind of care now. She needs someone to drive her to her appointments, to the bank, to get her hair done, and to help her plan, buy the ingredients for and prepare her meals (or she'll be eating at Captain D's and Aunt Sarah's every day....)

Finally, I found a little company that provided companion care for seniors. Aha! Here's someone who might be able to help! Well, kinda. See, the person the company sent to help Grandma had nothing in common with Grandma--socioeconomically, experience-wise or age-wise. They sent a young high school graduate from the inner city who had no idea what to talk with Grandma about, how to dress, or even how to act around Grandma. Grandma hated this option. Finally, when the girl got into a car accident with Grandma and the company didn't inform me, Grandma's car insurance company informed me, I fired them.

Grandma's hairdresser got my phone number from a relative, and called me to tell me about her friend Cindy who'd recently been laid off and had a real sweet way with her elderly neighbors. Thank you, God! I called Cindy, a couple of times, and developed a job description and a pay scale for her. As the weeks went by, I developed my oversight practices to protect Grandma's personage, her money and her routine. I utilized my family contacts to have people stop in and check up on Cindy, and along the way, I've developed my company's business model.

About a week ago, I sent out my first marketing effort. While I was on vacation, I made an appointment for my first interview. What I'm selling is exactly what this older couple needs--they've recently moved back home from their assisted living facility because she was so unhappy there she wouldn't go to the dining room to eat. I met her agency-provided caregiver yesterday when I returned from his doctor's appointment, and the lady hadn't eaten lunch and was miserably staring at some talk show about tattooed ex-convicts. The girl (another high school graduate who hopes to start college sometime) had no idea what needed to be done and Betty couldn't tell her, and was glad to have me give her some directions. I'll have her trained in a couple of weeks, and who knows? Maybe some one-on-one training will turn her into my employee #3!

I'm about to close my second client, a post-transplant home nursing job that I've contracted my friend's mother, a retired RN for tonight. Wish me luck!

Family Fun Plan--I'll be making updates.

Last Day of School - Drinks in the Driveway Neighborhood Party


Week 1 - The original plan was for Absolutely nothing. Maybe a visit to Virginia? How quickly it all changes.....

Monday: Trip to the Library

Tuesday: Checked out Nevins Park Sprayground and attended Grub Club at Latta Plantation Nature Center
Wednesday: Chores
Thursday: Scholars Academy Playdate at Latta Park Spraygrounds
Friday: Day trip to Cane Creek Park with friends and a birthday party

Weekend 1 - Music Festival (Cousins' Reunion) & Father's Day

Troop 2409

Mom, George & I took the kids to Imaginon over Spring Break. A good time was had by all, although boys are completely different from girls in their interpretation of "library voices."

The Brownies & I ran in the Thin Mint Sprint 5K and got our picture taken with US Olympian, Michelle Lewis. We enjoyed the rest of the day at Carowinds too.

Matthew & I joined some friends for the March for Midwifery in Raleigh. It's hard to believe our state won't license Certified Professional Midwives. We're making some headway, with a new bill that's moving through our state government.

I'm the Leader for Meghan's Brownie Troop 2409. It's been a lot of learning, and a lot of fun!

Our family ran the Get Your Rear in Gear 5K in memory of my Dad. It's a fundraiser for research to find a cure for colon cancer.

Matthew's everywhere. Calls himself "Woo Woo" as in "a toot-toot (train) says "woo woo." Rhymes with Matthew. Derived from "Foofoo..."

Meghan's First Reconciliation.

Michael's 6th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.

2011.....Let's Get Back In Touch!

So, the Wheelers closed out 2010 with a week-long visit to Virginia. Notice I didn't say, "I took a trip back home to Virginia." I know I've been busy having and raising 3 kids and all, but it was amazing to me how many members of my family I hadn't seen in almost 10 years!!! Maybe it was that realization, or maybe I have truly acclimated to the sunny Carolinas, but Virginia no longer feels like home to me, and instead feels like a favorite vacation destination. Kinda how UVA felt when we took the kids there for a visit last year. It's nice to realize that I really have built a life and put down roots in Charlotte.

So, we started off the week with a visit to Mom at her new home in Appomattox (yes, she's moved back to her hometown with her fiancee, George), where we have a lot of family. It was completely bizarre to me to be visiting Mom in the town where she and I always used to visit during the holidays--kinda like 2 realities colliding--and I think, no I know, that my kids are going to love the town for all the same reasons I did. I mean, we've got 2 family businesses to visit in the town (1 has really cool Bass Pro Shops stuff and scooters and bikes, and the other has some really sweet kitties hanging around), plus some cousins, some uncles, quite a few aunts, some ponds to fish in, some land to go shooting on, the Surrender grounds to explore and a Dairy Queen. What more could a kid ask for?

My cousin Sally was kind enough to invite the entire family (all branches of the Coleman family that still live in Virginia) to her home for a dinner party, and again, it was like 2 realities colliding--my Christmases past with my present--with my aunts and uncles sitting around the table talking while the kids were playing in the basement...only this time it was my generation's kids, yet my generation (the girls only of course) were all still in the kitchen while the guys watched football!!!! I wouldn't have changed a thing. I'm so glad my children had that experience--I always loved my family's get-togethers, and they're so lucky to have had the chance to meet their great-aunts and great-uncles and to meet their third cousins (yes, we're into the thirds, now). There's talk of doing this every year now that the kids have gotten old enough to make it easy--I don't think 50 people for dinner is ever easy, but Sally, Kim & Aunt Luella made it look easy. :)

Then, it was off to Richmond to visit with my Grandma, who is 91. This visit, we stayed at the Homewood Suites near Richmond Airport, because it came with a free breakfast buffet and a kitchen. Surprisingly, it also included a free dinner, and with the super deal I got from Expedia, the trip was downright affordable!!! We brought Grandma over for breakfast both days, and she got to eat for free too! Can't beat that, especially since we were spared the inevitable excruciatingly long ordeal of breakfast with Grandma at Aunt Sarah's. I don't know what impressed Grandma the most about the hotel, the beautiful decor, the fact that 2 meals a day were included in the room's price or that this was "that Paris Hilton girl's hotel." Grandma kept talking about "high society" and "that Hilton girl" while she was visiting us in our suite....I didn't have the heart to say that Paris Hilton's not my idea of "high society." Let Grandma enjoy her brush with fame. You don't get many of them at age 91.

I'd given her senior's companion, Cyndi, some time off for the holidays. That meant that I was there to take Grandma to her doctor's appointment on Wednesday and to run her errands with her on Friday. Grandma is an inspiration at her age--she's a testament to the benefits of never drinking anything but water, never smoking and always getting enough sleep. Not that any of that applies to me, but I'm just saying, it's worked for her. :)

That night, we met some dear friends, the Abplanalps, for dinner at Chuck E. Cheese's. With 5 kids under 10 and one expectant Mom and 2 Dads who needed to have some fun and blow off steam, it seemed an excellent option. While there's never enough time when you're dealing with toddlers' expiration points (or at least Matthew's), Ashley & I always just pick up where we left off and talk about what's really important. I love that about her, and I treasure our friendship. I'm blessed that she's always willing to make time for us when we're in Richmond.

My best friend for 24 years, Connie, also happened to be in Virginia for a family wedding this week from California, and she drove down to Richmond to spend an afternoon with me. We went out for lunch and then for coffee, and I thought, "now Grandma, THIS is high society. Who actually meets up with an old friend while they're on different vacations for lunch and a trip to Target?" We both bought copies of A Soft Place to Land and we have a date to discuss the book in 2 weeks.

As we both realized during our trip back to Virginia to see our families, life's about making the effort to stay in touch. It's very easy to get lost in the laundry, the dishes, the cooking and the homework that needs to be done, and look up to realize it's been 10 years since we last talked with someone important. Well, this year, it'll be 10 years since my Dad passed away from colon cancer. And, Meghan will be graduating from high school in 10 years. It flies by.

So, this year, I'm resolving to get back in touch with the important people in my life. I'm going to make an effort to find things in common with them again and renew those connections with family and friends that I've let dwindle. I'm also going to run the Get Your Rear In Gear 5K in memory of my Dad.

Getting in touch is probably easiest done online, so start checking my blog again. I'm always on Facebook, but I'm also going to try to share more details from the Wheelers here. Chime in when you want to--I want to hear from you!

Wishing you peace, love and happiness in 2011!

Christmas Day!

OK, here's a hodge-podge of pictures from this morning--it's been a quiet but hectic morning--Santa was so good to all of us, and it's hard to decide what to play with! The Barbie styling head is a hit, all of the transformer stuff is a hit, and Craig's favorite toys are the remote control cars. This afternoon we're going to make our bird feeder, and play with our rock tumbler. Enjoy the photos, and send some of your own!

Wishing you peace and love today and all days--

The Wheelers

Matthew James Wheeler

Matthew's birth

OK, seriously? Why in the world would ANYONE tell a woman she could

labor in the water but she'll have to get out of the tub in order to

deliver the baby? After having three kids now with no drugs,

I have to say Matthew's was definitely the easiest, least painful, the

fastest and most gentle birth I've had. I've always had a thing about

water with these blessingway beads and whatnot, instinctively I was

onto something. So, Craig and I spent Sunday morning making three gigantic batches of

pasta sauce (his idea, not mine, although we had a lot of fun). Then,

a babysitter came over and kept the kids while we saw the new James

Bond movie and then went to World Market and stocked our wine fridge

for the holidays--so much fun! We got home just in time to pick up

the kids and go to 5:00 mass (I had a REALLY painful "braxton-hicks" contraction in the car on the way, but didn't think anything of it since I've been having them for about a

month now.) By the way, the readings were about the ideal wife

(Proverbs 31, one of my favorites) and another one was about Him

coming suddenly and without warning, as do labor pains upon a pregnant

woman--I really should learn to be still and listen....LOLOLOL It's

just so hard when Michael is literally holding his own hot wheels

demolition derby in the middle of the floor at the back of the

church.....LOLOLOLOL

So, after mass we came home, had pasta for dinner and I decided I HAD

to go to Harris Teeter for a few things. An hour later, I was leaving

HT having purchased $225 worth of groceries for $125, the savings for

which the manager had to come and approve my purchase (score--never

won that big before at the grocery game). I came home, went in and

said goodnight to Meghan, then came downstairs to put away groceries

with Craig. My water broke then in the kitchen--so he helped me to

the bathroom and we called Christine, my doula. After talking with

her about what happened, she assured us this was it, and she'd be over in a

little bit. Then we called Stephanie, my midwife, and she was on

her way too. I sat on a yoga ball and stayed there for a little while once

Christine got there. Contractions started getting a little more intense, so Christine suggested I walk into my bedroom and let her do some counter pressure on my back. I was leaning on my

dresser, staring at my labor necklace from the blessingway, a picture

of Meghan and Michael and Matthew's ultrasound picture. Man, that's

one of my favorite moments of the whole night--the visual reminder of

my friends' prayers and well wishes, and the three beautiful human

beings in my life because of the whole labor process. Talk about

mental fortification! :) Once the contractions seemed to be coming pretty hard, Christine

suggested I get in the tub (worth every dollar). Craig ran the bath

for me, and once I was in the water, the contractions didn't slow

down, but it was like turning the volume button down on the pain.

Christine and Craig were making me laugh, the cats kept coming in to

check on me, and the whole time, Meghan and Michael were sleeping

blissfully upstairs. The whole thing was so peaceful!

Stephanie arrived at some point, but I can't recall at which point in

this story, since I was pretty well internally focused by then. I do

know I got out of the tub at one point and had a contraction or two

out of the water that would have sent me running back to the water if

I hadn't been doubled over in pain. Once I WAS back in the water, I

didn't have any pain that intense until Matthew was coming. Craig and

Christine both told me that he didn't think I was as far along as I

was compared to our other children's births--he said the first time I

had any difficulty breathing through a contraction was the one that

brought Stephanie in to catch the baby! I remember asking him to

start reading the labor letters from the blessingway to me, and

delivering Matthew pretty soon after that. It was beautiful--and everything I'd hoped for. Honestly, it was so stress-free that it was almost a "non-event--" nothing stressful,

nothing annoying, it just was. My bathroom, my bed, my food, my

things, my THING. And then, our son. And then, at 7 AM, our family.

The way it's supposed to be. Until school started and thankfully it

was just Craig and Matthew and me again until 1 pm. :)

Merry Christmas!!!

Hello, friends and family! Sorry I haven't updated this page in such a long time, but we've been kind of busy, with moving, getting settled and having a baby and all. LOLOLOLOL So, I'm going to post a bunch of pictures, and I won't write a long missive as I tend to do.....hopefully you'll get the gist of what we're up to from the pictures, cuz' I'll be off to nurse a baby pretty soon!

OH! We named him Matthew James Wheeler, born on 11/16/2008 at 11:47 PM in our new home.

This election....posted by Craig

Kelley and I were talking about the election last night and it looks like Kelley and I are on opposite sides of the fence for the first time ever on a national election. In about 2 minutes the conversation got a little heated when the hot topic de jour came up- Sarah Palin (of course!). Kelley finds Sarah to be someone she can identify with and they hold similar positions on life issues. Kelley made some really good points:

• Palin lived her convictions when the chips were down (pre-natal diagnosis of Downs Syndrome).
• As a candidate she is facing criticism that men in similar positions would not face.
• Palin has a real track record as a reformer.

I agree with Kelley on all three points. However, for me, the nomination of Sarah Palin was a negative for the McCain campaign. In my eyes Sarah Palin is a small town mayor and a governor of a sparsely populated state that is vastly different from the rest of the US. Alaska just doesn’t face the same issues as the rest of America:

• Alaska’s economy is based on Oil/Gas, tourism and the US military.
• Alaska has almost no urban areas to speak of.
• The population demographics are totally different from the remainder of the U.S.
• Alaska is largely a harsh, unforgiving wilderness. They have bounties for wolves there.
• Many people still hunt and fish for sustenance.

None of these facts are good or bad, but they do illustrate just how different Alaska is from the rest of the US. I do not feel that her experience is sufficient to warrant appointment to the second highest office in the land. The people of Alaska feel she’s been a good governor. She is a very successful person. However, there are questions that need to be answered: what experience or knowledge does Sarah Palin possess about immigration, global economic issues, financial markets, oil/gas from the DEMAND side, social security or health care? I fear that her appointment was simply based on winning the election and not on who would enhance the ability of the McCain administration to govern effectively. If we set aside her admirable position on life issues what remains? If we conducted an objective assessment of qualifications where would Sarah Palin rank? If we limit the pool to women would she rank ahead of Liddy Dole, Olympia Snow, Christine Todd Whitman or Meg Whitman? Are we being pandered to?
I’m pretty discouraged from what I have heard so far. Albert Einstein once said that things should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler. Is “drill baby drill!” a good assessment of our energy issues and the proper response? Sounds a bit like “4 legs good, 2 legs baaaad.” Abstinence only sex education sounds fantastic, but the results show it doesn’t work. Teaching evangelical Christian creationism in the classroom next to evolutionary theory is, in my opinion, totally inappropriate. Why don’t we teach the creation stories of all faiths? And don’t tell me evolution is only a “theory”- in scientific usage “theory” is a very strong term (Gravity is a theory as well). “War on Terror” sounds good- very catchy. FDR said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. We’re at war with an emotion; a disembodied amorphous concept that can be bent and shaped to whatever someone wants it to be. We’re getting sound bites and fluff from the McCain-Palin campaign. Was anyone outraged over “lipstick on a pig” before we were told to be? Does anyone know the context of that remark? We get jingles and symbols; catch phrases that stick in the head but lack any real significance when issues are looked at in depth. How many dumb emails have we gotten about who is or isn’t wearing flag pins, the Pledge of Allegiance, and Obama=Muslim? I was hopeful that McCain, a guy who has always walked to the beat of his drummer) would being depth to this campaign but we’re only getting more of the same.
Over the past eight years I’ve soured on the Republican Party. Too many substantive issues have been ignored, minimized or swept under the rug. Too many appointments have smacked of nepotism. We’re embroiled in two overseas conflicts; one seems similar to the colonial expansions of yesteryear while the other, the fully justified war to overthrow a dangerous and oppressive Taliban regime, drags on and on without enough troops, support or focus to finish. Executive privilege has become a catch-all bucket designed to excuse the president from answering for his actions. Erosion of privacy continues unabated. We’ve imprisoned people without charge. We torture people – read up on water boarding and tell me it’s not torture. If that doesn’t work we’re happy to turn a prisoner over to even more unscrupulous regimes for nastier treatment. Habeas Corpus seems to have been suspended without us even realizing it in the name of keeping us safe. Oil prices have soared through the roof. Our credit markets are a mess. Are we in a recession? Who knows?!?- We keep changing the rules on how we calculate growth and inflation. The only people who seem to be benefiting from this administration’s economic policies are Bush/Cheney cronies. Look at Halliburton and Exxon Mobil against the DJI over the past 5 years- how convenient.

I’m an independent who has never failed to vote Republican in a national election. Things will change this time around unless McCain & Palin do a few things:
Prove they aren’t going to be the third iteration of Bush-Cheney
Start outlining some concrete plans that are rational, not emotional, responses to our issues.
Divorce themselves from the sound-bite politics of the lowest common denominator

I’m not saying Barack Obama is the better candidate yet, but I’m darn dissatisfied with what the Republicans are serving up.

OK--what are we up to?

Alright--after a Wheeler family vacation with Ann & Pete and all the grandkids (the parents were invited to come too) to DisneyWorld, Meghan started Kindergarten at St. Gabriel Catholic School. It was so cute to watch her put on the uniform and head off to "the big school"--my girl can take a thing or two seriously once in awhile! Luckily, some of her girls from preschool were also assigned to her class, and it's been smooth sailing! This week, Meghan got pulled out of class into the LEAP program for her reading lessons--good thing since she's already finished the Junie B. Jones series and is almost done with ALL of the Magic Tree House books! Kindergarten is now going at Meghan's pace, and to quote her, "Mommy, I never want to leave Kindergarten!"

Michael started in the Young 4s class this year at his preschool--and true to form, he's got all of the ladies eating out of his hands. Seriously--what is it about this kid that makes all women swoon? Even as he's turning over a chair and figuring out how a toy USED TO BE put together, the lady in charge will inevitably be gushing over how sweet and how cute he is.....

Baby #3 (We just cannot decide upon a name) is doing great and is keeping Momma up at night with his gymnastics--he's already claimed his place in the pecking order by kicking Meghan in the ear and knocking off Michael's book and letting them know HE'S HERE!!!! He's his most active right when I'm trying to sleep and also when he hears big bro and big sis acting rowdy and making noise. He's going to fit right in!

Speaking of baby #3, ok, it looks like we're going to be in our house before he makes his appearance after all. That's all I'm going to say right now, and hopefully everyone is knocking on wood after merely reading those words. :)

By the way, did I mention that Craig's finished his MBA?????

If I'd known how easy this was....

Thanks to my friend, Sandy, for encouraging me to start a blog. I've always dreamt of writing a book, but this seems a whole lot simpler and a lot more do-able! Here goes.....