My sweet senior mom-in-law loves to say, "Growing old ain't for sissies!" As a member of the baby boomer generation, flirting with senior citizen status, I have to agree with her. Arthritis flare-ups, hip replacement surgery and recovery for loved ones, cataract surgery, Parkinsons Disease, Alzheimers Disease with dementia symptoms, sleep apnea – that's just a PARTIAL list of things my senior relatives have had to deal with over the last few years. I just have the arthritis at the moment, but sometimes I can't help thinking (worrying?) about what could be coming. Every time I do though, God reminds me of Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 12!

He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Talk about encouraging Bible verses for all of us in the Sandwich Generation – young as well as old! Yes, this electric powered medical mobility scooter can give "strength" to our weak parents, but CHRIST can BE our strength! AWESOME!

And you know, it's not just our aging parents who are dealing with severe health issues. I bet most of us have at least one friend or relative with one or more children dealing with major health issues – from cancer to autism to extreme food allergies and intolerances to learning difficulties and beyond. I know I do! Not only that. Did you notice the words "with insults…with persecutions…with difficulties? That definitely applies to caregivers as well – especially those dealing with senior parents with dementia symptoms!

Whatever our age or situation, we know we can rest in the power of Christ – for truly, when we are weak, THEN we are strong in the strength of the Lord as we rest in Him and HIS power. As Paul tells us in Ephesians 1, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ!" 

For more uplifting Bible verses to encourage all of us caring for elderly parents while raising children or babysitting grandchildren, be sure to visit Internet Cafe Devotions. And…

Kaye

Alzheimer's Disease is well-known to the general public, and yet still so much of a mystery to the doctors and researchers working tirelessly for a cure to it. It has impacted beloved senior relatives and friends of mine, as have other types of dementia that are similar, but different.  One online friend, Dr. David Thomas, MD, has a particularly frustrating disease, called Lewy Body Dementia Disease.

According to the Alzheimer Society, "'Related dementias' resemble Alzheimer's disease in that they also involve a progressive degeneration of brain cells that is currently irreversible. They include the dementia associated with Vascular Dementia (the second most common dementia after Alzheimer's disease), Frontotemporal Dementia, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Lewy body Dementia Disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington disease. Sometimes a person may have symptoms such as sudden onset of memory loss, behaviour changes, or difficulties with speech and movement. These symptoms may suggest a dementia other than Alzheimer's disease. Lewy Body Dementia Disease is one of these dementias. In any event a person should always seek a thorough medical assessment if any of these symptoms are present.

Regardless of the type of dementia, individuals are encouraged to obtain information and support from the Alzheimer Society.

In spite of his disease, David has maintained a very useful and interesting website, writing many of the articles himself until recently. I am holding him in prayer often, as he has started to relate the way this degenerative disease is getting much worse.

I was very interested to note that his site was updated this week, with some very useful news for our beloved seniors who may be dealing with this. It's also quite useful, of course, for those who are caring for the elderly parents who have received this diagnosis.

"Nearly 80% of people with Lewy body dementias (LBD) received a diagnosis for a different cognitive, movement or psychiatric disorder before ultimately learning they had LBD, according to the Lewy Body Dementia Association’s Caregiver Burden in Lewy Body Dementias, released today…

…Half of people seeking a diagnosis saw 3 or more doctors for 10 visits over the course of a year before they were diagnosed with LBD, and diagnosis required more than two years from the onset of symptoms for 31% of cases."

Although prognosis varies among individuals, LBD is often a more rapidly progressive disease than Alzheimer’s disease, and early diagnosis provides families an opportunity to plan for expected decline in cognition, function and behavior" To read more, head on over to the Knitting Doc site  .

In case you are wondering about the name of his site, David is a physician who specialized in psychiatry and was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia Disease (LBD) in October, 2007. His website's name reflects that he also is an expert at knitting – the Manly art. With dear family and friends and, yes, men who love to knit, that definitely caught my eye many months ago. I was so glad to discover that he is also a brother in Christ! 

His site does cover some knitting, but primarily news and information about Lewy Body Dementia Disease and, since there are several posts written that explain what he's feeling as he deals with it, it's particularly useful to caregivers for their senior parents.

If you or a beloved senior are looking for information about the various types of dementia that exist, or specifically Lewy Body Dementia Disease, I would highly recommend this site as a useful resource. And while you're visiting, do be sure to be praying for David, his sweet wife, and their family.

I did find two resource books that might interest any of you who are looking into Lewy Body Dementia Disease or are in the throes of it already. The Official Patient's Sourcebook on Dementia with Lewy Bodies has been out since 2002 and the cover states it has been updated to include the internet. A Caregiver's Guide to Lewy Body Dementia, on the other hand, just came out in October, 2010. If you'd like to take a look at them, just click on either book's picture.

Also, if you discover other good resources to help with the Sandwich Generation issues of caring for elderly parents dealing with dementia symptoms, I'd love it if you'd let us know in the comments…

P.S. I found one more useful resource – this one is for men who knit. Just click here to find out more about it. Knitting is definitely a great stress reliever, a good way to exercise your hands, and even an excellent and healthy brain activity! 

Kaye

Looking for interesting Baby Boomer and Senior Citizen News? Welcome to the latest Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use Blog Carnival here at SandwichINK this month, full of great news and resource articles just for you! From caring for elderly parents, to the Sandwich Generation issues in general, to financial questions the never-aging baby boomers generation is often asking, to fun activities for grandparents and their grandchildren, you're bound to find news and articles with good tips and info just for you!

Caring for the elderly including our senior parents:

Dale Carter has written a great article, What is a Major Transition Really Like for Your Aging Parent? which you can find at her site, Transition Aging Parents. Not only that…

The resource-full website, Aging with Grace, is the online home for Patricia Grace who is a geriatric care specialist. But she has an online home away from home with her weekly eldercare podcast at Blog Talk Radio and there you can find out more about her AND Dale Carter as you listen to her interview of Dale Carter and learn Dale's steps for success in caring for elderly parents at home, along with information about Dale's brand new book! Just click on the arrow and enjoy!

Matt Johnson, from HealthBridge In-Home Care, asks the vital question, "How do you know if your loved one has Alzheimer's Disease?" in his article, At Last, A Trustworthy Way to Diagnose Alzheimer's Disease, with a very encouraging and hopeful answer!

Shelley Webb, an RN and family caregiver, writes an interesting article on her viewpoint of the HIPAA Law at The Intentional Caregiver, Why My Mom and I Hate the HIPAA Law! I am so in agreement with her! 

Raymond Fernandez20 presents the Top 50 Aging and Gerontology Blogs at Masters in Gerontology. There are some great and useful resources on this list and I'm looking forward to going through them and bookmarking several.

Nesher has some excellent ideas at Alzheimer's Disease: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment for helping those caring for elderly parents with Alzheimers Disease or other dementia symptoms during a particularly difficult season of life, in the article, How to manage Alzheimer’s patient who refuses to eat?

Grandparents and Their Grandchildren

Webkinz stuffed animals and their virtual world offer a wide variety of activities for grandparents and their grandchildren to connect and spend time together. It's often educational and always fun. And it's even one of those great ideas for grandparents to stay in touch and close to grandchildren when living far away. Kaye Swain, right here at SandwichINK, has started a multi-part series to help grandparents learn how to use the Webkinz website and have fun with it, step-by-step, and you can find part 1 at Webkinz Stuffed and Virtual Animals – Activities for Grandparents and Their Grandchildren.

Bible Memory Verses activities are another fun way for grandparents and their grandchildren to have fun together in a multitude of ways. This summer at SandwichINK, Kaye Swain and her grandchildren have been enjoying memorizing 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 and 13 – all about that very important subject of LOVE.

Shayne Packer, a fellow member of the never-aging Baby Boomers Generation AND grandparent of almost as many grandkids as me, writes at Grandparents TLC. He is very much a techie grandparent and great when it comes to teleconferencing. That's an area I struggle with but he really has it wired and in his article, How to Videochat With Your Grandkids, he shares some fun ideas to help grandparents to stay in touch and close to grandchildren when living far away.

Shayne Packer is also the Technology Reporter for GrandMagazine.com and writes the monthly "Cyber-Savvy Grand" column. This month's article is Hottest Websites for G'Kids. As he puts it, "they'll love 'em and learn lots too!"

The Sandwich Generation Issues

One of the harder "joys" of the Sandwich Generation issues is caring for elderly parents who are still driving – particularly when you are beginning to suspect that they shouldn't be. Elizabeth Thielke wrote a very interesting article on just that topic, Seniors Involved in More Severe Car Accidents, at Seniors For Living.

Eliza Fayle has some fascinating facts and numbers for those of us in the Sandwich Generation, along with tips to help us sustain and nourish ourselves in How to Nourish the Sandwich That Is You, at Silver and Grace. 

Diabetes can hit at any age – from our grandchildren (usually Type 1) to the never-admit-to-aging Baby Boomers Generation (often Type 2) to our senior parents. It can definitely be one of the more challenging of the Sandwich Generation issues. Mia Taylor provides us with a great resource list, The Top 50 Diabetes Blogs, at Masters in Public Health. 

I have a lot of faults, but I'm very grateful that being lazy is usually not one of them. I suspect it probably isn't yours either. However, as fellow members of the extremely busy Sandwich Generation juggling the myriad of issues that come our way, Diana Dang has a very helpful post, 100 Healthy Recipes for Lazy People, at Nursing School Search Blog. It's full of quick and easy recipes and that's perfect for us in the Sandwich Generation. 

The Never-Aging Baby Boomers Generation

Would you believe, I was still going to school at 50! I finally earned my AA in Real Estate and had so much fun in my writing classes it helped jump start my blogging site. Boomerator has a great article at Seniors For Living about how much company I have with the too-busy-studying-to-be-aging Baby Boomers Generation. Check out Going Back to School When You're Over 40, 50, or 60.

And if you are caring for elderly parents and they want to get in on the education action as well, here's an encouraging article from Elizabeth Thielke and Seniors for Living, "95 Year Old Receives Her High School Diploma!"

Jeff Rose, CFP, has been very busy writing this month. He presents Medicare Part B Rules, Coverage, and Eligibility at Consumer Boomer. 

Jeff Rose has also written two interesting articles for those dealing with inheritances at Good Financial Cents. Understanding Inheritance Taxes is a vital issue for many of us who have been caring for elderly parents.  In addition, Jeff wants to let us know 3 Things You Must Know About Inheriting an IRA.

Speaking of IRAs, PT presents 5 Things to Know About Roth IRA Withdrawals at PT Money. This is important info for our senior parents as well as many of us in the Baby Boomers Generation. 

Marilyn Stowe presents a sad but important-to-know set of statistics in Silver Divorce: until divorce do us part?  at the Marilyn Stowe Family Law and Divorce Blog. The most important thing I learned from this? It's never too early OR too late to need to be proactive in working on all our relationships, starting with our spouses. My sweet husband is safely ensconced in heaven, but when he was here, we made weekly dates a high priority and I encourage each of you to do the same. Even if you are just walking around the block together or popping up to Dairy Queen for a sundae, it's so important to spend time alone, communicating, and enjoying each other's company. It's vital for your marriage and vital for the example you are setting for your family and friends!

Well, that's it for the latest Baby Boomer and Senior Citizen News at the Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use Blog Carnival. We're so glad you came to visit and look forward to seeing you at the next one hosted by Gina LaGuardia and the SeniorforLiving.com Staff on August 10, 2010. You can find past posts and future hosts on the blog carnival index page. And YES, we'd love to have you enter blog posts for our next issue. You can do that easily by clicking right here! 

P.S. In case you are wondering about the SandwichINK interview with Patricia Grace – Aging with Grace, it had to be postponed due to technological difficulties. As soon as it's rescheduled, I'll keep you posted.

Kaye

Happy Second Sunday of Advent! My senior mom and I returned late this week from visiting family. It was so wonderful to see family members we rarely see and we were thrilled with all the wonderful hugs and love. Then we got to come home to even more wonderful hugs and love from family we are blessed to be close to. Talk about a wonderful HIGH for the week.

It wasn’t all happy and roses though as we had to deal with some health issues for a close senior relative, including a CAT scan to see what, if anything, was causing some stomach discomfort. After a lot of prayer and concern, the doctor said nothing major was showing up and that hopefully the discomfort would pass, otherwise more tests would follow in the coming weeks.

So far, praise God, the pain seems to have vanished and our dear kin is doing much better. I was so encouraged by all the prayers from our family, including one grandchild who even asked her class to pray. It is such a blessing to see the fruit of our teaching blooming so wonderfully in the next generation! And it is so encouraging to see God’s hand at work, even in dark situations. This time, it looks like He is giving us a reprieve. I know another time He may allow us to go through “high waters.” I also know that, even then, we can rest solidly on His promises including one of my absolute favorites from Isaiah 41:10:

Do not fear, for I am with you;

Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Surely I will help you,

SURELY I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

I LOVE that second SURELY, don’t you! What a wonderful verse to give us hope during difficult situations! And what a blessing to be surrounded by family and friends who God often uses to encourage us.

One of my online friends who is great at that is Denise Brown from Caregiving.com. Today, she is kicking off a “Caregiving Holiday Progressive Blog Party” for care givers. To any and all who are visiting from that party, WELCOME! The goal of SandwichINK is to provide information and words of encouragement to all care givers, with a focus on the Sandwich Generation. The Sandwich Generation is made up of those who are providing senior home care to aging parents while still caring for kids at home and/or even helping extensively with grandchildren. Many of us are also in the Baby Boomer Generation.

I’ve been a member of the Sandwich Generation for over ten years, helping with senior parents, including my father who is now in heaven after battling with Parkinson’s Disease for over 15 years. I also help care for four of my many wonderful grandchildren, and deal with a wide variety of issues in that arena including special needs. Life is always challenging, never boring, and definitely rewarding and I am so grateful to God for that! I enjoy helping others, both through hands-on care and through my writing. SandwichINK, along with SandwichINK Real Estate Info (where I combine my love of real estate with the needs of the Sandwich Generation), both give me a chance to do just that!

I’d love for you to sign up SandwichINK’s free email. You’ll get regular updates on all that’s going on here, including fun projects for grandparents, great resources for senior home caregivers, tech tips to keep your computer working well, happy holiday ideas like Advent wreaths and fun Christmas tree ornaments, and so much more!

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed Christmas season! Don’t forget to click on Caregiving.com’s Party Widget to find more interesting Progressive Party sites!  And check back tomorrow for A Pause for Advent!

SENIOR HOME CARE:

Here’s an interesting article about one family’s struggle to find the correct diagnosis, which turned out to be Alzheimer’s Disease. Per @ALZHEIMERSread

Alzheimers Long Term Care Costs and Calculator

The goal at Parkinson’s Disease News is to provide coverage of all significant new research, reports, books, and resources concerning Parkinson’s Disease. Per @ParkinsonPD

Beyond Coping: Mastering the Art of Joyful Caregiving. This telesummit is a FREE virtual event designed specifically for caregivers of aging parents or loved ones who want to experience more joy in their role of a caregiver. Dates include July 28th, 30th, August 3rd, 5th, 8th, 11th, 13th, 18th and 20th with free replays available to those who have signed up.

Simplifying Senior Care – AARP’s Doughnut Hole Tool.

How to e-mail Grandma if she doesn’t have a computer. Per @CarolMarak

The elderly are finding “Online, ‘a Reason to Keep on Going.” @CarolMarak

GRANDPARENTING:

If you, like me, are enjoying the blessings of twins included in your grandkid count, I bet you’d enjoy @TwinHappyJen’s Twin book. You can win a free copy, “Two Snowflakes,” just by leaving a comment at her site, TwinHappyJen.

Many states have SALES TAX HOLIDAYs coming up in the next few weeks. That’s when you can buy school supplies, computers, and school clothes for your grandkids TAX-FREE! Couple that with the great back-to-school sales going on and it’s definitely one of the great ways to save money this summer – a major help for a grandparent’s budget! Keep your eyes peeled for the announcements at various stores, in the local newspaper, and/or at the website for your state. Per @invisibleillwk

For those grandparents whose grandbabies are being breastfed, you might be interested to know that the first week of August is World Breastfeeding Week. Per @SarahStewart

SANDWICH GENERATION MISCELLANEOUS:

Ways to Save Money on Books – Truthbomb Apologetics has a free E-Book Library with some good resources, both religious and secular, including many full books.

Hurry to Family Doctor Magazine to take advantage of their money-saving, limited-time offer for a free issue of My Family Doctor, a health magazine written mostly by doctors.   

We in the Sandwich Generation need to remember to drink plenty of water during these hot summer months, as well as remind our aging parents and young grandkids to do so. Per @dakimbrainfit

Nine-tenths of wisdom is appreciation. Go find somebody’s hand and squeeze it, while there’s time. Author: Dale Dauten via @LilliJ

Seniors for Living has a terrific resource for those of us in the Baby Boomer Generation.  100 Ways to a Healthier, Happier, Longer Life

A brownie recipe that is DELISH from a site with a great name, Cook Like Your Grandmother! We tried it and really liked it. I will caution you, it’s very rich and a bit more on the moist side than my ultra-favorite brownies, but it was definitely a hit at the pot luck because it is so good!

A Tiny Bit of Tech:

IMPORTANT ALERT ABOUT FLASH BY ADOBE: Homeland Security Issues a Vulnerability Notice – Adobe Flash. By convincing a user to view a specially crafted HTML document (e.g., a web page or an HTML email message or attachment) or a PDF file, an attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code. There is currently no known fix, although they expect one this week. The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), does have some (very complicated) work arounds.   I have so far managed to disable Flash in Internet Explorer and Firefox and determined not to open any PDFs. There really is more I should do, but I am staying so busy with grandkids this week, it isn’t going to happen in my house. Then again, I’m not getting as much computer time in either, so that would appear to be not so bad either.

Homeland Security Headlines for the Sandwich Generation: Here’s a couple of great ways to stay on top of any known problems, freeing us up to focus on our caregiving. Two of my favorite sources of emergency information from weather to terrorism are reaching out to us via Facebook and Twitter. National Terror Alert has added a Facebook Fan Page. Become a “fan” for a chance to win prizes.  Emergency Email is now on Twitter with quick headlines of high interest.

For my fellow Sandwich Generation, caregiving, and grandparenting bloggers, BlogHerald has a good article on blogging skills with lots of great links.

Pho.to is a serious photo editor with a fun side as well, allowing you to turn your photos into a cartoon, if you’d like. Great for those of us in the Sandwich Generation, fixing up photos for our aging parents, along with having a good laugh with our grandkids! Per @ShawnHussey

Picnik is also great for photo editing online free. I’ve used this extensively and it’s very easy!

Top 10 reasons for churches to Twitter. Per @curtjonestweets

Finally, if you’re traveling this summer, and want to use wifi at the airport but it’s not a free wifi airport, here’s an interesting article. Free wifi is definitely one of my favorite ways to save money when traveling! Per soultravelers3

iPods, Mozaics, Sansa Fuzes, Oh My! Whatever mp3 player you use, did you know you can use it as a “virtual library” of audio books and podcasts to help you with your caregiving duties? Thanks to iTunes, it’s relatively easy to subscribe to a variety of podcasts to learn about such topics as dementia, caregiver stress, Parkinson’s Disease, help for the caregiver, and more.

I love to listen to my Nano iPod as I drive to and from my various Sandwich Generation caregiving requirements, stand in long lines, take walks to deal with caregiver stress and even, occasionally, fly cross country. I was thrilled to discover, recently, that my car has a connector jack that gives me one of those great “car mp3 players.” This allows me to share songs and stories from my iPod through the sound system.

I can only hand-carry a couple of books at a time with me, but with my iPod, I can bring the equivalent of 50+ books as well as a smaller hand-picked selection of all my favorite praise and worship songs. And I only have a 4gb iPod! Think what you could do with 80 or more gb like some mp3 players have.

Even before I had an mp3 player, I enjoyed audio books and podcasts by using iTunes on my computer. I downloaded what I wanted onto my computer. Then I either listened to the computer or “burned” a CD of the materials I was interested in and took them with me using a CD player. The mp3 player is a lot easier, though, and over time helps pay its way by not requiring me to keep buying CDs. Not only that, since most of the podcasts I listen to are free, I’ve found it to be a great money saver there as well!

I tend to go whole hog on what I read. In other words, I will go through a period of reading all Christian fiction, all real estate, all science fiction, or all computer geek books. I do the same with the podcasts I listen to. Right now, I am primarily listening to blogging podcasts and enjoying them tremendously. But I also have a list of five interesting podcasts about caregiving that I thought you might enjoy:

• Caregiving – Denise Brown
• Coping With Caregiving – Jacqueline Marcell
• Parkinson’s Disease – PD Talk Live

The following are more of a technical discourse as opposed to the above podcasts which use more of a casual chatting format:

• The Lancet - This covers neurology issues such as Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, stroke, etc.
• MUSC Health Podcast Library – a wide variety of elderly ailments,  including Alzheimer’s Disease, Geriatrics, and more are dealt with.

Swine Flu Updates for Caregivers:

It’s going to be very important for caregivers to monitor the Swine Flu situation. WHO (World Health Organization) raised the pandemic flu alert level to 4 .

Grandkids and Grandparents:

For all those who are helping with homeschooled grandkids, you’ll find this quite interesting – 10 Homeschooled Celebrities .

Here’s a great list of car contests . Wouldn’t it be fun to enter them together with an older grandkid ? Bet they’d think you were the best grandparent in the world!

If your grandkids are more into dollhouses, there’s a fun project for them as well at Grandma Wren’s .

Eldercare:

Five Tips for Preparing a Traditional Eulogy . Good advice from @cemeteryspot. In addition to his great ideas, I like to share their favorite Bible verses, hymns, etc.

What it means When Someone With Dementia Says “I Want to Go Home ” Thank you to @caring4seniors.

Caregiving.com has several podcasts of interest to caregivers including “Cooking with Mom “–tips on how to make cooking a caregiving activity to enjoy.

Pesticide exposure Found To Increase Risk Of Parkinson’s Disease .

Are you interested in HBO’s, “The Alzheimer’s Project ” but don’t get HBO? Alzheimer’s Reading Room has a great solution for you – a free copy of “The Alzheimer’s Project. ”

Alzheimer’s Disease – This article, with facts and figures about this disease, includes the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease . Thanks to @ alzheimers98 .

Encouragement:

The Lord God is my strength.

General Interest:

How many of you enjoyed the movie, The Sound of Music ? Here’s an interesting interview with one of the real Von Trapp kids, Maria von Trapp, talking about her new book, My Favorite Songs . Thanks to @ ActiveGeezering :

Bible Money Matters has an excellent article on what types of insurance we should have.

If you or an aging parent need help buying a new toilet, Terry Love’s Consumer Toilet Reports is the BEST site I’ve ever seen on that subject. I’ve used his site as a resource several times. He has reviews, recommendations, and a great forum with even more information and help

AARP – As a member of the Sandwich Generation and a Baby Boomer I qualified for AARP a couple of years or so ago. I wasn’t thrilled to know I was old enough for it, until I discovered that my optometrist gives a generous discount for AARP members AND Borders gives a great discount off all books to AARP members. Now I’m thrilled I qualify! 

Finally, as a special gift to all my fellow Sandwich Generation caregivers , I am ending this post with a big smile. Take a look at these photos. They were taken for a special event,  Extreme Grooming of Poodles – The dogs have been groomed into camels, Clydesdales, and more! That’s what you call a different kind of caregiving!

TIPS TO HELP THE SANDWICH GENERATION RELAX:

Here’s a fun gift idea for Mother’s Day , or one of the myriad of showers coming up in the next few months. Smilebox has cute recipe e-cards that let you combine a favorite recipe with 0-8 photos, depending on which card design you select. Think how delighted your senior mom would be to get one her mom’s old recipes accompanied by photos of her grandchildren. Truly a sweet multi-generational gift. Or what about one of your favorite recipes accompanied by group photos of you and your family and the bride and/or groom as part of a shower gift! Or maybe use baby pictures of the bride and groom? I bet any of these ideas would be a big hit!

Having trouble deciding what movie to see? Relevant Magazine can help with a variety of reviews, including movie reviews. Here’s one for “ State of Play .” It sounds interesting. I may have to give it a try.   For other reviews, go to the menu at the top, select FEATURES, then select the last item, REVIEWS.

Does your church have a great choir? Verizon has a contest to find the top church choirs. Wouldn’t it be fun if your church won? Deadline is June 15, 2009

GRANDPARENTS & GRANDKIDS

Two of my many sweet grandkids are twins. How about you? Do any of you have kids/grandkids who are twins? If so, there is a website and a blog carnival of special interest for us! TwinHappy has a lot to offer including having a Twin Blog Carnival in May. In fact, if you’d like to have an article posted to it, they have already opened the registration for it. It sounds like a lot of fun!

“Children really brighten up a household. They never turn the lights off.” Heart of Wisdom

CAREGIVERS TRAVEL TIPS

Caregivers always seem to be short on time. So when we reserve a car, we expect that car to be there when we get to the reservations booth. What happens if the car you rented ISN’T there? Whether you rented directly through the company or used a third party, there are some options. Check out what one of my favorite travel experts, Christopher Elliott , has to say.

If you will be flying to and from Cincinnati between now and May 12, 2009 (maybe to visit grandkids or elderly parents?), Delta is offering you 25,000 bonus miles! Sounds like a sweet deal! Thank you to @ soultravelers3 for that frugal tip for caregivers!

CAREGIVING FOR AGING PARENTS AND THOSE WHO ARE ILL

Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia:

Have you ever heard of the Medicare Donut Hole? Alzheimer’s Reading Room has a couple of interesting articles on the subject. The $4350 Medicare Donut Hole explains what it is. How We Saved $624.72 on Prescription Drugs explains how to save money in spite of it. Dementia Caregiving tip –To minimize confusion, adjust lighting to lessen shadows as they can be scary and confusing. Thanks for that info to both @ seniorlivingexp and @ PaulaFarris :

Cancer:

Here are some excellent tips for caregiving for cancer patients .

Parkinson’s Disease:

Sweet and interesting story of a wife and husband  and dealing with his Parkinson’s Disease . My mom and I had a few similar situations happen.

Another interesting article, this one about a gentleman with early-onset Parkinson’s Disease .

Speaking of Parkinson’s Disease, here is the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation .

Here’s an excellent resource from the NINDS Parkinson’s Disease Information Page – (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.)

Did you know that people with a family history of melanoma have twice the risk of getting Parkinson’s disease as those who didn’t have a parent and/or sibling with the cancer?

Funerals:

Here are some green and frugal options for funerals, thanks to @ CemeterySpot . Per the Bloomberg news : Cardboard Coffins…Prove Industry is Getting Greener. Also, if you opt for cremation and want to have a viewing before cremation, ask about renting a casket from the funeral home, which can save you quite a bit.

Other:

All of us who are involved in the Seniors and Boomers blog carnival want to invite you to participate. The next one is 4/21/09 and we would love for you to submit one or more blog articles relating to Senior Citizens and/or Baby Boomers.

Carebuzz has a new article, Grants Assist Low Income Seniors . There’s some very useful information in it.

Here’s another thing to monitor when we are overseeing our aging parents health care. Consumer Reports found that the high cost of prescription drugs leads to risky behaviors! Thank you to @ MrElderCare for that valuable tip.

Amy Gates has an excellent article on the dangerous overuse of antibiotics as well as several tips for healthy ways to deal with colds and flu.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR CAREGIVERS OF AGING PARENTS AND GRANDKIDS

"Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier." Mother Teresa

“He said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you. The Lord is my helper…"

Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.

• A sign of the economy: More Idahoans now qualify to get a refund of the grocery tax credit beginning with tax year 2008. While you may not live in Idaho, you may find that you qualify for something similar in your own state. It’s definitely worth checking out when working on your tax returns .
• Do you watch TV shows on Hulu ? If so, @rewebcoach suggests you look at http://getmiro.com/ to help you manage your shows. He does caution that if you do decide to try it, be patient when you start the Miro download as it’s a big file.
• Encouraging – God is my defense, my God of mercy.
• Do you have or know someone who has Parkinson’s Disease ? eChronicles writes, “According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this month, people with advanced Parkinson’s Disease who received deep brain stimulation showed greater improvement in movement and quality of life after six months than those treated with medication…” Thanks to @nkbe for this link.
• “Beware of what you eat. You are on your own”, Sen Tom Harkin announces…in Senate Ag Hearing…after the Salmonella outbreak from peanut butter products.
• With all these food issues, it is encouraging to know that God is near ! – Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.
• Now this kind of housing is right up a Sandwich Generation grandma’s alley! Housing for grandparents raising grandchildren. “It would be among a small but growing group of U.S. apartment developments that combine senior housing with grandkid-friendly features . The idea is to put children from broken homes into a stable environment…” Per @ShaynePacker and @Seniors4Living.
• Earlier this week, I wrote an article about the Silver Alert. I wrote that because I was busy praying for the friend of @PMKU who has Alzheimer’s Disease and had disappeared. I am so happy to report that he was safely found, 50 miles from home! Here is the article she wrote sharing the important lessons she learned from that dementia care experience. An excellent article to save for reference information for your family and your community.
• Bookworms, take notice! If you have an iPhone or an Android phone, Google now offers 1.5 million books to download FREE onto your mobile phone. While these are all older, out-of-copyright books, that’s pretty phenomenal and one of those great ways to save money! Thank you @stejules for letting us know.
• @Seniors4Living has an interesting article about Steve Gurney, 43. “On February 9th, at half the age of the average assisted living resident, Gurney will join Paul Spring Retirement Community in Alexandria, Virginia. After nearly 20 years of helping families and elders make these choices…he says, ‘I have never experienced the transition first hand as a resident.’” What a great idea and what an interesting article!
• The Online Age Gap Narrows (senior folks are finally here!!). Of course, we knew it all along! (eMarketer Research) Thanks for that tip – @Mike_Stelzner
• If you enjoy sports and the iPhone, here’s just the article for you, courtesy of @styletime. 100 Free Sports Apps for the iPhone .
• Encouragement – To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; for God is my defense , my God of mercy.
• If you are a pastor or ministry leader or know someone who is, check out Bill Reichart’s website for the article, “How to Help Those in Your Church Navigate Troubled Economic Waters”
• Excellent Author Alert: Brandilyn Collins has a new book coming out in May . It’s a suspense novel, “Exposure.” Don’t tell my sweet mom-in-law, but I’m thinking it would make an excellent birthday present
• If you have an elderly parent who suffers from memory loss going into the hospital , the National Institute of Aging has an excellent 18 page booklet with tips to help.
  
• If you’d like a good chuckle, here is part one of the World’s Weirdest Hotels, followed by part two of the World’s Weirdest Hotels. I have to admit I was intrigued by the dog hotel. Which was your favorite? Bet your senior parents would get a kick out of printouts of these.
  

Walking is excellent exercise for our elderly parents. If they are in reasonably good health, they can enjoy the fresh air and exercise whenever they want. When you can keep them company that’s great. Even when you can’t, it can still be a pleasure for them. However, occasionally an older person can become disoriented, turned around, or lost. This can happen even if they’ve lived in the area for many years. It’s even more prevalent if they have recently moved there. In addition, falls are more common with older adults, and even a simple fall can leave them feeling light-headed or confused.

One very simple and free solution is to type up their home address and phone number along with emergency contact information for you. Put copies of this in the pockets of their jackets, pants, etc. Remind them to replace them each time they wash the clothes. Every time you visit, check to see if they need replenishing. If they are injured, emergency personnel will hopefully find the information. If they get lost, they will hopefully remember to find the paper in their pockets.

Another solution, not free but certainly inexpensive, is a piece of jewelry with tracking information for them. They wear the item, such as a bracelet, and if they are lost or injured it has an 800 number on it. Medical personnel or others attempting to help them can call that number and get contact information for them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

One of the best known providers of this service is MedicAlert – http://budurl.com/MedicAlert . They offer bracelets for a variety of illnesses and health conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease, asthma, diabetes, Parkinson’s Disease, and more. The prices for their jewelry range from $19.95 for a basic silver bracelet or necklace to $709.95 for a gold round pendant on a Bismark chain. Fortunately they have plenty of choices closer to the $19.95 price . The fee for the annual notification service starts at 29.95. (As I was researching for this article. I discovered that price is a discount on their annual service which is good through tomorrow, January 31, 2009. So if you are interested in this for your elderly parent, I would encourage you to check them out as soon as possible. Even without the discount however, the price is cheap for peace of mind for you and your beloved family member.

You can’t always be with them, but you can help them stay safer even if they’re alone. MedicAlert is one of a variety of ways we’ll be exploring to help in that endeavor.