Last Thankful

I am thankful for my friends. I have never had a lot of close friends at one time for a reason. I would rather really know my friends than say that I have a lot of friends. I believe when it comes to friends it is the quality not the quantity that counts.

Thankful Nov.26

I can't believe that I will be done with my "thankful" posts tomorrow! I would say that I will make this one good for that reason, but I think I have used the biggies.

I am thankful to have reliable trasportation. My van runs well, for the most part. It fits all of my kids, Haley, and I have two more seat belts in the back. It doesn't have heat or air conditioning (that's why I said "for the most part"), but it runs. It is warmer than being in the cold wind in the winter. It is automatic, so I don't have to worry about shifting.

Last winter, the van wasn't running. I had to drive John's Explorer. It has a manual truck trasmission. It was not fun. Yes, we were warmer with the heat. My right arm did get a lot stronger. I was so glad when the van was fixed well enough for me to drive.

The Fench Fry Adventure

Tonight I gave my children corn dogs and french fries for dinner and sat them down to watch Charlie Brown. After finishing my food I left the living room to get other stuff done. Who know that was when the adventure would start. A little while later Noel started screaming in pain and running to the bathroom. She had been constipated earlier so I figured she was having more bathroom problems. She came running back to me crying. I asked her if her bum hurt. She said that her nose hurt and she needed a kleenex. I was confused. I asked her why. "Because I have a french fry in my nose!" she cried. I told Eric to go get me some tissue. I had her blow her nose many times. I saw no fry. I looked in her nose. There it was. A small piece of fry stuck so far up her nose that I wouldn't be able to try to squeeze it out. I didn't know what to do. I called John's mom. I figured after that many boys she had gone through it all. She hadn't gone through this. Her suggestion was either a booger sucker or tweezers. I got off the phone, took Noel to my room, layed her on the bed with one of her babies, and started "surgery." I tried the tweezers first. I couldn't get a hold of the darn thing. I tried one sucker. It didn't work. I tried a different sucker. It pulled the fry most of the way out. I had to use the tweezers to get it out the rest of the way. When it was all said and done the fry was about the size of a small Lego (the ones that have just one bump). I won't post a picture of the fry because no one wants to see a booger covered fry.

Thankful Nov.25

I am thankful for my dad. He raised me basically alone from the time I was 13 (maybe even longer considering my mom's state of mind). He sacrificed for me. He taught me integrity and responsibility. He was the best dad I could have asked for in a confusing tough world. I always wished he would have been more affectionate towards me, but when I think about it his parents aren't real affectionate either. When I call my dad now he always talks to me, even if it is just for a little while. I don't know what I am going to do when he moves to Indiana. I think I am still in denial about that one. I am hoping that they will do the same as they did last year and just say that they will be here for at least another year. It was torture when he and Bev were gone for more than a month.

Thankful Nov. 24

I know I didn't post yesterday. I will make up for it today.

I am thankful for my ability to cook for my family. We would be spending way too much on food if I didn't know how to cook. I even save us a bit more money by making quite a bit from scratch. I am glad that my mom took the time to teach me the basics of reading a recipe so that I can cook for my family.

I am thankful for my mom. I love my mom, and I wish that I could tell her. My mom had many problems, but through it all she loved me and I loved her. My mom taught me a lot about life. She taught me how to be a mom. She taught me basic sewing and basic cooking. She gave me more details about child birth than any 13 or 14 year old that I knew. She told me things that most moms wait until their children are in that stage of life as a teenager. Sometimes I wonder if somewhere deep inside she knew she wasn't going to live to see me get married or have children. I don't know if that is what made her give me so much info or just because that is the way that she was. Either way, I am glad she talked to me that way. I wish I hadn't spent so much time being mad at her when I was a teenager. I love my mom. I hope anyone who actually reads this thinks about their mom, and doesn't take her for granted. If you are mad at your mom do what you can to mend your relationship. You never know if there is going to be a tragic accident that takes her away.

A Night Away

Friday night Sean and Eric spent the night at my sister's (Aunt My) and Noel at my dad's. When I picked them up on Saturday there were interesting little stories about all of them.

Sean had an eventful night. Having not been fed dinner until 9pm, he threw up around 9:15 (my kids have weird tummies). I ended up spending a good amount of time on the phone trying to figure out if he was sick or if it was just his weak tummy. When he went to sleep an hour after throwing up, she and I decided it must have just been the weak tummy, so we called it a night. The next morning, she told me that around 3am she woke up with Sean in her bed. Apparently he had a bad dream.

Eric informed me that he slept on My's couch and it was so comfy that he didn't even have to stretch when he woke up.

Grandma Bev gave the most interesting update. It seems that Noel got herself up Saturday, went into the bathroom, took off her jammies and panties, and went back on the couch (naked) and just waited for Grandma and Grandpa to get up. When they came out of their room the first thing that they saw was my naked daughter sprawled out on the couch.

I am Thankful for Noel

Noel today on her new tricycle!

Noel a few days before she turned 2.

Noel ejoying her cake on her first birthday.

Noel's first bath in the delivery room.
She is brand spanking new!

Me about a month before Noel was born.

Happy Birthday Noel!

Thankful Nov. 21

I am thankful for good books. (Thank you, Tara for writing about books today!) I didn't really enjoy reading as a kid. I didn't really start reading just for fun until I worked down town and had a bus ride with no one to talk to. I realized then that there are some wonderful books out there. I just had to find the ones that I really liked. I don't read as often as I used to, but I try to read when I get the chance.
I am also glad that there are good kids books. I was a little worried that Eric wouldn't like to read chapter books when they made him make the transition at school (after all that is when I lost my interest). I was wrong. He loves Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, A to Z Mysteries, and really wishes the words weren't so hard to read in Geronimo Stilton books. Sean is really excelling in his reading too. I am always surprised at how well he reads. He loves the "be good" books (I think they are some of the most boring books ever made). Noel just loves to be read to.

Thankful Nov. 20

Today, I am thankful to have the gospel in my life. I sometimes have a hard time with my testimony, but I do still have one. I know that my life would be nothing without God and my membership in His church. I have lived through a lot (at least I feel that way). The gospel of Jesus Christ has always been there for me. I do realize that my life could be worse, but God knows me and understands what I can handle and won't give me more than I can handle (no matter how much it doesn't feel that way during my trials).

Thankful Nov. 19

Today I am thankful for the health of my children. Yesterday, Eric was trowing up and had a fever. It turned my whole world upside down. He seems to be doing better to day, but he is still pale. When my kids get sick I totally freak out. I think it is because they are so rarely sick. I am lucky to have kids that do catch the occasional cold, but not much more than that. Over all my children are healthily kids. (I guess that means that I am doing something right.)

My Worst Date

This will look like a good date compared to Carries long list of the worst dates I have ever heard of. I really had mostly normal dates, dinner and movie kind of stuff.
I would have to say that my worst date did involve a movie and dinner. It was a Valentines Day date. I had to drive because I was the one that had a car. That wasn't a big deal. I was used to that. I picked him up and the first thing he said was, "You're paying, right?" I informed him that my last paycheck, along with most of my paychecks, went to my car payment. I did not have the money to pay for a date. Plus, he asked me out. He was going to pay. That made the mood awkward. We ended up having dinner at Denny's. (Not too unusual for a high school date.) Then he had supposably picked out the perfect movie. We went to the mall and he baught tickets for "Happy Gilmore." It wasn't that I didn't like the movie (although I am not a big Adam Sandler fan now). It was Valentines Day. The type of movie I could think of that would be worse would have been a shoot 'em up movie (not that I don't like those kind of movies either). We didn't date after that date.

I am tagging anyone who want to write about this (except Carrie since was already tagged).

Thankful Nov. 18

Today I am thankful for mouse traps. Yes, you read that right. Before the mouse traps, I would have to find mice dead in the hall that Lady caught (presents from our loving cat). She seemed to always get them sometime after John left for work (he leaves around 4:15). That left me to take care of the horrible things. Luckily, Eric and Sean started getting "brave" enough to "help mom" in that department. They even got a system down. Sean would use the broom, and Eric would hold the dustpan and dump the mouse in the trash in the garage. For some reason, the last few months have been the worst when it comes to mice in our house. We do live backed up to a drainage ditch and across the street from a vacant field, so I don't see it getting better any time soon. For now, I will just let John find good places to put the traps that I rarely look, and he can keep on the gross disposing job.

Thankful Nov. 17

Yes, I do realize that I have not posted this in a few days (although I do think that having an answer to my prayers on Saturday counts big time). I am going to have to make up for that in today's post.

1. I am thankful for the lady that holds the stop sign at the school in the morning. (I don't know her name.) We walk to school on the days that are nice and my kids are ready on time. It is getting to be less often, but we try to get out the door on time every morning. Today, my boys were racing to school. She saw them coming and went out into the crosswalk before they got there, almost getting hit by a car herself. (My boys have a habit of not stopping and looking for cars at cross walks.) It was a little annoying that the person driving that car didn't see fit to stop until she almost hit the one holding the sign. I very much appreciate the efforts to keep my children safe.

2. I am thankful for bread. I know that sound silly, but my kids eat a lot of bread and it is cheap. My kids' favorite lunch is peanut butter and jelly. That means that is pretty much all they eat for lunch with a few exceptions. When we run out of cereal and money, my kids gladly have toast for breakfast. I have had a few comments when I do my grocery shopping about how much bread I buy. It is necessary for my family. We can go through as much as a loaf of bread a day!

3. I am thankful for my sister. I love my sister very much. When I talk to her my day gets better. I couldn't imagine life without her.

Answer to a Prayer

I have been feeling a little blah lately. I have been feeling alone and stuck. I prayed this morning to find out what I should do with my self. My immediate thought (most of the answers to my prayers come from thoughts) was that I need to have at least one hour a week where I do something for myself. I need to have some time that I don't have anyone else to answer to. The next thing that I thought was I needed to get online and find the name of the guy that did the wonderful lecture that I saw on Oprah over the summer. (I am not an avid Oprah watcher, but I have been know to watch here and there.) I got onto the Oprah web sit and searched "cancer" because that was one thing that I remembered about him. I found the name Randy Pausch. The video of his lecture from Oprah was not there. I googled Randy Pausch. I found what I was looking for. I found his last lecture. I found the full version, not just the paraphrased one that he gave on the show. It was even better than I remembered. This was an hour long talk that captivated me and inspired me. I don't know how to load videos on this sight, but I will post the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Thankful Nov. 14

This is getting harder. I know that for the most part I have mentioned little things. We will see if I can do this for another two weeks. Hopefully, no one is getting bored of this stuff yet.

Today, I am thankful that I don't watch the news as much as I used to. I hear other people talk about how recent news is either stressing them out or making them sad. I am so glad that I don't have to deal with the extra pressures of knowing what is going on in the world right now. I am the kind of person that would let the current headlines sadden me or stress me out. I have been told that I am an empathetic person. I do like that about myself. It just seems to add some stress that I just cannot handle right now. My life is hectic enough.

Pretty Hair

As many know, Noel got her first haircut Tuesday. It wasn't cut much. Kelli, my haircutting expert sister-in-law, mostly trimmed it and gave her slight layers to blend in the spot that we had to cut gum out of her hair on Sunday. On Sunday when I told her that she was going to have to get her hair cut, she said, "But my hair is pretty," while pouting. We assured her that her hair would be pretty again. Luckily, Kelli was available to cut her hair only a few days latter. Until then, I just put her hair in pony tails. She cried as soon as Kelli showed up on Tuesday and even more when we got her ready to have a hair cut. I told her that Kelli was going to make her hair pretty again. She loves her new hair cut! The only real noticeable difference is in the front (other than the fact that her hair is straighter in the back.)



Fast forward to today. Sean was pulling her hair to torture her (that's what brothers do best, right). Noel yells, "Don't pull my PRETTY hair!"

***Just a side note. Her face was clean not too long before this picture was taken. I just can't get her to keep it clean. I have no idea what she got into this time.

Thankful Nov. 13

Today I am thankful for my vacuum. I know that may sound silly, but until the end of July I didn't have a vacuum that worked very well (thank you, Bev).

I was just looking under my kitchen table thinking, "Gross! That really needs to be vacuumed." That is when I remembered that I am really lucky to have a vacuum that WILL vacuum that grossness up.

Dumb Laws

I copied this from an email my sister sent to me.

Honk if you pass
Rural New Jersey might sound like a never-ending New Year’s Eve party if everybody obeyed the law. State law requires drivers to honk the horn when passing another vehicle going in the same direction outside a business or residential district.
However, watch it in Little Rock, Ark., where the law says “no person shall sound the horn on a vehicle at any place where cold drinks or sandwiches are served after 9 p.m.”
Honking at sandwich shops is OK in University City, Mo. – so long as you honk in your own car. It’s illegal to honk the horn of someone else’s.
Kindly keep your cattle in the car
Hey, city slicker – you’ll have to keep that cow in your vehicle in Topeka, Kan. The city has made it “unlawful for any person to suffer or permit any livestock owned or controlled by such person to run at large, or to drive any herd of cattle, horses, mules or hogs, or any flock of sheep, upon any street in the city.”

You’ll need permission to throw that brick
In Mount Vernon, Iowa, you’re not allowed to shoot arrows or throw bricks onto any street or highway without the City Council’s written consent.

Clean up your act
In San Francisco, it’s illegal to wipe a vehicle with used underwear and to pile horse manure more than six feet high on any street corner.

Unhand that nozzle!
In Oregon and New Jersey, you cannot pump your own gas. Supposedly this practice keeps gasoline prices lower in those states, because insurance costs for gas stations go down if attendants instead of customers pump the gas – but, on the other hand, that attendant must be paid, whereas you pump for free. So the jury’s out on the reasons for this one.

Animal and vegetable antics
Palm Springs, Calif., forbids anyone from walking a camel down the main street, Palm Canyon Drive, between 4 and 6 p.m.
Hunting from moving vehicles is illegal in several states, including Connecticut and Tennessee, where only whale hunting by that method is allowed.
Thou shalt not sow a vegetable garden in any public street in Chico, Calif. The law, however, does not forbid flower gardens.

No pillows on the roadbed
No matter how sleepy you get, you are not allowed to snooze in the middle of any street in Eureka, Calif.
Reno, Nev., won’t let you park yourself on a bench or chair in the middle of its roads, either.
As long as we’re on a roll, here are a few more tips to the lawful:
Yield to peacocks in Arcadia, Calif.
Don’t jump into a passing vehicle in Glendale, Calif.
Don’t change clothes in your car at the beach in Destin, Fla.
Don’t keep a car door open longer than is necessary in Oregon.
Don’t drive through playgrounds in Dublin, Ga.

How serious are they?
Serious. Screeching your tires in Derby, Kan., could get you 30 days in Bad Boys’ Bed & Breakfast.
And if you think switching back to a one-horsepower hay-burner might get you away from the long arm of the law, consider this: In Texarkana, Texas, it’s illegal to ride a horse at night without taillights.

Thankful Nov. 12

I am thankful for the patience of others. I am sometimes slow (at lest it seems that way to me). I am so glad that my friends and family love me anyway and deal with explaining thing to me again. I am thankful that my kids love me anyway and are willing to ask for that drink of water with ice again. I am thankful that while I am trying to think of the word that I was going to use to describe something, most people listen to my ramblings describing the word and accept that as whatever I was going to say to begin with. (I hope that this all gets better when I actually call the doctor and get back on my meds.)

Thankful Nov. 11

I am thankful that I have the opportunity to watch a sweet little girl three days a week. Haley is such a good little girl and plays so nicely with my kids. Sometimes I find myself wishing that my kids were as well behaved as her. She does have her moments of insanity, but they are usually egged on by my crazy boys.

Thankful Nov. 10

Today I am thankful for Disney movies. Yes, you read that right. With out Disney (or other animated movies), I would not get a shower in the morning. I NEED a shower in the morning if I expect to be in a good mood for even a little bit of the day. The only way for me to get that shower is to put a movie on for Sean and Noel after I drop Eric off at school. (Saturday and Sunday they don't get this privilege because John is here to keep them from coming in the bathroom.)

The Car and the Key

John has a new car. He traded in his red sports car for a 1997 black Mustang. This lowers the payments and had more of the specifications that he wanted in a car (it is faster and louder). It is a fun car to drive. I just have one problem. I have to use his key to drive it. It is not that he won't give me a key. He did give me a key. When I used that one, the car started. Then, something on the dashboard said "THEFT" and the car turned off. John told me to get a copy of his key made at King Soopers yesterday while I was getting a few things. I did that. When I went out to the car and tried to start it with the new key, same thing. The car started, and then the word "THEFT" came on and it turned off. That was frustrating! At least the key was only 1.60. It appears that we may have to go to a Ford dealership and have a key specially made just so that I won't have to borrow his keys every time I drive his car. Sounds expensive to me. So much for a cheaper solution.

Thankful Nov. 9

I am thankful that I was able to sleep most of the night without interruptions. Yes, that is right. It is still rare for me to get a night of sleep without someone waking me up. Noel sometimes wakes up 2 or 3 times a night (depending on how tired she was when she went to bed). Sean a few months ago realized that he can get attention if he get me up at night (when I figured out what he was doing, I gave him less and less attention). Eric really just gets up when he has bad dreams or growing pains (not often enough to complain). There have been times that I haven't slept more than one or two hours at a time the whole night. (Whoever said that when the kids get older Mom gets more sleep, didn't have my kids.) Last night, I only had one interruption of sleep. Sean had a bad dream. This time I could tell that is what was really going on. I helped him say a prayer for good dreams and put him back to bed. Then, no one woke me until about seven this morning (the time they get up for school). I am so glad!

Thankful Nov. 8

I am thankful for my house and the fact that my money is going towards me owning it and not someone else. John and I rented for the first eight and a half years of our marriage. We thought that we would never be able to buy a house. The good news about the housing market tanking when it did was that we got the opportunity to purchase a home of our own. We made someone else's loss our gain. We bought a foreclosed on home. Sure we had to fix and buy things (the bedroom doors being the weirdest), but it all goes towards our benefit. We no longer have to worry about noisy neighbors upstairs or nosey neighbors downstairs. We can be hermits if we wanted too. We live in a place that we feel secure and our kids are safe. We have a modest size home, but it is perfect for our needs. I love our home!

Thankful Nov. 7

Today I am thankful for my dishwasher. I was remembering that I desperately need to do dishes this morning. Then, I remembered how long it took me to get the dishes done for that year we lived with no dishwasher. Now, I can do a bunch of dishes, and it only takes me about twenty minutes to unload and load the dishwasher. The machine takes care of the rest. What a wonderful invention!

Thankful Nov. 6

Today I am thankful for school lunch. We are so low on food that my kids will actually eat, and I basicly had a choice of bring four rowdy kids with me to the store yesterday or waiting until today. I chose that I would wait until I had only two kids to keep track of (that is hard enough in a boring grocery store). That means that I could not make Eric lunch today due to the lack of peanut butter and bread (he wants peanut butter and jelly sandwitches most of the time). Luckily, today they have pizza on the menu at school, and he is excited that they now offer strawberry milk at school (I am not so sure how I feel about that). We qualified for the reduced lunch program. That means that on days like today, I can feed my boy a reasonable lunch for only $0.40!

When Eric Gets Home

I have noticed that when Eric gets home from school my house can go from calm to loud and crazy very quickly. (This is not saying that it doesn't get that way when his is at school sometimes.)

For example, today my after I got Eric to school my morning was fairly calm. Sean and Noel watched Arther and Thomas while I took a shower and then played by themselves until it was time to pick up Haley (a girl that I watch a few days a week) from preschool and went to Target to get some stuff for lunch. Then, we came home and had lunch. After that, Sean and Haley played an Arther game on the computer while I (unsuccessfully) tried to get Noel down for a nap. A little while later, all of three kids played and got ready to pick Eric up from school. My house has not been quiet since. I don't know if it is that Eric has had to sit still with little to no exercise all day and now he gets the chance to play, or that all of the other kids are excited that he is home, or that Eric is some how more obnoxious than I had realized.

I do love my son. He is very special. I could not imagine living without him. I just need to find something for him to do when he get home so that I don't loose my marbles!

Thankful Nov. 5

Today I am thankful for my kids. They give me the most joy and the most sorrow. I couldn't imagine my life without them. I love their smiles and laughs. I love their hugs and kisses. I love how willing they are to try to make their parents happy.

Thankful Nov. 4

I have so many things to be thankful for I am not sure that I can narrow it down to one today, but I will try.

Being election day (even though I voted last month via mail in ballot), I am thankful for the right to vote and be heard. I know that some people do not believe that one vote can count that much, but what if everyone felt that way. Then, we would have to be in a monarchy or dictatorship. We wouldn't have other rights that we are privileged to have in this country.

Halloween 2008

Sean was our rock star. He was totally freaked out about making his hair or clothes look too different. I think he just wanted a guitar.

Noel of course was a princess. We did make her wear her jacket to go trick or treating even though it wasn't very cold due to the lack of real selves on her dress.

Eric was our magician. He completely designed his costume. I made the cape, pinned the rose on his shirt, and put a string on the back of the bow so that it would stay on. He had very specific instructions as to how he wanted to look.

My Wierd Side

I was tagged by AnnMarie. So here it goes.

1. I am more worried about wearing comfortable clothes than being warm. That means that I often wear sandles or flip-flops in the winter (yes, even when it is snowing).

2. When my boys don't clean their room, I take away all of the toys on their floor and make them earn them back one toy at a time. (I don't think that the bag that I made has been empty since I started doing this.)

3. I don't give my children snacks very often, but they get snacks at a scheduled time when I babysit.

4. I don't let my kids eat candy or cookies very often, but I eat them as much as possible.

5. My dad thinks that my "most embarrassing moment" is the fact that I went to an elementary school surrounded by corn fields on 3 sides (I was in small town Indiana.)

6. I can keep my house clean when there is no school (for example during the summer), but I don't seem to be able to do it while Eric is in school.

7. I have been working on the same sewing project off an on since Eric was a baby (he will be 7 in a few months).

I don't think I have 7 people to tag.
I am tagging
Jami
Carrie

I guess that is it. I need to find more people with blogs.

Thankful

Ok. I stole this from Jami. I am going to post something that I am thankful for everyday. I need to focus on the positive in my life too. I have so much to be thankful for, and I seem to focus on the negative a lot lately. I am sure my husband, sister and friends are sick of it. Since today is the third I will start with three things today.

1. I am thankful that we don't have to go hungry. We may not always get to eat what we want, but we do have the food we need to feed ourselves and our children.

2. I am thankful for John's willingness to go to a job that he hates to support our family so that I don't have to.

3. I am thankful for the forgiveness of my children. (If they held grudges like I do, I would be in a lot of trouble.)

Great idea Jami!