Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is now 11:55 on Thanksgiving Day and I am not standing in front of the oven.  I am at the table, but the only thing on the table is carrots, celery, and ranch dressing- and I'm not THAT hungry!  I just might have to crash the kids table-which is ladden with Cheetos!  Personally, I think that we should replace the chubby cut carrots with the Cheetos and see how long it takes the kids to notice : P

So, I am thinking about all am I thankful for.  There is so much to my list.  Of course I am thankful for my faith, family, friends and health.  As I sat in Mass today, I didn't have to think hard about those top 4.  I do have extra things on my list this year though and I'll be happy to share. . .

I am thankful for my sister Susan and brother-in-law Dan who hosted Thanksgiving at their house this year.  Although I could probably do without the 4 hour trip here- I like to look on the bright side of such a long trip- which is I know where all my kids are for the next 4 hours, my husband is a great driver so I am going to sleep.  Yes, for the whole trip. 

Speaking of sleep- I am thankful for naps.  Long ones over short, but naps in general are great.  Being pregnant gives me a great excuse to take them often, and believe me, I try to get in as many as possible.  Today I will find the nap extra nice because the small boys in the house (2 nephews and my own 2) decided that 3 AM was the time to be up and running in the house.  Honest.  As I look at the 2 other people who, like myself, couldn't find sleep easily after that, and see them yawing now, I am dumbfounded that the boys are still running non-stop.  What I wouldn't give to be able to capture and market their energy!  I wouldn't have to work- which would leave more time for naps!!

I am thankful for being pregnant on the Thanksgivng.  There is never such an excuse to eat as there is when you are pregnant!  Of course, I'm constantly reminded by those pesky birth and baby e-mails that my daughters signed up for, that I'm techanically not eating for two- but I say use pregnancy to the full advantage.  Don't ask me about this in 6 months though- don't even bring it up!!

Oh, back to my sweet sister and brother-in-law.  These 2 wonderful people gave up their master bedroom to let the pregnant woman have comfort for two days.  That's love!  Especially since my sister JUST got off the plane (yesterday morning at 5AM) from a Europen 10 day trip-thus not having the comfort of her own bed herself even.  Wow, even I wouldn't give that much- pretty sure about that. 

I've heard of a couple of families that decided to make this Thanksgiving a electronic free holiday.  No phones, wii, computers, etc.  (this as I'm sitting here typiung my post. . . : - O)  And I say- good for them!  Which will lead me to my last thankful for for this day.  I am thankful for my brother-in-law losing his wedding ring.  I know, that is terrible.  It didn't go over well with my sister either!  Did I mention that this is the 3rd time he lost his wedding ring in 15 years?  So-why my joy?  Because for at least 1 straight hour- maybe an extra 1/2 hour than that, most of the 12 kids were busy looking for the wedding ring.  Inside and out of the house- busy kids, not plugged in to anything : P  (Thus I had a chance to steal the laptop!)

Bad news, the search was lost- and so is the ring still!  Who knows, maybe there is still time to find it. St.Anthony???    Maybe he's taking Thanksgivng Day off?


Well, turkey's on- hope you and all yours are enjoying the day and finding extra to be thankful for!

Stuffing and surviving myself,
Mary

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Is it Monday?

Have you ever had one of those weeks?   I have double checked to see if the calendar read Monday ever since, well Monday.  I did, however, find some precious jewels amongst the grayness. 

On Monday, The Boy was sick- which both he and I deemed "totally unfair" since he was sick to his stomach last Tuesday.  I must have sympathized with him too much though; I joined in on his sickness full force.  So, this Monday he was once again feeling miserable- only a head cold this time, but still such a dry cough that he was either sobbing or coughing.  (Jewel #1) "Why, why did God make this happen to me?" he'd cry.  I tried to explain to him that while God allowed his sickness, it was due to Adam and Eve's sin that we get sick.   "I hate Adam and Eve!"  cough, cry, cough, cough.

I don't know what touched my heart more- the comment or the little turned down lip that accompanied his sobs! 

Despite the sickness, The Boy is the trooper.  He wanted to work on his school.  Since one of his best subjects is memory, we worked on our currant undertaking: memorizing the 50 states and their capitals.  Now before you think we are cranking out super genius kids, meeting and exceeding the standard homeschooling, I'll let you know we picked to memorize these because 1. it was set to music and the kids tend to memorize much better if they can sing it. and 2. it was easier than memorizing the list of Popes- although The Jane Austen Want to Be suggested we just spout out "Pope 1, Pope 2, Pope 3, etc."  Funny. 

Anyway, (Jewel #2) The Boy has done so well on the states, except he is absolutely sure that Michigan's capital is Landscape, not Lasing.  It's so cute, I hate to correct him each time.  Oh, I do, but not until after a giggle. 

Today, surely a Monday, was the day that The Clown picked to work (or shall I say continue to work) on their messy, MESSY bedroom.  Really, I'm not a mommy dearest that runs white glove tests daily to see if the kids' room are clean- trust me, they wouldn't pass anyway!  They really get it from me honestly; I have never lived down a Christmas orange that some how lost itself and reappeared many, many months later- hard as a rock and a little more green than orange.  So, I don't put a lot of pressure on immaculate rooms.  Yet, about every 3 weeks the older 3 girls decided it's time to straighten up.  This means a dumping of the closets.  I always try to avoid cleaning days by staying clear of the area- completely away!  The Clown worked this morning, despite the fact that she too had the cold and felt miserable, rehanging clothes and straightening up.  Unfortunately, The Jane Austen Want to Be and The Bookworm took it upon themselves to go back through what The Clown's progress and confiscate clothes that she had outgrown.  The problem with this is that (Jewel #3) The Clown was positive that the clothes they grabbed still fit her fine- never mind that they were size 7 and 10 - and that she is wearing a size 14.  I love that she still sees herself as my little girl. 

What is even sadder was that, due to her feeling sick, her feelings were worn on her sleeve and this whole event sent her into tears.  (Jewel #4) Grabbing the 4 or 5  pieces of clothes, she hugged them and ran off crying, where she found solace on the couch, clutching them like a precious treasure.  I can so appreciate that scene- there are times when I try something on from my closet that used to fit fine!  I often shed some tears and feel like climbing in a fetal position too!  - I hate Adam and Eve!!

Finally, this brings me to this week being the week of losing things.  Including my mind!  From Monday on, the house has been in an uproar over lost items.  Fortunately everything has been found, well, not my mind, but not without much shedding of tears, rants, raves and slammed doors.  This is what brings me to the next jewel- Jewel #8.      

No, I didn't miscount- in fact, my numbers are right on- we are expecting another baby- for now we'll call "Jewel #8"- in April. 


After all my medical mishaps, which conveniently covered my doctor visits excuses to the children, my husband and I decided to share the good news with the family.  Believe me, if I could have gotten away with hiding the news until Christmas I would have!  It would have made for easy Christmas shopping-  something that was on each of the kids' wish list.  Unfortunately, the baby bump was growing beyond my jeans size.  

The only sadness in that news and relating to this week is that I did officially climb into the maternity clothes.  I know- it's not sad- it's good, it's normal, it's just hard getting big!  Oh, that and finding that most of my maternity clothes were a little dated- very 90's.  Too bad that trend hasn't come back.  Can I blame that one on Adam and Eve too?  Maybe it's just a Monday!

Growing and surviving myself,
Mary