Happy Thanksgiving

I have this song stuck in my head that I hear on Radio Disney all the time. I don't know who it is, but it's some pop person. Usually I know all of my people from Radio Disney, so it must be a pop person that isn't from the Disney stable like Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Blue.... etc.

Anyway.. the song says, "I'm a winner....cuz I'm awesome....."

Why am I singing that? Because I went to the grocery store this morning and got everything I need for tomorrow. I was in and out in record time.

Then I headed to Costco just as they opened. I'm so on the ball I can't stand it. ;)

I got the remainder of the stuff I needed, plus other stuff so that I can stay near my house all of this fabulous four day weekend without having to go out if we don't want to.

Yessss. My sense of accomplishment this morning is through the roof!

I loved going to Costco today. I figured it would be busy so I went in with an open mind. While I was standing there waiting to pay, and about the 20th person in line, I watched people.

It was so funny to see everybody with carts full of rolls and stacked boxes of pies. The man in front of me had 150 rolls in his cart. (He had SCADS of bags.) A woman behind me was holding probably a dozen pies in her hands with her arms stretched out and her head peeking out of the top. It just looked so holiday-ish there today. I can see why this starts the beginning of a happy season for Maddy. So Maddy, since I have 80% of my Christmas shopping done, and Thanksgiving ready.... I finally get it. ;)

I also realized, what with the theme of the week being gratitude, that we are so lucky to live in a place where we can go and buy so much food. I remember watching an Oprah show a long time ago (before Oprah got super annoying) with a man who moved here from Ethiopia. He said the first huge memory he had about our country was that he could go buy fruit in a store. Fruit from all over the world, so if he craved an orange even during off season, he could buy an orange. The biggest was that he was amazed that we have an entire aisle just for our pets, filled with dog food, cat food and treats. That was one of those lightbulb moments that I remember all the time. It helps me to realize how lucky I am all of the time. So I thought of this man again today as I was watching the millions of rolls and pies being paid for.

Now I'm not trying to get all Oprah-ish here, but I just want to say that I am grateful. I'm grateful I live in this country, I'm grateful for my family (all of you!) and my friends (all of you!)

Also for Coca Cola, andU2. Plus so many more things, of course.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my family and friends who happen to read this!!! And THANK YOU for everything that you do!

Mwah!

For Shanna.....

My friend Shanna is having a boy!! This post is all for her. She mentioned on her blog how she is a little afraid of the thought of having a boy after so many girls. Granted, I only had one girl when I found out that my second child was going to be a boy, but I went through that total fear of not knowing too. How do you take care of a boy? Do you have to wrestle with them? Will they love me as much as my daughter does? Will they remember me on mother's day when they are married? A million things went through my head.

I now know better. Like I told her in an email today, boys love their mommies more than anybody else in the world. I have two momma's boys. - And I love every minute of it.

So, thinking of things that are boyish to pass on to Shanna.

Always check pockets when you do laundry. You'd be surprised at the collection of Downey smelling rocks that will accumulate on top of your washing machine. They love rocks.

Hot Wheels. They love Hot Wheels, and they are great for bribing them to make it through a trip to Target for under $1.

Trains. I think they all are born with the knowledge of Thomas. Wait until you are humming "They're two they're four they're six they're eight.... shunting trucks and hauling frieght....." The best is that there is usually one of these in their hands at all times and they love to run them along the door and window of the car when they are in the carseat. Careful though, the wheels can get stuck in your hair. True story.

Pretty much anything with wheels. They are fascinated by these things, and unfortunately as you all know they never grow out of this.

Someday you will know the name of all 200 Pokemon, including their evolved form. Trust me.

Legos hurt.

Fart jokes and the word butt.

They love to pick pretty weeds for mom. :)

These are just a few of the observations I have made since having boys. If anybody knows more to pass on... leave some for Shanna!

Congratulations my friend!!!!

The earth is flat, and it feels like I walked right off the edge of it. ;)

Wow. Do you ever have so much to update that you are almost afraid to blog?

I was so sick for awhile, and that put me out of commission for several days. Then Mike has been home and we've been busy doing house stuff and family stuff.

I promise a better post later today. :)

day 8 in the sick ward

And I am NOT feeling nurturing anymore!!!!

My boys have been sick all week. All three kids were sick since last week, but the boys and their asthma have been awful. I got them to the doctor and now they are on medication to finally kick it since they weren't getting better. Matthew even has an ear infection to top it all off.

I usually kind of enjoy when my kids are sick. They get snuggly. There is nothing better than sitting on the couch, under a blanket with a snuggly child. I like to play with their hair and give them a lot of kisses on top of their heads or on the feverish cheeks.

Until today. Today I could tell that the medication is doing it's job. They are feeling better and the coughing and wheezing has subsided. I didn't send them to school because I wanted them to be strong before they went back to the germ buffet. But today they won't let me have a second to myself!

When we got Piper we were watching the mom dog with the puppies. She was trying so hard to find a place to lie down but puppies kept following her. She looked desperate. Everytime a puppy came near her she'd growl. Mike asked the owner if she was aggressive at all and she said, "Not at all, she's just ready for the puppies to find homes and stop nursing."

I can totally respect that. Been there done that. Now I think of the look that poor mommy dog had as her poor boobies were hanging down and she just wanted to be left alone. I swear I feel like that dog today.

we are experiencing technical difficulties

halloween 2007

(I still can't get pictures off of my memory card into the computer, so I'll have to post them in a couple more days.) It's totally Maddy's fault for ruining my computer. ;)

Last night was fun. I thought if I had things in order downstairs and dinner somewhat ready that we wouldn't have the major stress out before starting trick or treating. Somehow we still lost track of time and managed to freak out trying to get everybody into costumes, fed and all that.

My mom came over to hand out candy at the house, and brought pizza with her. Thanks mom!

I loved walking around with the kids this year. They stuck together, and I let them run off on their own as long as they stopped at the end of the street if they happened to split up. It was nice that they all got a little taste of independence. I think they really liked that. Our neighborhood is great on Halloween too because there are SO many kids and parents walking around that it feels like a street party. Everybody decorates their houses like crazy, and the streets are lined with jack o lanterns. I always feel like I'm in a movie on halloween night here.

I was easy to find too, if they happened to feel lost. Like Trevor said, "You were the only one wearing a witch hat with feathers sticking out of the top."

At one point Megan even hooked up with the girl from last week's school trouble, and another friend. I swear, girls are so weird.

So all in all, a great halloween. As usual it seems like it came and went pretty fast and I can't believe it is November. It's hard to switch gears and start thinking about Christmas already, (Especially when it is unseasonably hot here still!) but I've already started a little shopping. So far I feel totally on the ball!

And admit it.... who else had candy for breakfast? Haha! ;)

Oh, and check out my ticker at the bottom. Only 11 months, 4 weeks and 2 days until the next one.