Turkey Day

I know I committed to writing thankful posts everyday through Thanksgiving, but I was too busy yesterday getting cleaning, cooking, eating, and entertaining to get on the computer for more than five minutes. But I am thankful that our holiday was perfectly lovely. Honestly I felt a little tiny bit like skipping Thanksgiving this year, or at the very least ordering take out, but it worked out and ended up being a nice day. Next year is going to be different though. I'm thinking the Thanksgiving Day parade downtown Detroit, followed by Boston Market. Or maybe Up North at my father-in-law's cabin with turkey sandwiches.

Bethany stuffs the bird.

We didn't go overboard cleaning, only invited four guests, and it's a fairly simple meal to cook. Plus we ate on Chinette plates. Easy enough, right? The worst part is the clean-up, which, ummmm, I'm still working on. But sometimes I feel confined and suffocated by traditions, instead of comforted by them. I don't really care all that much about a holiday centered around a huge meal. As you all know, I am thankful, and I do like the emphasis on thankfulness, but that's something that needs to be happening on a daily basis, not just once a year.

Connor & his first 3 pieces of pie. Yes, three.

As a kid I always hated Thanksgiving because it was boring. All my friends were busy with their families, there was nothing on television except parade coverage and football, and there were never any other kids having dinner with us. Dullsville. Since Chris and I have been together Thanksgiving has improved drastically in my book. Before kids, he and I used to head Up North after dinner and spend the weekend roughing it in whatever hunting cabin his dad was renting that year (before he bought his own), sometimes dealing with no indoor plumbing. For some reason, we thought that was fun. Later, when his dad got his cabin, we would go up there with his parents and have the traditional meal at the cabin. Since we've had kids, we've spent at least five Thanksgivings in Florida with my in-laws and Chris's brother. Last year we spent 13 hours at the Magic Kingdom on Thanksgiving Day, which beats sitting home and gorging on turkey any day. I should note, however, that we did properly celebrate Thanksgiving the next day, and we have never skipped a home cooked Thanksgiving dinner, even on vacation.

Yesterday was only the second time Chris and I have hosted and cooked the big turkey dinner ourselves. It ended up being a good day, and I'm pretty certain my kids will never look back on Thanksgiving as being sole contender for Most Boring Day of the Year on an annual basis. Maybe the traditional meal aspect of it is important for them, but some years I'd be happy to skip it.

After dinner we had another dance party in the living room. I dug out Lucy's old ballet slippers for Mattie, and although they're a little too big, she was so excited to wear real dance shoes. And it always warms my heart to see those $75 dance recital costumes getting some wear. We all played a couple games and watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving specials, which taught me more about the Mayflower and pilgrims than I ever remember learning in school.


Today the kids went to see the new Muppet's movie with Chris's mom while he and I did a little shopping and went out to lunch. Then Bethany had a basketball game, which Chris, his mom, and Lucy went to while I stayed home with Connor and Mathilda and tried unsuccessfully to get some online Christmas shopping done. Later on Chris and I did a little more shopping. We got a few pretty good Black Friday deals,yet we didn't deal with terrible crowds or lines since we went after the mad rush. 


I am content to know that the real weekend is just beginning, and we still have two days off before it's time to go back to school.


I hope everyone else had a good Thanksgiving holiday too! Did you do anything special?

November Thankful #23

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 23

Today I'm thankful for impromptu dance parties in the living room. The kids like to transform our bay window into a stage, and voila! We have our own G-rated red light district. Neighbors, enjoy.

 

November Thankful #22

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 22

Today I'm thankful for my family, our little party of six. I grew up in an unconventional family, not that there's anything wrong with that. But as a kid it can be incredibly difficult to explain to friends and teachers why you don't know you're dad and you're living with your grandparents and sharing a room with your mom. Or living with your mom and her boyfriend. Actually nowadays maybe it wouldn't be so difficult, but when I was a kid, anything other than the "normal" two-parent family was completely out of the ordinary. Truthfully I felt like an outcast, always. Add to the family situation the fact that I moved all the time until 7th grade, when we finally stayed in one place until high school graduation, and what you get is a whole lot of awkwardness. There were good things about the way I grew up,  to be sure, but what I longed for was a regular family and a regular home.

Before Chris and I got married we knew we wanted to have children. I myself could not wait to have a baby. I still remember the day when Chris called me at work and suggested it was time to start a family. We had just moved into our first real house and we were feeling pretty domesticated I guess. I made an appointment with my doctor, went off the pill, and poof! was preggers pretty much instantaneously. We were beyond thrilled! I could hardly stand to go to work every day, when I had a nursery to decorate, baby names to brainstorm, and a million baby things to buy. When Bethany was born, it was dizzying how much our lives transformed immediately.

It took us seven and a half years to complete our family. Looking back, it seems so long ago that we had only one baby, and then just two, and then three. But it flew by, much quicker than I could have anticipated. When Connor was born, a lot of people thought we'd automatically be done because we had our boy and our girl. We put the thought of more kids on the back burner, but kept ourselves open to surprises (read: weren't very careful with birth control). Lucy came at the best time, when we were saddened by the loss of my beloved grandma and needed a little light in our lives. And finally, two and a half years ago, we were blessed with Mathilda during one of the most stressful times of our marriage. 

Sometimes it doesn't seem real, that these four little people are my own babies. Other things in life haven't gone exactly as I'd imagined they would, but every single day I feel blessed beyond measure that I have this family. When all is said and done, the importance of anything else pales in comparison. The little stresses of daily life (okay, some of them aren't so little) can't diminish the joy my family gives me. The six of us constitute our own party, wherever we go. 

November Thankful #21

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 21

Today I am thankful that I have the wonderful privilege of being a stay-at-home mom.  I am with my kids when they wake up in the morning, when they come home from school, and when they go to bed. If they're sick, I take them to the doctor and bring them home to rest. If they have a day off school, I don't have to scramble to find a babysitter. I know this situation isn't right for every family, but since I was pregnant with my first baby over ten years ago, I knew in my heart that I would never be able to leave my children in daycare. We don't have parents who can babysit for free (or very cheap) full time, and child care for four kids would be through the roof, especially during the summer or other times they're off school.

I absolutely think it's important for my kids to spend time apart from me, and all of them do. Obviously, three of them are in school. They all spend time with grandparents, and the three older kids spend time at friends' houses too. I get out every once in a blue moon with no children in tow, and I think that's vital to my sanity as well. But I am my children's primary caregiver, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Some of my many reasons for loving life as a SAHM:

• If one of my kids gets sick at school, I can go pick him or her up without a lot of fuss.
• If one of my kids needs to stay home from school, I'll be there.
• During the summer and school breaks, we do fun things together that would be much more difficult if we were restricted to weekends.
• We also have time for lazy days when school's not in session.
• I get lots of time with Mathilda and Lucy while Bethany and Connor are in school.
• My kids are able to bring friends home after school.
• I can volunteer at school (although no one ever calls me, but that's another subject...).
• I can run errands during daylight hours instead of in the depressing darkness of Michigan's daylight savings time.
• I can stay home and clean my house all day. Hahahahahahaha! That one was a joke.
• Enjoying a semi-quiet house while the kids are at school. I grew up as an only child, I'm still adjusting to the loud chaotic mayhem of a large-ish family.

There are so many more reasons, but it boils down to this: I am grateful that I can be with my kids as much as I am. I think it's best for them and I know it's best for me. I'm not saying other people's situations don't work out perfectly well for them. I'm just saying that for us, this works. Someday I will probably work outside of the home again, unless I can find a way to make some serious cash from home. I even look forward to having meaningful and fulfilling work that doesn't involve wiping noses and cooking mac 'n cheese. But for now, I can't think of anything more meaningful I could be doing than being home with my kids. 

November Thankful #20

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 20

Today I am thankful for Christmas shopping. We put a major dent in our shopping over the past few days, and that makes me a happy mama. I can't actually share what we got for the little munchkins because I'm pretty sure one of them checks into her mom's blog once in awhile.

I love thinking of what each of my children would love to have, making lists for each of them, and then scouring the internet for the best deals. Finding a good price on something on my list is such a satisfying feeling. I love imagining how excited my kids will be when they come downstairs on Christmas morning.

For the past few years we've made an effort to pare down on the gifts because our kids already have so much. I'd say we've succeeded somewhat. We could do better, I'll admit it. But shopping for them is so much fun! I'm just about done with Mathilda right now, and I know I'm going to have a really hard time not buying more for her, but she's two. She doesn't need much. I don't want her to be overwhelmed, and I'll try to keep that in my mind as I keep seeing more things I know she'd love. 

While I know that presents are not the reason for the season, I'm so thankful for the opportunity to bring joy to my children and give them things that make them happy.

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? 

November Thankful #19

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 19

Today I am thankful for sleepovers. Whether away from home or at home with friends, sleepovers are a childhood rite of passage. I spent many happy nights away from home as a child, and many with friends or cousins staying over at my house. And now I get to see my kids have the same kind of fun. 

My first sleepovers were with my cousins and my grandparents. I lived with my grandparents off and on throughout my childhood, but when I wasn't living with them I would often sleep over, sometimes alone and sometimes with a cousin or three. I also spent many, many nights at my aunts' and uncles' houses having pajama parties with my cousins. As I got older, I started having sleepovers with friends. I first specifically remember sleeping over at a friend's house in third grade. Once I hit fourth and fifth grades and beyond, a sleepover seemed to happen just about every weekend.  

Sleeping over at friends' houses gave me a glimpse into how other families lived. I was given the chance to try things differently and fully understand that not everyone lived exactly as I did. I experienced, a tiny bit, what it was like to have two parents and brothers and sisters. Plus, there is something gained in friendship with spending an extended period of time together, late night giggles, having dinner together and then waking up and having breakfast together too. Of course there are more opportunities for arguments too, but then you're forced to learn conflict resolution with friends as well. Being away from home overnight also helps kids learn a certain level of independence.

All of my kids participate in sleepover fun at some level. Mathilda is so far limited to spending the night at my in-law's, but the the other three have all had lots of sleeping over experience with friends as well as with grandparents. From a parent's perspective, when my kids are away from home it gives Chris and I a little break. Even just being down one kid makes a huge difference in the noise and general mayhem level around here. Then the kids at home have a chance to get a little extra attention from mom and dad. When we do the hosting, we have the pleasure of getting to know our kids' friends more than we normally would. What an awesome opportunity that is, because as parents we need to make a concerted effort to know who our kids hang out with, and what kind of people they are. As they get older, this is going to become more and more important. So I will relinquish a little control and let someone else look after my kids once in awhile. And I will sacrifice a little sleep and put up with a higher than normal noise level (is that even possible??) every so often. It's all worth it, because when my kids grow up their sleepover memories will some of their best.

November Thankful #18

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 18

Today I am thankful for texting. Maybe I've mentioned once or twice that I'm not crazy about talking on the phone? I mean I can sit and chat on the phone for an hour with my mom or my very best friends, but I get phone anxiety about making calls to anyone I don't know or don't know well. (And I virtually never answer the phone if I don't recognize the number). Whether it's to make an appointment, inquire about something, RSVP to a party, whatever; I have to plan out the conversation before I dial. 

The other thing about phone calls is that, like everyone else, I'm so freaking busy all the time. You know how you call someone for just a quick second to ask a question, and then you get sucked into a telephone time warp, and before you know it you've been on the phone for 30 minutes? I'm easily sidetracked as it is, and I feel like I'm being rude if I cut the conversation short or just ask my question and say good-bye. I feel like I need to make some small talk. Texting is beautifully efficient in comparison.

Don't misunderstand: I love when the phone rings and I look at my caller ID and it's one of my friends or someone I want to talk to! But sometimes, time is of the essence, and sending a text is a whole lot easier and quicker.

Texting:

• Helps me get my point across quickly and succinctly. 
• Eases my anxiety of calling someone I don't know all that well. 
• Is convenient! I can quietly text someone in a place where it might be rude to talk on the phone.
• Is a good way to relay information and keep it handy on my phone. For example, I can ask someone to text me an address or phone number, and I don't have to worry about writing it down or losing it. 

Technology is a beautiful thing. What will they come up with next? 

November Thankful #17

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 17

 

Today I am thankful for maps. Yes I realize this may sound lame to some, but I'm a map girl.I love maps, I pore over maps. I love paper maps and online maps. I like to imagine someplace I want to go and plug my destination into Mapquest or Google Maps and play around with the route. Maybe mapping makes other places seem more real to me? I don't know, but it borders on obsessive, once I get going.

Since I want to go everysingleplaceintheworld, I like to daydream about where I'm going to go. How long will it take, how much money will I need for gas, how many nights lodging? Will I have to drive over mountains, and if so can I handle that without totally freaking out? I used to live in Arizona, and I vaguely remember driving along narrow mountain roads with very little wiggle room between our vehicle and a massive drop into oblivion.

By the time I was 8 I had been on three cross country drives, plus one train ride from Michigan to Arizona. The furthest my kids have been on a car ride is the northern border of South Carolina, and I don't think Chris's dad stopped one time the entire way there. Okay, maybe once, but that's it. He had rented an RV to take 8 of us to a wedding, so we had a bathroom and a bed to make it pretty comfortable for the kids. That was when Bethany was in preschool, so Lucy and Mattie weren't even around yet. I have been positively itching to take my kids on a massive trek. Maybe I'm crazy, or masochistic, or both, but I think it sounds like fun! Last year I wanted to drive down to Florida with the kids, but the timing didn't work out at Hotel Uncle Rob. Now I've got some other ideas rolling around in my head for next summer. Hmmm....

In the meantime, I will obsessively pore over maps, and occupy myself with pseudo-planning. Are you a map junkie too, or is this totally weird?  

November Thankful #16

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 16

Today I'm thankful for crock pots. This simple little appliance makes life so much easier, and solves the dilemma of how to feed the family home cooked food when no one is going to be home until (past) dinner time. This evening I am going to cook dinner while Bethany and Connor are at catechism, and then throw it in the crock pot to keep it warm while we are at floor hockey. If I had remembered that I needed to cook dinner early today and taken chicken out of the freezer at a reasonable time, then I would have simply let it cook in the crock pot to make my life even easier.

Two of my favorite crock pot dinners are so ridiculously easy, I feel like I can only get away with making them each about once a month. Here goes, prepared to be wowed:

1. Chicken and salsa. That's it. Just put some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crock pot and cover with salsa. Let cook on high for 6-8 hours if frozen, 4-6 if not frozen. Shred up the chicken and serve on flour tortillas with cheese and sour cream. If you really want to get fussy, make some Mexican or Spanish style rice to go along with it.
2. Pork chops and barbeque sauce. One more two-ingredient wonder. Put boneless pork chops in the crock pot, cover with barbeque sauce and let cook for 4-6 hours if fresh and 6-8 hours if frozen. Shred it and serve it on a bun. Shredded cheddar optional. Great with a bag of frozen french fries or sweet potato fries also good with chips if you don't have time to cook the fries. 

I may have even posted these recipes on here before, but I don't care. They bear repeating. I have an entire cookbook dedicated to crock pot recipes, and yet I always come back to these two, because they are so easy, I don't have to look anything up, and I don't need any special ingredients. 

 

Do you have any favorite, stupid easy crock pot recipes? 

November Thankful #15

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 15

Today I am thankful for chaperoning field trips. When I was in school, field trips were my favorite part of school. Now that I'm a mom, I sign up to be a chaperone for just about every single field trip Bethany, Connor, and Lucy go on. Unfortunately there's often only enough room for a certain number of parents, so I don't always get picked. 

Some places I've been on field trips with my kids:

• Apple orchard (many times)
• Farm
• Science center (I can think of 3 different ones)
• Theatre
• Henry Ford Museum
• Fire station
• Detroit riverboat tour
• Circus
• Zoo
• Nature center (I can think of at least two different ones)

Just today I accompanied Bethany's fifth grade class to the Imagination Station in Toledo, Ohio. My observation of the day is that 10-year old girls do not walk, they run, or maybe flit would be a better description. I basically spent my day chasing after my group, as they flitted from one exhibit to the next. The Imagination Station is over an hour from school, so that wasn't the most comfortable bus ride I've ever been on. And I wasn't feeling stellar either, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Why do I love field trips and chaperoning for them so much? 

• No amount of book learning can beat real world experiences.
• A change of pace and change of scenery is great for kids (and me) from time to time.
• Being someplace other than school with friends is such fun for the kids.
• One-on-one time with my kids. Even though there are dozens of other kids around, those other kids aren't siblings - and that makes all the difference in the world.
• Getting to know the other parents and the teachers a little bit.
• Getting to know the other kids. I think this one is so important. Seeing my kids interacting with their peers is very telling. I can place names with faces. Many of the kids know me and are comfortable talking to me. I know that once they're in middle school, these opportunities will be few and far between, so I have to take full advantage now.

I am so thankful that I can usually arrange my schedule and line up babysitters so that I can chaperone field trips. My mother-in-law came to pick Mattie up at 8:00 a.m. today, then picked Lucy up from school, and then took Lucy and Mattie to work with her until I could get there to pick them up.  Wow! Now that's a dedicated grandma. If not for her help, I would not have been able to go. I am thankful that my kids are able to go on multiple field trips every school year, and that they always want me to chaperone.

Do you like to go on field trips with your kids? 

November Thankful #14

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 14

Today I'm...exhausted and have a horrible cough and a pounding headache, and I'm having a little trouble finding my gratitude groove. It's still there, I just have to concentrate and dig deeper.

So, let me start over. Today I am thankful for my bed. It's a hand-me-down Queen that once served as the mattress in my in-law's guest bedroom. When we first got it a few years ago, it felt huge. Probably because it was replacing our old Double. Now I have to wonder: how the heck did we ever sleep on that miniscule mattress? Because the Queen has felt positively confining for awhile now. A Double? Really???

But I'm not complaining, because I am right at this minute looking very forward to crawling under the covers on that too-small bed of mine. As soon as Bethany and Connor go to bed, and I finish with one last load of laundry, and take a shower and dry my hair and get clothes ready for the morning for the little girls and myself. I was ready for this day to end about two hours ago, and now it's getting blissfully close. I won't have any trouble sticking to my bedtime tonight.

What about you? What are you thankful for today?

November Thankful #13

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 13

Today I am thankful for grandparents. I grew up close to my mom's parents, living with them on and off all the way until my early 20's. They've been gone for a long time, but I think of them often and miss them, and I'm so glad I was fortunate to have them in my lives for as long as I did.

My grandpa was kind of gruff and crabby, but he mellowed out after he finally retired for good. He was a joker, and would rub my cheeks on his sandpaper cheeks when I sat on his lap, and offer me a knuckle sandwich. We used to go for long walks together, and sometimes he would pick me up to go shopping with him. This generally meant Kmart and the local market, Polla's. As I got older it was embarrassing when he'd pull over while driving for me to hop out and pick up an empty can in the street for the 10 cent deposit. He would take me to Tigers games and I would go with him to visit his dad, first at his sister's house, and then later at the nursing home. He used to like to take my cousins and I on local excursions, like visiting the Detroit salt mines, something that is no longer possible (probably because it's too dangerous...). During college, I remember my friend Julie and I sitting at his dining room table with him as he attempted to help us with our Environmental Science homework. When we found out he had stage IV cancer I was in my last year of college and it felt like my world was coming apart at the seams. He went quickly after that, but he suffered immensely and it broke my heart.

My grandma was someone I could always talk to. She and I just clicked, and she was one of my best friends. She was a no-nonsense kind of woman, not terribly affectionate, and I never once saw her cry. When I told her I loved her, in return she would say, "thank you." But I never doubted that she did love me. She would make me late night snacks, like sliced apples and cheese, or saltine crackers with peanut butter and jelly. We spent many days together, galavanting as she would say. This generally meant running errands and stopping for a bite to eat, or maybe visiting some other family members. She had a great passion for family history, which she shared with me. I was an interested audience and would happily pore over her genealogy books and records with her, listening to stories and soaking it up. I am so happy that Bethany and Connor got to know her a little bit, although she was already sick and not quite herself when they were little. She passed away while I was pregnant with Lucy, and never did know that she would be having a great-granddaughter named after her. It still seems odd to me that my grandpa never knew any of my kids, and that my grandma never knew Lucy and Mathilda.

My grandparents did so much to enrich my life. Now that I'm a parent, I'm grateful that my kids have several grandparents to do the same for them.

 

November Thankful #12

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 12

Today I am thankful for bedtimes. Bedtimes for kids are wonderful godsends. For years Bethany and Connor had a strict 7:30 bedtime, and it was bliss. I did my grocery shopping, working out, socializing, laundry, and so much more after they were in bed. And since they went to bed so early, I got a fairly early start on my evening activities. I would read to them, give them their lovies (baby doll for Bethany, cloth diaper for Connor), start some music, and put them to bed. They were both thumb suckers too, which was a bad habit but it helped them sleep.

Then came Lucy and that strict bedtime routine went out the window. Lucy just wouldn't sleep unless I was holding her or nursing her. Bethany and Connor still had a bedtime, but being busy with Lucy, I somehow allowed it to inch its way to 8:00 and beyond. The way I finally got Lucy to sleep through the night in her own bed was by putting a movie on for her. She was 18 months old, I was desperate. She's now 5 and still needs a movie on to get to sleep. But I digress.

Since Lucy was just never as good a sleeper as Bethany and Connor, we never had a strict bedtime for her. She often stayed up way later than them, and we were just relieved that she would sleep in her own bed at all. Our bedtime standards plummeted, in other words. 

When Mathilda came along, she was just as bad as Lucy. A few months after she was born, Lucy started preschool, so in order for her to get adequate sleep we had to get kind of rigid with her bedtime too. So then we had three kids on a pretty regular bedtime. 

Mathilda held out as long as she could, but finally she gave in and started sleeping in her own bed every night, all night long. But, once again we were very lenient and took anything she dished out because it had been a looooooong 18 months, and we were tired.

But now, now we are golden. When Lucy started kindergarten a few months ago, we knew she was going to need a lot of sleep. We explained to her that if she still wants a movie on at bedtime, then she'll need to be in bed by 7:30. (Of course she agreed, and she's typically out within 5-10 minutes). And we figured it was time to get Mathilda on a routine too. So Lucy and Mathilda go to bed at 7:30 every night. They sleep together in Lucy's bed. Mathilda's crib is still set up, but it's been weeks since she's slept in it. The plan is to get bunk beds eventually. But for now, the two of them are just happier snuggling up in one bed. It works, so why not? Bethany and Connor stay up until 9:00. We get a little time together without the loud little sisters, and lately we've been huddling up under a blanket on the couch and watching Punky Brewster together.

So yes, bedtimes for kids are wonderful things. But they're good for grown ups too. I've recently given myself a bedtime, or maybe bedtime range is more accurate. I tend to stay up pretty late because I relish the quiet house. I catch up on my blogging, loading the dishwasher, doing laundry, and occasionally watching television. And then I'm dragging the next day, and the cycle continues. I look tired and old. Then I found out that not getting enough sleep lowers your metabolism, and that was it. I knew I had to do something. So my new goal is to be in bed between 11:30 and 1:00 a.m. every night. I've been doing pretty good, and I hope to stick with it. 

Do you and your kids have bedtimes? 

November Thankful #11

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 11

                                          

Today I am thankful for my family members who have served our country in the military.

My cousin Kimberly posted this picture

< ----------------------------------------

of my grandma's brother James on Facebook today. James died on November 10, 1946 at age 19, while serving as a guard at the Nuremberg Trials during World War II. He grew up in the same town I live in right now,and he was looking forward to coming home to see a certain special girl. He was just a baby, and he died while serving our country. My grandma would tell me stories about being in high school during the war, and that there was only ONE boy in her graduating class because the rest dropped out of school to enlist. (It was a small school, but still!). The one who didn't, by the way, was going into the seminary after graduation. The girls were all members of the Red Cross and spent their free time sewing bandages for soldiers.

Others in my family who served, and I'm sure I'll miss some:

• Both of Chris's grandfathers, Stanley and Joe
• Chris's dad, Bob
• Chris's brother, Rob
• Both of my grandfathers, Robert and Emil
• My grandmother's other brothers, Elmer and George
• My grandpa's brother, Charles
• My uncles: James, Herb, and Ken
• My cousin's dad, Mike
• My cousin, Emily

Some of these people are still with us, and some are not. But I'm thankful to all of them for bravely putting their lives in danger to defend all of us. 

If anyone in my family reads this and notices anyone who I missed, please let me know.

 

November Thankful #10

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 10

Today I'm thankful for friends. I write about my friends all the time because they are awesome and I am blessed. Some of my friends I've had for a long time. Some I haven't known for that long. Some I've lost track of over the years and we just communicate via Facebook these days.

My friend Julie P. and I have been friends since the fourth grade. We lived two blocks away from each other for three years, both in corner houses, so our moms could watch us walking back and forth. Back in June I stood up in her wedding, and she is Connor's godmother. Julie and I don't see each other often, but she is the kind of friend I know will always be there, even if we don't talk for three or six months at a time.

Julie F. and I met in middle school choir in the seventh grade. We went away to college together and became moms just 6 months apart. She has three daughters, and they are all close in age to my kids. We get the kids together a couple times a year (we used to more often but now that they're older and involved with school, extracurricular activities, and their friends, it's not so easy anymore). We don't get out without kids too much anymore, but I wish we did. 

I met Shelly in high school. I can't remember which class or what the circumstances were. But we always had fun together. All these years later and we still see each other from time to time in real life. Again, I wish it was more often. 

Then I have some friends I met at the elementary school Bethany and Connor used to go to. We moved and switched schools a couple years ago, but I still see these ladies on a fairly regular basis. They've been a great support group for me as I stumble through the school years, wondering if I'm screwing my kids up with every single decision and judgement call. Our kids are friends, which makes get togethers easy and fun. We'll all meet up at a park or something and let the kids play while we mommies chit chat. And once in awhile we get some grown up time too, which is even more fun.

At the kids' new school I have a great friend, Chris. We are still getting to know each other and haven't really hung out without kids in tow. But it's great to have someone to talk school with who knows what I'm talking about. Plus I know our kids will be in school together for a long time, and I look forward to our friendship growing.

Each of my friends adds something special and unique to my life. We laugh together, we have someone to talk to in good times and bad. We Zumba together and walk together and hang out in Port Austin together and drink Starbucks together and take our kids to fun places together. We talk about kids and movies and books and school and everything else.

Just today I had breakfast with my friends Angela and Amy. We had a delicious meal (thanks again, Angela) and talked while our little ones, who aren't in school yet, played together. Then I left to pick Lucy up from school and my friend Tina came over for a little visit. Her son is starting floor hockey with Connor, and I can't wait to chat with her for a whole hour every week while the boys play. 

Sometimes, in our busy lives, it's hard to carve out friend time. But I'm a happier person when I spend time with my friends, so I'm going to continue to make it a priority. 

November Thankful #8

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.



November 8

Today I'm thankful for American Horror Story. I am generally clueless when it comes to T.V. talk, since I've never seen an episode of The Office, Modern Family, Real Housewives of (fill in location), or most other shows. I really don't watch much television, but when I do I prefer shows with intense character development and intricate, detailed story lines. Some examples of my favorites include Dexter and True Blood. I was a huge fan of Lost, Arrested Development, and Six Feet Under. 

Chris is much more up to date regarding anything media related, and he is usually the one who turns me on to new shows. So he watched the first four episodes of American Horror Story without me. Which is fine except that I'm a major wimp and I could only convince him to re-watch one of the episodes with me. I had to watch the others by myself and this show freaks me out! But in a fun, good way!

I'm not a fan of gory violence, but I love a good scary story. Sometimes at the end of a scary book or movie, I wish it wasn't over yet because I want to know more. This is why I love American Horror Story. Each episode reveals more and more information about the characters, the house, and the the back story.


American Horror Story is on FX Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. (EST). The first episode is no longer On Demand, but there's probably a way to find it online. A couple other episodes are coming off of On Demand on the 11th, so if you haven't seen them yet hurry on up!


A brief synopsis: A family moves across the country from Boston to L.A. for a new start when the wife finds out that her husband is having an affair. They find a beautiful old home at a bargain basement price, but soon it becomes apparent why it was such a steal. The dad is a psychiatrist running a practice out of the house and the couple has a teenage misfit daughter, struggling to fit in. The house has quite a history, and the neighbors are pretty interesting too. You can never be sure if certain characters are living or...not.


Do you watch American Horror Story? What do you think? I can't wait for this week's episode!

November Thankful #7

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 7

Today I am thankful for half-day kindergarten. It's now two months into the school year, and I still don't think Lucy is ready to take the plunge into full-day territory. She is tired and irritable, even though I have pushed back her bedtime as early as I can without majorly interfering with activities and dinner. I am glad, really glad that her school offers the option of letting kindergarteners stay half-day. There are only three of us half-day holdouts (spread among four kindergarten classes), and the situation is not ideal because she misses out on a lot of fun stuff her classmates get to do. But I would truly feel like I was doing Lucy a huge disservice to force her to stay all day. The first few weeks of school, when so many kids were crying every morning at drop-off, I felt bad for the rest of them for having to stick it out until 3:24. I know kids are resilient and they adjust to just about anything, but Lucy is still adjusting to going to school every day so I think we'll give her some more time before we make the switch.

In the meantime, she loves coming home and having lunch with Mathilda. Many days we play school (we've had to expand to playing boarding school because she never wants the game to end) and I give her little homework assignments to do. She plays and rests comfortably on the couch instead of on a towel on the floor. Maybe some people think I'm just babying her or hindering her, but she's as happy to be a half-day kindergartener as I am happy to have her home with me every afternoon. She has a lot of time to grow up, I'm in no hurry. 

 

November Thankful #5

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'll be doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

 

 

 

November 5

 

 

Today I am thankful for good hair cuts. I don't care what anyone says, there is a world of difference, no a galaxy of difference, between a BoRics or Super Cuts special and a good salon cut. Sadly, I rarely make myself enough of a priority to take the time or spend the money on a hair cut. Way back in maybe February or so I got a $10 hair cut from a little place nearby where Chris used to get his hair cut. It wasn't bad at all for ten bucks. But it didn't exactly make me feel like a million bucks either. 

 

In May I got highlights with a new girl I'd never been to before at the recommendation of a friend. I didn't get a hair cut because I was getting ready to stand up in a wedding and my hair was just barely long enough for an up-do. And she did an outstanding job of doing exactly what I wanted. I mean it's November and my highlights still look great.

 

Of course since not getting my hair cut since February, I was beginning to get into a desperate situation by August or so. Last week I finally decided to do something about it, and I made an appointment with Ashlee, the girl who hooked me up with the highlights. My appointment was Thursday night.

Voila!

I haven't had bangs since I was in my early 20's. She trimmed me all up, shaped and shortened my layers, and gave me some perfectly manageable side bangs. I heart Ashlee! If you live in metro Detroit and are looking for someone to make magic happen with your hair, she's at London Calling salon in Roseville. They have appointments until 11 p.m., so no excuses! Tell them I sent you and we'll both get a discount ~ woohoo!

November Thankful #4

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'll be doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 4

Today I'm thankful for SUNSHINE! 

When the day is sunshiny, I'm a happier person. Maybe there's something not quite right about that, because happiness should definitely not depend upon something so fleeting and out of my control as the weather. But it's just the facts, ma'm. I wake up more cheerful, I run my errands with a smile on my face. I do my housework happily and am in general much more agreeable. Not saying that I'm not happy on dreary days, but it's just a whole easier for me to be in a good mood when I can see the sun shining in the sky. 

 

November Thankful #3

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'll be doing daily thankful posts. I'd love it if you'd join me by commenting here or on MichiGal's Facebook page.

November 3

I'm thankful for fall leaves. They can take an ordinary neighborhood and turn it into a thing of beauty.