TToT, Week 26

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts.  No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. 

 ~H.U. Westermayer

 

We've been home for one hour after a wonderful trip home to Ohio for the Thanksgiving festivities.  This list will be a piece of cake.

 

 

1.  I am thankful for the easiest drive ever.  Driving to Ohio on the day before Thanksgiving is always a toss up.  On a normal day, it takes approximately 6 hours to get from our house to COW's mom's house.  The day before Thanksgiving can take anywhere from 7-12 hours.  Between traffic coming out of Indianapolis and through Columbus, Ohio, plus any snowy weather they could be experiencing, the drive has been known to be horrible.  We packed the van to be prepared for a worst case scenario, but were thrilled to have the shortest drive we've ever had.  Not one traffic jam blocked our way, and all the snow from the previous day's storm was cleared off the road. 

 

2.  I am thankful for the hall where we hold the Thanksgiving feast.  We used to gather at my grandma's house, but as the family grew and she got older, it became too much.  The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) hall is the perfect place.  There is plenty of room for the 50ish people, including a stage area for the many, many boys to wrestle and play without hurting any of the adults.  Plus, there is a huge oven for cooking/warming food, and a buffet area to serve it all up. 

 

3.  I am thankful for all the relatives who were able to make the trip.  Aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, nieces, nephews, and parents made it.  Even my cousin who lives in Hilton Head made the trip with his kids.  Everyone had a great time catching up.

 

4.  I am thankful for my parents' ability to put the past behind them.  My parents were divorced more than 30 years ago.  It wasn't the prettiest of divorces.  We'll leave it at that.  However, over time, they have let it go.  To the point to where they actually enjoy each other's company again.  While it is my dad who hosts, and his family who we celebrate with, my mom is not only invited, but encouraged to come.  She is part of the family, playing cards and talking and laughing with the rest of us.  I am so grateful to my dad and stepmom for including her.  It makes our holidays so much better to be able to spend the day with both parents.

 

5.  I am thankful for my brother's surprise arrival.  Neither of my brothers were going to be able to make it to Ohio this year, but at the last minute my youngest brother's plans changed.  He and his family just showed up as we were getting ready to eat.  Gatherings are always more fun when my brother is there.  (Mom and Dad and any other relative reading this, DO NOT tell him this.  His ego is big enough as it is.)

 

6.  I am thankful for the time I have to spend with my grandma and her siblings.  One great-aunt and one great-uncle and one great-aunt-in-law (all in their late 70s/80s) are frequent attendees at my dad's gatherings.  I love spending time with them.  We mainly play Euchre, but my great-aunt and I have our own Scrabble time whenever I am in town.  I so enjoy listening to them talk about the old days, but talking about current things are just as good.  They all have me laughing whenever I see them.  My favorite line this week came after someone chided them for swearing in front of the kids.  They were upset that people accused them of swearing/cussing, and one great-aunt said, "It's a bull, and it's shit.  What else am I supposed to call it?  Bull poop?"   As my grandma was pointing out to just about everyone over the past couple months, this may be her last Thanksgiving.  (None of us believe her.)  I am going to take advantage of every chance I have to spend time with them.

7.  I am thankful for my snickerdoodle recipe.  I made a batch to take to Thanksgiving, and to say they were a hot item is an understatement.  People were actually fighting over them.  As in snatching them out of each other's hands, even after a bite had been taken.  These cookies are that good.  In the midst of it all, I found out where the recipe actually came from.  I had gotten it from my mom, but didn't know where she had gotten it.  On Thursday, I found out it came from my great-aunt's (of bullshit fame) mother-in-law.  I am so happy to know it's origins, and that it wasn't just out of a magazine my mom read.

8.  I am thankful for COW.   I know, I mention him in lots of lists.  But over the holidays, I am especially grateful.  We always stay with his mom when we go back home, as my family's houses are all booked up with out-of-state relatives.  Every single night we are home, every single year, COW will take the kids back to his mom's house, put them to bed, and stay with them while I stay at Grandma's or Dad's to spend time with my relatives.  I get to simply enjoy their company till all hours of the night, without having to worry about tired kids or an endless stream of "Mom! Mom! Mom!" 

9.  I am thankful for the quiet morning I had the day after Thanksgiving.  Each year, the NFL Hall of Fame has free admission for kids the day after Thanksgiving.  COW has been taking the boys every year for at least 6 years.  This was the first year all 5 boys were old enough to go.  They all left the house at 7:45, Buttercup had some quiet time with my mother-in-law, and I got to stay in bed reading a book until I felt like getting up.  It was fantastic.

10.  I am thankful for the chance to help our parents and my grandma.  While I love living in Indianapolis, I hate that I am so far away from our family.  My dad, COW's mom, and my grandma are the only ones who still live in Ohio.  There's not a lot we can do to help them when they need it.  When we are home, we try to do as much as we can.  We were able to help them get some heavy lifting and unloading and organizing and wallpaper stripping done while we were home.  I know they appreciate it, but I wish we could do more.

Well, that was the easiest list I've ever done.  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday (or a normal Thursday, for all my non-US friends) and safe travels.  Feel free to link in a post or let me know what made you happy this week in the comments.

Have a lovely day!

 

 



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I Was Smited. In Front of 800 People. It Had Nothing to Do With Chickens or Pigs.

We sit in the front of church each and every week.  We always have.  There is nothing worse for a kid than being in a gigantic room full of people, knowing something is going on in the front of the room, and being unable to see it.  Sitting in the back, all we would hear are extremely whiny, "I can't seeeeeee."  So, in the front we sit.

I know parents are afraid to sit in the front of church, because what if the kid misbehaves?

I say, "What is the worst that can happen?  The kid throws a fit and you leave."  Every parent in the place has been in your shoes, and only one or two heartless people will judge.

I apologize to any and all young parents to whom I gave this advice.

A temper tantrum is most certainly NOT the worst thing that can happen.

We went to 5:00 Mass on Saturday night, with plans on going out for my birthday dinner afterwards.  As usual, we were as close as we could get to the front of church.  The 4th pew to be exact.

COW was down at one end of the pew.  Cuckoo was on his lap, and four kids were in between us.

At a nice, quiet point in Mass, right after the first reading (to non-Catholics, this would be about 10 minutes into the service) Cuckoo coughed.  It was a cough that you just knew had all sorts of phlegm behind it, and he choked a bit.  It was an awful sound that echoed throughout the 800 person audience.

He looked to COW with a pitiful face and croaked, "It made me choke."

He then got off COW's lap and started to make his way towards me.  At his third step, he gave a roar of sorts, then spewed vomit all over the floor.

Did you catch that????  The boy puked.  At church.  In the 4th pew from the front. 

Simultaneously, the following things occurred:

- COW actually tried to stop the flow of vomit by covering Cuckoo's mouth. 
- The thought, "What the hell am I supposed to do with this situation?" flittered through my head.
- a horrified Buttercup (because, really, calling any attention to a 13 year old girl sitting with her parents is bad.  Attention being called because her brother upchucked all over the church is just plain mortifying.) slid as far down the pew as she could, head bowed into her lap.
- Turken cried, "He threw up in my coat!" approximately 24 times
- Star pointed out that a few drops of vomit landed on his leg and could he please have something to clean it
- Giant and Phoenix tried hard to hide their laughter behind cringes of disgust.  They were disgusted with the vomit being so close, but laughing because...well...they are boys, and that scenario is just plain hilarious to boys.
- A dear woman I've known for years and years (and was actually Phoenix and Buttercup's preschool teacher) pulled two handmade dishrags she had shown me just 15 minutes earlier out of her purse, (She had just, and I mean JUST, bought them at the church's "Different Kind of Giving Market"*) and with sadness in her eyes said, "Use these."
- Approximately 300 Kleenex from 40 tissue packs were thrown at us from every direction by the many elderly ladies surrounding us.

I did what I could with the Kleenex and handmade dishrags, but it wasn't enough.  I left church in search of cleaning supplies, cursing our OCD janitor for not allowing paper towels in the bathrooms.  In the hall, I came across COW and Cuckoo.  He had found some paper towels, so I grabbed them and went down that long aisle while everyone sat listening to the second reading. 

I was working on the cleanup, when I realized I had nothing to put the nastiness into.  Back down the aisle and in search of a plastic bag I went.  The trash cans all had huge liners with no extras underneath.  I finally found some donations waiting to be picked up, all in little grocery bags.  I emptied one of the grocery bags and took it back down the long aisle to finish cleaning up the mess.  Thankfully, my dishrag friend was there getting the last of the puke cleaned up.   I took the bag of puke (and her lovely handmade dishrags) back down the aisle to dispose of the bag, clean off Turken's coat, and wash my hands.

I ran into COW and Cuckoo again, and stopped to see how Cuckoo was doing.  The dear boy, as he sat on a bench, swinging his feet and bouncing around, asked me, "Can I go run around in the grass outside?"

He was just fine, but they stayed in the hall just in case.

I went back into church to participate in the rest of Mass.

Thankfully for us, the priest was losing his voice, so there was no long homily, and we were out of there in record time.

Before we could leave, we headed over to the gym to buy some dishrags to replace my friends' sacrificial cloths.  No less than 5 people, who had been scattered around the church, stopped to ask, "Did one of your kids throw up?  We heard the initial, tell-tale blah, then saw a flurry of activity around you." 

Thankfully, no one outside of a 4 pew radius had to hear the splat as the vomit hit the ground.  Or witness the "one in a million, Doc." hit Turken's coat took.  The coat had been on Turken's lap, and that spew went right down the sleeve, shoulder to wrist. 

Unfortunately, I am to blame for the entire fiasco.

The last three weekends, COW and I had to go to different Masses.  The little boys were with me for all of them.  Let's just say, I didn't get to hear much of the last three Masses. 

Seconds before the upchuck, I thought, "Ha!  Finally.  COW gets to wrestle the boys while I relax and listen to the readings." 

Lightening would have hurt innocent people.  This was a much better way for God to smite me.

Point taken.  Lesson learned.

Have a lovely day!

*It seems "smited" isn't a word.  It's supposed to be smote.  But who ever heard that word?  No one will know what I'm getting at if I use "smote".  Just so you know, in the future, I will use the word "smote".  'Cause now you know.

The TToT's 25 Weeks Old! Cake Is Involved.

Happy 25th Week Anniversary!!!

I do believe you were promised cake, so...

Sorry.  I really tried to save it for you, but it's chocolate.  I could only wait for so long.  It totally used to say "Happy 25th Week Anniversary".* 

To celebrate, I'm going to list not 10, but 25 things for which I am thankful this week.  Hope you are sitting in a comfortable chair.  And have some tea to sip.  Perhaps a bag of M&Ms.

1.  I am thankful for my good hair day on Monday.    The curly mullet is starting to grow out, and I finally had one good day with it.  No, I haven't had another one since, but I had one.  There is hope that I'll someday have another.

2.  I am thankful for all you lovely people who read this blog.  COW and I were fortunate to score invites to Kris's 40th birthday bash.  We had loads of fun with all of her friends.  The moment we got in the car, COW said, "Walking into that party, I thought I had walked in with a celebrity, with all these people I never met saying, 'Hey!  It's the Coop!'"   It seems Kris tells people she writes a blog, and many of those people read mine, too.  I am grateful for all the kind ladies (and even a husband or two) who read and enjoy my stories. 

HELLO KRIS'S FRIENDS!!  :)

3.  I am thankful for garlic.  Garlic cooking in butter is one of my favorite aromas in the world.  We grew garlic in our garden the last two summers, and I am loving it.

4.  I am thankful for quality library programs.  Every week, Cuckoo is thrilled to attend the 45 minute free** program at our library.  I am thrilled to have 35 minutes to sit and read a book in mostly peace and quiet.  (Of the other moms, grandparents, and caregivers, I am the only one who stays out and reads a book.  Even though the woman in charge tells us every single time we don't need to go in with our kids.  What the heck??) 

5.  I am thankful for Star and Giant, who consistently do all of their daily chores without being reminded.

6.  I am thankful I have my new "about me" page written.

7.  I am thankful I can finally get Dyanne and a Bible study friend off my back, since I got a new photo of Phoenix on the sidebar.  Sure, it's the wrong size, but it's there.  We can work on the size later.

8.  I am thankful for making it to age 42.  (My birthday was this week.)

9.  I am thankful for Zoe and her hilarious JibJab birthday card.  It looks just like the me from back in my roller skating days!  (Go here to see it.  Or here to see the first one, before she found the birthday one.  (I have got the moves!))

10.  I am thankful for my mom's safe return from her month-long vacation in Florida.  Sure, she had fun and I plan on doing the same type of thing when I'm retired, but honestly, I didn't need another phone call letting me know how gorgeous it was down at the beach.  She's back to the miserable cold and wet weather that is the Midwest(ish) area. Our conversations go much better now.

11.  I am thankful for hot showers in the morning.  Since I don't drink coffee, I need something to get the cobwebs out of my brain.

12.  I am thankful for the warm weather last weekend and my kids' ability to enjoy it before the storms rolled in.  Sure, I had to yell, "Get outside and play right now, and don't come in until the storm is knocking on our door!" but they went out.  And they played. 

Shall we pause for a photo collection?

We shall.

Yes, Cuckoo is wearing shorts over pants.  Every time he wears those pants, he wears those shorts.  I have absolutely no idea why, except that he's cuckoo.

 

13.  I am thankful we made it through Sunday's record-breaking storms with no damage to our property.

14.  I am thankful for the lovely couple who watches our house and animals every time we go out of town.

15.  I am thankful for a great alternative to Elf on the Shelf.  I am not a fan of the elf.  I am not a fan of threats to children to behave in order to please Santa.  (Kids should behave because it's the right thing to do, and because I said so.)  I read on Melody's blog about an activity in which the three wise men go searching for Jesus every night.  They keep looking until the Epiphany, when they show up in the nativity scene.  There's going to be a link-up and everything, in order to give me some ideas for what to do with the wise men each night.

16.  I am thankful for the people who love our kids.  Cuckoo's godparents took him out for some fun last weekend, and sent him home with all sorts of new-to-him clothes for the Build-a-Bear they gave him a couple of years ago.  Hoosier used to be a boy bear with one outfit.  He's now a girl bear with about 6 outfits, 6 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of pajamas, and two pairs of underwear, all of which are nicer than anything I own.  Hoosier gets changed upon waking each day (from her new cardboard box bed next to Cuckoo's bed), eats every meal with us, and changes back to PJs before retiring at night. 

17.  I am thankful we have finished raking Mrs. G's leaves.  This year, we got help.  Phoenix is being confirmed this year, and COW and I are co-leading the classes.  Service is a big part of preparing for confirmation, so we invited the group to help us with the leaves.  We managed to get 200 bags of leaves bagged up in 3 hours.  

18.  I am thankful for COW's job, which gives us the opportunity to experience lots of things we normally wouldn't, like Pink in concert.  We went on my birthday, and while I would never take one of my kids to a concert of hers, I can't help but be impressed with her ability to perform, her athleticism, and her down-to-earthiness.  At one point, she responded to a fan in the front row with, "You want me to sign your forehead??  Where are we, Talladega Nights??"  I have to enjoy anyone who can pull out a Talladega Nights reference like that.  And then there was the flying... 

I know, they are horrible photos.  During her last song, she was flying and spinning and cartwheeling up high and down low all over the entire arena.  While singing.  At several points throughout the show, she did some amazing acrobatics.  I almost thought we accidentally walked into a Cirque de Soleil show.  I was cringing half the time, as they did these things with no safety harness whatsoever.  But when she did this flying bit, I was jealous.  I want to fly like that.  (Little known fact: I spent a week taking trapeze lessons.  I have a sense of what flying feels like.) 

19.  I am thankful for the new Blue-Ray/DVD player COW gave me for my birthday.  Before tonight, we had a VCR and an old DVD player that did more skipping and stopping than playing. 

20.  I am thankful for the DVD of "The Jerk" COW also gave me.  Everyone in my extended family can quote just about every line.  Tonight, my kids were introduced to it, minus the bit with the carnival worker.  They now understand why I yell, "The new phone book's here!  I'm somebody now!" every single year.

21.  I am thankful for all the lovely people who called or messaged me to wish me a happy birthday. 

22.  I am thankful for our built-in babysitters.  COW and I can go out and enjoy ourselves every once in a while, knowing everyone will be fine at home.

23.  I am thankful for Phoenix's hard work to get himself out of the hole he dug earlier in the semester.  He made some big mistakes, but he has learned from them and is doing much better.

24.  I am thankful for the pizza place 3 minutes from our house.  There are few establishments 3 minutes from our house.  I'm grateful a pizza place is one of them, especially on a Friday after a night of little sleep when I haven't been home most of the day and don't feel like cooking.

25.  I am thankful for my chocolate birthday cake. 

*OK, so the cake above might not have said Happy 25th week anniversary.  It is possible it said Happy Birthday, Christine". 

**  Free for most.  While Cuckoo was in his program, and before I got to sit and read, I got to pay a sizeable fee for a lost book.  We just call these fees "investments in our children's education".  OK, I say it.  COW just says, "What the hell??"

Now, for the big reveal of the anniversary blog hop button.

You know you want to join in just so you can have one.

Have a lovely day!

It's time for the 25th TToT

Please join our hosts so

And just for you, a freebie, too:

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Why Did the Chicken Climb the Tree?

In the kitchen, getting dinner ready, I saw a flash of white fly by the window, followed closely by a blur of black running.

'CHICKEN!!!!!!"

I ran outside, four kids hot on my heels, expecting to pry Roy the Wonder Dog off of a chicken.

Instead, I found this:

 20 feet in the air.

Sweet mother of all craziness, how were we to get that chicken down?

The sun was setting, and we couldn't leave her to roost up there.  It was supposed to rain soon.  Plus, we couldn't keep Roy tied up until she decided it was time.

So, Phoenix, being the tallest at our house, was told to take care of it.

After evaluating the situation, he decided shaking the branch with another stick would be the best plan.

He was wrong.

See her up there above the second story window?

So, he tried throwing walnuts up there to scare her down.

That didn't work either.

Basically, she just sat and stared at him.  When she was good and ready, she simply flew off.

We chased her back towards the coop, only to find mass pandemonium.

Two chickens on the roof, and more in the western holding pen.

When we chased the white one to the back of the coop, the two came off the roof

and Phoenix was able to catch the tree climber.

And then we were off to grab the ones in the holding pen.

Once all were back where they belonged, Phoenix went to feed them. 

So, why did the chicken climb the tree and why did the two get on the roof and why did the others go to the holding pen?

Because the child who normally feeds the chickens (not Phoenix) failed to mention we were running low on chicken feed.  As in there was no chicken feed left.

The chickens were hungry.

So, I made them some oatmeal like my new chicken farmer friend wrote about, and made a trip to Tractor Supply for some food for them this morning.

God as my witness, my chickens will never go hungry again!  (Scarlett O'Hara fans out there?)

And if they do, I'm not chasing them down.

Mostly because I'm 42 and getting way to old for this crap.

Have a lovely day!

42 Bits of Trivia about This ALMOST 42 Year Old

I will be turning the great, big 42 on Thursday.  That's a 4.  Followed by a 2.  I still haven't adjusted to being 40, and here I am 2 years into it.  (And I can hear my dad now saying, "Try being old enough to have a daughter who is 42!) 

It's like people actually knew my birthday was coming, because I've been showered with lots of awards lately.  (The equivalent of love in blogland.) 

The always hilarious ladies Beth (from Writer B is Me.  She and I have a whole lot in common.) and Kari (Miss Bloggypants.  You may remember her as being the big winner in the pig poetry contest.) were each kind enough to give me a Liebster award. 

When I said I could always use more sunshine, Lizzi said, "Well, have a Sunshine Award!" 

Since it is my almost 42nd birthday, I'm combining these awards to give you 42 things you may not know about me, in the form of questions the ladies asked and arbitrary facts pulled out of my brain.

First, the questions from Beth:


1. Have you ever seen a ghost? I have never seen one, but I am told there is one in my house.  I have also been to a local establishment featured on Paranormal 911.  Bits from the show are in the "Spooky Speakeasy" episode.  I got to see the "evidence" and hear the owner and other workers talk all about it before the show even aired.  It was completely creepy.

2. If you had to be one, would you be a vampire or a werewolf? Why?  Neither.  I don't like to scare people for real.  Just little scares, like jumping out when they turn a corner kind of scaring.  That's fun.  Biting someone's neck and sucking his blood?  Not so much.

3. If you could play a professional sport, which would it be?  Swimming.  I looooove to swim laps.  The quiet.  The feel of the water over my skin.  The feel of my muscles getting stronger with every stroke. 

4. Switch lives with an actor/ess for a week. Who do you choose?  Jada Pinkett Smith.  I want to spend a week with Will.  That man has cracked me up since the day he sang "Parents Just Don't Understand".

5. Do you have any tattoos?  Not a one.  I don't see the point of them. 

6. Tell me something embarrassing.  Does it have to be about me?  Shoot, half this blog is about embarrassing things about me.

7. What’s the craziest thing (in your opinion) you’ve ever done?  Probably white-water rafting a level 5 river (That's the highest it goes.) on our 10th Anniversary trip.  There were only 5 of us in the raft, and I was the only female.  We rode the rapids, went down a waterfall (then walked back up the shore to ride it again, then turned around and surfed the waterfall) and jumped off a cliff into the rapids.  It was crazy exciting.  There was a guy in a kayak videotaping our trip.  I was laughing in a high-pitched, screamy kind of way the entire time. 


8. Have you ever met a celebrity? Who?  I ate dinner at a restaurant 2 tables away from Oliver North.  OH!  And I hugged Yakov Smirnov when COW and I saw his show in Branson, MO, on one of our adventures before kids.  (He is so a celebrity!)

9-11 last 3 combined: you go to the movies – do you get a) coke, or b) pepsi, a) popcorn, or b) no popcorn, to see a) chic flic b) action/adventure c) horror movie?  I get a Sprite and popcorn with light butter to see a comedy.

And now for Kari's questions:

1.  What is your favorite cartoon character? Why?  I will always have a special place in my heart for Clifford and the gang.  When the big kids were little, they were allowed to watch TV at 5:00 while I got dinner started.  Clifford was usually on PBS at that time.  They, and I, thought it was the best show.  Phoenix and Buttercup even went as Clifford and Chleo for Halloween one year.

2.  If your house were burning down, what three objects would you try to save?  My jewelry, photo albums, and purse.  You'll see the reason for the jewelry later.  The photo albums because I spent a lot of time and effort putting them together, and I want to always have the images from the kids' growing up.  My purse because with having to replace everything, it will be a whole lot easier if I have my ID, bank cards, health insurance card and everything else I keep in there.

3.  Name a gift you will never forget.  There are so many of them, but the biggest was the tennis bracelet COW gave me in the hospital after having Cuckoo.  As he handed it to me, he said, "Thank you for having our babies.  When you think you want more, look at the bracelet.  It is your reminder that I'm done."  I never took that bracelet off for over a year.  Then one day, while driving to school, I realized it wasn't on my wrist.  I got sick to my stomach, having no idea when or where it fell off.  As soon as I got home, I began calling people I had seen in the three previous days to ask if they had noticed it on me.  The second person I called said, "I doubt this is it, but Eli (their son) found a bracelet in the parking lot of the restaurant where the team ate dinner (at a tournament three hours away from home at 9:00 at night).  It's silver with diamonds I was hoping were fake.  For some reason, we didn't make him give it to the manager of the restaurant.  I was just about to call them to let them know we found a bracelet."  I raced to their house.  The bracelet was mine. 

4.  Name one thing you really like about yourself.  My ability to make people laugh.

5.  Does your name have a special meaning and/or were you named after someone special?  As everyone who has seen my name on a standardized test knows, my name means "follower of Christ".  (There are never enough spaces to put my full name on the bubble sheet, so my first name is always cut off at "Christ".)  However, that is not why my parents gave me that name.  One of my dad's girlfriends was named Christine or some variation of it.  He liked the name, so Christine I became.  Except they called me Crissy.  I finally became Christine when we moved to Indiana.  I am still known as "Aunt Crissy" or Chris to the relatives.

6.  What is your favorite season (winter, spring, summer, fall) and why?  It makes me laugh that "winter, spring, summer, fall" had to be specified.  Just making sure I don't say "football"?  Anyway...spring is my favorite.  I survived the cold days of winter, for one.  Everything blooming and growing and smelling pretty just makes me happy.  As does the knowledge of the months and months of warm weather ahead.

7.  What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?  I'm not all that adventurous in my eating habits.  I guess the weirdest would be ham hocks.  They look nasty when you open them up, but man, are they yummy.

8.  Do you have siblings?  If so, how many? (brothers? sisters?)  Pull up a chair... There are four "original" kids:  me, my sister, and two brothers.  When I was three, we found out I had an older half sister.  After my parents divorced, my dad and stepmom then added my two younger half-sisters to the mix.  For a while there, I also had a step-sister and step-brother.  My mom was remarried to a man who had 2 children.  (His wife and his other two kids had died.)  They were older, though, and I never lived with them.   I haven't seen them since my step-dad passed away 17 years ago.  (My youngest brother keeps up with my step-sister on FB, though.)

9.  If you had this week to do over, what would you do differently?  Went to church Sunday morning.  We were planning on going at 5:00 in the afternoon, but then the tornadoes came through.  It really isn't a good idea to get in the car for a 20 minute drive when tornadoes are touching down all over the state.  We didn't get to go to church this week, and it makes me sad.

10.  What was the best vacation you ever had?  Every single one has been my favorite.  We always have great fun on our vacations, so there is no way to choose.

11.  Have you ever been told you look like someone famous? If so, who?  People tell me all the time I am the spitting' image of Heidi Klum.


Facts about myself:

1.  I was kidding.  I don't look anything like Heidi Klum.  More like a tall Rhea Pearlman.

2.  I was in an improv troupe in college. 

3.  I have never taken even a sip of coffee.  Or tea.

4.  I took a baton twirling class when I was a kid.  I don't remember liking it.  Actually, I remember my mom and our neighbors trying to stuff me into a car while I screamed my full head off and fought with all my might to NOT go to baton twirling class.

5.  I once had to go to the hospital when my mom spilled hot carrots on me as she went down the line and served them to us kids.  I had to wear a nasty cream and stay out of the sun for what seemed like an entire summer.

6. When teachers would ask what nationality I was, I answered, "I'm half Canadian.  I don't know what I am on my dad's side."

7.  In reality, I'm German.  Almost completely.  My mom is a Canadian citizen, but her line goes farther back than that.

8.  I wear a size 9 shoe.  On my left foot.  My right is more of a 9 and a half.

9.  I rarely wear makeup.

10.  I helped put myself through high school by doing a work study stapling Bingo cards together.

11.  And then volunteered at my high school's Bingo while my grandma played and my grandpa called the numbers.  (Bingo is big in Canton, Ohio.)

12.  While in high school, I was on the swim team and swam every event at least once.

13.  I had chicken pox in kindergarten, but had the mildest case ever seen.  Somewhere around 5 spots.

14.  My first car was a Ford Tempo.

15.  My second car was a BMW.  My dad was on a classic car kick and sold our Tempo to buy an old BMW.  It was the nicest car I've ever owned. 

16.  I've been in two car accidents in my life.  Both were minor fender benders.  The first was in the BMW.

17.  When I was 14 I had my first job.  I was as a bus girl at a restaurant in which my aunts, grandma, and dad had previously worked.  My grandma and dad still worked the register on Sunday nights while I worked in the dining room.

18.  I was PTO president at my kids' school for two years.  I loved it.

19.  My nickname in high school was Spaz.  It was given to me by my track coach.

20.  (This one's for you, Jen.)  Through all my years of elementary school, middle school, high school, and college (in which I had a minor in the subject), I never got anything but an A in any math class.  I love math.

How's that for an overload of info you didn't need to know?

To the nominees...

Just about every person I know has received one of these Liebsters at some point.   Instead of "making" them do another acceptance post, I'm just going to give you a list of some new blogs I've read recently which you might enjoy.

Sandy from Mother of Imperfection

Inion N. Mathair - I actually just found them yesterday, but read about 6 of their posts in one sitting.

Katherine at Curiosa Kat

Lizzy from The Muddle-Headed Mamma

Elizabeth from Blending a Family of Dorks

Sarah from Amycake and the Dude

P.J. from A 'lil Hoohaa

Kevin from Pregnancy from a Guy's Perspective (except the baby is 2 months old now)

I do believe my work here is done.

I don't know how much posting I'll be doing the rest of this week.  On my birthday I will be attending a concert.  Pink's to be exact.  Yes, Pink.  Not something I chose for my birthday, but the tickets were free, we'll have a lovely dinner beforehand, and we will be in some good company throughout. 

Don't forget to join us on Saturday for the big 25th week of the 10 Things of Thankful.  I do believe Lizzi has something special planned.  Of course. 

Have a lovely day!

Big Chicken News and a New Song to Stick in Your Head - TToT, Week 24

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. 

~Epictetus

1.  I am thankful for the one chicken who finally started doing what the good Lord intended.

WE HAVE EGGS!!!!!

She managed to lay three eggs this week.  The others better follow suit, or one of these days I'll be writing, "I'm thankful for lots of chicken and noodles."

2.  Speaking of chickens, I am thankful for our redneck fence.  I will not call it impenetrable anymore, seeing as how each and every day I have to catch at least one chicken and put her back inside.  Yesterday, I heard a chicken commotion.  I looked outside and saw one chicken on the roof of the coop, another in the west side "holding area", and another in the garden.  I simply had to go out to the back of the coop, and the one on the roof simply flew back into the pen.  I next went to get the one out of the garden.  I was a tad worried about how I was going to actually catch her before she ran into a dog, but I worried for nothing.  As soon as I got out there, she simply ran around the coop, into the east side holding area, and hopped up onto the net.

She eventually hopped her way back into the pen.  In the background you can see the other chicken in the west side holding pen.  I climbed in there,

 

and she started running back and forth along the redneck fence, looking for a way back in.  I went after her, but never had a good angle to grab her.  At one point, she stopped, turned, and looked at me as if to say, "Good grief, are you ever just going to pick me up???  I have to do this song and dance to make it look good for my friends, but really, I'm making this pretty easy for you.  Can we move this along?"  She then turned back around and stood there.  I grabbed her and put her back over the redneck fence. 

Why am I grateful for this???  Because in the past, the chickens would all be getting out and immediately going into the yard with the dogs/coyotes.  With the redneck fence, only a few can, and they are almost always stuck in the holding area, safe and sound until we put them back in.  We haven't lost one yet.  (Please be so kind as to knock on something wood right now.  Thank you.)

3.  I am thankful for funny videos and the people who introduce them to us.  This week, we discovered Water Wars, which we will be doing and posting a video of our own soon, and "What Does the Farmer Say?"  (Huge thanks to Our Adventures with Riley for posting this on my Facebook wall.)  This Kansas farm family has made all sorts of parodies of famous songs.  Each one is funnier than the last.  I am especially thankful, because it has finally gotten the kids to stop singing "What does the Fox Say?".  They are all over this version.

If you like it, there are plenty more.  I like them so much, I started following them on Facebook.

4.  I am thankful for COW.  This week he brought me flowers just to make me smile.  Plus, he massages my legs for me.  He hates to massage my legs.  No, it's not because of my hairy legs.  When I have Lupusy flares, my legs and joints really, really hurt.  While a massage hurts so badly it usually causes my eyes to tear up, I feel a bit better afterwards.  COW hates to be the one making me cry, but he does it anyway, because I ask him to.

5.  I am thankful for sunshine.  The temperatures have dropped into the shivering numbers (It even snowed one day!), but the sun has been out most of the week.  Our house faces south, and right at about naptime, the sun shines right through the window and lands on the spot on the couch where I sit to work on the computer.  It is the one time of day I am perfectly toasty warm.

6.  I am thankful for our ability to stumble upon funny shows.  I don't know how we found it, but this spoof of "The Bachelorette" cracked us up.  (I can't believe I just admitted that.) 

 

7.  I am thankful for the end of soccer season.  Basketball has started, so our weeknights can be a bit busy, but the weekends??  Oh, the weekends.  So much easier without soccer tournaments eating up every waking (and some non-waking) hour.

8.    I am over the moon thankful for Buttercup.  She has stepped up and been a big help this week.  I received a call from someone on Monday afternoon asking if I could make some cookies for the teachers for the following morning.  I would have had to do make them at 9:30 that night, after Star's practice.  Buttercup made them for me while I was gone.  And another night, I underestimated how long it would take to get the meal in the oven.  3/4 of the way through the prep work, I had to leave the house to get Giant to practice.  I called Buttercup in, gave her instructions, and left.  She did a fabulous job getting everything put together and in the oven for me.

9.  While I am good at making the kids' appointments, I have been extremely negligent in having my own check-ups.  The last time I saw my OB/GYN was the day I gave birth to Cuckoo.  I haven't seen a doctor of any kind in over two years.  This is especially bad since I am over 40, my mom has had cervical cancer, my grandma died of colon cancer, and I'm supposed to get my blood checked every year.  (I told you I was extremely negligent.)  I finally called yesterday to make an appointment.  Since I haven't been in so long, I was considered a new patient.  New patients get in much sooner than existing patient.  I am thankful for my appointment date of Dec. 4, at which I will receive my first mammogram and see the doctor. 

10.  I am thankful for my friends and family who have been pestering me to get this done.  I did not make it a priority, but they did.  So it is done.

Ya'll can get off my back now. 

What are you thankful for this week?

Have a lovely day!

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 Your hosts

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, Home On Deranged, I can say mama, I Want Backsies, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

An InLinkz Link-up

Needing Some Input from My Homies - 7QT

I am using this week's quick takes to get some ideas from you, my BFFs in commenting.  I am sitting on the fence on a few issues, and I could use some help deciding which way to fall.  Also, I need some ideas for dealing with my children.  Don't worry.  This isn't a test.  You will not be graded, but I do want you to number your paper from one to seven, plus one bonus.

**************** 1 *************

Would you go here for your next haircut?

 

I'm thinking I'll go.  If they give me another curly mullet, we'll have our answer.

U-G-L-Y

*************** 2 **************

Our family meal times are basically run by the children.  Somehow, as the kids grew, COW and I lost control.  Instead of lovely conversations, where everyone takes turns listening and tactfully voicing his thought-out opinion, we have renditions of "What Does the Fox Say" mixed with random and unnecessary shouts, hollers, pounding, and trash talk.  They aren't fighting or arguing, they're just loud and boisterous and loud and hyper and loud.

COW and I just sit there, wracking our brains for something, anything, to say to make them stop.  The only things that ever make it out of our mouths, though, are occasional yells to "Put your chair back down!" and "We don't discuss that at the table!" and "For crying out loud, you have a napkin!"  By 6:30, our brains are fried, and we just can't think with all of that noise.  We've tried to come up with things beforehand.  Unfortunately, I have been unable to come up with anything, and COW can't come up with anything besides football.  Football is what the boys usually bring up on their own to get the rowdy party started.

So help us.  Give us some ideas of things to discuss/do during dinner.  A game.  A topic.  I don't care.  Just make the loud stop.

(PS.  We've tried the "quiet" game.  It lasts for all of 13 seconds, thanks to Cuckoo.)

***************** 3 ****************

I can't remember who introduced Jimmy Fallon's Water Wars to us (If it is you, let me know!), but we have been watching all of them.

As I've said before, War is Cuckoo's favorite game.  We play epic battles every single day.  When he caught a glimpse of this, his eyes lit up and his heart started beating faster.  He wants to play Water Wars.  Desperately. 

If only we had seen this in the summer.  I'd be all over this game if it was 95 degrees and we can water the lawn while we play.  However, we are in the middle of November, with temperatures hovering around shivering.  Ain't no way we're playing this game outside. 

How can we play this in the house without ruining everything in it?  Keep in mind, we only have one, itty bitty bath tub.

***************** 4 ****************

Fake flowers as landscaping.  Green thumbs up or down?

***************** 5 ************

 I frequently see bloggers who say, "People continue to ask me..." Sometimes, they have so many "common questions people ask", they just do FAQs pages.  I have only had one person ask me a question.  Jen asked me, "is fat back the same as pork belly?"  I couldn't even answer it, so I'm coming to you.

Anyone?  Anyone?

***************** 6 ***************

Was the person who did this...

new, drunk, or texting while painting?

Related question:  Does the guy still have a job?

****************** 7 *************

Mom has given up or is simply too busy to turn the kid's coat right-side out?

Oh, wait.  I know the answer to that one.

 The kid has a reversible coat.  This is not it.  He doesn't know that.  Mom doesn't care.

************* Bonus question ***************

Does using the word "homies" in the title make me sound cool and less redneck?

Now, get to answering.

Have a lovely day!

Don't Lie, Children, Unless You Are Being Interrogated by the Doctor.

I long for the days when well-baby checkups were easy.

I would love to go back to the days when I was in control of the information the doctor received.

Basically, I like our medical professionals to believe we are clean, civilized people.  My children, on the other hand, are bound and determined to let all MDs know we are as redneck as they come.

For example, one year, when the nurse told one child to take off his clothes down to his underwear, the child said, "I don't have any underwear on."

I don't know if that was better or worse than the child who showed up to his check-up with underwear so full of holes the doctor actually laughed.

This physical evidence is bad enough.  The stress of the questions, though, keeps me on the edge of my seat.

A good doctor, apparently, is required to ask the child all sorts of questions while the parent sits by, quietly but fervently praying for the child to answer correctly.

Do you eat a lot of different, healthy things and drink your milk?  Say yes.  Please say yes.
Do you know the alphabet?  Oh, for sure you'll show off your mad ABC skills.
Do you always wear sunscreen?  Always???!!!  Does anyone ALWAYS wear sunscreen??
Can you ride a bike?  Are you still using training wheels?  Do you wear a helmet??  Crap.  We live on a farm!  They don't go on the road!
Do you have trouble going to the bathroom?  Are you going to tell her you thought you pooped your pants today?  Huh?  And then when I checked and said, "No you didn't.  It was just a toot." you argued and said, "No, I saw it when I looked in my pants."  Gonna tell her that??  Please don't.

It's in these moments that I really want the children to lie.  I know I've told them over and over and over that lying is unacceptable.  Lying only causes more problems.  Blah, blah, blah.  I really should have put in a caveat when I put that rule in place.

Don't lie, but it's OK to lie to a doctor when Mom is in the room.  Just make Mama look good.

I thought I had some hope with the kids learning this lesson on lying when Phoenix was little.  At a dental visit, the hygienist was going to brush his teeth and asked which flavor paste he wanted.  When she opened the strawberry he had requested, he told her, "That's not strawberry.  Strawberries are red and that is pink."  When no amount of logic would work on the woman, he pulled out the big guns and said, "Oh, I forgot. I gave strawberries up for Lent."  It was September.

Unfortunately, that's the only time one of my kids has ever lied to a medical person.

Today, Cuckoo had his 4 year check-up.  In case you're wondering, he's in the 25th percentile for height and the 50th percentile for weight.  The perfect size if your lifelong dream is to be a Wobble.

He did very well for the entire appointment.  He sat on that table all smiles, doing everything the doctor asked.  He took a deep breath, he let her look in his ears, he looked at the spot on the wall while she checked his eyes.  When she checked his reflexes, his foot jumped.  When she told him to walk across the room, so she could check his back, he skipped.  Not only was his underwear hole-free, it was clean.

And when he answered the doctor's plethora of questions, he didn't throw me under the bus.

Do you eat a lot of different, healthy things and drink your milk?  Yes.
Do you know the alphabet?  Yes.  Can you spell your name?  Yes.
Do you always wear sunscreen?  Yes.
Can you ride a bike?  Yes.  Are you still using training wheels?  Yes.  Do you wear a helmet??  Yes.
Do you have trouble going to the bathroom?  No.

And then...

Doctor:  Do you brush your teeth?
Cuckoo:  Yes.
Doctor:  In the morning and before bed?
Cuckoo:  Yes.  Except when Dad won't let me brush at night.

I think COW felt the force of that bus all the way downtown.

Have a lovely day!

The Background Music to Our Early Adventures

Before kids, COW and I had the best adventures.  We would start out on a Saturday, our only firm plans being the direction we would go.  We'd drive on back roads, stopping whenever something caught the eye of one of us.  Wherever we were on Wednesday was our turnaround point, and we headed home using a different route.  Reception on the radio was spotty at best, so we brought our small stack of CDs to play all week.  We know every word to every song on those CDs.  When Jen challenged the Twisted-Mix Tape crowd to come up with "Epic" songs which tell a story, I immediately thought of those fabulous vacations wandering all over the US.

Our first trip we ever took was around Lake Michigan.  We stopped in Holland to see the windmills and the candle makers and the wood shoes.  We stopped in Mackinac Island in the Upper Peninsula.  One memory that sticks out from that trip was our search for a hotel one night.  It was pretty late in the day, and there weren't many places to stay.  We had found a chain hotel, but they were booked solid.  The only other place we found (Remember, this was back in the day before cell phones, let alone smart phones.)  was a little motel that advertised $25/night.  We weren't exactly excited to stay there, but we didn't have much choice.

We walked into the office and were greeted by the sweetest elderly couple you ever could meet.  We stood and talked with them for a good long while.  If we were hungry, the wife would be happy to MAKE a pizza for us.  There was a big blueberry patch in the back, and they told us to make sure we loaded up any container we had before checking out.  Once we got to the room, there were little signs all over it telling us what to do if we needed more towels, alerting us to the free donuts and coffee in the morning, and the channels which came on the TV.  The notes were all in the woman's handwriting.

On our second trip, we headed west from Indiana.  We made it all the way to Oklahoma City that year.  It was quite soon after the bombing, so the day there was quite emotional.  The fence was still up, adorned with all of the signs, stuffed animals, balloons, and other things mourners had left behind.  It was the first time I had ever seen anything like it, and the images have stayed with me.

We had loads of fun being our usual, silly selves through the rest of the trip, though.  We stopped at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, got stopped by cows (and eventually buffalo) crossing the road when we went to the buffalo preserve, and we saw the arch over St. Louis for the first time.

One stop was in a tiny, tiny town where the first Native American Heisman Trophy winner was from.  COW wanted a photo in front of the man's childhood home.  When we got to the site, there was a sign sitting right in between two houses.  With all of the historical places we've been to, we assumed the log cabin was the home we were looking for.  We got out, COW struck the Heisman pose in front of it, and we drove to Main St.  COW thought my dad would love a postcard from there, so he went on a hunt along the road.  It was pouring down rain, so I stayed in the car. 

I watched him go in the store, come out and run across the street.  A few seconds later, he came out and ran back across the street to a new door.  He did this same thing three or four times while I watched and laughed my head off in the car.  Finally, he came back without a postcard.  He said each place he went suggested another one. 

I laughed and laughed and laughed.  You know all of those people were messing with him.  In a town that small, surely everyone on the street knew who did and did not carry postcards.  They just kept sending him from place to place so they could make fun of him at the next town meeting.

Oh, and the house?  COW did ask at one of the places he stopped.  It wasn't the log cabin.  We had to go back and take another photo.

Our last vacation before kids took us south.  I was actually almost 7 months pregnant with Phoenix at the time.  Our last hurrah if you will.  We took the Natchez Trace for part of our trip, and had a lovely time stopping at places along the way.  We managed to make it all the way to New Orleans, where we spent all of 5 hours.  We took a fantastic 3 hour tour, just us and the tour guide we met in the back of a little café area.  There was a little bit of everything on that tour, from architecture to food to history to voodoo in the cemetery.  When in New Orleans, you can't leave without tasting the local fare, so we had some lunch on the patio of a little local place.  Delicious.

Once the kids started coming, we had to give up the purely adventurous trips.  There is no way we were going to be hunting for a hotel at night with four kids in tow.  However, we have kept that adventurous spirit.  We usually leave a day early for vacation in order to give us time to stop along the way and explore the places we drive through.  You never know when you are going to come across a park called Balls Falls.

Feel free to jump in with your own Epic songs!

Have a lovely day!

TToT Week 23, You'll Be Tapping Your Toes the Entire Way Through This One

If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.
-- Rabbi Harold Kushner

1.  I am thankful for the time and weather which allows me to get outside with the boys to burn some energy (theirs) and burn some calories (mine).  Two of the kids have had after-school activities, which leaves us waiting for 30 minutes or more after picking up Giant.  On the rainy Wednesday, there was a pocket of no rain at the time we could use it, and yesterday it was cold but bright and sunny after school.  Perfect.

2.  I am thankful for the unpredictable thoughts of/conversations with 4 year old Cuckoo.   I'm just going to give you a list of some of the gems he's dealt me this week.

Standing next to one of the big kids: "Who is taller, him or me?  Heads don't count."

"I want to be Spiderman, so I drew on my arm." 

As the kids got situated in the van in order to leave the house, I intentionally hit the gas to make Star stumble and fall onto Phoenix.  As the kids and I laughed, Cuckoo calmly inquired: "Did you run over Hershey?"  (Hershey is Cuckoo's favorite dog.)

After a looooong conversation over several days about animals that eat people, (in which I actually said, "Most lions have never tasted a person.") Cuckoo said, "A giraffe doesn't eat people.  Know how I know?  They don't have big mouths.  (Make sure you pronounce that "th" in mouth like it's a "v".)

Four times in one hour in the middle of the night he called to us from his room.  The first time, I expected him to tell us he had a nightmare, thanks to all the people-eating he's been obsessed with lately.  But no, seems he's moved on to a new neurosis:  "THERE IS A LADY BUG IN MY ROOM!!"  Four times.  No big, scary lady bug to be found.

"Mommy, look at all these beautiful purple leaves!  Can I take one home?"

The boy keeps life interesting, that is for darn sure.

3.  I am thankful for quick, easy, kid-friendly meals posted by blogger friends.  My pal Julia posted an idea for chicken cordon bleu wraps, knowing my kids love chicken cordon bleu.  I don't know if you've ever tried to make chicken cordon bleu (I really hope you are pronouncing that in your head with an exaggerated, botched French accent), but it is a bit of a hassle.  She has rocked my world, making wraps that have the taste the kids want without the hassle of making them.  All six kids and COW gave it a thumbs-up.  (Minor change:  She used chicken fingers, I used chicken off of a whole chicken I had cooked earlier in the day.) 

4.  I am thankful for the two CDs Lizzi took the time to put together and mail to us.  For some reason, I had gotten out of the habit of playing music at home.  We listen to music constantly in the car, and we used to at home, but with the big kids listening to their iPods, I just didn't think about turning it on.  With these two CDs, music has once again entered our home.  The little boys and I have been rocking it out, and I realize how much I missed it.

5.  Speaking of music, I am thankful for grocery store owners doing their in-depth research to come up with music to play depending on the folks who are in the store at any given time.  (Did you know stores did that?  It's true.)  The other day, this song was playing:

Besides the fact it is hysterical that they are playing "I Will Survive" during a time when the only people in the store are moms trying to shop with kids and old people, how can a person not be happy when listening to this song?  Sure, I may throw an extra item or two in my cart, just because I'm so happy, but it's worth it.   Those sneaky, brilliant grocery store owners...

6.  I am thankful for grandma-types who appreciate happy people.  I may have broken out into a wee bit of a dance while pushing the Cuckoo-carrying grocery cart through the aisles.  At one point I passed an older couple.  The woman gave me a funny look and said, "All I have to say is Get down!"  Back atcha Grandma!

7.   I am thankful for lovely people who give me chocolate.  As I waited in the school pick-up line, the PE teacher came to our van with a big bowl of our family's favorite dessert in all the world.  PE Teacher owns a catering business, and we've used her many times for a variety of events.  Well, a friend of ours had been to her house to fix a piece of siding, so she made him a dessert.  While at it, she thought, I bet (the coop boys) are wanting some, too.   How wonderfully thoughtful is that?  Sure, she said it was for the boys, but she totally meant to include me.  (Buttercup doesn't seem to get nearly as excited about it as the rest of us.)

There's brownies mixed in that there bowl of heaven.

8.  I am thankful for my Bible study group.  While we haven't actually studied the Bible in a while, we have become a lovely group of friends.  The best part is our kids are all the best of buds and play gloriously while we laugh and chat and simply enjoy each others' company.  With so many of my friends having older children (the ages of my big kids) and leaving our elementary/middle school, I needed some friends who have children the ages of Turken and Cuckoo.  Sure, these ladies are the age of babies compared to me, but they are wonderful women who make me laugh and think and feel good.

9.  I am thankful for our big van.  Because of it, I am able to take a variety of kids home when their parents need some logistical help.  We have become somewhat of a bus this week, making our varied pick-ups and drop-offs, but I am happy to do it.  So many people help me out at the drop of a hat, I'm thrilled to be able to do the same for others.

10.  I am so, so thankful for Turken's fabulous outlook on life.  Two examples from this week:

 (1)I told Turken that the next day's agenda included his dentist appointment and some leaf raking.  He responded, "That is going to be the bestest day ever!"  Befuddled, I asked why he was looking forward to those things. 
"At the dentist, I get a new toothbrush, and at Mrs. G's I get to jump in leaves."

(2) In PE this week, the kids are learning how to juggle.  After school I asked Turken if he now knows how to do it.
"I know how to juggle, I just don't know how to catch."

Turken's theme song...

Aaaaaaand that's a wrap.

What good have you found this week?

Have a lovely day!

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