Sunday, July 21, 2013

10 Things of Thankful, Week 7, Part 2

It's been a good weekend.  Mostly.  Gotta give credit where credit is due.

(I've decided to not number my list today.  For some reason, I frequently misnumber my lists, and Dyanne catches them every single blasted time.  Dyanne's not going to get me today!

A.)  I am thankful for good music.  Lizzi put together a compilation of songs for me, since she felt bad that I only got to listen to kids' songs.  Listening to the songs while playing the longest game of UNO ever experienced by a group of humans (No, really.  The longest game ever.) made me actually want the game to go on longer.  Thank you, Lizzi!

B.)  I am thankful for hugs.  My niece and nephew (who are staying with us this week) love to give hugs.  I've been gathering them up all week.  Plus, when my kids see them doing it, they get a bit jealous, and hug me, too.  It's a virtual hugfest going around the coop.

C.)  I am thankful for parties with friends.  I spent a lovely evening at our good friends' summer get-together.  Sure, COW couldn't come with me for a large variety of reasons, but I wouldn't have seen him all night anyway.  I got to sit at a table and talk and laugh and enjoy the evening with a great group of ladies.

D.)  Once again, I am thankful for garden goodies.  I had forgotten that I was supposed to bring an appetizer to the party until late in the afternoon (far after I could have gone to the store).  I was able to throw together a quick cucumber/tomato/onion salad, and all the ingredients were out of my garden (except for the olive oil and red whine vinegar, of course).

E.)  I am thankful for my strong stomach.  When Cuckoo began spontaneously combusting from the mouth, all over the kitchen floor, cabinets, and dining room carpet, I managed to get it cleaned up without gagging one single time.  It happened as I was about to sit down and eat the biscuits and gravy breakfast I had just made.  As soon as it was all cleaned and Cuckoo was taken care of, I went and had my breakfast in relative peace (and by relative peace, I of course mean scarfed it down, surrounded by loud children who weren't actually demanding anything from me for a moment.)

F.)  I am thankful for the ease of texting.  I cannot even believe I'm typing this, but I am so thankful for it.  My boys are not big talkers, but by typing, they give me a whole lot more info and share more than they normally would.  It has been especially wonderful this week, with Phoenix being out in West Virginia.  It makes me happy to hear what he is up to and to be reassured that all is well with him.  Last night he texted me, "I just went to a show with the king of Sweden, Mike Rowe, and Three Doors Down."  No, he didn't actually sit with those people at a show.  Phoenix sat in the crowd to watch a concert, and the king and Mike Rowe came to say hi. 

Also, as all mom's know, kids can sense when their mothers begin a phone conversation.  They choose those moments to fight, scream, poop in their pants and cause general mayhem.  The children have yet to perfect their texting radar, but even when they do, their tactics are not nearly as effective when the party with whom I am conversing can't hear them.

G.)  I am thankful for bodily functions.  Yes, it is crude and rude and immature and impolite, but my word, the giggles that come out of a little child after he "toots" and announces it to the world is absolutely precious.  (It kinda loses it's endearing qualities as the child gets older, but sometimes, yes, it's still funny.)

H.)  I am thankful for my brother.  He lets me have his kids every year for extended times, and he doesn't mind when I post pictures like this on Facebook.



While we were outside yesterday, one of the kids said, "Let's go find the dead pig!"  Jumping and running and shouts of, "Yeah, let's find the dead pig!" ensued.  Upon return, bones in hand, observations included:

"We found it's bones!"
"It still has teeth, and they're wiggly!"
"It's like seeing what's inside a pig!"
"What part of the pig is this?"
"Can I put it in my special drawer?"  (Each little kid has a drawer in his dresser for the special toys/objects he doesn't want/have to share with other kids, thus the name "special drawer".)**

Not many parents would be cool with this type of behavior.  My brother is a cool dad who encourages such things. 

**The answer was a big, fat, resounding "NO!"  I have my limits.

I.)  I am thankful for my children's good sportsmanship.  Three of the four big kids played in a 3v3 soccer tournament this weekend.  In the first game of the day, for the first time in family history, Giant and Star were on teams which played against each other.  As COW said, "I feel like Archie Manning." 

The boys took it so well, with very little trash talk.  And afterwards, when telling me about the game at dinner, they were both gracious about it.  They were able to see the good moves/plays of the other while still being happy with their own performance, despite the fact that one team trounced the other.

J.)  I am thankful for chicken and noodles.  We had it for dinner last night.  As niece said, "This is DELICIOUS!"  (If you don't have a recipe for chicken and noodles, I'll be happy to pass on mine.)

Hope you all are having a delightful weekend!

There's still time to link on up!



Ten Things of Thankful


 Your hosts

28 comments:

  1. How cool that you did another thankful post this weekend. And yeah, little kid toots are pretty funny...my son only recently made the connection and now he's too cute when he toots, wrinkles his nose and says "STINKY!" while making these weird sniffing noises. It's awesome and never fails to bring a smile to my face. How very cool that Lizzi shared some good music with you - anything you'd recommend?
    Haha to "It's like seeing what's inside a pig!" Indeed, I suppose that it is. And I wouldn't have let them put it in their special drawer, either.

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    1. I just felt moved to do another one. Don't expect it every week!
      Ah, it's a big day when a little boy connects the sound with the smell. :)

      Glad to know I'm not the only one who would have drawn that line.

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  2. I absolutely point-blank refuse to say that this was a great 'J Things of Thankful', so I'm stumped!

    The content rocked though ;)

    Glad you liked the music and I hope it made a pleasant change. Sounds like the UNO was fun (though yeah, it can get tedious. I tend to 'disappear' cards I don't like - up my sleeve, under the cushions, wherever...)

    Your niece and nephew sound like awesome people to be around. It's nice when the dynamics of a group change and everyone gets a little dose of different. So lovely that you have them to stay.

    Kudos for not puking and for being cool about the dead pig. Hafta say, it's exactly the kind of thing I'd've wanted to put in my special drawer (though, what am I talking about? I have a pig in a jar in the cupboard, that's WAY cooler than any old dusty dry skull!)

    Also, new message for you (special delivery) over at mine.

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    1. "X" Things of Thankful, if I remember Roman numerals correctly. :-)

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    2. (*so* nearly said that) XD

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    3. At least some people remember to number theirs. Or letter them. I did neither and feel like a bonehead.

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    4. We have a deck with only one wild card. At some point, someone took them out and we have no idea where he put them. And still the game drags on. Music helped, though!

      They are good fun.

      Hold up, you have a pig in a jar? I mean, I have a pig in the freezer, but what's with the jar?? And why?

      Kristi - Hahaha!

      Dyanne - You honestly forgot to number them? Makes it so much better. :)

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  3. Aiyyee! the bar!, she moves again! lol

    A dual post weekend, I will be ready (lol, yeah right) next weekend.

    (this little virtual weekend village that you and Ms Lizzi are building! muy impressivo )

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    1. There is no bar! No bar has moved!

      The weekend you have two posts is the weekend I become a clark.

      I'm thinking it has a lot more to do with Lizzi than me.

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  4. This was a great post. I found myself smiling and that is super cool of your brother. Super cool of you as an aunt too!! Music makes the world go round and the company of good friends. I'm linking you to a post. I got the idea from your comment about never hearing of a White Russian and I'm participating in YeahWrite's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. The theme kinda fits.

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    1. Thank you! OK, no link, but I think I can find it. Hmmmm...

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  5. C. Girlfriend time is necessary. Very necessary. Especially if it involves food and lots of laughing.

    E. I would not have been able to eat the biscuits and gravy. Is he feeling better?

    F. Texting is the BEST INVENTION EVER for phone-phobes like me.

    G. We call those "organ recitals" at our house (which comes from the book, "Cheaper By The Dozen."

    H. "Let's go to Aunt Christine's and play with dead stuff!"

    I. "I feel like Archie Manning" - BAHAHAHAHAA!

    J. Email me the recipe, please!

    And as you noted, Ms. Smarty Pants (me) forgot to number her 10 Things at all. Whoops!

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    1. C. Imperative to living.
      E. He was fine by noon. I think it was a ploy to get out of going to church. (Not really. The puke was real. All three times.)
      F. It seems to be very handy for people such as yourself. But really, what's so scary about a phone?
      G. Good phrase!
      H. Pretty much! Well, that and dirt. Lots of dirt.
      I. He is a funny one.
      J. Will do.

      What are friends for? :)

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  6. k, well I did comment, but my internet died..anyway...I love raw beans, they are the best. you should all try them!!! I love girls times..I just spent about 18 (?) hours with my sisters...and I wish it could have been longer. I see we both had a/c on our lists!

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    1. Hate it when the internet dies.

      My niece does love raw beans. Perhaps I shall give it a try.

      18 hours? Did you sleep at all or just stay up and chat through the night?

      I'm thinking a whole lot of people are thankful for AC these days.

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  7. Hugs! Oh hugs, now why didn't I think of that?! I love hugs. No, I LOVE them. Our elder daughter was always such a cuddly kid and then the last year she went off them and I felt so sad. But, I've discovered she does still want them, just not always when I do. So now I get them when I can, or grab a cat. And younger daughter is possibly now slightly cuddlier than she used to be - mainly because she now sits still long enough for me to creep up on her…

    Great list overall, the only one I don't much agree with is texting. It takes me ages to send one tiny text, so I'd rather ring or email.

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    1. My older ones are to the point where hugging isn't natural anymore. Fortunately, I have little ones who want to hug and cuddle for a bit when they wake up. It makes me smile that you get more hugs because she sits long enough for you to creep up on her.

      I am very new to texting appreciation. I held off for a REALLY long time. I now see the beauty of it in many different situations.

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  8. Haha how fun! When we were kids we would always go to the cow bone yard at my grandparents'. We have this incredibly creepy picture of all us cousins posing with various bones, pretending to gnaw on them. We look like a pack of hungry coyotes! Our parents thought it was disgusting, but we thought it was grand.

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    1. Oh my word, the cow bone yard!?!?! I may have to name our pig bone spot. :)

      Hahahaha! My brother would have totally gone for a photo like that. Unfortunately, between my kids and his, at least one of them would have actually put his mouth on it, and that I could not recover from.

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    2. Tee hee, that would be incredibly disgusting. Now I find the need to find that old picture...

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  9. Kids are just different when they are raised on a farm. I know because I was.

    Love your Thankful posts.

    Have a fabulous day. :)

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    1. I wasn't raised on a farm, and they are certainly different. I usually just hope that they are doing normal farm kid things and not some horribly creepy no-nos.

      You are always welcome to join us with your own thankful post. We're here every weekend!

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  10. I wish I had a strong stomach. I never regained whatever being pregnant took away. If I have to clean up barf, I'm going to barf too.

    My son still hugs me a lot. I'm hoping against all hope that he's always going to be like that. ;-) And sure, I'll take that chicken and noodles recipe please.

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    1. Normally, I'm OK with vomit. There is a rare, overly gross one that sends me gagging, but this wasn't one of them.

      How lucky you are! Mine are still OK with it, but it doesn't happen as much as it used to. Plus, my oldest has to bend down to give me a hug. I love them, but they aren't the cuddly hugs I used to get. :)

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  11. ACK another double-header! Damn that Dyanne for finding your numerical inconsistencies! I do like the letter change up. I'm a man of habit, I like consistency, I refuse to fall in line with all these random TToT shenanigans! Good day!

    I love me some good music and hugs! I'm a hug/cuddle whore. I will take em whenever I can get em RAR! I've not played Uno in ages.

    One sec, I think my cat is snoring... yeeeeep. Weird I thought he was in the window, but was on the dresser behind the fan; never seen him there before. Almost got creepy.

    Anyhow, as for the... projectile vomiting... yeah no. I think I recall you like Stand By Me (you King hater you), and I would react like in the pie eating contest.

    Not. Cool.

    I'm shocked you didn't even gag. You are so hardcore!

    Sounds like you have quite the scavenger hunt going on out there on the farm. It's great all the children get along well (even when competing against one another). Sometimes (especially with soooooo many) that isn't the case.

    And it wouldn't take you long to go to the store if you didn't live in the middle of BFE!

    What was that?!

    I SAID GOOD DAY!

    Jak at The Cryton Chronicles & Dreams in the Shade of Ink

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    1. Aaaaaahhhhh! When you put "Good day!" at the beginning, I immediately said, "I SAID GOOD DAY!" before reading further. My family repeats that quote constantly whenever we're together. Actually, my stepmom just put it on a comment on FB a few days ago. Hilarious!

      We have had plenty of pie eating contest vomiting around here over the years. In those instances, my stomach isn't quite so strong.

      There's going to be some arguing every once in a while, but it has been a pretty easy week with all of them.

      I SAID GOOD DAY!

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    2. Excellent :) You probably thought I forgot... pffft...

      Well, feel free not to share those instances OR take pictures for proof!

      I approve of the quote choice your family has adopted :-)

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  12. I love hugs from kids too. They are the best! I'd love to have a healthy garden. We don't have much luck. All we've gotten this year is about 12 cherry tomatoes. Sad. You ARE blessed to have a non-gagging stomach. I was not gifted w/ that. And I love texting w/ my boys too. They are much more communicative in writing than in talking. It's a testosterone thing. :0) Good list!

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Thank you for taking the time to tell me what you're thinking!