Saturday, July 27, 2013

10 Things of Thankful, Week 8

1.  I am thankful for the idea COW and I had to take the kids on individual trips.   Many years ago, when the kids were coming fast and furious, we decided each year one child would get to go on a trip all alone with one or both parents.  The big kids are on round three, with Phoenix getting to go this year.  We have decided the little kids are now old enough to move into the rotation, so Turken gets to go this year.  Actually, he and I are on his trip right now.  As you read this, he and I are having some good fun in Hilton Head, SC.  (Which means I won't be around to your posts until Sunday night or Monday.  Don't be concerned when you don't see any comments from me.)

2.  I am thankful for relatives who live in lovely places.  For one of the kids' first trips, we keep it pretty low key.  Simply going on an airplane and being alone is a huge deal, so we just go visit a friend or relative.  Can't tell you how happy I am to have a sister who lives in the gorgeous town of Hilton Head.

3.  I am thankful for the conversations of little people.  This week with my niece and nephew has brought such joy.  One of the best parts is listening to the three little ones (Turken, Cuckoo, and Niece) chat with each other.  The three of them seem to talk non-stop and cover every topic imaginable.  They all have clear opinions on topics such as Santa Claus, game-playing, prayers, good songs, Play-Doh creations, chick behavior, and rain.  They haven't just been arguing, but actually conversing, taking turns, listening to each others' points of view, giving their "proof", and simply hashing it out better than many adults do. 

4.  I am thankful for kids who appreciate simple things.  On Monday morning when the kids woke up, I told them it was going to be a rainy day.  Giant immediately cheered and said, "Yay!  We can play games all day!"  No joke, my kids are thrilled with a day at home doing nothing but playing games.  (I started the day by trouncing them in SpongeBob Monopoly, and they were happy.)

5.  I am thankful for the Children's Museum of IndianapolisIn every national ranking of museums for kids, ours ranks in the top 3.  It is five floors of hands-on activities for kids.  We have always had a membership there, so we can go for just a couple of hours to run off some steam on a yucky day.  We had one of those days this week, so we took my niece and nephew for their first museum experience.  Niece was a bit honked off that we were going to a museum, not understanding what a "children's museum" actually was.  She was a-pouting the whole way there, but quickly changed her tune when she saw the life-size dinosaurs busting through the outside of the museum.

6.  I am thankful Phoenix made it home safe and sound.  Ten days is a long time for a 14 year old to be away from home and with 46,000 strangers.  He got home Wednesday night, just in time for me to leave on Thursday.  My trip with Turken will be much more fun knowing I don't have to worry about my baby.

7.  I am thankful for the olfactory system.  A friend went to Michigan and came back with pounds of blueberries for us.  All but two of our family members would agree with Cuckoo's statement of, "I like them in the muffin, but I don't like them out of the muffin."  I have been making blueberry muffins like crazy, and they smell scrumptious.   The entire house now smells like a warm blueberry muffin instead of a well-used soccer cleat. 

8.  I am thankful for cooler temperatures.  The last week and a half has been stiflingly hot.  (That humidity will get you every time.)  Over the last two days, we've had some minor storms blow through, and last night was just plain glorious.  The perfect temperature, the perfect breeze, the perfect blue in the sky.  And today is more of the same.  The kids are currently having a ball playing hide-and-seek tag, and not one of them has come covered in sweat to tell me how hot he is.

9.  I am thankful for window screens.  Our 145 year old house has gigantic original windows that don't open (except when you break them, which happens way more often than I like).  The only fresh air we can get into our house is through the front screen door and our bedroom window.  Until yesterday.  When we had the kitchen redone, we took out the window to nowhere (really.  It was a full window with a curtain that had a view of the inside of the wall.) put in new windows and more in the mudroom.  Unfortunately, the screens were on backorder.  We finally, finally got them yesterday, just in time for this lovely weather.  At least my kitchen is full of fresh air as I bake all day.

10.  I am thankful for lazy days.  It seems we always have something going on, and this summer didn't give us much of a break.  Appointments and practices and meetings and blah, blah, blah just took up part of every day.  This past week, though, I don't think I've gotten in the van more than 3 times.  I'm usually in it three times in one day!  We actually had several days where we didn't get in a car one time.  I have been loving it.  You'd think I'd spend the time getting the house clean and doing all the stuff we need to get done.  You'd be wrong.  While I got some things done, I have done a lot more playing games with the kids.  Once I get back from Hilton Head, the appointments and practices begin in earnest again, and school starts soon after.  Really, really cherishing these laid-back days.

Your turn!  Link up your post or give me your thankful list in the comments.  I won't be home until Sunday, so I won't be hopping around to visit until I get back.  

Have a lovely day!



Ten Things of Thankful


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28 comments:

  1. Wow, you do have lots of kids. I had two aunts and uncles that had 12 kids each. Getting our three families together was huge.

    I enjoyed reading your thankful post. It made me smile.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. Ha! Yes, I do. :)

      I'm glad you enjoyed it. You know you're welcome to join us anytime!

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  2. Sounds gorgeously relaxing (and good for not needing to worry about Phoenix). Your window screens sound awesome - I hate to think how hot it must have been before!

    I had some wonderful 'little kid' phrases from Neff over the weekend, including "Rain is so 'afreshing", "It was like sparkly rainbows" and my personal favourite (said with suitable dramatic flair "I need to spend moneeeey!!"

    Your kids museum sounds EPIC and I hope your weekend away is a wonderful time of enjoyment and bonding. What a lovely idea :) See you Monday I guess.

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    1. Now that I'm back, I can say much relaxing was had. :)

      The screens are wonderful, especially since we've been having record low temperatures while I was gone. The house is magically cooler.

      It is a museum we are very fortunate to have nearby.

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    2. 'Record low temperatures' sound a bit naff, tbh. Is meant to be summer, after all!

      Glad you had a wonderful time. He's a lucky Turken to have such good parents as youse :)

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  3. I'm drooling just imagining the lovely smell of your home!
    I love blueberry muffins and blueberry cobbler....YUMMM.
    Be sure to visit me at my new bloggy home when you get back!
    www.backinthebush.wordpress.com

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    1. Unfortunately, the gorgeous smell has dissipated over the last four days while I was gone. Oh well.

      Can't wait to see the new digs!

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  4. What a delightful list of happy memories in the making! What I love about you most is that you take time for the most important thing in your life... your kids! Dusting and cleaning can wait, children grow up so fast and before you know it they are off on their own. Playtime together is the very best way to spend summer days! I also love that you do simple things and enjoy them, fun doesn't have to come with batteries or big dollar signs! The concept of each child getting their own one-on-one vacation time with a parent or two is wonderful! Every family should adopt that idea, or at least make sure that each child gets their own special time and activities now and then. Groups are great, but so are those precious moments when you get to connect one on one, even if it's just visiting on a car trip! Great post, hope you're having an awesome time in Hilton Head, we visited there briefly in April, and I am so very jealous that you are there now! :-))

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    1. With the birth of each child, I lowered my standard of clean. I'm very aware of the limited amount of time I have with my kids, but the over-the-top neat-freak in me is loud. I am constantly having to remind myself to sit the heck down and play with them!

      I was thinking of you while I was there. I remember your thankful posts from the April challenge. The trees! Aren't they spectacular???

      We had a wonderful time.

      Thank you for all the kind words.

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  5. I think it's really cool that you take your kids in trips alone - I'll bet that those will be some of their favorite memories. My mom gave us each "a day" a couple of times a year. We had her to ourselves for the whole day and could do whatever we wanted. Those days are some of my fondest moments with my mom growing up. Have a wonderful rest of your trip and congratulations on your new screens! Yay for fresh air in the summertime, especially when it's cooling off!

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    1. Of all the things we have done as parents, I think these trips are the best. They really do appreciate the opportunities and the memories we are making. And as much as it is something we do for the kids, in many ways it is more for us. I so enjoy the trips I've been able to take with them.

      We had a great trip, and the house is cool as a cucumber after the record low temperatures this week!

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  6. Sounds like a great list! I loved having one on one time with mom or dad...such a fun time!

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  7. I'd really like to make it over to that museum one of these days, though that's about a three hour drive away. I'd also really like to do this linkup sometime, although that would require me to write something like I haven't been. One of these days...

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    1. Oh, you really should someday. Maybe when the baby gets a wee bit older. Let me know when you do. I can get two of you in for free!

      We'll be here whenever you are able to link up. :)

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  8. 1. I think it is magnificent that each child gets to take a trip with one of you and be the center of the universe! 7. All the fancy-shmancy candles in the world can't truly replicate the scent of fresh baked goods. Blueberries freeze beautifully, although you probably already know that. I lay them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them a bit (keeps them from sticking together in one big glom), then measure two cups into each freezer bag. You don't have to wash them first, but I give them a rinse anyway. 8. We got a little bit of that today, too. The heat is one thing, but the humidity sucks the very life out of you. 9. Our house is close to 90 and very few of the windows open. My big dream is to get them all replaced someday. 10. Be ready to hit the ground running when you get back!

    Looking forward to hearing about your trip with Turken!

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    1. 1. Me, too! 7. I do the same thing with our peppers and just about anything else I freeze. 8. Exactly. Humidity sucks. 9. Hopefully your windows aren't rounded or ancient. One window at our house will cost around 10,000 to replace, thanks to the size and cut of them. 10. I'm off!

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    2. T-t-t-ten THOUSAND to replace?! Ours are just old, old, old. And painted shut with years and years of lead paint. Several of them don't appear to be standard sized, either.

      I'm so glad you're back!

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  9. When my kids were little, and we lived near a children's museum, we also took advantage of the membership option. The kids loved it, as did I.

    I did a google search, and those dinosaurs really are bursting out of the building, aren't they? Wow--talk about an attention-getter!

    Hope you're having a wonderful getaway.

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    1. It has been so handy each and every one of the last 14 years.

      They really are! They get the kids so excited before ever stepping foot in the place.

      We did!

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  10. Your life really sounds relaxing at the moment in order for your to catch a deep breath! I love that you are taking trips with each of the kids!

    Your blueberry muffins sound just delicious!

    Enjoy your trip! :-)

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    1. It was full of relaxing wonderfulness.

      They are a little bit of lovely, that is for sure.

      Thanks! We did!

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  11. I love the idea of taking trips alone with the kiddos. The fact you actually find the time to make it happen, I am in awe. Have a great week

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    1. We enjoy it so much. As the kids get older, it is harder to find the time, but that is part of the reason we only do one each year (up until now).
      We did!

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  12. how the heck did we get into the second half of Summer?*

    sounds like a very cool thing to do (as a parent or as a kid) to have 'your own' vacation. smell is everything ( should I have said 'aroma'? lol) but the richness and subtlety of the emotions and feelings that things like baked goods can trigger are very impressive.

    Good list. Can't wait to see the vacay photos!


    *yeah, kinda apropos of nothing in particular

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    1. I don't know, but I'm pretty ticked off about it.

      It is very cool.

      It is fascinating the way aromas (much better word) can trigger memories from long, long ago. It is one powerful sense.

      Thanks!

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    2. For once, Clark, I can share something useful. Vsauce information about smell, including smell and memories - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiAx2kqmUpQ&list=PLHGoLkMp_jscyRPo_i1oFlIybzRykQ__E&index=8

      Delete
  13. Even though we only have 2 kids, I can so relate to your number 10. I love the lazy days of summer, when there's no school and far fewer sessions of swimming club.

    And can I come to your house and get some muffins when you've finished baking? I love them! (We love blueberries as they are actually. In the UK they are not so abundant so I tend only to use frozen ones for muffins.)

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  14. Love seeing your kids mentioned a lot on this list! It must not have been after dragging them along to go shopping ;-) Muahaha

    Doesn't the separate trips end up costing way more compared to one or two full family trips? I was curious about that when you mentioned the arrangements earlier for solo vacations.

    Personally I love listening to little kids talk as they work things out and/or express how they believe things "are" in life. It's awesome. It is sad to think about how some children discuss and express themselves to other children better than adults. It's a shame that element gets almost completely lost in development.

    The cooler weather seems to be hitting everywhere, as I've been seeing it on multiple lists! That is great. For us it's almost like the Spring we never had. I still am hoping for some good thunderstorms, but so far no luck.

    Lazy days are certainly the best and with my current fatigue spike that is about all I've been able to handle lately.

    Have fun on your trip!

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

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