Saturday, August 24, 2013

10 Things of Thankful, Week 12

Yeah, it's going to be all over the place today. 

1.  I am thankful for steroids.  My family is ridiculously allergic to poison ivy, and this week Turken was the victim.  It came on fast and furious, and as usual with us, it was all around his eyes, as well as most every other place on his body.  One dose of steroids calmed things down, and now that we are on day 5, he is doing much better. 

at the doctor's office, gettin' some meds.

2.  I am thankful for compassionate, generous people.  A day after I wrote about my friend's baby being born stillborn, I received a gift of an e-book and a very nice email from a complete stranger.  The author of the book, You Will See Your Baby in Heaven, Drew Kelly had read my post and wanted to help.  He gave me an e-book to read immediately, then asked for my address to send a paperback for my friend.  I read every page on my Kindle before I even received hers in the mail.  I am so grateful for the help in figuring out the best ways to support my friend through these difficult days. 

Product Details

3.  I am thankful for a cupcake maker.  Not a baker, but an actual gadget that has the sole purpose of baking cupcakes.  Buttercup got one for Christmas one year.  It is the only kitchen gadget we use semi-frequently.  Cuckoo's birthday was yesterday, and we were taking birthday cupcakes to the park to share with some friends.  It cooks them perfectly, and I didn't have to make the house even hotter by turning on the stove.

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This is the same one we have.

4.  I am thankful for Cuckoo.  I can't believe it's possible, but the little man turned 4 yesterday.  He makes me laugh out loud each and every day.  The entire day yesterday, everywhere we went, he asked me, "Do these people know it's my birthday?"  If the answer was no, he had no trouble marching right up to any and all strangers to say, "It's my birthday today." 

I shall tell you the latest thing that made us laugh the hardest.

COW had Cuckoo in the car, and they were listening to the radio.  At one point, Cuckoo started laughing hysterically, and screaming in delight, "She said taco!  Why is she singing about a taco?"  Cuckoo wouldn't let up, laughing harder and harder as the song went on.  "She said taco again!"  COW listened a little closer, and finally heard it.  At one point, she on the radio sang, "You're gonna miss me by my walk, you're gonna miss me by my talk, oh, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone."

Every time "Cups" comes on, our entire family stops, waits for it, then belts out, "miss me by my taco".

5.  I am thankful for our washing machine.  Despite the fact it doesn't spin my clothes dry, I am very grateful for it.  Between the kids' school uniforms and soccer clothes, my pig/chicken/garden clothes, and the towels, sheets and miscellaneous other articles, can you even imagine trying to wash it all any other way???

6.  I am thankful for my brother.  He stayed the night Friday night in order to take a flight out tomorrow.  His wife's sister's husband (complicated way of saying brother-in-law) came with, and we had our usual good time.  He and I can't help but laugh when we are together, and when there is someone in attendance who has never heard our family stories before, all the better.  Within 10 minutes of stepping foot in my house, guess which story he was telling the brother-in-law.  Yup, the stick shift story.  It sounds even funnier (and less true) each time he tells it.

7.  I am thankful for my kids' choices in friends.  Friends.  They are so, so, so important to a teenager, and those friends can be either a hurt or a help to a teenager's choices.  I am so grateful for the wonderfully kind, polite, fun, compassionate, responsible friends my kids have made.

8.  I am thankful for sunflowers, especially when they came up without our planting them.  We planted sunflowers last year, and they did very well.  This year, many, many sunflowers sprouted up in the same area.  We simply weeded around them and now have gorgeous flowers in the garden.

Even better when those sunflowers are back-dropped by a brilliant sky!

9.  I am thankful for COW'S willingness to coach.  We always let our kids start playing sports when they are in kindergarten, and Turken has been counting down the days until he can play soccer.  This was the week, and COW is the coach.  He did the same for the big kids when they first started playing, despite the fact he had never even seen a soccer game before that.  His knowledge has changed, but his coaching has not.  He's back to playing Sharks and Minnows with the short set.  Turken is happy, and COW is cracking me up with his Tales from the Soccer Field. 

10.  I am thankful for Steak-n-Shake's Half-Price Happy Hour.  For one, Phoenix had a rough couple of days with the new braces.  A milkshake helped him feel better and got some much needed calories in him.  (Don't even care that it wasn't the healthiest form of calories.)  For two, it means we can afford to get a yummy shake for our Friday ice cream treat each week after school.

Your turn!  Let us know why you are bursting with gratitude.

Have a lovely day!


Ten Things of Thankful


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55 comments:

  1. Love the sunflowers! Poor Turken! Hope he feels better soon. Poor lad looks as if he had been beaten up so bad!

    Happy Birthday to Cuckoo!! Hope you all had a great celebration!

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    1. Turken is feeling much better. Still dealing with a bit on his belly, but much better.

      Cuckoo had a great birthday, thanks.

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  2. Poor little Turken! I'm glad he's doing better.

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    1. He was a trooper, only complaining when it woke him up at night. He's doing much better, thank you.

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  3. Oh Poor Turken and will say Lily is my child who is highly allergic to just about anything and last year she had a reaction to something (still to this day not sure what-thankfully it never recurred), but steroid s did the trick for her, too. amazing how quickly they work! and Happy Birthday again to Cuckoo!! :)

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    1. They do work fast. Back in June, Star had a reaction even worse than Turken's. He got the shot of steroids in his hip right away, and by that night, he was sooo much better.

      Thank you!

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  4. A cupcake maker? Oh my. That is something I really didn't need to know about. Cupcakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner anyone? Mmmmmm!

    Haha taco. That is hilarious!! I have that same issue... I hear a song and for the life of me it sounds like it is saying things that don't make sense. I'll never forget hearing Dolly Parton's "Painted on Jeans" song when I was a kid. I thought she was saying something like "pannydone jeans" which I thought must mean something adult-rated and inappropriate. HA!! Then there is the "All the Single Ladies" song, which of course we know is really talking to all the single lettuce. Point being: I totally get little Cuckoo!! We want subtitles!

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    1. Sorry about that. Kinda. It really is a great machine.

      Hahaha! It is a trait both COW and I have, too. There are so many songs I later find have completely different words than the ones I had been singing. It's not us! It's the singers. They just need to enunciate better. :)

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  5. I love this type of posts. So often people dwell on the negative things in their lives and never look at all the really great things to be thankful for.

    Have a fabulous weekend. :)

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    1. Me, too. You can't help but be in a better mood after reading everyone's thankful posts.

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  6. This was such a positive, uplifting list, you had me smiling right along with the "taco" song! I felt so bad for poor little Turken with his swollen up eyes, it sure brought home his misery. While the photo of the sunflowers was over-the-top gorgeous! Made me mighty lonesome for my Midwestern roots! It sounds like things are getting back on track at your house and in your lives as you move into the school year, and what a wonderful thing that is, that life cycles, we climb the hard hills, and roll down the other side in the soft green grass with pure delight! Blessings to you and all of your wonderful family, you mind me of everything that is good about that way of life! :-)

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    1. It is miserable, for sure. Three of us get rashes just that bad almost every time we are anywhere near poison ivy.

      Glad you liked the photo and brought back some memories.

      Things are getting back to normal, whatever that is. At least no one is getting me riled up, so that's good. :)

      The good wouldn't seem nearly so good if we didn't have to climb over the mountain of bad first. My family really enjoys rolling down soft, grassy hills. It is completely encouraged around here.

      Thank you for your kind words.

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  7. I envy your sunflowers! I have tried and the best I get is an overachieving daisy looking thing* Probably the 'soil' around here in New England (geological motto: 'you want rocks? yeah we got rocks!') I believe I read somewhere that in your part of the country (not New England) you can dig the soil all day long without hitting nary a stone...weird)
    Good to hear about Turken.. getting the benefit of steroid... had one occasion to use it, amazing not just how effective, but how fast (it works)

    Friends are good...

    (back to work...will try to get by later tonight!)


    *that is if I don't forget where I plant them (in the grass sometimes...no, I don't know) and I mow them down in the early summer.

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    1. I don't know about all day long, but rocks don't seem to be a problem. Are you planting the right kind of sunflowers? There are different sizes...but you're a smart guy. surely you knew that.

      One occasion?! Very few of our family will ever be able to participate in the Olympics we've taken so many steroids over the years. (Yes, that is the only reason. We're very athletic people.)

      Yeah, you really need to have a marked off area when you plant something. I know this from experience. I mowed over a couple of trees COW transplanted to the back field, not knowing he had done so.

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  8. Poor Turken! Thank goodness you got the meds into him quick! Glad to hear he's doing much better. I don't think poison ivy is something we have over here, but it has achieved folklore proportions through things like Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes, though I never realised how bad the reactions could be!

    I LOVE the Cups song but that misheard lyric is HILARIOUS XD It's gonna ruin it for me forever now, thanks ;)

    And YAY for Cuckoo being 4, being gregarious and being totally adorable :)

    Is it too mathgeeky to say that the thing which I find the most beautiful about Sunflowers is that their seeds form in a perfect Fibonnaci Spiral in *two different ways* - totally mindblowingly gorgeously beautiful.

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    1. yes...yes it is! lol (ok... but only if you provide pitchas the 2 different spirals...)

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    2. YOU DON'T HAVE POISON IVY?!?!?!?!? We may have to move.

      You will never hear that song without thinking taco ever again. It's just not possible.

      Yay 4!

      It is very mathgeeky, but doesn't mean it isn't cool! I shall have to look closer at ours.

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    3. ...but don't forget to first put some tape on your glasses and some pens in your pockets... if you don't have glasses, then simply get a clipboard and a photo copy of plant phyla of the Northern Hemisphere and rock that Spiral


      (lol)

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  9. Oh, Turkey looks so miserable! Glad he's on the mend. I've never had poison ivy, but I had poison oak and it was not pleasant.

    And just like Lizzi, I will be singing "you're going to miss me when I taco" when I hear the Cups song. Forever.

    Aren't brothers fun?

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    1. Did you mean to call my poor, itchy kid "Turkey"?

      Forever and ever.

      They really are. (Although, you may not want to ask Buttercup that question for a few more years.)

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    2. Bahahaha! That's what I get for having once failed typing in high school. Turken. Turken. TURKEN. (You're the one who named him after a fowl, however.)

      Tell Buttercup in about 20 years, she will appreciate her brothers. I don't expect her to before then.

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  10. I am never going to hear that line of "Cups" the same again! Haha! My boys start soccer next week, guess it's that time of year for everyone, I just love little guys in knee socks and cleats!

    Final thought, I'm so jealous you have a steak-n-shake near you!! I love that place!!!

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    1. No, you won't. I've tried.

      Yes, soccer season has begun all around. I thought Turken was cute in his, and then we gave some to Cuckoo for his birthday yesterday. Have mercy, that is beyond adorable.

      Steak-n-Shake was born here. They are on every other corner. If I could, I'd mail you a shake and a steakburger.

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  11. What a wonderful list of Thankful - your home must be bursting with goodness when you are all together there :)

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    1. Thank you!

      There is lots of goodness, with a little bit of ornery snuck in. ;)

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  12. OMGosh, poor little Turken!
    That cupcake maker looks fantastic.
    The sunflower pic is breathtakingly beautiful!!

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    1. It was awful, but he was a trooper, hardly complaining at all.

      I'm always skeptical of all the little gadgets, but this one has actually been useful!

      Thank you!

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  13. Sunflowers seeds and a cupcake maker. How could life get any better. Glad your little one is recovering too. Poison ivy can be rough. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. It is a good life indeed. He's almost completely healed.

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  14. Poor Turken. Glad he is feeling much better. I am very intrigued by the cupcake machine and wondering if I can fit one in my tiny kitchen.

    This week I am grateful my 19 year old has finally understood why I get frustrated when she leaves dirty pots in the kitchen. It takes a long time but our kids eventually work out why we parent the way we do.

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    1. A tiny kitchen might be a problem. I've had many tiny kitchens in my lifetime, but for the cupcake maker, I might have made room under my bed.

      She did?!?!?! That is wonderful! Usually it isn't until our kids have their own that we get any type of understanding. (I apologize to my mom all the time.)

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  15. Beautiful sunflowers! We got one bloom...it died. Now we have another...it's wilting. Nothing at all like the quantity you have! Hope everybody's poison ivy disappears quickly!

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    1. Thank you!
      Oh, poor sunflowers.

      This round of poison ivy has about run its course. Hopefully we are done with it for the year. (Not likely, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.)

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  16. I don't have a cupcake baker, and never really saw the need for one, but your explanation makes sense. Anything to keep a kitchen cool during the hot summer is something for which to be thankful!

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    1. With all the canning, I'm getting mighty tired of my kitchen getting sweltering hot.
      When we got it for her (She REALLY wanted one.) I rolled my eyes, thinking it was going to be another product to never get used. I was completely wrong on this one.

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  17. What a wonderful list. It hurts to look at the puffy face of your son. I have the same allergy, so I can relate. I love my washing machine too, and sunflowers. That photo is just beautiful. What a good week! You are blessed!

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    1. Thanks.

      My face has swollen up from poison ivy more times than I can count. It is miserable, but he was a trooper through it all. Sorry to hear you have to endure the reaction, too.

      It was a good week. Thanks.

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  18. Sounds like an overall great week (minus the poison ivy...yikes! That poor sweet baby!)

    Cup cake baker? Who knew there was such a thing? Clearly I did not...anytime you'd like to loan it out, let me know. :) Happy birthday to Cuckoo!

    Sunflowers are beautiful...and free so even better.

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    1. It was a good week. Yes, poor baby. He's doing much better now, though.
      If you would like to borrow the cupcake baker to see if you want to buy one, let me know.
      They are so pretty.

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  19. Oh, poor Turken! His little face :( I'm glad the steroids helped so quickly. Also, I'm so sorry about your friend. I can't imagine having a baby born still. I'm glad that you've gotten some much-needed love and support to share with her during this time. A friend of mine who was pregnant at the same time I was had her baby born still as well. It's life-changing and heartbreaking and just so so sad. Hugs to you and to her.
    My favorite line today? "Do these people know it's my birthday?" Awesome. And yum to the S&S shakes!! MMM.

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    1. I'm glad about the steroids, too.

      Thanks for the hugs. All you said about the situation is true.

      HA! He was cracking people up all day long.

      Oh, how I enjoy a milkshake.

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  20. Perfect way to end the week. Start off on steroids and end on a milkshake :) I had poison ivy for the first time last year. If I never get it again I will be a happy girl.

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    1. You had it for the first time last year? You lucky, lucky duck. I wouldn't wish that horrid rash on anyone. Hope it's the last time you ever get it.

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  21. OH that poor itchy boy! Love the sunflowers and I have never heard of a cupcake maker but what a swell thing!

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    1. I know. Looks awful, doesn't it?

      The sunflowers make me smile every time I see them.

      I am pleasantly surprised at how swell that cupcake machine is.

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  22. I'm guessing the lil guy is ok now?
    For some reason that song has been stuck in my head. I find myself whispering it at odd moments. I always mess up lyrics for songs. I've been singing do you want me to get water from cohune instead of the moon all my life.

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    1. Much better, thank you.

      Sorry about the song in your head. I hate it when songs get stuck in mine.

      Sometimes, even though I learn the correct lyrics, I continue singing the wrong ones. Sometimes, mine are just better.

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  23. ACK I swear your kids get the most mangled and mucked up out of any I "know" lol I thought he got beat up or something when I first saw the picture, or soccer as is the usual location for awesome injuries (how it isn't roof tennis I've no flippin' idea!)

    Cuckoo sounds like a blast! You should have gotten video of all that. I can't remember which was doing the dancing before, though. It was pretty cute/hilarious. Happy birthday to the little bugger. I never knew that cupcake makers existed! How many can it make at one time? I'm assuming it depends on sizes. I'm so not listening to that song and getting something crazy stuck in my head lol I'll save that to Mixed-Tape Tuesdays.

    Also, that was incredibly sweet about the book that was sent out to you. Very touching and hopefully you even made a new friend possibly. It's great how some people (read: strangers) can sometimes come out of no where and be so kind and generous.

    I know you dry your clothes outside mainly, hopefully super mindful of weather, but I forget if you have a dryer or not. I don't think I could do clotheslines. I need a dryer, BUT I do hate paying for laundry...

    It's awesome C.O.W. coaches and has fun with a sport he never had any interest in originally. I'm sure the kids love and appreciate it just as much as you!

    Never been much of a sunflower (or flower...) kind of guy. Looks like yours are doing quite well. I see that image being on a card with some lovely words...

    YES! Be thankful for the half-price shakes! *dances*

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

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    1. I am constantly impressed with your memory. How do you remember such details like roof tennis and drying clothes on the line??

      Yes, that was Cuckoo dancing in the bathroom. (Another detail you remembered!) I have yet to meet a person who doesn't adore him. All my other kids were quiet and shy at this age (the boys still are), so Cuckoo takes everyone who knows us by surprise. People even fight over him, bringing candy when they know he'll be somewhere, to ensure he will sit and talk with them. He really is that hilarious.

      We do have a dryer, but I only use it when I have to.

      The kids find it quite ironic that he coaches soccer, but they do appreciate that he did it for them.

      Not a flower person?? I didn't know there was such a thing. (You don't let that stop you from bringing flowers to a favorite lady, do you?))

      Always thankful for half-price shakes!

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  24. Happy Birthday to Cockoo!!! 4 is great! I have a friend who answers her phone "Hey today is my birthday what did you get me." All day long, it kills her kids but I call her just to hear her say it!
    Have you had the S'more shake at steak-n-shake??? I may have gone 2 days in a row... curse you happy hour!
    Super sweet about the book! There are some lovely people in blog world!

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