Jumping right in...
1. Thank you to the folks who wrote/text/called to see if I was OK. Missing last week's thankful list without notice had people wondering. Absolutely nothing bad happened. Just lots and lots of life going on, leaving me without the time to write a post.
2. Thank you to the lovely lady who took the time to write the sweetest email, letting me know she found my blog and has enjoyed going through the posts.
3. I'm thankful for the principal and teachers and staff at our kids' schools that have helped Bryan and me raise our kids. As usual, I was tearing up at the all-school Mass last week, but I cried even worse, since it was Catholic Schools Week. Four alumni are asked to come back to the elementary/middle school (one from each grade in high school) to give a talk. Buttercup was one of the kids this year. She did a bang up job.
4. I'm thankful to Star who helped me make dozens and dozens of cookies last weekend. There is a group of elderly folks at church who get together to play cards every once in a while, and we made the cookies for this month's gathering. I would have been in serious trouble time-wise without his help.
5. I'm thankful that my book club was able to get together on Friday night. We are a group of vastly different people, but it works.
6. I'm thankful that I was able to attend a Euchre tournament last Saturday. Bryan was working all weekend, so I asked my friend Kris (some of you may remember her as Mrs. Always Random) to go with me. We had a great time and we raised a good chunk of money for a 7th grader to take to the Romanian orphanage where she will be working this summer.
7. I'm thankful for the vomit-free Super Bowl viewing. It's the one night each year Bryan and the kids buy and eat all sorts of boxed, processed crap to eat. I did manage to get some healthy things in them (by making deviled eggs, chocolate covered strawberries, and apples with caramel dip), too. Best part, though, is that all but two of the kids finally realized that the tradition of squirting canned Cheeze-whiz in their mouths when a team scores a touchdown is disgusting.
8. I discovered some seriously hard classes at the gym. I went to one on Monday, and parts of me are still sore on Friday. I'll now be going every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday that I'm able.
9. For Christmas, Bryan got me a Roomba. (It's a robot vacuum cleaner. (We don't need to talk about if this is a good gift for a husband to give. Just read this post about bad gifts he's given in the past. The poor guy is trying really, really hard to come up with thoughtful gifts.)) I didn't think I'd like it. And while it isn't the most efficient machine in the world, and I do have to use my standing vacuum to get some corners and hidden nooks, I love that I can be scrubbing the kitchen floor (or sitting on my butt reading a book) while the rest of the house gets vacuumed.
10. Saturday morning, Bryan and I are heading out for a weekend on our own. Yup, my mom is coming to stay with the kids, so Bryan and I can have a couple of days to ourselves. Sure, we're just going downtown, basically across the street from Bryan's office, but we're going. I'm so thankful my mom is willing and able to take care of things and that the kids love it when she comes to visit.
How have your last two weeks been? What has happened to make you want to yell, "Thank you!"
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Have a lovely day!
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Did you ever try Zumba at the gym? I'd love to hear how you liked it. Love the Superbowl Cheez Whiz story. LOL. I remember my son and his buddies (at an outdoor party) shaking up two liter bottles of Mountain Dew and letting them jettison into their mouths. I still cringe at that one. Boys will be . . . . .
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't. The time of it just hasn't worked out. I do think I'd like it, though.
DeleteEEEEWWWWWW!!! Makes me smile that you made sure I knew it was an outside party. :) That would be a disaster to clean up! Boys are baffling sometimes, aren't they?
Baffling?!?!... we prefer the term 'refreshingly creative....and sometimes wicked gross!'
DeleteLol
So glad you're back. I am one that was worrying. I was checking every day. Strange, isn't it, considering I don't even know you? Have a wonderful weekend!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for checking, Diana. Funny how we get so attached to people we've never met. I worry about people I don't know, too. :)
DeleteWe did!
...is disgusting. wait a darn minute! sports… young… disgusting? that, madam is surely an oxymoron !
ReplyDelete"Bryan got me a Roomba. (It's a robot vacuum cleaner... if this is a good gift for a husband to give. I'm sorry, I must have misheard you! New Technology… Solid State… useful…. (offering the future opportunity to say, "what was that??!! oh, it's the electronic vacuum that runs itself = Best. Gift. Ever
have fun on the weekend!
Ha! No doubt you saw the awesomeness of the gift of the Roomba right away. I have, over these many years, learned to look for Bryan's reasoning when he purchases gifts for me. There is always some sweet, precious reason, even if it looks oddball bonkers, or even insulting, at first look. :)
DeleteWe did!
So glad you're back, I was wondering where you were and if you were ok.
ReplyDeleteA robot vacuum cleaner! I'd love one of those to use at work but I'm not sure how effective it would be.
I hope you have/had a lovely time away with Bryan, it's great that your mom can stay with the kids while you get some time together :)
Sorry to put you through the worry. All is well and good.
DeleteI'm guessing it would not work well for you. It works best in an empty room with no furniture legs to divert it's path, not in a real life room with stuff in it. It is helpful, but not thorough.
We had a great time. We are fortunate to have a grandma who lives only two hours away and who is willing, able, and happy to come stay with the kids.
I say enjoy your wonderful weekend kid free. That's a good thing for the two of you to do.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day, weekend and Valentines Day. ☺
We did! We believe it is imperative for parents to find time to be without kids, do things without kids, and talk about things besides kids. The kids will grow up and out of the house. Besides all the other reasons, we want to make sure we are still best friends when it's just the two of us in the house again.
DeleteThank you!
I'm thankful you had a vomit free Super Bowl day too. Just the thought of canned cheeze-whiz makes me gag.
ReplyDeleteHave a super fantastic weekend!!
It's horrible to watch. I have to look away.
DeleteWe did!
I love those hard classes at the gym! I never appreciated them before, but having the camaraderie in the suffering and to have someone pushing you past where you would otherwise go is really nice, and makes me actually consistent about showing up to the gym!
ReplyDeleteSeeing someone more than 15 years older than me keeping up with the instructor is a serious motivator for me to keep pushing myself. :)
DeleteI haven't eaten it in YEARS, but I do like cheese in a can, but squirted onto a Sociable cracker, NOT directly into my mouth. Something we used to get as a treat on vacations as a kid.
ReplyDeleteCool that you can go "away" for a weekend and still basically be in the same city. Can't do that in a small town. Rumors would fly as to why we were staying in a hotel, because we would see five people we knew between the parking lot and the registration desk :)
That Buttercup is a peach.
Apparently, so is Star, if he made more cookies than he ate.
Ick, ew, barf. Though plenty of people like it, seeing as how it is still sold in stores.
DeleteI kind of felt bad for Bryan, seeing as how we stayed in a hotel room which had a view of the building he works in every day. We mixed it up, though, and ate at places he never does and went to places he never goes. :) And surprisingly, we didn't see a single person we knew the entire time.
She really is.
He is maturing (finally) into a sweet, helpful young man. And he didn't eat a one until I suggested we taste test them.
So glad you're back and that it was just a matter of life being busy and not something else. I was stalkerishly (is that a real word or did I just make it up?) checking every day to see if anything had been posted.
ReplyDeleteI will admit that I didn't even know who was in the Super Bowl until a few days before when a good friend of mine was making cookies for a client's Super Bowl party.
A Roomba would be so helpful for picking up all the cheerios Tyrion throws on the floor!
Enjoy your kid free weekend!
Thank you for checking, and sorry to worry you!
DeleteI couldn't have told you who was playing against the Broncos. The only reason I knew it was the Broncos was the fact Peyton is the quarterback. He used to play for the Colts, and we here in Indy will always be fans of his. You couldn't read a paper or watch the news or talk to anyone without hearing about Peyton.
Yes, it would!
We did! Thanks.
i was wondering what happened.. and believe me if i could have found your email I would have written to you too - glad to hear everything is OK and have a wonderful time this weekend!
ReplyDeleteSorry for making you worry!
DeleteFYI: My email is on the sidebar under my photo. :)
We had a great time. Thank you!
Yay for a night away with the hubby! Brian with an i and I get that next weekend as the final celebration of my birthday. I am EXCITED!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I was so oblivious that I missed your absence. I can't seem to pay enough attention to anything these days.
Glad everyone in the Woodruff household is well.
I'm so glad you get to go on a weekend with your Brian! Very important for couples to do such things! What will you be doing?
DeleteOh, please. Don't be apologizing for not noticing. You're busy, too, including having a ball with a certain English friend. :)
Glad you made it here..why does everything seem so busy right now..
ReplyDeleteWhy indeed? This is supposed to be a downtime, middle of winter time.
DeleteLife does get busy (and busier!) sometimes. Glad you are surviving the hectic schedule. That Cheeze-Whiz tradition would have me rooting for a low-scoring game! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt does, but everything making me busy was fun!
DeleteYou and me both. It is gross.
How nice you're getting some time together, just the two of you. Hope it's all you hoped it would be.
ReplyDelete:-)
We like to get at least one weekend a year to ourselves. Thankfully, my mom is on board with the idea, too. :)
DeleteIt was fun and relaxing. Just like we wanted. :)
BOOM!
ReplyDeleteWe had a great, relaxing, fun time. Thanks. :) Ha! I saw that you were in the states for the big game. Shocking you didn't take on our tradition while here. ;) Did your Super Bowl experience live up to the hype?
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of keeping lists of what you are thankful for. Great post :)
ReplyDelete#2. Aww. Sweet.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend away with the hubby!
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a vomit free Super Bowl viewing. As a kid I liked Cheeze Whiz and Velveeta, but I don't even remember buying it once we had children. I think my Mom used Cheeze Whiz as filling on celery sticks at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.
ReplyDeleteI've wondered how well the Roomba works. Does it come with some kind of remote control that one uses to keep it from bumping into furniture and walls? With my ineptness in using the remote control, I'd probably destroy the furniture.
I hope you had an enjoyable date with your husband.
Welcome back! I managed to sneak a post in last week and then promptly fail to get around to read them, so I didn't quite see that you were AWOL. It was a hell of a bad week.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, great stories and great life happening - hope your weekend was awesome!