10 Things of Thankful, Week 3

By Friday night, one of those low-grade headaches had started to form.  The onslaught of this week has done me in.  Taken me out.  Laid me flat.  Shut me down.  Basically, I'm just downright tuckered, ya'll.   I'm so glad I have this required list of thankful to get together every week.  Otherwise, I'd wallow in my vat of self-pity until my husband got home from work, and then the wallowing would turn into one of those rare, full-on "I can't do everything by myself I need you to step up and do something around here before I lose it completely" tantrums that we all know and hate. 

Now, I'll simply give him a peck when he arrives and ask him how his day went.  And then sit on my rear while he washes the dishes.

1.  I am thankful to have Hubby and Phoenix back from their trip.   And not just because I am excited to have people with whom I can share the big chores.

2.  I am thankful for our church/school community.  Our closest relative lives two hours away from us, so over the last 14 years we have formed a local "family" for whom I am very grateful.   Tonight was the end-of-camp cook-out, and while there it made me smile to look around and recognize so many people I consider part of that group.  So many arms to hold babies when a mama just wants to eat in peace.  So many eyes watching out for kids playing on the playground while they catch up with each other.   So many kids I adore waving or smiling or running up to say hi and give me a hug.  Yep, family.

3.  I am thankful for the kindergarten kids I got to lead around camp this week.  They were a sweet bunch and gave me no trouble at all.  I get all teary eyed when I think on the fact that these are the boys who will be Turken's classmates for the next 9 years.   They will play a part in the kind of young man Turken will become.  Their parents will be my new friends.  (Seeing as how I'm now the old lady, and all my current friends are at the end of the elementary school years, while I'm just getting started all over again.  I'll need new friends who will someday become old friends.) These kids will join the ranks of the many, many kids who know me as "(fill in the kid)'s mom".  They'll become part of our school/church family. 

4.  I am thankful for time with my friend who moved to Japan.   She is back in town for an entire month!  This week I got to have a nice, 3-hour long dinner with her at the restaurant which has become our tradition.  I look forward to many get-togethers with her over the next few weeks.

5.  I am thankful for Buttercup.  Between Hubby and Phoenix being gone, VBC, and the other boys' soccer camp, there is too much for one person to do.  Buttercup has stepped up and been a huge help this week, even getting the little boys up and ready to go on the one morning it was my turn to drive the big boys to camp. 

6.  I am thankful for carpools.  I only had to drive all the way to Butler for the soccer camp (an hour away) twice.  Four out of the five mornings, I only had to drive 4 minutes to a local gas station to make a drop-off.  Without the carpool, either soccer or VBC would have had to go.

7.  I am thankful for Hubby's job.  He is able to work flexible hours, I am able to stay home with the kids, and we are able to do so many things with them.  For sure and for certain, there never would have been a trip to Puerto Rico if Hubby had a different job.

8.  I am thankful for the big van.  The five extra seats we have is the reason we can participate in carpools.  I can help friends when they need to leave their kids for a few days.  I can have my nieces and nephews up for long visits over the summer.  My kids can simply invite their friends over if we run into them out and about town.  It's a monster that won't fit in most parking garages, but it serves us well in plenty of other ways.

9.  I am thankful for fans.  Despite the fact we got a new furnace last year, our old house just isn't conducive to proper heating and cooling.  The kids in the front of the house would roast at night (and I'd be rather uncomfortable) without fans. 

10.  I am thankful for our newish kitchen.  It's been five months since our kitchen/mudroom remodel was completed, and I'm still in love with it.  The mudroom has completely changed my life.  I simply look at everything in that huge room and think, "I used to have to trip over that junk all over the house."  And the island in the kitchen?  Makes me happy.  You know how in family sitcoms, the kids always plop themselves in the stools to talk to mom while they have a snack?  It's real.  Islands are magical. 

This things of thankful exercise is so good for getting out of a funk.  I feel so much better.

Won't you join us?

Even if you don't have a blog or simply don't want to write an entire post, let us know some of your own things of thankful.

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An InLinkz Link-up

7 Cranky Quick Takes

I will apologize now for my bit of an attitude today.  Since last Friday, my life has been in constant motion.  It's one of those weeks where it's all about the kids, and it has left me wiped out, surrounded by a disaster of a house I don't have the energy to touch.  As I told Hubby, "I'm so exhausted, I can't even make the kids work."  Such weeks leave me feeling ornery.

Sorry, Jen, for unloading during your quick takes.  (Feel free to skip to #5 to get to less cranky bits.)
 

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

It's the first official day of summer, which most of you are probably cheering about.  In my present mood, I see it more as the longest day of the year.  After today, it's all downhill until the end of December. 

I told you I was cranky.

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

Vacation Bible Camp is this week, and it has confirmed that I am a full-fledged, should be card-carrying control freak.

For a few reasons, I decided to be a crew leader this year instead of the Bible Exploration leader I've done for 7 or 8 years.  Crew leader is an easy job, as there is no planning to do for it.  I didn't take into account, though, that I would then be mingling with the 180 campers, 30 teens and 20 adults also working the camp.  The experience reaffirmed a couple of things:

a.  I love, love, love working with kids. 

b.  I do not enjoy watching a bunch of people who don't know how to work with kids. 

I know, they're volunteers, they are doing their best, blah, blah, blah.  I know.  I'm not judging them.  It just pains me to see people struggling with a job and not being able to jump in and help.

It's much better that I be in my own room, doing my own thing, being completely in charge of what happens in that room.

Still with me?  Raise your hand if you're a cranky control freak, too!   Anyone?

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

Hubby and Phoenix made it home from Puerto Rico on Tuesday.  (It was Phoenix's year for an individual trip, and Hubby got smart.  He decided where he wanted to go, then talked it up so Phoenix would choose it.)  As the kids get older, Hubby has been taking the trips with the boys.  They always want to do physical activities, and I can't guarantee that my Lupus will let me do everything.  I have never been jealous about their trips before, because they have always done things I have done in the past.  I've been white-water rafting, hiking, deep-sea fishing, and everything else they've done.

This time, though, the green-eyed monster peeked out.  They went hiking in a rain forest.  They went kayaking at dusk and got to see/get in the middle of the luminescence.  They ate at a restaurant with real, live flamenco dancers.  I've never done any of that, and it kind of annoys me.

To recap, a cranky, jealous control freak.

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

I need my morning quiet time.  I don't drink coffee, so I don't get a jolt of caffeine to start my day.  I like to ease into it.  To eat my breakfast in peace.  To catch up on some blog reading.  Perhaps go for a run. (I used to be a runner, you know.  Two weeks ago, in fact.)  But this soccer camp carpool at 7:40 and this VBC departure at 8:15 is cramping my style. 

I just want an hour of peace and quiet, for Pete's sake!

Ugh, I can hardly stand myself.  Time to turn this cranky train around.

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

I got a call on Monday from a friend.  I can't say we're super close friends, since I usually only see her at Boy Scout functions.  I enjoy her to pieces, and wish we could have more time together, but she homeschools 8 kids.  Our schedules just don't match up well.

To illustrate why I love her:  When she was pregnant with baby #6, they needed to get a bigger car.   They hopped on Craig's List to find a reasonably priced vehicle big enough to fit their family.  They ended up buying a limo.  With flames on the side.  Puts my airport shuttle-mobile to shame. 

Anyway, this friend called me and said, "I am going to ask you to do a big favor for me." 

To summarize, from Thursday to Sunday, I have not six children, but nine.  In addition to my kids, I have her 4, 5, and 13 year olds while she and her husband go to DC to speak at a homeschool conference.

To give you another idea of how laid back she is (and how easy her kids are to take care of) the only requirement I gave her was, "Make sure they have shoes on."  (They rarely do in the summer.)  When she dropped them off with me, she said, "Look, they have shoes!  I don't know if they have clothes in their bags, but they have shoes.  They may be wearing the same clothes all four days.  I don't care."

She will be happy to know that they each have at least two changes of clothes.  And a pair of pajamas.

************** 6 ***********

As Monday's post showed, I have random twittery-type thoughts.  They come to me as I drive around town or as I stand in the shower.  None of them are long enough for a regular blog post, yet I feel I need to tell them to someone.  My mom has managed to get herself a busy life during retirement, so I can't count on her to always be available when I find myself to be hopelessly amusing.  So, at the urging of a certain thankful bloghop initiator friend, I got a Facebook page, though I have no idea what I'm doing.  I know I don't have "friends" on it.  It seems "liking" means the same thing.  It appears to "link up" with my "personal page", but I don't think people can get to it from my "fan page".   Also, if I "like" someone else's, does it do it as me or as my Chicken Coop persona?  For some reason, I have to go to my personal page to get to my Chicken Coop page.  Too. much. learning.

I have written one "update".  For some reason, the moment I have a place to put them, the hilarious random thoughts disappear. 

Let me know if you have any suggestions.  Or funny things I can steal and put on my page.

The "quotes" mean, "This is proper lingo, right?" 

************* 7 ***************

Tomorrow's 10 Things of Thankful Blog Hop will be just what I need to get out of this little funky funk I'm in.  You're welcome to come back and join in!! 

Please, go forth and read brighter posts.

Have a lovely day!

The Big Campout 2013

On Thursday, my kids finally got to celebrate the beginning of summer.  School had been over for a while, but soccer and dentist appointments and other commitments kept us from really relaxing.  They made up for it in spades.

Commence fort building. We have old barns galore, so finding a spot to set up was not difficult.  They grabbed things from the house, scavenged around the yard, and built their outdoor homes.  Water jugs, tablecloths, bricks and wood to make tables and shelves and walls, snacks, coloring books and crayons, flashlights, pocket knives.  They thought of everything.  And much to my surprise and pleasure, even hygiene.






Learning how to be a big kid.  I saw him maybe three times all day.

While I was working in the garden, I kept hearing a consistent pounding on wood and the little boys shouting, "Aye, aye, Captain!" (ala SpongeBob Squarepants theme song) over and over and over.  I later found out they were putting on a "trampoline" show.

They set up boards to bounce on and do some cool tricks.

They were choreographed and everything.

They even made stands for the audience.  (Turken was in the show.  He just sat down during my tour of the fort.)

FYI:  It is quite handy to have well-trained Boy Scouts when wanting to roast hot dogs for dinner.  Phoenix and Star had it going strong before I even got to the fire pit.

THIS.  This here is what summer is for.

 

While sitting near the fire, I was so overcome with the love my kids were showing for one another.  When people ask me why we have so many children, I just want to whip out photos like this.

Once the hot dogs were gone, the Scouts introduced the non-Scouts to a delicious little campfire treat.

Dad showed Buttercup how to core and fill apples with cinnamon sugar.

Wrap in foil and place on the edges of the fire.  Let cook for approximately 20 minutes.

Have a big, strong, he-man carefully take them out of the fire.

Ooohhh, what is it going to look like??

Once it cools a bit, dig in!

To end the day, the Scouts once again came to the rescue and set up the tents.  One for the big kids outside

and one for the little kids inside.

Miraculously, everyone actually slept the entire night in their tents, despite the fact that Giant is convinced a coyote was howling right outside their tent at 2:00am.

Over the days after the campout, I asked the kids some questions for you, in case your kids ever wanted to try their own campout.

First, the little boys. 

"Boys, what was your favorite part of the camp day?"

I think we all could have predicted that.

 

I asked the big kids what they would do differently next time, and they all agreed to plan activities for the day before the campout begins.  They spent plenty of time planning a menu for the day (even attempting to balance the junk with the healthy), but it seems they were too lax about deciding what to do all day.   (See?  A list, People!  Always prepare with a list!!!)

 

Back when I was young, we lived in a new neighborhood with only four houses on our street.  There were open fields, a creek behind our house, a bike path throughout the neighborhood, and woods very nearby.  We were loose all the live-long day, coming home only for meals.

 

It saddens me a bit that we don't live in the same kind of world anymore.  Kids who are left to roam free all day, every day are seen as having neglectful parents.  I'm so grateful to be able to live on a property out in the middle of 200 acres of corn, far from the road, where my kids can still be the kind of kids who get filthy dirty, scratch their knees all to pieces, get a few ticks, and avoid their mother all day long.  They can't do it every day, but they can do it.  

 

I love summer.

 

Have a lovely day!   



If Only I Was a Tweeter

For a while now, Kate and Stephanie have tried to lure me into getting on the Twitter bandwagon.  I have managed to avoid it thus far.  Unfortunately, my brain is getting in on the act.

My brain keeps thinking in tweets.  Something will happen, and my brain will immediately work on telling about it in a simple one or two sentence synopsis.  It even checks to make sure it's less than 140 characters. 

I am not, I repeat, NOT getting a Twitter account, no matter how much my brain nags me.  Instead, I shall put my non-tweets here. 

1.  I made my first blog button.  I think I'll sew it onto my shoulder-padded blue blazer, as neither should ever actually see the light of day. #IthinkIdiditwrong#U-G-L-Yyouaintgotnoalibi

2.  Anyone know how to discretely scratch the 10 bug bites lined up under the band of my underwear?  Reaching up under my skirt isn't working. #howdidthemosquitoesgetthere? #IswearIdidn'tmeantoflashyouOfficer 

3.  Our 19th wedding anniversary is next week.  My husband and son are celebrating by going on a dream vacation to Puerto Rico.  #Igottheshaft  #Ibettergetmorethanat-shirt

4.  My fingers look like I just plucked a mouse.  Will I ever remember to clean the lint screen BEFORE I put the wet clothes in the dryer? #wheredoeslintcomefromanyway? #yesIdoknowwhatapluckedmouselookslike

5.   FYI:  Slipping and falling on your butt in the baby pool of a fancy country club will not endear you to the trophy wives sitting on the pool deck. #savethebabies #ouch

6.  Whoever decided to put in mile markers every HALF mile never answered the question, "How much farther?" with "When the mile markers get to zero" #notcoolstateofIndiana #thenextoneis73.5 #thenextoneis73.0 #thenextoneis72.5#thenextoneis72.0 #thenextoneis71.5 #thenextoneis71.0...

7.  A helium balloon is like a gigolo.  It's loads of fun until the first time you release your grip and it flies away.  Or pops on the ceiling.  #notthebestsimileI'veevermade #Ihatewaitresseswhopassoutheliumballoons

8.  I am unhappy to report that I learned "bled like a stuck pig" is in fact an appropriate simile for someone who is bleeding profusely.  #raisingpigsisdumb

9.  After seeing the ads all over TV, I think the only dating site that hasn't been created is IneedtoregistereverytimeImove.com.  #soooogladI'mmarried

10.  Just played "Memory" with my 5yo to prove I still had some brain cells left.  I lost.  #allmyconversationsincludethewords"what'shisname?"


Glad I got that out of my system.  Maybe now I can go back to thinking in nice, long, over-wordy, parentheses-filled blog posts.

Have a lovely day!

10 Things of Thankful, Week 2

1.  I am thankful for kind blog friends.  Besides the fact you make me laugh, support me in the good and the bad, and simply just brighten my day, not one of you called me out on my incorrect spelling of "inaugural" (I spelled it something like inogarulle, but it seems spellcheck doesn't work in the title) in last week's thankful post.  (Don't bother going back to look.  I already changed it.) Are you all just that nice, or do you not know how to spell it, either?

2.  I am thankful for my perfectionist husband, who read the blog and alerted me to the misspelling.  If only he could have read it before Tuesday.

3.  I am thankful for my Betty Crocker cookbook.  That woman never lets me down.  I bought a big box of blueberries, which only two people in my house will eat.  However, in a Blueberry Streusel Muffin, all of the kids will devour them.

4. I am thankful for my umbrella.  Sunshine triggers Lupus flares.  An umbrella allows me to do a lot of the things I want to do, and some of the things I have to do.

parking duty during our home soccer tournament last weekend - This would be in the "have to do" category.

5.  I am thankful for bouquets, put together by a certain "free and a half" year old in order to surprise his daddy.

He got the vase out of the cupboard, filled it with water, and placed it on the table all by himself.

5.  I am thankful for healthy pigs.  Every time I go out to the pen, I get pigified.  (That would be a word I came up with to describe the state I am in when I come back from feeding/watering the pigs.  Basically, I am covered in mud.  Smears of it all over my legs from their snouts pushing me around in order to get their food.  Spots of it all over me from when they get their heads into the water stream while I fill their bowls, then shake their heads and send mud drops flying.  (Little tip: NEVER take your shower before feeding the pigs in the morning.))  When they were sick, I came back from feeding/watering sparkling clean.   

Plus, the tail don't lie.

Tightly coiled tail = healthy pig.

6.  I am thankful for our garden.  Besides the wonderfully yummy food it provides, it gives me hours of pleasure in time weeding.  I was out there for four hours on Thursday, and it was delightful.  (I'm not kidding.  I really do enjoy it.)

7.  I am thankful for the break from soccer and appointments.  Thursday is the first day so far that has felt like summer.  The van never left its spot in the driveway.  No place to go.  Nothing to do except enjoy some down time.

8.  I am thankful for spring temperatures.  After that long winter, we are experiencing a real spring with perfectly mild temperatures.  We have had the windows open for weeks now, and I love it.

9.  I am thankful for the library.  My kids love to read, so after a trip to the library, peace and quiet reigns for hours. 

10.  I am thankful for Star.   It's his birthday today!!!  He's the big 1-2.  Star has always been the wild card.  He's a boy of extremes, emotions written all over him, unless he is someplace other than home.  The entire world believes he is quiet and calm.  The entire world is WRONG!  Thankfully, he is also hilarious, in a very physical, Kramer from Seinfeld sort of way.  Lately, the boy has really started to mature.  The other day, I was emptying the dishwasher while all the kids were in the kitchen with me, finishing up their lunch.  With zero prompting from me, Star got up and began helping me.  That has never happened before.  Could it be he has actually been listening to me all these years when I have said, "When you see an adult working, your bum should be up and working, too"???

A little peek into their campout.  Post to come next week.

 

Well, Readers, it's your turn!  Link up your thankful lists so I can start reading about the good things in your lives.

Have a lovely day!

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Derecho

The kids were still asleep.  My breakfast was half-eaten when a sound intruded on the quiet around me.  I sat still for a minute, alert.  Within seconds, the weather went from cloudy and peaceful to uproarious.

I stood up and went to the window, where I saw trees bowed from the force of the wind. 

I couldn't help myself.  I wanted to know what it felt like.  I opened the door.

It's a very strange feeling, going from complete calm to complete chaos in one step.

For 20 minutes that wind howled, and just as abruptly as it began, it stopped.  Calm and peaceful reign once again.

Hubby called a bit later and asked if we had any bad weather.  The north side of Indy was pelted with up to 4 inches of rain.  We received next to none.

It was then that he told me of the rare derecho.  It must be rare, seeing as how I've lived in the Midwest almost my entire life and never heard of it.  (And spellcheck has currently underlined it.) In short, it is a "land hurricane", and there was a watch out for it in our neck of the fields.  Word is still out if that is what occurred, but I'm going to say, "No.  It wasn't."  (What, you didn't know I was a weather expert? (I'm not.))

Weather simply fascinates me.  I remember sitting in our garage when we were young, watching storms rage through the neighborhood.  I was mesmerized by the fierce lightening, the booms of thunder, and the steady splashing of the rain.

The adrenaline really gets rushing when the lightening hits right on top of you, so there is no warning when, a millisecond later, the thunder scares you right out of your seat, the vibrations of it all tearing through you.

But, the storm has passed.  The kids are outside playing.  It is the long-awaited "camp day" in which they spend the entire day in their forts.  They have drug all manner of supplies, including (most importantly) the first-ever box of Pop-tarts allowed in our house, out to their little dens. 

It should be a nice, calm day.

Have a lovely day, yourselves!

Just Another Moment in Which I Make My Kid Suffer for Your Enjoyment

At the grocery store on Wednesday, Star was in a silly mood. (which is most certainly a step up from the woe is me attitude he normally sports when having to endure the grocery store)  He took the bag which holds all of my reusable grocery bags and put it on his head like a hat, and wore it from the time we checked out until we got to the van.

Like this:

Cuckoo (and many other people) found it to be hilarious, so he put an extra, full-sized bag on his head in order to be like his big brother.

All was fun and giggles until we got to the van.

Cuckoo couldn't get his "hat" off.

.

He was screaming and hollering and getting a bit panicky, but as the big boys tried to help release him, I whisper yelled to them, "Take your time!   I have to get my phone out!"

And because the boys love their mama, (and they thought the whole situation was funny, too) they took their sweet time getting it off of him,

just so I could get some photos.

Have a lovely day!