And for this I am Thankful.

This Thanksgiving season, I am especially thankful for...

1. living in a country where you can go to the grocery store the night before Thanksgiving and there is still plenty. Only in America...
2. being able to sleep at night without the nagging fear for my family's life. Some people are not so lucky.
3. The most simple things... a warm home, clean water, a bed, the laughter of healthy children.
4. And the not so simple or easy things.... a set of parents who taught me faith. Being able to go to the church I love, freely. The opportunity to teach & encourage faith to my own young.
5. a rock star husband who took all of the kids away for hours so I could cook and clean in preparation for out of town guests.
6. a husband who, despite the occasional tiff, is on the same exact page with me when it comes to all of the big things in life -- politics, religion, parenting philosophy and health care decisions.
7. circles of friends I couldn't have imagined!
8. a family with which to love, and receive love from in return
9. the internet. let's face it, I love it - it's how I keep in touch with the world from the MOV.

Goodbye Kitty

The last of my Chicago kitties has passed on as of Friday. Unfortunately, it was Christian who found him and came up to tell me "mama, I have something very sad to tell you. I think BJ died. His eye is open and he's not moving, even when I called his name." Sure enough, our Blackjack was no more. :( Goodbye Kitty.

In the spirit of celebrating life, I will tell the short story of when we found him. It was Halloween 1992. My boyfriend Paul and I pulled in to my driveway to find my mother standing awkwardly in the backyard screaming something to my brother who was on his way to a soccer game. I got out of the car and she was asking somebody in a panic to go get the cat carrier. What on Earth was she doing? I thought something happened to my black cat Tiffani, but couldn't figure out the logic of what was happening, since Tiff was an indoor only cat. Why would she be outside? After the confusion settled, my mom explained to me that this cat was hurt, not ours (yet) and in our backyard needing help. She was going to take him to the vet.

I was on my way to work that day at the mall, so I told her to call me to let me know the scoop on the cat. Turns out he was an adult, black short haired male with a shattered pelvis. We suspected either he got hit by a car, or our animal-hater of a neighbor did something awful to hurt this cat.

We named Blackjack.... Blackjack, because he was black (duh) and we love Las Vegas. BJ stayed with us after his shattered pelvis surgery and my mom worried and worried that he would want to get outside after his recovery. The vet assured her that a cat who is being fed, will always come back! Against my mom's wishes I let Blackjack outside after his three week recovery. Not only had his condition drastically improved, but there was a shine to his coat and a gentle docile personality emerged. Of course he came back, and we appointed him and indoor cat from then on. I firmly believe that God has a list of "suckers" that he sends stray, hurt and abandoned animals to. Our family has got to be in the top 100 of that list.

When we found BJ it was 1992 and he was labeled an adult male then. We figure he was about 18 years old. BJ lived in Illinois with my family until I got married, when he came with Frank & I to Pennsylvania and then moved once more to Ohio. He's been with me through a husband, three kids and two moves. He's watched three other furry friends go before him and he's been a nurturing father figure to some other cats through the years that I've brought home and found new homes for. I will not miss his cat hair all over the house, his bellows from the basement when I FINALLY had some quiet time, or his vomit all over my storage room and basement carpet. However, he did stick with me through good times and bad. Rest in peace Blackjack. See you again someday old friend!

He's Hooked!

And not just on me! ;) I'm secretly thrilled that my husband has acquired a lust for the divine. Latte's, Mocha's, Whipped Cream - Oh My! Frank has admitted to me how he's completely hooked on foufy over expensive coffee. I know I know, they say that if you skip your Starbucks every day, you'd save hundreds. Don't worry - I'm not spending hundreds, or even close.

It all started when Shayla convinced me to meet her at Borders for a Peppermint Mocha Trio. That was two years ago, I was hooked after one. While I don't buy expensive coffee on a regular basis, I do treat myself once in a while. To that, and one hot quiet shower daily.

What are your guilty pleasures? What are the small little tokens of appreciation you reward yourself with?

Random Thoughts 11/18/08

I'd love to write, but nothing, and everything are coming to my mind. So with that, I'm sitting down to another cup of decaf tea and another limited edition candy cane creme Oreo cookie to blabber - something I have mastered the art of!

• We have a crawler. Yep, Tula is making her way around a room now all by herself. We really have to start watching where she's headed! She greeted me in her crib after nap time sitting up. Time to lower the crib - again.
• I still need to go through each child's bedroom and pack up the outgrown and out of season clothing. It stays warm here for so long, you never know when you're going to need shorts.
• Our receptionist retired, which leaves Frank to hire someone new, but he's choosing to do so in the Spring. I love filling the gaps here & there and working at the office, but it gets frustrating when you have a baby on a very good schedule and then you mess with that. Baby napping in a sling is not my preferred method.
• And on that note... I have never co-slept with this baby. That makes me a little sad, but a lot happy. In some respects I love to peek at a sleeping baby in the middle of the night and listen to them breathing next to me and smelling that baby sweetness, but I'm sleeping in a king sized bed all by myself and it is BLISS! I can stretch out, use a full length body pillow and get good sleep without a baby attached to my breast. This baby sleeps so well in her crib in her room, so I have yet to have a reason to co-sleep, but believe me when I say, if at any point it gets me MORE sleep, I won't hesitate. I'm waking up one time per night now, maybe twice if she's teething. The other night she slept from 8pm to 6:30am, nursed for 8 minutes or so and went back to sleep until 8:30am. Now that's what I'm talking about!
• I have been getting out with the girls (adult girls - not to be mistaken for daughter girls) and it feels amazing!!! *chorus of angels* Ahh, there is nothing like having a glass of wine or a margarita with the girls over good conversation and good food. Having a 7 month old on a predictable schedule and two fairly self-sufficient older kids affords me the pleasure. Now I just need some babysitters so that I can get some Frankie time too!
• I am so pleased with Christian's school. We had our first parent/teacher conference a couple weeks ago and got an excellent report from Mrs. S. Yea Christian! Christian is reading, writing his letters very very very nicely, writing sentences, counting by two's, five's, ten's, illustrating bible stories and a whole load of other cool things. Some of this stuff he's been doing for a while, but now he's perfected his skills!
• I joined facebook the other day and feel so cool that I have 125 friends in my network. I'm having a BLAST on that thing, being in touch with so many people from so many aspects of my life, but really...it's been interesting keeping up with....mmm... no, more like spying on my younger cousins away at college. I'm justifying my time spent there as a special kind of community service to my family.
• My son is a pack-rat and my husband is the opposite of a pack-rat. I'm remembering that my son has a project due tomorrow and I'm pretty positive Frank threw it away. Grrr.

(ten minutes later)

• I'm actually now ready to dump a cold bucket of ice cubes on Frank in his sleep. I found that when he was going through my "rubble pile" the other day that he disposed of some pretty important stuff. Now who's a garbage picker? OMG - I could scream!
• This cat of ours, Miles, he is a litterbox snob and will not poop where he's already pooped. It might be goodbye kitty soon. We did have him neutered, but now he's infected our healthy cats with his virus and now they all have runny eyes and runny noses. Ugh.
• Oh, one more thought... today my poor Tula tipped over in her swing twice! I'm not sure if my kids were the culprit, or she's just getting too heavy for it. Either way, I'm retiring the swing for another day... maybe for my brother....or some friends....or whatever.

Sweet dreams!

Thank A Veteran

Take the time today to thank a Veteran for their time served to maintain your freedom. Remember, freedom isn't free. Thanks Dad!

Veterans Day
By Taylor Weinman


Representing the red white and blue
The colors of our flag stand out proud and true.
The white stars on blue background with red and white stripes
Remind me of these veterans, who all risked their lives.
Just so the people of the U.S. could all live in peace and be free
These are the heroes that represent you and me.
They stood up strongly, untied as one,
And kept up the fighting until they were done.
And although some have fallen, and lost their lives in war,
We pray for each one of them.
And now that their souls live on forever more,
Above in God's hands.
They watch over our nation,
And give us strength to triumph over others with strong anticipation.
So every year, when this day comes by,
Think of all the veterans that while fighting, had to die.
And remember that they were people
With fire and passion embedded inside.
They die for this country,
So remember and honor them with pride

They Say It's Your Birthday

It's my birthday too!

So the story goes....

On a cold day in November on the outskirts of Chicago, a pregnant woman, 40 weeks along, was in labor. Her first child was due to be born on November 8th and it was just that day. As the laboring woman stayed within the safe boundaries of her home, she drew from her inner strength and prepared for a task with which she was unfamiliar, yet made to do. A ravenous craving for pecan sandies and a broken bag of water later, she headed to the hospital where her first child, a girl, would be born naturally 15 minutes after her arrival. This child was met with much anticipation, as she would be the first grandchild for two sets of grandparents. On Tuesday November 9th 1976 at 2:30am, not only was a child born, but so was a mother! Happy Birthday to us, Mom! Thanks for choosing life!

That was 32 years ago and this is now. My Mom tells me my birthday story each year and I hope to do the same for my kids, as their birth days have been so transformational to me.

I share a birthday with my friend Kelly from church and my friend Amy from mama*ology. Happy Birthday girls!

Deck The Halls, But Do It Later

Is it strange that today I did some random shopping at Wal-Mart wearing shorts and a t-shirt while the entire store was decked out in Christmas, including festive music pumping through the speakers? I hate this! Truth be told, I'm not crazy about the holidays and I think years of retail employment tainted my spirit. But come on people! Today is November 6th and this is NOT the first day I've seen and heard Christmas. This has been going on for at least a week or two already. I complain everywhere I go, even to store managers. Two weeks ago a Kohl's employee changed the music when I voiced my distaste - it wasn't even Halloween yet!

I completely understand the fact that retailers do this in hopes to boost holiday sales, but even this is wacky, because most of them have a 30 day return policy. I am not ready for this madness yet, it was just summer!

Gripe over.

In other news, our little sweetpea turned 7 months today. She is days away from crawling, rocking on hands & knees and scooting backward. Look out, we're in for it now! She's been enjoying a small variety of solid foods and is obviously truly ready for what she's been offered. She has cut her first two teeth as of a couple week ago, right in line with her siblings at the same ages. Valentina's personality blossoms, but be warned she is no wallflower! She lets her opinion be heard.

Post Election Thoughts

Well, it's cut & dry. We have a new president. Although he barely snuck by by the popular vote, he won by leaps & bounds when it came to the electoral votes. I'm still learning all of the nitty gritty on how this works exactly. I have heard people say that they never cared or understood politics until they became older. I guess that includes me too. This was the first year I voted in a presidential election, so now I have griping rights if I don't like what's to come.

The biggest kick I got was over my 6 year old. Kids nowadays are smart as whips! It started on Sunday when Christian & I went to see Sarah Palin in our home town. Crazy that she was right here!! We really enjoyed ourselves and I took the opportunity to explain a little of the basics to Christian.

The funniest though was what happened the next day. Monday after school, Christian and the neighbor were playing together with chalk on the driveway when Christian asks Cormac if he was voting (cute!). The rest went like this:

Cormac: Yep, I'm voting for Barack Obama

Christian: Mom, is that who we're voting for?

Me: Um... no.

Cormac: Well, Barack Obama is the best!

Christian: Hmmm

Cormac: Yeah well, John McCain is just another Bush!

These kids are SIX! I didn't have a fraction of a clue when I was six about anything politics-related.

Christian comes home from school the next day reporting that they had an election in school. John McCain won 6 to 4. He also reported: "Mom, that Barack Obama hangs out with some bad people." First I asked him where he heard that from and then I told him he should see what Cormac has to say about that.