This Is Your Last Day To Be Thankful

I'm kidding, of course.  It is the last day of November, but I hope we are all thankful every day.  I know it's an area where I could improve.

The last half of our thankful wall included:

16. Noah  (the world's most adorable nephew)
17. friends
18. drinks  (This one was the boy's, and it makes him seem like an alcoholic.  I think he meant drinks like Root Beer and iced tea.  I hope.)
19. freedom
20. God
21. love
22. Subway  (Our cat, not the restaurant... although I do love a spicy Italian sub.)
23. pj's
24. friends  (Yes, it's on the list twice.  Obviously someone wasn't paying attention.)
25. funny things
26. Jesus
27. The Holy Spirit  (We got all religious-y here at the end, didn't we?)
28. Autumn  (Dan/Daddy wrote this one, and I assume he meant he was thankful for me, not the season.)
29. Elijah  (OK... who didn't read Day #4?  Come on, people.)
30. April & Daniel  (I have the best brother and sis-in-law ever.)

In honor of being thankful, we traversed across the Southeast to eat a ridiculous amount of food and to spend time with all these folks we are thankful for.

In Alabama, we gathered with Dan/Daddy's family...

 

 

There were 20 of us there, but somehow I only have pictures of football and grandmothers.  How does this happen?

 

In South Carolina, there was more football, more food, and another grandmother...

 

Apparently, in this family, we love food, football, and grandmothers.  I think I need to get more aggressive with the picture taking.
I pray your Thanksgiving was full of people and things to be thankful for.

Reign In The Elves, I'm Trying To Be Thankful

Ready or not, the holiday season is upon us.
I was in a store last week, and the Christmas carols were blaring. I am a lover of all things Christmas, and I never feel like it gets here too fast. But OHMYWORD. Can we just put the brakes on a little?
One of my neighbors has a tree up and lights on her house. Meanwhile, at our porch, there's a drippy pumpkin.

I've been enjoying reading all the Facebook posts and blogs about what people are thankful for.
We have a chalkboard wall in the kitchen, and every November, we list our 30 Day of Thankful.

We all take turns writing, and it's fun to look down the wall and see who's thankful for what.
So far, we are thankful for:
1. food

2. grace

3. churchy answers... This is the boy's.  He wrote it in response to me telling him to stop giving me "churchy answers" when I ask him what he studied in Sunday School or Youth Group.  I say,
"What did y'all talk about?" 
He says,
"God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit."
He's a bit of a smarty pants, and I have no idea where he gets it from.

4. Elijah... That's mine.  I had to remind myself to be thankful for the smarty pants.

5. soccer

6. Democracy

7. technology

8. Jack Bauer... We're still deep in the throes of "24," and the world needs a Jack Bauer.  Or two.

9. lacrosse

10. family

11. Baba & Papa

12. Nana & Pops

13. Alabama football... Despite that sad sad loss to Texas A&M.

14. Krispy Kreme... Amen.

15.

I don't even know where to start on this.  On my turn - the next day - I added

16.

I'm going to need lots of it, apparently.

The November Post Where I Force You To Look At Beach Pictures

Fall is zooming on by.  I read a blog earlier today, and the blogger said she hates the word "busy."  I agree.  Everyone is busy, so I don't feel like it's fair to complain about it. 
My new word is "chaotic."  Life - for us - in the last 4 weeks has been "chaotic."  Full to the brim with running here and there and doing this and that. 
I have to scroll through my camera to actually remember what's happened.


We went to the beach with Dan/Daddy's parents for the boy's Fall Break.  The weather couldn't have been more beautiful.
The boy and I were photo-bombed...

I stepped on this...

 And I took lots of pictures of this face.  Even if it bugged him.

We took a weekend trip to see my brother, sis-in-law, and nephew... who treated us to the most exciting 4 year-old soccer game I have ever seen.
In the words of my nephew, he was "on FIRE."

 

 

In our "spare time," the boy finished a huge research project for one of his classes...

 

He presented his project wearing a swimsuit, goggles, and flippers.  Good thing we hadn't packed up the swimwear and accessories yet.

 

 

I would like to think life is going to slow down a little, but I realize I'm only lying to myself.  In case you haven't noticed, it's almost the middle of November. 

Happy Veteran's Day... and Football

Our favorite veteran is home today, and he has the day off.
I haven't seen him or the boy in a few hours... they headed out to play some soccer and football, so it's nice and quiet around the house.
Speaking of football, we spent most of the weekend in mourning over the Alabama football game.  College football is my favorite, and Saturday's game was no exception.  Except I wish Alabama had played better.
Congrats to Texas A&M... you guys were great.

Are you part of a big football rivalry?  What's your opinion of the "trash-talking" that goes on?
I grew up in a "football town," and my family has always been fans of a team that's part of a big rivalry. Is it just me, or do some people take it waaaaaay too seriously?  I love my favorite teams, but I do not love the nastiness.  On any side.

What happened to the love for the game?  When did it turn into
"I'm only happy when ________ loses!"

I have a friend who posted this to her Facebook page:

"Support what you love; don't bash what you don't."

Amen, sister. She's a fan of a rival team, by the way.  As a matter of fact, some of my favorite people are fans of the "other" teams. 

I'll get down from my soapbox, now.
Happy Veteran's Day to all those who have served bravely.  I am honored to call some of you my friends.
I hope your team won this weekend, and I hope you have a day off, too.

Decision Day Doughnuts and Bully Scientists

A day of no school makes me so happy.
Sadly, my bladder woke up at the normal time of 5:45 am, but I crawled right back under the covers and thanked Mitt and Obama for the extra sleep.

I tried to bribe the boy into going with me to vote by offering to stop for doughnuts.  It didn't work.  He was lounging around in his pjs and finishing up a big research project for school.

He's been working on this project for a while, and the scientist he's studying is Robert Ballard.  Mr. Ballard discovered the wreck of the Titanic in 1985.  He's a very accomplished man.  His awards and discoveries are plentiful, and this morning, the boy was listing them.  That's when I heard him yell,

"AGH!  Robert Ballard discovered EVERYTHING!  He is a bully scientist.  Hi... My name is Robert Ballard and I left nothing for anyone else to discover!"

I'm glad this project is due tomorrow. If Robert Ballard were running for President, the boy would probably not vote for him.  He's fascinated by his work, but he thinks Mr. Ballard is a genius bully.

So get out there and vote today, friends.





 

 

I did, and I noticed the stickers were very tiny.  Downright dinky. Whoever runs in 2016 needs to campaign for bigger stickers. 

I also ended up stopping for doughnuts anyway.  I may or may not have eaten 2 on the way home.



Welcome November

Halloween 2012 is in the history books, and as soon as the calendar hits November 1, I start stressing about the Christmas shopping I haven't done.
We are waking up from our sugar coma, and I am also stressing about the lack of chocolate in the boy's loot from last night.  I count on that chocolate to get me through to the New Year.  I blame the tight economy on all those Sweet Tarts.

The boy went as Tony Stark... a.k.a. "Iron Man."
"I am Iron Man."

 

 

In the Avengers movie, Tony describes himself as a "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."  All good things... minus the "playboy" part.  I am - after all - still Iron Man's momma.

I told the boy he should consider a real goatee one day when that facial hair hormone starts working correctly.  If an eyeliner beard and moustache look that good, imagine what real hair can do.

 

Go pick up the jack-o-lanterns and fake spiderwebs, friends.  Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and you haven't finished Christmas shopping.

Happy November!



Missing My Little Punkin'

We went to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend with our Youth Group from church.
I am the mom of a teenager, and that harsh reality really hits home at the pumpkin patch.
Small children are everywhere, and they are so stinking cute carrying those pumpkins around.
My friend, C, said
"I'm really missing my boys being little this year."
Ouch... I know exactly what she means.
Every year since the boy was a toddler, we've hit up the patch to pick a pumpkin.
I have pictures of him knee deep in bright orange pumpkins, riding in a hay wagon, and petting goats.
I knew it wouldn't last forever.

Little boys turn into big teenage boys.

Instead of climbing through pumpkin vines, the boy ran through the corn maze with his big teenage friends.
Instead of taking pictures, he zoomed all over the farm... acting like the goofy 13 year-old he is.
And instead of walking home with a pumpkin, he limped to the car.

He limped to the car because he was injured, and he was injured because he went with me through the "haunted woods."
You see... teenagers don't come to the Pumpkin Patch to sip cider; they come to go through "Scream Creek" in all its gory glory.
So because I am a  brave chaperone and a crazy woman, I went along.

The "Scream Creek" haunted woods were dark and scary on their own, and then all sorts of creepy things started happening.  We ran from werewolves, psychos with chainsaws, meat butchers, zombies, and a few clowns.  We tripped over roots, pushed through dark sheds with hanging body parts, and slid down a 75-foot slide.
I did it all... all while holding a death grip on the back of the boy's jacket.
He kept yelling,
"I can't breathe!  You're choking me!"
When I let go of his jacket, I held onto his arm until he wrenched it away and yelled,
"You're cutting off my circulation!!"

The worst part of the whole "trail" was a section winding through a corn field.  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a dark figure chasing us. 
Being the sane, calm person I am... I whispered to the boy (who was in front of me),
"There's something in the corn."
When he didn't panic to my standards or speed up, I screamed,
"THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE CORN!!"
Then I tried to run.
Being the graceful, agile person I am... I fell.  I took the boy down with me.
One of the other chaperones behind us tried to help, but he couldn't stop laughing.
We rolled around for a second until my adrenaline kicked in.  I stood up and grabbed the back of the boy's jacket, lifting him onto his feet with superhuman strength.
I suppose we looked like prey, because the black thing in the corn burst out of the corn right at us.
Let's just say I'm glad I went to the bathroom before we got there.
Let's also say my son may never forgive me.

No matter how many times I told myself, "It's not real," I couldn't stop jumping and screaming.

The rest of the trail is kind of a blur to me.  I let go of my wounded child, and I clutched the arm of my friend, C, for the remainder of our trip through Scream Creek.
I may or may not have pulled her into a wall at some point.

When we finished the trail, everyone had a great laugh at my expense... including the boy.
As much as he fussed and complained, I know he thought it was hysterical.
It was a blast.
Except for the bruises all down the left side of my body.

I do miss the boy being little.  It seems like I miss it more every day.  He has such a fun personality, and I have enjoyed all his "stages" of growing up.
He may be a teenager, but he let this momma hang onto him all through the haunted woods.  He laughed with me and at me, and he says I wasn't even embarrassing.
He's been telling people I was the scariest thing in the woods.
As much as I miss my little punkin', I wouldn't trade these bruises for the world.