Let us rise up and be thankful

"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." -Buddha
You know that tradition where you list off the things you are thankful for?
What? You expect such posts BEFORE the holiday,psh!
What do you take me for?
You must be new here.
Besides,it's much easier to think about the things you are thankful for on a belly full of carbs, a few hours of sleep and with photographic help.

I am thankful for friends who stop by in the small window of time we have before fam holiday chaos- to wish us happy thanksgiving-
and bring their daughter, to help me wake up mine.

I am thankful Rory has so many friends, so many kids this year who have played with her and
who she played so well with (90percent of the time?...it's a holiday thing let's be giving)
I am thankful for their parents who have been friends, or became friends- for playdates and crafts, and helping our kids have that friendship

I am thankful for my camera..even when it takes stupid pictures.
When Malik looked soo cute in Gramma Grapes arms


I am thankful for photoshop..
for brightening up this picture of Rory showing off her hair thing- just enough for me to see Jay in the background ,and laugh hysterically.

I am really thankful to have both my Grandparents this year.More than I can say.
I am not so thankful that I didn't get enough pics of them.grr.


I am thankful for my siblings.
My brother's humor.
baby sister's wit
and Lissy's support.
well,
all three are good for all three.If we could all tone down the sarcasm we would probably get along better,
but that wouldn't be near as fun.

I am also thankful for chunky baby thighs.
Lissy's arms are probably not so thankful..

I am thankful these two guys were able to come this year,
Missy's hubby and Mandy's baby D...
I am also thankful I wasn't the one getting the stink eye from him. for once.
Lil D marching his dad around the room like a body guard was about the cutest thing ever.


I am thankful for my clone of a daughter..
not so thankful she took up my eating habits on Thanksgiving and is giving me the "fine,I'll taste it" look.

I am thankful to have these people in my life.. even if I suck at taking pictures.
Do you know how irritating it is for someone to take your picture while you are eating?
I know, I am generally irritating- but I gotta give them some space.


Who isn't thankful for baby cheeks?

Nickolai is thankful for sweet potatoes... and relatives who give him LOADS of attention and food.
Best.Holiday.EVER.


I am thankful for squishy baby kisses

Nicko prefers open mouth slobbery kisses, with a hair pulling bonus,
Rory is not amused.

I am thankful another babe is on the way- and I will get to be aunty again, and smell newborn head
and then hand her back to her parents and sleep at night.Auntiness is awesome.
(Sorry for the eating pic Aaron..we are pretty much inlaws now, so I think I am contractually obligated to annoy you)

I am really thankful Alurra didn't make her appearance into the world right after thanksgiving dinner.
Amy has been having contractions - she isn't so thankful for that one




I am really thankful to have these people in my life ,too-
They crack me up.


I am thankful for pretty little Florida girls that accidentally wear matching outfits- and demand to wear sandals/flipflops with long sleeves. ..and fix their hair and pose when they notice I am taking their picture.


I am thankful for this boy(and his brother)'s spirit. They are crazy high energy but they are very entertaining.



and for Tristan who is painfully shy.
and Missy( who was also a sometimes painfully shy kid) of all people, trying to coax him out of his shell.


I am thankful for little girls that were too shy to hang out at 1st that are sad to have to hug goodbye.
I didn't get enough pics to encompass all I am thankful for from my family. I don't think I could ever list it all.I am blessed to have them all.

We ate some and had to head out to Momo's.


I am thankful for safe rides and not so scary holiday traffic.


I am thankful for strange people that get my sense of humor.

Like this guy, he gets it.
I am really thankful for this guy-who doesn't look half bad in sunglasses, too bad he left them at Momo's.

I am thankful for carbs, and car naps.


I am thankful to a little girl who should have been grumpy being a perfect angel instead.
I am thankful to have seen how happy BOTH Momo and Rory were to see each other. I am really thankful to get to see Momo. I am thankful she looked so good after that big scare.

Rory is thankful for lime green ,her new fave color.
and her two future husbands Asher and Damian - and her three future kids ,
she told everyone about, oh dear.

I am thankful for Rory's two Santa Grandads this year

I am thankful for rambunctious little boys that are still nice to Rory. (I can't believe how much they have grown!!)

I am immensely thankful for Ri's family- those pictured and those not-( this is his father,stepmother and stepsiblings)
I am thankful for height.lol.
and blondes.
I am thankful for hula girl dances


I am thankful for little boys named Conner..
a little one to play cars with Rory..
and a bigger one to show her how to fish.

They really caught a fish, too.I am thankful they threw it back....
and thankful Rory accepted that she needed a "huger" fish and accepted not being able to bring one home for Noobie like she wanted.
ick.

I am thankful for Ri's cousins who are beautiful ,funny, and have always made me feel welcome.
..and who I didn't get many pics of

and his Aunt Cindy .. Who did most the work- horrah for her!


I am thankful for WAY WAY overtired kids who can be entertained by an Iphone app.
..and to Kelsey for being able to handle them both.

I am thankful for pretty eyes- I swear all Ri's cousins have freakishly pretty eyes.




I am thankful that I got MOSTLY compliments about my hair. I am really thankful I haven't got near as hard a time from people as I prepared myself for.

(I am fully aware this pic is awkward, thanks)

I am thankful for Momo's hubby Who Rory thinks is AWESOME.
I am thankful that Rory was soo happy to see everyone.
She has soo much love.She hugged everyone ,and told me as we walked to the car " I love everyone"


I am thankful for BIG GIANT totebags full of leftovers.
I am thankful for quiet rides home and xmas lights!

I am NOT so thankful for the creepy ghetto place we stopped to get a drink with no ice ..
..but I am thankful for coming home for a nap- a really hard nap. And waking up to a soda WITH ice in the fridge.And thankful for the awesome hubby that did it.
I am thankful to Val for having cranberry sauce to complete Ri's leftover feast(seriously, no one had cran sauce this year?).
I am thankful for a fridge and freezer full of 100 different types of pie(and cheesecake).
Did I already mention I am thankful for pie?



I am REALLY thankful for the friends and fam we didn't get to see.I am thankful to all my net friends I never get to see.
All the people in the posts from the past few years.
All the kids Rory has played with , all the inlaws who treat me as their own(I guess they have to now after 10 yrs..but they pretty much always did) ,(hopefully we will get to do a late dinner with Ri's Mom and sisters sooon)
all the old friends, and new ,who have been there for us for good and bad this year.
I am thankful for the dog who is snoring in a turkey coma,thankful for my cat who is purring wickedly at the warm door- and even the stray that is laying with him.
I am thankful Ri is off today..because didn't do that sleep thing.

I am also thankful for hulu and playhouse disney online..
but that is another story

As much as I bitch and moan I have some awesome things to be thankful for.
I think the pie is getting to me. I am off of here before I get misty eyed.

PEACE AND TOFU TURKEY GREASE,
BABYHELLFIRE

The real menace about dealing with a five-year-old is that in no time at all you begin to sound like a five-year-old.

-- Jean Kerr

4-5 yr olds are hard.They are toddlers in one sense of the word- but technically they aren't.
I guess you could call Rory a preschooler- in the literal, she is PRE school age, way..

They are cute, they are caring, they are adorable, they are funny,they are fast learners,they are imaginative, they are playful-
but they are also DIFFICULT.
It's hard not to beat yourself up a little as a parent,when the only way to survive a day is in letting them wear a costume,

It's hard,When you fear every trip out could lead to a melt down..
when you feel like every time your beautiful sweet child is hungry, or tired, they are replaced with a fired breathing monster from the underworld..
When every "No" has to come with a detailed explanation about why you need to say no, and a warning of a time-out.
It's hard to remind yourself that it is just your child learning their boundaries, and/or being grumpy- and it is NOT you failing miserably at pretty much the only thing you do.parenting.

It's hard to keep from banging your head into the wall and join them on grumpy days, by acting yourself like a preschooler, at the 900th utterance of "why" or "whadyosay" in five minutes.

Don't get me wrong, I love this age,and I love my kid.
I love watching her play. I love her stories, her drawings,her songs, her dancing,her imagination, how fast she learns and watching her figure out new things every day...it's just hard.

-sigh-
I guess you can figure out Rory has been learning more and more about time out lately.
She has been doing some really cool other things. She spends most the day drawing- her drawings have become so detailed, she will sit down and look around her and draw everything around her- she is even figuring out scale ,drawing things behind her smaller..I still haven't got that concept!She has been SUPER sweet and cuddly-needy- too.

She even went with us to Val's and learned to play Monopoly..she probably would have won too, if she didn't get bored,but I am amazed she played for as long as she did. She would rather just run and play with Seth.

Saturday we went to Ri's freind/boss's house for dinner.Their son Asher really wanted to play with Rory again.
I have said before I think Asher is the boy version of Rory- they are soo freakishly alike.They way they act and talk is identical..Just replace littlestpetshop with cars



I don't know why Rory decided she had to wear her lei.. but it wasn't a full costume and at least I had already talked her into the pants..

We had a great time. Dinner was awesome. Rory LOVES Asher now, and now she isn't so sure she will marry Damian.Asher actually said "stick with me ,Rory"- oh dear!
I did have to remind Rory not to be soo bossy,but she was really good.
There was a bit of a melt down.. it was Asher, he was tired -the whole situation I have seen play out soo many times in reverse,and the way they handled it was OH sooo familiar, that even Rory's face showed. He apologized and Rory forgave him and they went back to playing like nothing happened.It was me that benefited most,to see that this age is hard for other parents.. to see that I am not a failure as a parent- through someone elses sweet funny little kid getting tired, and acting out
They are soo cute together, they were watching Peter Pan and sprinkling glitter pretending it was fairy dust-though we had to remind them not to actually try to fly.
Ri tried to help fix Jerry&Bobbie's computer but he couldn't figure out what was wrong with Itunes.(Which reminds me.. he needs to figure out what is wrong with out webcam since he installed Win7.)
We stopped at publix for basics and got Rory a box of oreos. She hula danced through the whole store.

I have spent the last few days cleaning.
I am feeling overwhelmed with the clutter. I keep trying to tame it, knowing I need to before the holidays- but it is just too much. I have cleaned everything - and it still feels cluttered and messy.Some days, I just want to throw everything away...
and I swear ,I spent Sunday conquering that laundry pile- damn ,if it didn't just magically reappear!

Speaking of holidays..
Am I getting ready for them? Only mentally. I haven't done anything much physically (beyond cleaning) to prep for them.
Thanksgiving,We are planning to go to GrammaGrape's only for a little bit- to visit my cousins- and then to Momo's where all Ri's cousins will be- with her health this year he really wants to be there.We have done this a few years now..
and yet everyone seems surprised, come Thanksgiving, that we are doing that instead of going to their dinner?
Maybe we will plan something else for our families/friends to get together after thanksgiving.
The truth of the matter is ,we see our siblings pretty often ,and few of our close relatives work if we want we can easily arrange dinner another time,right?
Our many scattered cousins and aging grandmothers are a different story,so we make the time for them on thanksgiving.(and xmas eve in my grams case).It seems reasonable in my head.

Some quick updates- since I am far from the topic I began this blog about:
The timid, people shy, gray kitten is still hanging around. Still shy. Ri calls it Lil'grey, Rory calls it Grace , and I have been calling it Bizzarro- or busy. I doubt any of those will ever stick when it perceives any noise we make as a threat.

Mom quit her job. I think she is applying a few places. Libby is doing the application shuffle ,too , now that Nicco is getting bigger and starting on solids.

Ri's mom popped in a few days ago to bring me a baby bike seat she found at a thrift store- (Rory is far too big for it, it is super cool tho , Lissy says Boo would LOVE it.) Ri's mom was on her way from nephew Jades school.. there is a ton of boring drama there.super fun stuff.I think they switched Jade's school.

Ri's freind stopped by to hang out and bring us frosties from wendy's the other night.. and brought with him MY freind . (Yes, I had to tease her about how it felt to eat the words " i don't date white guys"..only a little.)

I still haven't gotten into the swing of my other blog project on this laptop,and I need to :( .

Rory was going to bed at around midnight for at least a few short weeks-but I had still been going to bed way way late.
Aunt Flo came and tried to murder me with sleep deprivation and cramps-
last night Rory decided she stay up with me.. dressed as Snow White and driving me insane..


There's probably a ton more..but I am just procrastinating getting ready for thanksgiving.
.as if not getting ready will make it farther away.


Cross your fingers I can talk Rory into a wearing something other than her Sleeping Beauty costume..
PEACE AND TOFU CHICKEN GREASE,
BABYHELLFIRE

Of birthdays passed ,and birthdays ahead

Hi!

I was plunging into tv and social hibernation when I ended my last post..
I ended up with a sick kiddo, and then getting sick myself- again.
UGH. Didn't we JUST get over sick?
How is that fair?
It is probably partially my fault. That last flu made me feel invincible- like I saw all the sick kids we were hanging out with last week , I heard the coughs and the sniffly noses-
but I was like- "meh ,we already had that nasty flu going around,we'll be fine"
... at least this sick hasn't seemed AS terrible. Rory just got stuffy and sore throat. For a little bit I worried over the possibility it was an infection and not a cold-
until I woke up with it. I ran fevers tho.I always run fevers.
Fevers and sore throats=fatigue and fatigue means irritability .. Rory and I have had all out battles and arguments lately.

almost 5 yr olds are like miniature crooked lawyers... Every "no you may not" turns into either Her asking for clarification,
OR her making me argue my case.
NO.This isn't a discussion child- I have a sore throat too,but you cannot have ice cream for breakfast!
And you know better than to push your chair to the freezer and get it yourself when I said NO!
My head may implode. I am sure of it.

Otherwise, my week was spent being antisocial as planned- all while spreading the vastness of my internet fame

I am totally famous.. the five of you who read this just have no idea.



Rory is net famous ,too..
but everyone knows that.
NO.That still doesn't mean we need to walk to the store to get junkfood that matches her outfit- I don't care how cool it is outside, or how much change she has( that she stole out of the change bucket)....
seriously.

We did tackle counting that change bucket Thursday.
After a frightening trip out shopping- to get change rolls, and booze, and gifts for the parties we were going to Sunday. The trip included dragging a screaming child that was demanding a toy, out of Kmart.. she probably could have earned a toy if she behaved.
Instead.
it was Kmart.
change counting rolls-dubbed coin-tainers,
booze,
baby shower gift,
screaming child...
how delightfully white trash!
If only Ri dipped ,and one of us was barefoot.

Less change than we thought in there, Even though it was mostly quarters. Sad :( .
But we had fun looking at all the different quarters.

Thursday night, Harvey stopped in to buy Ri's old cellphone for Hether. We gave him another phone for him too. Ri was going to help him and see if we could save the pics from the memory of a broken phone of his- but we couldn't.
Chatted a little but he didn't stay long.


Sunday ...
There is something weird about the fact that I know more than half a dozen people- as close real life acquaintances- that share NOV 15( if we count 14th or 16th its MUCH more)- as their birthday.
We will only slightly mention the interesting (perhaps significant ) factoid that is it exactly 9mo and a day from Valentines Day...
and move on...
Cool tho, that two of them that we are REALLY close to are ALSO both expecting baby girls this winter.
Coincidences are fun.


Amy's baby shower/17th birthday party-

I ran fevers all day Saturday ,and probably shouldn't have been leaving the house..
I almost called mom to have her take Just Rory. but I woke up from a nyquil coma and got dressed none the less.-
Trying to avoid close contact with people as much as possible , while abusing Lissy's stash of hand sanitizer.

We were a bit late to the party.. Mom had to pick us up,
drive back and pick up Amy and Aaron, Pick up Amy's freind Taylor... and Drop off Aaron
all before arriving at Lissy's house.
Well.
it is Amy's party it fits she is the last to arrive..
tho slightly unfortunate since mom had all the food.

Lissy made the cake
and did and AMAZING JOB!


She based it on a basket cake picture she found! Which is even more amazing- She added the top and completely turned it into a bassinet. How cute is that?

Mom brought a bunch of stuff to make sammichs and that went over wonderfully- Everyone got a sandwich and there wasn't much leftover.
Rory pretty much only ate chips and crackers-

Amy and Taylor
-Amy looks thrilled.. huh..
Her and Lissy keep saying they are SURE she will have the baby way before her DEC 16th due date.
She has already dropped and all.
But, I am not convinced, sure its possible- but I wouldn't get my hopes up. It can suck for a long time when you feel "close".
Not being mean.. just that I learned that the hard way.

Rory played with Binky , built a castle and snacked

Binky was a little shy though


Lissy stole my cam and took lots of pictures

Mostly,
of me talking to my cuz and his wife
sisters do that.

I got a couple pics of Amy opening presents.. she got some reaallly cute stuff
For a winter baby Ri and I had scoured the baby section in search of baby sleeper jammies that we LOVED in Rory's first couple months...to no avail. We ended up getting her a pretty baby towel and wash clothes.
Everyone else managed to find her those sleeper dress jammies.
ha!

And Aunt Marla made her a handful of gorgeous nursing necklaces.. we tried to talk her into selling them online they are wonderful.
ETSY! Aunt Marla, DO you hear me?!

It was casual and quiet a few close family members and snacks. Amy got a lot of great stuff :)

Everyone piled out, Mom and Aunt Judy cleaned up..


the cake waited for everyone to leave to fall.
Rory and Binky were the only ones that wanted cake. I am pretty convinced Binky wasn't about to leave until she got to taste that cake.

Baby Nico fell asleep before most of us left. Lissy was worried about him waking up with everyone gone. She wanted me to stay - I probably could of and had Ri pick me up..

but I was feeling sick still- and I didn't want to spread my sick anymore.
Rory wasn't thrilled about going home..
and Ri ended up calling me to say he was going to go out with Kalani(who's bday is also Nov 15) and surf for a bit ,before coming home to go to Ben's party.

It was late- and I was sick running another fever, by the time Ri made it home. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to another party. I already felt racked with guilt about the thought of spreading my ick to my family-.. Now to spread it to friends. ugh. plus. it was sort of late and I didn't know how mature of a party it was, to bring Rory too-
But we called, Ben demanded I come sick, social anxiety, and all(oh.. snap, I forgot he totally reads my blog!)- and said his cuz Emily was there running around, and would LOVE to play with Rory again.
So.
I drank some nyquil and showered off my fever sweat and went.
BONFIRE!

Nothing says fall like bonfire- I need to find a place that sells vegan marshmallows.

Rory demanded we buy Ben a Green gift(she remembered it is he fav color)- so we bought a bottle of Jager ( we put in the freezer overnight)- he was thrilled :)

I snapped off a few random pics and handed my cam to Ben, he got pics of the crowd.. I should know most these people, and I vaguely knew most of them- as other peoples brothers or sisters ..look pics





I did recognize his cousin Jessica from school .. this is her bro and
and I know Bens Aunt and Wife and Mom

Aww the belly ! I am soo excited for them!




Rory chased Emily all over the yard they had a blast



And held the teeeny puppy.
Oh this was cool- they wrote happy birthday in 30 different languages on the ceiling



Ben even talked about framing this- can you spot Rory's name- she totally Hancocked it.

We came in and played barbies a bit while Ben's relatives watched what Emily called "the killing show"- also known as Dexter. There was some putnam county style drunken debauchery complete with myspace posing atop a hunting truck with shotguns- but it was pretty tame.lol

I think Ben had a good time ushering in his big three O with his closest friends .

Caffeine and carbs wasn't enough to keep Rory going all night tho she started to get a bit tired.
Got some goofy pics with Uncle Ben

Lol - she loves Uncle Ben



I even had a cool convo about my dreads- Ben had bragged about them to his friends even -huge blush-
I am still forever amazed people think/say positive things about my hair, I always anticipate the worse.

Crazy tired!

The red cups!Though, I must confess Ri's only contained water


Emily took these pics- of Ben and his buddy from orlando, perfect angle to catch the decorations
We said our goodbyes and headed out- Rory barely made it home before she fell asleep.


Grrr.
Something Is wrong with my net connection. blah. Of coarse it is when I am almost done with this post.
Monday I fear we were detoxing from the cold and the intake of caffeine... Rory the lawyer was in full swing and my voice wasn't strong enough to debate every issue. Lots of time outs were had.. by both of us. I even went to bed feeling guilty about my short temper :( .
Ri saved the evening coming home and making veggie loaf dinner and dealing with her for a bit.Rory even cleaned and dusted while he did it.

OH-
and it appears we have another cat. It is FAR from tame. A gorgeous little russian blue looking thing, only a bit smaller than Sweets. It seems to have followed him home from the woods. It follows Sweets everywhere but doesn't seem at all accustomed to humans. The neighbors black cat has stopped coming around stealing food though. I have started calling him Bizzarro Sweets. He has a tail two times the lenght of his body and is the opposite of sweets in his demeanor towards people- and cat like tendencies. I am not sure BaileySweets has ever really been around other cats. We weren't going to feed it at first but we decided we couldn't let it starve. It is still a kitten.. I hope we can get it a little more friendly and find it another home,we really do not need another cat.

I have had this huge plan to once again revamp Rory's room- make room to accommodate the upcoming xmas /birthday presents she will get and just find the floor.. I have been talking about it for weeks but haven't even started..
I should really get on that today.
So.
Happy Birthday to all
and to all a goodnight
PEACE AND TOFU CHICKEN GREASE
BABYHELLFIRE

--- OH-
Ps.
At Ben's party Rory was brushing a dolls hair with a toy fork- Like Ariel-
Ben's cousin racked her brain trying to remember what the bird had called that in The Little Mermaid.

...it's dinglehopper.
But. I cheated and googled it.that's just how I roll.