The Thanksgiving Race

I forgot all about blogging this race we did. We had a whole slew of people and when I got to the race I saw people I knew from work also. I followed my good friend M to the race, speeding through some streets more than the speed limit! She had a full car with her Mom & Dad, D and her son, and I had my niece S. That was seven of us and we met my friend S there along with P who I knew would win something cause she is so fast.

It was cold and rainy but I think everyone enjoyed it. I ran with my friend S and visited the whole time. We at least met in the nice warm cafeteria of the school so we could warm up before and after the race. They had pizza which I was afraid would upset my stomach but D said it was great but couldn't get a second piece because it was gone already - it must of been good.

We had to wait around at the end for the prizes because of course D and P both won. They are lucky to be in different age groups. I will have to figure out if they will ever be in the same - I then would have to say D would be in big trouble. We were like the last ones to leave because the womens age group awards of course were the last and FORGOTTEN! Good thing all the women were hanging around waiting so the announcer said thanks to everyone for coming and all the women went running up - excuse me....

M did a great 5k run, she did not PR but they announced her as having won the 10k race. It was even in the paper and on the web that way. That is the way to do it, sign up for the 10k but run the 5k. They come in at the same time, same place so who would know. They didn't time us at the start so no way to tell.

We took a picture at the end but we had no one around (because we got out so late), my camera was in the car and so M took one picture and I took another. It was a nice run and I would do it again.

I don't think any of us PR'd, oh wait M's Mom & Dad might have. I did a very slow 35 minutes which is definitely was not my fastest or slowest. I did a nice jog with S so that was much more fun than trying to PR on this race. I will wait and PR when the weather is nice and less hills on the route.

I got home and K had started the turkey and the house smelled great. I started in on all the fixins and my parents showed up and the day was in full swing. It was a great Thanksgiving.
I really enjoyed M's whole family coming over for desert and drinks in the evening. I think there was only twelve of them and we had thirteen in my family. I was surprised I didn't feel crowded in the house. Everyone got along and had a nice time (at least I hope).

Good Years - Bad Years

My daughter has no problems in school but my middle son struggles. I believe he had sleep deprivation from the time he was a baby until his surgery when he was 2 1/2 to remove his adnoids. He finally slept through the night shortly after his surgery. Anyway, his teacher this year is making it a bad year for school. We spend at least an hour a day on homework. We even had a number of sheets during the holiday weekend when he is only in third grade. Many other of the parents are having problems with this teacher also. It sure makes getting home from work SOOOOO enjoyable. I certainly don't blame it all on the teacher but I know he does better when the teacher is more organized and can handle rumbunchious (spelling???) boys. I know of at least three other children in this same class that are struggling - I guess I won't expect straight A's or even B's this year. I just hope he doesn't lose his enjoyment for school and his willingness to try his best. I am sure the teacher is doing the best she can but it just doesn't seem fair for the kids that aren't perfect!

Tonight I screemed at the top of my lungs at my son because he couldn't remember a story the teacher read to them last week. Of course it was probably Monday or Tuesday and we had the holiday in between. If he couldn't do the three pages of homework then the teacher WILL (and has) given 0's. I just don't want him to fail because of not remembering. I sent a note to school asking the teacher if we could borrow the book or get a copy if it was short enough. I got no reply. The night before he was supposed to finish a page but it referenced a map we did not have. I see tonight we have the map so at least we can finish this. I sent one page of homework to school and she wrote on it "paragraph" and gave it back. So does this mean he has to rewrite it with paragraphs or is this just a note for us for the future. I have no idea. I usually end up calling one of the other Mom's to see what she thinks the teacher really wants us to do. She sent home spelling words this week (always hand written) with the word equiptment. I can see having a typo but.... Again this is going to be a bad year!

little things

We were sitting down for dinner one night and my son S asks "Can you pass the Bustard?" He really meant mustard but we had passed him the butter just before. So now we pick on him, we will say Hey S, do you want some Bustard???. The other night I made croissants for dinner and again we were all sitting eating and S asked if he could have another casserole. I really lost it. S was so upset but it was so funny. These are the little things I am always saying I should right down to remember some day. When the kids are grown I will miss these little things.

Courteous and kind???

I went to three different stores today to get Thanksgiving stuff and a few other things we needed. I was really surprised how nice, patient, kind, and courteous everyone was. This includes the shoppers and the employees. I was thinking it was because I went early and people that were shopping weren't in as much of a rush as some folks that are stopping right after work. Usually we shop in the evening and it seems everyone is edgy and grumpy and rude.

I was very impressed with one cashier at Walmart that was so patient with an older women that seemed a little confused on how to pay with a credit card. I should of gotten her name and wrote to Walmart on her excellent customer service.

It is terrible that we are surprised these days when employees are patient and kind, and feel we need to reward them. It should be a norm but in this age it is the opposite. We tend to complain a lot more than we are to compliment.

One complaint for the day: I couldn't find the Cranberries because the store decided to move EVERY CAN to a display at the front of the store that NO ONE even walks by until you are LEAVING the store. OK - I got that off my chest.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

It is amazing how much time it takes getting everything ready for Thanksgiving. I guess I could buy the pies and rolls, then it wouldn't take me long at all. I really like homemade so I guess I'll have to spend the time. I am going to make six pies tomorrow. I will get as much ready tomorrow so I don't have to spend all Thursday doing it. So instead, I will spend all Wednesday. So I will do all this work to be eaten in less than an hour. So why did I volunteer to do it? As much as I don't like to cook, I think I like my own food better than others. So since I am volunteering I can be sure I make what I like, the way I like it. K might smoke the turkey and I love the taste that way. So as much work as it is to get the smoker out of the shed it turns out so moist it is worth the work.

I am running in a race in the morning and hope to stay warm, who's idea was this anyway! My parents will be in about the same time I will be getting home. I expect my brother to be over some time in the afternoon. We will play a little cards and have a little drink and lots of food. I am hoping our friends M&B and their family will come over in the evening for desert and drinks. I

I don't think Thanksgiving is really about the turkey but more about getting together with friends and family. I wish everyone a very happy Turkey day and don't forget black Friday!

You think you have it tough

My boss and good friend is having it much tougher than I ever could. Her husband has cancer and has been out of work for about two years. He works in the medical area and can't be around any germs. Their first attempts of beating it didn't work so he is now in Boston. Insurance only covers about 1/2 so they have signed over their 401's to pay the medical. That of course doesn't cover the travel expenses of gas and hotel and food. To top of this he hasn't had a paycheck in two years because they didn't have long term insurance. I don't have it, probably most people don't. It makes you think, maybe it would be a good idea. If it happened to my husband and had to choose 401 or his life - hum... There is no choice.

I think how tough I have it with headlice and stomach bug and then think of my friend, how lucky I am we are all healthy.

What a Week!

Our hamster died, our cat died, two kids have head lice again, my youngest is running a fever today and all three had coughs and runny noses. So, I cleaned up the hamster cage, made a grave stone, Berried the cat, shampooed the kids, did tons of laundry, gave the kids all medicine before bed, and fell into bed just after them. I am surprised I am still typing; even my fingers should be tired. I did manage to run with my friend D this weekend, change my bedroom around, took kids to the MOST, make homemade donuts, watched two movies, and help K try to finish the wood trim on the door. Did I tell you we are also getting our roof done? At least we aren't crazy enough to do that ourselves (ok we are, but we didn't!). My diet is shot to he.. but otherwise I think I am still in one piece and doing ok.

I've been tagged

I have been tagged by my friend M. I am such a novice on this and feel really terrible that even her Mom knows how to setup a link in her blog and I do not. But anyway, I will write about myself as M and her Mom have done.

1. Being a Mom is the greatest and I hope my kids feel they can talk to me about anything. I also hope to be able to say like M's Mom that they will feel I am their best friend.

2. Yes I am married. It does help being that I am trying to raise three children. We definitely have different personalities and that is good for a marriage and good for the kids to see and be used to. I sometimes forget to include K because I get to wrapped up with the kids. I often find myself talking about "BK" Before Kids. We had several years we were together before we had kids and life was a lot different. I would not change things at all and there are times we all get frustrated but I believe we are strong and having good friends that also have a good marriage that we sometimes go out without kids so we can remember we are still a couple.

3. I'm the "Man" as M and D call me. I usually say I can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. I don't even remember what commercial that was from. I can do many "manly" chores around the house and my best tools are my cordless drill and the circular saw and I really would love to have a compound miter saw.

4. The Baker in me. I can't cook - I admit it, seems like most everything I try to make turns out like Sh... but I can BAKE and unfortunately I love to eat what I bake. I love to try new recipes and change them at the same time. I love to bake for my friends so I don't have to eat it all myself.

5. Yes I work also. It sure makes it tough to do all the things I do at home but I don't know what I would do without it. I keeps my mind challenged and I get to work with some great people. Don't ask me how to do a crazy link on a blog but I can program a scanner for a very large company to receive their inventory - go figure!

6. Travel. I love to go places. I think I get really cabin fever in the winter because we go so long without going anywhere. Even going to Massena to visit the folks helps me. I guess that is why I like camping because it feels like getting away from home but still being comfortable in your own bed. I always want to go somewhere by spring time and it is hard to convince K that we "really" should go somewhere. I don't know why I am this way but it is just part of me.

7. Wow - 7. Yes I run with my crazy friends M & D. I used to run in high school and always felt it clears the mind and just makes you feel better overall. I thought how I would like to get back into and now that I've lost almost 60 pounds I can actually run up to 6 miles and not think it is a "Long" way to go. I am so happy to have friends both at home and work to help me keep going and not give up. 1/2 marathon here we come!

Ever have a pet funeral?

The first pet I lost was a cat and of course it was in the middle of winter and the ground was so frozen we couldn't dig a hole. I refuse to do like some crazy people and put it in my chest freezer so we took it to the vet and it cost us a fortune. All three of our fish died within days of each other but they just got flushed and the kids didn't make us have a funeral.

Well now Fuzzball has passed this life quietly onto better things. We dug a hole in the FRONT yard, a requested by my middle son. We also made a wood cross that said "RIP Here lies Fuzzball with his birth and death dates. I know my middle son is emotional and cried a bit a bed time but otherwise was pretty good about it - it was his pet after all. The other two didn't seem to care at all. My youngest just went back to playing the computer game after we told him. They did however all attend the funeral. How long before he wants a new pet?

I do have to admit I like the absence of animals to have to deal with when we go away on trips. Now we are only left with three cats. Two are 18 and one looks like skeleton with bones. I actually washed his feet the other day because he isn't washing himself anymore. It is really a tough decision to put them down or not. They've lived this long, what's a few more. I do not plan on getting any more when the two older ones goes. One is just enough and I don't think she will mind being an only child.

I guess this is the life of a mother.

The things we catch

I blame it on school. My kids have been healthy all summer. Two have had head lice and two have had the stomach virus going around. I feel sorry for my daughter who was the lucky one so far to have both. I am waiting for the stomach virus to go through the rest of the family as it did for my brother's family. Two different things already and it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. Can't wait for the rest of the year!

Fun Halloween

We had a nice time with friends and family. It sure makes it busy the way we do it, but I don't think I would change it. Maybe next year I can talk my niece into handing out candy since this year she trick-or-treated but didn't even wear a costume. I really don't like that. Seems like if you can go beg for candy you should at least look silly.

I posted our "team" picture but my hair was really pretty bad. I hope it doesn't look like that all the time and I just don't realize it. I hope it was that I was having a really bad day.