Thanksgiving Countdown, Day 3

Day 3 of my Thanksgiving countdown....

I have been blessed with super parents. They have been married for almost 28 years, which is almost like a record these days. When I was growing up, they sometimes annoyed me. Now, I realize that they were looking out for me. Never once did my parents tell me I couldn't do something. My dad is one of the most patient people I know. My mother is one of the most intelligent people I know. I love them very much and can't believe how lucky I am to have such great parents!

My daddy and me....a few years ago...

My mommy and me, at my sister's wedding a couple years ago

I Almost Forgot Tuesday!

So, in case you are anything like me (forgetful), it is Tuesday! That means it is time for me to be totally random. Yay!

**2 days for fall break is a total rip off! The kiddos got a whole week. Not fair!

**My hubby hates the Target commercial with that moon song in the background. He always mentions it. The commercial does not bother me, but his constant mention of it does.

**I spent 5 minutes debating which bag of frozen veggies to buy at the commissary this morning. One bag was .69, the other was .79. It was a big decision, people!

**I quite possibly need more excitement in my life.

**Why does postage keep going up at such astronomical rates? Oh, because the government is in charge of it....And they want to be in charge of medical care?!

**I might have accidentally backed into the hubby's vehicle yesterday afternoon...

**You know how on TV funerals, there is always some kooky thing happening? Like someone gets drunk and throws himself on the casket? Or someone accidentally tips the casket over? Well, it always makes the funeral way more interesting...I hope mine is interesting...and a long time from now...

**That might have been morbid.

**I think I'll dye my hair tonight.

**I had something fabulously random to say and have now forgotten it...believe I might be suffering from CRS (Can't Remember $hit...it comes with age or in my case children)

**My parents are featured in a video on YouTube!! Crazy! You can check it out here if you'd like to.

And that's about all the random I have for today. I'm off to watch NCIS...

The Lessons That Parents Teach

Parents are the ultimate teachers in life. When I was younger, my parents would take my sister and I on road trips. Obviously, my parents were crazy. (Just kidding....kind of....) My mom has always been a huge fan of old Southern plantation homes. As a result, most of our destinations had some sort of historical value to them. For instance, I've been to pretty much every plantation home in Natchez, Mississippi. I have also been to a fair number of Civil War battlefields. Once, they ventured so far away from home that we got to see Jefferson's Monticello. Anyhoo, you get my point. Vacations in my family were spent exploring historical locales. As a result of this, I learned to appreciate history and even enjoy visiting the places where history was made. (Doesn't mean that I didn't envy those kids who got to spend their vacay getting sunburned or breaking their legs on the ski slopes...)

Now that I have kids of my own, I love watching them learn new things. I love that they enjoy learning. Learning can be fun and kids sometimes don't even realize they are doing it. I have always wanted to take my kiddos to historical places and allow them to experience that chill that runs through you when you realize you are standing in the same place that history was made. The boys have both been to the USS Arizona Memorial (numerous times) and several other great places. (I love that the Army gives us such opportunities!) This weekend we took them out to Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace. It was pretty cool. We took a picnic lunch, then did a little tour around the area. The boys' favorite part was that they got to become Jr. Park Rangers...

Here they are with their "training manuals"

They also enjoyed seeing the spring where Lincoln probably took his first drink of water...



As we walked through the area, looking at the spring and the cabin in which Lincoln was born, Kacey cried because she was tired. It hit me while we were comforting her, that 200 years ago, in that same valley another mother was comforting her own baby. That baby grew into the man who held our nation together. It was a wonderful visit. And I thank my crazy parents for giving me a love for all places historic.

Better Late Than Never

I missed Random Thoughts Tuesday this week because I was extremely busy. My parental units were visiting and we were having a fabulous time visiting the Maker's Mark Distillery during the time I would have otherwise spent blogging. Sorry. In order to make up for it, I am blogging some random thoughts today. I figure that'll sort of make up for it since today starts with a T too.

**Today's my birthday. As the birthday girl, I will not be telling you my actual age. My favorite cousin put it very well...I'm celebrated my repeat 21st birthday :) Me likey...not only does it not disclose my actual age but it also gives me a fab excuse to get a little toasty...Thanks Ash!

**My boys are spending the week visiting grandparents in Arkansas. I kinda miss them a little bit.

**The parental units visited this week. They kept me quite busy. Monday, we went to the zoo and the museum here on post. Tuesday we went to Maker's Mark Distillery and ate at the Old Talbott's Tavern in Bardstown. They left Wednesday morning with my boys in tow. I'm exhausted.

**The hubby and I have made the difficult decision to switch Kacey to formula. I've been pumping since she was born and she's had nothing but breastmilk. However, we're going on a pretty long road trip next week, then I'm going back to school in August. We decided that it was best to make the switch now in order to avoid any major stress on her during the trip and starting in daycare. I'm sad about it, but I know it's best for her. Honestly, she doesn't really care now that I found a formula that she likes.

**My sister accused me of being "such a mom" the other day...I still haven't recovered...just because I told my kid to close the door because he was letting in flies and that we weren't paying to cool the whole world...

**I'm not exactly where I thought I would be in life at this point, but where I am is sooo much better than where I thought I would be!

**It's my birthday and I'm giving myself permission to cheat on all diet plans.

**My baby girl is awake so no more random for you!

Enjoy your Thursday :)

Tuesday Attacks Again

So, I just realized that it is Tuesday again! I missed a whole week of blogging and I know that you, my loyal readers (all 2 of you) are incredibly disappointed. Never fear! Tuesday is here and as usual, here is your weekly dose of my randomness (AKA OMG she really thinks of all that at once, she may be off her rocker)...

**I haven't slept for more than 4 maybe 5 hours in a row since last week sometime. And it's not because I have an infant. Need more sleep!

**We had a great 4th of July weekend! Thanks to the neighbors for inviting us over!

**The hubby had PRK (corrective eye surgery) yesterday and he has been asleep pretty much since then.

**We went to Fort Campbell for his surgery. I LOVED IT!!

**My boys love IHOP....so much that we ate at the one near Fort Campbell twice within 24 hours because there isn't one near here.

**Smiling at me while you blow through a 4-way stop when it was my turn does not make it any better. In fact, it pisses me off even more. I don't care if you are 5 decades older than me, wait your darn turn!

**My parental units are coming to visit one week from today. Color me excited!

**iCarly cracks me up....yes I know it is for tween girls, maybe I'm a tween at heart...

**I have consumed 1019 calories, 2 diet cokes with lime and 3 bottles of water today (in case you care).

**My precious middle child just informed me that he farted...nice, huh?!

**Those shorts I mentioned a couple weeks ago in RTT still need a button sewn on...I'm getting to it....really, I am....

**At the hotel's gym on Sunday night, I rode 6.5 miles on the bike and walked 2 miles on the treadmill...it was awesome and now I totally want to go to the gym here, just gotta work out the schedule with the hubby.

And I'm out. Hope you enjoyed your weekly dose of randomness! And I'll attempt to be better about blogging this week :)

Starch-less Potatoes

As I wrote my blog yesterday, I nearly forgot to include the potatoes in the recipe. When I realized my mistake, I fixed it and that got me to thinking about this dream I had last week. Before I share the dream, there are a few bits of background info you have to have:

1. My mother is a little nutty when it comes to food. She once made mashed celery root as an alternative to mashed potatoes because potatoes are starchy. She buys $6 applesauce because it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it and she's been known to make spinach brownies. All of this is only the tip of the iceberg.

2. I make weekly dinner menus for our family. (It makes grocery shopping easier in addition to actually making the meals. There's never a night when I go "Hmmm, what are we going to eat tonight?") Generally, potatoes are on the menu probably 4 nights every week. What?! We're a potato-lovin' family!

Ok, so here's the dream: My parental units came up to visit us. I had made the menu for the week and decided that it was a good idea to let my mom go along to the grocery store. I didn't have potatoes on my list because I already had some at home. We went through the store and had managed to get everything on the list without me losing mom in the store once (a MAJOR accomplishment, trust me). We were walking to the check-out and passed the produce department where my mom stops and announces that I have forgotten to get potatoes. "No mom," I say, "I have potatoes at home." She stomps her foot, looks at me like I've lost my mind and proceeds to inform me that the potatoes I have at home have starch in them and she will not allow me to feed her grandchildren such a horrible thing. She then tells me that I have to buy the starch-free potatoes. Then I woke up.

Ever since I had this dream, I've been a bit irritated that I woke up when I did, though. I wonder, did my mom actually find starch-free potatoes in the Wal-Mart in backwoods Kentucky?! If she did, I'm quite impressed because I can't even find regular potatoes that haven't begun to sprout eyes in that place!