Today, the older two boys went to the movie with Grandma (my MIL) and Gabe and I spent the time reading, playing Ms. Pacman, and painting. I showed Gabe how to make mirror image paintings. These are the mirror image paintings I did (all clickable for bigger viewing)...
To my dad, Major Owen Joseph O'Donnell III; my FIL, Command Sergeant Major Sigifredo Cruz- Vega; my grandpa, Lt. Colonel Martin Iverson; and all other men and women who have served with bravery and honor...Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you gave to this country.
Dad...enjoy the day. Grandpa and Sig...I miss you with all my heart.
Freedom Is Not Free
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze
A young Marine saluted it, and then
He stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought, how many men like him
Had fallen through the years?
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many Pilots' planes shot down?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, Freedom is not free.
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen"
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
at the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, Freedom isn't free!!
Copyright 1981 by Cadet Maj. Kelly Strong, USAF ROTC
Mr. Strong went on to a career in the Coast Guard and retired at the rank of Commander
Those damned blue men from the Twilight Zone have been slacking off again. I have a book that is due at the library on Friday and I can't find it anywhere. I know where I saw it last and it isn't there...grrrrrr. I'm also missing a book I picked up on the same day I lost the book that is due. Really, I do keep track of these things. I promise I don't lose books on a regular basis.
I can truly say I grew up right alongside Sesame Street. It was born on November 10th, 1969 and I made my entrance less than a month later. My mom said one of my first words was cookie thanks to the influence of that great big blue cookie monster. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Sesame Street.
GMA did a great birthday party for Sesame Street yesterday and you should take a minute to watch this interview with Carl Spinney, the man behind both Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch.
I told you about my all time favorite Sesame Street sketch (the one with Robin Williams and the shoes) a while back. Today, I want to share a few of my old time classic favorites...
Rubber Ducky
and C is for Cookie
When the new season debuts today, none other than Mrs. Obama will be helping them celebrate. I hope you take a moment to join them. I have my Tivo primed and ready to record.
Share some of your Sesame Street memories with us. You can find all the YouTube videos here.
On Saturday, I saw my oldest son truly happy and relaxed. He was practically pinging with excitement when they came back from their plane ride. It wasn't until I saw him that relaxed and happy and excited that I realized how much stress and tension he had been operating under. Pulling him out of school and homeschooling him was one of the best decisions I ever made.
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Check out my new article over on Examiner.com You can learn to make quick and easy napkin rings for Thanksgiving.
Shout Out Sunday is a week old meme started by Melissa over at Full Circle (and I found it thanks to Lori at Weebles Wobblog). The purpose of Shout Out Sunday is to
Choose a blog that has moved you. A daily must read. One you stalk. One that makes you laugh, cry or scream at the monitor. A new one you would like to give exposure to. Someone you would like to introduce to your readers and send a warm fuzzy while you're at it.I want to introduce all of you to my sister by another mister, my darling thugette, Kym of I'm a Smart One. Kym is a phenomenal mom, a brilliant blogger, and is married to a sexy hunk of a man who bakes BIG ONES. I know some of my readers have found Kym because she is quite a presence in the Adoption, Loss, and Infertility community but, if you haven't found her, get your ass over there. You don't know what you are missing.
Lady Nunn of the infamous Preemie Presents is in a very scary place right now. She has just found out she is pregnant and, with her history (3 losses and one very premature baby), she is terrified. Please head over to her new blog, Nunn The Wiser, and offer her your love, support, and understanding. It would mean a lot to me.
*Y'all ROCK! Thank you so much for offering her your love and support. If you haven't headed over there yet, please take a moment to do so.
Later today, my boys and I are heading down to my parents' house. A group of local pilots down there get together and give kids free rides every couple of months. They only let kids between the ages of 7 and 18 go up in the air so Gabe will have to be content looking at all the cool planes. I hope they have as much fun as they think they will have. See y'all when we get back.
After we were done with homeschooling this morning, Marty, Gabe, and I headed over to my MIL's house to go shopping at the Store of Mom. See, over the years, my MIL has had many careers and had a serious addiction to many crafts. She has designed and sewn haute couture gowns (including one a wife of an NC Governor). She has baked cakes professionally. And, she has quilted, crocheted, cross stitched, and knitted. She has more supplies for all of these things than the average person would ever need. So, when I'm baking, especially when I need a specific size cake pan, I head on over to the Shop of Mom.
Joey's birthday is a week from this Sunday and his party will be a week from this Saturday (the 14th). I always let the kids pic what kind of cake they want for their party and, this year, he wants a pyramid cake. I told him I could do it but it would have to be a step pyramid. I just knew my MIL would have the sizes of pans I needed and I was right. She also had the full sheet cake pan I will need to make Gabe's Ms. Pacman cake 2 weeks after Joey's birthday. I am so lucky to have free access to all these baking tools.
I don't have to worry about party favors or crafts for Gabe's party because that's just a family affair. However, I need to come up with something for Joey's party. Anyone have any ideas for Egyptian themed crafts or party favors?
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Ooooh, I did a google search for Egyptian crafts and found two fabulous sites DLTK's Egyptian Crafts for Kids and a great page at ThinkQuest with Ancient Egyptian crafts. I will have about 6 kids plus mine. Which crafts do you think would be the biggest hit?
Since I originally forgot to mention Thanksgiving in my first post of November, I thought I'd make up for it with this post.
Things I'm Thankful for...
·I'm thankful my husband has a job in this tough economy (even though his schedule has SUCKED royally).
·I'm thankful for a husband who works his ass off so I can stay home with our kids.
·I'm thankful for a husband who does more than his fair share of the laundry and the dishes because he says I work hard enough taking care of the kids.
·I'm thankful Marty's health scare was just a scare and nothing permanent.
·I am so very thankful I was in the position to pull Marty from school and homeschool him. He is a completely different kid now - more relaxed, more happy, just all together better.
·I am thankful I connected with this online community. I've made friends I know will be around for a lifetime and I've received so much support over the years. I wouldn't wish infertility on anyone but I wouldn't give up my experience with it because that would mean giving up this community.
·I am thankful for my family's health. Sure we have our health issues but they are all manageable ones.
·I'm thankful for the opportunity to write for Examiner.com. It is so cool to have things I write being published by someone else. GO READ MY LATEST COLUMN, PLEASE!
·I'm thankful that I'm going to be able to connect with both sides of my family on or near to the Thanksgiving holiday.
·I'm thankful that despite the tough financial times I have been able to do giveaways and plot and plan surprises for my fellow bloggers (a big one will be revealed soon).
Even on the worst of days, I can always find something to be thankful for. What are you thankful for today?
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