Preparing Thanksgiving with 3 sets of helping hands

I love Thanksgiving, it's up in the top 3 of my favorite holidays!  I think the reason I love it so much is because of all the Thanksgivings that I remember growing up..I always wondered how we could always fit that many people in our house and how we always had more than enough food!

This year was a little different in that I was making the food with 3 little helpers all around, and I mean all around, in my arms, around my legs, sitting across the counter wanting to do the crafting project.  It was interesting, but as I sit here early on Thanksgiving morning, I can smell the stuffing in the over, I'm looking at the apple pie (still never looks as good as the ones that my Grandmother, Mom and Aunts made!), the table it set, the "Happy Thanksgiving" handcrafted banner is hung, and our Parade Bingo cards are ready to go!  Miracles do happen!

I miss Bryan terribly, especially when his favorite Pumpkin pie was baking in the oven.  The great thing is, that we get to do it all over again when he gets home!  During deployments we never let him miss the real cooking or celebrations of the holidays, so that is what he tells me that he is looking forward too!

As much as I hate not having our family all together, there is so much to be thankful for:
1.  I am thankful that even though Bryan can't be here, we have wonderful neighbors (friends, really) who will be celebrating the day with us!
2. I am very thankful for all of the wonderful Thanksgiving memories that I have, and they always make me smile.
3.  I am thankful for 3 amazing children, who are the center of my world.
4.  I am thankful for my family who is always there for me no matter what.
5  I am thankful for friends, from childhood, adulthood, and countless duty stations, who have come into my life. 

I could go on and on, but there is still some cooking to be done and 3 kids who need some breakfast before they start grabbing at the bags of butterhorns on the counter!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

I hate skipping holidays...

...but when an opportunity comes up sometimes you have to jump at it!

Tonight was an event called "Hometown Christmas" here in Leavenworth.  I know, we still have 6 days to Thanksgiving and I'm annoyed at the people who already have their Christmas lights on the house and lit!!  Now my reasons for going were simple, I like where we live and I really love our downtown area, so I felt like we should support all the people and their businesses, so off we went!

Rory of course was delighted with the "surprise" of going out to dinner to one of our favorite places, the Corner Pharmacy.  Yes, it is exactly what it says, the soda counter at the pharmacy!  It is actually the oldest soda fountain in all of Kansas, and more importantly I can feed 3 kids and me for $20, and that included beverages and a tip..beat that!

While we were there eating who should come barreling into the place, but Jolly Saint Nick!  Rory was delighted and confused all at the same time.  Where are the reindeer?  Why did he take their bells?  Where is the sleigh?  We haven't had Thanksgiving yet!  Of course she was still more than thrilled to pose for a picture wearing her Halloween shirt of course!  Now the boys, well, I think they are on the naughty list..not really of course.  Jack was either scared or annoyed because it looked like this guys was trying to take some of his dinner, and Brendan was amazed that Santa wore glasses too!

Further on in the meal we were greeted by carolers, and they were straight out the movie, A Christmas Carol.  It was fun, until they began to leave and Rory thought that she should go right along with them.

After dinner we went on the hunt for the horse drawn carriage ride..and hunted we did.  We found one of the stops, but it was going to be quite the wait, and of course Rory all of a sudden had to go to the bathroom!  Luckily the Senior Center right across the street was open, and weren't they absolutley delighted to see us!  Rory was the Queen for the moment and the boys were the Kings.  The senior ladies were scrambling to get to them first!  Brendan was doing a show of all of his different waves and kiss blowing talents, and Jack was delighting them with his knowledge of water bubblers and dancing in a circle until he was so dizzy he fell down!  By the time Rory got out of the bathroom everyone's attention was on the boys, so she had to announce herself once again.  How did she do this you ask, well lucky enough this Senior Center had a stage, so she marched right up and sang a Christmas song.  Well, one man came right up to her with her choice of 3 cookies, a bag of goodies and a cup of hot chocolate.  Excuse me!

After the word had come in that the carriage was on it's way to our stop, we piled back into the stroller said our Thank You's, posed for pictures, and made our way across the street to the carriage stop.

The boys were delighted with the horses and sitting like such big boys in the carriage, and Rory, well I swear she was a little annoyed that it wasn't the glass Cinderella carriage, but she loved it!

I know it was a great night, Rory told me so as we snuggled to read our bedtime story.  She said "That was the best surprise, and you are the best mom in the whole world!"  Now, I know that tomorrow I will be the worst mom ever, and if I wasn't then I guess I wouldn't be doing my job.

Tomorrow we have to jump back into Thanksgiving readiness!  Time to make the lists, count the plates and silverware and make the grocery list!  Although, tonight was a nice sneak peek into the Christmas Season to come....

November Challenge:
1. I am thankful that I didn't waste me kid free day today.
2. I am thankful that we had a wonderful almost-family night tonight!  (Rory points out to me all the time that it's just an almost-family since Daddy isn't here)
3.  I am thankful that I got to end my day by chatting with Bryan, nothing like being able to see his face and hear his voice to make the distance seem not so far.

A sign of a good day to come..

This was our view this morning as we dropped Rory off at daycare at 7am on this Wednesday morning...

The picture does not do this sunrise justice.  It was so beautiful.  I took it as a sign that this day was starting off magical and was only going to get better, or a little more realistically, maintain the magic of this moment.

I should explain that Wednesday and Thursday mornings in our house start very very very early.  I drop Rory off at daycare at her school so that I can be back home in time to get Brendan on his school bus.  It's a balancing act, and so far it is working out, but I lay my head on the pillow every Tuesday night a little fear that 5:15 is going to come a little too early.  Lately, the 5:15 wake up call has come with 3 little people in my bed, so my plans of getting ready before getting the kids up has only worked once!  You should always have a goal to work on, right?

All in all, it was a great day, it's the dinner hour that brings out all the drama...just ask my mom.  Tonight we had her in stitches as I trying to have a conversation with her and there was nothing but over the top drama echoing in the playroom.  I think the line that put my mother into a fit of laughter is when Rory was screaming and carrying on about some tiny minute scratch on her leg, blah blah blah blah, I can't walk, it hurts...so I told her to come in the kitchen so I could just cut it off.  Not only was my mother laughing, but Rory started laughing too, funny how the leg didn't hurt at all after that!

Well Thursday, I am waiting to see what you have in store for us!

November Challenge:
1. I am very thankful that Brendan had an A+ day at school wearing his glasses.  His teacher called to tell me that he didn't touch them once!  Looks like we've conquered this mountain, for the moment!
2.  I am thankful that Jack and I had some great Mommy-Jack time.  This kid can crack you up with a smile.
3.  I am thankful for the sunrise this morning.....helps me to remember not to take things for granted.
4.  I am thankful that I voted on Monday for contestants on Dancing with the Stars...gives me every right to complain about Brandy getting kicked off!  Seriously, Bristol Palin??  (Yes, this was a borderline thing to be grateful for, but hey, what do you want from me?)

The Joy of Monday nights..

We love Monday nights in our house for several reasons.  I love the fact that tonight the request for dinner was pancakes...excellent!!  I love breakfast for dinner, and I love that it's one pan to clean and one bowl, 3 happy kids and not a huge clean up!

The other reason we love Monday nights, Dancing with the Stars!  I think that the kids and I have earned that darn mirror ball trophy 20 times over...have you ever tried to dip 3 kids in a row?? 

I love seeing them doing their own little dances, and hearing their laughs...that's the way to end a day!

November Challenge:
1.  I am thankful that Rory requested pancakes for dinner..nothing to forget to thaw for that one!
2.  I am thankful that Brendan had a super amazing day wearing his glasses...I think we turned the corner on that one!
3.  On a funny note, I am so thankful that there was a brand new episode of Dora the Explorer on today!  Dora is a goddess in our house...she can stop a tantrum in 3 notes!

Random Thoughts..

This day was a reminder that the day will never go as you think....

I woke up with all 3 kiddos in bed with me, lots of elbows, knees and toes jabbing me through the night, so maybe I shouldn't have said that I "woke up".  I was awoken several times during the night, but the true calling that it was 6:30am was Jack grabbing my face and saying "Hi Mama.."  Who needs an alarm clock when you have that!

So we started our day and everyone was in a good mood!  Excellent, church should be a breeze....why I allow this thought to cross my mind is ridiculous.  Oh well, we tried it and we made it until the homily, which in Jack's defense was a line by line description of the financial report of the parish.  I think if give the opportunity I would have thrown my raisins too, but I'm sure I would have gotten a bill!  Anyway, we didn't even make it to communion, but what are you going to do....sorry God, catch you next weekend!

Luckily we made it home, had lunch and both Brendan and Jack went in for a good nap, which allowed Rory and I time to hang out and do our thing....which normal involves a craft, popcorn and a movie of some kind.

Later we had our own little concert..we rocked!  Thankfully for my crock pot, which I love and adore, dinner was ready and on the table at 5:15pm, no stress, no meltdowns.  I swear I don't know what I would do without that thing!

Anyway, it is Sunday night, the Pats game is on, Rory's backpack and lunch box are packed and ready for the morning, the boys diaper bag is ready to go, and clothes are all laid it.  Time to call it a night, settle into bed and turn on my latest addiction, Studio 60.

Since I've been slacking, or you know just too busy...

November Challenge:
1.  I am thankful for having some alone time with Rory this afternoon, she is quite an amazing little girl.  She cracks me up when she starts a conversation with "Mama, you know what I'm thinking about?"
2.  I am thankful for Skype and how it keeps us all connected to Bryan no matter how far away he is.  I love seeing the kids faces light up as soon as they see him.
3.  I am thankful that another week is upon us, and looking forward to what it holds.

What is a Veteran?

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".

"It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the
freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag."

Father Denis Edward O'Brien/USMC

10 years ago if someone had told me that I would be an Army Wife picking up and moving our home every 2 years, struggling to learn this new Army language of endless acronyms, enduring months upon months of deployments, birthing a child without my husband by my side, being a single mom more than I would like, I would have told you that you were nuts.  This is the girl who went away to college in West Virginia and after freshman year came right back home.  I never like being far from the comforts of home, of family and friends, and I still don't.

You can't help who you fall in love with.  There is that person out there who when you meet them, they make your heart skip a beat, the butterflies start flying in your stomach, and you just can't stop smiling.  That's what happened the very first time I met Bryan, and still happens every time I see him.

He was an officer in the Army just out of OBC (Officer Basic Course, I told you it was a whole new language).  We were both dating other people at the time, and please, he was in the Army, nothing I would ever involve myself with.  Funny how life laughs at you when you think you have it all figured out.

Bryan was an Officer in the Army, and I fell in love with him.  September 11 had just happened, and I don't think we all knew exactly what was going to happen.  I knew that he would be leaving for Kuwait on a regular 6 month rotation and then he would be back.  I didn't know that I would lose my job in Boston that I loved so much, I certainly didn't know that I would be offered a job in the city where Bryan was stationed in Columbus, GA, and I certainly didn't know that I would be moving down there without him there, and only knowing one other person.

Things happened, we were going to war and Bryan's brigade was first up on the deployment list.  I had no idea what is was to marry someone in the Army, I didn't know what it was going to be like to send my brand new husband off to war, and yet I knew I had to do it.  I loved him, he loved his career in the Army and we were one now.


Combat deployment number 4 is 25% complete, and each deployment it is harder for him to leave, and it's incredibly hard to say those final goodbyes before he gets on the plane.  It is painful, heart wrenching, but you don't let it show.  You know that the other person is dying on the inside too, but as soon as you both turn away and head in opposite directions you let the pain wash over you for 5 minutes, and then you pull it back together and start the countdown.


On this Veterans Day I pay homage to my husband and my best friend.  He gives up so much to do what he loves, for the country that he loves, and the family that he loves.  He is the veteran, and I am the wife who loves him.

3 years ago.....

Three years ago yesterday I thought the most memorable thing about Brendan being born was the story we would have to tell about how he was almost born in the front seat of new car!  We all know that story is sometimes forgotten in the real details of the day.

Three years and 2 days ago Bryan had spent all day on post at the gym getting his battery ready to deploy to Iraq.  They were all getting on the plane without him, but just for a little while.  The plan had been that Bryan would be able to stay with us until Brendan was born and we are able to get him home and set up with Early Intervention.  So we had about 2 weeks, or so we thought.

Brendan was already 4 days overdue when the contractions started just after midnight on November 6.  I toughed it out until about 2:30am when the contractions got to be about 5 minutes about for an hour, that's when I woke Bryan up, got Rory up and in the car and off we went to our friend Kate's to drop off Rory.

We got to the triage room in Labor & Delivery and they hooked me up to all the monitors, and we waited.  About 30 minutes later some little Dr. who couldn't have been more than 21, told me that my contractions needed to be stronger and more regular before they would admit me.  Mind you, this kid Dr. had never had a contraction in her life, and I doubt she even knew what a bad menstrual cramp felt like, but OK.

After they gave a shot to "take the edge off", whatever that meant, we went back home.  Bryan went back to bed and I hung out on the couch because I was horribly uncomfortable, and my Little Baby Cousin Tom was going to be on the Today Show with Ann Curry in Antarctica...couldn't miss that!  I kept dosing off and on for a few hours, and then around 10:30am I remember the contractions changed, they hurt so much I couldn't speak or think or move.  I got Bryan up and told him to get ready because this was it.

I tried to walk to the car but I could only make it a few steps at a time before the contraction would come back, and poor Bryan wanted to help but I screamed at him not to touch me..poor guy!  So we are finally in the car and on our way and now the contractions are coming every minute, or faster.  All I kept thinking was that once we get to the hospital all I needed was an epidural and everything would be fine.  Ha!

Bryan dropped me off at the door and some poor soldier with one arm in a sling held the wheelchair while Bryan helped me in as I'm having a contraction.  Next thing I knew the one armed man whisked me inside and down the hall the elevator...I knew he was thinking "No way I'm delivering this baby".  In no time we were through the doors of labor and delivery and into the first available room, and all I can really remember is a nurse calming saying "We need the next Dr. you can grab, she is delivering now"  I thought to myself "Surely she must be talking about some poor other woman, I just need an epidural and I'll be fine."  All of a sudden there were maybe 6 nurses and one midwife and me, and those words, "The next one and the baby will be out".  Oh dear God, Bryan isn't even in the room, and this is the only reason they let him stay off the plane, and he's going to miss the second birth of his kid!  Then the door opened, there was Bryan, and about 5 seconds later, there was Brendan.

The midwife had told me about 3 seconds after Bryan walked in that there was meconium and that the wouldn't stimulate the baby to breathe, and I have to say that about 2 weeks before Brendan was born I had told Bryan that I thought that would happen...hmmmm.  Anyway, so Brendan was born, I didn't hear him cry, and I didn't really worry about it.  Bryan left my side to go and see him,  and I remember asking if I could get my epidural now.

The moments after that are pretty much a blur, for a number of reasons.  The thing I do remember is I was able to look over at the warmer where Brendan was, and there were a lot of people around him and I couldn't really see him much.  I could see one foot, and it was blue, a purplish blue, not good.  Then I recall a team from the NICU coming in, and then leaving really quickly.  It took a few minutes to settle in that they had taken Brendan with them.  I sent Bryan and I said "Don't leave him". 

The midwife and two nurses stayed with me, I was never alone, and I had no idea what was going on.  Bryan and a NICU nurse came back, and I have no idea what they told me.  Bryan didn't look really worried, so I wasn't going to worry.  I knew that Brendan weighed in at almost 9 pounds, and that was it.

A little while later my perinatologist came in, and I knew the look on her face wasn't a good one.  She said she came up because she heard that I had delievered, and then she told me "I'm sorry, but it does look like there is something wrong with his heart.  They are going to MedFlight him to San Antonio.  I'll ask when you can go and see him."  The rest of the conversation doesn't even register, all I knew was I had to go and see him.

Bryan was with me, as was my friend Denita who had come straight over from yet another send off at the gym that morning for another Squadron.  We all went in together and I was so scared for what I was going to see, and even that couldn't have prepared me.  They wheeled me as close as they could to his bed, and then I had to have help to stand and walk over to him, and there were so many many many machines and tubes and wires and monitors.  He had heart monitors on his chest, he had IV lines in his umbilical cord, he had a tube in his mouth and his eyes were puffy and shut, and for as scared as I was it went away, because he was mine.  This was my son, whom I carried and prayed for for 9 long months, he was ours and I loved him, and I was his Mom and I was going to be strong and brave and I was going to make everyone do what they had to to make him OK.