Thanksgiving

I'm sure it's the pregnancy hormones, but I'm driving along, listening to the radio on the way to work this morning and I am overcome with emotion.

We all have so many blessings in our lives that we (or at least I) take for granted on a daily basis.

I have two beautiful, happy, HEALTHY kids and another one on the way! So they may get sick sometimes or they may even really drive me nuts at times. At least they CAN drive me nuts, and they CAN get the flu or a cold without me worrying that I can't afford medication for them or that some small illness will have an adverse effect on some greater illness that they live with on a daily basis. They have toys and clothes and friends and 3 meals a day and a warm place to live and blankets to keep them warm while they sleep. They have the benefit of education; as much as that school drives me crazy at times, it is there and available for the taking. They will grow up in a country where they have choices and freedoms that we all take for granted on a daily basis.

So I have bills to pay, and it's hard sometimes. At least I have money to fix the washing machine when it breaks and go to the doctor when I feel bad. At least I have that worry of HOW the bills are going to get paid and not IF they will. I have been blessed this year to have been to my lowest low financially. (Yes, I said blessed.) I have been down to the point of wondering how I would buy groceries for my family. But somehow, the money always showed up, even if it was to the point that I REALLY needed it, it showed up before my family had to go without. And although I would like for them to grow up knowing that they won't get everything they ever want in life, I have enough money to get my kids what they "want" for the holidays without overspending and tuning them into spoiled brats. We don't have to depend on someone else to bring us food for our Thanksgiving dinner. I don't have to let my kids find out the "truth" about Santa Claus because I don't have the money for Christmas this year.

I have a loving family. This morning, I heard this song that always reminds me of my dad letting me "drive" his truck while sitting on his lap when I was a little kid. And in my overly hormonal state I thought, how many kids in this country and other places around the world never get that simple joy of spending special time with a parent that loves them more than anything? I have so many memories from when I was little of doing something special with my mom or dad or grandparents or aunts and uncles. I took that for granted for a long time. Because I come from a rather large extended family, it was hard to see that there were others that didn't have that love and support.

I have a loving and supporting husband who encourages me to go after whatever it is that I want in this life, even if he does try to tell me HOW to do it in the meantime! :) He is there for me and our kids in all the ways that count. He WANTS to have a big family and he WANTS to be involved and that is more than I can say for a lot of fathers out there. He worries when he's not getting enough work and it looks like he may not be able to provide the things he feels he needs to provide our family. He loves me and our kids unconditionally and he is the best father I could have ever asked for my kids. We don't have a perfect marriage or family, but it comes pretty dang close.

I've been down this year, financially, emotionally, physically. But always, at some of the most upsetting times, I have seen or heard about someone else whose situation was far worse than the situation I was in at the time. This year has made me appreciate so much more the people in my life and not take things for granted anymore. I have learned some hard lessons this year about life and friendship and when to let go and quit trying. And I have made new friends that I know will be around for a long time.

Matt & I delivered groceries for the church last Saturday. One of the last houses we went to, a mom came to the door and her 6 children were behind her. It was a decent house and a decent part of town and I don't know the woman's story at all. She answered the door and one of her kids asked her what we were handing her. She said "It's groceries for Thanksgiving." EVERY single one of those kids said thank you to us! EVERY one! I'm not even sure in the same situation that my own kids would have been as gracious, although I hope they would. They were in a situation where they were depending on someone else for Thanksgiving dinner, but they still had smiles on their faces and appeared to be a happy, loving family.

Indeed, it has been a trying year at the house of Hodge, but you have to go through the storms to see the rainbow; right? Things are looking up. The sun is shining. I hope that everyone goes through some rough times because it makes you appreciate the good times more.

When you kiss your kids goodnight, think about how blessed you are that they are well and warm and happy. Think for a minute about the families that don't have cable or internet, or heat or hot water, by happenstance, not by choice. If you don't have kids, then the next time you go shopping for yourself, think about the people who can't afford new clothes and are embarassed by the ones they have that are worn out and don't fit right.

Take time to smell the roses instead of dwelling on the dead plant!

Happy holidays from the hormonal pregnant lady!

Just rambling...winter plans

So it's getting colder outside. I hate it, but I love it! Almost time to start snuggling up with the kiddos in front of the fireplace! Can't wait!
Riley and I have major plans for Thanksgiving Break. We're going to be making Christmas Cards, Rice Krispy Treats and a gingerbread house! We are going to pull out the Christmas tree and decorate the house, and we're also going to be having a movie marathon with Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda and make up for all the snuggle time we've lost out on lately! I can't wait to snuggle in with my babies and watch some movies and maybe even steal a nap or two! I feel the need to spend lots of time with my babies before the baby gets here and I'm very excited to be off for three days during Thanksgiving Break and four days during Christmas Break.
For those of you who haven't heard, the baby is a boy! He'll be making his appearance around April 18th, 2009.
Oh yeah, and I've got about half my Christmas shopping for the kids DONE! Yea! And they will NOT be spoiled brats this year. I have a few gifts for each of them, but we are not spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars this year. They have so many toys already that they don't ever play with half of them.
Better get off here for now and go make dinner!

Alone

So Matt and Riley went to Kansas last night to go camping with friends. Yes, I was invited, but couldn't go per my doctor's orders due to the pregnancy issues.
I don't think I fell asleep til after 1am last night and then I woke up like every 30 minutes. I HATE being alone in my bedroom (at the back of the house) at night. Even with Laney asleep peacefully next to me. Even with the alarm set. Even with my pistol next to the bed. Even with half the lights in the house on. Even with my cell phone right next to me on my pillow. Every little noise wakes me up and I lay there and worry about what it was. Why did the new neighbor have to wait until the weekend my husband is gone to have late night company? Why does the motion detector light out front have to turn on every time the wind blows tonight?
I could get by on my own if I had to, but the nights would be absolute hell.
Laney and I have had a busy day. We left the house around 8am to go to the Czech Festival out in Yukon, my "home" town. We stayed there til around noon, came home, did about a bajillion loads of laundry. Then Laney went to visit G-pa for a few hours and I went out for sushi with my friend Keri. (Thank God, one pregnancy craving out of my system for a while!!) Now we are home and Laney is asleep on the couch. I got all my pillows and blankets and drug them out to the living room. I should be exhausted, but I don't think I could go to sleep right now if I tried. Maybe I'll find some movie I've already seen 25 times on cable. I may resort to a Benedryl so I can actually get some restful sleep tonight.
This poor baby...much more walking than I'm supposed to be doing right now at the Czech Festival this morning, his/her first taste of sushi, a mom that can't/won't sleep and another dose of Benedryl! What a day/night/weekend!
Here's to Matt and Riley coming home safely and quickly and life returning to normal by tomorrow afternoon. Yea!

Excited

So it's at that point in the year that I am really looking forward to the fall and winter. I can't wait for pumpkin carving (& eating!) as well as seeing if my own pumpkins in my garden come out this fall! Painting pumpkins with the kids and decorating the front porch for fall! Cooler weather! Watching Riley play soccer! Rainy days! OU Football! "Good" season for crab legs! Seeing how our fall vegetable garden does! Snuggling up with the kids on a cold night in front of the fireplace! Roasted marshmallows! Hot tea and hot chocolate! Snow days! Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! Christmas shopping for the kids! And this year as an added bonus, somewhere in the middle of all of this, we will hopefully find out if this new little bundle of joy is a boy or girl! I'm kind of hoping for a girl, just 'cause I have a name that I really like picked out already (I know, I know, my friends are all laughing hysterically at this point and saying I'll change my mind 500 times before she's born anyway!). But honestly, I don't care as long as it's a happy, healthy baby.
I'm hoping this fall will include lots of new memories with the kids and some fun times with friends, maybe some scrapbooking weekends and some sewing time for baby crafts.
Happy fall!

My Rant for the Week

OK, so yesterday Matt and I took the kids to the Oklahoma City Zoo. It was a beautiful day and we had a picnic and walked around for about 4 hours.

As we walked around, I realized 2 things:

1) People have NO respect for ANYTHING anymore! We were walking through the Oklahoma Trails, which is a really nice, newer exhibit. For most of the way, you are walking on a "boardwalk". People and their children were tossing their trash, empty pop bottles, etc. off the railing to the ground below like it was no big deal. COME ON PEOPLE! HOW FREAKIN' LAZY CAN YOU GET? THERE WERE TRASH CANS ALL OVER THE PLACE! This just goes to prove the point that you can't have anything new because it will soon be ruined!

2) I am SICK of seeing fat kids! I don't mean kids that are a little chubby or have a little body fat. I mean FAT kids. IT was DISGUSTING how many fat kids were out there yesterday. This one kid that was attempting to "play" on the playground couldn't even chase his sister around for more than like 10 seconds without stopping because he was completely out of breath! Another fat roly poly was drenched in sweat just from walking through the herpatarium. In my oh so humble opinion, this is just another form of child abuse! If your kid is so fat that he/she can't run for 10 seconds, it's time to make them step away from the Twinkies people!

In general, I think it's all Matt's fault. He's rubbing off on me after 8 years with his general dislike of people and their little annoying nuances. I can't wait to move to the country in Colorado and live away from people. I know I'll still have to deal with the public, but it won't be near as often as now, and I can only hope that in moving somewhere like Colorado, maybe the people will be somewhat different and possibly a little more respectful of their surroundings and the earth in general.

I know, I sound all gloom and doom today, but I'm really not. Just venting really. Get used to it if you're gonna read my blog, cause I'm sure there will be a lot more in the future. I find that with writing I can vent much easier.

Got to get off here for now so I can make Matt's birthday cake...35 years young today!