family
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving to you all! The United States celebrates Thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday of the month (which means we’re never certain when it is without a calendar), which happens to fall on November 28th this year.
I’ve read a lot about the troubling past of this holiday, and I’m super looking forward to Kate Messner‘s new series History Smashers, which starts with a tale about the Mayflower.
That said, Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to consider all the things we are grateful for. Gratitude is something we don’t seem to have enough of in this world, so here are my top five things I’m grateful for:
1. My family.
(These people are my rock. They are there for me in all the best and worst and mediocre-est moments of my life. I would be lost without them).
2. A book coming out next year.
(I don’t take this for granted at all. Getting a book published is tough. No matter what road you take. And heck, even writing one is a BIG DEAL! So much gratitude that I’m in a position I can both write them, and have the opportunity to have one published.)
3. My faith in God, and my beliefs.
(I don’t talk about this much here on my blog, but my beliefs are my compass. They give me direction, and I’m who I am because of them.)
4. My friends
(IRL ones, writing ones, social media ones, ALL OF YOU! Wish I had a big picture with you all in it, but I don’t. Sorry if you aren’t shown, I still love you and am grateful for you!)
5. Cookies.
(Whoever invented them, THANK YOU!)
Happy Thanksgiving! And please tell me what you are grateful for! I’d love to hear. 🙂
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comment| TAGS:
books, Cookies, family, friends, Religion, Thanksgiving2019 Summer Bucket List
The day after Labor Day. Whether school started earlier or not, this is pretty much the official day of the end of summer. Pools close. Weather starts to change (we hope!). Free weekends are a thing of the past.
But happily, memories live on, so it is time to report on our 2019 Johnson Family Summer Bucket List. To be honest, things have gotten a little out of hand. We used to make a list with the intention of finishing every last thing. Now we make a super long list with the idea that we can find something to do when we’re bored.
Personally, considering how long our list was, I’m impressed we got through so much! And because I like numbers, here you are.
Number of items on our bucket list: 70
Number of items checked off: 42
Percentage of the list complete: 60%
Even better than numbers are pictures, so here are a few highlights:
Monster Pizza!! This was our kick-off activity. So. Much. Pizza. We definitely want to do this again . . . when we can drag along a few more people!
Here’s a two-fer: Go to Oregon. Play on the beach. And really, this beach was the site of many bucket list fulfillments. Go for a walk. Go on a picnic. Roast marshmallows/make s’mores. Visit cousins. Seriously, the beach is my favorite.
We went to Lagoon.
We went to Canada.
We ran a family 5K (even if I only have a picture of two of us). And actually we ran TWO family 5Ks, so kudos to us!
But alas, we had a few items on the list I lament not getting to:
- Learn to make macaroons.
- Learn to make a curry dish.
- Fix the trampoline.
- Silent day!!! Okay, maybe the kids were glad about this one, but we’re even because we also missed . . .
- Hatchet throwing. (It could have been fun, I just have visions of a bad ending to that. o_o)
My favorite bucket list item was going to the beach (and we did that a lot). Girlie says her favorite was going to Canada (so shout out to Aunt Becca for making that happen!).
Anyway, the point is, we had an awesome summer, and I love that our kids love doing the bucket list. And who knows? Maybe we’ll keep pecking away at this list over the fall. That WOULD break the rules, but we Johnsons are known rule-breakers,* so it wouldn’t really be a shock, would it?
Tell me about your summer! What was your favorite thing you did this summer?
*hahaha! This is a lie, we are ridiculous rule-followers, and when I DO break a rule or two, my kids are horrified. HORRIFIED.
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comment| TAGS:
5K, beach, Canada, family, Monster Pizza, Oregon, Summer bucket listA Day in the Life: Weekend Vacation
This past weekend, I took my family on a mini-vacation. Okay. I thought it would be a vacation, but that’s not exactly how it turned out. Here’s a summary of what took place:
8:00 AM
Pack, pack, pack.
Remember email I forgot to send.
Write email . . . Oh, look at the pretty Twitter . . .
11:00 AM
Drag myself away from the computer.
ME: “Shoes on everyone! Go to the bathroom! Move! Move! Move!”
CHILD: “But I don’t have to go to the bathroom! I WON’T GO TO THE BATHROOM!”
ME: “Just do it! . . .” Blah, blah, blah, channeling my parents, etc.
Buckle all kids in the car.
ME: “Wait! I forgot the camera, let me just run in and grab it.” Oh, dishes in the sink . . . can’t leave dirty dishes . . .
12:00 PM
Drive off.
12:10 PM
CHILD: How long have we been driving now?
12:11 PM
CHILD: How long have we been driving now?
12:11:30 PM
CHILD: How long have we been driving now?
ME: ASK THAT QUESTION ONE MORE TIME AND I’LL TURN OFF THE MOVIE!!!
1:00 PM
CHILD: “I have to go to the bathroom, and I can’t wait!”
Grumble, grumble, lecture.
1:05 PM
Stop at gas station. Make sure EVERYONE goes to the bathroom.
1:30 PM
3rd CHILD: “I have to go poopy!”
Sigh.
4:30 PM
Pull in to Hotel parking lot.
HUSBAND: “This is where we’re staying?
4:45 PM
CHILDREN: “I’m bored! Can we turn on the TV?”
“No!”
Game of tag begins over bed, through bathroom, under my feet.
Uncontrolled laughter.
High-pitched screeching.
4:50 PM
Turn on the television.
9:30 PM
Climb into bed.
10:00 PM
THUMP!
Climb out of bed, put 2nd child back in bed.
Get back in bed.
10:15 PM
THUMP! THUMP!
Climb out of bed, put 2 children back in bed.
10:30 PM
THUMP!
2nd child gets back in bed on his own. On the wrong side.
Lays back . . . THUMP . . .
2nd CHILD: “Owww!”
Climb out of bed, put child back in bed.
11:00 PM
3rd child climbs into our bed.
11:30 PM
Wake up to an elbow in the head.
12:00 AM
Wake up to find child sleeping on husband’s head.
3:31 AM
Stare at clock and wonder why I can’t sleep!
3:32 AM
Feel springs poking me and remember why.
3:33 AM
Decide there is no way we are staying the second night.
6:30 AM
CHILD: “WAKE UP! IT’S MORNING TIME!”
Breakfast.
Park
Lunch.
2:00 PM
Decide to try local amusement park before getting an early start home.
Purchase tickets online. Non-refundable.
Pull onto road for the 2 minute drive and discover that everyone else in the whole town made the same decision.
“I’m bored!”
“I’m bored!”
“This is no fun!”
4:30 PM
Arrive at amusement park.
Fight through crowds.
Ride rides.
7:00 PM
Christmas parade
8:00 PM
Get in line for bus back to parking lot
9:00 PM
Arrive in parking lot.
Drive home
10:30 PM
Stop for gas. Potty break.
11:00 PM
Pull over to side of road for potty break.
11:30 PM
“Help! Dad, help! My stomach hurts!”
Pass back a plastic bag.
12:30 AM
Arrive home, send kids up to bed.
12:31 AM
Go inside.
ME: “What is that awful smell?”
12:32 AM
Head upstairs. Discover trail of puke up stairs toward my room.
1:00 AM
Finish cleaning puke. Vow to buy a carpet cleaner.
Vow to reconsider next vacation.
Tuck children into bed.
2nd CHILD: “Mom, this was the best day ever.”
Vow to reconsider reconsidering next vacation.
So how was your weekend?
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13 comments| TAGS:
email, family, puke, twitter, vacationHappy Thanksgiving!
Life has been good to me, and I have much to be thankful for:
- Parents, in-laws, and siblings who love and support me.
- A husband who encourages my writing and believes in me.
- Children who still give hugs and kisses, and who still want mine.
- Friends who worry about me and love me despite my perpetual absentmindedness.
- Blogger friends who give amazing advice and who read my rantings.
Thank you to all of you! You know who you are and what you do. My life would be meaningless without you.
A quick P.S. . . . I’ll be out the next two weeks (minus Talli Roland’s Web Splash on Dec. 1!) working on revisions, but happy holidays to all of you! See you soon. 🙂
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18 comments| TAGS:
bloggers, family, friends, ThanksgivingThank you!
I wanted to thank everyone who weighed in on Friday’s post. So many good comments (and reminders)! Here is what I got out of it:
- Some of those balls are rubber and will be okay if I drop them. Still, some of those ARE glass, and I need to be extra careful with them . . . family and husband being good examples.
- Schedule my time. In the past I have done this, but lately (the last few years or so!) I’ve let it slip. I think it’s time to go back to the dark side of my OCD. Just a little. 😉
- I’m not alone. So maybe, just maybe, I’m not the mess I fear I am. I’m just human.
- Breathe and wear a helmet. I’ll get through.
Where’s your happy thought?
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15 comments| TAGS:
family, fire balls, happy thought, husbandOn Juggling
I’ve always been a bit of a sloppy juggler . . . rushing to catch the ball that’s about the shatter against the floor (oh yeah, the balls are glass, I’m just sure of it).
- My writing . . . oof! Phew, got 100 words in.
- My family . . . oh no! We’ve got 2 minutes to get to soccer, let’s move it people!
- My work . . . my deadline’s tomorrow?
- My husband . . . you don’t mind if we talk about my book on our date, do you?
- My blog . . . uh . . . I had an idea . . .
- My co-op preschool . . . It can’t be my week to teach already, can it?
- My friends . . . Wait, what are their names again?
- My exercise . . . I could just skip today, right? Surely the scale was wrong. Again.
- My cleaning . . . Do I really need to vacuum today?
- My laundry . . . I still have one more clean shirt, right? Oh wait, that was yesterday. . .
Anyway, you get the idea. So many balls, so hard to keep them all in the air.
What are your secrets for not dropping the ball? And seriously here . . .