wtf is an ad for THIS:

Doing before THIS movie?

This is a reprint from last Thanksgiving. A lot has changed in the last year, but this is the same.

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There’s no way I’m going to be as eloquent as this topic deserves, but this post has been rolling around for a while, and today is the right day to set it to words. Please bear with me here.

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I started reading blogs while I was pumping. It gave me something to focus on to pass the time of the at least two hours a day I spend listening to the WHIRR WHIRR WHIRR of the slightly quieter than a jet engine pump. People shake their heads in amazement that I can pump without losing my mind – I credit blogs with how I’ve kept my sanity the last 7 months. Reading you has kept me connected to the world when I would have rather spent all of our retirement on baby clothes and house stuff. You keep me distracted and keep my son breastfed. That’s a good gift.

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Blogging helped me accidentally find a friend I haven’t talked to in years. Not just any friend, but the daughter of my mom’s best friend from college. (I keep meaning to blog that story!)

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The first time I ever commented on Veronica’s blog it was answering her question about why people don’t support her choice to be a young mother. She’s *coughcough* years younger than me, and she’s the one who pointed out that babies aren’t supposed to eat strawberries. Um. Oops. She’s got her act together loads better than me almost every single day. Motherhood is about taking responsibility and making thoughtful choices, and she does it well. (and she’s getting ready to do it time TWO)

Reading Kami’s blog, and the waiting for Keaton, reinforced for me that I really do believe that family is about parents who love you, whatever the gender mix, and I think that little boy is the luckiest boy on the west coast this Thanksgiving Day. (I can’t believe that was a year ago.)

I loved this post about the Spanish Story Hour by the FruitFemme. She worked through a language challenge (I hate to call it a barrier) and connected with another mom, helping out when the mom needed help.

Audubon Ron can make me laugh and teach my heart and mind more about my faith all in the same week.

This kind of stuff opens my eyes and helps teach me a valuable lesson.

We’re all in this together.

I might think I’m some disenfranchised, cynical, misanthrope. But I’m not alone.

My point of view? Eh. It’s mine. I could cling to my point of view on some subjects and never try to see another way of thinking.

But why? Why cling to one thought?

Why not look farther? Why not look closer? Why not look for how we are similar? Why not see if your way might just be better than my way? Why not learn something new?

The more blogs I read, the more I learn that the world isn’t looking for my approval, I might not always understand, but if I try, I might just come close. And really, the more I learn, the more I see that it’s really not my place to understand, it’s my job not to judge.

And if I can see another’s point of view in a blog, then how about outside my house? In the line at the grocery store? How about in traffic, where every effing driver is clearly NOT as smart or skilled as me on the road?

So this Thanksgiving Day, as I’m thankful for a plate full of white comfort food, being mostly settled in a home, my husband, and the Kaiser, I am thankful for all of you. All of you from around the world who take time out of your life to share your story. By sharing your stories, you are making me a better person, and “thank you” just isn’t big enough for how grateful I am for all of you this year.

Now I have to go rescue Kaiser, he’s crawled under the exersaucer again.

I’m one of those people who can be very creative if I have firm boundaries. It’s probably why I’m in love with HGTVs Get Color and Find Your Style. Or I’m in love with Matt the handyman and Karen McAloon’s hair color.

When we bought our house, it was mostly builders flat finish beige, with a sick inducing green in a guest room, and another shade of sick inducing green in the master bath – that didn’t match the yellow/maize color in the master bedroom. The downstairs powder room? Cranberry with gold accents.

We knew we were going to pain the entire house, I just needed to get me some parameters. Just like FYS, I knew I needed to restrict my colors so I would know what I was working with.

Enter Sherwin Williams. I picked the Arts and Crafts palette and planned around that. The bonus of doing it this way is that I know that generally speaking the entire house flows well. I don’t have any color clashes, like two different colors of green that don’t match a yellow. I’ve also been able to use leftover wall paint to work on some furniture – still with the same assurance that thing will go together. As a bonus, since all my paint colors are on one card, I can carry it with me when I’m looking for fabrics or furniture for the house – and one card is way easier than a bunch of paint strips.

As much as I wanted to be anti white in the house, I’m completely infatuated with this color – White Hyacinth.

I put this in 2 bedrooms and the slightly darker Indian White in the hallway that wraps downstairs. They have a yellow tint so they are bright and keep the dark corners from being so dark.

Speaking of yellow, my mom and I are into the yellow kitchen. She prefers more of the lemonade and I prefer for less of a school bus look, so Hubbard Squash worked for me.

Went an entirely different way with the master suite (hm. that sounds pretentious) and went for Studio Blue Green and a gray.

I put a red in the dining room and as an accent in the kitchen and living room – but they didn’t have a decent sized paint chip online for me to be able to show you.

The only color I’m still not sure of, even a year later, is this one – Ruskin Room Green

it’s in the office and the powder room and I’m still not convinced it’s not a shade of baby poop green. On the upside, when I split it half and half with some White Hyacinth, I loved the color and used it on the shelves in Comfed Out Kaiser headquarters.

Deep question of the day – what’s more interesting – reading about paint colors or watching paint dry?

For the record – I’m not getting any dollars to post this – I *am* pimping out my friend Angie and her store because Scout and I did all the shopping for all 8 kids we needed to buy for in about 20 minutes and we got to do it sitting on our asses.

Step 1. Go to Good for the Kids

Step 2. Make a wishlist of everything that might work

Step 3. Show Scout my preselected list. Let him make final choices.

Why this is a win-win? I for sure like all the presents selected, they pass my Mommy/favorite Aunt criteria AND my Elementary/Early Childhood Education AND Speech Pathology and Audiology degrees are happy that I bought presents that are great learning tools AND I got to support a mom based business AND a bud! Scout gets to make quick choices from a limited selection and spend less than 20 dollars a piece on every present except for one. Leaves us more money and time to eat ice cream together.

Wanna see what I bought? Of course you do!

For 5 year old girl/boy twins:

Melissa and Doug Classic Do-Your-Own Piggy Bank Paint Craft

Melissa and Doug Mighty Builders Race Car Model

Melissa and Doug Sweet Hearts Wooden Bead Set

For 3 1/2 year old nephew:

Melissa and Doug Shape Sorting Clock

For almost 2 year old nephew – nicknamed Bam-Bam for some VERY good reasons:

Melissa and Doug First Play Soft Toy Toolbox Fill and Spill (Note the SOFT part of that description. That’s for everyone’s own good.)

For 18 month old niece – daughter of Forbes, the sibling with the silver spoon in his mouth while the rest of us had cheap plastic:

Melissa and Doug Sushi Slicing Box Play Food (it says for 3 years and up, but I figure she’ll have fun ripping apart the velcro now.)

For 1 year old niece:

Melissa and Doug Band in a Box Music Set (it says 3 years and up, but I like that it will give something NOISY for my little brother to listen to for YEARS to come!)

For friends who are expecting their first in January – and who are decorating the nursery in purple and green:

Zoobie Pets BABY Tama the Tortoise

For Alex:

Melissa and Doug Take-Along Tool Kit

Melissa and Doug Beginner Band Music Set

(because I clearly want to be beaten up and deaf in 2009!)

There you are. My list of Kaiser Alex approved kid toys for this holiday season!

(all photos nabbed from GFTK, natch)

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EDITED:

After posting this, Angie said, hey! I just got some awesome new stuff in – I declared that they effing rocked and she said well let’s give some away.

What’s the awesome stuff?

Melissa and Doug Role Play and Dress Up

Valued at $40, there are FIVE different sets to choose from, but here’s one:

How to be selected:

1) Visit GFTK and leave a comment here telling us which of the sets you’d pick. (You can change your mind if you are selected.)

2) You can enter a second time by posting about the contest and writing why you would love the Role Play and Dress Up set. Just leave your link in the comments below.

3) Send a tweet on Twitter about the contest. Then leave your tweet URL in the comments below. Now you have 3 entries to win the Role Play and Dress Up set.

The contest will end Wednesday, November 26th at 11PM EST. We will announce the winner on Thanksgiving morning using the random number generator. Good luck to you all!

I have lots to say, but 2 days later I’m still processing. So I’ll focus on my picks.

Rules – winner predicted by state with more electoral votes. Tiebreaker – blue beats red. Of course. (winner bold ital)

Denver v. Cleveland

NO v ATL

TN v Chicago

JAX v DET

Baltimore v HOU

SEA v Miami

GB v MN (cuz I like MN better, or at least Scout does)

Buffalo v NE

STL v NYJ

Carolina v OAK

KC v SD

Indy v Pitt

NYG v Philly

SF v AZ

tiebreaker 21