Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Turkey Talk

Can you believe it is two weeks from Thanksgiving?!  I love Thanksgiving, it is one of my favorite times of year.  Now when I married my husband, Thanksgiving took on a whole new meaning. When you are the third generation of a family owned and operated butcher shop, the holiday season is a bit busy (a bit busy is code for pure craziness).  He and his family will be working 12-15 hours days until the end of December.  But we will take pure craziness over slow business any day.  My mother-in-law often tells the story of how they had enchiladas one year for Thanksgiving because her turkey had been sold to a customer.  I have always panicked a bit that the same would happen at our house.  The closer it gets to the big day the more I start asking my husband if our turkey is well hidden in the back.  You think I am joking...:)

Anyway, last year I wrote two blog posts regarding turkey tips.  I managed to get my husband to answer a few turkey related questions.  I thought I would post the links in case you missed it last year.  Click the link below the image to read each blog post.



If you think of any other questions let me know and I will try to get an answer for you. :)







Monday, November 9, 2015

One of the Many Differences Between Women and Men

Over the weekend I decided that one of the main differences between women and men (at least in my household) is the use of...

ADJECTIVES!

Or if I am referring to the men in my house, then I mean the lack of using adjectives.  Let me explain.

My oldest is getting very close to crossing over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.  Over the weekend, my husband and son went on a camp out while our other two kids and myself stayed home.  This was the first camp out in our fives years of camp out experience that I did not attend.  At this point, the boys are learning to really work through the various parts of camping without the constant help of an adult (ex: setting up tents, sleeping in a tent without Mom or Dad, cooking, using a compass and various camping tools, etc.).  It seems to be an easy step for dads but a bit of a freak out session for moms...well, okay for me!  

So, on Friday I sent my two oldest men off to the woods.  The two I have known and loved the longest - off to the big, scary, wild woods.  Okay, okay, off to a state park about an hour away.  In my heart it might as well have been somewhere with Bear Grills.

I knew my husband would not send me text messages or pictures because he is not the texting type.  :)  So I tried to convince myself that no news was good news.  Easier said than done.  

I was shocked Saturday evening when I received two pictures from my husband.  I was literally jumping up and down at the proof that they were alive!!!!!  

Manning the grill



So I did what any mom would do... I responded with questions.  This is where the use of adjectives or lack of anything descriptive became an issue.  Here is the conversation that took place directly after I received the picture.

Me/Mom/Woman:  Hi!!!! How's it going?  Did y'all get soaked this morning?  Who is his tent mate?

Charlie/Dad/Man:  Will talk when get home

**Insert me flipping out because what could a statement like that possibly mean?  Also insert that there was about 30 million years passing between each text!

Me/Mom/Woman:  Okay, but that makes me worry even more.  Has it been positive?

Charlie/Dad/Man:  pause.....no response....cricket....cricket....cricket

**Insert me really pacing the house at this point and remembering how much he was not a phone type person when we were dating - ugh!

Me/Mom/Woman:  Okay seriously, you can't leave me hanging like that.  Do you only want to talk at home because you don't feel like texting or because things aren't going well?

Charlie/Dad/Man:  The whole day was fine. 

**Insert me stating aloud - FINE?! WHAT DOES FINE MEAN?

Me/Mom/Woman:  What does fine mean? Fine, like we are just getting through or fine like good?

Charlie/Dad/Man:  Good

**Insert me not being able to let this go.  I need more details!

Me/Mom/Woman:  On a scale of 1-10?

Charlie/Dad/Man:  8 to 9

**Insert my blood pressure coming way down and me praising Jesus! :)

Me/Mom/Woman:  Okay that makes my heart happy.  I will leave you alone now.  I love you both!

Now, do we all see how that text conversation could have been so much shorter if he had just used a few adjectives from the beginning?  Seriously, we went from "Will talk more at home" to an 8 or 9 on the scale.  That is a huge difference!  But not to my husband/dad/man - it all meant the same.  I on the other hand have aged by five years that will be evident to everyone by the wrinkles on my face.  The damage cannot be undone.

:)

My true love has always been an "under communicator" and I am definitely an "over communicator".  We knew this 19 years ago and have managed to make it work.  Luckily, we can laugh about things like this.  I think in a way he was having fun stringing me along and I was having fun driving him nuts with 20 questions.  :)  I love him - all of him - 

...even his lack of adjectives. :)

**It is already the same way between my daughter and sons.  She will ask them specific questions expecting specific answers.  When they don't respond in detail she lets them know it.  She also tattled on one of her brother's this weekend while using air quotes.... she's a little fireball.  She will need a husband like her father.  We are already praying for the one...:)


Monday, November 2, 2015

Big Brother to the Rescue

Today contained one of those moments when you get to witness your child taking on more responsibility.  The weather has been so pretty the past couple of days so a couple hours into our schoolwork I announced BREAK TIME!!! and we headed outside to ride bikes.  Things were going really well until my youngest got a flat tire on her bike.  We had just aired up tires yesterday so the conclusion was that her inner tubing was flat.  

Let me just say, I recently learned that bike tires have inner tubes.  I just assumed they held air, I didn't realize it was an actual tube on the inside.  Honestly, I never stopped to think about it.  In a matter of seconds she was in tears and so upset.  Big brother to the rescue!

Our oldest jumped right in and said he could fix it.  He had just fixed his own inner tube (for a Cub Scout requirement) with my husband yesterday.  I double and triple checked if he was really sure but he double and triple assured me that he could do it. :)  With directions (from him - an eleven year old) to move my car out of the garage, I got out of the way and he got to work.

It wasn't until about half way through the process that I grabbed my phone and started taking pictures. 

In this picture he has removed the chain and tire from the bike (not to mention two really stuck bolts).  He has also removed the original and damaged inner tube and is placing the new inner tube into the tire.  He was pretty much beaming as he got to rummage through Daddy's tool box.

Here he is positioning the chain back onto the bike.  It was at this point that I said, "Wait! We haven't aired up the inner tube!"  At which he calmly reminded me that if it had air in it, we wouldn't have been able to get the tire back on the rim... 
Oh right, I totally knew that... :)

Placing the bolts back on.  I think he was pretty proud of how much grease was on his hands. 

My thirty year old - I mean 11 year old setting up and working Daddy's air compressor like a BOSS!!!  Seriously, it was impressive.  I kept referring to parts as thingy's and doo-hickey's at which he would calmly look at me, pause, and then give those things their correct names.  So patient with his mom.
Little sister waiting very patiently as he finished.

And, she's off!!!!

I am so proud of him.  He put his free time aside to work on his sister's bike.  Now, I did extend our break time to allow him to experience the satisfaction of completing something like this.  Needless to say, he was pretty much strutting around when it was over.  The whole thing was adorable but also a reminder of how fast he is growing up.  Also, very educational for me in the department of thingys and doo-hickeys.  :)