10 Things I am Grateful For....

First thing first, sometimes I write this blog wondering if anyone is reading? I don't truly care if people do or not...but I wonder anyway. Then by some miracle I will write something that opens the floodgates and I will get email after email of people commenting on a specific story or asking a question about something I didn't clarify well. I had always hoped those emails would be something like, "Jenny....you have the most ridiculously beautiful kids alive! I think Emery's on the fast track to Harvard!" or "Luke is so lucky to have a wife like you, how do you do it ALL?" But instead they are more like this:

"Sorry I haven't talked to you in 10 months. Tell me again how to save 30% on diapers?"

Love you all too! The only person I didn't get this email from was my cousin Jennifer (yes...our parents named us the same thing...the 80s rocked!) and that is because she avidly uses cloth diapers. This probably means her kids won't be sterile from prolonged exposure and mine will be. But I'm okay with that because it means Emery and Luelle won't end up on MTV's "Teen Mom" in case my intense prayers for purity don't work. I'll just ask Jennifer to skip the next paragraph while I explain the deal to the rest of you who inquired about it.

Okay, to get the deal you have to join Amazon Mom. From there you can shop for Huggies or Pampers to your heart's content. When you find the right size/brand, add it to your cart using the "Subscribe and Save" option. I always set my delivery for the lowest amount far in the future (like 1 unit every 3 months). They will deliver for free in 2-3 days! After that you can use your account to either speed up, slow down, or cancel shipments. It's really more of a hassle to physically change a diaper than it is to update your account. On the off chance you forget about your subscription, Amazon will send you a reminder email asking if you are aware that you are about to receive a shipment. If you don't want it....simply press cancel! Presto...$$$ saved! If you also receive "Parent's Magazine" you should be aware that each December issue will have a unique one time use code for an additional 20% off. This can be stacked with the 30% giving you 50% off a case of diapers! Now go get a pedicure on me :)

Other than that....it's been a hectic week! My "at home" freelance job is either feast or famine and this week I have been beyond busy designing last minute Black Friday ads. Some great deals out there! If you couldn't already guess, I LOVE BLACK FRIDAY! I felt more of an adrenaline rush the very first time I stood in line getting Emery a $200 Power Wheel for $99 than I ever did drinking Boone's Farm wine at 18. Kidding mom! I didn't drink at 18....I was 17. In any case, mom, your worrying days are over because of the last 100 glasses of wine I've poured or bottles of beer I've opened, I've taken a grand total of maybe 25 sips. And even then I have to take 2 Advil for the headache. FYI, I just wrote that joke for effect...I was a pretty good kid in high school! College? Well let's just say Luelle won't be going to college...kidding again! This is too easy! (But really she isn't going) Wow....tangent! Sorry folks....

I was going to write about Black Friday but that would skip the VERY IMPORTANT holiday of Thanksgiving and I will not dishonor my favorite Thursday of the year in favor of honoring consumerism. So I present.....

10 Things I Am Grateful For:

1. We'll start with the obvious - My kids & husband. I never thought life would be this good! Crazy? Yes! Stressful? At times! Hilarious? Always! It's perfectly imperfect, I am so blessed!

2. My parents. My mom is road map to what I know I am becoming (I just need to get a big picture of Jesus before the kids figure out the benefits of lying) and my dad can still fix anything. In all fairness Luke can fix most everything too, but my dad will throw in a steak dinner and some spare parts! It's a better deal than Amazon!

3. The show "The Lottery Destroyed my Life." Now I don't feel like I'm missing much when my numbers don't come up.

4. My elliptical. I use it every day! (to dry clothes....)

5. Computers. I don't want to put too much an emphasis on material things, but without them I might never be able to see my nephew's pictures from Florida and you might not ever be able to tell 250 people on Facebook that it snowed last night in case the view from every window in their house is blocked.

6. Papa Murphey's coupons. $12.99 for a pizza I have to bake myself? No way! $6.99? That's more like it! Did you know you can ask them to make your pizza with thick crust for no extra charge? (Source credit: my sister Tammi). Let's face it....the "low carb" trend took the fun out of eating!

7. Elementary school friends. "Amber" corrected me the other day when I told her I couldn't believe we had been friends for 20 years! She politely said, "25 Jenny." Wow! From bottles to Botox....I still have about 10 amazing friends who I have had the pleasure of sharing recess with during my earlier life. (And no...we haven't had Botox. I'm just anticipating for the future!)

8. Net-flix. I don't care about the $1 increase, I was able to catch up on 2 whole seasons of Grey's Anatomy in less than a week to be ready for Season 7! Up until then I was still telling people that George was my favorite character and I didn't understand why I was getting weird looks....

9. Simple surprises. My doorbell just rang and I was totally annoyed that it might wake my napping kids up. I started to get angry when I heard children on the other side and didn't even have the courtesy to open the door. Well I just went to see if they left me a flier and they didn't. They left me cookies and a "Happy Thanksgiving" note. Ouch! Schooled by 7 year olds.....

10. The opportunity to write about things I am grateful for! Isn't America great? Let's always remember the people who keep it that way and the sacrifices they make so that we can speak freely about our opinions no matter what they may be!

Happy Thanksgiving from my little family to yours!