Monday, November 30, 2009

Can I Still Talk About "Good Things" If I'm Not Martha Stewart?

Here are some random things I've been thankful for lately, things a little more interesting than the usual, "friends, family, health" list. Not that I'm not grateful for them, too. OBV. But at a certain point that just sounds like a cop out answer, so...

-Our garbage disposal. Seriously, you could put leather down that thing and it would keep on churning, devour it whole, and lick its lips. It is indefatigable. I remember very well that digging the food remnant crud out of the sink trap after washing dishes used to be my least favorite thing IN THE WORLD when I was growing up, second only maybe to repeated vomiting, so I try not to take for granted this magical modern marvel. Keep on keepin' on, disposal!

-The toothpaste I bought awhile ago, Crest Whitening Expressions Wintergreen Burst, (I think?) tastes just like wintergreen gum. I actually get a little excited about brushing my teeth because that is seriously the best toothpaste flavor ever. (Oh yeah. This is not a paid review blog now, mkay? I just really like that toothpaste. I may have gotten ads, one of which I can't get to fit properly in my sidebar after two hours of #^%*/@ fussing with it, but I haven't branched out to reviews just yet, so that was just a free endorsement up there!)

-We had to get a new back door in our den because Eli put a crack in one of the windows of the old one. And also the old one was, you know, OLD, like approximately sixty years old, and it was a good excuse to get a new one because that thing was on its last leg. The new one, while nothing fancy, looks SO MUCH better and is keeping out the cold from that back room SO MUCH better! I get happy every time I look at it. Our heat bill thanks you, white, six panel steel door.

-Eli's full blown obsession with Disney's Cars seemed to have tapered off a bit, replaced by a new fascination with all things dinosaur. I enjoy this new interest a lot more. And also I'm happier to buy things involving dinosaurs, which seem educational and science-y, than I am to buy yet more Disney paraphernalia. I mean, he still likes cars, don't get me wrong, all relatives who may have already purchased Cars items. He's just realized that maybe he can enjoy MORE THAN ONE category of toys and movies. Also awesome? We have convinced him that dinosaurs hungrily devour all their meals, so whenever he starts being Mr. Picky Pants about dinner, we're all, "Where's the dinosaur? Does someone hear a hungry dinosaur?" Etc. Classic psychological manipulation, of course, but in this case I think the end justifies the means.

-The kids were both old enough this year to help us put ornaments on the tree. It totally blew my mind. Sure, two of the more fragile ones got shattered. Sure, I had to kind of redistribute some of the ornaments after they went to bed, since three fourths of them were on the bottom two rows of branches. But it was totally worth it. Christmas magic! And they're being really good about not messing with the tree now that it's up, other than both of them demanding to be lifted up to see the angel on top every time they enter the living room. I'm sure that will wear off in a week or so, though. Either that or the angel's going to mysteriously disappear.

-And speaking of thing that need to mysteriously disappear, last year my mom got Eli a Little Einstein's rocket ship Hallmark ornament. Which, when SOMEONE puts the BATTERIES in it, plays the entire theme song every time you push a button. And hey! SOMEONE put the batteries in it this year! And someone ELSE who is two years old and thrives on repetition is having his world rocked by the Little Einsteins song every five minutes. It's as festive as you might imagine.

-Uh, wait. This was supposed to be a thankful list. Ha ha, look at that! How quickly I diverge into whining!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving, ya'll!

12 comments:

Jess said...

I was looking at our Christmas tree this morning and thinking about how obvious it is that we are a child-free household. Only matching ornaments, nothing wooden or multi-colored or musical or kid-oriented in any way, fragile ornaments on the lower branches, everything very evenly distributed. But... I love it, so I think it's OK. Also, we figure that once the dog gets home she will break at least one ornament with her tail, and that's OK. We put all the precious, unique ornaments toward the top of the tree.

Shelly said...

HAHAHAHA!!! Yeah, yeah, thankful list and all that, that last item was hysterically funny. The SOMEONE who put batteries in that ornament would have his ass kicked in my house.

Tracy said...

we had to do a little distribution of ornaments after bedtime, too. :)

d e v a n said...

Redistribution was definitely going on around here too!! lol We have a train that plays an annoying little song too and it hasn't had new batteries put in for over 3 years and, yet, it STILL works!

Nowheymama said...

A garbage disposal is on my Christmas list. I kid you not.

jim said...

i really thought that little einstein thing would just light up. i mean it's an ornament for pete's sake... c'mon!

Katy said...

I am very intrigued by this toothpaste endorsement. I might have to check it out. I love Wintergreen gum.

Perhaps you need to be Thankful that batteries eventually die?

Swistle said...

I think it's that same line of toothpaste that has a cinnamon flavor that tastes just! like! Big Red gum. I have trouble not EATING it.

Jana said...

Hurray for the invention of the garbage disposal! Next to air conditioning, it's what I missed the most during our post-Hurricane Ike power outage.

Hillary said...

I just found out my inlaws bought The Boy a talking truck that says 40! things. I am hoping they forget to put batteries in the thing.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
GratefulTwinMom said...

Bravo on all the good things. Especially that one about the batteries. Classic. Gotta check out that toothpaste.