Of Coughs, Crafts, Woody & Wirey Hairs


Howdy Ho, Neighbor!

I decided it was time again to flip on the lights, put a pot on and throw open the door of the Coffee Cottage. I am so glad you came back to visit!

***

Just A Few Things I learned over the Christmas Season:


MEN COUGH WITH THEIR ENTIRE BODY
The second of December week everyone, but myself praisetheLord, was down and o-u-t with a cold. None the worse than my husband. Let me say here that he legitimately had quite the doozy of a cold. That being said, I cannot deny that I may have asked him several hundred times if he could perhaps keep it down by coughing a little more quietly. How is it that the male cough (and vomit for that matter) mechanisms seem to start down at their toes and reverberate through any structure they happen to be languishing in? To save face, I did make him a nice hot cup of tea. Twice.


DON'T SHRUG. GIVE A TUG.
If you see long, black wirey hairs protruding anywhere on your face, particularly very visual areas like the lower cheek bone, do not be flippant and shrug them off assuming they are remnants of your blush brush. Tug at them, and if your skin lifts at the motion, reach for your tweezer. Otherwise, you will go through the entire Christmas season looking like a prime example of why it is easy for people to believe we evolved from apes.


THE FUNNY BONE
To a four year old male (and subsequently, three year old female), the best, most funniest four letter word in the world is : POOP.
Just drop it in any sentence, at any place, at any time and with any audience and
you (the four/three year old) will be guaranteed at least one hysterical, if not sometimes fake, laugh (which would be your own).


THE URGE IS GONE
I held my gloriously adorable niece quite a few times over the last few days, and during one of those times, I was asked if it makes me want another one.
I paused for a nanosecond, recalling my teething twins and responded with an honest 'No!'.
I surprised myself.
I am gratefully happy with what we have. I suspect somewhere along the way, we will have friends of our children living with us if and when they need it. But God tends to gleefully laugh at our 'plans'...



CRAFTS BRING OUT THE FEMALE DOG IN ME
But I like to feed my pride by taking pictures of them and posting them on my blog so that my children can recall (to their future therapists) that their mother took time once a year to allow their creative yearnings to be fulfilled. (If somehow you missed that the proper name for a female dog rhymes with 'witch', you might be a tad confused at this point. I prefer to use pleasing language in the Cottage, and so I tried to go about it discreetly. But I really am 'one' when glue sticks, cotton balls, construction paper and several small children are involved).


GIVING IS BETTER THAN RECEIVING.
Never truer in my life than this year, when happiness burst forth in the receiving.


WEDDING PREP IS WORTH THE STRESS.
We attended the elegant wedding of my cousin on Monday night.
Getting the children ready for the sitters and me ready for the wedding
was akin to a root canal sans Novocaine.
But was it worth it?
I would have said 'Probably not' during the day of...


...but after a meaningful reminder of the beauty of marriage, a delicious dinner (that stayed hot while I was eating uninterrupted) and time with my hot date? My answer was undoubtedly "YES!".
(Pictures taken with a 'smilemaker' booth at the reception)


WHY WOODY?
When the creator's of Toy Story crafted the first legendary film of said series, why oh why did they not consider 'Tex' or 'Silver' or something, anything, besides 'Woody'???
My son insists that I not refer to this new talking toy of his as a 'doll', which leaves me and my junior high brain doing gymnastics when referring to the gangly cowboy.
"Go play with your Woody!"
I still can't say it without feeling awkward. Even to the innocent.


CONFIDENCE IS BEAUTIFUL
No other explanation needed.



DO NOT CURSE THE GATE THAT SPARES YOUR CHILDREN
I found it aesthetically unpleasing. However, when I turned the corner to our living room (after fetching the boys their bottles for 35 seconds) and found it upholding our tinseled, brittle wonder of a Tannenbaum, I was quite grateful.


I suppose what I continue to learn is how much I do not know.
What I do know, however, is that my gratitude for my family, our friends, our neighbors and the God who shows us how to LOVE runs deeper with every day.

Thank you taking time to catch up. I would love to share more, but i have a child throwing a sleep-deprived temper tantrum in her bed and can't ignore it any longer without doing any permanent damage to my nerves.

Goodnight, friend!










Comments

Yay! Glad you're back! Got one of those pesky black hairs on my neck. I've ordered my sister-in-law to keep an eye on it for me since I have trouble seeing it from where I'm at (i.e. too close, yes I'm at that stage where I have to hold things out far to see them). LOL
it's the Woody thing that had me roaring over here on L. Ave!!!! seriously, I JUST said this to my sister today....i can't say it with a straight face, "yes Tyler....Luke has a Woody, but maybe you'll get one too someday!" It' just awful!!

I should have just bought him Jesse.

GLAD YOU'RE BACK....I MISSED YOU!!
Amazin said…
I was craving coffee today (even tho I don't drink it yet)..my visit over a cup of tea filled my empty "cup" and brought smiles soothed with comforting holiday music. You are AMAZIN and look FAB FAB FAB (of course)...
Anonymous said…
Girl your a kick in the pants...you are a hoot.
Aren't men babies when they are sick..? They are huh?

Loved the pic of your lil girl with her heels on. Cracks me up when my Savannah walks around with her's on.

I've missed your posts. Glad your back.

Hugs, Viola
Welcome back to blogland. You were missed, and after that fact was confirmed after reading your post today. I am still laughing. How do you write with such humor? How do live sanely everyday and still look like you do when you go out? Questions I hold in my heart this early Thursday morning.

Love the pictures of you and your hot date!
Jeane` said…
Thank you, friends!
Viola...In general, i would agree that men take sickness 'hard'. However, to be fair to my husband who put quite an effort forth, he did not milk it out or act pathetic. I did appreciate it!!! (even with my requests to tone down the cough!). ;)
Rick/Ruthie said…
Count me in as another one who's delighted you're back!! I was going through withdrawal but I think now I'll recover! Happy 2011 to you and yours!
Debbie said…
It's been a long time since we needed to fence anything off, but I do agree with the point that men do everything (and I mean everything) with more zeal and quantity. Oh yea, those 'wild' hairs must be carfully sought out and destroyed lest others point them out! Thankful for tweezers and magnifying mirrors! My friends and I keep close watch on one another!
Marian said…
Loved every bit of your post today! Glad you are back. I had to think of your 'men puke' part when I was sick in the night, hoping that I was 'lady-like' sick!! Ha ha!
Keep the great posts coming.
Michelle said…
Bahahahaha! Janelle and I were saying the exact same thing about Woody the other day! :)

LOVE the pics of you and your Love. Um, gorgeous.

Oh, the black hairs! I remember our conversation about those bains of our existence at Aunt Lou's home... I'm constantly on the lookout for mine. And I sing, "Not by the {multitude of hairs} on my chinny-chin-chin"!!

And Yea - you're back! :)
Diana B. said…
Jeane', I love your blog. As the mom of a 14 year old (on Monday) I delight in the pictures of the little ones, just pure joy on their faces...it takes me back to the days when I could say Woody without a "OMG MOM!" retort...the days when I worried about playdates not date-dates. Love you and am so grateful to modern technology for keeping us connected by the invisible thread of Facebook, etc!! xoxo
betsyesbenshade said…
Yes, men do cough & vomit hard. I sometimes think some tonsils are going to go flying across the room! Now about those hairs, I just can't seem to figure out how they are not there one day and the next they are 1/2 inch. Thankful for protection from the fallen tree! I say rename "Woody" to "friend" and Ashley has one sweet little baby girl! It is ok to enjoy her and hand her back! Love you girl!
Mother of Pearl said…
I'm so glad to hear someone else avoids craft time with their kids.
Terri said…
HA! Oh, my...it's good to laugh with you again! I must say, kudos to you for throwing out the Woody story, what with your mom being a regular reader and all! She handled is quite well. Glad you're back on the circuit!
Leanne O said…
I'll look forward to hearing more from your little corner!
Your sweet princess is exactly that, even if she has some un-princessly moments.
And those nasty hairs...I always ask dear hubby, did you NOT see it... so WHY did you not think to point it out!!!???
God bless you and your little family all 2011!
Peter and Kim said…
HA! Jeane`--I laughed so hard at the Woody part! My daughter, in the other room, wondered "What's so funny, Mom?!?" I didn't invite her to read this time! :)
Happy New Year!
And yes, you and your date look just lovely! ♥
Anonymous said…
So glad to see you again Jeané, great post. Happy New Year to you and your family.
Rachel said…
oh!! i'm sooo glad to see you back on here! and, last night as i was lying in bed trying to calm my racing mind, i was thinking about how i would like so very much to get together with you again soon!
after i get the house back in order from being gone for 10 days!!;O)
hope you are doing well...can't wait to catch up!!

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