I think I made up that word...in fact I am pretty sure I did!
I was just reading a friend's blog about grocery shopping for her large family (she has six sons and one daughter) and I was reminded of a conversation I had with Chad's 90 year old grandpa the other day.
He called to thank us for the Valentine cards that we made and sent him for FHE a few weeks ago, and as usual he kept me on the phone for close to 45 minutes. I didn't mind, I was able to do a few loads of laundry, load the dishwasher, give Kade a bath and clean cobwebs from the corners of my bedroom and bathroom. Plus, I miss the days when we lived in CA and he and Grandma McGhie would drop in just as I would put the kids down for naps and stay to talk for a while (or a naptime). At the time it seemed like I was so busy I never took the time to relax much and those visits kind of forced me to sit down and just visit with them, and since she has now passed on I really cherish the memories they gave me.
Anyway, back to my story. Somehow we got on the subject of large families...I think he was asking if we are still planning on adding to ours and I mentioned that I just didn't know where we'd put another body in this tiny house, but then I said something to the effect that it seemed strange that families used to be three times the size of ours and fit in smaller houses just fine! He agreed and reminded me that there were ten kids in his family growing up and they lived in a house that was maybe 1000 sq. ft.
He then went on to tell me where everyone slept. A few in the garage, a few in the dirt floor cellar, a few on a sleeping porch (in Utah, in the winter...yikes!), a few in the living room, etc etc. How inventive and resourceful my husband's ancestors were! It struck me how very blessed I am that I can tuck my kids into their own beds at night. Sure, the three of them have to share a room, not really out of absolute necessity, but because they like it. And I like that this way we have a playroom and don't have to worry about Kade doing kamikaze stunts off the bunkbed because all of his toys would be in his bedroom.
I really need to stop whining about my small house now, thanks for putting things into perspective Grandpa!
In my new quest for self improvement [the Madame Pineapple thing seems to suit me] I am trying to reflect more on the things I am grateful for. So, in honor of this I am grateful for two (possibly random) things today. The first is the fact that Grandpa McGhie calls me and keeps me on the phone forever to tell me stories I almost have memorized. The second thing goes along with that but deserves it's own category. I am grateful that he loves me and tells me so every time I talk to him even though we are only related because I took pity on his "menace to society" grandson and married him.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Madame Pineapple
I was putting away groceries the other day and I came to this pineapple:
As I picked it up to put it in the refrigerator I thought to myself, "I feel like this pineapple."
Now, I don't really know how it feels to be a pineapple, my kids would think that was ridiculous...but the more I think about it, the more I really am starting to relate to it. Aside from the obvious similarities...like body shape...there are a few that are deeper and filled with symbolic goodies.
This pineapple was a little prickly on the outside in places. Recently (three weeks after the miscarriage, actually) someone accused me of having had a chip on my shoulder the past few weeks and wondered why. I thought to myself, "I have a right to the chip on my shoulder!" But the more I think about it, the more I realize that my grief is not the fault of those around me and I am ashamed that anyone has perhaps suffered because, like the pineapple, my taste has a tendency to be a little on the sour side if I pick my words before they are ripe.
Notice how this pineapple sits a little crooked on the table? Sometimes I feel like that too. Sometimes it is just plain hard to square my shoulders and sit up straight when I feel like the weight of the world is upon them. Dental and medical bills have come pouring in the past few weeks, and I am not gonna lie to you, sometimes I would love to just go back to Hawaii and sit in the sun without having someone hang on my leg or track mud all over my brand new carpet. I am sure this pineapple can relate.
I could keep going, but I just felt you yawn so I will try to wrap this up.
There was something really great about this pineapple.
As prickly and crooked as it looked on the outside, the fruit on the inside was sweet and golden and juicy.
It gave me hope that, while I may have come across the same way lately, maybe there is a little of that sweetness left in me yet. I then made a conscious decision to just try a little harder. Rome wasn't built in a day, and as Shirley McLaine said on Steel Magnolias, "I'm not as sweet as I used to be." But I feel that there is still hope for me.
I have been dissatisfied with the name of my blog for a while. Life hasn't felt so Splendiferous lately, so that title had to go. For lack of anything better I came up with 3 Little McGhies, but I am pretty sure I know what it should be now. In a few days I will change it once again, this time hopefully for good. I feel like I need a good and solid reminder of my inner potential and my quest to do better, so I have decided to go with
Madame Pineapple's Misadventures.
I was going to go with adventures as the last word, but let's face it, we are talking about me here...misadventures seems to fit a little better.
Please join me as I continue to chronicle my family's journey through life, this time with a more appropriate moniker.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Jammin at Hippie Jack's
Have you ever heard of this? Me neither. That is, until our buddies the Harvey's invited us to go to a taping of a PBS show called Jammin At Hippie Jack's.
Basically this guy, Hippie Jack, and his wife are celebrating good ole American singers and songwriters by having free music festivals at their farm here in Tennessee. During the winter they do the tapings at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville. We have lived here for almost four years and never heard of it, but our friends told us about it and we thought it would be a fun way to celebrate Chad's birthday last Friday. We are so glad we did, it was really a lot of fun. The best part was that the guy doing the show that night was Dan Tyminsky.
The name meant nothing to me either, until they told me a little about what has made his work famous. Here he is:
Still in the dark? Have you seen the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? with George Clooney?
Well, Mr. Tyminsky was the voiceover for the song "Man of Constant Sorrow". He has written a lot of other famous songs and worked with other really famous people like Alison Krauss too.
He had a guy by the name of Ronnie Bowman join him about halfway through the first set and it was fabulous. To watch the two of them tuning their guitars before each song and joking around about it being such a large event (there were probably 150 people there, when they are used to stadiums full) was a real treat. Their style was very much old country with some bluegrass mixed in. They brought out a mandolin and took turns with it and at one point told the audience that if anyone had a pocket harmonica the next song was in E.
I have never been to a concert before, unless you count John Bytheway when I was twelve, so I was really excited to get to go...and you can't beat an admission price of FREE for that kind of entertainment.
I was really hoping they would play "Man of Constant Sorrow" because I really love it, so I was stoked that he saved it for the very end. We took a small video of Mr. Tyminsky introducing the song. He did so by telling the story of how he told his wife that he would be doing a voiceover for George Clooney, and she asked him what that meant. He told her that in the movie you would see George Clooney singing, but it would really be his voice. He said she gasped and said, "Oh honey, that has always been my fantasy!". It was really great, but for some reason I can't get the darn thing to upload, so I guess you will just have to take my word for it.
All in all it was a very pleasant way to celebrate Chad's 35th birthday. A special thanks to the Harveys for inviting us and my folks for their gift to Chad of taking the kids for the night.
Basically this guy, Hippie Jack, and his wife are celebrating good ole American singers and songwriters by having free music festivals at their farm here in Tennessee. During the winter they do the tapings at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville. We have lived here for almost four years and never heard of it, but our friends told us about it and we thought it would be a fun way to celebrate Chad's birthday last Friday. We are so glad we did, it was really a lot of fun. The best part was that the guy doing the show that night was Dan Tyminsky.
The name meant nothing to me either, until they told me a little about what has made his work famous. Here he is:
Well, Mr. Tyminsky was the voiceover for the song "Man of Constant Sorrow". He has written a lot of other famous songs and worked with other really famous people like Alison Krauss too.
He had a guy by the name of Ronnie Bowman join him about halfway through the first set and it was fabulous. To watch the two of them tuning their guitars before each song and joking around about it being such a large event (there were probably 150 people there, when they are used to stadiums full) was a real treat. Their style was very much old country with some bluegrass mixed in. They brought out a mandolin and took turns with it and at one point told the audience that if anyone had a pocket harmonica the next song was in E.
I have never been to a concert before, unless you count John Bytheway when I was twelve, so I was really excited to get to go...and you can't beat an admission price of FREE for that kind of entertainment.
I was really hoping they would play "Man of Constant Sorrow" because I really love it, so I was stoked that he saved it for the very end. We took a small video of Mr. Tyminsky introducing the song. He did so by telling the story of how he told his wife that he would be doing a voiceover for George Clooney, and she asked him what that meant. He told her that in the movie you would see George Clooney singing, but it would really be his voice. He said she gasped and said, "Oh honey, that has always been my fantasy!". It was really great, but for some reason I can't get the darn thing to upload, so I guess you will just have to take my word for it.
All in all it was a very pleasant way to celebrate Chad's 35th birthday. A special thanks to the Harveys for inviting us and my folks for their gift to Chad of taking the kids for the night.
Friday, February 12, 2010
The Olden Days
Last night we were sitting at dinner and discussing what we had done that afternoon. The boys were all excited about the Valentines parties at school today and were telling Chad about how we spent the afternoon filling out their cards to take to their classmates. All of a sudden Blake exclaimed that he shouldn't have made one for Mia because she is sick and won't be there.
I told him that she would probably feel bad when she returned to school to find that nobody gave her cards, so it was good that he'd made one for her. I then went on to relate the story of when I was in 1st grade and had to miss my Valentine party because I was really sick, but my mom walked to the school in a heavy snowstorm (this was in Utah) because our car was broken down and brought home all my Valentines and treats. Of course Chad had to add his two cents and tell them that Mommy was always having to walk places in the snow, uphill both ways.
In the spirit of reminiscing, I ignored Chad and went on to tell them about the time in 1st grade when my dog followed me to school and sat under my desk until my dad could come and pick him up. At the end of the tale I said, "And it took a while to get a hold of him because they didn't have cell phones."
Without missing a beat Trevor said, with a big grin on his face, "But they had cans Mom!". Then Blake chimed in, "Yeah, and they just connected them with string or wire and talked to each other!"
I may only be 20 years older than Blake, but I felt really ancient in that moment. See if I relate any childhood tales to them again any time soon!
I told him that she would probably feel bad when she returned to school to find that nobody gave her cards, so it was good that he'd made one for her. I then went on to relate the story of when I was in 1st grade and had to miss my Valentine party because I was really sick, but my mom walked to the school in a heavy snowstorm (this was in Utah) because our car was broken down and brought home all my Valentines and treats. Of course Chad had to add his two cents and tell them that Mommy was always having to walk places in the snow, uphill both ways.
In the spirit of reminiscing, I ignored Chad and went on to tell them about the time in 1st grade when my dog followed me to school and sat under my desk until my dad could come and pick him up. At the end of the tale I said, "And it took a while to get a hold of him because they didn't have cell phones."
Without missing a beat Trevor said, with a big grin on his face, "But they had cans Mom!". Then Blake chimed in, "Yeah, and they just connected them with string or wire and talked to each other!"
I may only be 20 years older than Blake, but I felt really ancient in that moment. See if I relate any childhood tales to them again any time soon!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Laundry Day
When we moved back to TN from TX we had to buy a new washer and dryer. Knowing that we were moving into our little rental house and that space would be at a premium, we [I] opted to purchase a stacking set. Let me just tell you, I LOVE them. Doing laundry is so much faster now, since I was having to dry each load at least twice in the crummy dryer provided by our landlord in TX. Also, many of Chad's shirts shrank because of the super hot dryers I had to use at laundromats while we were living in hotels last winter! It is such a satisfying feeling to be able to finish laundry in one day...when I am motivated and force myself to stay at home that is.
On to my next favorite...see the cabinet next to Laverne and Shirley (don't tell me you don't name some of your appliances!)? That little beauty is just the icing on the laundry room cake. The whole reason behind buying the stackable w&d was so we [I] could put shelves in to use as a pantry, since the linen closet in our bathroom can only hold so many canned goods and food storage! Since I have been couponing for the past few months I have had to get more and more creative with where I store excess things. Enter this awesome cabinet that I got at Sears on sale with the money I got for babysitting my nephew when my parents went out of town. I just love being able to close the doors when I get in a hurry and shove things in willy nilly. And if I listen really closely I can almost hear a choir of angels singing when I open it and it is organized!
As I type this, I am thinking to myself that it is really pathetic the things that excite us as adults...or even as women. Chad looks at it and just sees a washer and dryer and a plastic cabinet with doors. But when I walk into the room that, let's face it, really is my domain I just can't help but smile and feel a little satisfied that I beat down the lack of storage that this house offers and have emerged triumphant on yet another laundry day.
On to my next favorite...see the cabinet next to Laverne and Shirley (don't tell me you don't name some of your appliances!)? That little beauty is just the icing on the laundry room cake. The whole reason behind buying the stackable w&d was so we [I] could put shelves in to use as a pantry, since the linen closet in our bathroom can only hold so many canned goods and food storage! Since I have been couponing for the past few months I have had to get more and more creative with where I store excess things. Enter this awesome cabinet that I got at Sears on sale with the money I got for babysitting my nephew when my parents went out of town. I just love being able to close the doors when I get in a hurry and shove things in willy nilly. And if I listen really closely I can almost hear a choir of angels singing when I open it and it is organized!
As I type this, I am thinking to myself that it is really pathetic the things that excite us as adults...or even as women. Chad looks at it and just sees a washer and dryer and a plastic cabinet with doors. But when I walk into the room that, let's face it, really is my domain I just can't help but smile and feel a little satisfied that I beat down the lack of storage that this house offers and have emerged triumphant on yet another laundry day.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Temple Dress
My temple dress is in dire need of being dropped off the nearest bridge. It is horrid.
When I got it nine+ years ago it was pretty standard. It fit me, was made of polyester, and everyone and their granny who was buying a temple dress around the same time has it. Somehow, some little gnome got in and stole mine and stretched out the elastic in the empire waist and wrists to the point that it looks like it was made for a woman twice my size (and that's saying something), so I am sad to say that it is embarassing to be seen in it. I actually wore it on Halloween as Princess Leia because I knew it's time was drastically coming to an end.
Lately I have been taking sewing lessons on Thursday nights with my mom, so a few weeks ago we decided that we could try to "fix" the waist by making a drawstring, and the wrists by replacing the cuffs with the cuffs of her old dress (which was exactly the same, exact for the gnomeknapping). Sadly, she called me last night and informed me that my dress is beyond saving, and that I either need to order one or make a new one.
This prompted me to do an online search for what is out there, and all I have to say is "UGH". Do the makers of temple dresses not realize that people actually have to wear them? Everything that I found was either ridiculously expensive, or would make me look like one of the fairies from The Sleeping Beauty. Seriously. I am 5'1" and I just cannot pull off any old style of dress...this is probably why I usually wear skirts rather than dresses. And before you say anything, yes I looked at the skirts too. I realize that going to the temple is not a fashion show (and if I didn't, Chad already reminded me loudly enough)but I believe we are supposed to go and present our best selves, and for me the dress really helps. It is really hard to buy something like that without first trying it on. Again, before you ask, our nearest distribution center is in Atlanta which is almost four hours away. Plus it is closed for the next year for renovations, so we are pretty much out of luck on that one.
Fast forward to today when I was with my mom at a fabric store. She convinced me to buy a pattern and some fabric, so I guess I will be attempting to make my own dress. This way if it turns out badly I will have nobody but myself to blame. But I swear if the gnomes get a hold of this one there will be serious consequences! I'll keep you posted and maybe provide a picture of the finished product.
When I got it nine+ years ago it was pretty standard. It fit me, was made of polyester, and everyone and their granny who was buying a temple dress around the same time has it. Somehow, some little gnome got in and stole mine and stretched out the elastic in the empire waist and wrists to the point that it looks like it was made for a woman twice my size (and that's saying something), so I am sad to say that it is embarassing to be seen in it. I actually wore it on Halloween as Princess Leia because I knew it's time was drastically coming to an end.
Lately I have been taking sewing lessons on Thursday nights with my mom, so a few weeks ago we decided that we could try to "fix" the waist by making a drawstring, and the wrists by replacing the cuffs with the cuffs of her old dress (which was exactly the same, exact for the gnomeknapping). Sadly, she called me last night and informed me that my dress is beyond saving, and that I either need to order one or make a new one.
This prompted me to do an online search for what is out there, and all I have to say is "UGH". Do the makers of temple dresses not realize that people actually have to wear them? Everything that I found was either ridiculously expensive, or would make me look like one of the fairies from The Sleeping Beauty. Seriously. I am 5'1" and I just cannot pull off any old style of dress...this is probably why I usually wear skirts rather than dresses. And before you say anything, yes I looked at the skirts too. I realize that going to the temple is not a fashion show (and if I didn't, Chad already reminded me loudly enough)but I believe we are supposed to go and present our best selves, and for me the dress really helps. It is really hard to buy something like that without first trying it on. Again, before you ask, our nearest distribution center is in Atlanta which is almost four hours away. Plus it is closed for the next year for renovations, so we are pretty much out of luck on that one.
Fast forward to today when I was with my mom at a fabric store. She convinced me to buy a pattern and some fabric, so I guess I will be attempting to make my own dress. This way if it turns out badly I will have nobody but myself to blame. But I swear if the gnomes get a hold of this one there will be serious consequences! I'll keep you posted and maybe provide a picture of the finished product.
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