It is that time again folks, time to talk all about my immense love for Modern Family.  Of course this week that I am inspired to write about it they show a rerun, but that’s okay!  That is why we have directv whole home dvr DVR so we can record and delete on a whim.  We know that they need their down time to let their creative minds wander to come up with more and more crazy shenanigans for us to watch every week.  Phil and Claire Dunphy are for me the perfect couple.  They are a more realistic couple as compared with some that they show on tv these days.  I like how they fight and make up and then fight with their kids and then make up again.  They have problems and funny things happen just like any real family would.  I really could go without Sophia Vergara’s voice on this show because sometimes it really starts to get on my nerves but I think it does suit her character’s personality so at least that works for them.

One year my parents decided to go on a week’s vacation without the kids and they farmed me out to a cousin’s horse farm for the week. I was in horse heaven that week! My parents bought me a pair of used horse riding boots and dropped me off at Cousin Betty’s house and I was totally emerged in horse farm life for the week. One of the things that Cousin Betty had me do was to help straighten up and clean the saddlery that was in the tack room. She showed me how to use saddle soap to clean the saddles and halters and reins. She had me muck some stalls, which was hard work, but I didn’t mind at all. I was with horses on a horse farm! She showed me how to groom a horse, and she gave me a few riding lessons. I wished that week would never end!

To be perfectly honest, that is probably one of the biggest reasons why I wanted a baby girl way back then; the outfits for baby girls are always so adorable! The outfits always bring back memories of my childhood when my sisters and I would play with dolls and dress the dolls up in frilly outfits. Sometimes I wonder if playing with baby dolls was brain washing us, or simply appealing to our maternal instincts. Seems to me that I was just as happy playing with toy trucks and building blocks when I was given them to play with. That’s probably a good thing, though, since I had two sons and I ended up spending many hours with them playing with toy trucks, building blocks, trains, and action figures!

So I had to have my son teach me how to use it, and he laughed at me because he thought that I should already know how to use it! It was easier than I thought it would be, and I have used it a couple of times. I wonder how much I’ll use it in the future. I can’t imagine doing it while driving. That would be dangerous and dumb.

When I start to feel that way I realize that the pain and sorrow other families must be feeling when their loved ones have passed away and will never be there again for the holidays would truly be unbearable, and I count my blessings that my loved ones are alive and well “out there” doing what they want and love to do. Yes, I miss them, but I am so happy that they are pursuing their dreams instead of being shot at in some war zone. Thank you God.

And then he sent me the website uncommongoods.com, along with the link to Uncommon Goods source codes which is actually a page that leads you to discount codes for the uncommon goods website. I still haven’t figured out why the discount code is being called a source code. Could someone explain that one to me please?

And, knowing how much of a comic hero fan my hubby is, he sent me the link to SuperheroStuff promo codes which is a coupon page for the superherostuff.com website. I used to think my hubby was difficult to shop for, but with this superherostuff website, I think I could just close my eyes and play “pin the donkey” with that website and my hubby would be thrilled with anything I picked out!

Thanks for the help Jonny Boy!

I had an older woman working with me at the time and she used to tell me to just hang in there and keep telling them that I loved them. She would tell me stories of her own sons and how she was frantic for almost a year that one son who was fighting depression might try to kill himself. She made a tremendous effort to spend as much time with him as she could, often going for long drives at night, just the two of them in the car. She kept talking to him about the future and how he had so much to look forward to, and that she loved him. And eventually he developed some new interests and friends ,and he gradually came out of the depression. Now he is a healthy and vital young man with a family of his own.

I often think back on how much those conversations with her meant to me and inspired me to help my kids get through their bad times. I owe her a huge debt of gratitude.

One thing about these group conversations that always stuck in my mind was the phrase that someone told me once when they were talking about how in one particular family all of the children were short and in another particular family and all the children were tall – she said “when you plant corn you get corn; when you plant peas you get peas.”

I don’t know why that saying stuck in my mind, but I have found that I frequently repeat that saying when someone comments to me how tall my sons are!  Living out in the country it has been a real challenge getting clothes that fit my very tall guys.  There are no Tall Mens Clothing stores within an hour’s drive!  And it seems most of the local stores are dedicated to the short and stocky framed guys.  Growing corn can be challenging!

My kids absolutely love everything on VH1. I know when I was growing up VH1 was kind of a fuddy duddy channel but they’ve really done a lot to rehab their image over the last few years. My son James likes all those Decade shows where they count down the best stuff from each year and my daughter likes some of the original programming. Ever since we got satellite from http://www.direct.tv last year that’s all they’ve wanted to watch…I was a little confused since they’re teenagers and I thought I was going to have to fight with them over watching MTV! At least they’re not watching anything too bad that I feel is giving them messages they shouldn’t be learning! I wish they’d get outside and do something physical a little more but at least when they’re in the house I know where they are and I don’t have to worry about who they’re hanging out with or what they’re doing. It’s better to have them here and inactive than out and about!

When I was a kid I remember hearing the adults talking about how quickly time flies and thinking it was all a bunch of rubbish. Somehow having kids of your own (and nieces and nephews!) makes you realize how right they were about that.

Happy birthday sweetie!