Poor, poor Brutus. He’s such a great dog and we take him so much for granted. Clean up this mess Brutus! Watch the baby while I run upstairs Brutus! Let the toddler jump on you like a trampoline Brutus! Fetch me a drink Brutus! (Still working on that last one, sadly.) He’s amazing with the kids and lets them climb all over him or ride him like a horse and never complains. He gets fed last and let out to pee last and almost never gets real walks anymore. He went from full-person status in our family with his own spot on the couch to low dog on the totem pole who isn’t even allowed to eat food off the floor without permission. And yet he continues to be the best dog ever.

We let him off leash on our walk yesterday and he was in doggy heaven smelling ALL THE THINGS and marking ALL THE THINGS and eating ALL THE THINGS. He loves all the things.

After our walk, Brutus was exhausted and barely moved for the rest of the day. He turned 6 in October – which is CRAZY because I remember getting him here in Ohio like it was yesterday – and he’s starting to show his age, even though I still think of him like this:

WOOK AT DA WIDDLE PUPPEH!!!

PUPPEH CUDDLES!!!1!1!1!!

Today I am thankful for a loyal, patient, dog who makes me feel safer when E isn’t home and I hear scary noises and who barks REALLY REALLY LOUD when strange people ring the doorbell. We are so lucky Brutus is part of our family.

This time last year I was lying on the couch sobbing into a pillow because I was SUPPOSED to be going to Ohio for Thanksgiving but I was too busy throwing up from pain and worrying my husband was going to think I was faking it to get out of seeing his family. I was also 35 weeks pregnant. I ended up in the hospital and spent the actual holiday having surgery to remove a kidney stone.

It was the worst Thanksgiving ever. I never got a single piece of pumpkin pie.

This year, we are with family. This year, I am healthy. This year my kidneys are behaving themselves. This year I have two perfect outside babies. This year I am going to eat a TON of pumpkin pie.

Today I am thankful I have the time, freedom and budget to try new things in the kitchen. I am thankful my husband will at least taste my cooking and that my daughter loves all of it.

1. 44-clove garlic soup – Smitten Kitchen (you’ll smell like garlic for a week)
2. Barbecued Salmon With Corn Relish – Better Homes & Gardens (one of my favorites)
3. Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Pies – Give Me Flour (Really, really good. Caroline agreed.)
4. Butternut Squash & Mushroom Chicken Pot Pie – Bitchin Camero (actually a really beautiful food blog)

1. Shrimp Pil-Pil – Everyday with Rachael Ray (LOVE this recipe, especially served with a fresh loaf of artisan bread)
2. Chicken & Feta Orzo – PreventionGuide 30-Minute Chicken Dinners (meh)
3. Tilapia with Roasted Vegetables and Olives – Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook, link is similar but not identical (It was really good, even without the olives because E hates them. I added lots of other zero point veggies.)
4. Butternut Squash Risotto – Live Love Pasta (I’d never made risotto before but it was amazing)

This is a little bit of a cheater What’s For Dinner post because these meals were spread out over the past 2 months. Since E is gone so much I’ve been eating a lot of salad and popcorn instead of making a real meal (and making a real mess). We aren’t hosting any of the holidays this year either, so I’m expecting we’ll be eating a lot of homemade pizza and sandwiches in between stuffing ourselves with turkey.

Today’s thankful post is easy. I am thankful for everyone who has served our country in the armed forces. I am proud to count so many people in my life as veterans – both my grandfathers, my step-grandfather, my grandmother, my father, and my best friend are all veterans, and my husband is about to start his 13th year as active duty Navy.

Thank you for your selflessness, thank you for your sacrifices, thank you for your commitment, thank you for your bravery.

My Grandpa (the one who just passed away this week) in his Navy days

My dad in his Coast Guard uniform.

Evan's pinning (the day he was promoted to chief)

Little Evan in Daddy's hat the day Daddy re-enlisted

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.

Yesterday was a perfect example of why I am trying to focus on things I am thankful for this month, instead of spiraling into my dark hole of hatred and rage just because things don’t go my way.

Of course, having your grandfather die and then getting sued aren’t exactly small potatoes in the “things not going my way” category. But I’m going to start with the thankful parts.

I am thankful that my husband has a stable job and can support our family. I am thankful Little Evan wore underwear ALL DAY (in public and during nap!) without a single accident. I am also thankful he understands sad faces and did his very best to cheer me up with hugs and kisses until my face was happy again. I am especially thankful for Motrin and Oreos.

So now, the stuff that sucks. My mom’s dad has been in assisted living, then memory care, then a nursing home for a really long time now so his passing wasn’t a surprise. Alzheimers is a terrible disease. He was such a terrific Grandpa when we were growing up – he always worked so hard to make sure we had a good time when we came to visit. We called him “Tricky Grandpa” and his favorite joke was giving “fisherman’s handshakes”, where he’d grab your hand and wiggle it and reel you in. He was still giving them a couple years ago when we took Little Evan up to meet him, even though he didn’t really understand who he was.

My mother’s family doesn’t do funerals, which is kind of a relief (traveling alone with 2 kids sounds like a nightmare even though I would absolutely do it) but until we have his memorial service (probably in the spring) I won’t really get to say goodbye. So instead I’ll focus on some of the very best memories of my childhood.

My siblings & I with Grandma & Grandpa at their cottage

AND THEN. I came home yesterday morning and discovered papers stuck in my front door that said I was being sued because I am a terrible, horrible, negligent person who caused all sorts of damages and pain and suffering when I crashed my minivan into someone’s car. Except that NEVER HAPPENED. More than a year ago I was in a fender bender in a basketball court that was being used as a parking lot for our polling place. I had put the van in reverse and was drifting backwards slowly (it was a crazy scene with tons of pedestrians) so a truck a few feet to my left could get out of his parking spot. The driver suing me backed up out of HIS parking spot at the same time (except faster, with his foot on the gas) and my back bumper dented his back driver’s side panel. We exchanged insurance info and left – because it was such a TINY THING no one wanted to call the police – and after we both gave our statements to both carriers they BOTH DECIDED I wasn’t at fault. Since I was in a lane of traffic and he was backing out of a space, he had the greater responsibility to not back into my way. I thought it was over.

Now he says I owe him $15,000. Seriously.

In the paperwork from the lawyer, it specifically says I was the one backing out of a parking space. How can someone just lie like that?! Especially after I’m sure he made statements to the insurance company saying that wasn’t the case. It sounds to me like some ambulance-chasing law firm told him he had a case (although the damage to his car couldn’t possible have cost more than a couple hundred bucks to fix and was entirely cosmetic so I have no idea why he even CALLED a lawyer) and they had to change the story to file it.

Angry doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel.

After a few frantic hours on the internet, the state’s legal site and a couple emails, it looks like my insurance company is going to reopen the case and represent me. (True fact: I had no idea they did that. I had already figured out how to file the Appearance paperwork with the court, printed it, filled it out and was putting the kids in the car when my agent told me they would help. I was all set to represent myself, Elle Woods style. I object!!) I have no idea what happens now and no idea if I will have to go to court and testify. As much of a hassle as it would be, I would LOVE to get up and show his lawyer my photos (because yeah, I went back the next day and took a dozen photos of the location AND a dozen photos of my car, all timestamped, so you can see the complete lack of damage because I am smart. Lawyered!) and also point out that since the insurance company said it was HIS fault perhaps I should be suing, seeing as how I was 7 months pregnant at the time and gee, my back is starting to act up.

And now I am thankful I have somewhere to get all that off my chest, because bottling up my rage was giving me a migraine.