Doll Gown and Outfit

I finished the gown and an outfit for Kaitlyn's doll. Here's a picture of both.

I haven't showed the clothes to Kaitlyn yet. I'm going to give them to her for Christmas.

Doll Carrier/Moses Basket

After finding the little Mose's basket style doll carrier on etsy.com last night I decided to search for a tutorial to make one. I searched high and low. I just knew someone had to of made a free tutorial explaining how I could easily make Kaitlyn's doll a bed. I can't tell you how long I looked before I finally turned to the most frustrating kind of patterns known to man... paper, store bought patterns. I get so lost trying to use those. I finally found it. Maybe the woman who made the ones on etsy.com came up with her own pattern, but it looked just like the carrier Vogue has a pattern for. For a whopping $9.99 I can have my own pattern or for under $15 I can have someone make one for me. Hmmm...

EDIT: Many people pull up this post searching for Moses basket patterns for dolls. I don't want you to walk away empty handed. A commenter left a link to a pattern. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks like it would work. Feel free to pop on over to the doll Moses basket tutorial.

I've almost finished the gown for Kaitlyn's doll. I would have the elastic in the neck by now (only the bottom ruffle remaining), but I realized the neckline I was pinning down still needed to be zig-zagged. =( I took the pins out and laid it aside. I think dinner is calling me.

EDIT: The doll clothing pattern I used is from You Can Make This by CarlaC. It's her Sew Boutique 4 Dolly! V3 pattern. All, but two of the photos on the pattern's page in the "I Made This" section are mine. Even the green gown I mentioned below is on there.

On a completely different note Neal has run off to the coast. He really tried to play it off. He told me it was only 1.5 hours away, but they were going to give themselves 2.5-3 hours to get there. I'm no fool. We have driven there before. It took us 2 hours to arrive. On top of him going 2 hours away with the guys he works with they wanted to arrive early enough to have dinner. Maybe I should explain. One of the guys does some kind of martial arts. He is in a tournament or fight or whatever you call it, tonight. Everyone was going to watch him. Neal didn't think it was appropriate for Kaitlyn to go so of course that means we are left behind. Of course I didn't care to go see a fight. I find myself sitting her adding up the cost of his adventure: 10 pounds to get in, maybe $30 for gas to get there and back, plus about 10 pounds for dinner. You know I think his job change is going to do us in. He goes out to eat more with those in his office since changing jobs. He always tries to downplay it, but I'm starting to wondering if I need to remind him he has a wife and child. Now that I think about it, it makes since why our food budget was blown this month. It cost more to eat off the economy. We had blamed it on Thanksgiving.

PJs and Snowsuit update

Last night I made Kaitlyn some sleeping pants out of bright green flannel with red, yellow, blue, and white flowers on it. As you can see from the picture the red flowers are much bigger then the rest. This was the only flannel I bought when the BX put all their fabric on clearance. Today I made a cap sleeved peasant top to go with the pants. Seeing how we will be spending the cooler months in Texas I thought long sleeves would be a bit much. When I originally bought the fabric I thought we might be moving to Montana in October (last month) so had planned on this having long sleeves. It's a bit plain so I'm thinking about sewing a little red bow on the top to give it a little something more then just plain, bright flannel PJs. The pants are the same Boutique Bottoms I make all the time and the shirt is the Portrait Peasant Top by CarlaC Dolly Designs. I'm actually about to use another CarlaC ebook to make a doll gown out of the same flannel I made Kaitlyn's PJs out of. Well here's the debate... I can make pants and a top just like Kaitlyn's or a gown. My plan all along was to make PJs, but now I'm leaning towards a long sleeve gown. This is the cover to the fun doll clothes ebook I'm going to use.

Here's the almost finished snowsuit for Kaitlyn's baby. I've decided not to make her the mittens. Yes, I know her hands will be cold, but I think she will survive. The way her thumbs stick out it can be a bit of a challenge getting her top on at times. Besides, I'm thinking all my hard work in making mittens will be for nothing because Kaitlyn's wouldn't keep them on her. So far she is doing well keeping the snowsuit on. I think the hat needs a chin strap; Heaven forbid it slide off, and it does every chance it has. If I think about it while Kaitlyn is sleeping I need to swipe her doll and put the fur on the hat and top.

Now my biggest challenge is sewing everything I can before our household goods are picked up in less then three weeks. Goodbye sewing machine. *sniff, sniff

Doll Diaper

Woohoo!!! I just found a doll cloth diaper tutorial (aka free pattern). It's made by Skip To My Lou. I could make some easy and quick with one of Kaitlyn's receiving blankets and/or scrap fabric. We don't have a printer hooked up so I will need to go to the community center to print the pattern.

Ah, with a little bit more searching I found someone else who used the pattern with the same doll Kaitlyn has. She said she had to enlarge it. Now I'm wondering if I should just try making it myself.

Kaitlyn's Wishlist

For those who are wondering what Kaitlyn may like for Christmas or her birthday (although we aren't having a gift party until the third Sunday in May) here are some things she really likes right now.

Little People Learn About Town

Kaitlyn likes to play with this, as much as possible through the packaging, every time she sees it at the BX. When folded it's a bit big, but she needs toys in Texas so I thought I might buy it once we are stateside and ship it to Guam. She likes most anything that is Little People. She has the house, plane, school bus, mini van, two-seater plane, and tow truck. The last two were dropped off at the Airman's Attack and a friend gave them to me for Kaitlyn along with enough people to fill up the bus and plane seats.

Bubble Bath

Her love of bubbles has nothing to do with the brand, but the love of what the general product does. Recently I found a brand new container of bubble bath that needs to be used before we leave England. Kaitlyn has been getting a bubble bath almost every night. As I take her upstairs for a bath she is usually saying "bubbles".

Arts

Kaitlyn loves to color. Seeing how she now decorates her highchair (against our wishes) we only let her play with washable Crayons while strapped into her chair. She typically colors in a small notebook which she seems to prefer over coloring books.

Doll Paraphernalia

Kaitlyn is just starting to get attached to her dolls. We will be taking at least one doll to Texas with us and a doll stroller. It's the smaller items I know she would love, like doll clothes, blanket, doll carrying pouch like this one from Cashmere Cuddles.

Or this doll carrier/bed by Mimas

She also sells these cloth diapers for dolls.

I'm sure these would be easy to make. A little elastic in the legs, maybe some batting down the middle, and Velcro closers.

The more I look the more fun doll stuff I'm finding on Etsy. For those looking for great handmade gifts and would like to help support a stay at home mom etsy.com is the way to go.

Clothes

Kaitlyn is still growing into 2t. For the most part if I buy her anything while stateside I plan on getting her summer items in 3t. Seeing how we are moving to Guam at the end of May and every day is summer weather, even if the 3t won't fit by then, they will fit her soon enough and will get plenty of wear. Dresses are more forgiving if they are to big or small so my plan is to buy her 3t dresses and make her 2t (for now).

She loves purses, but still doesn't understand necklaces and bracelets.

She loves shoes too, but we are having a bit of an issue there. She still walks funny (on the ball of her right foot) and may have to start wearing a special "boot" to correct the problem. If we are cleared to do so I want to buy her some good sandals when we are stateside.

Other Ideas

Gift certificates to You Can Make This. I buy all Kaitlyn's clothing patterns off YCMT. A gift certificate to there is the start of an outfit for Kaitlyn.

I wish Fabritopia sold gift certificates because I love getting fabric from there. The owner is great and her fabric is wonderful quality!

Fabric.com is another place a buy a lot of fabric from that mostly becomes Kaitlyn's clothes.
Oh, movies. Kaitlyn has the second Ice Age, Open Season, and Nim's Island. I think she would like most any animated feature with animals like Madagascar and Barn Yard.

And for those wondering what to get me this last section is good for me too. I have gotten a couple patterns from YCMT for me and of course the fabric came from fabric.com or Fabritopia. I do shop other online stores, but these two have become my main choices.

*Once we are in Guam there are some little bit bigger items we plan on getting her, but I rather not ship. Some of those items are (but not limited to) child size mop and broom, doll bed, and doll highchair.

Ice Cream

Kaitlyn had her first taste of ice cream last week. I told Neal because we made her wait this long I thought we should make it special. A simple ice cream bar or even a bowl of ice cream at home wouldn't do. On a couple occasions I tried to get him to buy her some ice cream from Baskin Robbins. He always found an excuse to put it off.

Monday while waiting for Kodak to reopen I bought Kaitlyn her first ice cream. At first she would just lick the spoon, the bottom or top it didn't matter. It didn't take long before she was scooping out strawberry ice cream. I was surprised she was actually clean about it. She didn't want to waste one drop. A couple times melted ice cream would run down the side of the cup and Kaitlyn would say, "mess" while catching it with her finger. Hehehe...

When she was done with her ice cream we printed the picture and added it to her birthday card.

This is the last shot I took of it before sliding it into the envelope. I know the characters on here mean nothing to most of you, but they all mean something to Kaitlyn. Actually The Shiny Show just went off (center characters with star) and the Doodle Do's are currently on (hand puppets on the left).
Here's Kaitlyn mailing her card. Because we have close to a month left in this house I took our address (and last name) off the picture.

Kaitlyn is 23 months old today. Can you believe she is almost two?!!! Well maybe you can, but it shocks me. She has reached the point in age we no longer say how many months she is. When someone asks I just say she will be two on Christmas Eve.

Doll Snowsuit

My plan to shrink to bottom of the snowsuit didn't work. I'm not sure what I was thinking. I almost finished the height when I noticed my dropping of a stitch was causing the seam to wrap around the front. =( I pulled out the stitches again. However this time I was ready to do it right. One thing I wasn't expecting was for it to be so obvious I dropped the stitch on the side with the seam; it was angling a bit to much. How I fixed the problem was dropping two stitches equal distances apart on the same row. I did it three times (lost six stitches) and the top was small enough for the doll. Now I'm working on condensing the top. This morning I followed the directions enough to figure out the plan then went back and pulled out some stitches to shrink it down. I believe the top is supposed to have 98 chains and I'm currently using 62. Although I had to put it aside after my first try, it does seem to work up REALLY fast. I was surprised how quickly I had what looked like a chest piece. With the bottom of the snow suit you do the same stitch around and around and around. It seemed to take a while; well, compared to the top. Okay, I'm off to work out the sizing of the top.

Insanity?

Last night I asked Neal how many parents spend hours on something they can't keep and may never see again? The preschool children's network (Cbeebies) here in the UK shows birthday cards every day. They have several requirements like size, the child's name and age on the card, what kind of picture of bday child, and what characters go on it. Saturday Kaitlyn and I went to a local grocery store to raid their magazine rack. Who knew you could actually buy preschool/toddler magazines? We bought three. Kaitlyn was thrilled when she saw all her favorite characters on the magazines. My plan was to cut them up for the birthday card. I felt really guilty cutting up some magazines she seemed to take joy in; I opted to go to the community center and print off her favorite Cbeebies characters instead. I think I will put the magazines away for our plane trip next month. My original plan was to paint the three puppets from The Shiny Show. After drawing Tiggs then panting the picture I decided I couldn't take out the time to pant Mukka and Dogsby too then send them off never to be seen again. When Kaitlyn saw my version of Tiggs she knew who it was right away. She kept pointing saying, "Shiny Show". I still have to put a picture of Kaitlyn on it.

This is the one I'm going to use. It will go at the top between the star and number 2. As a disclaimer I just want to say I didn't draw any of these characters. The only thing I can take credit for is the foil star and her name. The star is the "super shiny" from The Shiny Show. When you win the game show you get the super shiny. The dog, monkey and cat below it are from The Shiny Show. The three hand puppets on your left are the Doodle Do's. Kaitlyn sounds so funny when she is talking about the Doodle Do's. I think it's one of the few double word things she can say fast. By the way, the Doodle Do's are chenille gloves with eyes on top of the hand and feathers, rope, and/or other random bits covering the puppeteers wrist and arm. The dog on the bottom right is Pippin. She is always getting into mischief. Kaitlyn loves watching her and has even cried on several occasions when the show ends. The #2 is from the Numberjacks. I used it mostly because it's a 2. Kaitlyn does watch Numberjacks, but I think the math is over her head.

Because we will be in billeting on Kaitlyn's birthday and not getting Cbeebies we are saying her birthday is on the 17th of December. We are hoping the card is actually used so Kaitlyn can see herself on TV. They show them on the child's birthday hence the reason we are making her birthday come early. Our household goods will start being packed up on the 18th. On the back of the card I have to write her birthday, name, and a message from us.

Alright I need to go get ready to leave. The Kodak store will be open in about 30 minutes and I want to get that picture printed.

Christmas Tree

You Are a Bright Christmas Tree

For you, the holidays are all about fun and seasonal favorites. You are into all things Christmas, even if they're a little tacky.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

They just called me tacky! Well, whatever... at least I enjoy the holidays. I was poking around Hilary's site when I saw she had taken the quiz. She was a nice tree with a popcorn and cranberry garland.

Crochet Project

I've decided to do a bit of crocheting. Since seeing the Newborn Doll Snowsuit on You Can Make This I've wanted to make it. I finally broke down and bought the pattern yesterday.

When I started the snowsuit I had no idea how big the doll in the picture is. Kaitlyn's dolls are smaller, maybe 13-15". This doll must be HUGE because there is no way the sack bottom would fit Kaitlyn's dolls. She could lay them in the bottom and use the shoulder straps to carry them around. LOL. I'm only working on the bottom so far and it looks like I will easily be able to shrink it down for Kaitlyn's dolls. I'm a bit worried about getting the top the right size. I guess I will be doing a lot of ripping out to get the size just right.

For anyone who wants to try this pattern and you have one of the average size Little Mommy dolls (or one close to it), I did rows 1-3 then skipped to row 7. To make it fit the chest of the doll a little better I figure as I work up to the top of the sack I will drop the last stitch in a loop a few times. I've already dropped it from 48 to 47 and you couldn't even tell I skipped the stitch. Only time will tell if the top is so easy. I checked the craft store yesterday and they didn't have white eyelash yarn or whatever they call the fuzzy stuff so I'll have to come up with some other kind of lacy trim. Yes, I know it won't be as fun, but why should I spend $5 on something for a doll? I must admit before buying the pattern my main hangup was a snowsuit has no place in Guam even on a doll. Hehehe...

My Brother

I know I'm married; I know I have a child to worry about; I know my brother is older, but none of that changes the fact that the older I get the more out I am to fight you when you say anything negative about my brother. If you take something from him (aka the resent thief who kept breaking into his house) it makes me want to hunt you down like the dirty animal you are and take care of you myself. I would have no problem sitting in my brother's house with a gun waiting on you to crawl through a window. And Mr. Thief, I would exercise Texas law to the fullest extent by shooting to kill as soon as you pick up one item that doesn't belong to you.

Beyond my desire to kill for my brother (only legally of course) there are the ladies. Anyone who knows my brother at all, knows he doesn't take matters of the heart lightly. I can count on one hand the number of girls he has expressed interest in. It's not that he isn't attracted to other girls, he just keeps it to himself. He has only dated one person and that ended very oddly. They didn't go out long and maybe a month after it ended she got married. Totally bazaar. I want my brother to be happy. I would love to see him married with a baby on the way. Even if he only has one child, I would love for him to have the same experience as me (not the infertility part) with the anticipation of the gender, the unpredictable arrival, and being totally lost in the newest person in your life who has completely captured your heart.

I feel his problem is he needs a new batch of Godly women in his life. He needs women who love God first and are eligible. I would prefer for "the one" not to have children, but he is open and always has been. I just want to make sure when he gets married there will at least be a chance for him to have a child of his own and I'm afraid if she already has kids she will not want more. Ladies, I'm taking applications. If your not a Christian, single, or live North of Houston, there's no need to apply. Not only will your application be denied, but we will use it as fire starter for our New Years bonfire. I will wad it up and with a shout of "No thank you!!!" set it on fire. And going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more then being in a garage makes you a car. You must be a Christian not just a church goer. One last thing, he turned 34 in September and could use a wife within five years of his age.

By the way ladies... no games. Don't play with his heart then walk the other way. Be upfront about your intentions. If you don't plan on having kids tell him; it's better he either plan to never have children of his own or find someone who wants kids. If you are secretly in a relationship tell him; he will find out eventually. !!!!!!Most importantly!!!!!! DO NOT PLAY WITH HIS HEART, IT'S NOT A TOY! If you can abide by all these guidelines then please apply now.

One last request by all who read this; don't share this with my brother. Grandma that means you! =) I can picture his desire to elbow me now. LOL...

Happy Birthday Dad!

Just as I made the last post I remembered I didn't say today is my dad's 54th birthday. I can't believe he is 54. You know what that means right? That I'm older too. Heaven help us all. Anyway...

Happy Birthday Dad!

This is Kaitlyn with her Papa just before Christmas last year.

Here's Kaitlyn and Papa in May 2007. Notice their heads are shaped the same. They both have the flat backs then a rounded off 90 degree angle that leads to an almost flat head. They both have the same dip in the center of their heads. While I'm on a roll I'll point out they have the same hairdo here too; none on the top and a little around the sides. LOL...

Little Toenails

I have a hang up about little girls and toenail polish. Personally I don't like seeing little girls in red polish. A while back I bought Kaitlyn a pale pink polish. Once on it blends so well with her nails that it's hard to really tell there is anything there. When I pulled the polish out last week I had only done it one other time. She was patient as I painted her nails, blew on them, then put her to bed. While she was sleeping I painted my toenails a dark almost red color. The next morning as soon as she saw my toenails she started chattering and had to touch my nails. I kept showing her the polish on her toes, but she acted like it wasn't there and went back to touching my nails. I broke down and went to base for new polish. Her nails are now Barbie pink. =) She was excited as she watched me paint all the nails on her left foot. I had to fight her to stay with me, not to touch them, and to let me move on to the next foot. Her toes have now been Barbie pink for two days. I still see her off and on touching her own nails. Speaking of the Barbie pink... Why is it so hard to find a pink between pale pink and Barbie pink? I guess it's just our small selection on base. I was only going to buy her the cheap stuff and most of them were gone.

I was going to take a picture of those Barbie pink toes so you could see them, but I had to put them to bed before I could find the camera. Hmmm... I think I may have left it in the car.

Faith Top and Boutique Bottoms

I made Kaitlyn the Faith Double Layer Dress Top and Boutique Bottoms recently. She wore it to base Friday night. When the BX (Base Exchange) put all their fabric on clearance for 50% off, I picked up these three prints. Looking back I wish I had bought more of the main green fabric on her top and none of the green top band fabric. The two greens were different colors; enough that I had to use two different colors of thread on them. and keep them separated by bands of the pink and white check. Instead of putting ruffles on the bottom of the pants I tried to make them bell a little bit and put a second layer just like the top. I actually used the pattern for the main shirt panel so the bell would be the same. I know this isn't the best picture, but Kaitlyn didn't want to cooperate for a better one; as usual. =(

Coke

Last night I gave up fighting Kaitlyn over my soda. She literally had both hands on my can pulling. Besides the less then one cookie she has had in her lifetime and that was over the last couple weeks, we don't give her sugar. Or at least we didn't used to give her sugar. What's amazing to me is the caffeine effected her the same as it does me; little to nothing at all. She drank the last little bit of this can about an hour before bedtime. Other then fighting me with bulging eyes to keep the can at her lips, her temperament didn't change. She was just watching as I scrolled through pictures and laughed when she saw these while saying "juice". Last night I kept telling her, "it's not juice it's coke!" By the way, there was only about 3/4" of coke in the bottom of the can.

Neal loves this picture. He said it looks like she's really chugging it. It you look close (or click the image to make it bigger) you can see she is looking over the can and to the right. My little tube boob. Oh... she wasn't taking in much at a time, but treated it like a bottle or sippy cup. You know how babies will drink a bottle until it's completely done without stopping to take a breath? Well that is what she was doing. Near the end (it took her a while to drink it) she would take a drink for a couple moments then open her mouth and go "ahhh" with a grin on her face; she did this a couple times.

In other news, we put our Christmas tree up yesterday. I bought a small one (4.5') last month so we could have something leading up to us having to pack it away before Christmas. It's still bare and could use some more fluffing. I'm guessing continual fluffing will be in order. Who knows, Kaitlyn hasn't touched it today. Yesterday she kept putting a big pink ball into the tree. I can see a hole from her antics right now. I figure once she gets used to it we will add some ornaments. Although it killed me to buy what I deem as junk, I got some plastic ornaments for the tree. I don't want to risk her braking our normal ornaments.

Timing

Is it to late to abort? How about the whole "Born Alive" option?

Wake up!

What were you thinking America! When you open xanga and see people you know making comments on their blog like "They asked for it, so give them their king" you know we really messed up. I just hope there's no damage he can do (beyond the deaths of to many more babies at his bloody hands) that can't be overturned in four years.

Heaven help us we are about to go for a wild ride.

What has really infuriated me throughout the election is how his campaign did everything short of buying college students vote. When you hear of people standing outside of a Clinton rally handing out concert tickets to keep them away it shows a candidates true colors. The college age say they are voting for once and doing so because they are wise, it makes me want to smack them and say "Wake up!!! Your vote has been bought by a smooth talking snake! You're not wise, you're deceived."

The US has already been moving into financial hard times. I predict one of two things will happen. Our new snake... umm president (man that leaves a bad taste in the mouth) will start to try pulling the troops home. The problem with to many troops being stateside is they aren't needed there. If you're not needed then cutbacks will soon follow. However we can't pull out of Iraq early. Pulling out of Iraq early declaring it was the wrong war will cause a bigger mess. Lord willing it won't bring that mess on our soil. The poor citizens in Iraq may just be sacrificed at the hands of someone who himself wouldn't serve. Yes, I know he directly won't kill them, but his actions will cause the liberals whom our troops have been fighting to simply take over. Of course our pull out won't last long. Even if out of principle (and that is how he seems to vote) he chooses to never go into Iraq again the wake of the turmoil there will spill into other countries causing us the need to go into them. If he refuses to fight, period... Oh let me say that more accurately, if he refuses to let those who have volunteered fight (because we all know he never has) then other countries will see us for the cowards we have become and know they can join the fight against the US. Guess what? We can't suddenly say, "I'm with Switzerland", meaning we are neutral on where we stand. We have been in the game to long to suddenly go sit on the sidelines. Just wait we will probably go from wanting to let troops go (more lost jobs) to highly encouraging people to enlist because we are now (meaning 2-3 years from now) in deeper poo then before.

Election Day!

It has taken forever for this day to arrive. The media has treated the election like a pregnancy. Everything has been building up to today. Maybe pregnancy isn't the best way to describe it seeing how one person who may get in today is fine with abortions being done all the way to term. Hmmm... If he gets in can we abort? If that's the case I guess it's a shame I'm pro-life.

Recently I was reading someones outraged comment about those who are pro-life. He went off on how we want to save babies, but are fine with others dying. Well... he didn't put it so simply. I was frustrated reading his post. We can't lump an unborn baby in the same category as a murderer. If he wants to say all pro-lifers are for the death penalty, war and so forth then can I say all pro-choice are against the death penalty? How much sense does it make to take an innocent life yet preserve a guilty one? The term pro-life and this guys take on it reminded me of a discussion Neal and I had once on how people who live in North America are technically Americans. Well, Neal said they were Americans anyway; I disagreed and he finally did too. I rationalized it by the term "American" refers to those born in the US just like those born in Mexico are Mexican.

Just like a mother in labor, I can't wait for this day to be behind us. I pray all who goes to the polls will have wisdom. They will not vote on race be it black or white, democrat or republican. I pray those who have been blinded by smooth talking will have their eyes opened before they vote.

It doesn't matter what party you claim, what matters is how you vote. Some of my extended family can be so stuck on a party that they will vote for a bad person just because they are in their party. Drop the racism! Take a moment to really pray about it. Who would God have you vote for? Personally I think the choice is clear; I just hope others clean their glasses so they are seeing clearly too.

Made in the USA: Spoiled Brats

Twice now I've gotten the same forward that supposedly David Letterman said. With a bit of snopes.com searching I learned he didn't say it and the email used to say Jay Leno was the author. The only truth behind the Jay Leno bit was at the bottom was a quote from him, but giving credit to Letterman. Anyway, my search led to the original document by the rightful author. It was good so I thought I would share it. Of course this is the original so it doesn't have the Leno quote.

Made in the USA: Spoiled Brats
By Craig R. Smith

The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The same magazine that employs Michael (Qurans in the toilets at Gitmo) Isikoff. Here I promised myself this week I would be nice and I start off in this way. Oh what a mean man I am.
The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3s of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.
So being the knuckle dragger I am, I starting thinking, ''What we are so unhappy about?''

Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all involved. Whether you are rich or poor they treat your wounds and even, if necessary, send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home, you may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of having a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes; an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells. Just ask why they are going to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book and do a TV special about how he didn't kill his wife but if he did … insane!

Stop buying the negative venom you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

I close with one of my favorite quotes from B.C. Forbes in 1953:

''What have Americans to be thankful for? More than any other people on the earth, we enjoy complete religious freedom, political freedom, social freedom. Our liberties are sacredly safeguarded by the Constitution of the United States, 'the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.' Yes, we Americans of today have been bequeathed a noble heritage. Let us pray that we may hand it down unsullied to our children and theirs.''

I suggest this Thanksgiving we sit back and count our blessings for all we have. If we don't, what we have will be taken away. Then we will have to explain to future generations why we squandered such blessing and abundance. If we are not careful this generation will be known as the ''greediest and most ungrateful generation.'' A far cry from the proud Americans of the ''greatest generation'' who left us an untarnished legacy.

By Craig R. Smith