Thanks giving, Week 46

This week:

• I am thankful for Costco for supplying (in exchange for our money, of course) the variety of foods that were made available to World Pneumonia Day celebrants so that I didn't have to do much food preparation.
• I am thankful to the lady who kindly overlooked the fact that Oliver's rubber ducky, which he'd been tossing into the air with great excitement all evening, landed in her beans.  (The ducky spent the remainder of the evening getting a "bath.")
• I am thankful to the several Vanderbilt employees -- all moms themselves -- who spent the better part of the evening gushing over, smiling at, playing with, and tickling my son, who was very well behaved (ducky episode notwithstanding) and seemed to have enjoyed himself thoroughly.
• I am thankful to Derrick, one of Wes's fellow attendings, who brought a beautiful bouquet of flowers, built Lego towers with Oliver, and even stayed after to help clean up.  Likewise to Angie, who brought a pumpkin-shaped container of Reece's peanut butter cups, Rolo's, and Hershey's Kisses.  (The scale does not thank you, but I do.)
• I am thankful that the weather has turned cooler, not only because I love fall, but because it means we can store the large quantities of leftover tea, soda, water, and beer in the basement.  (Nashville friends, please come by for a drink.  There's even a bottle of wine, I think!)
• I am thankful to the lead researcher who was here on Friday.  She interned at Children's Memorial in Chicago before Wes and I were even alive, gave birth at Vanderbilt to children who are now older than us, and was the first female attending at Vanderbilt.  She is also one of the researchers primarily responsible for the HIB vaccine that all children now receive (a contribution for which she received, at some point, death threats from anti-vaccine folks).  She is smart, kind, supportive, and has contributed a lot to women in the field and the general health and well being of my child as one who received this vaccine.

On an unrelated note:

• I am thankful to Wes, who has patiently and repeatedly looked at paint samples on the wall of the nursery and even formed an opinion (despite being colorblind), and offered for me to do whatever I want, owing in partly to that very disability.

And on a completely contrary note:

• I am NOT giving thanks to the Quaker Oatmeal people, who reformulated their instant oatmeal, including the Maple and Brown Sugar flavor that I've eaten for years.  It does not taste the same.  Put the sugar back and give me my oatmeal!

UPDATED: I went to Target today and found that they had several boxes of the old oatmeal left, so I stocked up on 5 boxes!  (I was tempted to buy them out, but that somehow seemed like overkill.)