sunday night quiet....

It was another busy day here in Busytown. With three kittens and a Mama Kitty residing in the living room, with a puppy who doesn't bother them at all since Mama has hissed at her a few times, there is sweetness and sometimes a tiny bit of chaos. The kitties are curled up on the floor with Mama right now, all quiet. Whoever takes one of these kittens will be lucky - they are used to people. They remind me of the book, "Are You My Mother?"....the earnest way they peer into my face.

After church this morning, I dropped the princesses off at their friend/cousin Danielle's house for a tea-party birthday party. Home to switch the big van for the truck, then on to...the Chinese buffet with Evelyn and Suze, being joined by Abigail, Mali, Kathryn, and Sonja. Why did we go there? Apparently I promised them I would take them there sometime this summer.....and summer is almost over. So I gave in. By the time we pulled up at the restaurant, I was glad I had given in to them, and Evelyn said she was glad she had begged me.

Our fortune cookies: Suze's said, "Seek advice from you mother, she is wise." Suze said, "yeah, because she told me to make a volleyball out of plastic bags." True, I did. Long story. Anyway, my fortune had Mali and Abigail falling out of their chairs. We all laughed so hard our stomachs hurt and the boys at the next table were telling us to Shut Up. It said, "You may be hungry soon. Order take-out now." ha. As if we would be hungry after eating at the all-you-can-eat buffet...I don't know now why it was so hilarious, but it was.

Then...off to the grocery store for a can of coffee, a watermelon ($2.99!), some cherries, and a TimmyHo's coffee for me. Then...to Sear's to buy: a new dishwasher!!! We have been handwashing for months now, and when we let it slip, it takes forever to get them all washed. We usually keep up, and I don't really mind washing them....but. It will be SO nice to load them all in and get them washed at once again. I was supposed to get the $299 model, but I had a coupon for fifty bucks off an appliance priced $300 or more....so I got the $359 one for $309...it has the stainless steel front like the stove and fridge. I hope it works well and lasts long. We have a new water-softening system in, and Paul is going to put in a small filter on the hot water pipe that feeds it, so the hard water will not clog it up and kill it.

Mali, Kathryn, and I stopped to visit Paul's dad on the way home. He had a grand mal seizure last week and spent a few days in the hospital. He can no longer drive, and it is hard for him. He was sitting there on his front porch watching the cars go by. He was glad for the company, and we enjoyed our visit with him. Paul had spent the previous day with him, and he told me how much he appreciated it. Then his mom got home, so we stayed a bit longer to talk to her. They are getting old but aging so gracefully. They just seem more humble, more thankful...and I really like being with them.

Home again home again, jiggety jig. I put my suit on and jumped in the pool. It was 86 degrees out, and humid. Then....over to pick up the princesses from their party. They had too much fun, Camille only cried for me once, and had one accident, opps. Sorry, Kim! They came home, had a nice warm bath, and were tucked in before 9 o'clock.

Mali has been home for the weekend from college, her clinicals haven't started yet. She took Margaret, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, and Sonja over to where Jonathan has been, at their cousin's house (Sebastian and Linnea and William), to watch a movie. They are on their way home now, so my quiet will be invaded.

My three big boys, Joseph, Aaron, and Samuel, are back from their weekend camping trip in the Adirondacks. The van smelled horrible from all the boys that rode in there. Girls just don't stink up a van like boys do.

One more week of vacation before school starts...I am hoping it will be a long long week. I want to go to the beach, to sit around by the pool, enjoy the kids, just soak them up. For me, the beginning of school is actually physically painful. I cannot stand it. I cannot bear it. The thought of Miss Camille getting on that bus: I can't even think about it. Everytime I start to, I just push it away. I know, I have to grow up and deal...but. I don't want her to go yet. Perhaps she won't want to, and I can keep her another year. But I want Char, too, and Jonny...wah. I hate school. Hate it. It steals my kids from me.

The house....oh, the house....let's just say that tomorrow, I will have my work cut out for me. And since my kids are still on their slightly nocturnal schedule, I will be on my own for a few hours before they get up to help me in the morning. The college kids will be leaving, and I will drive Samuel, then ugh, the work. The new dishwasher isn't hooked up yet, and there ARE dishes to wash. The floors, which were swept today, need it again. Laundry, always. Counters, I know they are under that stuff. ugh, and ugh. But not the end of the world. As long as no one drops in until at least noon.

I am tired tonight. I had a headache-y day yesterday. I was out working in the yard for a few hours in the sun, (dehydration?), had a piece of hot sausage for dinner (nitrates?), and hot tea in the evening (too much caffeine?). I took an evening swim, and my head was pounding...went to bed with a headache. Never ever do that, I told myself later. By the middle of the night, I was in agony. Pounding and pounding, nauseaus, blah. I took four ibuprofen. Didn't even touch the pain. Every time I so much as wiggled my pinkie, I almost threw up. Two more ibuprofen, lots of water. Finally!!! - I finally got some relief and fell back to sleep. When I woke up at 9a.m, my first thought was, "I am gonna sleep all day." Then I remembered Danielle's birthday party, and that I had to rummage through my present closet, wrap the gifts, ect....and then there was church, can't miss that....blah. I have gone all day with that wrung-out feeling that follows those headaches. I feel like I could crawl into bed and sleep for days....but, Sam needs his ride at 6:45 a.m. Perhaps I will feel like a million bucks tomorrow. Now, I shall exercise some grown-up-ness and go get into bed instead of reveling in the quiet...ha, they all came in and there was a squabble about using the bathrooms...wait, two or three squabbles...