yay for friday...

I love the weekends. More time with Paul, down-time with the kids. This will be our last weekend with Benjamin and Ashley until probably next Christmas.

Yesterday, all the kids went to school. I did lots of work around here, worked out, made some yummy lunch, and sat down to put my feet up for a few minutes...the phone rang. The school nurse: Sonja has a stomach ache and needs to be picked up. Aaron and Joseph were heading out the door to help Emily put new flooring in her house, which is right near the school, so they picked her up and brought her to Emily's. I told them that I would pick her up from there if she was really sick, but she painted the walk-in closet in Abigail's room. So. I was surprised when her tummy hurt so badly this morning that she had to go back to bed. But I was merciful...because the second phone call I got from the school yesterday was from the middle school principal: Sonja got smacked in the arm, pretty hard, by an angry girl in the lunch line who tried to cut in front of her. The girl hit Sonja, then started crying and blaming it on Sonja. The lunch lady believed Sonja, then the principal viewed the video tape. Yes, our kids are under surveillance at school. Anyway, I think Sonja's tummy ache is related to that. She didn't do anything wrong, yet was talked to by the principal. If you have a ten year old rule-abiding daughter, you will know that this would be sure to give her a tummy ache.

So she is home here, in bed, and her mama hopes she isn't really sick.

Then there is Camille. Now, Camille is my baby. Sending her to school is painful, each and every day. She is just a little cutie. And so little still. Well, this fine morning as I woke her up, she was all stuffed up. I thought she should probably go, after all, she missed so much school in December. But she didn't sound good...she brought me the thermometer, and sure enough, a low-grade fever. Yay! ha, just kidding. I don't want her to be sick, but guess what? She is all cuddled up with me right now, in my comfy chair....She says she has a 'bumpy throat".

Waking the kids up from their peaceful sleep to send them out the door to school is hard for me. I watched Jonathan sleep before I nudged him this morning, my mind racing for reasons to justify keeping him home today. But he likes to keep up with his work, and he doesn't mind school. It's just me, the greedy mom, wanting them all here.

I don't know how my Walmart plans will go now. I was going to get the oil changed in the minivan since we put 2400 miles on it, Suzanne needs a calculator for school, Sonja requested sticky-notes (she said she NEEDS them. hmm.) The girls need bobby-pin, and we are running out of milk again. We really should get a second 'fridge to keep stocked with milk. But we are also running out of fruit, except for apples. Here in New York state, our apple crop was damaged by a late frost that killed the blossoms on most of the trees in the spring. So our apples have been few, and not good. And expensive. I sprung for the nine dollar 8pound bag the other day, and I should have just saved my money. They are mushy. blah. I won't just throw them out, I can make some baked apples or something, but blah. Eating an apple shouldn't be like a penance.

So...while we were on our great journey to Florida, one of us got a speeding ticket, and it wasn't me. We had been on the road for over 20 hours, and were nearing our destination...we were on this stop-and-go road, one where the speed limits went from 40 to 55 to 65 then back to 45, over and over again. Then dang it, sirens and flashing lights. Dang it. $279 for going 67 in a 45. ouch. That much over the limit is going to cost on the insurance. ouch. Just what we need. Here in New York state, we are required to have liability insurance for each driver. With six of us driving, 8 counting Sam and Margaret, who have permits but we don't pay insurance on them until they are licensed (Emily, Abigail, and Ben have their own insurance)....our rates on all these vehicles (big van, truck, little car, mini-van, Grampa's Bravada)....ouch. Now, I know I shouldn't complain. We are fortunate to have so many cars to get us all where we want to go. But ouch, still.

Poor Camille. Her eyes are all watery and her nose is stuffed up. What would I do if I had a job? I would be fired by now, I think. 'Cause I couldn't send her to school like this.

The dusty Christmas tree still looks so pretty all plugged in and lit up, but it is starting to get weird. The house will look so empty when we un-decorate though, like in "The Grinch...", "On the walls he left nothing but hooks and some wire..."

Perhaps I will go back to the thrift store and buy that pretty picture I passed up the other day, for $5.99. And the rocking chair for $1.95. It needed paint and a new cushion, but I could use a project.

Lucky Jonathan got to go ice skating with his big brothers Joseph and Aaron last night. This morning, Aaron and Emily went cross-country skiing.

Yes, I would say I have run out of things to say this morning, but I haven't run out of things to do. Tonight I am making a nice meatloaf dinner, with roasted potatoes and carrots. Last night we had jerk chicken (the cheat-y kind, with bottled marinade), tator-tots and regular potatoes, cubed and tossed in olive oil and pepper -baked until crispy (I don't eat potatoes anymore, but I tasted these and dang they were hard to resist), and broccoli.

I haven't been buying breakfast cereal lately. It is expensive, and it is junk. This makes it more challenging to get nine kids out the door to school. Pancakes or oatmeal take time, yogurt and granola bars are expensive. One of them found Pop-tarts in the cupboard, so a few of them were quite happy about that.

Anyway....I think I will read Camille a story. She keeps kissing me on the cheek, and trying to get my attention...