nothing new under the sun

Nine of my kids went off to school today. They all seemed rather blah-ish this morning, so I reminded them that this IS the day that the Lord has made. Sam took NutterButter Peanut Butter cookies for his whole table of friends at lunch, and Kathryn remembered her drinks and cookies for Spanish class. But Jonathan didn't put his folder into his backpack, meaning I have to drive over to school because his book report on Henry Ford is due today.

I also have to get out the door to go to the store, again, because we have no bread (which isn't the hugest deal, we don't eat much bread anymore), no rice-cake-y things, and...we are almost out of toilet paper. Whoever runs this house needs to get more efficient!

Okay, I went for a walk yesterday, bad knees or not, in the glorious sunshine. Suri went too and was relatively good. She pulled a few times when she absolutely had to smell something important, but for the most part, she walked along with the leash just loose. That was completely unheard of when walking the late Miss Rosie. She always had to be tugging, for the whole walk. Anyway, I also went to the pool in the afternoon, so yay me!

My knees hurt after the walk. But...it was so nice out! And, I am going to walk when I get the chance to, because I need to lose this weight. I have been stuck here in Maintenance Mode for too long! The Christmas Creep isn't gone yet, either, so I am actually 7 pounds higher than I was in November! That is NOT GOOD! I know a big part of it is that I have cut out the walks. The doctor said to go to the mall. Well, the mall is way to far away to drive to ever single day, and duh, I would buy too much stuff! So I will walk down my road when I can, and swim more, and do my modified exercises here at home. The trick is to blast away at all the excuses I have each and every day. I know the answers, now I just have to DO THIS THING!

Camille and I went to the pool by ourselves. Charlotte Claire came home from school with a headache, and Jonathan was busy working on that book report. (The apple doesn't rot too far from the tree, Mr. Jonathan doing his book report the night before it was due...the book report he had a full month to do). Anyway, Camille is so funny. As we drove down our road, she explained to me that God MUST be real, because of all the trees and the sky and the snow and the grass and the hills and the birds and animals. She said they are all here because God made them, otherwise there would be NOTHING, so that's why God is real. She also explained how when we listen to God and Jesus and be nice and share, it makes Satan and our sin very mad, but if we listen to our sin and Satan and be mean, it makes God and Jesus sad. Simple truth from a five year old.

When we got home, our dinner was all done: roast beef with baked potatoes, and carrots. I didn't roast the carrots because several kids said they like them better raw. It seemed strange, but they ate them all up that way. After dinner, Miss Camille said, "Mama, I need you. Please sit down so I can sit with you." She says she is never going to get too big to cuddle on my lap with me.

Daddy is reading them, "Little House In The Big Woods". I read them the first chapter. They were surprised that Laura had a corncob wrapped in a handkerchief for a doll.

I have laundry to put in, and need to get Jon's report to school. I have already washed dishes and swept floors, taken Suri outside twice. I want to crawl back into bed with my book...