vacation!!!

Nah, not a tropical one. Just a week off for the school kids. We are enjoying it, but things have sure changed around here since the kids were younger. I can no longer decide on a fun outing, pack them all up and go. There are too many different ages and interests. A few of the older girls really want to go to the mall...the big awful one. Bringing the younger kids there is just asking for disappointment. blah. But staying home and hanging out is nice. Jon has his train set up in the living room, and the little girls are playing mermaids.(they have doused themselves with pefume!) They moved out from their home behind the big chair, down to their room. They wake up at the same time as they have to on school mornings but on school mornings, I have to wake them up. Is that fair? The older kids are all still sleeping of course. They can turn nocturnal in just a day or two.

Yesterday Evelyn and I took a quick trip to the small city for a few things. Sliced almonds and coffee and red grapefruit and romaine and ham and cheese and a few birthday presents. Mirielle is turning 23 on the 22nd, and Suzanne will be 12 on the 23rd.

Emily is working on re-finishing her floors in her big old house, and needs help today. So perhaps a few of the kids will head over there today. Tomorrow is another college basketball game, so off to the Dome we go...Paul and I, and four of the kids. Mirielle and Aaron have classes during the day but will be here with the younger kids for the afternoon and evening. I bought an easy dinner for them: frozen pot pies. blah. But for some reason they really like them, and since Evelyn will be making dinner and requested them, there are ten in the freezer. I told her to microwave some potatoes and make some veggies for the side.

Suri is a bad girl sometimes. This morning Mirielle put on a pair of boots and took her outside. Suri ran around a bit...went pee...then ran away to the neighbors. She did not listen to Mirielle, did not come back. I had to go out there and call her. She did not pay one bit of attention to me as she ran around sniffing in a yard which did not belong to her. I returned to the house for my coat and some boots that actually fit me, and went back out with the bag of treats. When she heard me call, she started barking at me, came running to me wagging her tail. I praised her and brought her into the house. Gave her a treat. But rrr. We need that invisible fence!

Anyway. The little girls and Jon want to go to the pool this afternoon, which sounds good to me. The mall does not sound good to me. But sometimes...if not MOST of the time, I do things I don't really want to do...just because. Because I love them, and because I am the mom.

The two little girls were the only ones up when I crawled out of my warm comfy bed this fine dark morning. I served them cereal from their new sparkly heart-shaped bowls that were thirty cents each, Valentine's clearance, from Target. As I presented them along with some heart embossed sticky-notes, to Charlotte Claire from the Tooth Fairy, who said she is sorry for forgetting Char's tooth for three days now, and one for Camille because just because...I recalled one of my older girls fussing and fretting as she put the bowls in the cupboard from the dishwasher the other day..."all these different sized bowls, rrr!". Well, she is not going to love these new bowls. They aren't going to stack well, but they are so cute! Anyway...I made the little girls some cinnamon swirl toast, and served them hot caramel tea. I put the milk in the little tea set pitcher, which always makes them happy, gave them their choice of tea mugs, and lit a few candles on the table. It doesn't take too much to make them happy, and as they sat there in their robes all happy...I realized that I am one blessed mama. Well actually, Charlotte Claire had MY robe on...with her legs in the armholes, but whatever.

It is still quiet in here, Sonja is up now playing SIMS, Jon is up playing a bulldozer game on someone's old phone, Mirielle is up studying at the kitchen table. Suri is sleeping, all tired out from running away from us. I am having a second cup of coffee and relaxing. Not too shabby, my life!