and so goes life....

Jonathan and I in Sears yesterday...we went out and about, first to Valvoline for an oil change and a tire rotation. No, they couldn't rotate the tires on the minivan, no sir. They were so bare the cords were showing, apparently. Just the front ones, thankfully, but uh-oh, Emily was planning to drive that van to Boston that very day. So after a quick stop into TJ Max, where I found no birthday present for Camille, but a few odds and ends for Christmas (and kids if you are reading this, it wasn't junk!). Then to Target.. a quick pitstop at Starbucks. They put one in Target, and I happen to love love love the medium roast coffee with sugar-free mocha, and cream. I was nice and let these two homeschoolers get chai tea and a chocolate chip frappuccino. And of course I found some good stuff in Target. The candy was 70% off, and the costumes were 90% off. Suri is getting a bumble bee suit for Christmas, it was a dollar and sixty cents. Anyway. I was texting Paul, and we were figuring out where to get new tires....

Sears for tires. That meant we could hang out in the mall while we waited, which was sort of a good thing. We ended up only spending five dollars on a pair of leggings for Kathryn, and $12 on some sesame chicken and fried rice in the food court. :)

Ahh, new tires. Just what I wanted to spend $250 on. But the van does drive better. Next stop, grocery store. After loading up the cart with bananas and carrots and green peppers and some meat and milk and frozen veggies and snacks for the girls' trip to Boston....

Next stop, a different grocery store which had different things on sale. We got apples and oranges and potatoes and onions and yogurt (this store has sugar-free low-fat pumpkin pie yogurt, yum! and only 50 cents each) Anyway...one more stop, another coffee for the long ride home, from Tim Horton's.

Then we stopped to pick Emily up, and Mali came out to say "hello". She had been busy making a kitty carrier to carry her cat in, just fooling around of course, but she was in good spirits and it was good to see her.

Home....argh! Joseph was driving the BIG van to activity club, Emily was trying to gather Kathryn and Evelyn and Suzanne and Sonja so they could get going on their trip. Seriously, two huge groups of kids going different places at the same time, with groceries everywhere, Miss Char whining about all the homework she had to make up from missing yesterday (I promised her I would help her with it after Activity Club), Camille telling me they had to wear comfy clothes or pajamas to A.C., then I remembered...dinner! Dang it, I never planned for dinner. Charlotte Claire, Camille, Jonathan all had cereal. I put some boneless pork in the oven with seasoning...then put some barbecue sauce on it, and made green beans. Then I baked 48 cupcakes.

Anyway. This morning I cleaned up and swept and cleared out some extra shoes from over near the door. I need to get those cupcakes frosted so I can bring them over to Camille's class at school.....

And tonight, kids are coming over for the party!

As for me....I am doing okay. I am battling that Feeling Sorry For Me thing again. Sometimes I just get tired of older kids giving me a hard time about things...they don't even really mean it half the time, it is just habitual (which is in the top three of my favorite words, btw) And I get tired of this being such a Thankless Job. Now, I know it isn't really a thankless job. I know I have loads to be thankful for. I do know those things. But sometimes I still just want someone to say, Wow, you are amazing! Oh, this reminds me of a dream I had the other night....I dreamed this: I answered an ad on Craigslist for a mom who needed someone to take her three year old for a few days, to give her a break. Of course I would! So I went and picked up this sweet little child, in my dream. I buckled her into her carseat as her mom hovered worriedly, me reassuring her that I had buckled sixteen children into their carseats, that I had buckled carseats for years. Anyway, I got home with the little girl, and it was bed time. All of the sudden her mom was there, volunteering to tuck her in with Char and Camille! Before I could protest, she was in their room with them, and I was dying, their room was a mess! (in real life AND in the dream. but I cleaned it after the dream:)) When I sheepishly went in there where she was reading stories to the three little girls, I started to apologize for the room, and she said, "Oh I love it! I have always wanted a friend who also had a messy house!" Oh, what a good dream that was....

So yes, I am tempted to feel sorry for myself today. I started to talk to my 16 year old about it this morning, and she said, "Mom, don't you think everyone deals with thinking people don't treat them well enough? And we all are tempted to feel sorry for ourselves?" Good answer, Margaret. Very true. I would have perferred a hug and a pat on the back, but truth is good too.:)

So I guess I will not give in to wah poor me, because seriously, I hate it. God has been good to me, and how can I bless anyone else if I am just thinking of poor me? Enough about this for now, I need to go make that yummy frosting.