happy birthday Paul!

Paul with our tenth child, Miss Kathryn Grace, who is 16.

We are celebrating his birthday tomorrow, but he doesn't know it. He hates surprises, hates birthdays, but too bad. Emily and Aaron and Mali will be coming over, we will have something yummy like chicken fajitas for dinner, and he will enjoy being with the kids. Mirielle and Kathryn will be on their way out to Washington state to see Benjamin, so they will miss it, and Abigail has physical therapy for her knee on Thursday evenings. It's getting impossible to find a night where everyone can be here at the same time....

Today, I have to pick the princesses up early from school for a dentist appointment. Kathryn wants to come too and stop at the thrift shop, she is being craft-y lately and has some ideas. I don't mind, it's Wednesday, half-price day. Half-price at the thrift store, yup. She wants to start sewing, she asked me if we could get a new sewing machine, or if they don't make them anymore. ha, I laughed my head off. Sewing is not THAT old fashioned. My sewing machine is a Singer, bought it second hand when I was expecting Camille, and it has been nothing but trouble. I got it out on Saturday, and it just won't sew properly. I adjust it and adjust it, the threads just get messed up. rrr. I worked on it and tinkered with, then finally gave up. It is on my list, to get a new machine one of these days. I mean, who buys curtains when they can make them? I have had some of these in here for too long....

Anyway. I went for my walk yesterday, in the chilly windy afternoon gloom. It wasn't bad though, just strange to have to wear a scarf in April. When I am finished writing here, I am going to go exercise. No excuses. I actually like that mindset, to not think and reason things out, just do it.

One thing I have been doing at dinner is eating my food...then waiting for a while, instead of just having more because it was good. If I wait a bit, I find I really don't want more. See, I'm smart like that.:)

I was mean this morning and gave the little girls showers before school. They don't need a shower, they just had a shower! It does make the morning a bit hectic, blow-drying their hair because it is so chilly out, packing the lunches and fixing breakfast. I laugh at myself for feeling stressed at the busyness of it, because not too long ago, I was getting 9 or 10 school kids out the door, with crying babies and busy toddlers to deal with at the same time, and most likely on small amounts of fragmented sleep. How in the heck did I do it? Now I see where people are coming from who said things like, "I don't know how you do it, I am busy enough with my two (or three or four or whatever...)."

Busy or not, I am enjoying the heck out of my kids these days. The little girls are into potty humor, which I am embarrassed to say often makes me laugh my head off. This morning Camille was singing her little heart out, substituting the words, "Do You Smell It?" for whatever the real words are....Jonathan is like a little professor, he takes electronics so very seriously. He helps me figure my smart phone out, and is a valuable resource for anyone considering a tablet or laptop purchase. He LOVES riding his bike, and is looking forward to his birthday at the end of the month, he already knows he is getting a battery powered scooter. He was with me when I bought it for 70% off a few months back, he can't wait to try it out.

So today is the fun kind of day, picking kids up from school and going here and there. I am thankful I can be home, thankful I can spend time with them....