ooh, another late night post....

This has been a looonnng day. It started too early, since I stayed up 'til the dogs were snoring last night. I could NOT fall back asleep, because, hey, it's vacation, why get some sleep? Why is it I can just shut my eyes again on a school morning, and be dreaming again immediately? Anyway. I woke up early, took a shower and washed my hair...and, there were no little feet stomping down the hall or doors slamming...so I got back in bed and read a book. Oh it was lovely.

Evelyn wanted to go to the dreaded Walmart this morning, to get paint for her room. Okay, okay, I'll take you to Walmart. Three little girls DID want to go, they did! I spoiled them a little, since it was just the three of them (Miss Char, Miss Camille, and their cousin Dani). We stopped at Dunkin Donuts...they got ice cream cones, except for Camille, who opted for a cookie dough flavored decaf iced coffee with whipped cream. I skipped the high calorie treats and had a coffee, but those marshmallow Peep donuts looked yum. Nope, I never did grow up.

On to Walmart we went. There was a glitch in the paint mixing machine, so I got to hear the Paint Lady's life story while we waited for the Paint Guy to fix the machine. It wasn't broken after all, the Paint Lady just didn't think enough color was squirted in.

The little girls just danced around and chose paint samples, I limited them to two each. They helped me choose some chocolate bunnies for some guests for Easter, then we looked at the toys. Oh, toys! I love them but they aren't as good as they used to be. I let the girls buy some of those little doll bottles that have liquid that disappears when the bottle is tipped, seems like the dolly is really drinking the bottle. Simple and sweet. Then I bought them a package of newborn diapers. They were simply thrilled. They skipped and danced through the store. At the register, I told them they could chose a candy bar, and oh, what joy. I didn't have one:)

A stop at the bank, and home....I had to bake the cake for the wedding shower for my niece. I found a recipe for a white cake... (oh yeah, I forgot the molasses cookie recipe. I will get that tomorrow. And I will post the recipe for the cake I made today...it was yummy) ...I made a sheet cake, a double layered round cake, and an extra round cake for the kids here. I made frosting with a half stick of butter, a scoop of shortening, vanilla, a 2 pound bag of powdered sugar, and...heavy whipping cream...I didn't frost the cakes with it until right before we served them. I bought frozen rasberries, blueberries, strawberries to serve with it, topped with whipped cream from the can. Um, I had just a tiny piece, but I kept tasting more...blah. No more. No more for me. I was otherwise well-behaved today....

Anyway, it was a lovely wedding shower. The bride-to-be is my sister's daughter, she has seven. All girls. They were all there tonight except for Claire, who is in Australia, and is also getting married, in June.

The girls have had their little cousin Danielle here for a few days, and the older girls have two of Danielle's older sisters here too, Eileen and Olivia. I love having them...on the way home from the shower, I randomly stopped at the pizza shop and let them go in and get some slices. But, their mom misses them and they have to go home tomorrow.

Our nice weather is departing. Tomorrow - cold and rainy then getting colder and possibly icy. By Thursday it should warm up a bit again, into the fifties/sixties. Not too bad. But after this summery weather, tomorrow will be no fun, especially for spring break.

Well, I am getting very tired, it's 1:11 am, and the house is quiet. I need to go to bed. Sometimes I just like to stay up late and soak in the quiet.

Blah blah, sometimes this blog seems like just word vomit. I went here, I went there blah blah blah. There are things I really want to talk about, like my dear son Aaron, who doesn't come around much anymore. He was here the other night, and it was a little awkward because he's only been here a few times since Christmas. I love him with all my heart, and respect that he is making his own decisions in life, but I miss him immensely, and feel the loss of his presence here so much, especially with Sam being in the Army. I know, right?! How many kids do I have, yet I feel acutely the loss of one or two? Remember that Benjamin is far far away too....

I read an article someone referenced on facebook recently about a mom who discussed her children not being her whole world. I got it, but I didn't. I feel like my kids ARE my world. I don't hold their hands and micromanage their homework, nor do I try to make everything fair for them. But I do everything I can to make sure they know they are loved. I make sure they have lots of healthy food to eat, and that they dress as nice as we can manage, so they can feel good about themselves. I praise them and encourage them. I try to make time to listen to them, and to be here for them if I sense they need to talk. I worry sometimes that if anything happens to me while they are still growing up, will there be someone else they can talk to, someone who cares what the science teacher told them today?

I also want to talk about my husband. He is busy. He works alot. Projects are finishing up in France, he will be going there for a few weeks next month, then a few more times in the following months. He works hard. He never gets away from work. Plus he does church work, and we do our volunteer work. He also fixes things around here, although the list is always longer than what he accomplishes. (he did get a new hose for the dryer, and it works much better, no pushing the button so the towels get a second ride because they weren't dry enough the first time.) He also installed a new kitchen sink faucet, fixed the main bathroom toilet (replaced the thingamajiggy in the back of it). He started building a wall in Kathryn and Suzanne's room. He cleaned out under the deck. And, he got the grill going for the season. He is busy. He spend lots of time this weekend watching the little ones ride their bikes...

He is a good daddy. And an excellent provider. He is responsible, and I love him. I totally lost my train of thought, as it is getting later, or should I say earlier? Almost 2 am. Good night.