it it isn't one thing, it's another....

Babies don't wake me up anymore, but now the dogs do. Not always, but lately, Duke has been a Bad Boy. Last night he howled ever few minutes to go out. I finally got up, hitched him to the leash, and took him out and about in the yard. Suri doesn't have to have a leash, she goes naked and behaves herself.

So, Kathryn got home from California in the wee hours of the morning, and of course I stayed up for a few hours hearing all about the Hollywood sign and the sidewalk of stars and Universal Studios and her meeting friends from the west coast, and how difficult it was for the girl who brought them to navigate the traffic, she is a small town girl and Los Angeles is a big city.

So...I finally went to bed. Four hours later, Duke was begging to go out. He yipped and yapped until I got up...I was so tired I could barely see straight. Well, I should have tried to see a bit straighter, maybe I would have seen the pile of poop over by the door instead of stepping right into it. blah. Words can't really describe that sensation, and we won't get into what it smelled like, or what words slipped out of my usually pristine mouth:)

I'll fast-forward through the clean up, but I will mention I need to buy a new rug for over near the door.

When I got Duke hitched to his leash and started opening the door, I realized the reason they barked in the first place was because there were vehicles parked out at the end of the driveway, a few rescue trucks, and there was an ambulance at the house across the street.

Now, I realized that my lovely little nightgown was not going to cut it for that early morning yard walk, not at all. So I got dressed, and took them out. I wasn't able to see too much, and not wanting to be nosey, I didn't cross the road and ask questions. I hope my neighbors are okay.

So...I had to take a shower before I went back to bed, because just yuck. Lots of floor cleaning first....

Back to bed I went. I tried and tried to wind down and fall back to sleep. I thought about my neighbors, I thought about Duke rrr, I tried to think calm peaceful thoughts....and I managed to drift off again for an hour or so.

That means I have been a bit tired all day.

But, I still vacuumed the stairs and the hallway, and the kitchen and living room. I cleaned up the really cool fort I helped the girls make the other day. I had moved one of the couches away from the wall, and made them a cozy little area with blankets draped over a pop-up tent, and over the back of the couch. It was so totally cozy, they slept in there on Friday night.

Anyway. Mirielle came over, we sat in the sun a bit. Evelyn, Suzanne, and Sonja came back from Connecticut. (They were full of fun stories about going out for pizza, getting pulled over (the officer asked for all their licenses, ha, they are 12 and 13 and 14 and 15, with the driver who is like 20.) (they were driving a bit squiggly because they were singing)

We bought 3 dozen corn, and had taco salad with tomatoes and green peppers from the garden. 13 of the kids were here.

I wanted to get outside more than I actually did. This house gets messy so fast. The washer was busy all day long, and there are always dishes to wash. I may not be the queen of housekeeping, not quite anyway, but I do not like dirty dishes in the sink. They must be washed several times a day, or yuck. And, they HAVE to be rinsed when put in the sink, although lots of the older kids will just wash their own dishes after using them. Joseph always does.

Yesterday we went to celebrate Grandma's 85th birthday.



Grandma had lots of her grandchildren there....

Some of my girls missed the party, so we plan to go visit Grandma one day this week.

But tomorrow, it is going to be hot and our pool is simply green. I have given up on it. Paul says he will look at the filter soon, one of these days, but it will be next year before we can swim in it again:( So tomorrow we are going to the church pool to swim, with Susan and her William, and the twins.

The next day there is a birthday party for the little kids to go to (their cousin Danielle is turning 9!).

Then on Thursday, I am working at the baseball game with Mirielle.

Then Friday, camping!!! I have to shop for it, pack for it, plan for it. We are camping on Lake Ontario, and have reserved a site that has electricity, so we can have fans in our tents. If it rains, the kids can watch a movie on their little dvd player. Oh, how times have changed. When I was a kid, raining just meant you got wet.

I hope it doesn't rain though. I want sand and sun and fun in the water with Paul and the kids....