day off, power was out

I woke up this morning, and didn't quite have to get out of bed yet, so I enjoyed snoozing for a few more minutes. Then: the dreaded sound of silence, followed by the beeping of the electric smoke detectors....the power was out! All the fans turned off, waking Camille, then I realized we have no water when the power goes off. Rats. The six older, first bus trip kids were bummed, so M. called the power company: 4 hrs, maybe more, maybe less. She called the high school: yes, power was out. Yes, school was in session. And they had to go. The 4 elementary school kids were a bit luckier. I wasn't about to try to get their clothes out with a flashlight, it was dark in the laundry room.....so, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, and Sonja are home with Jon, Charlotte Claire, Camille, and I. They are playing with all the birthday presents. Apparently, Evelyn licked a beanbag toy and threw it at Kathryn, and Kathryn shrieked and tried to hit Evelyn....so they sat in chairs at the kitchen table for a while. I don't want to be dragged into it. And Jon still has his morning pullup on. He has problems with attachments to these things, or maybe he just resists taking it off because he's going through a rebellious thing. I don't want to make a big daily deal about it, but he has to listen to me on this one. It is yucky.

It is really pouring out today, and I love it. There's nothing nicer than catching up on the Monday workload without that beautiful weather calling me, mocking....it didn't stop these guys from venturing out today though. All the vehicles are gone (Emily's car, Abigail's car, Ben's car, and Paul's truck), except the van, so the open drive way was luring them to ride their bikes and Sonja's new scooter. When the first child came in crying (Suzanne, she fell and scraped her leg), I decided that that was enough. Suzanne was pretty wet, and they all had to change into clean inside clothes....so I told them to stay in the house. It can't really be safe to be riding in the pouring rain on a wet driveway....

So, Paul finished the bathroom. He tiled the floor, and the wall above the shower/tub, and he tiled behind the toilet. He took out the vanity and sink, and replaced it with a pedestal sink. He spackled, sanded, and painted the walls, and installed another fan. After working on it for 2 days , taking breaks only to eat and run to the hardware store, he was so sore he could barely walk. He works in at a desk all day, and even though he works out, this was still a bit rough on him. He is 46 years old, which is unbelievable.....anyway, I don't think he is up for doing an addition on the back of the house. We barely fit at the table. When we're all here, that's 15 at the table, one in the highchair, one on a bar-stool at the counter, and Camille on my lap. When she graduates to the highchair.....yikes. So, I would like to add on the back and make our dining room huge. When the kids start getting married and the grandchildren start coming, we will only need more room. But I don't think it's going to happen.

Miss Charlotte Claire is up now. She always grabs some toys to bring out to the living room when she gets up. Her and Jon like lots of toys out. Who in the heck bought all this stuff, anyway?