part 2, daddy's home

I have a laptop computer, which I hibernate and return to its box after each use. I have to keep it safe. Which means I have to start it up again each time I use it. Today I have started it up 3 times....things happen, and taking care of kids can't wait. If I leave this on in my chair, what will they do to it?

I was writing about the non-stop party today. Jon and Charlotte Claire thought one of the empty toy bins in the living room would be fun to get into, on top of the mini trampoline. It sure looked fun, until Jon climbed out, knocking the bin off the bouncer, landing against the coffee table, pinning poor Charlotte's tiny fingers between the bin and the table....I pretty much dropped the computer, closing it, and went to her rescue. Some Veggie Tales fruit snacks, and a cuddle on my lap, and I was good to go again....then, I thought I heard Camille crying, so I closed it up again, gave Charlotte a few pretzels, because she never ate her eggs, and I didn't want to nap her on an empty stomach, then changed her diaper, gave her a bottle and put her to bed. Camille is still napping, so here I am. Ben is back from class, and 5 of the 10 school kids came home. It seems like every chore I accomplish, the kids de-accomplish(is that a word?it should be) something, so I either break even, or end up in the red. I feel like I am running in deep water, getting all tired out and not getting anywhere. But the kids are SO cute. Jon in his Spiderman underwear and football pajama shirt, in his own little world playing with his cars... And Camille: when she wakes up, my time-for-myself is over, but she is just delicious in her cuteness. Yesterday, I was changing her clothes, and she had just her onesie on. Joe, 16, and Sam, 12 were admiring her fat legs, and being amazed at how smooth and soft her skin is. She looks at them so innocently, all smiles and drool. I someday want to do a picture collage of just the boys through the years with the different babies. I mean, what could be sweeter than a teenage boy holding a baby, watching tv, and just subconsciously kissing the top of the baby's head?

Jon is happy that some kids are home from school, he is joining them for 1st trip afterschool snack. When the other 5 get home, he'll probably be snacking with them too. He only eats a little at a time...

On one of the larger families sites, the question of the month is about meal planning, and menus. By necessity, a family that feeds 17 mouths on a daily basis should have a meal plan. But what happens when that family is run by a well meaning mom who ususally has no idea what's for dinner until she moseys on into the kitchen, and stares from the fridge to the freezer a few times, opens a few cupboard doors, and then sends one of the kids downstairs for a report on what looks good from the big freezer? Well, this is what happens. They have spaghetti once a week. Sometimes with homemade meatballs (gold medal for mom), sometimes with frozen meatballs (silver medal), and sometimes with just some burger mixed into the sauce (bronze)...The sad night is the one where the mom doesn't know what to make, and the family already had spaghetti last night....rats! Actually, I know what we're having tonight, pork chops, because I bought them last night. 8 lbs for tonight, and 8 more lbs in the freezer for some other night. And we're having chicken thighs (94cents a lb) tomorrow night, with rice and vegetables...beyond that, its anyone's guess. Sometimes I take a few bags of cubed hash brown potatoes, and mix them with home-made white sauce, and bake them with left-over ham or some bacon strips on top...really good cheat-y scalloped potatoes. Oh, they need onions, too. Or a good meal is this: 4 cans of cream of celery soup, a 3 lb. bag of frozen chicken breasts...cook for a while, then remove the chicken one piece at a time and cut up, cook a bit longer, and serve with rice, or potatoes...or for some good, easy, chicken soup: put 3-5 lbs of chicken breast in a big pan with lots of water, cook for a few hours, cutting up the chicken at some point, add some carrots, potatoes, onion, celery, or frozen mixed vegetables and noodles.....I also like to make lasagna, I never cook the noodles first. I just use tons of sauce....I don't use recipes, except for baking. I like to read recipes just to get ideas, then just make it how it suits me. My homemade macaroni and cheese is very good. I make two 13by9 glass pans, and it usually gets "all gone" in one meal.

One of the absolute favorites around here is chicken fajitas, followed closely by tacos. Homemade pizza is good too. We eat alot of chicken, cheap and nutritious....and the kids eat a lot of cheese.

I bought so much clearance Easter candy at Target, my girls were laughing.... I must admit I like to embarrass them....It was 75% off, and everyone likes malted eggs, so for 49 cents a bag...My girls do "activity club" for the younger girls at our church on Friday nights, so alot of the stuff can be used for that. And my boys are always going out the door to one thing or another where there will be lots of kids, so I send with them with stuff to share. And its good to have some chocolate in the closet, for those afternoons....those tired, can't have a nap afternoons...also, at certain times, my teenage girls want chocolate, and my teenaged boys are addicted to it....and me: I don't dare open a bag of candy unless there are several kids around to share it with. It gets gone quickly, and that's a good thing....