stressful from the word go

I am awakened each morning this summer by one of 3 things: baby Camille, who makes sweet sounds, and is content until she sees me trying to sneak past her bed to the bathroom before I pick her up, because if I put her back down without nursing her fully, she will scream and wake everyone up, or: the 5 kids , from waking to fighting in 2 seconds flat....or: Charlotte Claire's door.....which is thankfully a very loud and distinct sounding door. Because when I hear that sound, I jump out of bed so fast I can't see straight. I grab that excited-for-the-new day child, and carry her past the room of the sleeping five siblings, and the sleeping baby room, out into the safe living room, get her a bottle, change her diaper, and keep her distracted, because as soon as I let my guard down, she is out of here, down the hall, waking them all up. What great fun.

One thing that never wakes me up in the summer is noise from the teenagers and older ones....naw, they stay up late with me at night, which is wonderful, but then they sleep in...

Our camper is all cleaned out, vacuumed and shined, ready to pack....I have piles of clothes on the couch, clean and folded, and ready to go into the camper....I only have to pack for Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, Jonathan, Charlotte Claire, and Camille. I do have to make sure Margaret and Sam remember clean undies and jackets, but the older ones pack their own clothes....I only want to pack minimally, but camping is dirty, and I like to have clean clothes on them everyday....that is alot of clothes...I am bringing some detergent, but I'll be darned if I'm going to spend half a day on vacation washing out little clothes....

The hardest part about packing is being interrupted while I am trying to think. "Hey Mom, can't I sleep in the middle bunk? She said Jon was, and I thought you said he was sleeping on the dinette...." Jon: "I am not sleeping on the dinette, I am sleeping in the piggy-hole!!" DO we HAVE to discuss this now? I can't remember what I was trying to think of.....I do have a list, but I still have to be able to go in a room, and get the things I need without someone following me asking me which color pail is hers....then, when they want me to hurry and take Camille, they follow me with her....okay, okay....I am hurrying!

I cannot find my camera, though I have my suspicions of who might have it....Jon and Sonja were fighting over it today, two children who are not allowed to touch my camera....although I am a big softy, and if they show me something really cool, I'll let them take a picture....anyway, I took the camera away, put it next to the phone, and it isn't there now....and they are sleeping.....