goin' bye-bye camper

Well, Camille likes a good game of poker......ignore the coffee taable wth everything piled on it.....where else do you put things when you are packing? And when the kids vacuum.....

No, that is not a real gun....

We are hitting the road again today....but if you think you might want to rob our house while we are gone, think again....'cause Champ the terrible dog is here, guarding us.....chances are, he'll see you...he's pretty deaf....and Benjamin the pizza delivery boy will be here sometimes too....and Emily the nurse might be here sometimes...and besides, we don't have anything good to take! We have two small old t.vs, a few computers, (we'll probably take the lap-tops, though I'm not sure the internet will be available), and that's about it....I think the boys are taking their PS3, so all you would get would be some Little Tikes stuff.....we are even taking the doll house stuff(5 houses, two big bins, and a laundry basket for Children's day dollhouse village)....so, don't bother....besides, no matter how hard I try to leave the place nice so I won't be bombarded with work when we get back, it doesn't quite work....so, you can only break in if you want to do some remaining dishes, and give it a good vacuum....and there is ALWAYS laundry to do......

Last night I went to the vast wonderland that is Wal-Mart Superstore. Lots of other people went there too. And it seems we all went to the check-out at the same time....there were not enough cashiers and the lines were long. Abigail and I had Evelyn the sweet, chatty, loud, enthusiastic helper, Charlotte Claire the surprisingly good shopper (sat in the cart, said "Hi" to everyone, and observed things), and of course Camille the incredible nursing baby, who sat up in the front seat of the cart and smiled at all the older people....and younger ones too, I guess....anyway, I am acutely aware of older people and their infirmities, because I know how my parents were near the end......and I see these older people struggling in the stores, and I want to help them all. I do talk to alot of them, there are alot of lonely people out there. I am friends with the deli-ladies, and the cashiers in several stores....(I walked into one of the dollar stores the other day, and the cashier asked how the baby was, said she and the other girl were wondering where we were....hadn't been in lately...(ten days?) )....anyway, we had to wait a while in line, and there was an older woman behind us shopping with her impatient middle-aged son.....and I felt so sorry for her...I was torn between letting her ahead of us (though it would have been hard to let Mr. Impatient, who was looking at his watch and sighing loudly every 5 seconds ahead of us)....but my little ones were getting tired, and so was I....so I didn't.....and I felt guilty....Especially when I saw her taking her meager pickings out of the cart and putting them so carefully on the conveyor.....Did you ever notice how careful most older people are with their groceries? Once I watched a painfully old couple put their stuff almost tenderly on the register belt, only to have the cashier who seemed ready to go home, slam it around....the poor people were wincing...and protesting....and she did not notice...and I was too upset to chastise her when I got up there.....I just knew I would cry....although, looking back, so what?

Anyway, I do go on.... We are only going to be gone until next Wednesday or Thursday.....and we have our meals planned.....I got six sleeves of bagels, 5 boxes of instant oatmeal, 8 things of cereal, a few of them are huge, 4 dozen eggs.....then 5 loaves of bread, 5 lbs of lunchmeat, some peanut butter and jam, a few bags of chips, lots of fruit,....and for dinners, we cooked up taco meat for taco salad, and froze it to put in the crock-pot later, then we grilled 10 pounds of chicken breast, and cut it up and froze it, to use for fajitas, and chicken with brown rice....and we packed 4 pounds of chicken nuggets, and 6 pounds of frozen vegetables.....and M&M's, and Snicker's minis,,,,and two packages of cookies.....not too much junk.

I wanted to buy some new towels last night, but I forgot.....It seems like we was towels, and they go in the pool, and take showers, and they disapear so quickly....Abigail packed a stack of 15 in the camper, but that isn't even one each...so before we leave, I have to gather towels, and wash them and pack them.....and kids don't stop wetting the bed just because I am trying to pack....no sir. That would be no fun......but I am not complaining......it's just that even with lists and reminders, there always seems to be things I forget...

Today I have to call the Ronald McDonald House to reserve a room for when Aaron has his surgery, since the hospital is well over 2 hours away.....I plan to stay with him for the first night, then get some sleep after that.....the surgeon recomended it to me, and I was surprised, I always thought R.House was for families of children with cancer, or very serious illness...but he said, No, it was for families with children in the hospital who needed to be close by.....I stayed a few nights in one in Boston a few years back when a my niece was in for a bone marrow transplant....if you ever have some money, and can't decide on a charity, this is a good one.....I myself will be sure to give a large donation.....

Well, I have had a quiet session on here, and now it is ending.....I woke up this morning to Miss Charlotte Claire's door opening....(thank God for loud doors)....and she was shivery and wet, so I changed her and made her a bottle, and asked her if she wanted to go back to bed...she did! And Miss Camille wasn't up yet, so I had some time....now, she is back up....she didn't really go back to sleep, she just cuddled with her bottle......I am glad she likes to go night-night (never use going in your crib or room as punishment!!! always praise going to bed as it is the most wonderful thing in the world (it is!).....she actually loves going to bed).....anyway, they are all waking now....so goodbye.....I'll try to take some pictures of our camping adventure....and remember, if you break in, do some laundry....but the dryer doesn't work very well, so be patient....it takes a few hours to dry a load....