just a quiet afternoon.

When the house is quiet and settled, it is hard to believe how crazy it can be in here at times. Camille and Charlotte Claire are napping, Emily is studying, a bunch of girls (with a friend over) are watching , "High School Musical 2", which I don't like very much, to put it nicely, but they do.....Samuel is going over to a friend's house, Joseph is gone for the day, Benjamin is at work,
Abigail is studying with a friend.....I have gone for my walk, and we cleaned up the house this morning. Aaron ran the dishwasher after lunch. It is a good day. Margaret made cupcakes, and it smells like chocolate in here. It is overcast and chilly, so it is extra cozy inside. I like afternoons like this. I am going to get up out of this chair and go make some frosting for the cupcakes.....and we are making pizzas for dinner. We didn't celebrate Miss Camille's birthday yet, and plan to tonight.

Did I ever mention that I actually spend alot of time sitting in this chair? More than I should, that's for sure. In the evenings I have found that if I am busy doing things, I can be almost resentful of being interrupted so much....and the evenings are a time for me to be available for the kids to just talk to me, especially the older ones. I should mention too, that in the evenings I am usually tired enough from the day to justify sitting here with my feet up.......sure, the house would look alot better if I spent time when the kids went to bed doing things....and I did that alot more, years ago. But now, I like my "down" time..... When I sit in this chair, I am usually not alone. Charlotte Claire is really attached to me right now, which is a bonus. I can't even go to the bathroom without distracting her majorly. So, when I sit down, she scrambles up onto one of the armrests, usually with a pile of books. Sometimes I have the computer out (laptop), and look at things with her....but sometimes, she wants me to put it away and read to her......and of course Camille likes her share of mommy's lap, too. And Jonny.

Emily is making a new chocolate cake recipe, with help from Kathryn. And Jon is out there watching. They took the movie out out, because it was skipping....and now they need something to do. So I, the nice and sacrificing mom, am going to take them in the hot tub.....I need to move it before Miss Camille wakes up.....