we are such babies...

My husband is guess where: Lowes. He took Sonja K., Jonathan, and Charlotte Claire with him. He went to buy: a vacuum cleaner! Our nice one is being repaired, and he looked around the place this morning, and said, "we cannot wait to vacuum.." I am sort of glad we're on the same page concerning keeping it picked up and vacuumed in here.....

Since he is going to Lowe's, I asked him to buy two of the nice heavy duty shelves he got for the laundry room....he thought one would suffice, and get another if we needed, and I said, PLEASE TWO!.....see, I am going to clean up Miss Charlotte Claire's room today. It is the room at the end of the hall, the catch-all room. She is surrounded by toys. If you know me, you know I love toys. I have strong attatchment issues to old Fisher-Price Little Peoples sets....I need to get rid of some stuff....we still have all the trucks and cars from the older boys, and then they get passed down to Jon....he doesn't need it all....so, I told him we are going to go through stuff today and give some to the poor kids. That made it okay for him. He is as bad as I am about liking the toys.....Anyway, her room has a nice Little Tikes kitchen, and lots of nice playthings, but there is too much in there, and we need a better storage system. It doesn't help that I store all Mr. Jon's clothes on a change table in there, and she pulled them ALL off, all over the floor. Her own clothes are in baskets on a shelf, and in the closet. She also has those pretty strewn around...she must've been looking for something in particular that day!

So, here I go....I hope there will be plenty of willing helpers here to keep Miss Camille out of trouble, and out from underfoot as I get moving on this...they are mostly still in bed, the older kids....

rainy afternoon....

After dropping off the vacuum cleaner, and embarrassing myself half to death at the sewing maching repair shop (it seems the part I thought I needed for this 1+ year is something that does not exist on my machine....I had assumed that one of the kids lost it, and apparently there never was one there....I thought I needed a bobbin case, but this machine has a drop in bobbin, no case needed.....the part the man ordered, for the second time, was the part that the bobbin sets in, and I explained that I needed the bobbin CASE....no, he said, it doesn't have a case....that model....blah, blah....I felt SO stupid, but he was so nice...) anyway, we stopped at a wonderful place....a bakery. Not a chain, not a supermarket, just a nice old-fashioned bakery. We picked out a dozen donuts, two half-moon cookies, a cherry turnover, an extra donut for Jon, and a cannoli for Mirielle. The girl gave each of the kids, including Mirielle, a nice big cookie, for free. And all of it was only $11.00. Wow. We then stopped at the grocery store....just for some basic stuff. This store sells frozen vegetables, very good ones, for 89cents a lb. bag. So we stock up there. Anyway, we got to the checkout and my fresh broccoli only rang up 8 cents. I pointed it out to the cashier, and it was determined that the scale didn't work....so I got my bananas for free, and my broccoli very cheap...then, we went to the dreaded McDonalds....they liked running around after being in teh van and in the store....Mirielle was quite a sport about it all..here she was speaking through a tube to Jon at the McDonalds....

Charlotte Claire and Camille...

One funny thing today, a lady asked if Mirielle and I were sisters....I, of course, was flattered....Mirielle not so much...it was pretty funny. We decided that she looks 25 and I look 35, ha.

I started this post earlier, but dinner had to be made....so....

Well, I am home with just Charlotte Claire and Camille, the others are all at activity club, and Paul is at a meeting....so I need to go put them to bed.....

cold rainy morning....

Camille wouldn't seem like such a busy little thing if the place were more geared for babies and toddlers, but with all the big brothers and sisters, it is kind of hard to have everything put away. This morning she found the pencil box that belongs to Suzanne. Chock full of gel-pens, crayons, pencils..... Yummy crayon!

Here she is trying to color with a white crayon on a little scrap of paper......

Wee, there were headphones in here too!
Her new favorite word is "NO", which she will say if you just look at her sideways. She also can say, "Ice!"....we have the ice-dispenser on the front of the 'fridge, and when she hears that rumble, she runs in to it, yelling, "ice!"....she loves nothing more than a cup with some crushed ice it. The kids all are ice-eaters, they eat it by the cupful....last night, watching American Idol, they were laying around the floor with their cups of ice, munching away.....

She calls me, "mee-mee".....and she gives big tight hugs. She likes to put her arms right around your neck and hug. And she knows how to give kisses, too. She says, "MUH", and exaggeratedly gives the kiss. If you ever read, "Get Fuzzy", one of my favorite comic strips, this will make sense. I call her Chubby Hugs, and Foodar....(Foodar is a cat character in the strip that can smell and sense food for miles....)

Charlotte Claire and Camille can fight like little animals sometimes. If Camille thinks Charlotte Claire is going to take her book or her toy, which is probably what is going to happen, she will bite her. And naturally, she will get bitten back. And they are both so suprised at how much it hurts! They will both be crying and sobbing and showing me their owies......

I am sometimes just not sure how to deal with things. Charlotte Claire hit someone yesterday. Now, I do not like to spank children. I just don't like it. Adults are big, children are small....but sometimes, I do give them a swat on the bottom.....So, she hit someone, and I picked her up, gave her a swat, and as I brought her to a kitchen chair to sit on until she wanted to be good, I explained, "It is not nice to hit!".....see, that doesn't make sense to me.....

Ignoring bad behavior can cause some big problems, since I am a certified psychiatrist, not. But sometimes they act out just for attention, and Mom needs to sit down and give them some.....

Each day brings it's challenges, that is for sure. But when I am rooted and grounded in God, then things go well in spite of the different trials. When the cry of my heart is to be gentle, and just, and patient, then God will hear my prayers, and help me. I need to let go of all the demands I have that the kids act a certain way, too. They are individuals. Not little cookie cutter well behaved do not embarrass your mother robots. That is another thing, when I discipline, it needs to be because it is for their best, not because I care what others think about them....(such as out in public)....

Well, here I sit with all my theories and ideas and strategies.....I have places to go today. I am taking my vacuum cleaner to the vacuum cleaner doctor. How on earth I will live without it for a few days is beyond me....watch, the kids will dump cereal and stuff.....and we are going to get our sewing machine part, too. Mirielle is so excited to sew....and I have a few projects I would like to start, too. We will also stop at a grocery store for some fresh fruits and veggies....so I need to get moving, again. Mirielle gets out pretty early today, and it would be nice if I have the kids all ready when she gets home.....

good morning!

There is nothing like a migraine headache to make one realize how nice life is when there is no migraine headache. Wow. Anyway, here is Miss Sonja Kathleen. She is feeling fine today, but she is not going to school. Why? Well, yesterday three little girls stayed home from school because 1. Suzanne had thrown up during the night, and 2. Mommy had a headache. So, the question is: did the mom with the headache brush the little girls' hair yesterday? Here is the answer.....Evelyn and Suzanne have different hair, and I was able to manage a nice sweet little hairstyle. But Sonja K. - her hair is completely matted. She has such curly hair, it is hard to keep it long....but she likes it long. I think I may do a trim when I brush through the tangles today......I think this is an excellent reason to miss school.

I think jammy sleepers are wonderful. Mr. Jonathan is so sweet and huggy in his. He still likes his cuddles.

I could see him acting up last night, and I called him over for some hugs. He is still my little sweetie. Someday he is not going to like these pictures....

So, 8 of the nine out the door for school, not too bad. Today, I am feeling much better than yesterday, and am really thankful for so many things. I am also compelled to spend more time with the kids individually, more time sowing God's word, more time encouraging them to be faithful, more time listening to them. For me, although I hate headaches, when I am sick I always do alot of thinking about my life....maybe it is because I realize my vulnerability.....it makes me think about how short life is, and how much I have been given. It makes me realize how much more I can do to bless the others, and how much less I can do for myself.

This morning I talked with Abigail a bit before she left for class, and we are going to try to do an overnight-at-a-hotel with the kids during her college break. The kids do have school, but I would just sign them out early on Thursday, and have them miss Friday. Most of the older ones are not so interested in going, so it would probably be Mali on down, maybe Aaron would go. I am looking for a really reasonable hotel in an interesting area not too far away. It is only for one night, but when we did it last year, it was great fun for them. With Abigail on board, we can get two rooms, since she is 22...she can be the adult in the other room. I wish we could squish into one room, but there will be at least 12 of us, so that would be a stretch. What I would really like to do, is go to a hotel with a waterpark, but I do not want to drive that far, or really pay that much. The indoor pool and hot tub is lots of fun at this time of year.....

I am starting to really look forward to spring, despite the muddy feet and dirty clothes. See, part of getting older is when the practicality encroaches on the impending pleasantness. I hate that. I try to fight it. I want to just plain look forward to spring. period. And the hotel fun. I want to block out that voice that tries to scream about the packing, and unpacking, and the money, and the kids being tired the next day.....

Well, it is still quiet here, somewhat, just Jonathan and Sonja K. are up....I need to get busy while the gettin's good.

slide in the living room....

My headache has receded, now I just feel sort of yucky. I did get a nap, which was wonderfully delicious. First however, I had to drive Mirielle into town to pick up her car.....which meant I had to brush my long tangly hair....ouch. When I came home from driving her, I was walking across the driveway when I spotted the Little Tikes Slide we bought for Charlotte Claire last winter....and I thought of Camille, the climber. hmm. So I dragged it in the house.....

She caught on so quickly....

And so, I survived the day....and now I will watch "American Idol" with my older kids.....l

migraine headache...

I had the symptoms of a migraine brewing as I put away groceries and put kids to bed last night....sure enough, during the night, after dreaming headach-y dreams, I woke up to the familiar pounding....hammering in my head so hard, if I so much as move a finger, I might throw up....I tried to think calming thoughts....I thought of the beach and the waves and it started to subside, minimally, until the thought of what I look like in my bathing suit crept in, and my head started hammering again....I knew I had to get up and get the ibuprofen, but I was hesitant, as the after effects of walking around are dreadfully painful....but I got up, and took four. I got a hot washcloth to put on my forehead, and headed out to the couch, but not before enduring the horrific pain of filling a bowl of water for the begging kitties and leaning over (ouch) and putting it on the floor....The sad part is that it was already 6:30 am, and I had to get the little girls up in an hour.....the other kids and Paul were getting up and going out the door....no one could stay home today.....rats. So, I did what any mom with a pounding headache would do....I fell asleep....because when that ibuprofen kicks in, it makes me sleepy, although it doesn't entirely take away the headache....anyway, the kids came out of their room at 8:00, and told me that Suzanne had thrown up in her bowl in the night and emptied it in the bathroom sink....oh joy. I decided what any mother would decide....all three of them should stay home. Since Charlotte Claire and Camille and Jon were still sleeping, I told them to be quiet and good and I was going back to bed. Camille is in my room, so I got up after she woke up......while I slept for an hour and a half, this is what Suzanne was doing....making signs...this one says, "EXIT"...

Stow stuff here? This is our pantry/closet....

Oh, this one says "store stuff here..."


and just in case we didn't know where the book shelves are...

She lableed the utility room "youtildy room", and Charlotte Claire's room, "Charlet's room", and the bathroom says, "Men/woman".......

She also put up a T.V sign with an arrow pointing to it, and a dollhouse area sign...but Evelyn made her take them down because tape is bad for the paint. Very smart girl, that Evelyn....but when mom has the worst headache of her life, for goodness sakes, if Suze wants to tape the paint, just let her....

And the whole time I was back in bed, supposedly sleeping, I was wondering....if someone called, would they remember that I told them not to answer it if it was: the school, anyone except Aunt Cheryl, or Aunt Kim, or dad? If they did answer it, would they tell whoever was calling that they were up and mom was in bed?

And the door....who would come to the door? What would they say? Would they remember not to open it?

The worst that happened was the chocolate poptarts eaten in 5the living room while watching Word World. My head is still pounding, and just looking at this living room is stressful. But going in the kitchen is even worse. There are groceries everywhere, as we only put away the cold stuff and the glass containers....(those cannot be left in bags on the floor, kids will break them)....the table has not been cleaned up from breakfast...the floor has not been swept. I did go in and tidy up a bit, and of course I have changed some diapers and chased Camille out of trouble a few times, and matched a load of white socks that someone deposited on the living room floor...but I feel awful....when these headaches wind down, they leave me so wrung out....all I want is a huge huge huge quiet nap.....

Evelyn decided it was a good day to dress up and put lipstick on....they are in their room laughing their heads off....I am pretty sure they have Camille decorated in a way I will not appreciate......I heard Evelyn say to NOT LET HER OUT!

Mirielle came home from college in time for Ben to take the truck and leave....now she is out running, as it is sunny out....yesterday, I had convinced myself to not ask her to do anything for me today, as she needs time to do her homework and stuff when she get home....then today, I feel awful....so I am going to ask her anyway.....please please let me have a nap!

I suppose it's good I don't always feel this apathetic about what the kids are doing....but I can't find it in myself to be the supermom today. Barely even the mom.....they are happy, they don't care if there are trucks and ride ons and books and stuffed animals all over the living room, and cups and bowls all over the counter next to the sink...it is just me who, despite my claims of not caring today, that is going crazy about it.....

Well, it is worse than I thought. Lipstick all over their tummies and legs, and lips, too. That stuff stains. They are like mobile furniture stainers. They are washing it off with wipes, and leaving stains all over themselves. They are going to look like clowns for a few days, that's all there is to it.....

Camille is up on top of the computer table, so I should go....

lovely day....

The sun coming up over the trees this morning, shining on the new snow.

From the deck....

Our Christmas tree, still on the deck....


This is the woodpile...we don't like to keep it too close to the house....critters.....so they dig out the wood....

Now, this is sad....and it also looks a little dangerous. Suzanne made the loop for her webkin, but it looks scary to me....they are not going out until we fix that!

Joseph thought Camille looked nice in these shorts....





Camille was giving Jon a nice pat on the head....

She really wanted to get her chunky little rear into that doll stroller...







Uh-oh.....

don't tell Mirielle I put this up here....she was Camille's friend tonight....








Charlotte Claire was still full of energy at bed time....

Sam likes to give Camille bed time kisses....

We had to go shopping today. We were out of bread. And low on milk. And low on diapers. I picked Mali, Margaret, and Kathryn up early from school, and took them with me. Mirielle stayed home with the little ones. It was right smack in the middle of nap time, so it was nice not to bring them.....

We spent quite a bit of money in the grocery store, but the manager had to be called over because we saved too much. It has never not happened to us in that store. I used some coupons, and bought mostly what was on sale. We got apples, bananas, grapefruit, bread, milk, eggs, juice, cereal, 3 roasts, 2 packages of porkchops, butter, cheese, bacon, diapers, popcorn, yogurt (18 of them, which seems like a lot, but....)pancake mix, poptarts (so awful, but the high school kids love to have the chocolate ones to grab in the morning when they're in a hurry, and they were on sale and I had a coupon), ham, spinach, orange juice, V-8 juice, toothpaste,......and stuff. Two full carts of stuff.

I need to get to bed earlier tonight...I have been dragging today....I stayed up way too late, got into bed around 1:30, Camille thought she was a newborn, and woke up and wanted to nurse 3 different times, and then I got up at seven for the day....no nap, either...I was shopping. So here I sit...I need to go get the kids clothes out and get moving along to bed...

\

staying up too late, again...

Okay, here is a picture of me, just to show that I do exist. I do love the background with this one, too. Some clothes on the couch. But a different couch...the other one is still nice and clear. Happy Birthday Suzanne! Mirielle made chocolate cakes, swirled with brownie mix.....frosted with my homemade buttercream frosting....yum....

Here is Miss Suzanne Eleanor, eight years old today!

Sonja K. looking cute in her school clothes...

Evelyn Joy.....

Today, my blog was featured in the blog of the family writer in the local paper.................................http://www.syracuse.com/cny-parents

I don't know if that is interesting or not, but Gina Chen asked me to link back to her blog, where mine is mentioned. And wouldn't you know, no one is up to show me how to do that....I am very computer stupid. So, hopefully the above address will work....

This was one crazy evening.....I made hot sausage, baked in the oven....and meatballs and sauce, with thin spaghetti. Suze did not even come to the table, said she didn't feel well. She had a good old time sitting on the couch with her new paper and envelopes and markers and watching "Wheel of Fortune".....Paul wasn't here for dinner, he had to go to a meeting. So, it was a bit crazy. We sang the "On Top Of Spaghetti" song at the table...well, some of us sang, some of us yelled at us to shut up. The younger kids eat their dinner, get washed, and get down....and sometimes we sit at the table and talk for a while....tonight, when we got the cakes out, the little ones came running back and got up to the table again...but not Suzanne. She didn't even want cake...(and here I am staying up so late, she'll probably barf tonight, and I will be so tired I will be tempted to pretend I didn't hear, and let Paul get up with her...).....I gave her a huge Polly Pocket set tonight, I just love picking up all those little pieces.......but they do have fun with them.

I am trying to exlplain why it was so crazy tonight...maybe because when Paul got home from his meeting, he had work to do for work, online.....and the girls all needed showers....Mirielle gave Camille a bath....I did most of the dishwasher, then passed it off to Margaret so I could do some laundry.....Sonja's light pink winter coat needed washing.....and the washer sometimes does not spin all the water out, so that means going in and re-setting it to spin again.....and all this time, things are HAPPENING. The floor was getting swept by a boy who tried everything in the book to get me to have someone else sweep, as he hates it, the pans were being washed by one of the girls.....the T.V. was on for Suzanne....(we never have it on unless we are watching a specific show, which we do not always do).....Camille is here ,there , and everywhere. She kept climbing up on the computer table tonight. Then Benjamin came in from his class, and warmed up some dinner....and had some cake, and talked for a while....Evelyn remembered she had homework to do, which took her right past her bed time....and Jonathan and Charlotte Claire were fooling around and falling out of the chair and rolling around, laughing and yelling...Camille was trying to get into the bathroom with the toothbrushing kids.....not total chaos, just some action.....

Now it is quiet and I do like it. But how can I explain how FUN the craziness can be? Like when I bring Camille out into the kitchen, where Ben, Ab, Mirielle, Mali, Aaron, and Evelyn are, and start singing, "When you're happy and you know it, clap your hands..."? And they all start singing with me? And clapping....Camille was delighted.

Well, I need to go check on that pink coat, she needs to wear it tomorrow....

just a day at home....

I feel like I am going in circles some days. I take the bag of chips from Camille, that she took from the broken cupboard, start again to sweep the floor....pick up all the bottle tops/sippy cup lids from the third drawer, that Camille threw randomly across the kitchen floor....and start to sweep again. Today she learned a new trick, how to climb up on a chair, then climb up to the table. Oh, joy. I restrained her in the high chair with some toast so I could run to the bathroom without the blessing of her presence, as she is a bathroom drawer emptier and toilet paper unwinder. While she was in the highchair for lunch, I decided to do some drawing and gluing with Jonathan and Charlotte Claire....and she, Princess Camille, decided she wanted to color too.

"See, I wrote my name on my hand, it says Garlotte Glaire!", said Charlotte Claire....

Jon likes the glue best.

Camille the dangerous is in her new green bed, aaahhh...I needed a break from her overwhelming cuteness. She is really huggy and affectionate. Jon and Charlotte Claire are watching, "Clifford", and I am enjoying cup #2 of coffee for the day.....Mirielle is doing homework, and six kids are coming home on the bus in 20 minutes. The next three will be home an hour after that. I think I am making spaghetti or ravioli tonight......and Mirielle is going to make a cake for Suzanne, as today is her birthday. We will sing to Mirielle, too, as yesterday was her birthday.....and I still have to get her something...

It is really snowy today. The wind is blowing and the snow is going sideways. I do not believe that I have looked out the window once today without seeing it snowing. I am thinking about getting Jon a cookie sheet full of snow to play at the table with...because it is cold and windy out there.....

Okay, yesterday evening I wrote what brings me joy....now I think I'll write what makes me sad...

1. When the kids get a toy and it is cheap and it breaks, and it breaks their little hearts. I gave Mr. Jonny, who is 4 years old, a ping-pong ball gun for a prize at the party yesterday, and you would've thought I gave him a million bucks....but it didn't work. Tearwater tea.

2. Old people in the grocery store. Period.

3. When I pass out candy to like a million kids, and the inevitable straggler comes in and: it is all gone.

4. Hearing about kids on the bus being mean to other kids....and hearing about the kid on the bus who is poor, and brought his lunch in a cracker box one day....

5. When a child has an ice cream cone, and the icecream falls off. Or their candy falls on the ground......once I bought my daughter, who was 4 years old, a box of Chiclets gum in Walmart. She opened it before I was done checking out....ping, ping, ping....gum falling on the floor.....(Of course I bought her more!!)

6. Hearing that one of my kids dropped their lunch tray at school.

7. When they wet their pants at kindergarten.

8. When I forget to study spelling with one of them, and they get a 40%....

9. When someone is sick and misses a birthday party.

10. Kids getting yelled at in Wal-Mart.

11. Parents swearing in front of their kids...(shut up, Cheryl...oh, I mean, BE QUIET)

12. Slobby kids that look like their parents don't love them...

13. When the new box of cereal is gone before Sam got a bowl of it.

14. When the bubble bath gets dumped down the drain....

15. Divorce.

16. Abortion.

17. People fighting.

18. People who are lost in hopelessness and frustration.....

19. People who turn their backs on God.....

21. Thinking about and remembering my late parents....

Well, I have some thinking to do: I have way more sad things than joyful!

These things are not in order of saddest to least sad, or the other way around, as I think #19 is probably the saddest....

oh, joy

What brings joy to the average person? What brings joy to me?

1. Oh, the usual mushy cliche things, like kisses from the kids....oh, and it just melts me when they thank me for things......

2. When they apologize for things, especially when I was not being a saint either.....

3. When the older kids read to, hold, cuddle, and help the little ones...

4. Sitting in the sunshine. This one is irrelevant right now, because I won't be doing that for several weeks at least, unless Paul surprises me with a Carribean cruise for our 25th anniversary next month. ha. (I mean, he hasn't told me to get my passport renewed.....)

5. When I start to get riled up, or frustrated, and I say a big NO, and endure the temptation, letting peace reign in the house....

6. When I see my kids do #5.....

7. Bargains. Deals. Coupons.

8. Babies, kids, friends, family.

9. My husband....

10. Thinking about and remembering my late parents.....


Some other things that bring me joy are naps, quiet times, and being at the dinner table with everyone....there are only usually 16 of us these days, but when Ben is there too, it is great. I mention quite frequently how I like the quiet, but that is only because it is so RARE. If I had it all the time, I would despise it. I actually like the sounds of the house, like the bantering and fooling around....Sam teasing Margaret, Mirielle singing to the top of her lungs.....the kids playing the keyboard....Paul on guitar....and Camille saying her newest word, "NO!".... A few minutes ago, she had something she shouldn't have, and I said, " What does she have?" She yelled, "NO!"....she knew we were on to her....

The other night, I thought Abigail was in the kitchen rumpling around....and come to find out, she had gone to bed a long time before....and Camille was out there alone, getting into the aluminum foil and unrolling the waxed paper....oh, she made a mess before I discovered it wasn't Abigail in there making all that noise.

She really needs to get to bed....I need to change her schedule a bit, I think...but then again, it is nice to have her around, the little monster. She is pretty cute. Aaron thinks she looks like a chimp....

birthday day....

I bug Aaron so much....but I can't help it...when I see a 16 year old big brother reading "A Snowy Day" to a two year old, I need a picture....

Jon loves his cousin, Grace....Suzanne was excited about her presents, of course....she had 6 friends over....
This huge bag of candy was from Uncle Billy.....

Camille is getting big enough to join the fun. They went in the hot tub while she napped, though....

Then, the party was over, and I drove Sam's friend home, and six little girls....when you live out in the country, it can be a long drive....it was almost 40 miles to drive them all home and back.

Suzanne got her wish and had hot dogs and boxed macaroni and cheese. I cooked up 4 lbs. of hot dogs and 5 boxes of mac.and cheese, and they went through 3 bags of chips. Then they had ice cream floats and home made chocolate chip cookies....I first packed up some for Suzanne to bring to school tomorrow, to celebrate her birthday there. I made a double batch, and there are maybe 6 cookies left.

Mirielle, Mali, and Margaret are home from Ottowa now. I totally forgot that today is Mirielle's 19th birthday. How can my 4th oldest be so old? I did not get her anything.....I was so busy with Suzanne's birthday, I kind of forgot. Oops. Well, I remembered it yesterday, but that does not count.

It was a total waste of time to clean the house before all those kids came over. Some of the little girls just love our dollhouse stuff, so they get alot of it out. Add that to the candy that Suzanne shared with them, (wrappers)......and then all the other stuff that got dragged out...what fun.

I made them up some very decent prize bags, which I handed out right before they left, while they were at the table having their floats. They got to look through them, then I took the girls home before they lost everything.....

While I was gone they talked to Emily from Norway with the webcam. Rats, I missed it. I miss her.

I cannot believe that vacation's over already. Back to the dreaded school tomorrow. I have to get their clothes out.....oh, and I have to get up in the morning....a few of them get up on their own, but some I have to drag out of bed....on mornings that I get all 9 school kids on the bus, I do breathe a nice sigh of relief. But do not get me wrong. I am not relieved to get them out of the house, oh contraire....I love to have them around....

Well, the little school kids are tucked in, just the older ones are up, and Charlotte Claire and Camille....it is still quite busy around here.....I am tired. I do like birthdays, and I love all the kids over, but it is nice to sit down and relax....which I can't really do yet, but I'm doing it anyway.....Camille took a late nap, so I can't officially relax anytime soon.