sunny thursday

Eight of the nine kids made it successfully out the door, onto the bus, and to school this morning. Samuel has a sore throat, and does not feel well. I told him he could go back to bed. I am nice. I have a lot to do today. The laundry room looks like it threw up clothes into the kitchen.....no, not clothes, just bedding.....lots of bedding to wash.....

I am trying this again, a few hours later. It seems that Camille doesn't want me to do anything constructive today. So many times through the years, I have had days where I have just given up trying to get anything done, because when I am in the middle of cleaning the stovetop, and one child interrupts another's fort building, and the first child does "nothing, mommy!" to the second child, and the second child is crying and crying "I don't know Mommy, I didn't do anything".....for no reason, I find myself sitting with the crying child and thinking the stove top isn't too bad.....I have put the broom down so many times, and I finally said, under the table is not too bad...I'll just leave it....oh, I have been in the laundry room so many times, sneaking in when they aren't looking.....Camille likes to climb the mountain of bedding in the doorway and squeals with delight when she sees me. She now says, "Out, out!" when she sees me.....I guess she knows me quite well.....

I think it is seven degrees out now. Not a good day for playing in the snow. The kids were out for a long time yesterday....it is so nice when they come in all redcheeked and tired.....with all their wet stuff, which they hang up quickly and nicely without any reminders, ha. I usually don't let Charlotte Claire go out to play when it is the least bit cold, as she has a disconnect in her brain where normally a correlation between cold hands and taking off the mittens would be established. Two year olds also think nothing of kicking their boots off while swinging.

Well, one of the biggest myths of large families is the following: Oh, Your Older Children Must Help You So Much!........I think one reason for this statement must be that it helps the one who feels overwhelmed with her 2, 3, 4 young children to understand the lunacy of a large family. Oh, and here I feel I need to add a disclaimer: I am no way insinuating that I think large families are equal to lunacy.....just using that as in illustration of how some people react. (another myth is they think that 16 kids = double the work as their, say, 8 kids....no way, it doesn't work that way......it is probably about the same, with a little more to deal with with the older ones, and more food to buy, prepare, and clean up....and a bit more wear and tear on the washer and dryer....but not DOUBLE the work....)

Well, it is partly true here, but as I have said before, older children come with their own things to deal with. Emily is no trouble, she is in Norway. Then comes Abigail....she is a good responsible girl. We just have to be concerned with her driving, and go through the anguish with her of getting the classes she needs to graduate, and passing a class with a professor that for some reason doesn't like her....and her knee problems, and dr. bills....(I am not complaining about paying them, just stating that each child, young or old, that lives at home, comes with his/her share of things to deal with....and whether the child is helpful or not, having alot of kids equals alot to deal with)......Benjamin. Oh, I do pray for Benjamin. He is such a sweet boy, very tenderhearted. And hard working. He has gone through several cars now, most of which were too expensive to fix when they broke down.....and we have been here to help him get to work and school. He forgets to do important things, like pay cell phone bills, and get up and go to classes.....but we do love him, and hope he can use his time still here at home to get on his feet and be prepared for life. Mirielle.....she is a good girl, too. She has come home from her little trip to Canada, and started college. She is studying criminal justice, which sounds so interesting, I want to go with her. Can I go to college, please? Then we have my dear Joseph, who is 17 years old. I don't want to write anything embarrassing to him, but getting him out of bed in the morning, and on the bus, is quite the feat. He is brilliant in school, and even missing alot , he gets good grades, except for in some of the classes he hasn't handed things in in, for very good reasons, of course. Aaron comes next, and he doesn't give us much trouble, he just groans loudly when he is asked to do anything. I have decided to spare you the boring-ness of going through all the kids.....just standard stuff.....

Like I said, this post is not to complain about how much trouble my older kids are, just to clarify that having older ones is not all naps and bon-bons. They DO help me, when they can, some much more willingly than others. Abigail and Mirielle are extremely helpful, when they have time and the ambition. And I do have the after school chore list sometimes. And some of the bigger ones do their own laundry, and they NEVER leave it in the washer or dryer when I need to use it....and I NEVER accidentally dry their nice NEVER-put-in-the-dryer sweaters.......

How did I get here, on this computer, again? I thought I had things to do....oh yeah, I sat down with a crying child......well, I suppose I should get started again....maybe this time, there will be no cereal emptying, hitting, or falling and crying....no toy stealing.....