wellington it is!

Back and forth we go with puppy names....the kids call her Bitterman, I hate it. I called her Elliot, they hated that. Mali wanted something Japanese, Tashi or something, I said she is an ENGLISH sheepdog. I mentioned Wellington, as in boots, and they said that was a great name. It is a mouthful, but Welly isn't too bad. I just call her Pup anyway.... The kids had their tea party yesterday...here is Suzanne's cookie arrangement.

When the party was over, this guest got a prize: the little sugar bowl, still full of sugar....(I was NOT the one who gave it to her, but far be it from me to TAKE it from her...she looks sweet, but if I were to make a grab for that sugar, she would growl and bite....wait, I am getting her mixed up with Wellington)
Suzanne loves salad, so she made some all by herself for their party. Daddy found a huge bag of peanut M&M's in the pantry closet. (I KNEW they were in there)

Most of my kids have the day off from school. Not officially. It is a half-day. On half-days, the bus is so crowded, and I think it is a waste of time to get them all up and dressed for just a few hours of school. So, here I sit in the quiet while they sleep and sleep.

Not that I have been sitting for long. I have been up for a hour and a half, taking care of Wellington. She needs to go outside first thing, of course, and then run around a bit out there. Then she had to eat, and go out again. She played for a while then out again. Up and down those deck steps...but it is good for me. The last time we went out, I leashed her, and she did not like it.

We ran out of eggs yesterday. We were dangerously low on diapers. I do still have a bag of cloth diapers from years ago, deep in the closet, but.....anyway, we needed milk too. So, at 8:00, Abigail and I pulled out in the mini-van with Sonja, Jon, Charlotte Claire, and Camille, and went to the grocery store. I got a seedless watermelon ($3.99), some strawberries, and a cantaloupe. I plan to cut it all up and put in an container in the 'fridge. I bought carrots, bread, eggs, milk, cereal, frozen veggies (89cents a pound, and we eat 3 pounds with a meal now), applesauce, toilet paper (we should grow our own, at the rate we go through this, with all the girls here)....I bought some cherry Twizzlers for the ride home. So, at bedtime, I took the kids shopping. It was a very quick trip, and the store is only 20 minutes or less from here. They were big helpers, and went to bed nicely when we got home. We got home to a puddle of puppy pee in the kitchen....oops. So, pee, kids to put to bed, groceries to put away....then it was bedtime. The days go too fast. I am immensly enjoying this quiet time right now. It is delicious.

Aaron, that little rascal, went up to the Adirondacks yesterday and climbed Bald Mountain. Some friends from New Mexico are visiting, they are Dutch, and one of the older boys wanted to see the mountains. So they went. He got home at 11:00 last night, and still got up and went to school today. He is a good, responsible boy. He and Joseph were the only ones who went today.

Mirielle and Abigail made a mistake. They thought their summer classes started today, and discovered they start on Wednesday. What a nice mistake! My two big girls around for two days! It isn't just the help, they are lots of fun, too.

Mirielle and Aaron have tried very hard to get jobs, and have had no calls. It is obviously a tough market right now, but if these places knew what good, honest hard workers they are...I wish I could call them all myself and tell them.....

My new hottub cover is coming tomorrow. We have not been able to use it, because the old cover got ruined. It wasn't properly strapped on, and the winds would blow it half off....then we would put rocks on top to keep it on...and then it got some rips in it...then it got waterlogged...now it sags into the tub....the top is filled with rainwater. The water in the tub needs to be emptied, the tub cleaned out, and refilled. I cannot do that until we get the new cover, which we will restrain properly this time, not with rocks. It isn't entirely our fault, the hot tub cover straps were missing when we got it home. I called the company and was on hold for like an hour.....so I never called back. Our swimming pool is very sick, too. It sprung a leak last year, and we decided to wait until spring to fix it. Well, now it is spring....we have to drain it and see if we can fix the tear. Hopefully we don't have to replace the whole liner. I want to put the hose in and start draining it, but after Saturday's rain, I am wondering if the ground can bear it....it rained so much that the mud from the fields ran into the road and all over our yard. In the front of the yard, there are old corn stalks and mud all over. The fields are not even directly across, there is a house with a yard and trees, it washed right through there, across the road. The road is covered with a few inches of dirt and mud.

Anyways, blah blah blah....I wish I had something interesting to say, like hey, "We are going to the Caribean," or "I am expecting twins!", but not today.