my camille anaya

Ooh, is she ever a mama's baby....and she isn't even really a baby anymore....she is so huggy (does that sound better than clingy?)....I put her to bed, sat down and put my feet up (after sneaking a few white chocolate macedamia nut cookies WITHOUT sharing, the key word being SNEAKING), and started to write....well, Camille did not want to stay in her nice green bed. So she cried. So we got her up. We are very smart. "Start as you mean to go on"....so I guess we are forming bad habits....but it is very very hot here in New York state. Muggy and still eighty here in the living room, no air conditioning. I cannot let a child cry in this heat, who am I kidding....it isn't the heat....I will put her back in later...she is joining Mirielle, Mali, Margaret, Kathryn, Evelyn, and Suzanne at the table....they are coloring. I always loved the 64ct. box of Crayolas, and apparently they do too. They are also having ice cream and homemade iced tea. Aaron and Sam are camping in the Adirondacks this weekend with a few boys from church. I sent them off with the 52 ounce bag of Starburst, and some warnings to use their life jackets when in the canoes....and that's about it.

I went in the pool three times today. It is so hot out, I had to go underwater to feel refreshed. I don't mind going swimming with 6 or 8 or 10 kids, it is the two youngest that wear me out. They have special suits that keep them afloat, and they have learned to keep their heads up so the suits work effectively. But they have no fear! Camille stands on the ladder, announces, "I jumps!", and she jumps! She goes right under, and comes up smiling! I, of course, am not calm cool and collected about this. And Charlotte Claire is the same way. She likes me to throw her. Over and over again. She comes bobbing up to the surface, and if the water is wavy, due to all the kids in there bouncing around, she sometimes gets a faceful....and I grab her, and she just wants me to put her down, she is fine. I am not complaining about the pool, no I am very thankful for it....for the kids getting the excercise, keeping busy, and being able to cool down. And I do have some help, but the way Camille is, I cannot trust anyone else, really. Charlotte Claire, too. There are times when I just feel tired of being in there watching like a hawk, but if I get out, the little ones have to get out too....anyway, I am not complaining...but not too much else is getting done around here.....but it's summer, we can live with it.

Tonight we had some pasta salad, courtesy of Mirielle....bow tie pasta with green peppers, sweet onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, with red pepper and garlic dressing. And hot dogs and coneys cooked on the grill, and sliced cucumbers. I do love summer.

I brushed out the little girls' hair today....tangles and snarls. We vow that we will not let it get so tangly again. Right.

I feel so sorry for Kate G. , ...the one with the eight children.....her husband cheated on her, moved out....I do not know the whole story, but...apparently he hired a babysitter she did not approve of while he had visitation, so she tried to enter the property, which is forbidden under their visitation agreement. The police had to come because they argued. No matter what happened to their marriage, I just feel plain sorry for Kate. Imagine if your children were being babysat by someone you didn't approve of, and you couldn't do a stinkin' thing about it. Her kids, her house....ouch. What a shame.

Well, Camille is still up at eleven o'clock, I don't know how tired SHE is, but I would certainly like to say goodnight to her. Sweet as she is.....