company's coming, clean up the house!!

Or walk away and go to Target to buy new pillows. Possibly. Hmm. When Emily and Mali come back from Norway, 4 guests are coming too. It's one thing when company comes over, but when they come to stay in the house, it has to be much cleaner. And believe me, I have work to do. So why, might one ask, would I be sitting here? Well.....I got up this morning and folded clothes that were taken out of the dryer last night so the couch monster doesn't come back, gave Jonathan a shower, changed Camille, brushed Rosie and gave her some nice birthday attention (she is one year old today!), and made omelets for Paul and Benjamin and Aaron and Margaret and Jonathan and Suzanne. The other kids had cereal and bagels and oranges.

Paul and Mirielle and Aaron went to work at the Carrier Dome, Abigail and Joseph went to work at Sam's club, and here we are. I just thought of a great idea: we can all pack up into the big van and go visit Abigail and Joseph at work! It is only 33 miles one way, ouch. That is a lot of gas. And besides, I SHOULD be cleaning today. I want to vacuum the stairs and wash the foyer tile and sort through the coats and straighten the bookshelves and do some laundry and of course the ever-present kitchen clean up.....since we ran off to the pool in a hurry after dinner, there are two meatloaf pans still to do. (I peeled ten pounds of red potatoes, leaving some of the skin where it looked good, and made the BEST mashed potatoes.) And we had asparagus, yum.

I am realizing that I like to walk away from all the work here at the drop of a hat. Just take the kids and go on an adventure.

Only Paul and I and Charlotte Claire and Camille went to the pool last night, all the other kids went to activity club. My little girls are fish! They have these cute little swimsuits with foam panels built in, and Camille has learned how to hold her head up and swim! She looks like a little puppy, but the earnest look on her face as she puts her whole heart in it is just delicious, she is so cute I can't stand it. Paul would lift her up out of the water at the edge of the pool and she would reach for his hands, and jump in, and every single time she had that look of surprise that as she came up, but she wanted to go do it again immediately. Charlotte Claire jumped in by herself, over and over and over. It tired us out sufficiently, and it felt wonderful. I wish I was filthy rich and could afford an indoor pool. It is the only form of excercise that actually feels good to me. Oh, I wouldn't have a trial in the world.......an indoor pool and a huge playroom, a table big enough that we could all fit.....(Emily and Mali are not here, and we had Mike over for dinner, which made 17, and Aaron had to stand at the counter and eat.) I have an addition to the house planned, we just need lots of money to do it. And I know, I know, I know that: I really have it good, and when I start longing for what I don't have and am never going to get, it just makes me discontent. I need to look around me again, and count my blessings and go from there. Thankfulness is a beautiful thing.

Samuel cleaned out a bunch of bins in the hallway outside his room, full of toys from when he was little.....Transformers and Legos and Matchbox cars.....tractors and Rescue Heroes and action figures.....so it has been Christmas and Birthday for Jonathan....BUT: they are all over the living room. He is almost overwhelmed, and he never needs another toy.

Rosie is full of energy this morning. She keeps picking up toys in her mouth and running around the living room. She needs to go outside and run.....not to go back to wishing for things I cannot have, but.....I do wish I had a fenced in yard for her to just go out in and run.......either that or neighbors who LIKED it when she got into their garbage. And cars that liked to be chased.....

The girls area actually trying to get started on the cleaning up here and here I sit. Jonathan is mad because he is trying to talk to me and he says all I care about is my computer. He seems to forget already how much time I spent with him just this morning. But nonetheless, I will get off of this thing, and get moving, again......