stay home? ha....

I am certainly not a stay-at-home mom. I didn't exactly WANT to go today, and I don't think I exactly NEEDED to go....somewhere in between....I DID have the $30 in Kohl's cash that had to be used....and a 15%off on top of that....(I got some nice Nike sneakers and two shirts for Margaret, bathing suits for three of the girls, two pair of shorts and a shirt for Jonathan for school, a nice shirt for Sonja, a shirt for Samuel, skirts and two tops each for Charlotte Claire and Camille....)....that was fun. Then a quick trip through Target...oh my goodness, could hardly contain my joy: SuperSoakers for $3.24!!! I bought three of them! We had so much fun with them in the pool, the most fun being that there are THREE waterguns, and like 8 kids (and a mom) who want turns....a few of them wanted to know why I only bought three....hmm, good question...NO, wait a minute! I can't just buy a dozen of everything! And it is good to learn to share! Be thankful! And give me a turn with that!

We took a quick detour to McDonalds between stores because Sonja was hungry...and I was hungry...I need to learn to pack sandwiches...anyways, Camille only wanted fries...We each got one thing, drove away, looked in the bag: NO FRIES! I called the number on my receipt and the manager cheerfully invited me to come back and pick them up....rrr, my 15 passenger van....anyway, I went in to pick them up, and got Miss Sonja a fruit and yogurt parfait too, and the lady who waited on me said cheerfully, "The parfait is free, since you had to come back for your fries, sweetie!" Okay, I thought that coming all the way back was worth more than a one dollar parfait, but...she called me "sweetie"!

Our next stop was the grocery store...my goodness, I should just have our own grocery store. A watermelon, some bananas, romaine, red and yellow peppers, raisin bread, apple juice, meat, pasta, yogurt, eggs, milk, English Muffins, and laundry detergent.

We are going to bury my brother in a few weeks. That sounds horrible, and it is. It is still so so hard. I can't even think about it. I even question why we agreed on cremation, although it really doesn't matter. Anyway, his ashes are still in the possession of my younger brother. He and I were talking and decided it would be nice to do something on my father's birthday, so we talked about taking Billy up to the cemetary where my parents are buried, and planting him there unofficially, in a flower or something. Then maybe having everyone over here....or perhaps going up to Lake Ontario, which he loved. and scattering the ashes....we have such a large extended family, and we all loved him of course, but I feel like we have already had something for all of them, and this should be smaller and more meaningful. Without stepping on any toes. Oh well....sadness, still.

I have been talking to the kids lately about being more thankful for what we have, and for each other. I am just so thankful for my kids. Camille is adorable...today she told me that the man in the line next to us had a pretty shirt and a pretty necklace (he had a gold chain on)....then he started talking to her, and she said very loudly, "He talks and he laughs!"....he thought that was really funny, then she said, "He laughs like HA HA HA!", and she mimicked him in a deep voice. As if he wasn't there, and couldn't hear her. Oh my goodness, he was a very large man, and I was afraid any minute she was going to say he was FAT. They are all so special and I love them and enjoy them. I don't enjoy that they don't seem to be able to pick up their shoes and put them on the shelf, or that there are always towels from the pool around, or that there is always someone eating something.....but I love them. I am distracted because they are watching, "George Of The Jungle".....