everyone went to school...

At least I think they did. I got up just in time to see the first trip bus drive away..oops! I woke up the three little school kids and took the bad dog out for her walk, then got them ready....there is only like an inch of milk left, but there was enough for cereal. I feel bad I wasn't up for the first trip kids. Even though they're older, I like to make sure they grab something for breakfast. Bagels and bananas are perfect grabbers. Why some of these kids sleep until the last minute then fly out the door with their laces undone and jackets in hand, ever single morning, is beyond me.

Last night I stayed up too late looking at Carribean vacations. I tried to figure out, just for the heck of it, how much it would cost to bring all 18 of us. It would only compute up to six people. That's okay, six people was too expensive so I don't think we could pay triple that.

I left the dinner table last night to give the dog a bath. She just plain needed one. It was quite fun, Sonja got right in and helped, and the two little girls stood on the side of the tub and watched. Then we brought her outside in the dusk and played fetch and chase with her so she dried off a bit....she can run, that bad dog. I brushed her a bit last evening, and she looks so nice. I always say that people are 37% nicer to her when she is all clean and brushed.

This is perhaps one of those days when it is obvious I don't have much to say. So I'll update on the kids....

1. Emily - I have no idea. She hasn't had any time off for a few days now, but I did hear that Kathryn is planning a "Clash Of The Titans" party with her for this weekend.

2. Abigail - she texted me yesterday to tell me what she was having for lunch.

3. Benjamin - haven't talked to Ben too much lately. He has a girlfriend. She seems really nice.

4. Mirielle - she is busy busy with homework, she is in college.

5. Joseph - he is going to mow the lawn today. He does have some employment plans.

6. Aaron- he is also very busy with homework. He is a senior this year.

7. Mali - she has a cross-country meet today. I am considering going to watch her run by. She is also very busy doing homework.

8. Samuel - he is working hard keeping up with all his work. He is determined to do well in school. Every story or essay he writes is about...you guessed it, World War II.

9. Margaret- She has been going to the gym with Mirielle a few times a week and is looking good.

10. Kathryn- She spends all her spare time doing gymnastics outside. I am dreading winter time for her...

11. Evelyn- Some of our kids call Evelyn "Eleven"....anyway, she is growing up so fast! She goes first trip with the older kids this year, gets out all of her own clothes. She also washes and takes care of her own clothes now. Just because she wants to.

12. Suzanne- Suze continues to be lovely, inside and out. She does her own hair and remembers to take her showers on her own. She is friends with a girl with special needs, Suze plays with her every day and is always telling me about "Anna", and how sweet she is. She is a nurturer.

13. Sonja- She really wanted to stay home again, but she went to school. Sonja is one of those kids who just "gets" things in school, and gets A's and 100's on everything. She still hates veggies and doesn't want sauce on her spaghetti.

14. Jonathan-after a day off, he was all happy to go to school today. It helped that today is Show and Tell, and he just got through going through all his toys...so he is prepared!

15. Charlotte Claire-She is growing up too! She is getting so tall, growing out of all the 4's and 5's....she does like to do these little fits like Camille sometimes, and talk like a baby...but other than that, she is a very good little girl.

16. Camille- she has a cold, and a cough, and was awake four or five times last night. She is the little girl with the little curl right in the middle of her forehead...when she is good she is very very good, when she is bad she is horrid....she wants to do everything herself. And when she wants something, and I say no, watch out. I am learning not to be afraid of saying no. Because Camille is the epitome of the spoiled youngest....and I could not love her more. In her jammie-sleeper, she is the cutest sweetest squishiest little girl in the world!

As for me...I am trying not to pay too much attention to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But everytime a helicopter gets shot down and another soldier gets ambushed.....I think of the families, and how not too long from now, it could be Benjamin. We live very close to Fort Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Division, and another boy from there just was killed. I don't understand it, I don't like it, and it worries me.

Another thing that I don't like: my dad's youngest brother died on Sunday, he was only 59 years old. My father was one of twelve children, there are only four left. Three sisters and one brother. I am partly glad that my father passed away before his brothers Jerry and Jonny (they both died this year) though, it spared him the sadness.

For the most part though, I am a life-enjoyer. I like the smells and sounds and the textures of life, and lately it seems like those things are magnified, and I am just so conscious of the true gift of just being alive. It is so cliche, but things that are good:

wet grass on my feet....

being outside with the dog as the sun rises over the house at the end of the road...

washing pans in the hot soapy water....

seeing Paul walk in the door from work and giving me that smile....

the rain drizzling down right now, so it is cozy and dark in here...I love that.

the smell of the towels because Mirielle likes to buy fabric softener with good coupons...

the fleeting satisfaction of a just swept-floor...

And now I shall go cuddle those two little girls in their new jammy sleepers....cuteness!