Just the fact that it is a bit after two in the afternoon, and here I am taking a break says alot about my big plans...
I did clean and shine the main bathroom....while the girls were swimming in their own private pool. Then I cleaned my own bathroom, and picked up and vacuumed my room. I had a break in the middle of that, however, talking to my sister on the phone. Oh my goodness, we ended the call laughing our heads off about something really stupid, but it was so funny! I did a few loads of laundry, and swept the kitchen floor. I puttered around picking things up a bit, then made lunch for my girls.
My girls are hilarious. Camille is the mom, dressed in her fancy pink dress. Charlotte Claire is the dad, she has Jon's old shorts on, and a Nike baseball shirt. They have the real Maclaren stroller out, because they have some daughters. Right now they are at the restaurant, which is the LittleTikes table in the living room, having peanutbutter and fluff on rye bread, and some Fritos. I pretended I was the waitress as I served their sippy cups of water.
They got married this morning, with a bouquet of silk flowers.
Now they live together and have daughters.
So I am not going to give up yet, I still shall try to accomplish more around here. Although tomorrow I am watching Timmy again, who is a sweetie pie, but Other People's Kids require more diligent watching than my own. So I don't know how much I shall get done tomorrow. And I have to leave soon for Aaron's appointment....
But I have some things to look forward to....
1. Emily is plannng a special dayin a few weeks for the girls at church....it is for all of the girls, from Charlotte Claire's age on up to youth age....around 45 girls, she estimates...fun and dancing and a nice dinner...and the good part? I get to be the cook! (and I get to invite a few of my dear friends to help me in the kitchen...like my sister and my sister-in-laws, and a few other friends) I get to plan the meal, too, which is one of my favorite things to do, ironically. I shall check the grocery store ads for that week, then decide what to serve, although I am thinking to make chicken wings and have a salad bar......
2. Our trip to Oklahoma, (the week AFTER break, Martha...oh well). Seeing Ben will be really nice, but also traveling with Emily and Abigail and Mirielle and Aaron and Ashley will be...hmm...there are no words...we have already planned to do a Flash Dance song in one of the stores along the way....we won't dance, at least I won't, but we will go into the store separately and pretend we don't know each other...then one of us will start to sing something really catchy, like Justin Bieber's "Baby", and all of us will join in one by one,....Now, I don't know if we will actually do this, but I am betting we will.
3. Spring.
Monday, January 31, 2011
as if it wasn't messy enough in here....
This morning, five minutes before the bus came, Miss Suzanne remembered that she has to swim for gym today, and needed a bathing suit. Now, Miss Suze is growing and growing, she is almost ten years old. The suit she wore in the summer is getting small, and of course she could not find the one I gave her a few months back to wear to the school pool. So..panic. She ended up taking two unmatching pieces. At least there was a nice clean towel in the towel closet, though...with no holes.
This morning has been challenging. It is freezing for one thing, it is up to zero now. Miss Rosie was a pulling-energetic brat on the leash on our little jaunt. Samuel James growled at me for no reason.....as he was coming out of his room, I commented that he was just the person I was looking for, and rrrr. Grumpy! I bit my tongue. He continued to grump at everyone else as he put his sneakers on. Ooh, he is in trouble later. No, not in trouble, but jeepers, I don't like to be talked to like that in the morning. rrr.
Then one of the other kids wet the bed.....shower....bedding in the laundry mountain. Out to the bus with the hood on, so wet hair doesn't freeze. rrr.
And now the mess: well, it isn't that bad...just the bathing suit bin dumped all over the living room. Two little girls are trying on every single suit. They are asking to take a bath. I am not letting them take a bath just so they can try out the bathing suits. Well, maybe I will.
Our little gold car is in the shop. The power steering went on it, and driving it is like when I wrestled with my brothers when I was young. Joseph casually mentioned the other day that he almost hit someone. Hopefully it will be really cheap to fix. So Mirielle and Joe had to drive to classes, didn't want to take the fifteen passenger van (social sucide!!! plus it is almost as hard to drive as the little gold car with no power steering)...so Paul took it to work, which is almost as funny. I mean, if it wasn't all dented....anyway, I have to take Aaron to the Nose Doctor this afternoon when Mirielle and Joe get home, to find out if about getting his broken nose repaired. And I get to drive the nice small minivan.
Blah, the car guy just called...he isn't sure what is wrong, and is recommending we take it to his friend a few miles up the road....
I decided to paint the bedroom that Suzanne, Sonja, and Jonathan share. It has been re-painted several times since we have lived here, each time a shade of pink. They do not want pink again, so I am thinking of a periwinkle blue/purplish color. They do not keep their room clean. When I put them to bed last night, I told them we are going to start keeping it much neater, picking things up every day so it won't get so messy. Then I told them, without even thinking about it, that I would paint it for them if they helped me get it all clean first. I would like to do it by this weekend. So now I have to do it.
Every once in a while, it seems like my eyes get opened really wide to how it is around here, I can see glaringly the things that are out of order. And I notice how the kids try to bargain with me, they don't take me seriously, don't listen the first time...and I get overwhelmed, and want to fix everything. ha. I want to stomp my feet and demand respect and get everyone moving and get this place cleaned up.
Anyway....I am a scoffer at self-improvement plans, of big organizational plans, of new ways to do things. Because I know ME. Yet....every once in a while, I get itchy to make some changes. So I am going to do the following....
1. Less computer time.
2. More cleaning time.
3. I drew up a new chore list that includes having two of the girls help me at least once a week with the ever-growing couch monster...yes, it WAS shrinking, but it has now doubled in size.
4. Get their rooms clean again so I can maintain them more each day. And train the younger ones more to pick up after themselves. (ha, may as well dream!)
5. I am going to start excercising. I am getting sick of winter and feeling blah, and I know going on the dreaded treadmill will make me feel better in the long run. In the short run, it will be suffering and agony. And I am just talking about like ten minutes.
6. I shall clean out some cupboards, organize the coats and remove the ones the little girls have outgrown....
7. The main bath needs a facelift. Paint, new shower curtain.
8. I shall eat more fruit and less chocolate. ouch, I don't even like writing that.
9. I shall shop less, save more money, and be more creative with meals to stretch the money farther.
10. I shall meet up with my friend Martha one of these days.....
Oh, it is fun and easy to sit here and write about it!!! Except the less chocolate thing, ouch. But yesterday at lunch, we had two dozen small chocolate covered donuts....I didn't have one. There were less and less left, then down to one. I asked someone to pass me the box. I looked at it. I didn't eat it. Yay, someone else did, and they were all gone!! That doesn't mean I didn't get two big bars of Aldi chocolate out later to share with the kids....of course with me, too. But it is a small victory, and if felt really good in a strange sort of way.
Well, since I am a nice mommy, I shall go start running the bath water for the two bathing-suit beauties.....
This morning has been challenging. It is freezing for one thing, it is up to zero now. Miss Rosie was a pulling-energetic brat on the leash on our little jaunt. Samuel James growled at me for no reason.....as he was coming out of his room, I commented that he was just the person I was looking for, and rrrr. Grumpy! I bit my tongue. He continued to grump at everyone else as he put his sneakers on. Ooh, he is in trouble later. No, not in trouble, but jeepers, I don't like to be talked to like that in the morning. rrr.
Then one of the other kids wet the bed.....shower....bedding in the laundry mountain. Out to the bus with the hood on, so wet hair doesn't freeze. rrr.
And now the mess: well, it isn't that bad...just the bathing suit bin dumped all over the living room. Two little girls are trying on every single suit. They are asking to take a bath. I am not letting them take a bath just so they can try out the bathing suits. Well, maybe I will.
Our little gold car is in the shop. The power steering went on it, and driving it is like when I wrestled with my brothers when I was young. Joseph casually mentioned the other day that he almost hit someone. Hopefully it will be really cheap to fix. So Mirielle and Joe had to drive to classes, didn't want to take the fifteen passenger van (social sucide!!! plus it is almost as hard to drive as the little gold car with no power steering)...so Paul took it to work, which is almost as funny. I mean, if it wasn't all dented....anyway, I have to take Aaron to the Nose Doctor this afternoon when Mirielle and Joe get home, to find out if about getting his broken nose repaired. And I get to drive the nice small minivan.
Blah, the car guy just called...he isn't sure what is wrong, and is recommending we take it to his friend a few miles up the road....
I decided to paint the bedroom that Suzanne, Sonja, and Jonathan share. It has been re-painted several times since we have lived here, each time a shade of pink. They do not want pink again, so I am thinking of a periwinkle blue/purplish color. They do not keep their room clean. When I put them to bed last night, I told them we are going to start keeping it much neater, picking things up every day so it won't get so messy. Then I told them, without even thinking about it, that I would paint it for them if they helped me get it all clean first. I would like to do it by this weekend. So now I have to do it.
Every once in a while, it seems like my eyes get opened really wide to how it is around here, I can see glaringly the things that are out of order. And I notice how the kids try to bargain with me, they don't take me seriously, don't listen the first time...and I get overwhelmed, and want to fix everything. ha. I want to stomp my feet and demand respect and get everyone moving and get this place cleaned up.
Anyway....I am a scoffer at self-improvement plans, of big organizational plans, of new ways to do things. Because I know ME. Yet....every once in a while, I get itchy to make some changes. So I am going to do the following....
1. Less computer time.
2. More cleaning time.
3. I drew up a new chore list that includes having two of the girls help me at least once a week with the ever-growing couch monster...yes, it WAS shrinking, but it has now doubled in size.
4. Get their rooms clean again so I can maintain them more each day. And train the younger ones more to pick up after themselves. (ha, may as well dream!)
5. I am going to start excercising. I am getting sick of winter and feeling blah, and I know going on the dreaded treadmill will make me feel better in the long run. In the short run, it will be suffering and agony. And I am just talking about like ten minutes.
6. I shall clean out some cupboards, organize the coats and remove the ones the little girls have outgrown....
7. The main bath needs a facelift. Paint, new shower curtain.
8. I shall eat more fruit and less chocolate. ouch, I don't even like writing that.
9. I shall shop less, save more money, and be more creative with meals to stretch the money farther.
10. I shall meet up with my friend Martha one of these days.....
Oh, it is fun and easy to sit here and write about it!!! Except the less chocolate thing, ouch. But yesterday at lunch, we had two dozen small chocolate covered donuts....I didn't have one. There were less and less left, then down to one. I asked someone to pass me the box. I looked at it. I didn't eat it. Yay, someone else did, and they were all gone!! That doesn't mean I didn't get two big bars of Aldi chocolate out later to share with the kids....of course with me, too. But it is a small victory, and if felt really good in a strange sort of way.
Well, since I am a nice mommy, I shall go start running the bath water for the two bathing-suit beauties.....
Sunday, January 30, 2011
sunday, a day of rest....
I finally charged my camera batteries...here is Suzanne Eleanor, 9 years old.
Abigail Marie, 24 years old...she is always cold, can you tell?
Abigail Marie, 24 years old...she is always cold, can you tell?
Kathryn and Emily, 12 and 26....
Emily was a nice big sister last night. She let Suzanne and Sonja and their cousin Grace spend the night at her apartment. She invited them earlier in the week, so they had lots of days to look forward to it. They were good this time, as opposed to the last time they stayed there and woke Em up at five a.m. screaming their heads off because they swore that the closet door handle moved....
Emily was a nice big sister last night. She let Suzanne and Sonja and their cousin Grace spend the night at her apartment. She invited them earlier in the week, so they had lots of days to look forward to it. They were good this time, as opposed to the last time they stayed there and woke Em up at five a.m. screaming their heads off because they swore that the closet door handle moved....Emily is also a nice big sister because right now she is at the movies with Kathryn, and some of the other girls from church.
There is roast beef with onions, four pounds of carrots, and 16 potatoes in the oven...it smells quite wonderful in here right now, and if feels cozy. It is the Afternoon Lull. We came home from church, where we had lunch together and talked while the youth aged kids did activity club with the younger kids....I did some laundry, picked up a bit, got dinner into the oven, and here I am. I just finished a cup of coffee, thank you, Ashley. I also just finished passing out some afternoon chocolate, from Aldi...those bars of German chocolate, yum. Almost as good as Norwegian. And a heck of lot cheaper.
Tereza asked a very important question...she was wondering how we can afford to buy all these things I get on clearance. Hmm. I bought Jonathan boots and a coat for next year. For 75% off. Since he is 9 years younger than Sam, and he can't very well wear pink boots, at least not to school, he needs new boots when he grows out of the old ones. It is just plain smart for me to get them at the end of the winter. I always quote Laura Ingalls Wilder, from the book Farmer Boy, "The rich get their ice in the summer, the poor get theirs in the winter.", only I say, "The rich get their boots in the fall, the poor get theirs in the spring....","also their tents in January") and other variations...But, I do have to be careful. Just because something is cheap, doesn't mean it's free, and cheap still adds up.
Isiah 53:2 "He grew up before him like a tender shoot, like a root out of dry ground..." This verse speaks of Jesus. This verse speaks to me in many ways. Tender shoots generally don't flourish in dry ground. I think of myself here in my home. I have a desire to put things right around here, which is fine. But just think to remain in love, and in rest, and be good when things around here are NOT neat and orderly. As opposed to getting miserable about things and having to work so hard to make it nice, so that I can feel okay again. When there are babies and toddlers, especially, it is sometimes almost impossible to always have things how we like them. I also find that even though there isn't a baby here anymore, it is still almost impossible to keep things the way I would like it to be....kids are perpetual motion machines, they can leave trails. Mulitply these machines, and there are trails upon trails. And there is the noise, which is obviously invisible, but it can be stressful. Shall I wait until it is all quiet before I am happy? I guess the thing is, no matter the circumstances, no matter what the house is like, or how people treat me, or how things go, I believe that God causes all things to work together for my best. My very best. I cannot control the things around me, not all of the things anyway. But I can control how I react to things, by the grace of God. He can give me victory when I seek Him in the temptations. Then it is only good.
Yeah, so that was my Sunday Sermon.
Just think of how different this world would be if each and every person believed that God causes all things to work together for their very best....(Romans 8)....and if every single person sought not their own, but to bless others.
Ooops, I forgot, I am done with my sermon.
I need to write a letter to my Benjamin tonight, and get the laundry into the dryer and another load put in, and start getting that dinner onto the table...
Saturday, January 29, 2011
saturday morning....
I have the right slippers on now, one of the kids presented them to me...they don't just walk away on their own accord, the kids keep them warm for me when I leave the house...so this morning I found myself with one red fluffy one and one Dearfoam that I got for Christmas, before the pair of good ones appeared while I did the dishwasher. Oh, the mountain of dishes there was this morning. We had chicken wings last night, hot Buffalo and barbecue sauce, and some sliced veggies, and fresh whole wheat Italian bread from the Price-Chopper bakery, it was hot out of the oven, and only $1 a loaf. Anyway....
The dishes were overflowing the sink. The pans were sitting there soaking, plus the serving dishes...the girls wanted breakfast, Rosie wanted OUT, and Jonathan was going over to his friend's house for a few hours and needed clothes.(then he noticed that there was a box on the floor with a new faucet for the kitchen sink...so he didn't want to go to his friend's house anymore, because he didn't want to miss helping daddy install the new faucet...I told him daddy would wait for him)(Yes, Paul bought a new faucet because this one is dripping. He bought the same exact one. I would have bought a different style...) Then Mali wanted to go to the basketball game at school....and MOMMY wanted to sit down and have coffee and blog.
Some of the kids were up early this morning, and I did not want to get up yet...I heard Rosie barking in her cage, so I picked up my cell phone and called the house phone, and told Jon to just let her out....I still had to get up, but at least I had a chance to get dressed and beautiful before coming out to greet the day.
Paul is playing Barbie Matching game with Charlotte Claire, and Camille is in another world with a whole armful of dollhouse people, rocking them and looking off into the distance....
Mirielle and Ashley and Aaron got up and went to the gym this morning...I should have gone with them...one of these days, I am going to get back into shape....
Benjamin gave most of his clothes away when he left, figured he wouldn't have much use for them for the next four years. So I see the kids walking around with his things on. Suzanne has his flannel jammy pants on. Now, Benjamin is 6 foot one inch, so the pants are rather huge. Kathryn has his gym shorts on, and they all wear his shirts. They say it helps them remember him and makes him feel closer.
Today we have no plans, besides the new faucet installation. I have a roast to roast for dinner, with potatoes and onions and carrots....hmm, or shall I save it for Sunday dinner and have our tradional Saturday night pizza tonight? My life is just so darned exciting I can't stand it.
The kids came home from the youth meeting last night with two cousins. It isn't exactly CRAZY in here, but it is busy.
Yesterday I took Ashley to the mall so she could take her rings to the jewelery store and get them sized smaller, before they fell down the drain or something....I had picked Evelyn, 11, and Kathryn, 12, up from school, so we checked out some clearance racks while we were there. In Old Navy they each found something to get with their Christmas money, and I got one sweater for them to share for $4.19, and two cute little fleecy sweaters for the little girls for $2.79 each. That is all I bought in the mall, and I was proud of myself...but uh-oh, then I went to Target...because the girls really wanted to....well, I found a tent, regularly $149.99 marked down to $37! I didn't really want to buy a tent in January, but the other day we were dreaming/planning/talking about a weekend trip to the ocean with the family, wherein Paul and I get a hotel room and the kids camp (Mirielle's suggestion, not ours, but hey, she has a good idea there!)...and all Paul said was, "we don't have a tent.", which isn't exactly true, as we have a couple small ones. So anyway, I had to make a decision. So I bought it. I also bought the girls a princess tent, regularly $40 for $10, which is for one of their birthdays.
Then to the grocery store to get the ice-cream I promised the kids, and cereal and potatoes and carrots and diced tomatoes and more bananas and yogurt and milk and bagels....
Then through McDonalds for $4 worth of food, three one dollar sandwiches(no, they were not all for me...) and a hot coffee....there's nothing like the long ride home through the sparkly snowy countryside with a hot cup of coffee, and good company too....
I am rambling with no rhyme or reason....rats, Aaron just hijacked the washing machine. Can he not see that pile of pee-pee bedding?
The dishes were overflowing the sink. The pans were sitting there soaking, plus the serving dishes...the girls wanted breakfast, Rosie wanted OUT, and Jonathan was going over to his friend's house for a few hours and needed clothes.(then he noticed that there was a box on the floor with a new faucet for the kitchen sink...so he didn't want to go to his friend's house anymore, because he didn't want to miss helping daddy install the new faucet...I told him daddy would wait for him)(Yes, Paul bought a new faucet because this one is dripping. He bought the same exact one. I would have bought a different style...) Then Mali wanted to go to the basketball game at school....and MOMMY wanted to sit down and have coffee and blog.
Some of the kids were up early this morning, and I did not want to get up yet...I heard Rosie barking in her cage, so I picked up my cell phone and called the house phone, and told Jon to just let her out....I still had to get up, but at least I had a chance to get dressed and beautiful before coming out to greet the day.
Paul is playing Barbie Matching game with Charlotte Claire, and Camille is in another world with a whole armful of dollhouse people, rocking them and looking off into the distance....
Mirielle and Ashley and Aaron got up and went to the gym this morning...I should have gone with them...one of these days, I am going to get back into shape....
Benjamin gave most of his clothes away when he left, figured he wouldn't have much use for them for the next four years. So I see the kids walking around with his things on. Suzanne has his flannel jammy pants on. Now, Benjamin is 6 foot one inch, so the pants are rather huge. Kathryn has his gym shorts on, and they all wear his shirts. They say it helps them remember him and makes him feel closer.
Today we have no plans, besides the new faucet installation. I have a roast to roast for dinner, with potatoes and onions and carrots....hmm, or shall I save it for Sunday dinner and have our tradional Saturday night pizza tonight? My life is just so darned exciting I can't stand it.
The kids came home from the youth meeting last night with two cousins. It isn't exactly CRAZY in here, but it is busy.
Yesterday I took Ashley to the mall so she could take her rings to the jewelery store and get them sized smaller, before they fell down the drain or something....I had picked Evelyn, 11, and Kathryn, 12, up from school, so we checked out some clearance racks while we were there. In Old Navy they each found something to get with their Christmas money, and I got one sweater for them to share for $4.19, and two cute little fleecy sweaters for the little girls for $2.79 each. That is all I bought in the mall, and I was proud of myself...but uh-oh, then I went to Target...because the girls really wanted to....well, I found a tent, regularly $149.99 marked down to $37! I didn't really want to buy a tent in January, but the other day we were dreaming/planning/talking about a weekend trip to the ocean with the family, wherein Paul and I get a hotel room and the kids camp (Mirielle's suggestion, not ours, but hey, she has a good idea there!)...and all Paul said was, "we don't have a tent.", which isn't exactly true, as we have a couple small ones. So anyway, I had to make a decision. So I bought it. I also bought the girls a princess tent, regularly $40 for $10, which is for one of their birthdays.
Then to the grocery store to get the ice-cream I promised the kids, and cereal and potatoes and carrots and diced tomatoes and more bananas and yogurt and milk and bagels....
Then through McDonalds for $4 worth of food, three one dollar sandwiches(no, they were not all for me...) and a hot coffee....there's nothing like the long ride home through the sparkly snowy countryside with a hot cup of coffee, and good company too....
I am rambling with no rhyme or reason....rats, Aaron just hijacked the washing machine. Can he not see that pile of pee-pee bedding?
Friday, January 28, 2011
nothing new under the sun...
Yet here I am. Another day. Same trials, different variations. But the blessings, oh they are abundant too. Suzanne stayed home because I sent her yesterday, and yes she did go to the nurse because she had...well, let's just say she had to run to the bathroom in a hurry....the nurse politely mentioned it would be good to keep her home a little longer. Sonja K. hasn't been sick to her stomach at all yet, but has the cold that Mirielle has, and that I think I am getting....and since I am going shopping today, I didn't want Miss Sonja to get sick in school and have to be picked up...So....Suze and Sonja are home today, taking a bath. The two little girls are playing house. Jonathan went all by himself on the bus, because of the joy set before him: Emily is picking him up after school to spend some time with him. She wanted to pick him up earlier, but he said, "Well, Em, (in his grown-up voice), I HAVE missed alot of school, so I think you should get me later..."
So Miss Emily Anne was here last evening. We didn't talk too much, because all of the kids were like, "Emily, guess what...?", and "Emily, look what I made..."
Our chicken soup was absolutely delicious. Mirielle made some white sauce with butter, flour, milk...then added three cans of Campbells Cream Of Chicken with Herbs, then three pounds of chicken, cut up very small, and cooked it for a few hours....I added four pounds of peeled cubed potatoes, a cut up red pepper, and a can of corn. It was just so yummy. And there is some left for lunch. I never ended up making any biscuits, but we had lots of crackers. My kids are cracker-holics.
I am picking both Kathryn and Evelyn up at noontime today to go shopping with us. I know I wrote "appointment" on their notes to be picked up early, so I wouldn't have any trouble with the school. I figure it is an appointment to spend time with their mom...and go to the dreaded Target....they both have Christmas money and since Kathryn is swimming next week in gym class, she wants to buy a bathing suit. (swimming in gym class is like the worst thing for young girls...they are SO self conscious...) (and if they don't have a suit, they get to wear one from the gym teacher, which is total social suicide....according to them)
Margaret Cheryl is a lucky girl. She is going to Ohio this weekend! She is going with some girls from church, so she is in good company.
As much as I hate to cut this short, I have so much to say, I need to get moving...going shopping....but I shall be a good girl in Target....
So Miss Emily Anne was here last evening. We didn't talk too much, because all of the kids were like, "Emily, guess what...?", and "Emily, look what I made..."
Our chicken soup was absolutely delicious. Mirielle made some white sauce with butter, flour, milk...then added three cans of Campbells Cream Of Chicken with Herbs, then three pounds of chicken, cut up very small, and cooked it for a few hours....I added four pounds of peeled cubed potatoes, a cut up red pepper, and a can of corn. It was just so yummy. And there is some left for lunch. I never ended up making any biscuits, but we had lots of crackers. My kids are cracker-holics.
I am picking both Kathryn and Evelyn up at noontime today to go shopping with us. I know I wrote "appointment" on their notes to be picked up early, so I wouldn't have any trouble with the school. I figure it is an appointment to spend time with their mom...and go to the dreaded Target....they both have Christmas money and since Kathryn is swimming next week in gym class, she wants to buy a bathing suit. (swimming in gym class is like the worst thing for young girls...they are SO self conscious...) (and if they don't have a suit, they get to wear one from the gym teacher, which is total social suicide....according to them)
Margaret Cheryl is a lucky girl. She is going to Ohio this weekend! She is going with some girls from church, so she is in good company.
As much as I hate to cut this short, I have so much to say, I need to get moving...going shopping....but I shall be a good girl in Target....
Thursday, January 27, 2011
sonja k. and me....
Sonja K. is a very special girl.(she is next to me in the header picture) She is eight years old, she is the fifth little girl in the Five Little Girls In A Row....and that may be why she acts somewhat like an only child, or a youngest child might...she puts up those fusses when she doesn't get her way, and whines about things. She doesn't exactly come out and ask for things, but she is a first-class hinter. So....today she stayed home AGAIN....she hasn't really been sick yet, but she has FELT sick. She is smart enough to know that I will not send her to school if she might be sick, and others here are sick...so. She stayed home again, today because she felt awful, and her throat hurt....
Fast forward to noontime....I decided that since Mirielle was here today, and Joseph was already home from class, I should go get the poor cat some food, some ginger ale for Charlotte Claire, and some half and half for our coffee. And some milk and eggs and chocolate chips and cereal and cheese and lunch meat and romaine and bananas...anyway, I took Miss Sonja K. with me. We had way too much fun. I hugged her and talked to her and told her what a sweetie she is. She helped me put things into the cart and enthusiastically approved the purchase of a big package of Oreos.
We went first to B.J's, then to Walmart, to get the gingerale. Sonja found a dress for herself for three dollars. I bought two different ones for Miss Charlotte Claire for kindergarten. I got bagels and bananas in there, too. At the register, the girl in front of me was adding her items up, adding a few at a time to make sure she didn't go over. She was babysitting twin two-year olds, they were sleeping in the cart. She was unloading very carefully so as not to wake them. She seemed very sweet, and I think she was pretty broke, judging by what she bought...and how she looked...which seems mean....I was thinking of a way to slip her ten bucks or so, but I had absolutely no cash. I was chatting with her, she finished up and I started my transaction...well, she realized that one of the twins was resting comfortably not only on her coat, but on the package of toilet paper she was buying....she wriggled it out from under the child, approached the register, and asked me to add it to my stuff and she would pay me the cash...it was only five dollars, so I told her , "Happy Birthday!", as I handed it to her....she tried to refuse, but I said, hey, nothing wrong with getting toilet paper for your birthday...she then said her birthday is actually in two weeks...."There you go then, Happy Birthday!" I was glad to be able to help her a little, and hopefully didn't embarrass her too much....
Mirielle made a pot of chicken potato corn soup today....so dinner is not a mystery tonight. I am thinking of making some biscuits to go with it...
There is so much to do around here. More than I can shake a stick at, as my mother-in-law would say. But it was so nice to get out with Sonja today, the weather snowy but not as freezing as it has been, it is 28 out. I shall get off this computer and get some things picked up and put away.....Evelyn is taking Camille out to play, and Jon is getting dressed to join them. Suzanne and Sonja are already out there. Samuel just decided to finish his homework later and go out and play with Rosie.
Fast forward to noontime....I decided that since Mirielle was here today, and Joseph was already home from class, I should go get the poor cat some food, some ginger ale for Charlotte Claire, and some half and half for our coffee. And some milk and eggs and chocolate chips and cereal and cheese and lunch meat and romaine and bananas...anyway, I took Miss Sonja K. with me. We had way too much fun. I hugged her and talked to her and told her what a sweetie she is. She helped me put things into the cart and enthusiastically approved the purchase of a big package of Oreos.
We went first to B.J's, then to Walmart, to get the gingerale. Sonja found a dress for herself for three dollars. I bought two different ones for Miss Charlotte Claire for kindergarten. I got bagels and bananas in there, too. At the register, the girl in front of me was adding her items up, adding a few at a time to make sure she didn't go over. She was babysitting twin two-year olds, they were sleeping in the cart. She was unloading very carefully so as not to wake them. She seemed very sweet, and I think she was pretty broke, judging by what she bought...and how she looked...which seems mean....I was thinking of a way to slip her ten bucks or so, but I had absolutely no cash. I was chatting with her, she finished up and I started my transaction...well, she realized that one of the twins was resting comfortably not only on her coat, but on the package of toilet paper she was buying....she wriggled it out from under the child, approached the register, and asked me to add it to my stuff and she would pay me the cash...it was only five dollars, so I told her , "Happy Birthday!", as I handed it to her....she tried to refuse, but I said, hey, nothing wrong with getting toilet paper for your birthday...she then said her birthday is actually in two weeks...."There you go then, Happy Birthday!" I was glad to be able to help her a little, and hopefully didn't embarrass her too much....
Mirielle made a pot of chicken potato corn soup today....so dinner is not a mystery tonight. I am thinking of making some biscuits to go with it...
There is so much to do around here. More than I can shake a stick at, as my mother-in-law would say. But it was so nice to get out with Sonja today, the weather snowy but not as freezing as it has been, it is 28 out. I shall get off this computer and get some things picked up and put away.....Evelyn is taking Camille out to play, and Jon is getting dressed to join them. Suzanne and Sonja are already out there. Samuel just decided to finish his homework later and go out and play with Rosie.
new day....
What's new today? Well, Miss Charlotte Claire is sick. She had a fever last night, so I knew it was coming...well, this morning while the first trip kids were getting ready for school, she came down the hall, went into the bathroom, made it to the toilet, then went back in her room and got into bed...I went in after her and asked if she wanted to come out to the couch. "I think I need more sleep, Mommy..." She is such a little grown-up at four years old. Poor thing. She had her bowl, and her sippy cup of water, and she wanted to stay in her bed.
Sonja stayed home again, she has a sore throat and is hoarse. What, a new sickness? hmm. The other kids went, although I wouldn't be surprised if Suzanne ended up at the nurses' office. It is so difficult for me to determine who is ready to go back to school!
It is snowing again. There is another huge snowstorm on the East coast, this translates to lake effect snow for us. We aren't getting pounded like NYC or D.C., but perhaps four inches. And, it is going to get colder again, in the single digits. The thirty-something degrees yesterday was lovely. My brother said he felt like wearing shorts.
Camille is cuddled up to me. Her cheeks are very pink, she looks like she is sick. I think maybe a fever is coming on for her, too. I sort of hope if she gets sick she gets it today and gets it over with...but since I cannot choose these things....
It is getting time to do some grocery shopping. I have the minivan today, but was planning to do the shopping tomorrow. Ashley has to go in to get her ring sized before it goes down the drain or something. She decided not to go to school with Mirielle and Joe because of the timeframe...she would have three weeks of classes and finals at the time she would be eligible to go and be with Benjamin, as he goes to school in Texas. (she can when he is halfway through the 16 weeks) She only has those eight weeks with him, then we don't know where he will go. So for her to be finishing up a semester while she could be with him was just not appealing to her, and I do not blame her. She will have plenty of time to go to school, right now her whole heart longs to be with her new husband.
We are getting along nicely, Ashley and I. She is a treasure, through and through. Life hasn't been easy for her, but she has no bitterness. Camille sometimes still shouts joyfully, "Ashley's here!" For all the craziness here, she says she is thankful to be here. I think it is evident that there is peace here. Peace which has nothing to do with quietness.
Do I long for summer? Not really. As much as it almost suffocates me to live in here, in this living room for so many hours a day, day in and day out, while it snows and gets colder and colder then colder still, then a few days that go up to thirty, then colder again...it is nice not to have the pressure to always be on the go and outside....but then when I think about those summer evenings when the kids run around the yard, climbing trees and playing badminton until dark...which isn't until after eight o'clock...well, then I do miss it a bit....but overall, I don't mind the "down" time of winter. The cuddling and the being together in here. I have read a few books, and am now thinking of starting a new project: painting the living room again. I hate the color green that we chose for this room. It is ugly and hideous and I do not know why I chose it. I thought it was like this nice pale sage, but no, it looks like the Kmart toothpaste we used when I was little...mint, toothpaste green. blah. And the kitchen could use another coat of English Ivy, which is a pale buttercream yellowish color. I am considering using that color out here, too.
My coffee is almost gone, but there is more in the pot. We are turning into a family of coffee-holics here. I only drink one or two cups a day, some days possibly three, but the kids come from school and put on a pot now. I bought them some decaf, so they make that. I think they just like the grown-up-ness of it, and the smell, and the comraderie that comes with having coffee together after school. (Not the elementary kids, the older ones.) Mirielle has a nice travel mug, I got her a pink one for Christmas so her dad won't steal it...yesterday after she was long gone to college, I found it on the counter filled with coffee...wah. She texted me later that she was so tired, and she had forgotten it. I told her that it made me cry. Well, not all-the-way-cry, but sad....
I have to call the car place today and get that old gold car in to get the steering fixed. They keep telling me it is fine to drive with no power steering...then this morning Joe said casually that he almost hit someone because he couldn't turn...rrr.
Camille is telling me that her belly hurts, and that she is "sick right here, in my belly, Mama!" oh joy oh joy....
Sonja stayed home again, she has a sore throat and is hoarse. What, a new sickness? hmm. The other kids went, although I wouldn't be surprised if Suzanne ended up at the nurses' office. It is so difficult for me to determine who is ready to go back to school!
It is snowing again. There is another huge snowstorm on the East coast, this translates to lake effect snow for us. We aren't getting pounded like NYC or D.C., but perhaps four inches. And, it is going to get colder again, in the single digits. The thirty-something degrees yesterday was lovely. My brother said he felt like wearing shorts.
Camille is cuddled up to me. Her cheeks are very pink, she looks like she is sick. I think maybe a fever is coming on for her, too. I sort of hope if she gets sick she gets it today and gets it over with...but since I cannot choose these things....
It is getting time to do some grocery shopping. I have the minivan today, but was planning to do the shopping tomorrow. Ashley has to go in to get her ring sized before it goes down the drain or something. She decided not to go to school with Mirielle and Joe because of the timeframe...she would have three weeks of classes and finals at the time she would be eligible to go and be with Benjamin, as he goes to school in Texas. (she can when he is halfway through the 16 weeks) She only has those eight weeks with him, then we don't know where he will go. So for her to be finishing up a semester while she could be with him was just not appealing to her, and I do not blame her. She will have plenty of time to go to school, right now her whole heart longs to be with her new husband.
We are getting along nicely, Ashley and I. She is a treasure, through and through. Life hasn't been easy for her, but she has no bitterness. Camille sometimes still shouts joyfully, "Ashley's here!" For all the craziness here, she says she is thankful to be here. I think it is evident that there is peace here. Peace which has nothing to do with quietness.
Do I long for summer? Not really. As much as it almost suffocates me to live in here, in this living room for so many hours a day, day in and day out, while it snows and gets colder and colder then colder still, then a few days that go up to thirty, then colder again...it is nice not to have the pressure to always be on the go and outside....but then when I think about those summer evenings when the kids run around the yard, climbing trees and playing badminton until dark...which isn't until after eight o'clock...well, then I do miss it a bit....but overall, I don't mind the "down" time of winter. The cuddling and the being together in here. I have read a few books, and am now thinking of starting a new project: painting the living room again. I hate the color green that we chose for this room. It is ugly and hideous and I do not know why I chose it. I thought it was like this nice pale sage, but no, it looks like the Kmart toothpaste we used when I was little...mint, toothpaste green. blah. And the kitchen could use another coat of English Ivy, which is a pale buttercream yellowish color. I am considering using that color out here, too.
My coffee is almost gone, but there is more in the pot. We are turning into a family of coffee-holics here. I only drink one or two cups a day, some days possibly three, but the kids come from school and put on a pot now. I bought them some decaf, so they make that. I think they just like the grown-up-ness of it, and the smell, and the comraderie that comes with having coffee together after school. (Not the elementary kids, the older ones.) Mirielle has a nice travel mug, I got her a pink one for Christmas so her dad won't steal it...yesterday after she was long gone to college, I found it on the counter filled with coffee...wah. She texted me later that she was so tired, and she had forgotten it. I told her that it made me cry. Well, not all-the-way-cry, but sad....
I have to call the car place today and get that old gold car in to get the steering fixed. They keep telling me it is fine to drive with no power steering...then this morning Joe said casually that he almost hit someone because he couldn't turn...rrr.
Camille is telling me that her belly hurts, and that she is "sick right here, in my belly, Mama!" oh joy oh joy....
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
productive morning so far...
What is the actual definition of "productive", anyway? For me in the morning, it means I have accomplished something other than just get the kids fed and brushed and dressed and out the door to school, the dog walked and fed and watered, the newspaper brought in, my coffee prepared, and my bowl of shredded wheat (or AppleJacks or LuckyCharms, I am not picky) poured before I get on my computer....well, this morning, I did not send any small children to school, they are still not 100% better, but....
1. I wrote a letter to Benjamin, put it in an envelope with one that Margaret wrote (we are stamp-save-y here), and addressed it. It hasn't been put into the mailbox yet, but still...
That's it. I feel productive. That is the good thing about aiming low, no disapointment.
And I know I have the whole rest of the day to feel even more productive.
I did put a dent in the laundry yesterday...I love it when I put through load after load, then someone brings a huge pile of bedding and says, "Mommy, I wet the bed last night..." Although it is better than when I go to tuck them in at night and they say, "I can't get into bed, it is wet...."
The clothes monster has gotten a little bit smaller, which is very very good. Couch monsters by nature grow daily, and it if isn't growing, even that is progress. But if it is shrinking, even by small amounts, it is tremendously encouraging. Okay, I know, I CAN just go over there and put everything away. It doesn't take very long. But believe it or not, when I am not on this computer, I do get busy, and it just doesn't make the top of the priority list when I am cleaning up and taking care of kids. And, once I take care of the whole thing and pronounce that the couch Will Not Have Clothes On It Anymore, where am I supposed to put things?
I have been thinking about babies....so I thought I would write about my babies, all those wonderful babies I was blessed with....
Emily: I was 19 when she was born....she was way too precious to entrust to anyone else, I never left her when she was a baby....at all.
Abigail: I was 21 when she was born.....oh my goodness, she was challenging after the contented Emily. She was also so little and petite compared to Emily's chunkiness....when she started sucking her thumb at four months old, things got better....
Benjamin: I was 23 when he was born...he came a week early, but his due date was exactly a year after I had a miscarriage at 12 weeks....he was even smaller than Abigail, 6 pounds three ounces...and he had reddish hair...he looked directly in my eyes immediately after birth, he did not cry or fuss, he just stared at me as if to say, "oh, you are my mommy!" He did the same thing with Paul afterward...I fell totally and deeply in love with that baby!
Mariel: I was 24 .... I remember the labor for her birth being....awful. I was in agony. Paul was doing a Jumble puzzle across the room, I glanced at the jumbled word he was puzzling over, and said, "The word is AGONY!"...and it was. He kept telling me to remember that my tribulations were "short and light", and I argued with him and said, "Through MUCH tribulation we enter the kingdom of heaven!" (how dare he call my horrible pain, "short and light"!)...then the nurse kept suggesting I change position, when we all know that is impossible sometimes during labor....she insisted it would help the baby come quicker, but I did not want the baby to come quicker....I just wanted to stay just where I was....Paul joined her in encouraging me to change positions, so I did...but I remember saying to God, "I am humbling myself, you HAVE to give me grace now..." Ohh, I was grumpy, transition I guess. Anyway, she was born almost immediately after I humbled myself and changed positions....
Joseph: I was 25... Joseph was born on a 95 degree day....two or three pushes, easy and simple and almost enjoyable....he was long and lean, 8 pounds ten ounces and 22 inches long. He never curled up, his feet always stuck out of his receiving blankets. He had big blue eyes and dark wavy hair...
Aaron: I was 27 ....He was the biggest baby I bore, 9 pounds one ounce....the nurse told me to go ahead and push, she would go get the dr...and out the door she went. Well, I pushed one push, and his head was born...I asked Paul to catch him, he also went out the door for the dr....I shall spare the details, but that was not pleasant. Baby number six comes quickly sometimes, I guess. He was so different than Joseph...he had a big head, and was more compact and cuddly...of course by the time he was born, Joseph was toddling around in our brand new house....
Molly Rose: I was 28... (I spell her name and Mirielle's name different on here at their request) The first word Mali ever heard was "God" because when she was born, the doctor prounounced, very loudly, "God WANTS you to have babies, Della!" Now, that was a good birth....I was ready to go home at quarter after four that afternoon, only four centimeters and tired...then she was born at 5:10. It was just this sudden rush of contractions, one push, and there she was.
Samuel James: I was 30...he was my eighth child. He was born in August, it had been a long hot summer, taking care of the kids...Emily was eleven then, and it was the year we had our new swimming pool installed....I remember sitting there with newborn Sam, watching all those kids in the water...
Margaret Cheryl: I was 31...her birth was also very easy. She was 8 pounds 7 ounces, and had tons of dark curly hair, which she still has. She was a sweetie right from the start. She was born right on her due date, and we left the hospital with her two days later, on Christmas Eve.
Kathryn Grace: I was 32....after her birth, I had a terrible headache....one that brought tears....I asked the nurse to please take the baby for a while. I heard her say to another nurse as she wheeled her out, "I don't know what she's going to do when she gets home...TEN KIDS!" I just sat there crying my eyes out, wondering the same thing...
Evelyn Joy: I was 34....she was also born in August, over a week late. Emily was fifteen years old, I had eleven kids....Evelyn was a beautiful baby. Sometimes when baby pictures are not labeled, one has to use the clues of the background to figure out which baby it was, but not so with Ev...she always had a distinct look...she was a really fussy and peticular baby, she had to be held just so, or she screamed. I could not put her down. Ever. Until she was at least six months old. And even then only for a few minutes or she would cry....
Suzanne Eleanor: I was 35....honestly, all these girls born right in a row, I don't specifically remember too much...I do know she was much easier than Evelyn was....and she was beautiful.
Sonja Kathleen: I was 36, having my thirteenth....Miss Sonja's birth was unique, my sister was there, two of my daughters, and five of my nieces. They held her before I even did. It was really amazing though, sharing the experience with them. She had red hair, which she still has. She came only 14 months after Suzanne, so I was BUSY. I had Five Little Girls In A Row, Margaret was only five, Kathryn 4, Evelyn 2 and a half, Suzanne one, and newborn Sonja. (Sam was six, Mali was 8, Aaron was 9, Joseph was still ten....
Robert William: I was 37....he was stillborn at 6 and a half months. Margaret was graduating from kindergarten, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, and Sonja were still at home....Cheryl had to go to Kindergarten Graduation because it was on the very day he was "born". Sad, just sad.
Jonathan Robert: I was 38...he was born less than a year after Robert, the last day of April. Emily was with us for the birth, she was comforting and helpful...Jon did not like being born, he screamed and cried for a few hours, and I was very alarmed....but once he settled down, he was a very calm baby. I remember the family coming and seeing him....I do not think we could have been one bit happier, not if we had been given ten million bucks...after losing Robert, Jonathan was practically worshipped around here. And, after those five little girls in a row...a boy! He was the best dressed baby boy ever!
Charlotte Claire: I was 40, and had had two miscarriages between Jon and her...Emily was there for the birth again. When the kids came up to see her, oh my goodness, they were excited. Another girl! Our tenth girl!
Camille Anaya: I was 42....I had a terrible beginning to my pregnancy....I bled and bled, starting at seven weeks or so, and the sonogram showed No Baby. So I mourned, and bled, and at one point even considered going in and asking for a D.&C. because I was bleeding so much...but it got better....my father had died, my mother had died, I felt awful...I was tired and sick and felt depressed....then I went in for a check-up, the pregnancy test was still positive...the dr. said that happens sometimes...so I went back in a few weeks later...still positive. Bloodwork done. Call the next day to come in urgently. I had read a bit, and thought "ovarian cancer"....well, they brought me right in for a sonogram, and there she was...14 or 15 weeks gestation, waving and swimming all around in there. Happy DAY!!! I don't think there was a dry eye in the dr. office that day! And when I came home from the appointment and told everyone that we were going to have a baby after all, well, we were just rejoicing! Camille....she has been a total blessing right from the start. A gift. (Anaya means "God has given")
And...here I sit...writing and solving problems, talking to Jon, who seems really ready to go back to school tomorrow...the little girls are playing dollhouse, one of their dolls is named, "Ashley"...
1. I wrote a letter to Benjamin, put it in an envelope with one that Margaret wrote (we are stamp-save-y here), and addressed it. It hasn't been put into the mailbox yet, but still...
That's it. I feel productive. That is the good thing about aiming low, no disapointment.
And I know I have the whole rest of the day to feel even more productive.
I did put a dent in the laundry yesterday...I love it when I put through load after load, then someone brings a huge pile of bedding and says, "Mommy, I wet the bed last night..." Although it is better than when I go to tuck them in at night and they say, "I can't get into bed, it is wet...."
The clothes monster has gotten a little bit smaller, which is very very good. Couch monsters by nature grow daily, and it if isn't growing, even that is progress. But if it is shrinking, even by small amounts, it is tremendously encouraging. Okay, I know, I CAN just go over there and put everything away. It doesn't take very long. But believe it or not, when I am not on this computer, I do get busy, and it just doesn't make the top of the priority list when I am cleaning up and taking care of kids. And, once I take care of the whole thing and pronounce that the couch Will Not Have Clothes On It Anymore, where am I supposed to put things?
I have been thinking about babies....so I thought I would write about my babies, all those wonderful babies I was blessed with....
Emily: I was 19 when she was born....she was way too precious to entrust to anyone else, I never left her when she was a baby....at all.
Abigail: I was 21 when she was born.....oh my goodness, she was challenging after the contented Emily. She was also so little and petite compared to Emily's chunkiness....when she started sucking her thumb at four months old, things got better....
Benjamin: I was 23 when he was born...he came a week early, but his due date was exactly a year after I had a miscarriage at 12 weeks....he was even smaller than Abigail, 6 pounds three ounces...and he had reddish hair...he looked directly in my eyes immediately after birth, he did not cry or fuss, he just stared at me as if to say, "oh, you are my mommy!" He did the same thing with Paul afterward...I fell totally and deeply in love with that baby!
Mariel: I was 24 .... I remember the labor for her birth being....awful. I was in agony. Paul was doing a Jumble puzzle across the room, I glanced at the jumbled word he was puzzling over, and said, "The word is AGONY!"...and it was. He kept telling me to remember that my tribulations were "short and light", and I argued with him and said, "Through MUCH tribulation we enter the kingdom of heaven!" (how dare he call my horrible pain, "short and light"!)...then the nurse kept suggesting I change position, when we all know that is impossible sometimes during labor....she insisted it would help the baby come quicker, but I did not want the baby to come quicker....I just wanted to stay just where I was....Paul joined her in encouraging me to change positions, so I did...but I remember saying to God, "I am humbling myself, you HAVE to give me grace now..." Ohh, I was grumpy, transition I guess. Anyway, she was born almost immediately after I humbled myself and changed positions....
Joseph: I was 25... Joseph was born on a 95 degree day....two or three pushes, easy and simple and almost enjoyable....he was long and lean, 8 pounds ten ounces and 22 inches long. He never curled up, his feet always stuck out of his receiving blankets. He had big blue eyes and dark wavy hair...
Aaron: I was 27 ....He was the biggest baby I bore, 9 pounds one ounce....the nurse told me to go ahead and push, she would go get the dr...and out the door she went. Well, I pushed one push, and his head was born...I asked Paul to catch him, he also went out the door for the dr....I shall spare the details, but that was not pleasant. Baby number six comes quickly sometimes, I guess. He was so different than Joseph...he had a big head, and was more compact and cuddly...of course by the time he was born, Joseph was toddling around in our brand new house....
Molly Rose: I was 28... (I spell her name and Mirielle's name different on here at their request) The first word Mali ever heard was "God" because when she was born, the doctor prounounced, very loudly, "God WANTS you to have babies, Della!" Now, that was a good birth....I was ready to go home at quarter after four that afternoon, only four centimeters and tired...then she was born at 5:10. It was just this sudden rush of contractions, one push, and there she was.
Samuel James: I was 30...he was my eighth child. He was born in August, it had been a long hot summer, taking care of the kids...Emily was eleven then, and it was the year we had our new swimming pool installed....I remember sitting there with newborn Sam, watching all those kids in the water...
Margaret Cheryl: I was 31...her birth was also very easy. She was 8 pounds 7 ounces, and had tons of dark curly hair, which she still has. She was a sweetie right from the start. She was born right on her due date, and we left the hospital with her two days later, on Christmas Eve.
Kathryn Grace: I was 32....after her birth, I had a terrible headache....one that brought tears....I asked the nurse to please take the baby for a while. I heard her say to another nurse as she wheeled her out, "I don't know what she's going to do when she gets home...TEN KIDS!" I just sat there crying my eyes out, wondering the same thing...
Evelyn Joy: I was 34....she was also born in August, over a week late. Emily was fifteen years old, I had eleven kids....Evelyn was a beautiful baby. Sometimes when baby pictures are not labeled, one has to use the clues of the background to figure out which baby it was, but not so with Ev...she always had a distinct look...she was a really fussy and peticular baby, she had to be held just so, or she screamed. I could not put her down. Ever. Until she was at least six months old. And even then only for a few minutes or she would cry....
Suzanne Eleanor: I was 35....honestly, all these girls born right in a row, I don't specifically remember too much...I do know she was much easier than Evelyn was....and she was beautiful.
Sonja Kathleen: I was 36, having my thirteenth....Miss Sonja's birth was unique, my sister was there, two of my daughters, and five of my nieces. They held her before I even did. It was really amazing though, sharing the experience with them. She had red hair, which she still has. She came only 14 months after Suzanne, so I was BUSY. I had Five Little Girls In A Row, Margaret was only five, Kathryn 4, Evelyn 2 and a half, Suzanne one, and newborn Sonja. (Sam was six, Mali was 8, Aaron was 9, Joseph was still ten....
Robert William: I was 37....he was stillborn at 6 and a half months. Margaret was graduating from kindergarten, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, and Sonja were still at home....Cheryl had to go to Kindergarten Graduation because it was on the very day he was "born". Sad, just sad.
Jonathan Robert: I was 38...he was born less than a year after Robert, the last day of April. Emily was with us for the birth, she was comforting and helpful...Jon did not like being born, he screamed and cried for a few hours, and I was very alarmed....but once he settled down, he was a very calm baby. I remember the family coming and seeing him....I do not think we could have been one bit happier, not if we had been given ten million bucks...after losing Robert, Jonathan was practically worshipped around here. And, after those five little girls in a row...a boy! He was the best dressed baby boy ever!
Charlotte Claire: I was 40, and had had two miscarriages between Jon and her...Emily was there for the birth again. When the kids came up to see her, oh my goodness, they were excited. Another girl! Our tenth girl!
Camille Anaya: I was 42....I had a terrible beginning to my pregnancy....I bled and bled, starting at seven weeks or so, and the sonogram showed No Baby. So I mourned, and bled, and at one point even considered going in and asking for a D.&C. because I was bleeding so much...but it got better....my father had died, my mother had died, I felt awful...I was tired and sick and felt depressed....then I went in for a check-up, the pregnancy test was still positive...the dr. said that happens sometimes...so I went back in a few weeks later...still positive. Bloodwork done. Call the next day to come in urgently. I had read a bit, and thought "ovarian cancer"....well, they brought me right in for a sonogram, and there she was...14 or 15 weeks gestation, waving and swimming all around in there. Happy DAY!!! I don't think there was a dry eye in the dr. office that day! And when I came home from the appointment and told everyone that we were going to have a baby after all, well, we were just rejoicing! Camille....she has been a total blessing right from the start. A gift. (Anaya means "God has given")
And...here I sit...writing and solving problems, talking to Jon, who seems really ready to go back to school tomorrow...the little girls are playing dollhouse, one of their dolls is named, "Ashley"...
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
joy of joys...my favorite noise...
It is not quiet and lonely in here today....because we are being visited by the Barf Bug. Jonathan was it's first host.....he has been pale and tired, lying on the couch for a few days. Then last evening, one of the girls whom I shall not mention, sat here on the couch with a bowl and...well, I shall spare the details....someone was already in the bathroom, so she couldn't run for it, and well....poor child needed to sit as well as stand...if you know what I mean....so we cleaned up this mess....and lo and behold, another child got sick during the night...now our living room is like a hospital ward....Sonja is still okay, but I decided to keep her here....I mean, three of her siblings sick in two days, she can stay here and get sick in the comfort of her own home.
I had to get up and drive Paul to work this morning because Mirielle and Ashley and Aaron and some cousins are going to the Dome in the minivan this afternoon for the basketball game, to do concessions....Joe needs the car for classes, Mare doesn't have school on Tuesdays. It was so pleasant to ride with Paul to work.....(he shaves on the way to work, and ooh, his nice smooth face looks kissable...)...sorry kids, if your are reading this. But let's face it, your dad is a handsome guy.
One of the children barfed in her bed last night. Only on two comforters. I am very thankful for my washer and dryer today....what the heck did the pioneers do? blah, their cabins must've smelled awful...Anyway, I choose to be thankful for running water and a working washer and dryer, instead of being jealous of families who have two or three or four.....
I do hate having the Barf Bug in the house. Hate it hate it hate it. I always feel naseaus when it is around...and nervous that the littler ones are going to be sick...if they cough, I grab a bowl. And what do you serve for dinner when they are sick? I WAS going to make spaghetti tonight....but who wants to ...? never mind.
We had pizza last night, our usual four yummy pizzas. blah, pizza does NOT go well with this post. Never mind.
So Benjamin seems to be doing well in Basic Training. He writes us often, especially Ashley. I tease her, ask her if I can read her letters. He has a good attitude about life these days, which is all a mom can ask for. He told us he is the Platoon Guide, under only the Drill Sargeants in the chain of command, for 55 people in the platoon. I have gotten my share of gray hair from Mr. Benjamin and his choices in the past, so I can brag about him a little now...
It seemed so warm out when I walked out the door this morning. 14 degrees. Not really warm, but hey, 27 degrees warmer than it was yesterday morning. And it is going up to 32 today! The kids should go out and play, if they can.
The colder temps are coming back after a few days, with more snow. It has been a heck of a winter here in central New York state. I feel like I am in a dark tunnel sometimes, stuck in here for days on end, hemmed in by cold and ice and early darkness...I do have two more library books, if everyone would just leave me alone and let me hibernate....ha.
My littlest princess just woke up and came out here in her froggy pajamas with her ladybug pillowpet, saying, "I did not pee, Mama, only a teeny tiny bit! And I got MUCH sleep!" She is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning, so sweet and innocent.
Yes, sweet and innocent. Yesterday they played in Charlotte Claire's room for hours. They have dollies and dishes and dollclothes and strollers and a play kitchen and tons of other toys in there. I kept checking on them, making sure they weren't emptying the dresser drawers or cleaning off the entire shelves of toys, but they were good....then they got the bright idea of using the side which I took off the crib many months ago, and stored behind the crib, so it is like a toddler bed for Miss C.C., and propping it up on the crib so it like a ladder....if I hadn't gone in there and stopped their fun, they probably would have used it to reach the toys on the top shelves....
I am just hoping that I don't get this bug. When Mommy gets sick, she has to make up for all the stuff that piles up while she is taking it easy being sick, as soon as she starts feeling better, or even before that....but I will jump off that bridge when I come to it.....
I had to get up and drive Paul to work this morning because Mirielle and Ashley and Aaron and some cousins are going to the Dome in the minivan this afternoon for the basketball game, to do concessions....Joe needs the car for classes, Mare doesn't have school on Tuesdays. It was so pleasant to ride with Paul to work.....(he shaves on the way to work, and ooh, his nice smooth face looks kissable...)...sorry kids, if your are reading this. But let's face it, your dad is a handsome guy.
One of the children barfed in her bed last night. Only on two comforters. I am very thankful for my washer and dryer today....what the heck did the pioneers do? blah, their cabins must've smelled awful...Anyway, I choose to be thankful for running water and a working washer and dryer, instead of being jealous of families who have two or three or four.....
I do hate having the Barf Bug in the house. Hate it hate it hate it. I always feel naseaus when it is around...and nervous that the littler ones are going to be sick...if they cough, I grab a bowl. And what do you serve for dinner when they are sick? I WAS going to make spaghetti tonight....but who wants to ...? never mind.
We had pizza last night, our usual four yummy pizzas. blah, pizza does NOT go well with this post. Never mind.
So Benjamin seems to be doing well in Basic Training. He writes us often, especially Ashley. I tease her, ask her if I can read her letters. He has a good attitude about life these days, which is all a mom can ask for. He told us he is the Platoon Guide, under only the Drill Sargeants in the chain of command, for 55 people in the platoon. I have gotten my share of gray hair from Mr. Benjamin and his choices in the past, so I can brag about him a little now...
It seemed so warm out when I walked out the door this morning. 14 degrees. Not really warm, but hey, 27 degrees warmer than it was yesterday morning. And it is going up to 32 today! The kids should go out and play, if they can.
The colder temps are coming back after a few days, with more snow. It has been a heck of a winter here in central New York state. I feel like I am in a dark tunnel sometimes, stuck in here for days on end, hemmed in by cold and ice and early darkness...I do have two more library books, if everyone would just leave me alone and let me hibernate....ha.
My littlest princess just woke up and came out here in her froggy pajamas with her ladybug pillowpet, saying, "I did not pee, Mama, only a teeny tiny bit! And I got MUCH sleep!" She is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning, so sweet and innocent.
Yes, sweet and innocent. Yesterday they played in Charlotte Claire's room for hours. They have dollies and dishes and dollclothes and strollers and a play kitchen and tons of other toys in there. I kept checking on them, making sure they weren't emptying the dresser drawers or cleaning off the entire shelves of toys, but they were good....then they got the bright idea of using the side which I took off the crib many months ago, and stored behind the crib, so it is like a toddler bed for Miss C.C., and propping it up on the crib so it like a ladder....if I hadn't gone in there and stopped their fun, they probably would have used it to reach the toys on the top shelves....
I am just hoping that I don't get this bug. When Mommy gets sick, she has to make up for all the stuff that piles up while she is taking it easy being sick, as soon as she starts feeling better, or even before that....but I will jump off that bridge when I come to it.....
Monday, January 24, 2011
nice sunny day....
Looking out at the sparkling sunshine, one would never know it is a few degrees below zero. The sunshine has warmed it up, it was officially thirteen below zero last night. I stayed up 'til after two reading my book, confident that there would be no school. I signed up for a texted alert if school is delayed or cancelled, and actually woke up and checked my phone a few times between 3am and 6:45....there was no text, no delay, no closing...so I did what any tired mom would do...I just went back to sleep. It was simply too cold to send my elementary kids, I reasoned as I dozed back off....the older kids so responsibly got themselves up and out the door. And Jonathan is still sick, he wouldn't have gone anyway. He is just a couch potato, barely eating and watching movies....poor little guy, all pale and blah. Sonja has been saying she doesn't feel well either, so it would have just been Suze...and what if she barfed in school?
So here we are...all toasty warm in our house....Suzanne has played The Peanut Butter Sandwich Game with Camille, and Candyland. Jonathan is watching "Fantastic Mr. Fox", which is an amazing movie (George Clooney as Mr. Fox, quite entertaining) I am pathetic...Mrs. Fox just announced she is pregnant again, and I was like, wah! I want to be pregnant again!
Anyway. I have been doing lots of laundry today, now that all the older kids with their weekend laundry have cleared out. Mirielle and Joseph started classes today. Since they are riding together and have different schedules, Mare had three hours free....so I sent her with my credit card and a grocery list. Jonathan is waiting for the ginger ale. It probably doesn't really help sick kids, but it is the only time they ever get it, so it makes being sick easier for them. In fact, Camille keeps saying she is also sick, and when Mirielle gets home, she NEEDS ginger ale.
Our Oklahoma trip plans are getting more interesting. Cathy, who was born and raised in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and now lives a few miles from here, might join us for our trip. She has driven down there a few times, and would love to visit her parents, and some of the friends from our church live nearby too. If she can get the time off from her job, (she works in the coronary ablation, she was there when Paul had his done), then she will be our seventh traveler, taking up the last and much coveted seat in the minivan. She didn't want to take the last seat from one of the kids, until I assured her it would be doing me a great favor not to have to choose which child got to go. She also told me that it could well be seventy degrees and sunny at the end of February down there....oh joy!! Mirielle says if it is that nice, she will be outside in the sun, even if it is in the parking lot....
Jonathan just went in the laundry room and announced the washer and dryer are both done, yay! I can go put another load in! What? I have to have my fun somehow! I am doing small loads so it dries faster. One comforter, a few pairs of undies, and in it goes....I am on the fourth load of the day already.
So far as I know, today is a stay at home day. Mirielle is bringing home some burger from Wegmans, so I am thinking of making meatballs tonight, to serve with pasta and sauce. Rather pathetic, once again, that I can be so glad about such a simple thing: knowing what I am serving for dinner. I admit, I have nightmares about not knowing what to make for dinner. I dream that company comes, and I of course want to serve a nice meal...so I rummage through the freezer, and only come up with small amounts of things, and end up with a large potpurri of random things to serve....same dream, all the time.....I can never find enough to make spaghetti, even...only like one jar of sauce, or only one package of hot dogs, or one frozen steak....I guess this just summarizes the pressure I feel to put that dinner on the table for at least 15 people, day in and day out....last night, we had hot dogs, which we rarely have, especially in the winter time. In the summer, we usually serve them with hamburgers. Anyway, the kids were thrilled, but Paul...blah, he doesn't eat hot dogs very often....some of the older kids didn't want them either...there were some leftover pork chops, so they were fine. We had a huge salad, and some leftover baked potatoes which I cut up and warmed up with butter. I was planning to make pizzas, but someone had gotten into the cheese, so there was no longer enough.....
It is obvious that I don't have much to say this morning....I am feeling compelled to go put that next load of bedding in the wash....
So here we are...all toasty warm in our house....Suzanne has played The Peanut Butter Sandwich Game with Camille, and Candyland. Jonathan is watching "Fantastic Mr. Fox", which is an amazing movie (George Clooney as Mr. Fox, quite entertaining) I am pathetic...Mrs. Fox just announced she is pregnant again, and I was like, wah! I want to be pregnant again!
Anyway. I have been doing lots of laundry today, now that all the older kids with their weekend laundry have cleared out. Mirielle and Joseph started classes today. Since they are riding together and have different schedules, Mare had three hours free....so I sent her with my credit card and a grocery list. Jonathan is waiting for the ginger ale. It probably doesn't really help sick kids, but it is the only time they ever get it, so it makes being sick easier for them. In fact, Camille keeps saying she is also sick, and when Mirielle gets home, she NEEDS ginger ale.
Our Oklahoma trip plans are getting more interesting. Cathy, who was born and raised in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and now lives a few miles from here, might join us for our trip. She has driven down there a few times, and would love to visit her parents, and some of the friends from our church live nearby too. If she can get the time off from her job, (she works in the coronary ablation, she was there when Paul had his done), then she will be our seventh traveler, taking up the last and much coveted seat in the minivan. She didn't want to take the last seat from one of the kids, until I assured her it would be doing me a great favor not to have to choose which child got to go. She also told me that it could well be seventy degrees and sunny at the end of February down there....oh joy!! Mirielle says if it is that nice, she will be outside in the sun, even if it is in the parking lot....
Jonathan just went in the laundry room and announced the washer and dryer are both done, yay! I can go put another load in! What? I have to have my fun somehow! I am doing small loads so it dries faster. One comforter, a few pairs of undies, and in it goes....I am on the fourth load of the day already.
So far as I know, today is a stay at home day. Mirielle is bringing home some burger from Wegmans, so I am thinking of making meatballs tonight, to serve with pasta and sauce. Rather pathetic, once again, that I can be so glad about such a simple thing: knowing what I am serving for dinner. I admit, I have nightmares about not knowing what to make for dinner. I dream that company comes, and I of course want to serve a nice meal...so I rummage through the freezer, and only come up with small amounts of things, and end up with a large potpurri of random things to serve....same dream, all the time.....I can never find enough to make spaghetti, even...only like one jar of sauce, or only one package of hot dogs, or one frozen steak....I guess this just summarizes the pressure I feel to put that dinner on the table for at least 15 people, day in and day out....last night, we had hot dogs, which we rarely have, especially in the winter time. In the summer, we usually serve them with hamburgers. Anyway, the kids were thrilled, but Paul...blah, he doesn't eat hot dogs very often....some of the older kids didn't want them either...there were some leftover pork chops, so they were fine. We had a huge salad, and some leftover baked potatoes which I cut up and warmed up with butter. I was planning to make pizzas, but someone had gotten into the cheese, so there was no longer enough.....
It is obvious that I don't have much to say this morning....I am feeling compelled to go put that next load of bedding in the wash....
Sunday, January 23, 2011
yes, Martha, I am now frozen.....
Remember when we were growing up and our brothers would wrestle each other until one called "Uncle"? Well....I call Uncle. The weather has won, proven it's point. Enough. We are frozen.
It is three degrees at the airport, probably below zero out here. It is supposed to go down to negative 13 tonight, and that is without the wind chill. The high tomorrow: ten. I find it amusing that I looked at the weather calendar for the week, and when I saw a day with a high of 25, it looked warm. Twenty five degrees is seven degrees below the FREEZING mark. That is COLD. But, comparatively....
So...what a weekend. Left for the wedding around 9a.m., got home at 6:30. phew. The older kids stayed a bit longer and cleaned up. Mirielle was in charge of serving, and was there in the kitchen most of the day. It was a big wedding, with fresh fruit and donuts and pastries and coffee and juice for a snack after the ceremony, then a roast beef dinner at 1:30. For close to 300 people, that is a lot of work.
But...the joy and the spirit of goodness and blessing the was incredible. Both Mike and Rachel have been such amazing young people, always thinking of the others, doing things with the youth and children, giving of themselves. They have remained faithful, and it is very clear that God has blessed them.
This morning we got up and went to church, some of the guests from the wedding were still in town, so we had an amazing meeting. It is always so good to hear the testimonies of the youth. They get up there one after another, encouraged to remain faithful and stedfast in their trials. It is so refreshing and upbuilding.
So....all is good. But not without trials, of course....
This morning, I looked into Jonathan's room, and he was sleeping on the floor....and because I am such a good detective, I figured out why...there was a big pile of...well, of barf, on his bed. He is a resourceful boy, so he got himself some clean bedding and slept next to his bed instead of waking his parents. (he is also a keeper!)
So...I didn't think I was going to be able to go to the meeting this morning, which is never easy for me because it don't mean I get to go back to bed, no sir. Naw, I still hafta get the little ones dressed and brushed and fed.....then it worked out that one of the older ones could stay home with him....so I got to go...
I had taken Miss Rosie-The-Bad-Dog for a walk down the road this morning, with no hat on, as usual...but this morning, it was brutally cold out. (I am not completely stupid, I did have one glove on....)By the time I got back inside with Miss Crazy, my head was aching. Fast forward to after the meeting...oh my goodness, my head hurt so bad I thought I was next to barf....Paul gave me ibuprofen, as soon as I got home I took a few more and then took a nap. A very large warm comfy nap, so don't feel sorry for me...Paul came into the room a few times for things, and in my sleep I thought he was bring me the baby. But we don't HAVE a baby anymore. For years and years and years, a nap like that would have been punctuated by nursing a baby.
So...here I am...headache in the background, but still that blah, yucky worn out feeling that comes after one of those headaches. And it is rapidly approaching the Dreaded Dinner Time. Not always dreaded, but when the Mom has no idea, at 5:39, what is for dinner for like 15 or 16 or 17 people...(I haven't counted yet)...then comes the Dread.
The bedding pile at the door of the laundry room is taking on a life of it's own. Any sensible mom would have done a little work between the nap and the Bloggy Break, but I never claimed to be sensible. It does niggle, though...the things that need to be done.....oh my goodness, the little girls are so sweet, playing Barbies....Camille is pretending her girl is singing "Jingle Bells" to the top of her lungs...she mixed the lyrics with a church song called, "Living Faith", and the result is pretty funny.
Years ago, our girls weren't allowed to have Barbies. Well...Emily had a modest version, a fifties style doll with ankle socks and a long skirt. And when we did buy her a Barbie, I removed it from the box, removed the earrings, put some homemade clothes over the bathing suit or immodest outfit, and voila! Emily had a Barbie to play with. Now....it is clear that children are innocent, and they play with their dollies from what they live and see at home. Their dolls love each other, and like to change their clothes, and have mommies and daddies that sing to them and carry them and play with them....
And now I shall consider dinner......
It is three degrees at the airport, probably below zero out here. It is supposed to go down to negative 13 tonight, and that is without the wind chill. The high tomorrow: ten. I find it amusing that I looked at the weather calendar for the week, and when I saw a day with a high of 25, it looked warm. Twenty five degrees is seven degrees below the FREEZING mark. That is COLD. But, comparatively....
So...what a weekend. Left for the wedding around 9a.m., got home at 6:30. phew. The older kids stayed a bit longer and cleaned up. Mirielle was in charge of serving, and was there in the kitchen most of the day. It was a big wedding, with fresh fruit and donuts and pastries and coffee and juice for a snack after the ceremony, then a roast beef dinner at 1:30. For close to 300 people, that is a lot of work.
But...the joy and the spirit of goodness and blessing the was incredible. Both Mike and Rachel have been such amazing young people, always thinking of the others, doing things with the youth and children, giving of themselves. They have remained faithful, and it is very clear that God has blessed them.
This morning we got up and went to church, some of the guests from the wedding were still in town, so we had an amazing meeting. It is always so good to hear the testimonies of the youth. They get up there one after another, encouraged to remain faithful and stedfast in their trials. It is so refreshing and upbuilding.
So....all is good. But not without trials, of course....
This morning, I looked into Jonathan's room, and he was sleeping on the floor....and because I am such a good detective, I figured out why...there was a big pile of...well, of barf, on his bed. He is a resourceful boy, so he got himself some clean bedding and slept next to his bed instead of waking his parents. (he is also a keeper!)
So...I didn't think I was going to be able to go to the meeting this morning, which is never easy for me because it don't mean I get to go back to bed, no sir. Naw, I still hafta get the little ones dressed and brushed and fed.....then it worked out that one of the older ones could stay home with him....so I got to go...
I had taken Miss Rosie-The-Bad-Dog for a walk down the road this morning, with no hat on, as usual...but this morning, it was brutally cold out. (I am not completely stupid, I did have one glove on....)By the time I got back inside with Miss Crazy, my head was aching. Fast forward to after the meeting...oh my goodness, my head hurt so bad I thought I was next to barf....Paul gave me ibuprofen, as soon as I got home I took a few more and then took a nap. A very large warm comfy nap, so don't feel sorry for me...Paul came into the room a few times for things, and in my sleep I thought he was bring me the baby. But we don't HAVE a baby anymore. For years and years and years, a nap like that would have been punctuated by nursing a baby.
So...here I am...headache in the background, but still that blah, yucky worn out feeling that comes after one of those headaches. And it is rapidly approaching the Dreaded Dinner Time. Not always dreaded, but when the Mom has no idea, at 5:39, what is for dinner for like 15 or 16 or 17 people...(I haven't counted yet)...then comes the Dread.
The bedding pile at the door of the laundry room is taking on a life of it's own. Any sensible mom would have done a little work between the nap and the Bloggy Break, but I never claimed to be sensible. It does niggle, though...the things that need to be done.....oh my goodness, the little girls are so sweet, playing Barbies....Camille is pretending her girl is singing "Jingle Bells" to the top of her lungs...she mixed the lyrics with a church song called, "Living Faith", and the result is pretty funny.
Years ago, our girls weren't allowed to have Barbies. Well...Emily had a modest version, a fifties style doll with ankle socks and a long skirt. And when we did buy her a Barbie, I removed it from the box, removed the earrings, put some homemade clothes over the bathing suit or immodest outfit, and voila! Emily had a Barbie to play with. Now....it is clear that children are innocent, and they play with their dollies from what they live and see at home. Their dolls love each other, and like to change their clothes, and have mommies and daddies that sing to them and carry them and play with them....
And now I shall consider dinner......
Friday, January 21, 2011
another quick post...
Charlotte Claire came out into the livingroom with a doll stuffed under her dress. "Camille, come quickly to the hostable with me! I am having a daughter!"
Then, Rosie started barking....in walked Emily!!! Then Abigail!! What, is it my birthday?!! Oh, happy day...
The kids got out at eleven and twelve oclock today...snowy and windy and cold...tomorrow we are going to a wedding that starts at ten in the morning...brrr...
Then, Rosie started barking....in walked Emily!!! Then Abigail!! What, is it my birthday?!! Oh, happy day...
The kids got out at eleven and twelve oclock today...snowy and windy and cold...tomorrow we are going to a wedding that starts at ten in the morning...brrr...
quick post...
I am leaving very soon, in a half hour or so to go shopping with my brother...and Ashley and Mirielle and the two little girls. They are still sleeping, so I am considering leaving the two little girls with Joseph. He starts college classes on Monday, so I will no longer have that option after today.
My couch monster is growing again, drat... I couldn't imagine OUR family on a reality t.v. show. Ha, that would be hilarious. Kids pounding on the bathroom doors, the pile of library books and Emily's New York City puzzle on top of the dog cage, with Margaret's art project. We have no room in the cupboards for all the baking dishes and pans, so we store them in the oven, so when the oven is in use, those pans are stacked on the counters...the counters which I battle the battle of clutter with every single day. And they always win. The top of the microwave has a pile of things I cannot throw away, I might need them. Like report cards and coupon books and letters from the department of motor vehicles.....our whole laundry room is like a bomb went off.....this morning I was in there with Sonja, and she knocked a bunch of stuff down, and didn't even notice. I picked it up. But when I am not in there, clothes fall down, and get walked on....I organize the hampers...we have one for darks, lights, towels, socks, mediums...but the kids like to play the put-stuff-in-any-hamper-they-feel-like game....I never seem to get the hampers fully empty. Ever. Never. But...here I am, alive and well.
And I should be getting ready to go. Charlotte Claire is up and wants to go, I think I shall take the two little sweetie pies....I always think, "how much trouble can they be?" And on every excursion, not too much time goes by and I start remembering just how much trouble they can be...but they are so cute and sweet and full of wonder about everything, I just love having them along. Except of course when Camille refuses to buckle, and doesn't want any help...or when she wants to walk, but is dragging and sitting down on the floor every ten feet....or when the both of them get what I call "full of the devil", and start touching everything and running around and laughing their heads off. I do not allow them to actually behave like that, but they are bound and determined to test me sometimes. Oh, I am sure the other kids did things like this when they were little, but then I also had toddlers and babies...wait, how did I manage? Anyway....I shall bring them today, and they shall promise they will be really good, then they will forget....
My couch monster is growing again, drat... I couldn't imagine OUR family on a reality t.v. show. Ha, that would be hilarious. Kids pounding on the bathroom doors, the pile of library books and Emily's New York City puzzle on top of the dog cage, with Margaret's art project. We have no room in the cupboards for all the baking dishes and pans, so we store them in the oven, so when the oven is in use, those pans are stacked on the counters...the counters which I battle the battle of clutter with every single day. And they always win. The top of the microwave has a pile of things I cannot throw away, I might need them. Like report cards and coupon books and letters from the department of motor vehicles.....our whole laundry room is like a bomb went off.....this morning I was in there with Sonja, and she knocked a bunch of stuff down, and didn't even notice. I picked it up. But when I am not in there, clothes fall down, and get walked on....I organize the hampers...we have one for darks, lights, towels, socks, mediums...but the kids like to play the put-stuff-in-any-hamper-they-feel-like game....I never seem to get the hampers fully empty. Ever. Never. But...here I am, alive and well.
And I should be getting ready to go. Charlotte Claire is up and wants to go, I think I shall take the two little sweetie pies....I always think, "how much trouble can they be?" And on every excursion, not too much time goes by and I start remembering just how much trouble they can be...but they are so cute and sweet and full of wonder about everything, I just love having them along. Except of course when Camille refuses to buckle, and doesn't want any help...or when she wants to walk, but is dragging and sitting down on the floor every ten feet....or when the both of them get what I call "full of the devil", and start touching everything and running around and laughing their heads off. I do not allow them to actually behave like that, but they are bound and determined to test me sometimes. Oh, I am sure the other kids did things like this when they were little, but then I also had toddlers and babies...wait, how did I manage? Anyway....I shall bring them today, and they shall promise they will be really good, then they will forget....
Thursday, January 20, 2011
what, no fair?!!
Kathryn told me about the Bates family....they have 18 kids. So I looked them up. I didn't watch any of the videos, but just reading was enough to wake up the big green monster in me...they have EIGHT bathroooms, FOUR washingmachines, and TWO industrial sized dryers. Hmph. Well, I am off to battle that laundry now...in my ONE washing machine....And perhaps I shall battle the jealousy that has been awakened in me, too....
a balmy sixteen degrees..
Yes, I talk about the weather alot. Perhaps because I have a big stupid fluffy doggie who needs to be walked down the road each morning, rain or shine. Or perhaps because we don't have any good firewood this year, and keep the thermostat so low that unless we are baking cookies, it is cold in here. Charlotte Claire and Camille finished their cereal and are cuddling under a comforter with sippy cups of warm cocoa, watching "Dinosaur Train". Smart girls, very smart.
Anyway, I looked up the forecast for the next couple of days....tomorrow, snow in the morning and snow showers in the afternoon. Saturday, high of 12 degrees, low of five. Sunday, high of NINE degrees, low of MINUS five. This is not Alaska, Mother Nature!
Tomorrow I am going grocery shopping with my brother, Bob. He is buying the food for a wedding this weekend, the wedding for our friends Mike and Rachael. He has to pick up the rolls at Price Chopper, and I want to go there too, so we are going together. I am looking forward to spending some time with him. It does make me want to go out and clean out the van a bit though...
I wrote a letter to Benjamin this morning. It feels like an accomplishment. My handwriting skills have never been good...I used to get "C's" in penmanship, and the comments on my report cards always included the advice to "be neat!" I got problems wrong in math because I couldn't read my own numbers. I could type the letters and print them, but that just seems to impersonal. So I write, and my hand cramps up....and the kids interupt me, and blah, I feel like I have accomplished something when I finally get that letter in the envelope with a stamp on it, and into the mailbox.
Our trip plans are coming along just fine....Emily Anne will be joining us!!! This is very good news because:
1. She is a NIGHT-SHIFT nurse. This means she is used to being up at night and can DRIVE at night.
2. She is a nurse. Nurses are always good to have along.
3. She is a nurse. This means she has a JOB, which means she has her own MONEY.
4. She is FUN. She is of the Tribe Of Joseph. (read Anne of Green Gables to find out what that is)
Abigail is also going, she also has a job, so this is good. She is also tons of fun. Aaron is thinking of going, he has to see if he can keep up in school....Mirielle will miss some classes to come...and of course Ashley will come, and me. I told Ashley we are going to get to know each other quite well, all staying in the same room...I hope the hotel people don't notice that we will have six people instead of four. One room is expensive enough.....
The scalloped potatoes were very yummy, by the way. Ten pounds of potatoes, and there is only a small bowl leftover. hmm. I am guessing the kids liked them too.
Tonight, we have to eat dinner AGAIN. blah.
But last evening, Emily was here for a few hours...finally. And of course I stayed up way too late, talking with her....anyway, she was talking about some of the patients she has had...no specifics, of course, she wouldn't violate the privacy act....she has a twenty year old cancer patient who needs an organ transplant but cannot have one because of having chemo in the past year...so he is dying....she has a 40-ish man who is dying of cancer....the floor she works on rarely discharges patients, to put it nicely. She is getting a little tiny bit used to seeing death. I told her the nurses should all go to therapy. I couldn't handle it. She did encourage us to, "not complain. Seriously, do not complain about your life. I am not going to." and she put on a face of resolve. I guess seeing what she sees day in and day out, one can either get depressed or be bound and determined to live life to it's fullest and take things right. When one chooses the latter, it shines on those around them, too. That's why it is so good when she is around.
I need to work on the laundry mountain. Among other things. It is so discouraging to clean up this place, then look at it again the next day...and they just keep wearing socks and undies and using towels....blah. So....out of my chair....
Anyway, I looked up the forecast for the next couple of days....tomorrow, snow in the morning and snow showers in the afternoon. Saturday, high of 12 degrees, low of five. Sunday, high of NINE degrees, low of MINUS five. This is not Alaska, Mother Nature!
Tomorrow I am going grocery shopping with my brother, Bob. He is buying the food for a wedding this weekend, the wedding for our friends Mike and Rachael. He has to pick up the rolls at Price Chopper, and I want to go there too, so we are going together. I am looking forward to spending some time with him. It does make me want to go out and clean out the van a bit though...
I wrote a letter to Benjamin this morning. It feels like an accomplishment. My handwriting skills have never been good...I used to get "C's" in penmanship, and the comments on my report cards always included the advice to "be neat!" I got problems wrong in math because I couldn't read my own numbers. I could type the letters and print them, but that just seems to impersonal. So I write, and my hand cramps up....and the kids interupt me, and blah, I feel like I have accomplished something when I finally get that letter in the envelope with a stamp on it, and into the mailbox.
Our trip plans are coming along just fine....Emily Anne will be joining us!!! This is very good news because:
1. She is a NIGHT-SHIFT nurse. This means she is used to being up at night and can DRIVE at night.
2. She is a nurse. Nurses are always good to have along.
3. She is a nurse. This means she has a JOB, which means she has her own MONEY.
4. She is FUN. She is of the Tribe Of Joseph. (read Anne of Green Gables to find out what that is)
Abigail is also going, she also has a job, so this is good. She is also tons of fun. Aaron is thinking of going, he has to see if he can keep up in school....Mirielle will miss some classes to come...and of course Ashley will come, and me. I told Ashley we are going to get to know each other quite well, all staying in the same room...I hope the hotel people don't notice that we will have six people instead of four. One room is expensive enough.....
The scalloped potatoes were very yummy, by the way. Ten pounds of potatoes, and there is only a small bowl leftover. hmm. I am guessing the kids liked them too.
Tonight, we have to eat dinner AGAIN. blah.
But last evening, Emily was here for a few hours...finally. And of course I stayed up way too late, talking with her....anyway, she was talking about some of the patients she has had...no specifics, of course, she wouldn't violate the privacy act....she has a twenty year old cancer patient who needs an organ transplant but cannot have one because of having chemo in the past year...so he is dying....she has a 40-ish man who is dying of cancer....the floor she works on rarely discharges patients, to put it nicely. She is getting a little tiny bit used to seeing death. I told her the nurses should all go to therapy. I couldn't handle it. She did encourage us to, "not complain. Seriously, do not complain about your life. I am not going to." and she put on a face of resolve. I guess seeing what she sees day in and day out, one can either get depressed or be bound and determined to live life to it's fullest and take things right. When one chooses the latter, it shines on those around them, too. That's why it is so good when she is around.
I need to work on the laundry mountain. Among other things. It is so discouraging to clean up this place, then look at it again the next day...and they just keep wearing socks and undies and using towels....blah. So....out of my chair....
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
wednesday.....day at home?
Yesterday was fun....well, why wouldn't it be? I called my sister-in-law, who had plans to do lots of things around her house...and asked her to come over and join us for some playtime at McDonalds playground...then they came over to play for a bit...what fun for the kids. And for the moms, who got to have some of Mirielle's hot-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. Well, the kids did too....
This title is funny because:
I started this post this morning, and ...well, I DID go somewhere....
Since one of our cars has a flat tire, one has no power steering, and Joseph had his placement test for college, I brought him there....one minute I was writing on my blog, the next I was getting dressed and going out the door. I dropped him off, and had some fun....but I tried really hard not to have TOO much fun....here is what I did...
1. Kohls. Now, Kohl's is scary because I always find so many good bargains, and when one has so many people to shop for, it adds up. But today I was extra careful. I found myself a dress for $5.60 for a wedding on Saturday. I tried it on in the store, because no one was waiting for me. It didn't look spectacular, which was no big surprise, but it didn't look overly awful on me, so I bought it.
2. Sears. I bought both shoes and sandals for myself, but the shoes are going back. I tried them on in the store and they looked okay, but when I got home, I didn't like them anymore. So I am wearing sandals to the wedding. (let's pretend it isn't going to be zero when we leave in the morning....)
3. Aldi. How do I love thee, let me count the ways.....yogurt, carrots, pears, apples, oranges, bananas, eggs, milk, romaine, and lots of half-price Christmas candy. The chocolate is German or Belgium, is yummy, is cheap to begin with, so half-price is just lovely....Aaron came home from school and saw the pile of foil wrapped Santas and said, "I love this time of year!"
4. To the gas station. $35 to get the van half full. But Bonnie, I remembered you and the $8 a gallon over there, and I didn't grumble. Then to the Chinese place to get some takeout for a surprise for Joe...and a surprise for me, too. I have never gotten takeout from there before, it is only $2.99 a pound. For less than four bucks, we each had some black pepper chicken, sesame chicken, and some broccoli and green beans....and he was very surprised when he came out from his test and found me eating it, and a foam container on his seat too. I told him that he has been good, so the Chinese Food Fairy came....
5. B.J's. Mirielle wanted a job application, and Joseph got one too. So I went in and got half and half for the coffee we drink around here, and some crackers, and a bag of broccoli Normandy.
Ahh, home. It was so nice to get home. Mirielle said the little girls were good today, played Barbies and dollhouse and house, and had their lunch.....I teased them this morning and told them a little boy that had fallen on Camille on the McD's playground yesterday was coming over to play with them today....Charlotte Claire told me very sincerely this afternoon, "Mama, he didn't come!" Camille did not like that boy because he "was following me, and I didn't like it!" Now she says it is okay, he can come over.
I sat down and put my feet up and had some coffee and talked with the first trip kids (Aaron and Mali and Sam and Margaret and Kathryn and Evelyn), and sampled some of the chocolate I bought today....then I made dinner. I peeled and sliced ten pounds of potatoes, a nice big sweet onion, and made the white sauce for the scalloped potatoes. A pound of bacon squiggled across the tops of the pans, and dinner is in the oven. Mirielle is making some of the broccoli Normandy...
So as I sat here typing and smelling the wonderful and satisfying smell of dinner in the oven, it started bubbling over and filling the kitchen with smoke. Now Paul will get home to the smell of burnt, instead of the aroma of bacon and potatoes.
Yes, we are going to Oklahoma. I am not sure who is going besides Abigail, Mirielle, Ashley and I. Perhaps Emily and Aaron.....if we have so many drivers, it shouldn't be too bad. We don't have all the days in the world, so we have to drive straight through both ways, about 23 hours. We are leaving on a Wednesday and coming home the following Tuesday. Four nights in a hotel, and the other two in the minivan. Blah, I better remember the ibuprofen. But I am actually excited. I booked the hotel room last night, and there NO CANCELLATIONS, NO REFUNDS. So, we are going!
Dang, it is smoky in here! And not one of the smoke alarms has gone off, which is reassuring. A house not too far from here burned down the other night, totally destroyed....two of the kids go to school with these guys. A teacher asked Aaron in the hallway yesterday what size jeans he wore...he was taken aback, but she explained she was trying to rustle up some clothes for the boy who lived in the house. There is a "hat day" at school for the family on Friday, all the students pay a dollar, or more, to wear a hat....money is always the best help, but clothes are so expensive and such an immediate need....
Mirielle so nicely ladled out some of the sauce from the pans so the smoke would stop, it is dissipating, but the door has been open, and it is like 20 degrees out...so much for a hot dinner warming up the house while it bakes....brr. Cold and smoky.
This title is funny because:
I started this post this morning, and ...well, I DID go somewhere....
Since one of our cars has a flat tire, one has no power steering, and Joseph had his placement test for college, I brought him there....one minute I was writing on my blog, the next I was getting dressed and going out the door. I dropped him off, and had some fun....but I tried really hard not to have TOO much fun....here is what I did...
1. Kohls. Now, Kohl's is scary because I always find so many good bargains, and when one has so many people to shop for, it adds up. But today I was extra careful. I found myself a dress for $5.60 for a wedding on Saturday. I tried it on in the store, because no one was waiting for me. It didn't look spectacular, which was no big surprise, but it didn't look overly awful on me, so I bought it.
2. Sears. I bought both shoes and sandals for myself, but the shoes are going back. I tried them on in the store and they looked okay, but when I got home, I didn't like them anymore. So I am wearing sandals to the wedding. (let's pretend it isn't going to be zero when we leave in the morning....)
3. Aldi. How do I love thee, let me count the ways.....yogurt, carrots, pears, apples, oranges, bananas, eggs, milk, romaine, and lots of half-price Christmas candy. The chocolate is German or Belgium, is yummy, is cheap to begin with, so half-price is just lovely....Aaron came home from school and saw the pile of foil wrapped Santas and said, "I love this time of year!"
4. To the gas station. $35 to get the van half full. But Bonnie, I remembered you and the $8 a gallon over there, and I didn't grumble. Then to the Chinese place to get some takeout for a surprise for Joe...and a surprise for me, too. I have never gotten takeout from there before, it is only $2.99 a pound. For less than four bucks, we each had some black pepper chicken, sesame chicken, and some broccoli and green beans....and he was very surprised when he came out from his test and found me eating it, and a foam container on his seat too. I told him that he has been good, so the Chinese Food Fairy came....
5. B.J's. Mirielle wanted a job application, and Joseph got one too. So I went in and got half and half for the coffee we drink around here, and some crackers, and a bag of broccoli Normandy.
Ahh, home. It was so nice to get home. Mirielle said the little girls were good today, played Barbies and dollhouse and house, and had their lunch.....I teased them this morning and told them a little boy that had fallen on Camille on the McD's playground yesterday was coming over to play with them today....Charlotte Claire told me very sincerely this afternoon, "Mama, he didn't come!" Camille did not like that boy because he "was following me, and I didn't like it!" Now she says it is okay, he can come over.
I sat down and put my feet up and had some coffee and talked with the first trip kids (Aaron and Mali and Sam and Margaret and Kathryn and Evelyn), and sampled some of the chocolate I bought today....then I made dinner. I peeled and sliced ten pounds of potatoes, a nice big sweet onion, and made the white sauce for the scalloped potatoes. A pound of bacon squiggled across the tops of the pans, and dinner is in the oven. Mirielle is making some of the broccoli Normandy...
So as I sat here typing and smelling the wonderful and satisfying smell of dinner in the oven, it started bubbling over and filling the kitchen with smoke. Now Paul will get home to the smell of burnt, instead of the aroma of bacon and potatoes.
Yes, we are going to Oklahoma. I am not sure who is going besides Abigail, Mirielle, Ashley and I. Perhaps Emily and Aaron.....if we have so many drivers, it shouldn't be too bad. We don't have all the days in the world, so we have to drive straight through both ways, about 23 hours. We are leaving on a Wednesday and coming home the following Tuesday. Four nights in a hotel, and the other two in the minivan. Blah, I better remember the ibuprofen. But I am actually excited. I booked the hotel room last night, and there NO CANCELLATIONS, NO REFUNDS. So, we are going!
Dang, it is smoky in here! And not one of the smoke alarms has gone off, which is reassuring. A house not too far from here burned down the other night, totally destroyed....two of the kids go to school with these guys. A teacher asked Aaron in the hallway yesterday what size jeans he wore...he was taken aback, but she explained she was trying to rustle up some clothes for the boy who lived in the house. There is a "hat day" at school for the family on Friday, all the students pay a dollar, or more, to wear a hat....money is always the best help, but clothes are so expensive and such an immediate need....
Mirielle so nicely ladled out some of the sauce from the pans so the smoke would stop, it is dissipating, but the door has been open, and it is like 20 degrees out...so much for a hot dinner warming up the house while it bakes....brr. Cold and smoky.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
road trip!!!!
We are goin' to Oklahoma! Now, I have been to Norway and Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, and to Florida and to Washington D.C., and to Ohio and to Delaware and to Connecticut and to Toronto, Canada, and to Ottowa, Canada....and to Vermont. But I have not been to Oklahoma. So I am excited....and I am excited to see Benjamin, and to see him graduate from Boot camp. But the driving 23 hours in the car down there and 23 hours back...blah. ouch. It is so much more economical to drive there though, since plane tickets are around four hundred bucks each. Then we would have to rent a car there, and with a hotel costs, it would just be too much. So Road Trip it is....
Sonja missed the bus this morning. So she is playing dollhouse with Charlotte Claire. She was in the bathroom brushing her teeth, and "BUS!!, but then she had to put her boots and coat on, it drove away. She was elated! She said, "Sorry, Mommy!", but she couldn't help but smile, because she knows I don't drive kids to school who miss the bus. The trip in the big van would not only take a whole gallon of gas (which New York so pleasantly taxes to the hilt, it is well over $3 a gallon right now)(I know, I know, for Canada and Europe, that is a bargain...). And I would have to wake the girls and buckle them in...I just don't do that. If they miss the bus, they have to stay home, poor kids.
Yesterday, Sam was looking through the cupboards grumbling, "When did Mom go shopping? There is nothing to eat!" The boy obviously doesn't know the true meaning of "nothing to eat", when there is no fresh fruit on the counter and the chips are gone, then to him, there is "nothing to eat". The truth is, I am not magic. I cannot keep everthing everyone wants in the house all of the time. Always eggs, always bread, always milk, always bagels, always oranges or apples or bananas, always yogurt. Just can't do it. I do know that the refridgerator is looking empty. It IS getting that time, that time to go shopping. I went on Friday, but not for tons of groceries, although I did spend $89. Last night for dinner we had chicken, marinated then roasted, with tossed salad and Mirielle's home made bread, hot out of the oven. Plus some spinach, cooked with garlic in olive oil, then steamed and sprinkled with pepper and lemon juice. Oh, that was good. I really want to buy more fresh spinach. Anyway, we are not starving. Just running low on milk and produce and running out of the main staple, cereal. But we do have some oatmeal.
Mirielle made a batch of chocolate chip cookies last evening. She only bakes a few trays at a time, and tells the kids they can have TWO, no more. She is a wise girl. She knows what happens when too many cookies are baked. Abigail was here for dinner...she always brings some leftover dinner home for her lunch the next day at work...I sent her with a few cookies, too. Emily and her are on such different schedules, they don't see each other much. I am just glad they live so close by....I love seeing them.
I really shouldn't be sitting here, but I am. I like to write. But my computer is what my kids would call a Crapshack. That is their word for something ....like my computer, or our van, or when the house gets messy....anyway, my computer turns off whenever it feels like it. Just turns off, no warning. And, the battery no longer charges, so the computer has to be hooked up all the time to the fussy cord which disconnects when wiggled in the least. Some days it turns off like three times while I am trying to post one little post. And of course it doesn't just restart speedy-quick, no it takes it's sweet sweet time. But I put up with it, because a new laptop for Mommy is not even on the list, let alone near the top.
We cleaned the living room very nicely yesterday. I also cleaned the burners of the stove, and the stovetop, and the stove and dishwasher and refridgerator fronts....the dratted chrome finish on appliances is very very stupid....one drip of water, and there is a streak....fifty drips of water, and that is what our appliances look like. Plus the handprints. I mean, on the 'fridge, there is a handle. There's one on the freezer door, too. So why would anyone's hands even touch the front of the refridgerator? The kids have no idea why, either. Because I have asked them. They just look at me like: 1. I am crazy. 2. I am making a big deal out of nothing. 3. They totally understand, how can the OTHER kids be so slobby.....
Anyway, keeping our house nice is a losing battle, but one that I fight anyway. For now. One of these days I am going to just give up, then they will see how much I do around here and appreciate me. I threaten this sometimes. It doesn't phase them.
Rosie-The-Bad-Dog got out this morning when the bus came. She is still out there. I know I should go get her. Too bad I couldn't just open the door and call her...but, ha, she would just laugh at me. And run away.
Hmm...I think I perhaps need an attitude re-adjustment this morning.
That is one good thing about writing this blog. It is written in proverbs (4:23), "Above all else guard your heart, for out of it flow the issues of life." I think that when I sit here and just write, truths come out, and this helps me. I obviously have many things to work on, spiritually, and I see my lack when I write. As far as "earthly" things go, I just have to endure day by day, and take care mostly of the spiritual things, then the other things will fall into place. It does me no good to resolve to be more organized, because that is like getting chocolate milk from a cow or water from a stone. But when I am following Jesus on this way of victory over sin, then I can find my complaining, my lack of thankfulness, my envy, ect. When I am faithful within, and purify myself in these things, then it is good. I get light over living for myself, I get strengthened to be a sacrifice, I have a reason to go on each day. (Prov. 29, v. 18)"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Things fall into place. We all know the verse the verse in Matthew, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and these things shall be given to you...."
And now that I have my sermon out of the way....I shall answer the question.
No, this doesn't necessarily help me be more organized. But it helps me not to give up on everything. It helps me go on each day. I just somehow think it is hilarious that ME, Della, has all these kids and that people assume that since God has blessed me so, that that I MUST be organized. As if THAT is the key to happiness and contentment and peace, and is what makes the world go around.
So....it is hopeful!
Sonja missed the bus this morning. So she is playing dollhouse with Charlotte Claire. She was in the bathroom brushing her teeth, and "BUS!!, but then she had to put her boots and coat on, it drove away. She was elated! She said, "Sorry, Mommy!", but she couldn't help but smile, because she knows I don't drive kids to school who miss the bus. The trip in the big van would not only take a whole gallon of gas (which New York so pleasantly taxes to the hilt, it is well over $3 a gallon right now)(I know, I know, for Canada and Europe, that is a bargain...). And I would have to wake the girls and buckle them in...I just don't do that. If they miss the bus, they have to stay home, poor kids.
Yesterday, Sam was looking through the cupboards grumbling, "When did Mom go shopping? There is nothing to eat!" The boy obviously doesn't know the true meaning of "nothing to eat", when there is no fresh fruit on the counter and the chips are gone, then to him, there is "nothing to eat". The truth is, I am not magic. I cannot keep everthing everyone wants in the house all of the time. Always eggs, always bread, always milk, always bagels, always oranges or apples or bananas, always yogurt. Just can't do it. I do know that the refridgerator is looking empty. It IS getting that time, that time to go shopping. I went on Friday, but not for tons of groceries, although I did spend $89. Last night for dinner we had chicken, marinated then roasted, with tossed salad and Mirielle's home made bread, hot out of the oven. Plus some spinach, cooked with garlic in olive oil, then steamed and sprinkled with pepper and lemon juice. Oh, that was good. I really want to buy more fresh spinach. Anyway, we are not starving. Just running low on milk and produce and running out of the main staple, cereal. But we do have some oatmeal.
Mirielle made a batch of chocolate chip cookies last evening. She only bakes a few trays at a time, and tells the kids they can have TWO, no more. She is a wise girl. She knows what happens when too many cookies are baked. Abigail was here for dinner...she always brings some leftover dinner home for her lunch the next day at work...I sent her with a few cookies, too. Emily and her are on such different schedules, they don't see each other much. I am just glad they live so close by....I love seeing them.
I really shouldn't be sitting here, but I am. I like to write. But my computer is what my kids would call a Crapshack. That is their word for something ....like my computer, or our van, or when the house gets messy....anyway, my computer turns off whenever it feels like it. Just turns off, no warning. And, the battery no longer charges, so the computer has to be hooked up all the time to the fussy cord which disconnects when wiggled in the least. Some days it turns off like three times while I am trying to post one little post. And of course it doesn't just restart speedy-quick, no it takes it's sweet sweet time. But I put up with it, because a new laptop for Mommy is not even on the list, let alone near the top.
We cleaned the living room very nicely yesterday. I also cleaned the burners of the stove, and the stovetop, and the stove and dishwasher and refridgerator fronts....the dratted chrome finish on appliances is very very stupid....one drip of water, and there is a streak....fifty drips of water, and that is what our appliances look like. Plus the handprints. I mean, on the 'fridge, there is a handle. There's one on the freezer door, too. So why would anyone's hands even touch the front of the refridgerator? The kids have no idea why, either. Because I have asked them. They just look at me like: 1. I am crazy. 2. I am making a big deal out of nothing. 3. They totally understand, how can the OTHER kids be so slobby.....
Anyway, keeping our house nice is a losing battle, but one that I fight anyway. For now. One of these days I am going to just give up, then they will see how much I do around here and appreciate me. I threaten this sometimes. It doesn't phase them.
Rosie-The-Bad-Dog got out this morning when the bus came. She is still out there. I know I should go get her. Too bad I couldn't just open the door and call her...but, ha, she would just laugh at me. And run away.
Hmm...I think I perhaps need an attitude re-adjustment this morning.
That is one good thing about writing this blog. It is written in proverbs (4:23), "Above all else guard your heart, for out of it flow the issues of life." I think that when I sit here and just write, truths come out, and this helps me. I obviously have many things to work on, spiritually, and I see my lack when I write. As far as "earthly" things go, I just have to endure day by day, and take care mostly of the spiritual things, then the other things will fall into place. It does me no good to resolve to be more organized, because that is like getting chocolate milk from a cow or water from a stone. But when I am following Jesus on this way of victory over sin, then I can find my complaining, my lack of thankfulness, my envy, ect. When I am faithful within, and purify myself in these things, then it is good. I get light over living for myself, I get strengthened to be a sacrifice, I have a reason to go on each day. (Prov. 29, v. 18)"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Things fall into place. We all know the verse the verse in Matthew, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and these things shall be given to you...."
And now that I have my sermon out of the way....I shall answer the question.
No, this doesn't necessarily help me be more organized. But it helps me not to give up on everything. It helps me go on each day. I just somehow think it is hilarious that ME, Della, has all these kids and that people assume that since God has blessed me so, that that I MUST be organized. As if THAT is the key to happiness and contentment and peace, and is what makes the world go around.
So....it is hopeful!
Monday, January 17, 2011
beautiful sunny day
Too bad it is only two degrees outside. The kids are out playing in the sunshine anyway. Not the two little girls though. And I told them not to stay out too long.
Yesterday they were getting antsy so I got out a painting set I had in my closet...here is Suzanne.
I liked seeing Joseph join them.
Camille had watercolors..
Yesterday they were getting antsy so I got out a painting set I had in my closet...here is Suzanne.
I liked seeing Joseph join them.
Camille had watercolors..
Snow on the deck
Princess Camille and her orange.
One of our pizzas...I rolled it too big so I put some cheese under the crust....
And, the Royal Princesses, Camille Anaya and Charlotte Claire...
And, the Royal Princesses, Camille Anaya and Charlotte Claire...
Sunday, January 16, 2011
despicable me
If you haven't watched this yet, you should. It is only a buck at Redbox, and it is worth every penny. It is funny and sweet. Charlotte Claire and Camille are totally transfixed.
Our house is busy tonight. Abigail is here, as are all of the kids except for Emily and Benjamin, and Margaret. So that makes 13, plus two cousins, plus Ashley, plus Paul and I. Some of the older ones are playing poker while the younger ones watch "Despicable Me" for the second night in a row.
Well, I never got the treadmill out today...but I did go outside three or four times. Rosie was chasing the guy down the road in his pickup truck/snowplow. She would not listen to me, I had to go out there and get her. I also helped shovel so Abigail could get into the driveway, and then I took Rosie out again. It is so pretty with all the snow, but oh my goodness, it was deeper than my boots and I had no socks under them. And the snow we shoveled swirled in the wind and got all over our faces. The kids are loving it this year. Even Aaron went out and played with them.
Our house looks like....well....a house where all the kids keep going outside and coming in and hanging up wet snowpants and jackets and mittens and gloves all over the place...from the kitchen chairs and on the heat registers and in the foyer....and the snow they bring in on their boots and snowpants when they stomp in the door with their red cheeks and happy faces....and the cocoa cups they don't rinse....but is the cup half empty or half full? That is up to me....yes, I find some grumbling...sometimes more than other times.....I mean, I don't like mopping up melted snow three times a day....or nagging at them to....but this is all part of my life right now, and honestly, it is not easy. The Grand Central Station kitchen that is never fully cleaned up....but it hasn't killed me yet.
Right now Jonathan has his Thomas train set up in the living room for us all to "enjoy". ha. He also has lots of playmobil stuff out, and there are some dollies and a huge stuffed rabbit, and an Elmo, and some matchboxes and the shopping cart and two sit n spins, a toy ambulance, Jon's bedding, since he likes to cuddle under it when he is watching a movie....again, it hasn't killed me yet.
The poker players have made popcorn and found the Triscuits. I have a friend who has a large family, and she locks up the snacks so she can be the doler-outer. I haven't resorted to that yet, but sometimes I see her wisdom. I do get creative and hide things in special places if I don't want them to eat everything in one day, but they are smart kids. I do still have one bag of the Lindt truffles in my room, but they know it is there....they'll probably be asking for it any time now. Should I hide it in my drawer and play dumb? Because once it is out here, we each get one or two, and that is it....of course, I don't need more than one or two....great, now I made myself want to get them out....
Our house is busy tonight. Abigail is here, as are all of the kids except for Emily and Benjamin, and Margaret. So that makes 13, plus two cousins, plus Ashley, plus Paul and I. Some of the older ones are playing poker while the younger ones watch "Despicable Me" for the second night in a row.
Well, I never got the treadmill out today...but I did go outside three or four times. Rosie was chasing the guy down the road in his pickup truck/snowplow. She would not listen to me, I had to go out there and get her. I also helped shovel so Abigail could get into the driveway, and then I took Rosie out again. It is so pretty with all the snow, but oh my goodness, it was deeper than my boots and I had no socks under them. And the snow we shoveled swirled in the wind and got all over our faces. The kids are loving it this year. Even Aaron went out and played with them.
Our house looks like....well....a house where all the kids keep going outside and coming in and hanging up wet snowpants and jackets and mittens and gloves all over the place...from the kitchen chairs and on the heat registers and in the foyer....and the snow they bring in on their boots and snowpants when they stomp in the door with their red cheeks and happy faces....and the cocoa cups they don't rinse....but is the cup half empty or half full? That is up to me....yes, I find some grumbling...sometimes more than other times.....I mean, I don't like mopping up melted snow three times a day....or nagging at them to....but this is all part of my life right now, and honestly, it is not easy. The Grand Central Station kitchen that is never fully cleaned up....but it hasn't killed me yet.
Right now Jonathan has his Thomas train set up in the living room for us all to "enjoy". ha. He also has lots of playmobil stuff out, and there are some dollies and a huge stuffed rabbit, and an Elmo, and some matchboxes and the shopping cart and two sit n spins, a toy ambulance, Jon's bedding, since he likes to cuddle under it when he is watching a movie....again, it hasn't killed me yet.
The poker players have made popcorn and found the Triscuits. I have a friend who has a large family, and she locks up the snacks so she can be the doler-outer. I haven't resorted to that yet, but sometimes I see her wisdom. I do get creative and hide things in special places if I don't want them to eat everything in one day, but they are smart kids. I do still have one bag of the Lindt truffles in my room, but they know it is there....they'll probably be asking for it any time now. Should I hide it in my drawer and play dumb? Because once it is out here, we each get one or two, and that is it....of course, I don't need more than one or two....great, now I made myself want to get them out....
sunday, a day of rest...
Thank you Jennifer. May God bless you and watch over your son. When Ben started talking about being a combat medic, I thought it was just talk. But he was determined. Then at some point I realized that someone has to do this, why not Ben? He is smart and quick-thinking and since he has had a few rather horrible accidents himself, he certainly has compassion. And of course it is his choice anyway, so I choose to support it. And we who live in this country DO have much to be thankful for, much that we take so for granted. Yesterday at the basketball game in the Carrier Dome, where Paul and the older kids were doing some volunteer work for our church in a food stand, there were about 250 soldiers from Fort Drum. Paul said they got a standing ovation. They are leaving for Afghanistan next week.
Ashley....poor girl. Ben sneaked in a phone call to her the other day, one of the guys somehow had a phone, and oh my goodness did she have some tears when she got off the phone. She was laughing at herself at the same time, but it is hard for her to be away from her new husband. I told the kids that it is just plain not nice for them to watch any of "The Pacific" when she is around. They can watch it on the dvd player in their room.
Our church meeting was canceled this morning because of the snow. It is still windy and very cold. Obviously the wind blows the snow across the roads, and that is not fun to drive in. But we got so much more snow that the vehicles would all have to be dug out of the driveway. The forecast is calling for more snow, all day long, in lake effect bands...it looks like we are right in one. More snow is coming toward us, possibly up to ten inches or a foot today....and the temperature is dropping to one degree tonight, with a high of only 18 tomorrow.
I am glad I did a bit of shopping on Friday, and that we have enough milk and bread and eggs and coffee. I am also thinking of making some oatmeal cookies today, to warm it up, and to have that yummy smell...who am I kidding, oatmeal cookies just plain sound good today.
I do believe it is a good day for the treadmill. I should put Rosie on it too. She has energy and energy to spare.
Camille wants her oatmeal, she missed the first breakfast that I served to four of the kids. The older kids get to sleep in today.....I would like to go back to bed, with my book.
We made pizzas last night for dinner. One cheese and garlic and butter with no sauce, one pepperoni, one green peppers and onions and black olives and bacon, and one barbecue chicken with all the other stuff on it too. I mentioned that perhaps we should consider upping the number to five, since the four get eaten so quickly.....
And that is all I have to say this morning....
Ashley....poor girl. Ben sneaked in a phone call to her the other day, one of the guys somehow had a phone, and oh my goodness did she have some tears when she got off the phone. She was laughing at herself at the same time, but it is hard for her to be away from her new husband. I told the kids that it is just plain not nice for them to watch any of "The Pacific" when she is around. They can watch it on the dvd player in their room.
Our church meeting was canceled this morning because of the snow. It is still windy and very cold. Obviously the wind blows the snow across the roads, and that is not fun to drive in. But we got so much more snow that the vehicles would all have to be dug out of the driveway. The forecast is calling for more snow, all day long, in lake effect bands...it looks like we are right in one. More snow is coming toward us, possibly up to ten inches or a foot today....and the temperature is dropping to one degree tonight, with a high of only 18 tomorrow.
I am glad I did a bit of shopping on Friday, and that we have enough milk and bread and eggs and coffee. I am also thinking of making some oatmeal cookies today, to warm it up, and to have that yummy smell...who am I kidding, oatmeal cookies just plain sound good today.
I do believe it is a good day for the treadmill. I should put Rosie on it too. She has energy and energy to spare.
Camille wants her oatmeal, she missed the first breakfast that I served to four of the kids. The older kids get to sleep in today.....I would like to go back to bed, with my book.
We made pizzas last night for dinner. One cheese and garlic and butter with no sauce, one pepperoni, one green peppers and onions and black olives and bacon, and one barbecue chicken with all the other stuff on it too. I mentioned that perhaps we should consider upping the number to five, since the four get eaten so quickly.....
And that is all I have to say this morning....
Saturday, January 15, 2011
sometimes I wonder....
I wonder about my son Benjamin...he is in the Army. I am afraid for him. I know he is going to end up in Afghanistan. I just know it. Is this just a streak of unbelief in God, or some ugly pessisism breaking through my usually optimistic outlook? Or is it because we watched part of Steven Spielburg's "The Pacific", last night? Or is it because the front page story of the local newspaper this morning features an article on the stress military families experience during deployment? Or because I know that is why the military is building up right now, to ship more and more soldiers over there?
Whatever the reason, I am trying to calm down right now. I wrote to Ben this morning, then picked up the newspaper, and blah and wah, I lost it. I am no help to him in this state of mind. God has been good to him, and watched over him all these years, He isn't going to stop now just because Mama is a wreck.
I am thankful for my children this morning. Jonathan has his Spiderman costume on, and he was telling the girls how strong he is...and Camille stood up on the bench at the table in her fuzzy blanket sleeper, scrunched her eyebrows so she looked like a muppet, and said, "I am strong, and YOU are BAD!" Then she and Charlotte Claire went into the bathroom and put two rolls of toilet paper in the sink and filled it up with water. I gave each of their hands a little spank. It seems like I can hear my mother's voice saying, "They are ASKING for it...." No, we never got beaten or even spanked...but we did get a little slap once in a while....and I must say I always thought it was well-deserved. My little girls did not like this little spank one little bit. I did not like it either. But timeouts and scoldings only go so far, apparently. They seem to wander into these messes every single day. I do think it is harder for me, the one who proclaims that I don't believe in spanking children, to actually spank them, than it is for them, although they were upset and surprised. My little girls are mostly good, they are like this little girl:
"There was a little girl,
who had a little curl,
right in the middle of her forehead,
when she was good,
she was very very good,
but when she was bad,
SHE WAS HORRID."
I do not know who authored this poem, but it describes my little girls quite accurately.
Right now, they have dry jammies on from the sink and toilet paper expedition, and have both Sit-nSpins in the livingroom, going around and around and singing. Camille's favorite word right now, unfortunately, is "poopie".
The Wii is going, no Saturday morning cartoons this morning, which is fine with me. I would much rather see a child playing Wii than parked in front of the television. Jonathan is obsessed these days with Nerf guns and keeping track of the foam bullets.
Today should be a good day. There is pizza dough in the 'fridge for dinner pizzas, and we are having soup and grilled cheese for lunch. Emily is coming over tonight and we are celebrating her 26th birthday, which is on the 18th. Way back when Emily Anne was born, .....
1. It was 1985, I was 19 years old, and we had been married for ten months and two weeks.
2. She was 8 pounds, 7 ounces.
3. Paul cried when she was born. I asked him if it was better than shooting a deer, and he said yes.
4. Emily was born two days after her due date. The labor was long, and the policy then was "stay in bed". And since I didn't know any better, I did.
5. During the contractions, which I took no painkillers for, I focused on the ceiling panels and thought about my father, and how much he loved the babies.
6. I threw a washcloth at Paul. I must have had a good reason, but I no longer remember what it was.
7. The doctor determined when I was ten centimeters that the baby was transverse, and that if she didn't turn and come down with the contractions, he was going to have to do a c-section, but first he would try forceps. They prepped me for a possible section, had me sign the papers, brought me to the delivery room, put me under, did a huge episiotomy, used the forceps to rotate and pull her out....(I am extremely thankful that the dr. was old and experienced with forceps, and took the chance to do this procedure. Because of litigation and liability, I don't believe that doctors do high or mid forceps deliveries anymore, or not so much anyways... If I had had a section, I don't believe I would have been able to have all these children).
8. I woke up to Paul sitting there crying....
9. I have no recollection of being moved to the recovery room, but all of the sudden I was waking up and had Emily in my arms. I was confused, and wondered why my fingers were black...it was the fingerprint ink. Paul was saying how nice it was to have a girl "first". I was like, "First? I cannot do this again!" ha. All I can say is HA.
10. It didn't take long to fall in love with my dimple-cheeked blue-eyed chub. She was our world. I remember one day when she was newborn, Paul came home from work and I swear I hadn't done anything other than rock and nurse and cuddle that baby who was Emily, all day long.
I won't embarass Emily or bore everyone by listing the details of her whole life, but I will say that she has always been a joy. She is way smarter than me, and independent and capable and she is a brilliant writer. She is a registered nurse, and is still taking college classes to become a nurse practioner or an administrator. She speaks Norwegian, and a little bit of French, and she has a wicked sense of humor. When she has days off, she spends them taking our little ones places, or having them to her apartment. She is her own person, yet she is wholeheartedly faithful to God. I love her so much, and when she stops over it is like sunshine coming into the house.
The kids want me to get off this computer, so I will.
Whatever the reason, I am trying to calm down right now. I wrote to Ben this morning, then picked up the newspaper, and blah and wah, I lost it. I am no help to him in this state of mind. God has been good to him, and watched over him all these years, He isn't going to stop now just because Mama is a wreck.
I am thankful for my children this morning. Jonathan has his Spiderman costume on, and he was telling the girls how strong he is...and Camille stood up on the bench at the table in her fuzzy blanket sleeper, scrunched her eyebrows so she looked like a muppet, and said, "I am strong, and YOU are BAD!" Then she and Charlotte Claire went into the bathroom and put two rolls of toilet paper in the sink and filled it up with water. I gave each of their hands a little spank. It seems like I can hear my mother's voice saying, "They are ASKING for it...." No, we never got beaten or even spanked...but we did get a little slap once in a while....and I must say I always thought it was well-deserved. My little girls did not like this little spank one little bit. I did not like it either. But timeouts and scoldings only go so far, apparently. They seem to wander into these messes every single day. I do think it is harder for me, the one who proclaims that I don't believe in spanking children, to actually spank them, than it is for them, although they were upset and surprised. My little girls are mostly good, they are like this little girl:
"There was a little girl,
who had a little curl,
right in the middle of her forehead,
when she was good,
she was very very good,
but when she was bad,
SHE WAS HORRID."
I do not know who authored this poem, but it describes my little girls quite accurately.
Right now, they have dry jammies on from the sink and toilet paper expedition, and have both Sit-nSpins in the livingroom, going around and around and singing. Camille's favorite word right now, unfortunately, is "poopie".
The Wii is going, no Saturday morning cartoons this morning, which is fine with me. I would much rather see a child playing Wii than parked in front of the television. Jonathan is obsessed these days with Nerf guns and keeping track of the foam bullets.
Today should be a good day. There is pizza dough in the 'fridge for dinner pizzas, and we are having soup and grilled cheese for lunch. Emily is coming over tonight and we are celebrating her 26th birthday, which is on the 18th. Way back when Emily Anne was born, .....
1. It was 1985, I was 19 years old, and we had been married for ten months and two weeks.
2. She was 8 pounds, 7 ounces.
3. Paul cried when she was born. I asked him if it was better than shooting a deer, and he said yes.
4. Emily was born two days after her due date. The labor was long, and the policy then was "stay in bed". And since I didn't know any better, I did.
5. During the contractions, which I took no painkillers for, I focused on the ceiling panels and thought about my father, and how much he loved the babies.
6. I threw a washcloth at Paul. I must have had a good reason, but I no longer remember what it was.
7. The doctor determined when I was ten centimeters that the baby was transverse, and that if she didn't turn and come down with the contractions, he was going to have to do a c-section, but first he would try forceps. They prepped me for a possible section, had me sign the papers, brought me to the delivery room, put me under, did a huge episiotomy, used the forceps to rotate and pull her out....(I am extremely thankful that the dr. was old and experienced with forceps, and took the chance to do this procedure. Because of litigation and liability, I don't believe that doctors do high or mid forceps deliveries anymore, or not so much anyways... If I had had a section, I don't believe I would have been able to have all these children).
8. I woke up to Paul sitting there crying....
9. I have no recollection of being moved to the recovery room, but all of the sudden I was waking up and had Emily in my arms. I was confused, and wondered why my fingers were black...it was the fingerprint ink. Paul was saying how nice it was to have a girl "first". I was like, "First? I cannot do this again!" ha. All I can say is HA.
10. It didn't take long to fall in love with my dimple-cheeked blue-eyed chub. She was our world. I remember one day when she was newborn, Paul came home from work and I swear I hadn't done anything other than rock and nurse and cuddle that baby who was Emily, all day long.
I won't embarass Emily or bore everyone by listing the details of her whole life, but I will say that she has always been a joy. She is way smarter than me, and independent and capable and she is a brilliant writer. She is a registered nurse, and is still taking college classes to become a nurse practioner or an administrator. She speaks Norwegian, and a little bit of French, and she has a wicked sense of humor. When she has days off, she spends them taking our little ones places, or having them to her apartment. She is her own person, yet she is wholeheartedly faithful to God. I love her so much, and when she stops over it is like sunshine coming into the house.
The kids want me to get off this computer, so I will.
Friday, January 14, 2011
tGif..
Well, I thank God for every day....but Fridays ARE especially nice. This one particularly so. I went out to breakfast with my sister and my sister-in-law and two of our friends. Our breakfast lasted for two and a half hours....more and more coffee with our omelets....and after our omelets....and with the desserts we shared. How could I resist homemade rasberry cheesecake with chocolate crust, with whipped cream and chocolate sauce? I shared a piece with one of our friends....it made me want to make one.
Why does Rosie like People Food so much better than Doggy Food?
Why do people like to have the last word?
Why do I, who hate to argue, find that I argue?
Why is it so much fun to find good deals?
Does the cashier at Target really find it incredible that I have eleven daughters, or does he just think I am crazy?
Is Suzanne happy now that I bought her new boots?
Am I the only one who can fold and put away the towels?
Who the heck uses all these towels?
Why is it so cute that Camille can count to eleven?
Why is it so cute that Jonathan can read?
Why are all the kids so cute?
How in the world did I get to be so lucky?
Why does Rosie like People Food so much better than Doggy Food?
Why do people like to have the last word?
Why do I, who hate to argue, find that I argue?
Why is it so much fun to find good deals?
Does the cashier at Target really find it incredible that I have eleven daughters, or does he just think I am crazy?
Is Suzanne happy now that I bought her new boots?
Am I the only one who can fold and put away the towels?
Who the heck uses all these towels?
Why is it so cute that Camille can count to eleven?
Why is it so cute that Jonathan can read?
Why are all the kids so cute?
How in the world did I get to be so lucky?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
best things about the afternoon....
1. Coffee
2. Plenty of kids home from school to bring me a cup...
3. The lull of activity....the peacefulness...
4. This particular afternoon supper is already on, a pot of chili, and a pot of rice ready to cook...and two loaves of pumpkin bread in the oven courtesy of Mirielle.
5. Camille doesn't nap, but she sure does like to snuggle with me.
6. I have done most of the work I am going to accomplish for the day, so it looks nicer in here than when I sit down in the morning. usually. a little.
I am bribing the children again. Their bedroom gets so messy so quickly, I want to try to maintain the cleanness. So I told them if they pick up and vacuum it this afternoon, I will give them a prize. Camille started jumping up and down when she heard this, she wants a prize too. So I told her to help pick up...she picked up a few toys, and followed me around asking me at least fifty times for her prize now. She is cuddling now with her stuffeddog Max and her thumb, in her princess dress, with her ridiculous haircut, waiting patiently for the kids to finish so they can have their prizes together. Suzanne said it better not be a hug. It isn't, it is Christmas Baby-Bottle-Pops and Push-up pops, twenty five cents each after Christmas.
The lake-effect flakes are still coming down, big and slow and graceful...
I am reading a good book. I actually took this book and read it under my electric blanket in my bed for an hour this afternoon....it was so hard to get up because the book was good and the bed was warm, but the bus was coming....
2. Plenty of kids home from school to bring me a cup...
3. The lull of activity....the peacefulness...
4. This particular afternoon supper is already on, a pot of chili, and a pot of rice ready to cook...and two loaves of pumpkin bread in the oven courtesy of Mirielle.
5. Camille doesn't nap, but she sure does like to snuggle with me.
6. I have done most of the work I am going to accomplish for the day, so it looks nicer in here than when I sit down in the morning. usually. a little.
I am bribing the children again. Their bedroom gets so messy so quickly, I want to try to maintain the cleanness. So I told them if they pick up and vacuum it this afternoon, I will give them a prize. Camille started jumping up and down when she heard this, she wants a prize too. So I told her to help pick up...she picked up a few toys, and followed me around asking me at least fifty times for her prize now. She is cuddling now with her stuffeddog Max and her thumb, in her princess dress, with her ridiculous haircut, waiting patiently for the kids to finish so they can have their prizes together. Suzanne said it better not be a hug. It isn't, it is Christmas Baby-Bottle-Pops and Push-up pops, twenty five cents each after Christmas.
The lake-effect flakes are still coming down, big and slow and graceful...
I am reading a good book. I actually took this book and read it under my electric blanket in my bed for an hour this afternoon....it was so hard to get up because the book was good and the bed was warm, but the bus was coming....
snow snow and more snow....
This year we just keep getting the snow. I looked on the weather map, and the town a few miles north of here isn't even getting it....it just keeps coming....it looks lovely, like a snowglobe out the window, but getting the driveway and deck steps cleared all of the time is getting old. Wait, that sounds like I am personally getting sick of shoveling. What I meant was that I am getting tired of GETTING people to shovel.
The thing I hate the most about winter is when the toilet seat is freezing cold. Of course I do realize that a long time ago it was worse, a trip through the drifts to the outhouse with the Sear's catalog, but that doesn't help when I sit on that cold seat. Some of you are probably wondering along the lines of HOW COLD IS THEIR HOUSE??? Well....it isn't as cold as the unheated bedroom over the unheated garage that was my room growing up....we used to put cups of water on the windowsill to see it freeze solid during the night. The room was an addition put on by the previous owner, no heat ducts ran to it. Probably no insulation, either. brr. Our house is very well insulated, it is only 19 years old. But it is big, and we keep the thermostat low, and wear sweaters....
The other thing I hate about winter is when I wear a long skirt, which does keep me warmer than a short skirt, except for when the bottom of it gets all snowy and then it melts and I have on a wet cold skirt. I am learning to wear leggings, though. I also hate that I never remember to wear gloves, and that it is so hard to clear the snow off the huge van. I also hate that it takes all the livelong day for the van to heat up, and it is so difficult to drive on slippery roads.
I am sort of kidding about hating everything. Although I do hate when my fingers are cold and I can't type worth anything....
Things I love about winter:
1. Little girls in footed jammy sleepers.
2. Bigger girls in footed jammy sleepers.
3. Baking cookies.
4. Baking bread.
5. Soups and stews and oven dinners.....
6. The days I don't have to leave the house...
7. My electric blanket. I finally hooked it up last night, oh heavenly to get into a warm bed....every other thought I have had this morning has been of a possible nap in that warm bed with the library book Emily brought me.
8. When things get cancelled in the evening because of the snow and we all stay home and sit around the dinner table for a few hours solving the world's problems....
I am sure there are more, but I thought of a few more things that I hate....
1. Having warm boots and mittens and gloves and hats and snowpants for all of the kids. Suzanne does not have any boots all of the sudden.
2. When they go out to play and their coats or boots or gloves are still wet the next morning when it is time for school.
3. When the teachers want them to bring outdoor gear to school "just in case they go outside". Okay, no problem..ha.
4. Getting home from shopping in the van that has finally gotten warm, and carrying bags up the deck steps in the cold....
5. The ice and slush that is so slippery to walk on....I do not want to fall.
Okay, okay, I understand that the Hates outweigh the Loves....but that's allright. I will survive. It is just fun to grumble a bit.
I got a letter written and sent out to Benjamin again this morning, that makes me feel good. He wrote that it is just excellent to get mail. I wrote the letter while getting three kids ready for school, while Joseph was getting ready for work, and while Mirielle was eating breakfast after arriving home from the gym. I would write a sentance, help Jonathan figure out his homework that he never got to last night, write some more, brush Sonja's hair, write some more, suggest what footwear Suze should wear....anyway, it probably isn't a very good letter, and I also am aware that they soldiers have to do pushups to recieve their mail, in boot camp anyway, so I feel guilty if it is not a good letter. Ben says any letter is worth it, but hey, I still feel guilty sending a gyp-y one.
Well, time to chip away at the mountain of laundry....
The thing I hate the most about winter is when the toilet seat is freezing cold. Of course I do realize that a long time ago it was worse, a trip through the drifts to the outhouse with the Sear's catalog, but that doesn't help when I sit on that cold seat. Some of you are probably wondering along the lines of HOW COLD IS THEIR HOUSE??? Well....it isn't as cold as the unheated bedroom over the unheated garage that was my room growing up....we used to put cups of water on the windowsill to see it freeze solid during the night. The room was an addition put on by the previous owner, no heat ducts ran to it. Probably no insulation, either. brr. Our house is very well insulated, it is only 19 years old. But it is big, and we keep the thermostat low, and wear sweaters....
The other thing I hate about winter is when I wear a long skirt, which does keep me warmer than a short skirt, except for when the bottom of it gets all snowy and then it melts and I have on a wet cold skirt. I am learning to wear leggings, though. I also hate that I never remember to wear gloves, and that it is so hard to clear the snow off the huge van. I also hate that it takes all the livelong day for the van to heat up, and it is so difficult to drive on slippery roads.
I am sort of kidding about hating everything. Although I do hate when my fingers are cold and I can't type worth anything....
Things I love about winter:
1. Little girls in footed jammy sleepers.
2. Bigger girls in footed jammy sleepers.
3. Baking cookies.
4. Baking bread.
5. Soups and stews and oven dinners.....
6. The days I don't have to leave the house...
7. My electric blanket. I finally hooked it up last night, oh heavenly to get into a warm bed....every other thought I have had this morning has been of a possible nap in that warm bed with the library book Emily brought me.
8. When things get cancelled in the evening because of the snow and we all stay home and sit around the dinner table for a few hours solving the world's problems....
I am sure there are more, but I thought of a few more things that I hate....
1. Having warm boots and mittens and gloves and hats and snowpants for all of the kids. Suzanne does not have any boots all of the sudden.
2. When they go out to play and their coats or boots or gloves are still wet the next morning when it is time for school.
3. When the teachers want them to bring outdoor gear to school "just in case they go outside". Okay, no problem..ha.
4. Getting home from shopping in the van that has finally gotten warm, and carrying bags up the deck steps in the cold....
5. The ice and slush that is so slippery to walk on....I do not want to fall.
Okay, okay, I understand that the Hates outweigh the Loves....but that's allright. I will survive. It is just fun to grumble a bit.
I got a letter written and sent out to Benjamin again this morning, that makes me feel good. He wrote that it is just excellent to get mail. I wrote the letter while getting three kids ready for school, while Joseph was getting ready for work, and while Mirielle was eating breakfast after arriving home from the gym. I would write a sentance, help Jonathan figure out his homework that he never got to last night, write some more, brush Sonja's hair, write some more, suggest what footwear Suze should wear....anyway, it probably isn't a very good letter, and I also am aware that they soldiers have to do pushups to recieve their mail, in boot camp anyway, so I feel guilty if it is not a good letter. Ben says any letter is worth it, but hey, I still feel guilty sending a gyp-y one.
Well, time to chip away at the mountain of laundry....
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
just another wednesday afternoon....
This morning, after getting the children cheerily onto the school bus, except for Suzanne who did not have one single shirt to wear...and do the two children who went on the second bus because they did not wake in time for the first bus count as "cheerily"? The only excuse the school will take for a legal excuse is that the children are sick, which makes no sense, because why would they go on second bus trip, to school, if they are sick? But I guess it is just plain illegal to oversleep or miss the bus because you left your sneakers at the other door or because your little sister is in the shower in the bathroom where your toothbrush is.
Anyway, this morning I cheerfully left the house at 9:00 am to bring Ashley to take her college placement test. The roads were not great, and I of course had plenty to do here, but life is short, and if we are only happy and kind and nice when we are doing things we really want to do, then people like me would be pretty sorry to be around. After I dropped her off, I went to Rite-Aid. I found a few treats for the kids for 75% off, and some lotions for the girls for 75% off (Nivea is so nice!), and even a few strings of lights for next year. Then I headed up to the college, because we thought it would be about an hour....well, it was another two hours.....I waited there, because the roads are awful, and I thought the whole time she would be out any minute now....so for two hours, I read receipts in my purse, ate the three pieces of candy someone left on my van the other day (I THINK it was my cousin I saw in the store....), looked at the pictures I carry in my purse, listened to Glen Beck, and even some of El-Rushbo. The van was mighty low on gas, so I turned it on and off a few times, it is only about 18 degrees outside, brr.
And finally she texted me and was coming out....we were starving, so we went to McD's for hot coffee and some lunch....then to Walgreen's to print out some wedding pictures...then to Walmart to get some carrots and celery and cucumbers and two boxes of crackers. I can't remember ever spending only $13 in Walmart....then back to Walgreens to pick up the pictures. Ashley bought a Lindt chocolate bar for the ride home.....and it was a good ride home....
Well....home again home again, jiggity gig. I could not back into the driveway because there was too much snow. I tried, and it started getting stuck....so I parked on the side of the road, and Ashley and Mirielle shoveled part of the driveway for almost an hour, now Kathryn and Aaron are having a turn. Then Aaron is going to park the van for me...thankfully the snowplow had just come before we got home...because if it comes when one is parked in the road, it honks and honks 'til the vehicle is moved....and if the vehicle won't go into driveway, what would one do?
So I am thankful today for people who can shovel...if it were me alone, blah....
The girls were very naughty today when I was gone, although Camille Anaya steadfastly maintains that, "I did not do that, Mom." They dumped out three boxes of cereal for Rosie, then somehow got it all over the livingroom. It isn't just the crumbs in the corners, it is the waste of the new SpecialK with Berries, the huge-o bag from the huge-o box from B.J.s....wah. Suzanne was here with them, and Mirielle. Suze gave them a time-out.
The driveway is now clear! Thank you, guys!
The second trip kids will be home soon now....
Anyway, this morning I cheerfully left the house at 9:00 am to bring Ashley to take her college placement test. The roads were not great, and I of course had plenty to do here, but life is short, and if we are only happy and kind and nice when we are doing things we really want to do, then people like me would be pretty sorry to be around. After I dropped her off, I went to Rite-Aid. I found a few treats for the kids for 75% off, and some lotions for the girls for 75% off (Nivea is so nice!), and even a few strings of lights for next year. Then I headed up to the college, because we thought it would be about an hour....well, it was another two hours.....I waited there, because the roads are awful, and I thought the whole time she would be out any minute now....so for two hours, I read receipts in my purse, ate the three pieces of candy someone left on my van the other day (I THINK it was my cousin I saw in the store....), looked at the pictures I carry in my purse, listened to Glen Beck, and even some of El-Rushbo. The van was mighty low on gas, so I turned it on and off a few times, it is only about 18 degrees outside, brr.
And finally she texted me and was coming out....we were starving, so we went to McD's for hot coffee and some lunch....then to Walgreen's to print out some wedding pictures...then to Walmart to get some carrots and celery and cucumbers and two boxes of crackers. I can't remember ever spending only $13 in Walmart....then back to Walgreens to pick up the pictures. Ashley bought a Lindt chocolate bar for the ride home.....and it was a good ride home....
Well....home again home again, jiggity gig. I could not back into the driveway because there was too much snow. I tried, and it started getting stuck....so I parked on the side of the road, and Ashley and Mirielle shoveled part of the driveway for almost an hour, now Kathryn and Aaron are having a turn. Then Aaron is going to park the van for me...thankfully the snowplow had just come before we got home...because if it comes when one is parked in the road, it honks and honks 'til the vehicle is moved....and if the vehicle won't go into driveway, what would one do?
So I am thankful today for people who can shovel...if it were me alone, blah....
The girls were very naughty today when I was gone, although Camille Anaya steadfastly maintains that, "I did not do that, Mom." They dumped out three boxes of cereal for Rosie, then somehow got it all over the livingroom. It isn't just the crumbs in the corners, it is the waste of the new SpecialK with Berries, the huge-o bag from the huge-o box from B.J.s....wah. Suzanne was here with them, and Mirielle. Suze gave them a time-out.
The driveway is now clear! Thank you, guys!
The second trip kids will be home soon now....
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