1. On the trip, Emily would frequently remind me of what would be waiting for me when I got home...and I am not talking about the kids and Paul and how nice it would be to see them.( you know, the dishes and the laundry and the picking up and things to straighten out...) She would say, "Mom, remember, when you get home, you can clean the living room..."
2. On the trip, Aaron and Joseph were precious. They are 19 and 18, and they are different. They like different music, and are just different. But they respect each other, and get along just amazingly. They both seem to think the same things are funny. It's hard to explain, but there is just a good spirit there, no malice towards each other at all. Just this one facet of the trip made it worth it....seeing these two boys together.
3. On the trip, I appreciated Abigail. She was voted The Best Driver. She cut the most minutes off the Estimated Time of Arrival on the GPS, and she handled the van carefully at the same time. She would always get up early and enjoy breakfast with me, and she would always think of the lazy siblings still sleeping, and get them some food. She can laugh at herself, and at me, but she is very thoughtful.
4. On the trip, Ashley got to know us well. And she doesn't hate us. The boys treat her just like one of their sisters. (they even started calling her, "your majesty", and "the princess"...) She fits in nicely.
5. On the trip, we were in close quarters for the whole time. So there were a lot of "don't looks", as in, "I am getting changed over here..." I mean, six people staying in one hotel room...which could have won a prize for being Slobbed Up, as I call it.
6. On the trip, we didn't want to eat all junk, so we went to the Lawton Walmart Supercenter and bought green peppers and carrots and cheese....we also had strawberries and some fresh fruit. That was our dinner for two nights, as we tried to balance out the trips to El Chico and Buffalo Wild Wings.
7. On the trip, much junk WAS consumed, as we had pretzel M&M's, peanut M&M's, Skittles in the van. And peanuts. And pita chips. No potato chips though. And mostly water to drink. And plenty of coffees.
8. On the trip, we noticed that this country is overflowing with McDonalds. We lost count, but they are everywhere. And the coffee is always cheap there, and always good. Drinking a lot of coffee is a must when one has to drive and stay up all night, but it makes for having to stop for bathroom breaks all the more....which in turn gives opportunity to Get a Coffee....
9. On the trip, we decided we will never drive this far again. 48 hours in the van in one week, not including the hours we spent driving around Lawton to pick up Ben and go to Walmart three times and also Kmart and the music store and the park....48 hours is 96 half-hours...that is 192 fifteen minuteses. It is too long. Especially since we drove all night long both ways and Missouri was just dark hills. Although we did see The Candy Factory (Emily wouldn't stop) and a billboard for The Vacuum Cleaner Museum, which my sister wants to go to.
10. On the trip, we heard people talk funny. In the Starbucks in Oklahoma, the guy behind the counter swore he had "never met a Canadiennnne", which we took to mean a "Canadian", as in a person from Canada. We are not Canadian, but in his mind, we are very close to that big country. He added that we had probably never met any Mexicans, and that he knew several. Wrong, but okay. The waitress in Buffalo Wild Wings said she wants to go to New York just once in her life just to see all the buildings. When I told her I have lived there all my life and never gone to the NYC, she couldn't believe it. And yes, she talked funny. Hilariously funny. But we enjoyed the differences, and really enjoyed the niceness that is the norm down there. The cashier in Kmart was ready to invite us over to dinner. I would have a good old time living down there.
11. On the trip, I learned that my kids, although they tease me about my driving and and laugh at me, they love me. In Starbucks one lovely evening, Joseph got up and gave me the comfy chair as I approached the group of them with my latte....(oh yum....) And Aaron, the worse perpetrator of mocking me, all in good fun of course, is actually very respectful.
12. On the trip I discovered that I really like Mexican food. The closest I have had around here is TacoBell. I also tried salsa for the first time, it was homemade, and served with warm chips, oh yum. And the chicken fajitas with avacado...and the rice...and the beans...oh yum. We had an excellent lunch that day. It was just so enjoyable to be with Mr Benjamin...we all sat in a booth, the restaurant was darkish and warmish..(.I slid into the booth first, and wondered all the time how in the heck I was going to get back out...) Ben was required to keep his uniform on at all times in public, so he had to eat tamales or whatever he had, very carefully.
And now I am home. And I have things to do. I have to call the local car-fixer mechanic about Abigail's old car, to get the tire fixed, and send a nice picture of Benjamin to Gramma, and a grocery store trip is in my near future. Last evening, the kids kept asking me when I was going shopping, and I would just ask WHY, very innocently, like I haven't noticed how they cleaned out the food while I was gone....and there is laundry, how strange! I have to unpack my stuff and sweep this livingroom and buy a posterboard for Suzanne's book report for tomorrow and get something for Sonja's snack on Tuesday, and make some calls about getting Aaron's pecoral bar removed before he goes to Norway....oh, Mali got accepted to the nursing school that Emily went to! I am proud of her, only not quite 17 years old, and she got in! It isn't easy to get accepted....Mirielle is on the waiting list, and I am not sure about Aaron....he got a letter but I forgot to ask. I am a terrible mother! So off I go.....
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
home, home again...
And it is very sweet. Except that I am still dizzy from driving for so long. I feel like we are still moving. I don't have my sea-legs, I guess. We drove straight through again, 24+ hours to make it home. We were supposed to stay out all day yesterday and leave this morning, but after Ben got on that plane to Texas, there seemed no point in hanging around. Other than the fact that it was in the seventies and sunny. But we all knew the long ride we were facing, and unanimously decided to hit the road a day early.
Home is good. Camille is sweet, I missed her hugs and cuddles. Jonathan said he didn't miss me too much. Charlotte Claire missed me. Rosie-The-Bad Dog missed me. She WAS bad when I was gone, too. They forgot about the Garbage Man and left her out on Thursday. So we have lots of garbage now. Paul missed me. We didn't tell them we were coming home. And now....I am tired....
Home is good. Camille is sweet, I missed her hugs and cuddles. Jonathan said he didn't miss me too much. Charlotte Claire missed me. Rosie-The-Bad Dog missed me. She WAS bad when I was gone, too. They forgot about the Garbage Man and left her out on Thursday. So we have lots of garbage now. Paul missed me. We didn't tell them we were coming home. And now....I am tired....
Friday, February 25, 2011
oklahoma...hmm.
Joseph and I shared a pillow on the way here...Ashley and Emily took a turn in the way back...
I didn't really sleep.....I felt like a wide-awake drunk, whatever that feels like....
Indiana, ten at night...we had been traveling for almost nine hours....
Abigail
Emily
Joseph, 19 and Aaron, 18....they are such good sports...
This picture is for Jonny...if any of you girls at home see this, show it to him.
Abigail
The soldiers before being "released to their families..."
Mr. Benjamin and Mrs. Ashley...she was SO happy to see him....we all were.
What a day we had yesterday! We brought Benjamin out to lunch. He got to pick anywhere he wanted, so he chose Buffalo Wild Wings. I thought it was funny that the waitress had never been to Buffalo, or even New York. She assumed: New York=tall buildings. I told her I have never been to the Big City, we live in rural country...farmland. Rolling hills with cows, then suburbs and small cities...
Joseph, 19 and Aaron, 18....they are such good sports...
This picture is for Jonny...if any of you girls at home see this, show it to him.
Abigail
The soldiers before being "released to their families..."
Mr. Benjamin and Mrs. Ashley...she was SO happy to see him....we all were.
What a day we had yesterday! We brought Benjamin out to lunch. He got to pick anywhere he wanted, so he chose Buffalo Wild Wings. I thought it was funny that the waitress had never been to Buffalo, or even New York. She assumed: New York=tall buildings. I told her I have never been to the Big City, we live in rural country...farmland. Rolling hills with cows, then suburbs and small cities...We had wings that were not exactly real Buffalo wings. Ben has matured so much. It was good to be with him. We had to have him back at base by 9:00pm. We got there with a bit of time to spare, so he brought us up to show us "the bay"...it is just like in the movies, with all the bunks lined up, covered in those awful green army blankets. There were guys in uniform everywhere, it was great fun to meet Ben's buddies.
Yesterday we went to a park....Joseph and Aaron kicked around a soccer ball while Emily and Abigail and I went for a walk. The landscape is so different here, so flat. I love how there is just so much sky. It is nice to walk on grass, though, it has been months since we have had that pleasure back home in New York. It will be a long time still, because it will be all mush and mud when all that snow melts. Central New York state is getting blasted with snow, once again. 5 to ten inches. I guess I won't complain that it is only fifty degrees here today....(it is supposed to be 75 and partly sunny tomorrow, hurrah!)
In an hour or so, after Joseph and Aaron and Emily and Ashley get back from Starbucks, which is conveniently located right across the street, we shall go to the Graduation. After that, we get Benjamin until nine tonight again...then I am pretty sure they ship tomorrow morning for their training places....Texas, for Benjamin for Combat Medic Training.
Guilty...guilty because Mirielle is home watching the kids....guilty because we had a wonderful hotel breakfast again this morning with no effort besides getting up and taking a long hot shower first....we did scrimp last evening and have a healthy dinner of green peppers and baby carrots and grapes and microwave popcorn and peanut M&M's. That IS healthy, right?
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
waaay tooo long in the van!!!
From New York to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, then Oklahoma...where the dirt is red, the leaves are crumpled and brown but still attached to the trees, and the people talk...well, they talk funny. Of course the guy at the QuickyMart in Missouri had quite the accent, too. He told us that this year they were hit the hardest with snow since 1912! He said they had almost up to here!, which was less than two feet. He looked a little bit like Yosemite Sam, but he sure was a nice fellow.
Riding in the van....oh my goodness....we drove and drove and drove...Emily and Joseph and Abigail and Aaron tried to beat the "estimated time of arrival" on the GPS by going fast. That isn't too hard when the speed limits are 70 and 75 mph. But Missouri was hard...sleet then rain, darkness, and curvy hilly roads...Emily tried, but the van kept hitting the ridges at the sides....and that would "wake" me up.
My kids now hate me. I did not sleep on the way down, all 24 hours of the trip. Okay, I had like five five minute naps. But I could not stay asleep. No, I was certain that if I did, whoever who was driving would fall asleep and careen off the road or into a truck..
We stopped alot. We just aren't on the same bathroom schedule. And we needed lots of coffee....which didn't help in the Stopping at Every Rest Stop part....but we HAD to stay awake. Although my kids kept telling ME to go to sleep. They said it was annoying how I would ask them if they were okay every ten minutes. Well, I didn't want them to go to sleep!!! Oh well. We made it here somehow. Starbucks and McCafe's and caramel creams helped. (we stopped at a grocery store in Indiana because the GPS led us there in our search for Starbucks...(mostly Aaron)...and it was closed...dark and closed...so we bought some little cups of cold fruit, it was so good and refreshing....)(but the grapefruit was $3.99 for an 18pound bag!! I wanted to get some, but they wouldn't let me....)
I am delirously tired...we have swam and sunned...oh my goodness, it was actually warm and sunny today! We all got some color, and it felt wonderful! There is a patio with lounge chairs outside, connected to the indoor pool....it was heavenly.
We were hungry, so we drove around this big flat town and found some chicken wings, and some pizza.....and brought it back here to our hotel....right now, Ashley is listening to music in the foyer, Joe and Emily are reading, Aaron is on his computer, Abigail is playing solitaire...it is quiet and restful....
We get to see Ben tomorrow....I hope we all sleep tonight...we are exhausted.
(and Happy Birthday to Suzanne!!! You are my little sweetiepie!) I miss the kids terribly already, and Paul too...it felt weird to be driving away from him....
Riding in the van....oh my goodness....we drove and drove and drove...Emily and Joseph and Abigail and Aaron tried to beat the "estimated time of arrival" on the GPS by going fast. That isn't too hard when the speed limits are 70 and 75 mph. But Missouri was hard...sleet then rain, darkness, and curvy hilly roads...Emily tried, but the van kept hitting the ridges at the sides....and that would "wake" me up.
My kids now hate me. I did not sleep on the way down, all 24 hours of the trip. Okay, I had like five five minute naps. But I could not stay asleep. No, I was certain that if I did, whoever who was driving would fall asleep and careen off the road or into a truck..
We stopped alot. We just aren't on the same bathroom schedule. And we needed lots of coffee....which didn't help in the Stopping at Every Rest Stop part....but we HAD to stay awake. Although my kids kept telling ME to go to sleep. They said it was annoying how I would ask them if they were okay every ten minutes. Well, I didn't want them to go to sleep!!! Oh well. We made it here somehow. Starbucks and McCafe's and caramel creams helped. (we stopped at a grocery store in Indiana because the GPS led us there in our search for Starbucks...(mostly Aaron)...and it was closed...dark and closed...so we bought some little cups of cold fruit, it was so good and refreshing....)(but the grapefruit was $3.99 for an 18pound bag!! I wanted to get some, but they wouldn't let me....)
I am delirously tired...we have swam and sunned...oh my goodness, it was actually warm and sunny today! We all got some color, and it felt wonderful! There is a patio with lounge chairs outside, connected to the indoor pool....it was heavenly.
We were hungry, so we drove around this big flat town and found some chicken wings, and some pizza.....and brought it back here to our hotel....right now, Ashley is listening to music in the foyer, Joe and Emily are reading, Aaron is on his computer, Abigail is playing solitaire...it is quiet and restful....
We get to see Ben tomorrow....I hope we all sleep tonight...we are exhausted.
(and Happy Birthday to Suzanne!!! You are my little sweetiepie!) I miss the kids terribly already, and Paul too...it felt weird to be driving away from him....
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
off we go!!!
We are taking off in three hours. Today I have been tying up all the loose ends, like charging my phone so I can pack the charger, and brushing my hair so I can pack the hairbrush....as I brushed through my nice clean long tangly hair this morning, Mirielle asked me if she could please cut it...I hesitated, and before I knew it, she had the measuring tape in her hands....she said she could cut off a foot of hair, and it would still be long....I HAVE been getting sick and tired of brushing through the tangles...so, since it is her birthday, I let her play hair salon. She said if I REALLY let her play hair salon, my hair wouldn't just be cut...hmm...blonde?
Anyway, my hair is shorter and lighter, the registration and insurance cards ARE in the minivan glove-compartment, I am all packed and ready to go. Mirielle has to go to the bank to get some money for doing things with the kids when we are gone. She is taking them to Pizza Hut this afternoon to redeem their pizza coupons for school. She is also planning fun things for the rest of the week, like movies (there is a theatre not too far from here that charges only $1.75 for second run movies....), and possibly ice skating. I am thinking they will have a nice vacation, but ouchie for me. I am getting sadder about leaving....
Oh no, a monkey wrench...Mirielle just called me from the driveway, she checked the date on the van registration, it expired last July....how can that be? I think I am going to have to take a quick trip to the small city....blah.
Anyway, my hair is shorter and lighter, the registration and insurance cards ARE in the minivan glove-compartment, I am all packed and ready to go. Mirielle has to go to the bank to get some money for doing things with the kids when we are gone. She is taking them to Pizza Hut this afternoon to redeem their pizza coupons for school. She is also planning fun things for the rest of the week, like movies (there is a theatre not too far from here that charges only $1.75 for second run movies....), and possibly ice skating. I am thinking they will have a nice vacation, but ouchie for me. I am getting sadder about leaving....
Oh no, a monkey wrench...Mirielle just called me from the driveway, she checked the date on the van registration, it expired last July....how can that be? I think I am going to have to take a quick trip to the small city....blah.
Monday, February 21, 2011
no school monday!!!!
my little princess like to wear their pretty dresses around the house...and since these two are seemingly the last in a long line of princesses here, they are allowed to....because mommy has watched her children grow too fast...grow up and grow out of clothes...(we still have Bye-Bye clothes that we keep neat for going out and about....and school clothes, that aren't worn around the house....but the pretty dresses are meant to be worn! )Here is Princess Camille.....
Princess Charlotte Claire...
Suzanne Eleanor's birthday party...she got to sit in the pink chair....
Jonathan looked a bit out of place...
Samuel was at his friend's house, Aaron at work, and Joseph with his cousin playing video games.
Princess Charlotte Claire...
Suzanne Eleanor's birthday party...she got to sit in the pink chair....
Jonathan looked a bit out of place...
Samuel was at his friend's house, Aaron at work, and Joseph with his cousin playing video games.
Evelyn and Abigail......Emily came over later.
Camille...I always feel a tiny bit sorry for the littler ones at birthday parties...all the presents! I got nice little blankets for all the little girls....(75% valentines day stuff) and they got gift bags with some candy...
Mirielle took pictures with Aaron's nice camera....
And here is the cake! Suzanne isn't turning three, I just couldn't put ten candles on an ice cream sundae. There were three kinds of ice cream, homemade whipped cream, hot fudge, caramel topping, and sprinkles. And cherries. They could have as much as they wanted.....
Suze....
Mirielle Joy got a few presents too, her birthday is tomorrow. She is turning 21! Jonathan wrapped her gifts for me, in aluminum foil. She got dark chocolate covered almonds, and a perfume set. I told her I would also give her twenty bucks...she said I didn't have to...I said I would anyway. She is such a nice girl...a nice girl who will KILL me if she sees this picture of her....(don't you feel a teeny bit sorry for Camille?)
Phew.....birthday parties are tiring....after serving that pizza and salad and soda to like twenty people.....then cleaning up the mess, a little bit anyway...it was ice cream sundae time...it was fun though. The girls really like to dance so the living room was all cleaned up, the floor shined and ready for dancing. At one point, Paul was in our room with his computer. It was pretty noisy.
Camille...I always feel a tiny bit sorry for the littler ones at birthday parties...all the presents! I got nice little blankets for all the little girls....(75% valentines day stuff) and they got gift bags with some candy...
Mirielle took pictures with Aaron's nice camera....
And here is the cake! Suzanne isn't turning three, I just couldn't put ten candles on an ice cream sundae. There were three kinds of ice cream, homemade whipped cream, hot fudge, caramel topping, and sprinkles. And cherries. They could have as much as they wanted.....
Suze....
Mirielle Joy got a few presents too, her birthday is tomorrow. She is turning 21! Jonathan wrapped her gifts for me, in aluminum foil. She got dark chocolate covered almonds, and a perfume set. I told her I would also give her twenty bucks...she said I didn't have to...I said I would anyway. She is such a nice girl...a nice girl who will KILL me if she sees this picture of her....(don't you feel a teeny bit sorry for Camille?)
Phew.....birthday parties are tiring....after serving that pizza and salad and soda to like twenty people.....then cleaning up the mess, a little bit anyway...it was ice cream sundae time...it was fun though. The girls really like to dance so the living room was all cleaned up, the floor shined and ready for dancing. At one point, Paul was in our room with his computer. It was pretty noisy. Today they are all home, there are two cousins here too, and one friend. Mirielle and Joseph have classes, Paul has work, but the rest are here. Aaron is going snowboarding, and I have a date with Abigail this afternoon....we are going to the store for dogfood and milk and some fruits and veggies, and stuff for sandwiches and drinks for our trip.
I haven't packed a thing yet, and we are leaving tomorrow. I need to remember my bathing suit for the hotel pool...yay, and my phone charger, and I have to make sure I have the registration and the insurance card for the minvan...it is required to get onto the military base. And my camera...and battery charger... And I have to remember to get new sunglasses for driving...my nice Dominican Republic sunglasses, which I actually paid three bucks for instead of getting them at the dollar store (they were marked down from $12, nice Foster Grants...) snapped in two on that freezing cold day.....I put them on my nice warm face, and SNAP. rrr. Usually the kids break them....or they disapear into the land of missing socks....
The girls have their candy bags out...after breakfast treats...Rosie is lying there begging.....she won't jump on them or try to take anything aggressively, but she does lie there hopefully, wagging her tail and looking cute....and if they drop anything, it is GONE.
I have clothes to get out of the dryer...and countless other things to take care of....
Sunday, February 20, 2011
birthday party day...
blah, getting ready for a party is tiring! I worked for three hours straight, and am taking a quick break before the guests arrive, in like ten minutes. I have vacuumed and swept and mopped and shine and scrubbed those chicken wings pans, which took way too long. I fed kids breakfast and gave them "tea" again, hot tea with tons of sugar.....and pear slices and cheddar cheese and Sunchips and Triscuits. They cleaned up the mess while I mopped....they also cleaned windows for me. And dusted tables and shelves. The older girls are home from their conference now, they brought Bethany with them. And cousin Luke is here, too.....if Em and Ab come over for pizza, we shall have a full house.....
We are making pizzas. The girls will get to make their own, which is fun...too bad I didn't have ten times more patience, then it would REALLY be fun. I wouldn't have to grin and bear it and bite my tongue so much....but it is a work in progress. I can't just wait until I have buckets full, then do these things...no, it is through suffering that we get it.
I need to make a quick trip to the little grocery store where Aaron works. Because Suzanne wants ice cream sundaes instead of a birthday cake. Fine with me....so I have to go buy ice cream and hot fudge and maybe some cherries....and more cheese for the pizzas....already! I bought fifteen pounds of mozzarella a few weeks ago....
I need to go brush my long tangly hair quick, and take Rosie-the-Bad dog out for a little run before the girls get here....oh great, she is already on a run...she took off when Aaron so nicely took her out...rrrr.
We are making pizzas. The girls will get to make their own, which is fun...too bad I didn't have ten times more patience, then it would REALLY be fun. I wouldn't have to grin and bear it and bite my tongue so much....but it is a work in progress. I can't just wait until I have buckets full, then do these things...no, it is through suffering that we get it.
I need to make a quick trip to the little grocery store where Aaron works. Because Suzanne wants ice cream sundaes instead of a birthday cake. Fine with me....so I have to go buy ice cream and hot fudge and maybe some cherries....and more cheese for the pizzas....already! I bought fifteen pounds of mozzarella a few weeks ago....
I need to go brush my long tangly hair quick, and take Rosie-the-Bad dog out for a little run before the girls get here....oh great, she is already on a run...she took off when Aaron so nicely took her out...rrrr.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
a breather...
phew...what a day. I stayed home all day...with Samuel and Evelyn and Suzanne and Sonja and Jonathan and Charlotte Claire and Camille and their cousin Olivia. It hasn't been a difficult day, nor a bad day. But busy. I was nice and let Char and Camille help wrap Suzanne's birthday presents. She won't mind if a few of them look awful. They liked helping SO much. Suze is getting a whole pile of presents because I shopped at the dollar store...pencils and markers and sticky notes and push-pins (kids love to hang things on their walls. ruins the walls, but....)paper and watercolors and paintbrushes, a few bracelets and a couple of necklaces. Then the little girls left my room and Evelyn helped me fill the goody bags.
I took Rosie out a few times, it now about 18 degrees but the wind has died down a bit.
We had chicken soup and biscuits for lunch....then a few hours later we had tea, all of us except for Sam. He said we were being idiots, I don't know why....doesn't everyone put make chocolate mustaches with their cookies? We also had some leftover Hershey valentine kisses and some super-yummy chocolates I got at Aldi after Christmas. After the littler kids got down from the table, Olivia and Evelyn and Jonathan and Suze and I played in the candles....I spooned the hot wax onto the table and they dipped their fingers in it....we made a pretty big mess, but it was fun...then Camille got it into her head that she wanted to watch Cayou, and I just didn't want them sitting in front of the tv, so I suggested the older kids help her set up dollhouse stuff....now the whole livingroom is set up. Jonathan has an airport and a truckstop.....Evelyn and Olivia have a huge house set up......uh-oh, Jonathan crashed a minivan into their house....
Sonja is playing Wii dance....and it is time for dinner....I made chicken wings. Barbecue, and Buffalo hot wings. And two trays of garlic bread. And celery and carrots....it is all ready to eat, I just wanted to take a breather and not interrupt their nice dollhouse play....so off we go for a nice cozy dinner.....
I took Rosie out a few times, it now about 18 degrees but the wind has died down a bit.
We had chicken soup and biscuits for lunch....then a few hours later we had tea, all of us except for Sam. He said we were being idiots, I don't know why....doesn't everyone put make chocolate mustaches with their cookies? We also had some leftover Hershey valentine kisses and some super-yummy chocolates I got at Aldi after Christmas. After the littler kids got down from the table, Olivia and Evelyn and Jonathan and Suze and I played in the candles....I spooned the hot wax onto the table and they dipped their fingers in it....we made a pretty big mess, but it was fun...then Camille got it into her head that she wanted to watch Cayou, and I just didn't want them sitting in front of the tv, so I suggested the older kids help her set up dollhouse stuff....now the whole livingroom is set up. Jonathan has an airport and a truckstop.....Evelyn and Olivia have a huge house set up......uh-oh, Jonathan crashed a minivan into their house....
Sonja is playing Wii dance....and it is time for dinner....I made chicken wings. Barbecue, and Buffalo hot wings. And two trays of garlic bread. And celery and carrots....it is all ready to eat, I just wanted to take a breather and not interrupt their nice dollhouse play....so off we go for a nice cozy dinner.....
blizzard?
That MAY be too strong a word....but if you live in right in the middle of New York state right now, or perhaps up towards the lake, near Oswego.....the word isn't too strong. The wind right now is 29 mph, with much higher gusts....temperature: 21 degrees and falling into the teens by evening. With snow. Blowing and gusting snow. I cannot see across the street right now. It is bitterly miserably cold. And since we don't just let Rosie-The-Bad-Dog out by herself, that means that I get to enjoy the weather not just from the windows....
Now that I am actually leaving in a few days for our trip to Oklahoma, I am hesitant to leave the kids. Mirielle is staying here and giving her spot to Joseph, which is a good thing....because she is just plain better with the house and kids. She will make sure they have a good vacation. She is already planning a trip to PizzaHut to use their Bookit coupons from school. She is also planning to take them ice skating. She might also take them to the Rec center to swim, and to the library. Her brothers say she is happy about staying home with the younger ones because she likes to have control....(they used the term Control Freak, sorry Mirielle...)this seem logical. I won't be there, she can do things as she likes. She is a sink-scrubber/tub scrubber, she hangs clothes dry instead of throwing them in the dryer, she likes to cook and serve healthy meals, she won't let the kids have cereal for lunch. She doles out the chores and makes sure they do them. She absolutely will not let them park in front of the television for any length of time. She also has a soft heart and gives them the time of day. So I am assured that they will be fine without me, it's just that I don't know if I will be fine without them......
Well,,,,being that it is Saturday morning, I should sign off and give the kids the time of day myself....Evelyn wants to chat. Paul just came in from clearing the driveway...he asked Jon why he went back in the house so quickly....Jon said, "My forehead bone was freezing."
There is waffletown, dollhouse, a car-rug with at least 40 cars, Playmobil pieces, tons of Barbies, two Sit'n Spins, a LittleTikes tractor trailer, some stuffed doggies, a few baby dolls...a pile of notebooks and a Nerf gun...oh, and a Hess truck...all on my livingroom floor. It is my own fault, I remember clearly saying when we were building this house, "no toys in the livingroom, ever!" ha.
Now that I am actually leaving in a few days for our trip to Oklahoma, I am hesitant to leave the kids. Mirielle is staying here and giving her spot to Joseph, which is a good thing....because she is just plain better with the house and kids. She will make sure they have a good vacation. She is already planning a trip to PizzaHut to use their Bookit coupons from school. She is also planning to take them ice skating. She might also take them to the Rec center to swim, and to the library. Her brothers say she is happy about staying home with the younger ones because she likes to have control....(they used the term Control Freak, sorry Mirielle...)this seem logical. I won't be there, she can do things as she likes. She is a sink-scrubber/tub scrubber, she hangs clothes dry instead of throwing them in the dryer, she likes to cook and serve healthy meals, she won't let the kids have cereal for lunch. She doles out the chores and makes sure they do them. She absolutely will not let them park in front of the television for any length of time. She also has a soft heart and gives them the time of day. So I am assured that they will be fine without me, it's just that I don't know if I will be fine without them......
Well,,,,being that it is Saturday morning, I should sign off and give the kids the time of day myself....Evelyn wants to chat. Paul just came in from clearing the driveway...he asked Jon why he went back in the house so quickly....Jon said, "My forehead bone was freezing."
There is waffletown, dollhouse, a car-rug with at least 40 cars, Playmobil pieces, tons of Barbies, two Sit'n Spins, a LittleTikes tractor trailer, some stuffed doggies, a few baby dolls...a pile of notebooks and a Nerf gun...oh, and a Hess truck...all on my livingroom floor. It is my own fault, I remember clearly saying when we were building this house, "no toys in the livingroom, ever!" ha.
Friday, February 18, 2011
friday again...
Friday! I love Fridays! Just the promise of the weekend is so exciting. This weekend, all the older girls (12 and up) will be at the Young Sister's conference. Then Paul and the boys will be working the Dome tomorrow. Then Sunday, Suze's birthday party.
The exciting part? Well....having time with Paul, mostly. And it IS pretty exciting that I am going to eye appointments with Aaron and Mali and Sam and Margaret.....Ashley is going too. Aaron and Mali ....they don't care who is around, they try on all the "old man" glasses and hunch over and make faces. And they are surprised that the people there know us. Sam insists he wants the "goggle" glasses this time. They are for snowboarding, or skiing...but he says he would wear them everyday. I am not caving on this, he is not getting them.
So...I am not calling the SPCA about Rosie today. Naw, that was just the lazy exasperated Me speaking. I know I have to work with this dog more, the Treat When She Comes To Me idea is something I have done occasionally, but need to do every single time.....she is not a stupid dog, although some of my kids would argue that. They say to me, "She is not real!!!" Because I do tend to treat her a bit like one of the children sometimes....yeah, I hug her and talk to her. And I know she is a sheepdog, so she has a strong herding instinct.
It is beautiful out here in Central New York State this morning, even though the skies are gray. Almost fifty degrees. The snow is shrinking a bit, the ice is melting...there is dripping from the poor roof...there have been SO many roofs collapsing around here because of the snow...we have had I think 130+ inches...and with no thaw for two months, it just piled up and piled up....the yard is going to be mush when this stuff melts. But alas, it won't be anytime soon. It is freezing up again tonight with MORE SNOW. The forecast: it isn't getting over freezing at all through next week....and the Oklahoma forecast, blah, beautiful and warm and sunny.....but by Saturday and Sunday, only in the fifties. Now, I am not sneezing at fifty degrees and sunny. But....70 would be almost therapeutic right about now....
What would also be therapeutic would be a beautifully clean house....I fight, it fights back, it wins. I get sick of fighting....then every once in a while I decide that if I just put in tons of effort, I will prevail! The house will get clean and sparkly...so I work...and even if I do get things all nice...blah, the next day it looks like I never lifted a finger. Sometimes the kids also feel the hopelessness of these efforts, and ask me why we bother....I tell them that if we didn't, it would get horrible in here instead of just messy. I couldn't stand that.
Blah!! My last drink of coffee went right back into the cup...sorry...full of coffee grounds. Paul is fired! No, I love that he makes that morning pot of coffee. But, blah just the same.
Suzanne is still home, she had a slight fever again last night, so I made her stay home today. She turned the television on to a building show. So we are watching these guys build a house. They are putting insulation in the ceiling. Why this show is so interesting to her is beyond me, but Miss Charlotte Claire is also transfixed. Uh-oh, I am also now hooked....a California tile distributor....tile made there, tile made so strong that it can be used on decks with no sealants...tiles in every color and style...the owners are picking some out....oh, I want to remodel now.. and now I am distracted....
The exciting part? Well....having time with Paul, mostly. And it IS pretty exciting that I am going to eye appointments with Aaron and Mali and Sam and Margaret.....Ashley is going too. Aaron and Mali ....they don't care who is around, they try on all the "old man" glasses and hunch over and make faces. And they are surprised that the people there know us. Sam insists he wants the "goggle" glasses this time. They are for snowboarding, or skiing...but he says he would wear them everyday. I am not caving on this, he is not getting them.
So...I am not calling the SPCA about Rosie today. Naw, that was just the lazy exasperated Me speaking. I know I have to work with this dog more, the Treat When She Comes To Me idea is something I have done occasionally, but need to do every single time.....she is not a stupid dog, although some of my kids would argue that. They say to me, "She is not real!!!" Because I do tend to treat her a bit like one of the children sometimes....yeah, I hug her and talk to her. And I know she is a sheepdog, so she has a strong herding instinct.
It is beautiful out here in Central New York State this morning, even though the skies are gray. Almost fifty degrees. The snow is shrinking a bit, the ice is melting...there is dripping from the poor roof...there have been SO many roofs collapsing around here because of the snow...we have had I think 130+ inches...and with no thaw for two months, it just piled up and piled up....the yard is going to be mush when this stuff melts. But alas, it won't be anytime soon. It is freezing up again tonight with MORE SNOW. The forecast: it isn't getting over freezing at all through next week....and the Oklahoma forecast, blah, beautiful and warm and sunny.....but by Saturday and Sunday, only in the fifties. Now, I am not sneezing at fifty degrees and sunny. But....70 would be almost therapeutic right about now....
What would also be therapeutic would be a beautifully clean house....I fight, it fights back, it wins. I get sick of fighting....then every once in a while I decide that if I just put in tons of effort, I will prevail! The house will get clean and sparkly...so I work...and even if I do get things all nice...blah, the next day it looks like I never lifted a finger. Sometimes the kids also feel the hopelessness of these efforts, and ask me why we bother....I tell them that if we didn't, it would get horrible in here instead of just messy. I couldn't stand that.
Blah!! My last drink of coffee went right back into the cup...sorry...full of coffee grounds. Paul is fired! No, I love that he makes that morning pot of coffee. But, blah just the same.
Suzanne is still home, she had a slight fever again last night, so I made her stay home today. She turned the television on to a building show. So we are watching these guys build a house. They are putting insulation in the ceiling. Why this show is so interesting to her is beyond me, but Miss Charlotte Claire is also transfixed. Uh-oh, I am also now hooked....a California tile distributor....tile made there, tile made so strong that it can be used on decks with no sealants...tiles in every color and style...the owners are picking some out....oh, I want to remodel now.. and now I am distracted....
Thursday, February 17, 2011
fun fun fun
How can I describe how exciting it will be to go on this road trip with Emily, 26...and Abigail, 24....and Joseph, 19....and Aaron, 18....and Ashley....(Mirielle is trading her place to Joe because she has a lab she cannot miss). 24 hours in the van with these guys....it is going to be fun!!! We are leaving a day earlier than previously planned, (next Tuesday)and the hotel we already reserved at is full for that night, so I booked a nice room/suite in a different one. A 3star instead of a 2 star....it has an indoor pool AND a hot tub...I thought that since it is the girls' vacation, they would appreciate. Hey, I will appreciate that after all those hours of driving.
So, I am excited about the trip....(seeing Benjamin, too, of course).
But...I am mad mad mad at Rosie-The-Bad-Dog. She is so bad. It isn't all her fault, of course, going with the logic that There is No Such Thing As a Bad Dog, Just A Bad Master. Well, Rosie listens to me in the house. She is actually very good in the house, except if someone steps too close for her comfort, she will do a bark and snap. But once she is outside, she does not listen to me. She will come if Sam, or Aaron, or Joseph, or Paul calls her...but not for me. rrr. So today...she was out guarding the end of the driveway and the girl down the road went for a walk...she had her baby on her back, and her dog on a leash...Rosie chased them and barked at them. The girl called her mom, who called me, so I went out to get Rosie...she would NOT come to me. I went all the way down the road.....she just danced out of my reach and continued to harass this poor girl. I could not catch her....I finally called Joseph, who thankfully was at home, and he came out and called Rosie, who went to him right away. Oh, was I mad at that dog. The girl was ticked, and I don't blame her. And I feel like crying still, because I hate it when people are mad at me, and that neighbor girl is MAD. She also told me that one time in the fall, Rosie bit her leg when she was walking by...great. just great. I don't want to go back to tying her up all of the time, ...but I have no choice. She cannot go after people. I actually looked up the number for the SPCA today to call and ask if they want her, but they are closed on Thursdays. rrr. I will have to go back to confining her on the deck, and taking her out only on the leash......I wish we had a fenced in yard....and to think it seemed like such a good idea to get a dog.....(the awful part about it is that I love her to pieces....)
Everyone went to bed. It is quiet in here. I am tired and am heading in myself soon. Tomorrow I have to watch Timmy for a few hours....then take the four kids to the eye dr....and buy some jeans for Sam...and go to the bank, and get the oil changed on the minivan. Then a few things from the store...and home...I am tired already, and it isn't even tomorrow yet.
We are also celebrating a birthday on Sunday....Suzanne Eleanor, my 12th child, is turning ten years old next week. When she was born, Emily was 16....Abigail 14...Benjamin 12, Mirielle 11 (the next day), Joseph 9, Aaron 8, Mali almost 7, Samuel 5, Margaret 4, Kathryn almost 3, and Evelyn 18 months old.... Suze is sick right now with the on/off fever thing, but since Camille just had it and came out of it fine, I am hoping that Suzanne will be fine by Sunday, and that no one else will come down with it, spooking the other mothers away from sending their little girls....
rambling and rambling...means I am too tired...goodnight!
So, I am excited about the trip....(seeing Benjamin, too, of course).
But...I am mad mad mad at Rosie-The-Bad-Dog. She is so bad. It isn't all her fault, of course, going with the logic that There is No Such Thing As a Bad Dog, Just A Bad Master. Well, Rosie listens to me in the house. She is actually very good in the house, except if someone steps too close for her comfort, she will do a bark and snap. But once she is outside, she does not listen to me. She will come if Sam, or Aaron, or Joseph, or Paul calls her...but not for me. rrr. So today...she was out guarding the end of the driveway and the girl down the road went for a walk...she had her baby on her back, and her dog on a leash...Rosie chased them and barked at them. The girl called her mom, who called me, so I went out to get Rosie...she would NOT come to me. I went all the way down the road.....she just danced out of my reach and continued to harass this poor girl. I could not catch her....I finally called Joseph, who thankfully was at home, and he came out and called Rosie, who went to him right away. Oh, was I mad at that dog. The girl was ticked, and I don't blame her. And I feel like crying still, because I hate it when people are mad at me, and that neighbor girl is MAD. She also told me that one time in the fall, Rosie bit her leg when she was walking by...great. just great. I don't want to go back to tying her up all of the time, ...but I have no choice. She cannot go after people. I actually looked up the number for the SPCA today to call and ask if they want her, but they are closed on Thursdays. rrr. I will have to go back to confining her on the deck, and taking her out only on the leash......I wish we had a fenced in yard....and to think it seemed like such a good idea to get a dog.....(the awful part about it is that I love her to pieces....)
Everyone went to bed. It is quiet in here. I am tired and am heading in myself soon. Tomorrow I have to watch Timmy for a few hours....then take the four kids to the eye dr....and buy some jeans for Sam...and go to the bank, and get the oil changed on the minivan. Then a few things from the store...and home...I am tired already, and it isn't even tomorrow yet.
We are also celebrating a birthday on Sunday....Suzanne Eleanor, my 12th child, is turning ten years old next week. When she was born, Emily was 16....Abigail 14...Benjamin 12, Mirielle 11 (the next day), Joseph 9, Aaron 8, Mali almost 7, Samuel 5, Margaret 4, Kathryn almost 3, and Evelyn 18 months old.... Suze is sick right now with the on/off fever thing, but since Camille just had it and came out of it fine, I am hoping that Suzanne will be fine by Sunday, and that no one else will come down with it, spooking the other mothers away from sending their little girls....
rambling and rambling...means I am too tired...goodnight!
i know i am gonna cry...
I just read an article about a group of soldiers returning from deployment and reuniting with their families...I cried just reading it, can't help it. I thought of Ben...and our friend Matt, who has a wife and two daughters under two who is leaving for Afghanistan next month....wah. Then I thought about the upcoming graduation we are attending in Oklahoma...it is a good thing I don't wear mascara or I would be lookin' like a giant raccoon.
I am realizing that I am leaving during the kids' vacation, so I have things to plan. I was thinking of having Sam in charge of Special Treats. And of course making a meal plan. And assigning certain tasks to specific kids. I wish I could split myself in two so I could enjoy the whole week off with these guys, not just the first two days. Wait, in THREE, so one of me could just stay in bed with a good book- and some cookies as long as we're dreaming.
The kids all went to school today except for Suzanne. She came home yesterday with a headache and took a large comfy nap after school. She ate no dinner. Now she is on the couch watching, "The Cat In The Hat" with the two little girls, while they play princess dollies.
Today is a Stay At Home Day. Tomorrow however...four eye exams. Our health insurance is terrible, but for some reason, shh, our vision coverage is wonderful. Totally covered eye exams, glasses, with frames up to $120, every year for kids under 18, every other year for over 18. The only problem is that some of them want contacts AND glasses...so we have to pay out of pocket for that. Anyway, four eye exams at the Sears in the mall....and Samuel needs jeans. He also needs some shirts. I am hoping I hit some good sales.
So on this blog I write about all the mundane and interesting, to me anyway, things that make up my days....I hope it is understood that there are things I cannot write about...things that some of the kids go through, different trials that don't belong out in cyberspace. But I will say this, and if you have teenagers you might understand: It is not easy to hate the sin but love the sinner. When someone does stupid things, makes choices that I would never condone, I get upset. I actually found myself wanting to say, pardon my French, "to HELL with you, then!" But by the grace of God I didn't. There is much turmoil inside when things don't go the way I think they should. rrr. But don't I still need to love? Don't I still need to be kind and good? How is that possible? What do you do if one of your children simply doesn't believe in the bible? Disown them? I know that in all these things, God is still here, still working with me. He knows the beginning and the end of all things, it is just us people who are left guessing. So I shall trust Him and suffer through and hate the spitefulness and bitterness that comes up in me.....anyone can be harsh and demanding....but does that catch flies? (I am just like my mother, mixing up phrases....I was thinking "you catch more flies with honey..."(why the heck would anyone want to Catch Flies though?))
So life ain't all sunshine and roses.......there ARE trials. No one escapes the trials. But just think to believe that they are weighed and measured and NEVER too much! Because that is the truth! "God causes ALL things to work together for the GOOD of those who love Him...." (romans 8) When I think of all that God has to bear with ME, and yet I am so blessed, it encourages me to not be a wimp, to be so much more longsuffering with my kids.
Well, now that I am all encouraged to battle for what is good, I shall apply it in my life. Because otherwise it is just all good feelings....
Yesterday as we were driving along, looking at the snowbanks made gray from all the snowplow dirt...under the gray skies....I told Aaron that I think I could be a sad person, easily. The world is so sad. There is so much suffering. People are miserable. I look around and I could cry at the kids with no mittens on cold days and the old people shuffling from old cars through the slush. The news and the newspapers are full of depressing stories, the abuses and violence and the economy...CNN in the dr. office is just full of doom and gloom. And there is nothing I can do about all those things. But I CAN be faithful in my own life....I can live what I preach, what I believe. 1Timothy 4, 16"Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine, by doing so you will save yourself and those who hear you..." It always comes back to that, to take heed to myself. When the kids are acting up, the first impulse is to straighten them out. But I need to take heed to myself! My anger, my sin...then my dealings with them are pure.
I am thankful today...thankful for God's word, that it is simple and good.....
I am realizing that I am leaving during the kids' vacation, so I have things to plan. I was thinking of having Sam in charge of Special Treats. And of course making a meal plan. And assigning certain tasks to specific kids. I wish I could split myself in two so I could enjoy the whole week off with these guys, not just the first two days. Wait, in THREE, so one of me could just stay in bed with a good book- and some cookies as long as we're dreaming.
The kids all went to school today except for Suzanne. She came home yesterday with a headache and took a large comfy nap after school. She ate no dinner. Now she is on the couch watching, "The Cat In The Hat" with the two little girls, while they play princess dollies.
Today is a Stay At Home Day. Tomorrow however...four eye exams. Our health insurance is terrible, but for some reason, shh, our vision coverage is wonderful. Totally covered eye exams, glasses, with frames up to $120, every year for kids under 18, every other year for over 18. The only problem is that some of them want contacts AND glasses...so we have to pay out of pocket for that. Anyway, four eye exams at the Sears in the mall....and Samuel needs jeans. He also needs some shirts. I am hoping I hit some good sales.
So on this blog I write about all the mundane and interesting, to me anyway, things that make up my days....I hope it is understood that there are things I cannot write about...things that some of the kids go through, different trials that don't belong out in cyberspace. But I will say this, and if you have teenagers you might understand: It is not easy to hate the sin but love the sinner. When someone does stupid things, makes choices that I would never condone, I get upset. I actually found myself wanting to say, pardon my French, "to HELL with you, then!" But by the grace of God I didn't. There is much turmoil inside when things don't go the way I think they should. rrr. But don't I still need to love? Don't I still need to be kind and good? How is that possible? What do you do if one of your children simply doesn't believe in the bible? Disown them? I know that in all these things, God is still here, still working with me. He knows the beginning and the end of all things, it is just us people who are left guessing. So I shall trust Him and suffer through and hate the spitefulness and bitterness that comes up in me.....anyone can be harsh and demanding....but does that catch flies? (I am just like my mother, mixing up phrases....I was thinking "you catch more flies with honey..."(why the heck would anyone want to Catch Flies though?))
So life ain't all sunshine and roses.......there ARE trials. No one escapes the trials. But just think to believe that they are weighed and measured and NEVER too much! Because that is the truth! "God causes ALL things to work together for the GOOD of those who love Him...." (romans 8) When I think of all that God has to bear with ME, and yet I am so blessed, it encourages me to not be a wimp, to be so much more longsuffering with my kids.
Well, now that I am all encouraged to battle for what is good, I shall apply it in my life. Because otherwise it is just all good feelings....
Yesterday as we were driving along, looking at the snowbanks made gray from all the snowplow dirt...under the gray skies....I told Aaron that I think I could be a sad person, easily. The world is so sad. There is so much suffering. People are miserable. I look around and I could cry at the kids with no mittens on cold days and the old people shuffling from old cars through the slush. The news and the newspapers are full of depressing stories, the abuses and violence and the economy...CNN in the dr. office is just full of doom and gloom. And there is nothing I can do about all those things. But I CAN be faithful in my own life....I can live what I preach, what I believe. 1Timothy 4, 16"Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine, by doing so you will save yourself and those who hear you..." It always comes back to that, to take heed to myself. When the kids are acting up, the first impulse is to straighten them out. But I need to take heed to myself! My anger, my sin...then my dealings with them are pure.
I am thankful today...thankful for God's word, that it is simple and good.....
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
jumping on the couch
Not me, Camille. I can almost not bear to make her stop...she has been sick, she is feeling better, and she wants to bounce.
Aaron and I had a nice and fun trip to the dr. The scan confirmed what the dr. thought, Aaron's nose is messed up. He used the words "accordion", and "deviated septum". So, surgery in April before Spring Break.
We took the opportunity to sneak to TimHorton's and get a coffee for me, a vanilla latte for him...and some Timbits...we brought most of them home to the kids....the chocolate ones are so so good....
We didn't need anything from the store, so we went to the Dollar store to get some things for Suzanne's birthday next week....sparkly trinkets and markers and birthday plates and candles.
No roasted chicken dinner tonight, I forgot the kids are going to cleaning at church. So....beef stroganoff.....the kind from the box. Lots of boxes. And fresh asparagus. Chicken tomorrow.
Suzanne is sick now...horrible headache, she says...she is sleeping. Poor girl...
Sonja's Boat project is due on Friday....
Wow...my blog is getting boring....hmm.
Aaron and I had a nice and fun trip to the dr. The scan confirmed what the dr. thought, Aaron's nose is messed up. He used the words "accordion", and "deviated septum". So, surgery in April before Spring Break.
We took the opportunity to sneak to TimHorton's and get a coffee for me, a vanilla latte for him...and some Timbits...we brought most of them home to the kids....the chocolate ones are so so good....
We didn't need anything from the store, so we went to the Dollar store to get some things for Suzanne's birthday next week....sparkly trinkets and markers and birthday plates and candles.
No roasted chicken dinner tonight, I forgot the kids are going to cleaning at church. So....beef stroganoff.....the kind from the box. Lots of boxes. And fresh asparagus. Chicken tomorrow.
Suzanne is sick now...horrible headache, she says...she is sleeping. Poor girl...
Sonja's Boat project is due on Friday....
Wow...my blog is getting boring....hmm.
hump day bump day...
How can one be surrounded by chaos and kids day in/day out and not be at least a little bit crazy? Yesterday I had some time off.....
We needed food....so I called my sister-in-law.....they also needed food at their house. So....I left the two little girls here with Mirielle and Ashley, because Miss Camille wasn't well enough for an adventure. Kim left her two little ones home with their older sisters, and off we went...the two of us rattling around in that great big 15 passenger van like peas in a pod. We had plenty of room for the things we bought at Wegmans, Target, and Price-Chopper. We also took advantage of being kidless by having a yummy little lunch at Wegmans....they have a "wokery", and the Chinese food is pretty good. Pretty expensive though. ouch. But we had small portions (it is sold by the pound), and ice water with it....and we relaxed.....at Price-Chopper, there was a coupon for six free donuts...the cheapy-cake-kind....well, there were none on the shelf...and I overheard a lady asking about something and being told to just take six from the case...so I wandered over and asked the bakery man..and he directed me over to the case to pick out six...wow! Six really nice FREE donuts! After packing all of our groceries into the van in the freezing cold, we went through the McD's drivethrough and got two large hot coffees for the long ride home...and yes, we each had a donut. The remaining four I gave to my niece when I dropped Kim and her groceries off at her house. (it is rather cruel to give four donuts to a child with eleven siblings....)
Home with the groceries...the girls were leaving for girls' fellowship...Paul was making dinner. Rats, I was hoping they had already eaten...(I wasn't very hungry, for some reason....)
It was nice to sit at the table with ten of them, anyway. Eating together is a good way to hear about each other's day, and hopefully teach some manners along the way....
One child missed the bus this morning, one Miss Sonja Kathleen. There were many reasons for this, and she almost could have made it, but she was only two spoonfuls into her bowl of Reeses' Puffs, and she had no socks on yet....the stupid bus came five minutes early. rrr. Sonja looked at me with that caught-in-the-headlights look, so I just said, "you can just stay home." Jonny was protesting loudly that that was NOT FAIR as he headed down the deck steps.
Aaron has a dr. appointment this afternoon. I have to go pick him up at school....blah. He has to go the ear/nose/throat dr. about his allergy tests, and to have a CT scan of his nose for the surgery. I don't mind though. I have enjoyed his appointments because it gives us some time together. He is eighteen years old, he goes to school and works, and I don't just take time with him for granted.
When kids are little, their mommy bathes them...then showers them, at least here. My girls are growing up...Jonathan is only six, but he takes his own showers already...the girls need help with their hair sometimes, but sometimes do it themselves, Suze and Sonja...Evelyn has been on her own forever now....and I realized that I miss it....it used to be such an ordeal, showering like seven or eight kids in a row....I would have the stack of towels ready and the water on, calling the next one in as I finished one up....but I always talked to them while washing up their hair, and now I am seeing that like all things, this is passing....I still have the two little girls...okay...maybe I am overly-sentimental, but it is just that I enjoy the little moments with the kids. Teenagers and adult kids are wonderful too, but the little ones....they are just precious.
That doesn't mean I love the laundry that comes with the territory. Today I am going to do load after load and make a dent in it.
Yesterday, Samuel picked up the livingroom without being asked. He was prompting his sister to help, and I heard him say to her, "You know, you don't always have to do just the bare minimum. It doesn't hurt to do a GOOD job..." wow. He IS listening to me.
Happiness is reaching for my coffee cup and finding there is still lots in there, and it isn't ice cold yet.
Happiness is seeing Miss Camille first thing in the morning with her sleepy face and footy jammies on.
Happiness is having lots of stuff in the 'fridge, and knowing what is for dinner (roasted chicken, potatoes, and carrots)
Happiness is knowing you took care of some phone calls that have been niggling.
Happiness is having Sonja home from school because of the excitement of Charlotte Claire and Camille when they found out.
Happiness is sitting here with the dishwasher already humming, and the livingroom looking good, thanks to Sam and Evelyn.
Happiness is the absence of a Clothes Monster, although Sonja's school clothes are now there.
I want to re-do my main bathroom. It is stuck in the eighties. The paint is a rosy pink, the floors (which will stay) are really nice, my late brother Billy put tile in, slate blue and really nice....and the countertops are burgundy...the mirrors are Victorian-like, and the fabric outside shower curtain is blue with roses and pinks.....it WAS nice, but after a while it starts looking...old and tired. So....the floor is staying, the countertops are staying....I am thinking to paint the walls a grey/blue,...I don't know. But I did buy new mirrors yesterday....they were marked down to $7 something each....I almost bought a shower curtain, but realized that I hated it and shouldn't buy it just because it is cheap....
And like I tell my kids, I have not forgotten about painting their room, I just haven't gotten to it yet. I am going to buy the spackle one of these days, perhaps even today! I know they are getting tired of hearing this....but it WILL get done.
We needed food....so I called my sister-in-law.....they also needed food at their house. So....I left the two little girls here with Mirielle and Ashley, because Miss Camille wasn't well enough for an adventure. Kim left her two little ones home with their older sisters, and off we went...the two of us rattling around in that great big 15 passenger van like peas in a pod. We had plenty of room for the things we bought at Wegmans, Target, and Price-Chopper. We also took advantage of being kidless by having a yummy little lunch at Wegmans....they have a "wokery", and the Chinese food is pretty good. Pretty expensive though. ouch. But we had small portions (it is sold by the pound), and ice water with it....and we relaxed.....at Price-Chopper, there was a coupon for six free donuts...the cheapy-cake-kind....well, there were none on the shelf...and I overheard a lady asking about something and being told to just take six from the case...so I wandered over and asked the bakery man..and he directed me over to the case to pick out six...wow! Six really nice FREE donuts! After packing all of our groceries into the van in the freezing cold, we went through the McD's drivethrough and got two large hot coffees for the long ride home...and yes, we each had a donut. The remaining four I gave to my niece when I dropped Kim and her groceries off at her house. (it is rather cruel to give four donuts to a child with eleven siblings....)
Home with the groceries...the girls were leaving for girls' fellowship...Paul was making dinner. Rats, I was hoping they had already eaten...(I wasn't very hungry, for some reason....)
It was nice to sit at the table with ten of them, anyway. Eating together is a good way to hear about each other's day, and hopefully teach some manners along the way....
One child missed the bus this morning, one Miss Sonja Kathleen. There were many reasons for this, and she almost could have made it, but she was only two spoonfuls into her bowl of Reeses' Puffs, and she had no socks on yet....the stupid bus came five minutes early. rrr. Sonja looked at me with that caught-in-the-headlights look, so I just said, "you can just stay home." Jonny was protesting loudly that that was NOT FAIR as he headed down the deck steps.
Aaron has a dr. appointment this afternoon. I have to go pick him up at school....blah. He has to go the ear/nose/throat dr. about his allergy tests, and to have a CT scan of his nose for the surgery. I don't mind though. I have enjoyed his appointments because it gives us some time together. He is eighteen years old, he goes to school and works, and I don't just take time with him for granted.
When kids are little, their mommy bathes them...then showers them, at least here. My girls are growing up...Jonathan is only six, but he takes his own showers already...the girls need help with their hair sometimes, but sometimes do it themselves, Suze and Sonja...Evelyn has been on her own forever now....and I realized that I miss it....it used to be such an ordeal, showering like seven or eight kids in a row....I would have the stack of towels ready and the water on, calling the next one in as I finished one up....but I always talked to them while washing up their hair, and now I am seeing that like all things, this is passing....I still have the two little girls...okay...maybe I am overly-sentimental, but it is just that I enjoy the little moments with the kids. Teenagers and adult kids are wonderful too, but the little ones....they are just precious.
That doesn't mean I love the laundry that comes with the territory. Today I am going to do load after load and make a dent in it.
Yesterday, Samuel picked up the livingroom without being asked. He was prompting his sister to help, and I heard him say to her, "You know, you don't always have to do just the bare minimum. It doesn't hurt to do a GOOD job..." wow. He IS listening to me.
Happiness is reaching for my coffee cup and finding there is still lots in there, and it isn't ice cold yet.
Happiness is seeing Miss Camille first thing in the morning with her sleepy face and footy jammies on.
Happiness is having lots of stuff in the 'fridge, and knowing what is for dinner (roasted chicken, potatoes, and carrots)
Happiness is knowing you took care of some phone calls that have been niggling.
Happiness is having Sonja home from school because of the excitement of Charlotte Claire and Camille when they found out.
Happiness is sitting here with the dishwasher already humming, and the livingroom looking good, thanks to Sam and Evelyn.
Happiness is the absence of a Clothes Monster, although Sonja's school clothes are now there.
I want to re-do my main bathroom. It is stuck in the eighties. The paint is a rosy pink, the floors (which will stay) are really nice, my late brother Billy put tile in, slate blue and really nice....and the countertops are burgundy...the mirrors are Victorian-like, and the fabric outside shower curtain is blue with roses and pinks.....it WAS nice, but after a while it starts looking...old and tired. So....the floor is staying, the countertops are staying....I am thinking to paint the walls a grey/blue,...I don't know. But I did buy new mirrors yesterday....they were marked down to $7 something each....I almost bought a shower curtain, but realized that I hated it and shouldn't buy it just because it is cheap....
And like I tell my kids, I have not forgotten about painting their room, I just haven't gotten to it yet. I am going to buy the spackle one of these days, perhaps even today! I know they are getting tired of hearing this....but it WILL get done.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
do NOT talk on your cell phone while driving...
In New York State, starting this week, your ticket and fine will also be accompanied by two points on your license...which is stupid....points for speeding, perhaps, but...rrr. Anyway, do not talk on your phone while driving. It would make me sad to see insurance rates go up and extra yearly charges for license points for people who struggle with cash as it is, like my grown kids. I try not to call or text them when I think they are driving. The thing is, it is just plain ingrained in us to ANSWER THE PHONE! The government is asking a lot of us.....I mean, if I am driving down the road, my phone rings, I glance, it is a call from home....hmm. What if the house is on fire or someone fell down the stairs with a popsicle in their mouth? Or off the couch? Or what if Rosie got hit by a car? Or...okay, I am getting off topic....
Camille still has a fever off and on...she was one miserable girl last evening, begging me to put her to bed by eight or so. She only wanted me, and wanted to cuddle with me. She said she likes it when I sit down and hold her. Since she is sick, she has gone back like two years in development.
I managed to make the pizzas for dinner, only two because there were only ten of us all together. They were big pizzas, 26 ounce doughs. I kept is simple, one garlic with cheese, one sauce and pepperoni with red peppers. I ate with a whimpering Camille on my lap...
Jonathan's class at school is celebrating their 100th day of school, so each child is supposed to bring 100 items. The kids usually bring Cheerios or buttons or pennies...well, Jonathan brough 25 matchbox cars.....25 cars=100 wheels.
I have to go to the store. According to the kids, "There is nothing to eat." That means there are no bananas. No bagels. And for a few of them, no turkey. Sliced turkey for sandwiches. Joseph has been taking peanutbutter and jelly to college, which will not kill him. There are no chips, which they don't need anyway. But we are running out of milk, and have no salad fixings. As for cereal, we are getting down to just some Cheerios...and the oatmeal is getting low. I shall not complain, we are very blessed. I will not grumble about going shopping, yet again. Although it is a balmy TEN degrees here...sunny, though. Very sunny. And at the end of the week, before the weather turns cold again, it is going to be fifty degrees out!! I am going to sit out in the drive way and catch some rays if it isn't raining out.
I took Rosie out this morning, walked down the frozen tundra that used to be our driveway...the thaw made it so slippery. Thankfully we got another inch or two of snow last night to make a little bit of traction. Miss Rosie is a Puller, and she is strong. She is also Happy in the morning, and wants to smell the snowbanks on both sides of the drive way, in quick sucession. She also wants to sniff around the vehicles and around near the garbage cans. I cannot move nearly as fast as her on a good day, but when the driveway is a mass of ice, blah. I can just picture myself lying there while the kids park in front of Curious George, eating their cereal and not even wondering where I am....oops, there I go again.
Charlotte Claire "has nothing to do." She is all dressed up in her princess dress and shoes, and is lonely for Camille. She is going to set up her dollhouse now....
We are leaving next week for our Oklahoma trip. The weather there is decent now, much much warmer than here. I am hoping that we get some seventies and sunshine. Oh, that would be delicious right about now. One does get used to the cold, and it is convenient. Last week my sister-in-law went shopping with me, then came in for coffee and didn't have to worry about her groceries melting. And we leave drinks on the deck to keep cold. We have two frozen solid bottles of Diet Coke out there right now.....ooops. Too cold. And the snow does make the yard look nice. But I miss the grass and the birds. And after spring, glorious summer...oh my goodness....the pool!
Camille still has a fever off and on...she was one miserable girl last evening, begging me to put her to bed by eight or so. She only wanted me, and wanted to cuddle with me. She said she likes it when I sit down and hold her. Since she is sick, she has gone back like two years in development.
I managed to make the pizzas for dinner, only two because there were only ten of us all together. They were big pizzas, 26 ounce doughs. I kept is simple, one garlic with cheese, one sauce and pepperoni with red peppers. I ate with a whimpering Camille on my lap...
Jonathan's class at school is celebrating their 100th day of school, so each child is supposed to bring 100 items. The kids usually bring Cheerios or buttons or pennies...well, Jonathan brough 25 matchbox cars.....25 cars=100 wheels.
I have to go to the store. According to the kids, "There is nothing to eat." That means there are no bananas. No bagels. And for a few of them, no turkey. Sliced turkey for sandwiches. Joseph has been taking peanutbutter and jelly to college, which will not kill him. There are no chips, which they don't need anyway. But we are running out of milk, and have no salad fixings. As for cereal, we are getting down to just some Cheerios...and the oatmeal is getting low. I shall not complain, we are very blessed. I will not grumble about going shopping, yet again. Although it is a balmy TEN degrees here...sunny, though. Very sunny. And at the end of the week, before the weather turns cold again, it is going to be fifty degrees out!! I am going to sit out in the drive way and catch some rays if it isn't raining out.
I took Rosie out this morning, walked down the frozen tundra that used to be our driveway...the thaw made it so slippery. Thankfully we got another inch or two of snow last night to make a little bit of traction. Miss Rosie is a Puller, and she is strong. She is also Happy in the morning, and wants to smell the snowbanks on both sides of the drive way, in quick sucession. She also wants to sniff around the vehicles and around near the garbage cans. I cannot move nearly as fast as her on a good day, but when the driveway is a mass of ice, blah. I can just picture myself lying there while the kids park in front of Curious George, eating their cereal and not even wondering where I am....oops, there I go again.
Charlotte Claire "has nothing to do." She is all dressed up in her princess dress and shoes, and is lonely for Camille. She is going to set up her dollhouse now....
We are leaving next week for our Oklahoma trip. The weather there is decent now, much much warmer than here. I am hoping that we get some seventies and sunshine. Oh, that would be delicious right about now. One does get used to the cold, and it is convenient. Last week my sister-in-law went shopping with me, then came in for coffee and didn't have to worry about her groceries melting. And we leave drinks on the deck to keep cold. We have two frozen solid bottles of Diet Coke out there right now.....ooops. Too cold. And the snow does make the yard look nice. But I miss the grass and the birds. And after spring, glorious summer...oh my goodness....the pool!
Monday, February 14, 2011
happy valentine's day, again....
Does this count as an accomplishment? I gave Rosie-The-Bad dog a bath, trimmed her up a bit, and brushed her......she puts up with quite a lot for being a Bad dog. Anyway...
Happy Valentine's Day to all those people who have to live with Rosie! She doesn't stink today!
Happy Valentine's Day to all those people who have to live with Rosie! She doesn't stink today!what i am really glad about today...
Perhaps I am really procrastinating the things I need to do today, or maybe I just had something else to say...but either way, I am compelled to write a little about love...because I know a little about it....
I am not talking about love for children, although I love mine fiercely...or love for friends, though I appreciate mine more and more, or for family, which I also appreciate and love more as time goes on....
Kids, if you are reading this, do so at your own risk...
I love my husband dearly. I know it is a total blessing that I still feel this way after all these years. Just the thought of kissing his smooth-shaven cheek, or snuggling up to his neck..oh my goodness. We still "click", and I am so thankful for that. We still appreciate each other.
This hasn't been without cost, however....in a marriage as old as ours, (almost 27 years!), filled with children and stress, the natural thing would be that we would grow apart and grow resentful and grow out of love....but we have both worked on things, and forgiven and longsuffered and kept our eyes on only each other. I am not saying that we are always on the same page, or that we are always bestest friends...but it is good, and we love each other like crazy, and I couldn't or wouldn't even imagine loving anyone else but him. So I thought for Valentine's Day I would just like to encourage anyone who is married: fight for your marriage! What God has drawn together, let no man separate! Battle those thoughts that would break down and divide,and instead forgive, be good, and bless...and pray about it, too. God's eyes are on the righteous, and on those who seek Him.
I am not talking about love for children, although I love mine fiercely...or love for friends, though I appreciate mine more and more, or for family, which I also appreciate and love more as time goes on....
Kids, if you are reading this, do so at your own risk...
I love my husband dearly. I know it is a total blessing that I still feel this way after all these years. Just the thought of kissing his smooth-shaven cheek, or snuggling up to his neck..oh my goodness. We still "click", and I am so thankful for that. We still appreciate each other.
This hasn't been without cost, however....in a marriage as old as ours, (almost 27 years!), filled with children and stress, the natural thing would be that we would grow apart and grow resentful and grow out of love....but we have both worked on things, and forgiven and longsuffered and kept our eyes on only each other. I am not saying that we are always on the same page, or that we are always bestest friends...but it is good, and we love each other like crazy, and I couldn't or wouldn't even imagine loving anyone else but him. So I thought for Valentine's Day I would just like to encourage anyone who is married: fight for your marriage! What God has drawn together, let no man separate! Battle those thoughts that would break down and divide,and instead forgive, be good, and bless...and pray about it, too. God's eyes are on the righteous, and on those who seek Him.
Happy Valentines Day!!!
Mali made these...
Mirielle made these...we sent some in for Evelyn's class, Suzanne's class, and Jonathan's class. Sonja's class is having a Healthy Heart party, so no mini-brownie/cupcakes for her.
Paul brought me flowers....
And some mini-roses...(and a box of chocolates...which I left on the counter, thinking I would open them tonight and share them with the kids...well..someone opened them and they are half gone!!! I did some asking, found out the culprit, but haven't talked to him/her about it yet....I think it is obvious that one shouldn't open a box of chocolates without asking, but some of the kids who were there when I discovered this tradgedy this morning maintain that I should not have left them on the counter.....hmm)
Mr. Jonathan....love the goofy smile.
Paul brought me flowers....
And some mini-roses...(and a box of chocolates...which I left on the counter, thinking I would open them tonight and share them with the kids...well..someone opened them and they are half gone!!! I did some asking, found out the culprit, but haven't talked to him/her about it yet....I think it is obvious that one shouldn't open a box of chocolates without asking, but some of the kids who were there when I discovered this tradgedy this morning maintain that I should not have left them on the counter.....hmm)
Mr. Jonathan....love the goofy smile.
Sonja K.
And Suzanne will not like this, but she is so cute...this is her, "I do not want my picture taken" face.
I am still recovering from the girls' sleepover party. Kim, my sister-in-law, and I made burgers and hot dogs and coneys and broccoli and chicken...the chicken was the best, it was marinated overnight, then baked in the convection oven 'til crispy, then put into the sauces: sweet and our, hot Buffalo, honey barbecue, and regular barbecue....we served carrots and celery too. After the girls danced their hearts out for a few hours, I got out the sno-cone machine, and we had some red-rasberry ones...there was pineapple-upside-down cake with whipped cream (which I skipped, I am alergic to pineapple), and Cheryl's chocolate cheesecake...which was to die for. Then we served popcorn....
And Suzanne will not like this, but she is so cute...this is her, "I do not want my picture taken" face.
I am still recovering from the girls' sleepover party. Kim, my sister-in-law, and I made burgers and hot dogs and coneys and broccoli and chicken...the chicken was the best, it was marinated overnight, then baked in the convection oven 'til crispy, then put into the sauces: sweet and our, hot Buffalo, honey barbecue, and regular barbecue....we served carrots and celery too. After the girls danced their hearts out for a few hours, I got out the sno-cone machine, and we had some red-rasberry ones...there was pineapple-upside-down cake with whipped cream (which I skipped, I am alergic to pineapple), and Cheryl's chocolate cheesecake...which was to die for. Then we served popcorn....We spent the night, and I actually got some sleep....I realized that I had ten daughters there....(Miss Mali was with her friends), but Camille didn't stay long, she didn't feel well. Anyway, it was too much fun...and I kept forgetting that I was there to cook for them...I remembered to cook, I just kept forgetting that I wasn't a teenager....
Camille is sick...she had a fever yesterday, and today just looks pale...she hasn't been sick to her stomach or anything, she just doesn't feel well....
Paul and the older kids are going to the Dome this afternoon for a basketball game, to do the concessions. I was thinking about taking these guys to Walmart to get the elusive paint for their room, but then I remembered that Camille is sick...I am not purposely procrastinating this painting project, it is just not happening. The funny thing is that they are actually keeping their room clean, expecting the painting to happen....
I woke up bright and early this morning and sneaked into the bathroom before Paul...I took Rosie out into the spring-like 46 degree day, we are finally getting our January thaw. Yes, I know it is February. The driveway is like the frozen tundra, icy and bumpy and hard to navigate, at least for me...Rosie, in her enthusiasm to sniff everything and romp around like a puppy, seemed determined to have me slip and fall this morning. I kept telling her to wait for me, then she would stop right in front of me and I would almost trip over her....she is big and dump and happy. (my mother always said that dogs resembled their masters....uh-oh)
Benjamin is doing well....I talked to him on the phone yesterday. He has quit smoking, of course, along with all the other guys in Basic training...but he is determined that he will not start again. Ashley has quit, which I am totally impressed with..she gets married, her husband is hundreds and hundreds of miles away from her, she lives with a big crazy family, and she quits smoking too. Ben says that that is his biggest encouragment not to start again, that she worked so hard to quit. He also is enjoying the physical fitness.....he can run and not get out of breath, and he feels so good.
Nine days 'til our trip! Ben wants us to bring his guitar and his laptop and his clothes....our minivan is going to be cozy!
okay, what shall I do today?
1. Laundry?
2. Sweep the floors?
3. Go back to bed?
Oh, I can't decide....I think I will just sit here for a while until I can decide....
Saturday, February 12, 2011
saturday morning mayhem...
First, here is Mirielle's recipe for cream cheese brownies, stolen from the great and awesome Martha Stewart. Since brownie mix is so cheap, a buck a box, and so good, she just used a box (well, she actually used two and doubled this, but same idea...)
4 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons flour
cream it together, swirl into the prepared brownies before baking.
They are DEADLY good.
Suzane wants brownies for her class on Valentines day, so I bought some red miniture cupcake holders. Bite sized brownies will be easier to serve, and will look cute. We shall add some of our heart sprinkles...
Camille is asking me how old I am. She asked, "Are you eleven? Are you fourteen?" I told her I used to be....she knows she is three, so she asks everyone else how old they are.
We filled out the kids' Valentines for school last night. (I bought Winnie the Pooh and Sesame Street) I just sat with them and made sure they got them all. When Jon was all finished, he wrote "Fred" on the top of the page, and said, "We forgot Fred!" He then laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair. 6 year old humor. The bad thing is I was laughing my head off too.
Kids are coming and going today. Some of them went to the gym, some are going ice skating with Abigail, Aaron is going to work, Joseph is playing the guitar, there is waffletown all over the livingroom floor...Jon is enjoying his day off. My day off is not today though...I have to do some laundry, and clean up the kitchen...and today I am going out to make the food for the Girl's party...
4 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons flour
cream it together, swirl into the prepared brownies before baking.
They are DEADLY good.
Suzane wants brownies for her class on Valentines day, so I bought some red miniture cupcake holders. Bite sized brownies will be easier to serve, and will look cute. We shall add some of our heart sprinkles...
Camille is asking me how old I am. She asked, "Are you eleven? Are you fourteen?" I told her I used to be....she knows she is three, so she asks everyone else how old they are.
We filled out the kids' Valentines for school last night. (I bought Winnie the Pooh and Sesame Street) I just sat with them and made sure they got them all. When Jon was all finished, he wrote "Fred" on the top of the page, and said, "We forgot Fred!" He then laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair. 6 year old humor. The bad thing is I was laughing my head off too.
Kids are coming and going today. Some of them went to the gym, some are going ice skating with Abigail, Aaron is going to work, Joseph is playing the guitar, there is waffletown all over the livingroom floor...Jon is enjoying his day off. My day off is not today though...I have to do some laundry, and clean up the kitchen...and today I am going out to make the food for the Girl's party...
Friday, February 11, 2011
ahh, friday...again already...
Redundancy, I know, but life is just cruisin' on by. It seems like the weeks just speed faster and faster....
Yesterday.....Emily and I and the little girls went out to check on the chicken wings...they were indeed past their prime, so we said a tearful goodbye and ferried them to the dumpster....
We then went to her apartment for lunch....the little girls went into her closet and found a bag...it was a bag of toys we cleaned out of Charlotte Claire's room a year ago or so. Emily is bringing it to the Salvation Army. One of these days. Anyway, the little girls think that Em just happened to have some very nice dollies to play with. They each got one, and the playing House began. Upstairs, downstairs, they ran around and played. Emily made coffee, and we had a grand visit. Oh, how I see myself mirrored in my daughter. Her place is clean, but the way she makes herself comfy...just like her mom.
I had to take Mali somewhere, so Sonja and I went into a store that I rarely go to, and while Sonja was choosing between an Arizona tea and a Gatorade, someone crashed into my cart...it was my older brother, Joey! It was just so GOOD to see him. I see him one or two or three times a year, at weddings and graduations and Christmas....he was one of my very favorite brothers growing up, (I had five).
Then Sonja and I went to the library. We drove around the block in the huge van like three times waiting for a good parking spot, but it didn't happen, so we parked and walked....and it was COLD. The worse part was the slippery sidewalk, and me carrying the huge bag of books. Those boys of mine, getting out all those big heavy books. We hit the children's section first and got some nice books for the little girls....they were thrilled last night when I read two "Jesse Bear" books they never heard, and "D.W.'s Book Of Manners"......
Today....I have to go shopping, big surprise. I need some things for the Girls' Sleepover Party that Emily is doing tomorrow night. Since I am the shopper and cook, and I need to replace the wings...I had to come up with Plan B. There were some burgers and hot dogs there already from our Fall Grill, so we are using those, and adding fresh buns and some chicken, which I will prepare and put in some yummy sauce. Not wings, I know, but it will be good. We are having sno-cones, popcorn, and big pretzels for snacks, so I am thinking to go for the Carnival-y theme. Hmm, I should get some cotton candy.....
Here are some things that have been rattling around in my head...
1. The school....there is supposed to be a new "attendance policy" coming into effect next year. Uh-oh for me. There is no way "they" can possibly understand how it is in our family. Take Sonja, for example, who is a straight A student. Her report card stated that her excessive absence has made it difficult to keep her updated on new concepts. Okay, I AM sorry that the teacher has had to go out of her way to put extra time into instructing Sonja. But on the other hand, Sonja is an extremely sweet and helpful child, who is quick to learn, totally responsible, and always completes all assignments. So...my question is: How do "they" think she got like that? By magic? She just happens to be thoughtful, responsible? Or is it just maybe, partly, because her mommy spends time with her and listens to her and teaches her? I am sorry, but having a child home for those years before kindergarten IS a wonderful time, very important time of learning and relaxing and teaching values....but it is not long enough. School kids in our rural district, with the long bus rides, get only FOUR hours a day home, from getting off the bus to getting into bed. (with the exception of the getting-ready-in-the-morning time, which for these guys is an hour each morning, and usually a good and peaceful hour)(and of course the weekends)....so...the kids get their four hours with mommy and the family, usually some of which is spent on homework. So....TOO BAD if I want to have my kids to myself more than that. I am really sorry if some people just keep their kids home and wreck your system, but I love my kids,.....they are slipping through my fingers too quickly as it is, so NO, I am sorry, but I cannot send them all to school every single day. Believe me, I try to space the special days out, so that one child doesn't miss too much...and I totally realize that by the upper grades, this can't happen anymore....they need to be in school to get good grades, so they are.
2. Couch Monster has returned....only one load of darks, folded and neat...but if I don't attack it today, it will grow and overtake me...
3. I am going to cry and cry the day the girls outgrow the Kitty Suit.
4. Suzanne's ten dollar stuffed dog lost an ear yesterday while I was gone. She sewed it back on. It is slightly forward, but it looks sweet.
5. I never ate dinner last night.
6. Unless you count the caramel bugles I ate in the van.
7. Sonja almost talked me into getting a slice of pizza.
8. Sonja is the best pal to take to the library.
9. I stopped biting my nails again a week or two ago.
10. The day we are leaving for Oklahoma is Suzanne's tenth birthday.
11. The day we arrive in Oklahoma is Mirielle's 21st birthday.
12. The girls are playing princess dolls, and Camille's Cinderella is crying...because someone took her money.
13. It is negative five degrees out right now. No WONDER the furnace keeps kicking on...and no WONDER I was so cold when I took Rosie-The-Bad dog out this morning.
14. Oh great....my innocent little girls...one of their dollies is evil,(she took Cinderella's money) apparently, so they have a hair elastic on her for handcuffs...
Well, the day is not getting any younger, and neither am I....
Yesterday.....Emily and I and the little girls went out to check on the chicken wings...they were indeed past their prime, so we said a tearful goodbye and ferried them to the dumpster....
We then went to her apartment for lunch....the little girls went into her closet and found a bag...it was a bag of toys we cleaned out of Charlotte Claire's room a year ago or so. Emily is bringing it to the Salvation Army. One of these days. Anyway, the little girls think that Em just happened to have some very nice dollies to play with. They each got one, and the playing House began. Upstairs, downstairs, they ran around and played. Emily made coffee, and we had a grand visit. Oh, how I see myself mirrored in my daughter. Her place is clean, but the way she makes herself comfy...just like her mom.
I had to take Mali somewhere, so Sonja and I went into a store that I rarely go to, and while Sonja was choosing between an Arizona tea and a Gatorade, someone crashed into my cart...it was my older brother, Joey! It was just so GOOD to see him. I see him one or two or three times a year, at weddings and graduations and Christmas....he was one of my very favorite brothers growing up, (I had five).
Then Sonja and I went to the library. We drove around the block in the huge van like three times waiting for a good parking spot, but it didn't happen, so we parked and walked....and it was COLD. The worse part was the slippery sidewalk, and me carrying the huge bag of books. Those boys of mine, getting out all those big heavy books. We hit the children's section first and got some nice books for the little girls....they were thrilled last night when I read two "Jesse Bear" books they never heard, and "D.W.'s Book Of Manners"......
Today....I have to go shopping, big surprise. I need some things for the Girls' Sleepover Party that Emily is doing tomorrow night. Since I am the shopper and cook, and I need to replace the wings...I had to come up with Plan B. There were some burgers and hot dogs there already from our Fall Grill, so we are using those, and adding fresh buns and some chicken, which I will prepare and put in some yummy sauce. Not wings, I know, but it will be good. We are having sno-cones, popcorn, and big pretzels for snacks, so I am thinking to go for the Carnival-y theme. Hmm, I should get some cotton candy.....
Here are some things that have been rattling around in my head...
1. The school....there is supposed to be a new "attendance policy" coming into effect next year. Uh-oh for me. There is no way "they" can possibly understand how it is in our family. Take Sonja, for example, who is a straight A student. Her report card stated that her excessive absence has made it difficult to keep her updated on new concepts. Okay, I AM sorry that the teacher has had to go out of her way to put extra time into instructing Sonja. But on the other hand, Sonja is an extremely sweet and helpful child, who is quick to learn, totally responsible, and always completes all assignments. So...my question is: How do "they" think she got like that? By magic? She just happens to be thoughtful, responsible? Or is it just maybe, partly, because her mommy spends time with her and listens to her and teaches her? I am sorry, but having a child home for those years before kindergarten IS a wonderful time, very important time of learning and relaxing and teaching values....but it is not long enough. School kids in our rural district, with the long bus rides, get only FOUR hours a day home, from getting off the bus to getting into bed. (with the exception of the getting-ready-in-the-morning time, which for these guys is an hour each morning, and usually a good and peaceful hour)(and of course the weekends)....so...the kids get their four hours with mommy and the family, usually some of which is spent on homework. So....TOO BAD if I want to have my kids to myself more than that. I am really sorry if some people just keep their kids home and wreck your system, but I love my kids,.....they are slipping through my fingers too quickly as it is, so NO, I am sorry, but I cannot send them all to school every single day. Believe me, I try to space the special days out, so that one child doesn't miss too much...and I totally realize that by the upper grades, this can't happen anymore....they need to be in school to get good grades, so they are.
2. Couch Monster has returned....only one load of darks, folded and neat...but if I don't attack it today, it will grow and overtake me...
3. I am going to cry and cry the day the girls outgrow the Kitty Suit.
4. Suzanne's ten dollar stuffed dog lost an ear yesterday while I was gone. She sewed it back on. It is slightly forward, but it looks sweet.
5. I never ate dinner last night.
6. Unless you count the caramel bugles I ate in the van.
7. Sonja almost talked me into getting a slice of pizza.
8. Sonja is the best pal to take to the library.
9. I stopped biting my nails again a week or two ago.
10. The day we are leaving for Oklahoma is Suzanne's tenth birthday.
11. The day we arrive in Oklahoma is Mirielle's 21st birthday.
12. The girls are playing princess dolls, and Camille's Cinderella is crying...because someone took her money.
13. It is negative five degrees out right now. No WONDER the furnace keeps kicking on...and no WONDER I was so cold when I took Rosie-The-Bad dog out this morning.
14. Oh great....my innocent little girls...one of their dollies is evil,(she took Cinderella's money) apparently, so they have a hair elastic on her for handcuffs...
Well, the day is not getting any younger, and neither am I....
Thursday, February 10, 2011
we only get this one ride through life...
And there IS beauty everywhere, if we choose to see it.
Then of course there are things like this...books to play in! They were practically swimming in books! This was yesterday, when I was trying to get them ready to go pick up the kids at school....(isn't the cardboard recycling bin in the background just LOVELY?)
At Target yesterday, the kids got to spend some of their Christmas money. Since we have so many Barbies, I let the little girls get a few pretty dresses...they play with these dolls for hours and hours and hours.....
Speaking of beauty everywhere, look at those sweet jammies!
Here is Suzanne with the stuffed dog she paid TEN BUCKS for. I don't know where I was, but I suppose when one is in the Toy Department of Target with seven children who all have some money, one's head is going to be spinning. I do remember her presenting me with a small stuffed animal that was five dollars, and me saying, "hmm".....The bad part is that when she showed this dog to me when we got home, you guessed it...I reacted. I practically shouted, "What! Ten bucks??? Are you serious?", and immediately I realized that was the wrong response...I should have just said how cute he was....her face, oh my goodness, she was crushed...I had to do some backpedaling, and fast. I told her I was just a little surprised, and that the doggie was really cute, and he was totally worth it....blah...I felt awful. Especially because Sam was there when it happened, and said, "Great Mom, she is never gonna forget that." ouch. But I think she did...almost, anyway...she is home from school today because she couldn't find her bathing suit for swimming in gym class, and she has a cold..and perhaps her mother feels a bit guilty...just perhaps.
I wish I could hypnotize the children and make them forget that Price Chopper gives away balloons. I don't always let them get them, but when I do, it is like everyone is watching the parade that is just us getting groceries.
Then of course there are things like this...books to play in! They were practically swimming in books! This was yesterday, when I was trying to get them ready to go pick up the kids at school....(isn't the cardboard recycling bin in the background just LOVELY?)
At Target yesterday, the kids got to spend some of their Christmas money. Since we have so many Barbies, I let the little girls get a few pretty dresses...they play with these dolls for hours and hours and hours.....
Speaking of beauty everywhere, look at those sweet jammies!
Here is Suzanne with the stuffed dog she paid TEN BUCKS for. I don't know where I was, but I suppose when one is in the Toy Department of Target with seven children who all have some money, one's head is going to be spinning. I do remember her presenting me with a small stuffed animal that was five dollars, and me saying, "hmm".....The bad part is that when she showed this dog to me when we got home, you guessed it...I reacted. I practically shouted, "What! Ten bucks??? Are you serious?", and immediately I realized that was the wrong response...I should have just said how cute he was....her face, oh my goodness, she was crushed...I had to do some backpedaling, and fast. I told her I was just a little surprised, and that the doggie was really cute, and he was totally worth it....blah...I felt awful. Especially because Sam was there when it happened, and said, "Great Mom, she is never gonna forget that." ouch. But I think she did...almost, anyway...she is home from school today because she couldn't find her bathing suit for swimming in gym class, and she has a cold..and perhaps her mother feels a bit guilty...just perhaps.
I wish I could hypnotize the children and make them forget that Price Chopper gives away balloons. I don't always let them get them, but when I do, it is like everyone is watching the parade that is just us getting groceries.
So last evening, I got home with the seven spoiled children, they ate their yogurt, and mini-corn dogs, (some of us had beer-battered fish fillets on fresh bakery bread, yum)....then they had a donut, uh huh, they got spoiled....Jon was playing with his new automatic Nerf-knock off gun, the girls dressing their Barbies, while watching the movie they bought, "Beauty and The Beast", and then: Emily came over! Very fun. Very festive. Oops, they didn't get to bed 'til almost ten. They had so much fun though, everyone should have a random Wednesday party once in a while....
And now, I have to get moving to get over to Emily's, we are going to see about those chicken wings....
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
it's the little things....
My dear son Aaron was leaving for school this morning, and as he wandered through the living room, he spotted the sock basket, and said in an approving voice, "THERE are the socks!" Oh, the joy in his voice....he must have noticed that the basket was very full, and the socks were matched! Well, dig deep and there ARE some single socks on the bottom, but still.
So, another accomplishment. Washed twice, dried, and matched. Charlotte Claire helped me, and we shrieked like idiots every time we found a match. And she learned how to fold them together.
I put away the burgeoning couch monster, now there is just a hug pile of towels and washcloths.
This morning...Mirielle and Joe were leaving for college....she had left her yummy chicken wrap out on the counter overnight accidentally, so she had to pitch it in the trash, tear water tea. Joseph was making himself a healthy oatmeal breakfast. Aaron, Mali, Samuel, Margaret, Kathryn, and Evelyn were also making breakfast and getting out the door. And I was in the midst of them, figuring out who was going where when and all that stuff....it was very warm and pleasant, then one of the girls lashed out at another by saying how unhealthy soda is, even diet soda, takes the calcium right out of your bones, blah blah blah, which for some reason offended the other daughter....so Aaron said, "You guys are RUINING the morning!" I felt the same way....
We had yummy dinner again last night. I baked some of the marinated chicken thighs, made a huge salad with tomatoes and olives and romaine, then had Joseph chop up some green and red peppers....I chopped the chicken into strips, then served fajita wraps with it all.
And....Mirielle had made a huge pan of cream cheese brownies for the girl's fellowship night which was cancelled because of the freezing cold, snow, and wind. so we got to eat them....
The chicken wings, oh the chicken wings....it makes me sad, it is tear water tea....I started out yesterday, with a few good helpers...out to the church conference center we headed....the wind blew bitterly, the temperature was 15, it was that face-numbing cold and wind....the snow, it was blowing right across the roads, the roads were icy....by the time I get near town, only half-way to church, the visibility was...well, there were white-outs....I of course had the big huge van, too...which doesn't fare well in wind....I felt like I was on an etch-a-sketch....so, I turned around, we went home, having wasted gas and time and energy...but, I reasoned, our lives and our big van are worth more than 40 pounds of chicken wings.
Today a great plan has been hatched....five of the kids are going to school with notes to be picked up early for "an appointment." An appointment with their mom! Today is one of those days....there is a Dome game, so Paul and all the older kids are going....and I am taking Ashley to calling hours for her uncle, she is being picked up there for the Dome. I need butter and the fruit is almost gone, and we keep eating all the veggies....and the milk is running out....so I decided to go to the store since I have to bring Ashley out....(she can drive but the only vehicle here is BigVan.) So....since I am going out with two little ones, I told Kathryn and Evelyn I would pick them up too....then I realized that Sonja has been asking all of the time about going to Target to buy something with her Christmas money. So....it snowballed, and now I am picking the three younger kids up too....I will be taking seven shopping.....
And I am excited about it.
I stayed up and read an entire book in one sitting, one that both Mirielle and Ashley have read. So now we can have Book Club about it over coffee some morning. It is great fun to read the same books as your older kids. Joseph proposed a Harry Potter book club, but I only read the first one. I especially like when I read the same book as my sister, and we can talk about it.
The two little girls are so into playing with their Barbies lately. I used to think Barbies were "bad", long ago, but now I see that it is just how you look at it. These girls have lots of princess dresses, and Princess Barbies...their dolls are friends with each other and they always have one of the Kens be Benjamin and one of the princesses be Ashley.....they have birthdays and the dolls have nice mommies and they all lie down for naps....it keeps them so busy.
Last night, I read three "Jesse Bear" books to the little girls. They are difficult to disengage from their toys and playing sometimes, and I know that if I just let them stay up late they will be miserable....so I get some books, and their footy jammies and pretty much lead them like a mule to a carrot....to brush their teeth, then into Mommy's room for stories....it is quieter in there. We have always read bedtime stories, but usually to more than two kids! Jonathan is so big now, he reads stories to me!
Jon is so funny, he got up this morning in a chipper mood, since I told them the Getting-Picked-Up-Early plan while they were still in bed...so when I suggested he take a quick shower, he agreed happily, and said to me, "Mom, you are SO lucky I am doing this nicely." hmm. Yes, I suppose I am lucky, seeing that he usually fusses about it, insists on doing it himself, slowly and grumpily....(sometimes these things remind me of the verse Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." )
It is three degrees out. Three degrees. That is 29 degrees below the freezing point. No wonder it is so cold in here! My boots have been one of the wisest things I have ever purchased...of course this has been an exceptionally snowy winter...there has been snow on the ground for two months now....but nonetheless, it is hard to believe that every other winter I just wore shoes....my boots stay warm and dry and keep my feet toasty. My feet never used to get cold when I was younger....I was a barefoot girl around the house all year. Now, I find my slippers as soon as I take my boots off, and when I get up in the morning....
My goodness...a lot of writing about nothing....
So, another accomplishment. Washed twice, dried, and matched. Charlotte Claire helped me, and we shrieked like idiots every time we found a match. And she learned how to fold them together.
I put away the burgeoning couch monster, now there is just a hug pile of towels and washcloths.
This morning...Mirielle and Joe were leaving for college....she had left her yummy chicken wrap out on the counter overnight accidentally, so she had to pitch it in the trash, tear water tea. Joseph was making himself a healthy oatmeal breakfast. Aaron, Mali, Samuel, Margaret, Kathryn, and Evelyn were also making breakfast and getting out the door. And I was in the midst of them, figuring out who was going where when and all that stuff....it was very warm and pleasant, then one of the girls lashed out at another by saying how unhealthy soda is, even diet soda, takes the calcium right out of your bones, blah blah blah, which for some reason offended the other daughter....so Aaron said, "You guys are RUINING the morning!" I felt the same way....
We had yummy dinner again last night. I baked some of the marinated chicken thighs, made a huge salad with tomatoes and olives and romaine, then had Joseph chop up some green and red peppers....I chopped the chicken into strips, then served fajita wraps with it all.
And....Mirielle had made a huge pan of cream cheese brownies for the girl's fellowship night which was cancelled because of the freezing cold, snow, and wind. so we got to eat them....
The chicken wings, oh the chicken wings....it makes me sad, it is tear water tea....I started out yesterday, with a few good helpers...out to the church conference center we headed....the wind blew bitterly, the temperature was 15, it was that face-numbing cold and wind....the snow, it was blowing right across the roads, the roads were icy....by the time I get near town, only half-way to church, the visibility was...well, there were white-outs....I of course had the big huge van, too...which doesn't fare well in wind....I felt like I was on an etch-a-sketch....so, I turned around, we went home, having wasted gas and time and energy...but, I reasoned, our lives and our big van are worth more than 40 pounds of chicken wings.
Today a great plan has been hatched....five of the kids are going to school with notes to be picked up early for "an appointment." An appointment with their mom! Today is one of those days....there is a Dome game, so Paul and all the older kids are going....and I am taking Ashley to calling hours for her uncle, she is being picked up there for the Dome. I need butter and the fruit is almost gone, and we keep eating all the veggies....and the milk is running out....so I decided to go to the store since I have to bring Ashley out....(she can drive but the only vehicle here is BigVan.) So....since I am going out with two little ones, I told Kathryn and Evelyn I would pick them up too....then I realized that Sonja has been asking all of the time about going to Target to buy something with her Christmas money. So....it snowballed, and now I am picking the three younger kids up too....I will be taking seven shopping.....
And I am excited about it.
I stayed up and read an entire book in one sitting, one that both Mirielle and Ashley have read. So now we can have Book Club about it over coffee some morning. It is great fun to read the same books as your older kids. Joseph proposed a Harry Potter book club, but I only read the first one. I especially like when I read the same book as my sister, and we can talk about it.
The two little girls are so into playing with their Barbies lately. I used to think Barbies were "bad", long ago, but now I see that it is just how you look at it. These girls have lots of princess dresses, and Princess Barbies...their dolls are friends with each other and they always have one of the Kens be Benjamin and one of the princesses be Ashley.....they have birthdays and the dolls have nice mommies and they all lie down for naps....it keeps them so busy.
Last night, I read three "Jesse Bear" books to the little girls. They are difficult to disengage from their toys and playing sometimes, and I know that if I just let them stay up late they will be miserable....so I get some books, and their footy jammies and pretty much lead them like a mule to a carrot....to brush their teeth, then into Mommy's room for stories....it is quieter in there. We have always read bedtime stories, but usually to more than two kids! Jonathan is so big now, he reads stories to me!
Jon is so funny, he got up this morning in a chipper mood, since I told them the Getting-Picked-Up-Early plan while they were still in bed...so when I suggested he take a quick shower, he agreed happily, and said to me, "Mom, you are SO lucky I am doing this nicely." hmm. Yes, I suppose I am lucky, seeing that he usually fusses about it, insists on doing it himself, slowly and grumpily....(sometimes these things remind me of the verse Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." )
It is three degrees out. Three degrees. That is 29 degrees below the freezing point. No wonder it is so cold in here! My boots have been one of the wisest things I have ever purchased...of course this has been an exceptionally snowy winter...there has been snow on the ground for two months now....but nonetheless, it is hard to believe that every other winter I just wore shoes....my boots stay warm and dry and keep my feet toasty. My feet never used to get cold when I was younger....I was a barefoot girl around the house all year. Now, I find my slippers as soon as I take my boots off, and when I get up in the morning....
My goodness...a lot of writing about nothing....
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
I should be fired by now...
It occured to me this morning as I made plate after plate of raisin toast for the school kids, that if this were a REAL job, I would have gotten fired long ago. Jonathan said, "You woke me up and there are no school clothes, Mom!"...I knew that. I just thought I would make toast first. He couldn't find his folder this morning, after we so carefully did his homework before dinner. rrr. I got his clothes out, which was easy because someone took my load of darks out of the dryer and put them on the clean and naked couch....presto, a complete outfit for Jonathan. I am determined to put them away before it becomes a free-for-all again.
Camille says I am "squishy". Thanks. She is cuddled up to me, on the arm of my chair, her regular perch. She has her thumb in her mouth, and her fleecy Minnie-Mouse jammies on. What the heck am I gonna do when she outgrows this? Invite Rosie up here to cuddle?
I had to drive Aaron to work yesterday because Mirielle and Joe and Margaret went to the gym and weren't back in time. (the only vehicle here was the huge van..) I had my around-the-house-skirt on, but I had a decent shirt on, and I had just washed and brushed my hair. So I drove him the four miles to town, and decided to go into the little grocery store for eggs and milk and bread. I promised him I wouldn't embarrass him, but of course the romaine salad mix rang up wrong, and when I pointed it out and the cashier had to call the manager, I told her that I had promised Aaron I would behave, she said it was okay, her mom has to be good in that store, too.
So fast forward to evening....I KNEW I had to go pick him up....then he texted me to remind me, GOOD THING! I had totally and completely forgotten, and was sitting here on my computer....oops. Out the door I went, as fast as I could go, which, believe me...ain't lightening. Rosie-The-Bad dog went with me....the roads were TERRIBLE! Snow covered and slippery, blah. The minivan does horribly on the snowy roads. So I had to drive ever-so-slowly as I watched the minutes tick away on the dashboard clock. The store was dark and the parking lot empty...only his boss was there, waiting in the store foyer with him. oops.
I really didn't mind driving him though. We got to talk.
Camille has a bottle of nail polish, she is holding it "just in case"....just in case what, I am wondering.....she wants me to stop "typing, and fix my nails right now!" Not likely.
They have had their raisin toast, and Charlotte Claire had the last apple from the huge bag I bought on Saturday. She has her Kitty suit on, and is putting stickers in her Barbie notebook.
I do have things to do, I really do. I have to wash the pans that were overlooked last evening. Oh, we had a yummy dinner....a mixture of frozen veggies on the bottoms of two glass baking dishes....covered with leftover rice, then some frozen red, green peppers and onions, then the leftover chicken from the day before's crockpot lunch....boneless breasts and thighs cooked in barbecue sauce. I poured some water over the pans, and baked them uncovered for a half hour. Served with salsa and hot sauce...it tasted like stirfry! It was so easy, and I thought the kids would totally balk at it, but it was really very good.
One thing I have to do today...I have to go out to our church conference center and cook chicken wings....all because of Joseph. On Sunday I asked him, and his friends, to take the sixteen bags of wings out of the minivan and put them in the walk-in freezer....he informed me later that he put them in the walk-in cooler, not the freezer part, and was that okay? Nah, they have to be kept frozen. He went to move them, and the door was locked. He found someone with a key, their key broke in the lock. So last evening I texted someone who takes care of things there, and he fixed it. So now I have forty pounds of wings still in the cooler, which need to be cooked now because I am thinking I shouldn't refreeze them. So....I have to pack up the little girls and go on an adventure....if I bake them all up, I can baggy them up in the sauces and freeze them, then just heat them up on Saturday night...I hope it works.
Benjy called last night. I was totally surprised when I answered my cell phone and it was him! He has finished another phase of basic, and now has more privleges. He had one hour phone use, but I was ever so conscious of Ashley, so I kept our call short. He said Oklahoma is expecting more snow and more cold, and they cannot train in it, but will still graduate on time because the next shipment of guys will be coming in no matter what. He is doing well, and I am proud of him. I am pretty sure he was tearing up when we said goodbye, I miss him so much!
Sonja has the third-grade Boat Project due soon, our family's thirteenth Boat Project. I could write a book about Boat Projects. Paul asked me if I started it with her yet, and I said, it is NOT due TOMORROW.....so duh. But I am thinking about it....
Among other things...I have things to file and call about and appointments to make and things to straighten out...and since I love to procrastinate, the pile grows....then I take care of it all and feel like Superwoman.....I would definitely be fired by now.
Camille says I am "squishy". Thanks. She is cuddled up to me, on the arm of my chair, her regular perch. She has her thumb in her mouth, and her fleecy Minnie-Mouse jammies on. What the heck am I gonna do when she outgrows this? Invite Rosie up here to cuddle?
I had to drive Aaron to work yesterday because Mirielle and Joe and Margaret went to the gym and weren't back in time. (the only vehicle here was the huge van..) I had my around-the-house-skirt on, but I had a decent shirt on, and I had just washed and brushed my hair. So I drove him the four miles to town, and decided to go into the little grocery store for eggs and milk and bread. I promised him I wouldn't embarrass him, but of course the romaine salad mix rang up wrong, and when I pointed it out and the cashier had to call the manager, I told her that I had promised Aaron I would behave, she said it was okay, her mom has to be good in that store, too.
So fast forward to evening....I KNEW I had to go pick him up....then he texted me to remind me, GOOD THING! I had totally and completely forgotten, and was sitting here on my computer....oops. Out the door I went, as fast as I could go, which, believe me...ain't lightening. Rosie-The-Bad dog went with me....the roads were TERRIBLE! Snow covered and slippery, blah. The minivan does horribly on the snowy roads. So I had to drive ever-so-slowly as I watched the minutes tick away on the dashboard clock. The store was dark and the parking lot empty...only his boss was there, waiting in the store foyer with him. oops.
I really didn't mind driving him though. We got to talk.
Camille has a bottle of nail polish, she is holding it "just in case"....just in case what, I am wondering.....she wants me to stop "typing, and fix my nails right now!" Not likely.
They have had their raisin toast, and Charlotte Claire had the last apple from the huge bag I bought on Saturday. She has her Kitty suit on, and is putting stickers in her Barbie notebook.
I do have things to do, I really do. I have to wash the pans that were overlooked last evening. Oh, we had a yummy dinner....a mixture of frozen veggies on the bottoms of two glass baking dishes....covered with leftover rice, then some frozen red, green peppers and onions, then the leftover chicken from the day before's crockpot lunch....boneless breasts and thighs cooked in barbecue sauce. I poured some water over the pans, and baked them uncovered for a half hour. Served with salsa and hot sauce...it tasted like stirfry! It was so easy, and I thought the kids would totally balk at it, but it was really very good.
One thing I have to do today...I have to go out to our church conference center and cook chicken wings....all because of Joseph. On Sunday I asked him, and his friends, to take the sixteen bags of wings out of the minivan and put them in the walk-in freezer....he informed me later that he put them in the walk-in cooler, not the freezer part, and was that okay? Nah, they have to be kept frozen. He went to move them, and the door was locked. He found someone with a key, their key broke in the lock. So last evening I texted someone who takes care of things there, and he fixed it. So now I have forty pounds of wings still in the cooler, which need to be cooked now because I am thinking I shouldn't refreeze them. So....I have to pack up the little girls and go on an adventure....if I bake them all up, I can baggy them up in the sauces and freeze them, then just heat them up on Saturday night...I hope it works.
Benjy called last night. I was totally surprised when I answered my cell phone and it was him! He has finished another phase of basic, and now has more privleges. He had one hour phone use, but I was ever so conscious of Ashley, so I kept our call short. He said Oklahoma is expecting more snow and more cold, and they cannot train in it, but will still graduate on time because the next shipment of guys will be coming in no matter what. He is doing well, and I am proud of him. I am pretty sure he was tearing up when we said goodbye, I miss him so much!
Sonja has the third-grade Boat Project due soon, our family's thirteenth Boat Project. I could write a book about Boat Projects. Paul asked me if I started it with her yet, and I said, it is NOT due TOMORROW.....so duh. But I am thinking about it....
Among other things...I have things to file and call about and appointments to make and things to straighten out...and since I love to procrastinate, the pile grows....then I take care of it all and feel like Superwoman.....I would definitely be fired by now.
Monday, February 7, 2011
outside!!!
Camille thinks she is supposed to close her eyes when she gets her picture taken. It takes a while to get one with her peeking...
Camille tastes the snow...do you like Charlotte Claire's gloves? She had two that were purple, which was very important to her, but they were both right handed...I had to convince her that it was more important that the thumbs were right than the color....
Rosie-The-Bad-Dog thought we were outside just to play with her....
Char thought this would be a good idea. I did not think it would be a good idea.
Even Rosie didn't seem to think it was a good idea...
The sled went down without them, backwards, all the way down the hill, and the snow is too deep for ME to go and get it, and I was afraid that if they went to get it and got stuck, they would be there until the kids came home from school...because I cannot navigate through that deep snow. I thought I would try...not bad, I took two or three steps, and it was fun...then, uh-oh, I fell down deeper, to my knees..then even deeper...I fell backwards and sat there laughing my head off. I did not have snowpants on like the girls, I had leggings under my skirt....and the snow is kind of wet today...but I couldn't get up....Rosie thought it was Play Time. She was in my face and wagging her tail and trying to get some kisses...I couldn't get up...well, I finally did. I made my way back to the shoveled path, and stayed there. I helped the kids make a fort, and played race-around-the-van with Rosie. I also played fetch with her. She is pretty smart..she chases and retrieves snowballs...although there isn't much left for her to "drop" when she gets to me....
Rosie-The-Bad-Dog thought we were outside just to play with her....
Char thought this would be a good idea. I did not think it would be a good idea.
Even Rosie didn't seem to think it was a good idea...
The sled went down without them, backwards, all the way down the hill, and the snow is too deep for ME to go and get it, and I was afraid that if they went to get it and got stuck, they would be there until the kids came home from school...because I cannot navigate through that deep snow. I thought I would try...not bad, I took two or three steps, and it was fun...then, uh-oh, I fell down deeper, to my knees..then even deeper...I fell backwards and sat there laughing my head off. I did not have snowpants on like the girls, I had leggings under my skirt....and the snow is kind of wet today...but I couldn't get up....Rosie thought it was Play Time. She was in my face and wagging her tail and trying to get some kisses...I couldn't get up...well, I finally did. I made my way back to the shoveled path, and stayed there. I helped the kids make a fort, and played race-around-the-van with Rosie. I also played fetch with her. She is pretty smart..she chases and retrieves snowballs...although there isn't much left for her to "drop" when she gets to me....
The girls are tired out now....so am I...
And Jennifer, you got it right that I am just venting about husbands...I love Paul so much, and even though I know darn well he loves me too, I still get my poor feelings hurt sometimes. I have always hated "husband bashing", and I would hate it if I found out Paul had a blog and was writing things he didn't like about me...although of course it would be a very short list.
Camille is sitting on the arm of my chair watching "Martha Speaks", and almost falling asleep. No matter how much I complain, believe me, I have a good life. Now I shall have my afternoon coffee, and perhaps crack into another Norwegian chocolate bar.....
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