nice mommy or irresponsible mommy?

You can't blame me, really. Any nice mom would have done the same thing after hearing the promising weather forecast, in addition to the things the older kids were saying about riding the schoolbus....

See, I went into their room to wake them up, the three youngest schoolchildren...and instead of saying, "Wake up, it's time for school!", I said, "Who wants to skip school today?"

It all started yesterday, my latest disgust for school. The three youngest came off the bus with a yucky story: A kid had thrown up on the way home, it had gotten all over Jon, and the bus driver had nothing to clean it up with...this is a really long bus ride, too....they all felt sick. I felt sick. Jonathan took off his clothes and took a shower immediately. blah.

Also, my older kids were saying how totally inappropriate the bus ride is for the younger kids...terrible language, ect. I have just had enough today.

So....they get a nice sunny day off again. Will they learn anything? Probably. Jonathan is waiting for his new Hess truck to come in the mail, so he is learning patience. Sonja got new sidewalk chalk from her big sister Emily yesterday, for her birthday, so she will probably decorate the driveway more...(it already looks like a crime scene, they were tracing each other's outlines...looks like lots of bodies were there in our driveway). Suze might go to school, because she loves Tin Whistles, and has been practicing.

So...am I a nice mommy or an irresponsible mommy?

Pool last night for the fourth night in a row, yay! Jonathan and Suzanne came with me. Jonny swam around right near me the whole time, wondering when his Hess truck will come. Wondering where I will put it if he isn't home, wondering if it will come in a different box, wondering what time the mail comes....at one point I asked him if we could just swim quietly for a few minutes, but he didn't take the hint. He said, "But we need to talk about my Hess truck!" Then as we left the pool for our separate locker rooms, he said, "Bye, Mom, we can talk about the Hess truck when we get in the van!" rrr. Poor kid. He gets these mini-obsessions.....it's probably good he is here with me today, his teacher could possibly be ready to slap him by now.

A morning walk for Rosie and I every single day this week too, yay! I actually sneaked by her cage this morning, got my sneakers and sweatshirt on, then peeked around the corner at her: she was looking at me with hope...I just couldn't sneak out without her. Besides, her enthusiasm is rather contagious.

And she is so mellow for hours after our walk. We did the hill twice this morning.

I am not mellow. I am finding I have more energy than I used to, which isn't really saying much. I stayed up too late last night, and got up too early this morning, so I think I will take a nap today. ha.

Yesterday's shopping trip was pretty fun. Emily has been working like a dog lately up at the big hospital in the big city, multiple 12 hour shifts, ect. So she has a few days off (minus the 8 hour overtime shift she is doing today in the burn unit)....she wanted to go with me...and Joseph went, and we picked Evelyn up from school, and of course there were the two little girls, Charlotte Claire and Camille. First stop: DunkinDonuts for 50 cent iced coffees. Yum. But we forgot to get decaf for the little girls, ooops.

Next stop: Target. Evelyn got Converse sneakers for $6.24. A few new bras for me (YAY)(a good fitting bra makes one feel like a million bucks, in my humble opinion), and a few other odds and ends.

Price-Chopper for ten cases of water for the soccer weekend, and some groceries for us. Just chicken and milk and tomatoes and a cucumber and some romaine and cereal. Then to Tops (another grocery store) for 30 twelve packs of soda for the soccer tournament. And some sour gummy worms for two little girls who were very good shoppers, and some chicken for the ride home. It was fried, and it was good. I am hoping it was marginally more healthy than stopping at McD's. We had already had almonds and apples and Balance bars, we wanted some FOOD. I only ate a breast piece, but I didn't skip the crunchy coating on the outside, it was too good.

Home to catch some sun on the deck....kids started coming home from school, rejoicing that Emily was here. Dinner: teryaki chicken, hot sausage with peppers and onions, baked basmati rice, salad with tomatoes, cukes, and black olives. And green peppers. I skipped the rice and had lots of salad to balance out the sausage I couldn't resist.

Here is how the kids are doing:

Emily - 26: She is thinking about going back to college to be a nurse ansthesthesist, she would like to work regular hours, and is putting house hunting on hold for now.

Abigail - 24: She is thrilled because our carefully composed letter to Valvoline about her missing hubcaps worked: they are replacing them. She is so glad, as driving around in her spiffy new car with only one hubcap is really embarrassing to her.

Benjamin - 22: He is looking forward to a visit from Ashley next weekend. He will graduate from his training school in June and be a bona fide Combat Medic, come home for a few days, then report to Ft. Lewis, in the state of Washington. All the way across the country. Yes, I am planning a trip....

Mirielle - 21: She has been accepted to nursing school! She is finishing up her second year of college now.

Joseph - 19: He is finishing up his first semester of college. He has been so good about getting up and going and is doing well....this boy gave me much grief during high school, he didn't like getting moving in the morning.

Aaron - 18: He has also been accepted to nursing school, same one as Mirielle. He is busy taking exams and working at the local grocery store. His nose is healing up well. He is extremely responsible and so nice to have around.

Mali - 17: She has been accepted to the same nursing school as Mirielle and Aaron. Emily is planning to shift to day shifts at the hospital, so they will commute to the big city together.

Samuel - 15: He is playing soccer this weekend, and is so into it! I wish his team would win a game, as it is his last tournament because he is almost 16.

Margaret - 14: She is also playing soccer this weekend. She is growing up into a beautiful young lady....she runs on the treadmill every night, and eats smartly...she has been such an inspiration to me.

Kathryn - 13: Miss Kap is changing. She is growing up. She is a tomboy, wears a baseball cap, doesn't like dresses....she is lovely and smart and responsible, and sometimes I feel downright sorry for her as she deals with the changes in her previously easygoing nature....

Evelyn - 11: The cashier in the grocery store told me yesterday that Evelyn was "stunningly beautiful". She is right. Ev has that curly hair, and pretty eyes, she is very pretty. She is spunky and loud and funny and thoughtful...she is one of the youngest players on the soccer team, I hope she gets a chance to play.

Suzanne - 10: Tall and thin and graceful and energetic and creative and kind and sweet and helpful...Suzanne is the dream daughter. She gets her homework done with no prompting. She keeps a small lamp right on her bed, stays up into the night writing stories and reading books.

Sonja - 9: This little girl is my late mother's look-alike. Red hair and freckles, green eyes...she has youngest-child-syndrome and she is not the youngest. I think it is because she is the youngest of these Five-Little-Girls-In-A-Row. She is sweet though. She has her two pound container of strawberries from Emily, and as much as I like them to share, I want her to be able to have lots of them...

Jonathan - 7: Oh my goodness....he is home today, and guess what he wants to talk about?

Charlotte Claire - almost 5: She is such a sweet little lady. She is smart and funny and she is growing up way too fast. I don't know if I can bear to send her to school this year....

Camille Anaya - 3: My baby. She doesn't need me quite as much anymore, but she is still very huggy and sweet. She has the same long attention span as Char, they just play and play and play for hours on end. They are hilarious, if they bring their princess dolls into the store with them when we shop, they just continue playing in the store....(I really noticed how long they play contentedly when I babysat for little T. the other day...he does NOT have a long attention span, and he is a year older than Camille. He goes from one thing to another, but doesn't just settle in and play like the girls do.)(he is sweet and huggy though)