downton abbey

Each day has the Big Important Things That Need To Get Done. Today, that includes washing lots of bedding, going to Walmart to get some plastic mattress protectors that Target did not have, and then in the evening, going to the airport to pick up four rested and suntanned girls.

In between those Important Things I will try to get this place back in order, wash my long tangly hair, exercise, think of something for the Dreaded Dinner, and spend some time with Camille, who is now standing on the couch and trying to jump back to a seated position with her legs, "criss-cross applesauce", as she told me with a huge smile. She is very spoiled, because I did not remind her that children do NOT stand on the couch, nor do they jump on it.

Camille being spoiled is a whole book in itself. Last evening, the kids finally got some of the much anticipated ice cream for dessert. There was a half gallon of coffee, and one of cookie dough flavored. And hot fudge, and whipped cream, and spinkles. They were allowed to eat it in the living room, although the younger ones are not allowed to eat on the furniture, except for the little rocking chair and Little Tikes chair, and stool at the little table. Well...Miss Camille did not get the chair she wanted. So she lay there in the bean bag chair fussing and groaning and whining and complaining. I picked her up and put her in her room, told her she could have her ice cream when she decided to stop being a brat. It took about five minutes of her screaming her head off, then she called me, and said she wanted to be good. She also does things like ask for a drink, when she is perfectly capable of getting her own from the front of the fridge, yet she wants "Mama to do it!". She is really smart and funny and good, yet.. spoiled. I am putting my foot down about it a bit...

And speaking of ice cream and whipped cream and hot fudge...and sprinkles! I had ONE spoonful of ice cream, just a heaping teaspoon, with toppings...then some more fudge, then a few more sprinkles, then some more fudge. Then I got an 80 calorie yogurt out and put some spinkles in it, and was satisfied. Blah, it is hard to serve good stuff and not eat it! And yes, Daddy could do it, or one of the kids, but I know how much to give each one, ha.

My weight is pretty much staying the same, I need to get more exercise fit in. I am thinking of getting to the pool today, if I can. My morning walks have pretty much been phased out because it is so dark out, and the road is slippery. I just do the cheat-y small version, then on nice days go on a longer one later...

I wish it was easier to lose weight. I read a passage from a book written by a woman who had lost almost two hundred pounds, she said maintenance was the hard part because losing the weight was so satisfying: everytime she got on the scale the numbers went down. ha, must be nice! That is what I want, I would like to lose even one pound every week...and I get myself all rah-rah-rah about it, then...oops, chocolate happens. I can eat just veggies and meat, skip the tatoes or rice, pass on the dinner rolls, eat just a half slice of bread for a sandwich...but
chocolate...it is my big trip-up. So I am trying to just have a little here and there....No, I cannot live without it. I am also trying to mix up the days so that I have a higher calorie day, then a few really low cal days, just to try to fool the old metabolism. Yes, I wish it was easier.

Okay...Downton Abbey. Does anyone else watch it? It is on PBS on Sunday nights, last night was the start of the new season. No commercials because it is on public television, and it is pretty clean, and very entertaining. . Lots of us watched it last night, I curled up with Paul on one of the couches. I love it that I am married to a guy who loves Downton Abbey.

I generally try not to get bitten by the Home Improvement bug. Because once bitten, never satisfied. But occasionally, I see things that really need to be replaced. We have lived here for twenty years, almost 21, and the little kids' bedroom carpet is a light beige color, under all the marker spots and stains, anyway. It looks horrible! Joseph and Aaron shared that room when they were little, and they had one of those Goopy Goo machines that made goopy rubbery things when you squirted the bottles of stain-y good into the little molds and cooked them in the machine...well, they were not allowed to use it in their bedroom, but....anyway, year after year after year, that room has seen a parade of different toddlers and young children occupy it, with their leaky sippy cups and watercolor paints and stray markers...the room is freshly painted, new miniblinds, cleaned up and organized, but the carpet is awful. So it is on my List.

New windows for the whole house are also on the List, since the frames are literally rotting.

The kitchen floor, which my late brother Billy tiled for us, has so many cracked tiles...(Billy, where are you when we need you?)

The living room...we put this "wood" floor in three years ago, and there still is no molding where the floor meets the walls...

And and and...see, once I start....

Yes, things need to be fixed but I will try to be patient, and remember that I will not die if things do not get done. It seems once we decide something, it HAS to happen. ha.

Camille wants some attention, she is asking me if she is getting anything for Christmas...