sunny morning

Aaron 19, Joseph 20 with General Thunder, and Samuel 16. Aaron and Sam were pretty happy to have Joe in the middle with the cat, they love Mr. Thunder so much. It is a common sight around here to see those boys holding one of the kitties...it used to be babies, now it is cats. Seriously though, my sister told me that Aaron was over at Susan's the other night, and he continuously had either newborn Davian, or one of the baby twins in his arms.

I like to tell Jonathan about when he was a baby and the boys always wanted him. If I didn't nurse that boy, I never would have had a turn with him - he was so well-loved. I think after the five girls, then losing Robert, we were just over the moon with little Jonny. Of course the two little princesses who followed were pretty well-received too...

I was telling Jonathan just this morning how difficult it is every year to send the kindergartner off on that big bus. But Camille will be gut-wrenching. She is my sweetie-pie. It isn't that I love her more than the other kids, but she is the last one, and she gets so much attention. She also GIVES so much attention. She just plain loves me. She never answers back, rarely gives me a hard time, no, she is just a snuggler-talker-friend...wah. I did feel bad when it was bed time last night, her and Charlotte Claire were deep into playing baby dolls. They have lots of real clothes, and some really nice babies. I SO wanted to let Char skip today...but there is no school tomorrow, and I am picking them up early today...Camille is in her room right now with her baby. They get so involved with their play, it seems like their babies are real. They always hold their babies' heads carefully...

Babies babies babies. hmm. What I would give for just one more...

Dang, my coffee cup is empty. That is the saddest moment each morning, when I pick up the cup and...emptiness.

It is not easy to resist the good stuff around here. The college kids are on break, so Mirielle made the yummy pan-popped popcorn with butter and salt...I wandered out to the bowl and ate just a little bit...then battled with wanting more...before I went in to bed, I found myself taking a side-trip through the kitchen, and YES! the bowl was empty. But...she had melted the butter in the big pan, and there was some salt in it..I stuck my finger in that salty butter, and oh yum...just a few more tastes...oh, I am bad. Fat people aren't really bad, we just LIKE things.

It isn't too hard to forgo the carbs at meals, but passing up the ice cream? I usually just say no, but yesterday I had behaved so well...so I had just a quarter cup of Ben and Jerry's Pumpkin Cheesecake ice cream. I cannot find words to describe the creaminess, the rich pumpkin flavor, the texture...I went back to the kitchen to rinse my cup, ha, aka look in the carton for just another spoonful, and YES! the carton was in the trashcan...there is another unopened one, but it being unopened was enough of a deterrent/wake-up that I didn't really want to have more. So it isn't that I have lots of self-control, it's just that my Wait-'Til-It's-Gone approach is golden around here.

I also crave that feeling that comes from knowing I am giving this My ALL. There is no other feeling like it in the world.

Evelyn is the only one who didn't go to school today...she isn't feeling well. So. I think I might sneak out the door for a walk/run soon. Preferably without Rosie, the Arm Pulling Dog. She is horrid, she can't ever just relax and enjoy the scenery.

We had burgers, graciously grilled outside by Joseph, for dinner last night. He seasoned them up, and cooked them just right. I had mine without one of those fresh yummy buns, with a pile of salad with slivered almonds and a few craisins. It felt like summer. Everyone was here except for Emily and Abigail, and of course Benjamin. wah. It is really warm here in New York state these days. Today is supposed to be in the high seventies. We skipped spring, and went right to summer. But we all know there will probably be snow again one of these days.

Perhaps I should go on my walk before it starts to rain...