afternoon break...

Ha, I write that as I actually have something to take a break from. Today has been a heavenly day. Camille and I stayed in the dark cozy house, all hemmed in by the cloudy skies. We did venture out for a short walk down the road so Rosie could go pee, and Camille could collect some pretty weeds. Other than that...I exercised, she played. I swept the floors, she played Polly Pocket. We cuddled a bit, ate some lunch together...we had leftover chicken breast sauteed in olive oil with seasoning, served on fresh spinach, with craisins, sunflower seeds, and slivered almonds. And bacon bits. And an orange Camille peeled for us. She is hilarious, the way she loves raw spinach. She calls it, "leaves". She prayed before lunch, she said, "Please God, know that I love you. And watch over Benny because I don't want him to die. One of my brothers already died, and I miss him every day. So please God don't let Benny die." I do not know where this child gets her drama. She was not even alive when we lost Robert, so she can't possibly miss him. And I don't know where she even got the idea that Benjamin is in danger. But I guess a four year old can figure out that being, "in war" means "danger".

We are having some issues with flooding in the downstairs, in Sam's bedroom, unfortunately. It has been really rainy, and it is seeping in. He is moving all his stuff into the hallway, I think he might abandon the room until we can do something about it. blah, it's always something.

Joseph and Kathryn went to the post office to mail a guitar to Benjamin. They are also going to get a birthday present for Jonathan, his party is going to be on Saturday. 8 years old already!

When they were leaving, I looked in my purse for the van keys, and found a pumpkin spice flavored Nip that my sister gave me a few months ago. It is really good with my coffee. Thank you, Cheryl, I am finally trying it! The keys weren't in my purse, they were in the van. Who left them there? Me? One of the kids said, "Mom, you shouldn't do that." Well you know dear, I didn't do it on purpose. We moms make mistakes too.

Having teenagers is a good thing. If taken right, the parent can come to some real humility. Everything I have ever said to one of the kids has been said back to me by a teenager. I am beginning to understand how it has been for them when I have said things that didn't need to be said, like, "Well, you have to THINK next time." Or, "That's what you get." Or, "Think before you speak." Sowing needs to be done in peace. When things happen, it usually is better to be quiet. Parents can stir up so much wrath, thinking it is their "right" to say whatever they want, without realizing how difficult it is for the poor kids to take it when they are already upset about something. Then on top of it, the parent doesn't let the kid defend himself or talk back AT ALL. ouch for the kid. I am learning though!

How did this get to be about parenting? There are no rules that work for one and all, it is really all about being patient, being patient, praying for more patience, praying for wisdom, and suffering. Just because I am The Mom doesn't mean I get to have the last word. I want peace, I want to have it good with my kids, I want to be a good example. Love covers a multitude of sins.(1 peter, 4 v.8)

Soccer practice has been cancelled for tonight, which figures, because I actually prepared dinner so they would have time to eat before they went, for once. There are ten pounds of chicken wings in the oven, a loaf of Vienna bread thawing on the counter, and three pounds of broccoli to be microwaved. The wings are done, and smell so good. I will melt some butter, mix it with hot sauce, and make most of the wings Buffalo style. The rest I will toss with barbecue sauce for the younger kids.

Samuel is going camping this weekend with some of the boys from church, up in the Adirondacks. It will be around 18 degrees Friday night, and they are sleeping in a lean-to. Sounds fun... not! I just gave him a huge (56 ounce) bag of M&M's to take.

Evelyn just came back from a run in the rain.

I worked out today, and have been pretty good about eating well...but. I took out a huge package of frozen cookies that I had gotten at BJ's for $2.99 a few months ago...chocolate chip, pumpkin chocolate chip, and chocolate fudge....and baked them up for the kids to have after school. I put on a pot of coffee for Margaret, Sam, and I, and stayed the heck away from the cookies. I did eat some of the chips that broke off when they were still frozen, so I vowed not to have any of the baked cookies. They smelled heavenly. I just took them off the trays and walked away. I microwaved four strawberries, cut them up with my spoon, added a lowfat sugar free yogurt and fifteen honey roasted peanuts, and voila! My afternoon snack.

Today after I exercised, I Tryed Things On. A skirt I bought several months ago finally fits! And I can get one pair of pants zipped without lying on the bed...but they are still too tight. Progress though! The scale does tell a story, but not always the WHOLE story. And I can't just compare my progress with others...I just have to keep going, not give up, and one of these days that scale will go down.

Time to get moving again, this break has been too long.