late night writing...

It's quiet in here, and I am yawning over and over and over again. But the quiet is too delicious to not stay up and enjoy. Jonathan had like five friends over, and if you've never had a house full of teenage boys, well, let's just say they don't even know what the word QUIET means. They're good kids, they really are, and I don't mind them coming over, but it IS noisy. Add the rest of my kids, and someone riding around on the hoverboard, and Suri needing a bath, and you have just a little bit of chaos.

I dragged out the sewing machines today, to teach the little girls how to sew. Camille did okay, she made a pillowcase, with a bit of help. Char declined a turn at the machine, said she would try tomorrow when there's no one around. She is afraid to make a mistake. I mean, Cam sewed the edge of the pillowcase to the middle of it, somehow.

I made a few new covers for the couch pillows, figure it's better to just cover the fur pillows than pack them away...and ha, forget where they are when I want them.

Kathryn made burgers for dinner, and one of my teenage daughters was not happy, she had just showered and washed her hair, and didn't want to "smell like hamburgers." She suggested we grill them outside. um, no. Too cold, sorry!

Paul has been working too much. He left for work far before I got up at 6:45, and came home at almost nine p.m. He ate dinner, didn't sit down, just walked around the kitchen and ate, packed up some lunch, filled the coffee pot for morning, then showered and went to bed. He has projects at work, is going to India again soon, and then after that, Singapore. That's pretty far away.

We are getting a gym membership tomorrow, it expired a bit ago. Kathryn agreed to hold down the fort for a bit, when Anne is napping, so I can go and take Jon, Char, and Cam to the pool for a swim. :)

Well, sorry, but it's no good staying up late to write when the kids have all gone to bed if I can't stop yawning! I wish I could just sleep here in my chair. I am too tired to get up and take a shower, but I will. In a minute.

Yesterday, Camille and I sneaked out and about for a little while. We went to the craft store, and got some new spring fake flowers, and some Easter decorations, which were 70% off, then an additional 15% off for my teacher's discount. So we got a basket for like 45 cents, and some sparkly eggs to put in it, and a few small cute little bunnies, and a string of pastel lights to put on the bookcase. Cam thought it was great fun, and I am a sucker for The Enthusiasm of Children, and Lord knows there are not enough "children" around here anymore. They get older and roll their eyes at cute bunnies!

In the afternoon, Evelyn and I took a quick trip to the thrift store, and yay, I found the perfect little bookshelf for Jon's room! He asked for one, and I said to wait, I'd find one at the thrift store, and it was only $8.99. I can't wait to chalk paint it. I also got a water table for the deck, for spring and summertime with grandchildren (and for Anne!), for $4.99. Ev found an excellent jacket, and some Tom's (shoes) which looked unworn, and I found new Adidas pants. All for 34 dollars.

Anyway. Today was a stay-at-home day, which was nice. Anne was as cute as she usually is. We got some school done, and I made a keto almond flour lemon/blueberry bread that was super yummy. The recipe was for one loaf, but it baked it in two pans so the loaves were smaller. I ate about half of one throughout the day, but sliced up a lot to freeze. It's nice to be able to microwave the almond bread with some butter, and have a good healthy snack when I really want something carb-y. Camille shredded up orange zest for me since we had no lemons, then I added lemon juice, it was just yummy. I did add two teaspoons of honey, which isn't bad for two loaves, 30 calories of sweetener, and two packets of stevia. It was moist and looked delicious, but was unsweet and satisfying.

Tomorrow, Abigail is stopping in, Benjamin is coming for dinner with Ashley and Anya (and baby Elise, but she doesn't eat food yet!)

Margaret and Adrian's baby was due yesterday, so one of these days, you will open this blog, and there'll be pics of grandbaby # five!!! She is SO ready to have that baby! Adrian is so excited he can barely sleep. Ha get used to it, right?

Then Thursday morning, four of the kids(and Abigail) are heading out to Boston in a fleet of rental vans with the other youth kids, to fly to Norway for their Easter camp. (Mirielle and Kathryn are going later) It's all centered around the young people, like 4,200 of them from around the world, doing activities and having meetings. It's also for their mentors, older youth who have good soft hearts and work with the younger ones. It's really amazing that they get to go, they are SO excited about it! They have to miss a bit of school, so they have been so busy making up work in advance. They have been washing their clothes and packing and having permission forms signed, and remembering shampoo and fretting over TWELVE DAYS of underwear!

It's all quite exciting. It will be super quiet here, with just Paul and I, and Joseph, and the little girls here, and then Anne coming over, and Lydia...they will both be here on Thursday.

Next week, ugh, I have that biopsy on Monday, a mammogram on Wednesday, then an appointment with the breast cancer specialist on the following Monday. I also am planning and hoping to be with Marg and Adrian when their baby is born, so I have to figure out what to do with little girls, have a back-up plan for Anne (I think her Aunt Audrey, my sister Cheryl's youngest, will watch her). Never a dull moment. I'm glad my life isn't dull, but a few dull moments all strung together would suit me. :) With a stack of good books, and some cookies, although I am not eating cookies these days. I don't like to come out and say it, but I am doing okay, diet-wise. Once I get a few days of clean eating under my considerably large belt, I feel on top of the world, so I have to be careful, because we all know what happens too easily, and it starts with maybe an absent-minded bite of something chocolate, or the dreaded ONE POTATO CHIP. Or, maybe it starts with the thought that since it's a party, or since we worked so hard, or since I spent so much money on this pizza, or or or...there is no end to the plethora of excuses that flood my brain on a regular basis. Getting sugar free helps. I am trying to ease myself back into more strict keto, that way I am mildly interested in donuts and cookies, but feel satisfied...and well, that's not entirely true. I am never, nor have ever been, only MILDLY interested in donuts and cookies. It's my plague in life, the thorn in my flesh, my Achilles heel.

And...I'm tired. Goodnight.