happy birthday billy

William James, my brother, is 47 years old today. My sister and I stopped to visit him today, and wish him a happy birthday. There are seven siblings in my family, and it has been a while since we have all been together. We are going to try to do that sometime soon....

I have had such a headache today....I was out in the cold wind a bit, and that made it worse....even ibuprofen didn't help very much. I made a nice cuddly warm dinner tonight, and but when you have a headache, everything is different....we had:

about 7 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast, placed in a pot of: one can cream of chicken soup, one can of cream of celery soup, one 12 ounce jar of Heinz chicken gravy, and one can of chicken broth. The chicken was frozen, so it had to cook for about 3 hours....when it was done, I cut the chicken up in small pieces, and returned it to the gravy.

7 -8 pounds of white potatoes, peeled, quarterted, boiled, add: a stick of butter, one box of garlic herb mashed potato buds, and some milk.....

2 one pound bags of green beans, microwaved.....

2 cans of cranberry sauce....

4 boxes of Stovetop chicken stuffing, 2 in each glass baking dish, browned up in the oven.........
The chicken and gravy is good....very low in fat, too. We had enough left that we may be able to have some for dinner tomorrow night. That is because Sam and Aaron went for Chinese with their friends, and Margaret was at a friends house for dinner. And M. and Ben weren't here. That left only 13 of us. I know, still a table-full, but without some of the big eaters....

I haven't done very much today. Like I said, when you have a headache, things are different. Miss Camille was up several times last night, then Charlotte Claire was up early this morning....I changed her diaper, gave her a bottle, and put her back in bed....and she went back to sleep....but I was wide awake....just as I started to doze again, Camille was up again....I am not complaining.....this can happen even if you have 2 or 3 kids.....things are a bit harder when you are tired.....I kind of get used to it.....

I am thinking of an early start to bed tonight. I still have to get out clothes for tomorrow. Paul is taking tomorrow off, so I probably will be a bit busier. He works so hard, he wouldn't want to see me sit around on the computer, would he?

I have a doctor's appointment for Jonathan and Camille on Tuesday, which Paul also has off. It is Veterans' Day, and also Benjamin Paul's 20th birthday. Now that makes me feel old........

When Ben was born, I only had Emily, 3 (almost 4), and Abigail, almost 2. I had just gotten my driver's license the month before he was born. (I had my permit several times, and did know how to drive....but our car was a standard, and I just never learned it....)....anyway....one week before my due date, I went into the hospital with contractions....and got sent home.......I tried to take a nap at home. My mother was there to watch the girls.....my contractions continued, and got stronger and rougher.....Paul was helping my mom give the girls dinner...they had oranges for dessert.....when he came over to see how I was doing, I shooed him away, said he smelled like oranges.....my mother said, "Time to go to the hospital!".....and he was born an hour and a half later...8:30 pm, 11/11/88....he was so pretty. I remember right after he was born, he just looked and looked at us, like he was totally recognizing us......and he had reddish hair....which is sort of strawberry blonde now.....he was so cute. And he was small....he was only 6 lbs., 3 ounces. I remember worrying about it, and worrying to the dr. about it. He said, "He'll grow".....and he has....he is 6ft.1 now.....very slim and tall.....and not around very much, which is hard for me. He smokes, and has his friends, and his girlfriend, and his job delivering pizza, and he goes to college, commutes. He is nice and respectful and polite, but not around enough. The kids really love him. The years have just gone by too fast.......he has always been independant. When he was three years old, he could pick up the living room and vacuum. Seriously. He turned 4 when we were building this house, and he always went to the building site with Paul, and helped. He loved construction, trucks, football.....I must admit it is painful to have him grow up and not need me anymore. He calls to say where he is and what he's doing, and tells me, "I love you, mom.".....and I tell him I love him too......He is not a bad kid, but I do my share of praying for him.....I would much rather him be around more, and converted, too.....

I don't know why, but Charlotte Claire is still up. Paul is going to put her to bed now. I am lucky he helps so much. He usually tucks the 4 younger ones in....ushers them in, helps them brush teeth, and says their prayers with them.

Tonight, I expended alot of energy doing a job that I didn't even know existed. A few of the kids said they smelled something awful over near the nice red couch.....so, Emily looked underneath, and there was a leaking sippy-cup, with milk in it......so, we pulled the couch all the way out, and I cleaned it up.....and of course, we found all kinds of bonus stuff: hair elastics, barrettes, matchbox cars, socks, one pair of undies, some dollhouse stuff, papers, a few pennies....how does this stuff get under there? It was like a party for the little kids, as they scrambled to claim ownership of the Barbie shoe, or the necklace.....when it was all cleaned up and vacuumed and the couch put back, I felt like I had accomplished something.

happy birthday camille anaya

Yum, birthday cake......where did you put it?

Molly is pretty nice.....giving her a bite of her cake....

Ignore the girl at the far end of the table, she saw me coming with the camera. She didn't want these to go on the blog....sorry! With Ben, M., Joe, and Sam missing, and one friend over, there were 15 for dinner. I have to figure the number when setting the table each night.....now that Camille is one year old, and eats food, we have to count her. She gets a plate! Tonight we had home-made pizza and salad, and she had some little soft pieces, and some green beans. The canned kind are good baby snacks. And, some cookie crisp cereal. And, of course, birthday cake. And some apple juice in a sippy cup....



Lots of tousled kids on a Saturday night, after a busy day of playing.....dancing, running around, playing office, school, and nurse.

Charlotte Claire likes Camille's new caterpiller....she seems to think it's for her.

Yum, the antenna tastes good.....







Here is her present, wrapped in Spiderman Christmas paper.....

I gave her a present yesterday, too. A glow-baby that plays lullabye music, and it lights up. She liked it okay, but Charlotte Claire liked it more. I didn't bother to get her more presents, because we have so much stuff, and she doesn't really understand. When they get older, I get them stuff. The caterpiller was on clearance at the grocery store for $3.25.....Molly was not thrilled.....we have too many toys.....but Camille needs something for her birthday, for the other kids to get excited about.....

I did end up taking them out to the hot tub this afternoon. The girls' friend had never been in one before, and she was thrilled. The air was chilly, and the water nice and warm......I am very thankful for that hot tub. When the kids came inside, they were a bit subdued, it tends to make you feel relaxed.

5 girls are out at the table working on the 1000 piece puzzle. They slid it onto a cookie sheet for dinner time....wait, there are six of them, Charlotte Claire is still up. She is not working on the puzzle, she is helping them aquire patience.

Wow, today seemed sort of like a marathon day. Pleasant, but trying. It is very different to have a Saturday with chilly rainy weather. The kids have so much energy, and the house seems small. We need a treadmill. At least we have the hot tub......

Jonathan was pretty haywire this evening. It was time to settle down, and he was just going beserk. I told him to get some stories....he got 7 or eight of them....so, I read for 35 minutes to Charlotte Claire and Jonathan....If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.....David and Goliath...Curious George.....

One thing I have been thinking about is how through the years I have realized that when things happen, It's Not The End Of The World. When the baby wakes up 5 times in the night. When the toddler has no interest in potty-training. I think, "This, too, shall pass"....(where is that from?).....

Well, the puzzle girls are noisy and pretty entertaining. I cannot concentrate.....

just a quiet afternoon.

When the house is quiet and settled, it is hard to believe how crazy it can be in here at times. Camille and Charlotte Claire are napping, Emily is studying, a bunch of girls (with a friend over) are watching , "High School Musical 2", which I don't like very much, to put it nicely, but they do.....Samuel is going over to a friend's house, Joseph is gone for the day, Benjamin is at work,
Abigail is studying with a friend.....I have gone for my walk, and we cleaned up the house this morning. Aaron ran the dishwasher after lunch. It is a good day. Margaret made cupcakes, and it smells like chocolate in here. It is overcast and chilly, so it is extra cozy inside. I like afternoons like this. I am going to get up out of this chair and go make some frosting for the cupcakes.....and we are making pizzas for dinner. We didn't celebrate Miss Camille's birthday yet, and plan to tonight.

Did I ever mention that I actually spend alot of time sitting in this chair? More than I should, that's for sure. In the evenings I have found that if I am busy doing things, I can be almost resentful of being interrupted so much....and the evenings are a time for me to be available for the kids to just talk to me, especially the older ones. I should mention too, that in the evenings I am usually tired enough from the day to justify sitting here with my feet up.......sure, the house would look alot better if I spent time when the kids went to bed doing things....and I did that alot more, years ago. But now, I like my "down" time..... When I sit in this chair, I am usually not alone. Charlotte Claire is really attached to me right now, which is a bonus. I can't even go to the bathroom without distracting her majorly. So, when I sit down, she scrambles up onto one of the armrests, usually with a pile of books. Sometimes I have the computer out (laptop), and look at things with her....but sometimes, she wants me to put it away and read to her......and of course Camille likes her share of mommy's lap, too. And Jonny.

Emily is making a new chocolate cake recipe, with help from Kathryn. And Jon is out there watching. They took the movie out out, because it was skipping....and now they need something to do. So I, the nice and sacrificing mom, am going to take them in the hot tub.....I need to move it before Miss Camille wakes up.....

friday night, and all is well

Emily is sitting at the diningroom/kitchen table with Margaret, 11, and Kathryn 10. They are starting a 1000 piece puzzle. Oh dear. I cannot resist puzzles. I become addicted. There must be a chemical reaction in my brain when two, three pieces fit.....

The younger ones are in bed, and some of the older ones are still out. Abigail, our second oldest, she's 21, has taken some of the youth girls over to visit a friend, Missy, who can't always make it to activity club. Missy is 19, and she has Cerebal Palsy. She cannot speak, but she sure can communicate. She has alot of spirit, and she loves when the girls come over to watch movies with her. I often dream of her in heaven, where she can talk....

Anyway, Enola: if you are reading this: my kids are pop-tart kids. Your comment about taking both kids somewhere, and how it was probably easy for me: wrong. Today, when I went shopping with my three little ones, with Molly, 14, helping: I said to my sister-in-law, "If I ever get the bright idea that we can go somewhere without any older ones to help, please set me straight and remind me how crazy it gets...." I said that today. Because it is crazy with little ones sometimes. With one, and with two, and with three....they poop, they protest, they take out their cute little ponytails. They take off their shoes between errands, and they spit up on their cute little clothes. They fuss for things they cannot have, and we appease them with what we can afford. They insist they can buckle themselves, then cry for help after we get all buckled in ourselves. They put their own shoes on the wrong feet, and want to wear ugly sweaters. They drop things that I cannot possibly retrieve as we drive down the highway. But they rejoice at the firetrucks, the river, the phone company trucks, and fast food french fries.

I have learned a few things along the way, but mostly I think that the more kids I have, the less I know. I do know this: they are cute and funny and innocent, and I am honored to be their mother. I need to work hard sometimes to be patient and kind, sometimes to tears. It is not natural for me. I am frustrated and bored and selfish by nature. Anyway, I just wanted to reassure Enola that she is a wonderful mom, and tell her: don't compare yourself to how you think others are, those moms of your daughter's peers....we are all relatively the same, just floundering here, some can put on a better show than others...

Daughters....I have alot of them, eleven. They need to know they are beautiful. They need to know they deserve respect. I read once on someone's blog that the dad treated the daughters as princesses, so they had some standards of how they expected to be treated by any possible future husbands....I thought that was great. The world is such a harsh place.....

Well, I am so tired tonight I feel like I've had a few, which I haven't.....so goodnight...

she's one today, my sweet camille

Suzanne didn't like it when I met her on the deck with the camera when she got off the bus.... Sonja followed Suzanne, and didn't smile for me....

Evelyn wasn't going to come up the stairs.....

Get the cameras away from the movie star....

Little Miss Birthday girl had another rough night, she was up 4 times....and up for good at around 7:00. She has a bit of a cold, not too bad, but I wonder if she has a headache or earache....she doesn't have a fever, but she was 99.3 yesterday....so just sick enough to wake up at night, but not sick enough to call Dr. dr. She loves this piano.....we got it out for her the other day.... Well, let's see what's over here....she is walking between things, always holding on a little....

Ooh, the drawer. This is the drawer that I have kept the brush and hair ponies/barrettes for years....the latch recently broke, and it was Camille's full time job to open this drawer and throw everything out. I finally got sick of the game, and ruined it for her. I put all the stuff in a bag. Now there are only a few things for her to throw. But she still checks it out every morning...

She was not really in the greatest mood for shopping, but we really needed stuff. And I hate going out on a Saturday. It is so crowded. Come to think of it, I wasn't in the greatest mood for shoppping either. I am tired. I DID get my good nap yesterday, 1 hour and 45 minutes of sleep. Add that to the two hours I got, and you've got a crazy woman....then imagine my glee when she kept waking up last night.....but like I said, we needed stuff. So, Molly, my 14 year old daughter, volunteered to skip school to help me shop. I could have gone after school, but then I would have to have hurried to get home in time for Friday night activity club. So, she helped me out today. We got Camille a free birthday cake at Price-Chopper. They have a Baby Club, and give a regular $7.99 one layer cake for the first birthday. It is small, but it will be enough. The store bought cakes are so sweet, they only need a little.

I got some Christmas presents in Target today.....I don't know who of my kids read this, so I won't say....then, to the grocery store. Jon REALLY wanted a car car cart.....as he calls it, but Camille was in the stroller, and Charlotte Claire was in the cart.....I bribed him. I told him if he didn't fuss about not getting the dreaded car car cart, I would buy him a little car. He was quite happy about it. And he was very good. I let him pick out a rather nice one, not just the $1 kind. He likes stuff that hitches up.

My sister in law and her two little guys were with us today, too. We stopped for a coffee and some donuts on the way down to the store (with coupons, of course).....that was enjoyable. I do like my coffee. And drinking one while I drive is relaxing because I didn't have to jump up and do this and that.....just drive, talk to Molly and sister-in-law, and drink my coffee. And eat my donut, if you must know.

Then: on the way home we stopped at Burger King. I know, very bad. But: we were cheapies. We used some free fries coupons we got for halloween, and just got the kids each some fries.....and a little something for ourselves, with a coupon, of course.....

I was planning on a little nap this afternoon, but my 3 little girls, Evelyn, Suzanne, and Sonja, are coming home on the bus in a few minutes. I really want to see them. They are in third grade, second grade, and first grade. I feel like I never spend enough time with each child. But I try to grab them and give them random hugs, and tell them I love them. Last night was study spelling words night, and that can be hard here. Sonja always gets 100%, but Suzanne struggles. If she studies alot, she can do it, but when she doesn't, she can easily get a 30%. But she is a math whiz. And, unlike Paul and I and most of the other kids, she has really neat handwriting. I can't seem to always keep up with all the stuff they do in school. To say the least. But I try.

Tonight's dinner will be simple, because they have activity club, and have to have a quick one. I bought a few loaves of French bread, and some ham and turkey, and lettuce and tomatoes....so, I will make some sandwiches. They will probably have snacks there tonight, too. We are going to celebrate Camille's birthday tomorrow. We aren't doing much. But it's fun for the kids to have a party. I meant to get some balloons today, but I forgot. We did get dustbath for the Chinchilla today, though. Molly has been bugging me about that. Miss Chinchy likes her baths. And I remembered to get margarine, and bagels.....I never get special points for the things I remember, but when I forget things, .....

I need to get a new car seat for the amazing growing baby Camille. She is too big for her infant seat. I have had babies in car-seats since the law was first passed in New York state requiring them. When Emily was born, they did not yet have infant seats available, only the bigger 5lbs-40lbs seats....all vinyl. When I had Abigail, I got a Kanga-Rock-a-roo seat, specially for infants.
But it was too bulky for the shopping carts. Finally when I had #6, Aaron, I got a Fisher-Price infant car seat that snapped on to the shopping cart, and it had the nice canopy.....I have had a few different ones since then, and the larger toddler car seats have improved, too. But they no longer make them with the shields, just the buckled harnesses. Charlotte Claire has one that has a shield. When I let her ride in Jonathan's Graco recently, she pulled the chest buckle all the way down, and tried to get her arms out. So I am not very hot on getting Camille a Graco. I would really like the Britax Marathon, but the cheapest one I have found is $186 + 9.99 shipping, on Amazon......it is good up to 65 pounds. It is pretty, and cushy. Any opinions? Is it worth it? It seems harder to for a child to slide the buckle down.....but SO expensive. But the way I am on the go, I would use it so much.....I don't know. Especially with Christmas coming, it's hard to spend that much....

Charlotte Claire and Camille are taking very nice naps right now. I had Joseph do the dishwasher, Samuel sweep, Margaret clear the table from snack, and Kathryn pick up the living room. Some of them are watching channnel 24 (public programming, kid friendly), WordGirl.....Evelyn and Sonja are cleaning their room, voluntarily. They probably have plans to have someone over......

I have been really happy today. I just see things extra clearly sometimes, I guess like when I am tired, and have to lean on God. And I am thankful for my life. A little while ago Evelyn, 9 years old, was storming around here like a mini-hurricane. So I called her over, and had her look into my eyes. She was trying to avoid it, but I made her....I kept coaxing her, saying come on, come on......so she did, and I said, "Who loves you? Huh, huh, who loves you?"....I think I broke whatever anger she had in her....I then hugged her and hugged her, and told her to fight against that anger that wants to wreck our home. I told her she could do it. And I hugged her, and she hugged me back. And she seems better.

So, I'll take the happiness. There are other days , I know, days that I have to fight for it. But today I am happy.

soooo tired...

Miss Camille, enjoying her last day of being eleven months old, crawled into the kitchen, got in the "rain car", and drove backards across the room....how can she know these things? Someone REALLY needs a haircut.....and yes, he picked out his clothes....

Wow, leaves are interesting.....

Charlotte Claire lugged this apple around, then had a fit when we were going in the house, because she had left it in the wagon....and she hasn't even taken a bite yet....

Sunshine.



Jonathan Robert....

Chocolate milk....

Just being outside was nice for Miss Adventurer....

I told the three little girls this morning when they got up to be really good for me, I am so tired I can't remember their names....So Sonja said, "I'm Sonja, and that's Suzanne over there....."

I was up at 6:30 yesterday morning, and when I hadn't been to sleep yet at 2:30 this morning, I had been up for 20 hours.....I finally gave Miss Fussy Baby some Tylenol. And after rocking and fussing for another 2 hours, she finally conked. I sneaked her back into her little pink bed, and I do believe I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. Just a bit over two hours later, it was seven o'clock, time to get up! I was tempted to just roll over and go back to sleep.......really tempted...

So, remembering the title to my morning post yesterday, "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it....", I determined to do just that. Then, Charlotte Claire woke up and came out here, jabbering about how there was a mess in her crib....I smelled it (sorry nasueas pregnant women).....and yeah, she had thrown-up during the night. (It did occur to me at some point that she COULD have cried when it happened, and thankfully she just slept.....I would be more tired than I am!)....anyway, shower for her, immediately....and her bedding.....I hate to admit it, but I threw away the sheet..

Yah, so it has been a challenging day. I thought I would just sneak in a few loads of laundry, take care of the kids and not try to do to much. So it seemed logical to bring them outside to play in the sixty something degree weather. I put some old pants on Camille, so she could crawl in the leaves. We went out with bottles and a sippy cup, apples, peanut-butter cookies, some Gerber baby snacks, and a napkin. And the camera.

After I got tired of rescuing the crawlilng Camille from things she shouldn't have, like fallen pears and the wet dirty sandbox lid, I called it quits and dragged them back inside. I made a big pot of popcorn (yes, the stove top stuff, with butter)....and put Camille in for her nap...and I am counting the minutes until the school kids get home so I can join her.....I just hope she doesn't wake up before that.....

Okay, I can't keep quiet anymore. Why is okay to vote FOR someone just because of their race, but horrible to NOT vote for someone because of race? There was a local 8th grade teacher, who actually told her students that whoever didn't vote for Mr. Pres. elect was racist. Come on. I personally don't care what race you are, if you think that in this great country, One Nation Under God, that it is okay to kill the unborn, I will not vote for you. If you think it's okay to take more money from hardworking people to fund the underpriveledged-lazy, then I will not vote for you. (I have a daughter who works her tail off. She makes a good wage. Really good. She has health insurance. She is going to college part time while she works full time. She will end up making more money. And working very hard. I have a son. He plays his guitar, alot. If he chooses to sit around and play his guitar, and doesn't go to college (yes, she has loans), WHY IN THE HECK SHOULD SHE FUND HIS HEALTH INSURANCE? ) Anyway, spreading the wealth is nothing short of socialism. We have plenty of programs in place already for people who are going through hard times. I am not saying we should take those away. I just think that health insurance is something that is an incentive to get a good job. Our insurance only covers the kids until a certain age, unless they are in college. So, they either have to get a job with insurance (with no college education, good luck), or go to college to stay on the insurance....that is INCENTIVE. Since when did government become the mommy and daddy of the people? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.......

I am probably too tired to be spouting about politics.....if you don't agree with me, I really don't care. I will still love you. My parents disagreed almost totally politically. It has been coming back to me recently, how she used to go vote to "cancel out Daddy's vote".....but she would never come out and say who she voted for. Politics can be the great divider. I have told the kids not to go to school and argue with the kids about the new leader. It doesn't do any good. And kids follow what their parents say, mostly, and can't help it if they fall for the idealism. Change. The people want change......oh, stop me, somebody stop me....

On a better note, I am going to take the best nap in the world today. Nobody is going to wake me up for a stupid phone call, or by slamming doors. Camille is going to stay asleep, or if she wakes up, one of the school kids will come in and get her right away, so I can drift right back to sleep. Maybe someone will even start dinner while I slumber......hey, it doesn't hurt to dream.

perpetual motion

It started out quiet....Jonathan was looking at his Ford truck book....they had gone in the hot tub, and I thought they were relatively settled down for the night. I hoped so, Paul was at a meeting, and Camille was still up....

The couch must've looked bare to Charlotte Claire....
Needed more pillows....and pillows, why they must've reminded her of jumping!

Meanwhile, Camille is having a little drink of juice and some cuddle time with Sonja K.

Evelyn Joy needed something signed....don't take my picture, mom! (On the table is my old trusty Nikon, with the front bitten off....oops.)

Kathryn was tired....pulling kids around the livingroom on a blanket is tiring.....

Oh, what fun.....they spread the blanket out, that means gymnastics!

And: jumping off the pink chair!

All right, Kap!

fun, fun, fun....

and now, they are almost all in bed. Jonathan is in the hot tub with Abigail....Emily is preparing some lunch for tomorrow at work. Aaron is on a computer, Joseph and Samuel are playing a game.....Paul is home from his meeting.....Ben went to bed....and that's all I know.

Is this another Indian Summer here in central New York? In the high sixties, and sunny....so pleasant. I sat out on the deck today, and I hung out alot of bedding to dry. I also went on my walk....feels nice when it's this warm....