tearwater tea...

I did not invent the concept of tearwater tea. It is a story in the book, "Owl At Home", by Arnold Lobel. The story depicts Mr. Owl thinking of sad things, like sunsets that no one saw, mashed potatoes left on a plate, pencils too short to use, and chairs with broken legs. Mr. Owl cries his tears into a tea pot, and says that tearwater tea is always very good.

This has always been one of our favorite children's books, and my dear late mother, who got things mixed up, called it Owl Water Soup instead of Tearwater Tea.

So, this is what is Owl Water Soup....my kids, twelve of them (everyone but Emily, who had to work, and Ben, who is in the Army, and the two little girls), plus Mrs. Ashley piled into the minivan and Abigail's car, and drove to a small city nearby to go ice-skating. I had given them some money, but imagine their surprise when the lady behind the counter told them it would be NINETY-ONE DOLLARS.....okay, so seven dollars each doesn't sound too daunting, but when it all adds up, OUCH. So they went to DunkinDonuts, then to Walmart, where they bought some pizzas to bring home and bake....

Paul and I were home with just the little girls. I prepared a yummy dinner for tomorrow's lunch at church: Peppercorn marinated chicken breast cutlets, 6 pounds of boiled and cubed red potatoes, mixed with three cans of cream of celery soup, plus lots of fresh chopped green peppers and onions, and a pound of crispy bacon crumbled on top....all in the crockpot in the 'fridge, ready for tomorrow.

The bigger kids got home from their failed ice skating expedition, put the pizzas in the oven, and we played poker, Abigail, Mirielle, Joseph, Aaron, Samuel, Margaret, Kathryn, Evelyn, and I. It turns out that I am very bad at poker. But it was oh-so-much-fun. Mali was helping Mrs. Ashley get things set up in her room, and Paul was watching football.

Now they have put a movie in, but four of the kids are still battling it out to be the poker game winner.

And this movie is distracting....

among the worst noises that exist....

Is the noise of a child vomiting during the night. Or even worse, one hour after Mommy goes to bed, especially if that also happens to be DURING the night.

I shall spare the details, but my dear friend and room mate Miss Camille Anaya did tell me she had a tummy ache while I rocked her last night before bed. So I heard whimpering....I was getting up to see what was wrong with her, and then the gushing splashing sound, ugh, all over her new PillowPet....blah, I never know what to do first. I cleaned Miss Camille up and wrapped her in a big cozy towel while I took care of her bed and got her clean jammies...the only good part was that she just sat there with her big eyes, and was so so sweet about the whole thing. When she was clean and warm and her bed was clean and warm, I tucked her in with a barf-bowl, and she used it a few more times. When a child is big enough to hit the bowl, that child is a keeper.

Now one would never suspect this sweetie was ever sick. She went out to play in the snow, had cocoa, and is playing Barbies with the Kitty, aka Charlotte Claire....

The cocoa drinking is going on and on in here today...the bigger kids stayed outside for much longer. It is 26 degrees and sunny, which is ridiculously a "nice" day for around here in January.

And Mommy feels very zombie-ish, waking up so much last night. Miss Camille has a cold, also, and she kept sneezing last night, and each time she did, I got up and wiped her nose for her. She was so dear and sweet about the whole thing, I just kept telling her what a good girl she is....she sat with me for quite a while this morning....she really is my little friend.

The other day someone left a newborn baby in a dumpster in a village not far from here. The woman hasn't been apprehended yet, and the man who found the baby is said to be traumatized by it. I would have TAKEN that BABY!!! I don't even want to wonder what would make someone do something like that, because I don't know what that woman has gone through, so I don't want to get into all of that, but there IS a Safe Haven law in New York State, in which there are no criminal consequences for leaving a baby 5 days old or younger in a safe place such as a police or fire station, or a hospital. And it happens. Then those unwanted babies become blessings for families who gladly adopt them. Anyway, it is a heartache for me. I could never be a cop or an investigator, I would be a crying mess. Just thinking about that newborn being born and crying and instinctively needing warmth and security, then being left out in the single-digit freezing cold...how? why?

Oh well....

Things to do...like more laundry, thank you, Camille....

how can such sweet children make such messes?

That bedroom, it gets SO messy SO fast. I spent like three hours in there cleaning today. I had Suzanne and Sonja to "help" me...but they had no vision. The did not get into it, did not want to do it. Then Emily came over and wanted Sonja to come to her apartment for a visit...I was the mean mommy for once, and said NO, because she hadn't been helpful, and the room was a mess. Sonja cried, I felt guilty, but hey, someone has to be mean once in a while. Otherwise they don't listen at all...and the thing is, once the room gets clean, they love playing in there and are all thankful that I helped them.

And the guilty part of it is that I know full well that I am not very good at maintenance...although now that my hands are free-er, meaning baby-less arms, it is much easier to keep up with things. So I do feel guilty because I should be making sure they pick up each and every day, making sure it doesn't get monumental before we tackle it. It used to be easier, many years ago when I had 7 or 8 kids, I could keep things under control...but somewhere along the way...anyway, enough about how it happened, it happened.

I took a break from cleaning long enough to put the pork chops in the oven, they had marinated overnight in the lemon pepper sauce. I asked Mirielle to prepare some veggies, and put the biscuits in the oven....the chops were so very yummy, the aroma as they roasted, oh yum. Okay, I know I love food, sorry, I just do.

Well, we have snuggled and had popcorn and some of the yummy Lindt Truffles that Emily bought for me at Border's, $1 for each 8.75 ounce bag...she gave me four bags....I opened one tonight and we shared.....(I know better than to open a bag of those when there aren't at least 6 people around...)

It is time for bed...Evelyn tried to help me out by brushing Camille's teeth, but apparently Camille wanted to use Evelyn's toothbrush, and of course Evelyn said she couldn't, so tears and fusses.....time for Mommy to move it...

oops......

He he he...I kind of didn't get out of bed this morning...oops. If you are a teacher and are reading this, sorry! I know today is a big day at school, but I totally cannot help it, I never woke up. Paul has today of from work, so we DID stay up extra late....of course, HE is sleeping in all nice and cozy...and I guess I did, too. I cannot blame my alarm clock, I do not use one. I always just wake up when I am supposed to, except for today. Well, occasionally one of the first trip kid will come in and get me up, but I usually am already awake....

I thought perhaps there was a snow day today, because no one had gotten me up. But no, no snow day. It IS a day that I do not mind keeping the younger ones home, however...the school is having a LOCKDOWN. A practice drill for that day which might happen, the day when an angry student comes in with a machine gun.....so this drill has all the teachers locking the kids into the classrooms for a half hour, out of sight of the door, keeping quiet, cell phones off....and um, excuse me if I am too Mommy-ish, but does this not sound terrifying to the kids?

So I am not too sad about sleeping in, not too sad at all....I just don't know what I shall say to the school nurse when she calls and asks if the kids are sick....

I haven't taken Rosie-The-Bad-Dog out yet, I turned on the computer to see if perhaps there was the ever-exciting Snow Day, then I ended up here.....oops again.

That poor dog is going to pee in her cage, so I shall be merciful....I get to go out in the new snow....yes, we got even more last night....

almost bed time...

Since I stayed up until two o'clock in the morning talking to Mirielle and Ashley, I was so tired this morning....I went back to bed and Mirielle, who said she wasn't tired, got the kids off to school then took care of the two little girls for a bit while mommy slept. It was Oh-So-Yummy. We had to do some shopping today, so off we went. There was at least a six inch deep coating of snow on the van windshield to clear, and of course I had no mittens on....brr.

We went to Kohl's, especially to get my niece Hannah something sweet for her baby shower this Saturday. We got one, two, three, four....hmm, five sweet things! It was quite fun. I also got Mr. Jonathan a few shirts and a sweatshirt and some sneakers....he is only six, and his next up brother is 15, so we didn't save things. (Because the things Sam wore were probably already handed down....)

Then to Target, the place I shouldn't go to....well, they had marked the Christmas stuff down 90% off! I got two $15 containers of ornaments for $1.50 each, and lots of other sets for fifty cents. I will give them as gifts next year, as well as replace the broken ones form this year, courtesy of Camille....or perhaps Benjamin and Ashley will have a place, and a tree.....

Then to the grocery store....The little sweetiepies were good in the other stores, so they each got a blue Icee from Target, to keep them happy and sticky in the grocery store. Charlotte Claire didn't get sticky at all, actually, and Camille only at the end of it...she took the top off to get the last bit....

We got some bananas and romaine and green peppers and chocolate chip cookies (they were from the bakery, buy a 16 pack get one free...we hadn't had any lunch, and we designated them as our Van Snack...), tortillas and cheese and pork chops and popcorn and pasta and bread and milk and some FrenchToast sticks....

We headed home, enjoying some cookies but skipping our McDonalds coffee...wah, but some habits have to be cut....if I had gone through the driveway for that yummy steaming hot coffee, the girls would have wanted fries, and a burger...and I would have wanted a burger...so we headed home with our cookies.

Home: I made four pizzas for dinner, a veggie, a pepperoni and veggie, a garlic and cheese, and a plain pepperoni. Aaron made up a quick tossed salad, and we had a very good dinner.

Paul brought the kids home some treats for after dinner, cotton candy. I had treats for the older kids, count-town to Christmas with chocolates which were regularly $9.99 for 99 cents. Chocolate mints and mini peanutbutter cups and mini caramel pecan turtles. Yummy, indeed. But not worth ten bucks....

We also got some shower gifts for our friend Rachael who is getting married this month and is having a wedding shower on Sunday.

Camille is dressed in her pink princess gown and her plastic high heels, playing the ukelele. She is so darling and sweet, and right now she is tired....I need to get moving and get them read to and sung to and tucked in. The poor child has circles under her eyes. She does not nap anymore, and she just gets so tired out.

Someone stole Joseph's identity and used up all the money in his account, plus left an overdraft fee. He has to go to the bank and get it all straightened out, but I don't know how much he will be liable for. How can people do such a thing to a young guy who has so little money? How can people like this sleep at night? I told Joseph that whoever did it might get away with it in this world, but when he/she stands before God someday, his/her knees will be a knocking....

Well...time reading Skippity Skip and Cat In The Hat to Camille....

aah, a break....

Okay, so I am very lazy, and take lots of breaks. But I like breaks. A break from what you might ask? Well....

1. cleaning and picking up.

2. wiping the floor after Miss Rosie-The-Bad-Dog took a rest and all the snowballs that were on her furry legs melted.

3. laundry...I have done so much laundry today....

4. unloading and loading the dishwasher.

5. preparing dinner, which some of my older kids protested about, but I made anyway....leftover spaghetti noodles, in two baking dishes with sauce and the leftover meatballs spread on top, with mozzarella cheese and parmesean cheese on top.

6. staying out of Mirielle's way while she prepared two loaves of French bread, which are now baking and filling the house with that mouthwatering smell....

7. Bugging Joe and Sam 'til they finally went out and shoveled the driveway. Nagging takes lots of energy.

8. Helping the kids get dressed to go out to play.

9. cleaning up the Great Gumdrop and Candy Party that Charlotte Claire and Camille had in the downstairs of their dollhouse....

10. having some of Mirielle's homemade caramel popcorn while watching "Charlie and Lola" with the kids....

(I DID say I take a lot of breaks...)

11. Having lunch with the girls, soup and grilled cheese.

12. writing and mailing a letter to Benjamin, including the new packet of stamps I bought for him.

So now it is a breather. Ben's friend is here putting the carpet down in Ashley's room. Mali is doing homework, Aaron went to work, Joseph is helping Ben's friend, Sam is now doing homework, the girls are playing in their room....the dishwasher is running for the second time today, so we will have room for the supper dishes....and it is peaceful in here. Peaceful and quiet aren't the same things, however it happens to be peaceful AND quiet right now. I'll take it.....

I wish I wish I wish...

But it just ain't so. Yesterday I went to a WIC appointment with the two little girls. (women, infants, children). (It is basically a nutrition program, government run, that provides kids under five with monthly allotments of basic foods like cheese and peanutbutter (or beans), juice, milk, and a bit of fresh produce.)(it is also for pregnant women)...

Well anyway, yesterday I took the girls, which is always fun for them. They get to see all the babies, and the little kids their size, and there is a bookcase there filled with children's books. So yesterday I went in with them, and one of the nice ladies who works there came up to me and asked if we were certifying me for a new pregnancy. I simply said no, I was just there for the little girls. Okay, she said. Wah. Why did she think that? Do I look pregnant? Part of me hopes she is a prophet, and I am pregnant and just don't know it yet. ha. I suppose one of these years I will give up hope...but for now, it is there! When I went to talk to one of the other ladies, after seeing all the babies there and having the one woman think I was pregnant, I brought up the subject of all the unwanted babies and children in this world, and how I wish there was a way to channel those precious ones to the ones who would cherish them (namely ME, ha).....she said it is very difficult sometimes to see the way some mothers are with their kids. They are poor, bothered, tired, in a hurry, bored, whatever...they take it out on the kids, talk to them so roughly. They themselves have probably not had any guidance, therefore they do not really know any better. So one of these ladies said, "Yesterday I finally said something to this one mom...she was just being so MEAN to her kids...so I reminded her that they are beautiful children, and such blessings....and she did NOT like this. But I thought to myself, Perhaps she will think about this later, and it will help her to think about how she is...." So I told the Lady that I sometimes struggle with saying things to moms, with trying to encourage them that is IS hard sometimes, but to hang in there...but it obviously isn't going to be well-recieved, they will just think I am nosy and crazy. She told me that sometimes just the example of living His will is a help to others.....and that I probably don't realize how much of an "living epistle" I am...

I was flattered. But God is good. I know darned well how I am, I know I have much sin to work with. So I didn't walk out of there adjusting my halo.

I matched socks last night. One laundry basket overflowing with matched socks, one 3/4 full of unmatched socks. But I am not finished yet, there are still many pairs still to be gotten together. So it is hopeful. Someday, I want to live in a world where there is zero divorce among the socks. Not even trial separation.

My Camille is up now, in her pink fuzzy jammies with green froggies all over them. The jammies, nor she, could be any cuter. She has a slight cold, and is more cuddly, but also more fussy than normal. She was inspired by seeing the babies at WIC yesterday, she has her baby in her stroller with an afghan covering the whole thing. Both the little girls were in doll-playing mode when we got home, they took out like five strollers.....I had little Timmy here, the four year old I was watching, and they just incorporated him into their play. Charlotte Claire was calling him, "Hon", and he was answering....

We are going to a baby shower for my niece on Saturday. She is expecting a little girl in February. Since I generally avoid the baby departments now after all these years, I do not have a stash of nice little things tucked into the purple pram that still graces my bedroom. (for the grandchildren, see...)So we were thinking of going shopping today and getting some cute little outfits for her. But it is snowing out like crazy. The district just to the south of us is closed today, and the district where Paul's work is located is closed. Caught right in another snow band...Lake Effect snow just streams down from the lake in these random swaths...then the winds shift a bit, and the whole stream of it goes up north a bit or south more.....when I brought Rosie out this morning, the new snow from last night was over my ankles by a few inches. Rosie thinks this is great fun. She romps around and jumps and eats the snow and jumps again...she still acts like a little puppy. After our little walk, I got the paper from the box, and went up onto the deck, closed the gate, let her off the leash, and shoveled a path.....she thinks the shovel is something to bark at and try to bite. rrr. Everything takes twice as long with Rosie around. Good thing I am used to it, after all these years of having little ones.

Sonja K. did not get on that school bus today. Today is a gym day for her at school, and she was wearing her boots and bringing her sneakers. She set them in the driveway, in a spot she cleared especially for them, and she has no idea how they got covered with snow, but she suspects Jonny did it. Well, she should have had them in her backpack, that is obvious to ME. But she is not me, lucky girl, and she refused to get on the bus because they are her only sneakers and they are soaked. They probably would have dried by gym time, but she didn't think they would. I think what really happened was that the bus was extremely late today, so she thought I perhaps wouldn't make them go. When we were on our vacation, one day the bus was twenty minutes late so Mirielle reasoned that if conditions were that bad, it wasn't smart to send them out in it.

It is good to be thankful for what we have, but I do wish that we were really really rich and could just turn the heat up to like 85 and roast in the warmth. I am still chilled from going out in that snow. My skirt got snowy, which melted, which means it is damp. I need to go change. And my coffee is almost gone, wah. This morning it would be nice to have a maid with a steaming coffee pot in her hand, saying, "More coffee, my lady?" like they say in Jamaica.

But it is not so. If I want more coffee, I have to get up and go get it.

It has been good to have Ashley here with us. She hasn't had an easy life, but she is not one to whine. On the contrary, she is a thankful person. She went with Mirielle to get things in order to go to college with her, yesterday. She has "moved" into her room, even though the carpet is not down yet. Ben's friend who is going to help us with that has hurt his knee, so for now she is sleeping on an air mattress, and can't really fill her room with her things.

The thing about January in central New York is that one knows that it will be months before one is really warm again. Sometimes we get a January thaw, but I am not talking about 50 degrees. Sometimes in February we get a really warm couple of days. I do remember sitting in the drive way getting some sun in seventy degree weather, while the kids played in the snow. I checked the forecast for the week, cold and snowy every single day. Next week colder and snowier than this week. I wish my hot tub was working.