"this is the 911 center, your daughter has had a car accident..."

Mali crashed Abigail's car. Totalled it. She lost control going around a curve when she hit a dip in the road, went airborne, landed upside down, airbags deployed...she had to crawl out the broken back window to get her purse to call 911, her purse which somehow flew out of the car. The 911 center called me, and my legs turned to jelly when the nice dispatcher said those words. I asked which daughter. It seems like a silly question, but it was the first thing that came into my head. Anyway, it was right down the road from here, on a hilly curvy back road. She had to go in an ambulance to the hospital, with me riding in the front with the ambulance driver who remembered us from the house fire a few years back. I asked him to honk when he passed the house, and he did...Jonny was on his bike in the front yard and saw me in the front of the ambulance..he will have a million questions tomorrow...

Mali must've had an angel on her shoulders, said the ambulance driver, to walk away from a crash like that. If you could have seen poor Abigail's car. It was like an accident in a movie, it couldn't have been set up to look worse, a piece of the car about twenty feet away, gas leaking out, smoke...she was really really freaking out because she smelled smoke and didn't know if she could get out, and didn't have her phone...poor girl was in total shock when we got there...before even the ambulance. The EMT who got there first was amazing, calming her down and taking her vitals. Anyway, we ended up in the E.R. again. And guess what????

I KNEW I should have washed my hair this morning. I knew it. But I procrastinated, which I usually don't do. I keep my hair clean...but. Every.single.time.I.end.up.at.the.ER, my hair is dirty. And. I had on my around-the-house shorts. And, the t-shirt that I splattered with sauce the other week when I dumped the meatballs into the sauce. It was clean, I washed it, but it is all stained. Perfect to wear around the house. dang. I wouldn't even wear this shirt to go for a walk in. Oh well, it could be worse. There was a teen mom there in her fleece Christmas Pajama Pants. In June. But, I don't think it bothered her at all.

Lesson, Mamas: keep that hair clean, and do not wear anything you wouldn't want to end up in the E.R. in.

Anyway, she is doing fine, and has learned some lessons. Mainly, that she is never going to drive anyone's car ever again. No, seriously, she is okay, and I am deeply thankful for that. This day has been one heck of a day, very stressful and emotional for me. I should be heading to bed since I have to leave early for Jon's field trip to the museum...

(I was surprised that Benjamin left me a comment on my, "Dear Gramma" post. I knew he read my blog!!!! Thank you for the prayers for him, and the support...and good night, not that I will be able to sleep. I think I am traumatized by just the phone call alone....

what could I say?

Benjamin is the guy kneeling. Isn't this an interesting picture? The Coke just adds that vacation-y feel...ha, in Afghanistan.

Benjamin called me today. We talked about stuff...then he told me that one of his buddies, one of the other medics from Washington State...stepped on an IED and lost both his legs. (he is a really nice guy, Ben said, he gave Benjamin rides when his car was broke down, back in Washington). Young, only 21 or so. Wah. And I couldn't say anything. Nothing sounded right. So I just let him talk. Then I told him he needed to go some place and cry, and get it out.

It is hot over there, Ben said last week it was in the 115's and 120's. He filled sandbags and had watch duties with the gunner on top of the vehicles, right in the sun. He sounds tired, but when I say something funny and hear him laugh, it makes me want to make him laugh more. I told him he would be getting some packages to share soon from some blogger friends, and he thinks that is amazing.

I am glad for this blog, because writing helps me sort out feelings, and right now I am feeling pretty sad. I am sad for this young guy, Harry, and sad for Ben. This war makes no sense to me.

weekly weigh-in and other exciting things...

Well, I lost one pound since last Tuesday's weigh-in. Not too bad, considering the weekend I just had. I'll take it. I did take a nice long walk with Samuel last evening, and another one this morning with the Bad Dog. But I also had a two small handfuls of Reese's Pieces last night. What possessed me to put that 48 ounce bag in my cart? Well, I am going to bag some up and send them to Benjamin.

Did I stay home yesterday and whittle away at the mountain of laundry? I should have. But, Mirielle and I set out to BJ's and got some of the shopping done for this weekend's church conference grill. We bought Snapple and Gatorade and lollipops and Pushpops and candy bars, and coffee. Ketchup and mustard and croutons. I wanted to get some of it out of the way. I still need to get water and soda, and the cold things like burgers and hot dogs, and the fresh things at the last minute, like Friday...salad fixings and fresh chicken and tomatoes for the burgers, ice cream cones and ice cream sandwiches and fresh baked buns. and and and.

It is busy, at least three shopping trips to get it all done, and I have cupcakes to make for a wedding reception on Saturday. My brother booked a nice place for my niece's wedding, then the church conference date got changed to the same weekend as the wedding. One cannot un-book a nice place, so the reception will go on as planned, with part of my family choosing to go to the conference instead. Paul does so much at the grill, he feels great responsibility to be there, so I will be driving the minivan to the reception, after going to a morning meeting and setting up the candy store at the church. I will take my little girls, and perhaps Sonja and Suzanne and Mali. Mirielle will also go for a bit.

So my head is spinning. I don't mind shopping, I don't mind making cupcakes. But it is the end of the school year, and there are so many things to remember. I am going on a field trip to a museum as a chaperone for Jonathan's class tomorrow, and kindergarten graduation is next week, with dentist appointments that day too. Kids need money for field trips, and I need to know which days who is going where, and if they need bag lunches. Oh, and Charlotte Claire's snack day is Thursday. Swanson Kitty needs to go to the vet and get spayed and have a rabies vaccination. We need to get our pool opened. The garden needs weeding, and I need to pick more of the spinach and lettuces. These are the things that danced through my head at 5.am. when I couldn't sleep. I tossed and thought, turned and thought some more. Then lo and behold, I fell back to sleep for like fifteen minutes....waking up to feel like BLAH. I tried to talk myself into just rolling over and enjoying the sleep that finally visited me, but no, I had to get up so I could fit my walk in. I should lose at least a pound for that, right?

Anyway, we went shopping yesterday. Target was fun. I found a dress for Miss Char's graduation for only $5.08. And a pink sweater to match, and a cute little jean skirt for Camille to wear to...wah, kindergarten, for only $4.50, and a bunch of new shirts for school for them for 70% off. And some sandals for Suze for five dollars, and a skirt for Sonja, and some wedding gifts for Sarah and Corey.

There is a Starbucks in Target now, uh-oh. Mirielle and I each got a venti medium roast, which weren't too expensive, but since Miss Camille had not eaten any lunch, we got her a smoothie, $4.25! ouch. It was very small, too. I told her not to get used to it, it wasn't happening again. I didn't really tell her that, but it isn't. The coffee was quite tasty though....but, "venti"? After I ordered it, she asked if we wanted light, medium, or dark roast. After I said medium, she asked if I had said, "medium". No, I said, I thought "venti" meant "large"! blah, I do not like Starbuck-speak. This girl was all of nineteen, she probably cannot remember a time when there was no such thing as Starbucks. Am I old and set in my ways?

Today is a stay at home and get back into bed and read a book day. But, I probably won't do that. There IS laundry, and I need to exercise, and perhaps I will actually plan something for dinner instead of putting some chicken in the oven at 6:00 like I did yesterday. We had roasted baby carrots and sweet potato fries (the Alexa seasoned ones are SO good, and no, I didn't get paid to say that. I don't get paid for anything I do:))I also picked some spinach and lettuce from the garden, and ate a whole pile of it with my chicken.

Dinner should be earlier than 7:00 though, so I should plan a little bit.

I am just not good at this job!

But, as Camille says, I am very huggy and snuggy. She says I am "all kinds of chubby". I don't know where she heard that, but it is sweet. She is my biggest fan.

back home to the mountains...of laundry!

....back from our nice little get-away to reality......our kids are back from their camping trip with: laundry to do. I washed two loads of towels last night, they put some of their clothes in, but this morning there are piles of bedding...and one child wet the bed, so. The good thing is, it is raining. So I don't have to hang everything out. If it was nice out, I would feel too guilty to use the dryer, and of course it is more work to hang everything out. I sometimes drape things over the kitchen chairs on rainy days, because the washer works faster than the dryer, and just to keep up...I will hang a comforter over the chairs when it is mostly dry...makes it look especially nice in here, but hey, it works.

Like my father used to tell my mother, "If I wanted to live in a furniture showroom, I would move in down to Goldbergs." I always wondered if they would really let him live there.

Anyway. I went on a walk last evening with Miss Rosie...partly because I got on the scale when I got home, rrr, and partly because I missed the little brat. Across the road Rosie stopped to sniff around, and there in the tall grass was a little bird! Just hiding! As I tried to take a picture with my phone, Miss Swanson Kitty came sauntering over to see what was going on. She saw the bird, and WHOOSH! A huge fluttering and that bird scampered across the road while all the big mama robins screeched and swooped at Miss Swanson Kitty. Kitty was hot on little birdie's trail, so I started throwing stones in the other direction to distract her so the birdie could get away. I think it worked. Rosie was pulling with all her might by this time....

On down the road we went. Through the woods, and up the Evil Hill...and what was that? A baby white skunk! Pure white, except for it's face, which was adorable and black. This stupid baby skunk was not afraid of me, or of Rosie. It came right out into the road to look at us, and I was hurrying as fast as I could so we wouldn't get sprayed. We continued on down the road, turned around and headed back...and Baby Skunk was still playing in the tall grass on the side of the road! Dang! Rosie was totally psyched to see it, she really wanted to go bark at it, but I kept her leash short, and talked to her the whole way by that skunk, telling her NO, NO, Stay with me.....phew. We got by again. That skunk didn't know enough to be afraid of us, hope it isn't rabid.

Aaron went for a run a bit later, and said he almost stepped right on a baby skunk!

So I am two pounds heavier than I was last week on Monday. blah. But you know what? I almost don't care. Yes, it is hard work to get it back off. But it was nice to take a little break, and perhaps this will trick my metabolism a bit and get things moving quicker. I found that I really don't feel so well when I eat the carbs anyway. It COULD have MAYBE been the wine...ha.

Last night we picked lots and lots of spinach and lettuce and radishes from our garden. We made two huge salads, baked marinated chicken breast, and had watermelon. The camping kids came in just in time for dinner, and it was fun to hear their stories...they hit Free Donut Day at Krispy Kreme in Pennsylvania, and the guy gave them a whole dozen, plus some samples of fresh-made donut holes. (and yes, I wish I had gone with them!). Sonja almost fell into the fire, she tipped over in her chair and missed the fire by a few inches, so they celebrated that Sonja was not a Burn Victim. They got sunburnt, and brought home sandy seashells. They survived a horrible storm Friday night, but had nice weather the rest of the weekend.

My boys are amazing. Joseph 21, Aaron 20, and Samuel 16 watched the princesses for the weekend. The house was clean when we got home. Aaron had cleaned out the refrigerator, and restocked it with groceries from Wegmans. The girls were clean and happy, and had gone to Panera Bread, a first for them. Aaron said that Camille wanted to snuggle with him a few times, so he let her. Aww, what is the child going to do in kindergarten? Anyway, they survived and thrived without us.

Here's something that stinks...Emily is a nurse. She put in for her vacation, and all the weeks she wanted were already taken by nurses with more seniority. So...she has this week off. High temperatures in the sixties, and rain every day. Her vacation. Isn't that sad? I would like to find someone to watch Miss Camille, and take Emily to Watkins Glen...I liked it so much, I want to go back. I think it would be torture to have Camille go up and down all those steps. And I could barely carry myself, so don't even suggest it....

I wish school would just end already. They have to go until the third week of this month. It is so hard to send them to bed when it is light out.

And now...time to change over the laundry.

home home again...

Paul and I at the falls at Watkins Glen.

This place was magnificent.

There were hundreds of steps...seriously, hundreds and hundreds.

I think, "hauntingly beautiful" would best describe it.

Oh, evil steps...

What can I say about this picture? These little mobile homes were across from the diner we ate our breakfast in this morning...their backyard is a cliff, their front yard is the highway, with the diner across the road. There were five of them right in a row, all painted that lovely beige. I shall never complain about my house again.

The view from our lovely motel room. We did have a nice room, on the end, with sliding glass doors on to the deck. It was a Mom and Pop kind of place, but the carpet was new, and the room was spotless. No complaints from us at all. It was much nicer than any chain hotels I have stayed at, except for in Jamaica and Dominican.

The Wine and Food Fest was amazing. I didn't know I liked wine so much. There were dozens and dozens of vendors there, and I didn't want them to know how absolutely ignorant I was, but alas, I didn't do too well. When I asked what the difference was between a chardonnay and a chablis, the guy looked at me like I had antlers. How was I supposed to know it was the grapes? Then one of the winemakers explained the process of fermentation in stainless steel to take away the oak-y taste, and I just nodded. Paul and I only know about the cardboard-y taste. But. I did discover what kind of wine I like, a riesling. In between a dry wine and a sweet wine, low sugar content. Some of the sweet wines were super yummy, but too sweet. Paul was driving, I was not driving, I was learning about wine. To say we had fun is a total understatement. And I doubt I could convey how nice it was just to be together and not be Mommy and Daddy for a weekend.

We went out to breakfast at two different places, out to dinner at two different places, and to Subway today for lunch. (I had enough points on my card to get two free subs, so that was really fun!)

I didn't go too overboard with eating, but I did have some peanutbutter cookies and an apricot danish to die for...and I ate the home made raisin toast that came with my scrambled eggs yesterday. And I had an ice cream cone today. And the wine, oh the wine. Calories. But. I had to shut down part of my mind this weekend, and enjoy myself. I didn't eat the fries that came with my fried haddock Friday night, well, only three. So I didn't just go crazy. This week, however, I shall have to get back into the groove and move it and eat well.

Those steps at Watkins Glen...they were fun! They hurt a little at the end, my thighs were quivering a bit, but seriously, I enjoyed it. Last year, it would have been torture. Sheer agony.

And now I am home, and the camping kids are home, and I am tired. Tomorrow starts a new week, full of its own fun and challenges...my first Field Trip with Jon's class on Wednesday, making dozens of cupcakes for my niece's wedding reception on Saturday, and buying food for the church conference...

a picture's worth a thousand words....

Emily 27, Margaret 15, Sonja 10 in front, Kathryn 14 in back (in red), Mirielle 22 in purple, Abigail 25(grey sweatshirt), Mr. Jonathan 8, Mali Rose 18, Suzanne 11, Evelyn 12...and the two princesses who are not going on the trip...they wanted to be in the picture though.

Margaret is bringing the yellow recorder, and yes, that is her ukelele on her lap. Their neighbors are gonna love them!

Jonathan seemed a bit sad that I wasn't going...he had been SO excited about this trip. He brought three of his own dollars to use if they stopped anywhere on the way down, and he had packed his new swim mask and flippers, and one Hess helicopter...I know he is fine now, he is riding next to Abigail, his favorite sister.....

me after they left...it looks like relief on my face. Not glad they are gone, but phew they are out the door! Talk about noise and excitement! Now the little girls are rattling around here filling the silence with their own silliness...Camille says she is packing for a trip and is making a list. Mirielle taught her well!

Rosie and I...as much as I grumble about Dum-Dum, I do love her.

Samuel James with his airsoft gun...he wants to join the Army in a few years, I can not think about this now. He is too kind and softhearted...blah. But he loves his country, and is totally fascinated by all things military.

dear gramma,

I think of you everyday. But today I miss you especially much. It is crazy in our home this morning, Gram. Because Emily, who is 27 now, is such a big sister that she is taking 8 of her sisters and her little brother Jonathan to the ocean! They are in the process of getting out the door right now, and you can just imagine how that is! They are eating breakfast and packing their sandwiches and there are piles of sleeping bags and bags of bedding (Mirielle is bringing that beautiful afghan you crocheted, the one with the roses...she HAS to sleep with it). The two little girls are not going on the camping trip, so they are Being Bad. I am not helping them get ready to go out the door, except for my extremely helpful suggestions and opinions. Because: Mirielle is the master planner and packer. She has post-it notes everywhere, she won't forget anything. They have pre-grilled chicken, those homemade muffins, a pan of brownies, and I bought them some bottles of Mountain Dew, which we simply do not have around here on a regular basis. I also got them some Lipton Iced Tea with lemon, the diet kind. They are all talking at once...the little girls are having peaches at the table. They are big enough to wash off their own fruti before they eat it! They look so sweet in their $2 Walmart jammies, Gramma...

Isn't Jonathan getting big? You passed away when Char was only a newborn, and never met Camille...you would love these kids, Gramma...

I can't sit here any longer now, they are getting ready for departure, and it is rather busy in here....they need my expert opinions and suggestions...

I miss you, and will write again. I hope you are seeing all this from heaven!

Della