goodbye monday. see ya next week.

After shopping with Mali and Kathryn and Jonathan, I had a huge headache. Target, Price Chopper, the library...I just wanted to come home and crawl into bed with a book. I seriously considered it. But who would put away the groceries and husk the corn and make the dinner so six of the kids could get out the door for soccer practice at 5:30? Since I like to get sidetracked, I decided to try shooting a few of Sam's airsoft guns with him. Uh-huh, I hit the target, a large stock pot propped up on a bucket in the back yard. Too much fun, I tell you!

Then I husked the corn with Jon and Mirielle. I put two chickens in the crock pot. Did I mention that our oven is sick? Paul has a friend who fixes appliances, he usually walks through the problems on the phone and helps him order the replacement parts. A repairman? Um, no, not us, not usually. The oven makes everything black when it's not even done. So the crock-pot it is, for now.

The chickens will be for tomorrow, we had peppered turkey wraps and corn on the cob for dinner. The soccer kids had an ear of corn quick before they left, and are eating part II right now.

Paul is at a church meeting.

The little girls are all tucked into bed. They did their homework and read stories to me, had snacks, and brushed their teeth. They are so sweet and funny. Charlotte Claire so matter-of-factly told me that her friend was back in school. I asked where she had been, and Char said, "She was sick, plus she had lice."

This coming weekend is our church soccer tournament. Emily and I are planning/shopping for the grill. I already bought some of the candy, but still have to get Gatorade and soda and water and lots and lots of burgers and hot dogs and chicken and chips and stuff for salads. We will be prepping/baking on Friday night, then working all day Saturday, hopefully getting to watch the kids play their games, too. Kathryn and Evelyn and Suzanne and Sonja and Jonathan play this year, with Sam helping to coach.

Emily is coming over tomorrow so we can plan and perhaps do some of the shopping.

My headache is gone now, thankfully. Life is much more challenging when the head is pounding.

monday morning, how I loathe thee...

And yet...thankful. Sending seven kids out the door to school is some picnic, some days. This morning, for example, I forgot that speaking the truth is not always wise, especially on a Monday morning. Now, we have iron-y water. We have had several water systems through the years, in fact we just got another new one last year. Iron filters, too. Yet our water still has that nice orange-y tint. It stains white clothes, it can build up in your water bottle. Anyway, this fine morning, my kids were grumbling about the water. I mentioned that perhaps they should be thankful that we at least have water, an abundance of it. I reminded them how much God hated it when the Israelites grumbled and complained after they were brought out of Egypt, longed for meat to go with their heavenly bread. So they never entered the promised land. God hates complaining.

Uh, they didn't really want to hear this. And of course, they weren't REALLY complaining, I missed their point entirely! They were just mentioning how they didn't like it! Jeepers! There is a difference, MOM!

I may not have much wisdom, but I am learning how to drop a matter and change the subject. Although it doesn't hurt to plant a seed of thought in their minds, there certainly was a better time than this fine Monday morning to point it out.

Anyway, I took my nice long walk, then got Jonathan's school day planned while I brewed a pot of pumpkin spice coffee. Jon cooked our eggs, he really likes cracking eggs. Good thing I really like wiping up the stuff that trails from the cracked egg to the pan.

He is nice and quiet, studying like a good boy. I love having him here. He is genuinely interested in learning all sorts of things. We can spend lots of time on interesting stuff, yet we don't have to do page after page of stuff, once he gets it, unless we want to.

Friday I had a few hours out and about with my three oldest girls, Emily 28, Abigail 26, and Mirielle 23.
(Abigail, Em, me, Mirielle)



We went to Kohl's because I had a 20% off coupon. We mostly just wandered around and wondered how things could cost so much, but I did find Jonathan some really cool Nike sandals for nine bucks. Emily found new sunglasses, Mirielle a new purse. We stopped at the grocery store for more bananas and yogurt and veggies and and and.

Can I mention how much I totally enjoyed being with these three daughters? Emily and Mirielle talked nursing a bit, Mirielle is looking for a job, interviewing here and there. Abigail is still out of work on medical leave, hobbling around but doing better by the day. Em had the day off, so it just fell into place that we went out and about in the sunshine together.

Today, Mali is coming over to spend some time with me. Jon is trying to get his work done speedy fast, in case we go on an adventure.

We woke up to a chilly morning here in central New York state. It is sunny and gorgeous, a little breezy. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, possibly ninety degrees! So I am keeping that pool filter on, hoping for a few last swims. It is painful how quickly summer turns to autumn. Even if I keep the water clean, and it gets really hot for a day or two, the water is going to be freezing. I am thinking this will be the last pool week, wah.

We didn't do everything on our summer list. Suzanne said she wanted to go fishing with Daddy. We did go to the beach a few times, went camping in the mountains, went to a waterfalls, went to our friends' pool, picked berries...we had Iced Coffee Day, and went to the park.

I know time is supposed to pass, but it just goes too fast! I see my kids growing up into these people who don't need Mommy to brush their hair or pick out their clothes. They remember their own homework and pack their own lunches. Emily and Aaron ride in to the city to work together sometimes, and I remember when Aaron was born...Emily was in second grade, and when I went to school to see kindergarten Abigail's Christmas presentation, I brought newborn Aaron in with me. (I also brought Benjamin, who was 4, Mirielle, who was 2 1/2, and Joseph, who was 18 months old) Anyway, I brought those little kids and that newborn baby Aaron, who was born on December 10th, it was probably like the 22 of December, and Emily was such a proud big sister, holding that baby boy and showing him to her class. Now they drive to work together.

I had a girl come to help me when Aaron was born. She stayed until he was four days old. I cried when she left. Two kids in school, four at home. How in the world did I ever survive those years? (Mali was born exactly 15 months after Aaron...then of course Sam came 17 months later...then Margaret 16 months after that, Kathryn 15 months after that, Evelyn 17 months later, Suzanne 18 months later, then Sonja 14 months later, then Robert 13 months later, then Jonathan ten months after Robert, then a few miscarriages, and Miss Charlotte Claire...then Camille Anaya, 18 months later. phew. No wonder I am enjoying my downtime so much!!!!

So anyway, it goes by to fast, this incredible life of mine.

Kathryn is making waffles for Jonathan and herself. Oh they smell good, but I do not eat waffles anymore.

Perhaps I will have some more pumpkin spice coffee....

don't follow me!

I'm lost! We started out on an adventure, on this cloudy, fall-like day....we were going to the apple place! The place where we pick those apples out of those big wooden crates, and put them in paper bags. Big bags of apples for six dollars a bag.

Well, we went to the wrong town. "We" as in, "ME", as I was the driver. Sonja K. tried to tell me I was going the wrong way, but did I listen?

Sonja, Me, Suze, then Camille, Char, Jon in the front...Evelyn took this one.

Evelyn in this one....

It was a lovely place, the place we discovered by accident. We had taken the wrong road. Turn around and go back? Ha! I am a firm believer in Keep Going, Eventually The Right Road Will Show Up. So we drove and drove and drove, until we saw a sign that said, "Dead End". We pretended to be scared, I declared that at least we weren't running out of gas, to which Evelyn retorted, "Do not jinx us!". The road got smaller, more narrow. Hmm, where in the heck were we? Yah, we had smartphones, but we didn't check Mapquest, this was more fun. Char was getting nervous, she said, "If the road ends on a cliff, please don't drive off the end of it!". I told her the road would NOT end in a cliff. Well. It did. A cliff overlooking the beautiful Lake Ontario. We were pretty far away from the apples, but it was very nice there.

We did turn around, we found our way back, and we got apples. We also got peaches. The place we go has a 24/7 barn sale. Antiques, odds and ends. Camille had a dollar in her hand, and asked me like one hundred times if she could buy something if she found something for a dollar. I told her that it wasn't likely, but okay. I do think the lady behind the counter heard her, because when Camille found a plastic bag with a Barbie in it, plus a few brand new outfits and lots of Barbie shoes, and I asked the lady how much it was, she said it was a dollar. Seriously? Oh happy day. Char took it really well that Camille got something and she didn't. I tell them that life isn't fair, sometimes one of them gets something and the other doesn't, to share, and to be happy for each other. If it were the other way around, Camille would have been a different story. Anyway.

Evelyn and Suzanne found some cool candle holders and some other old stuff, and then we headed home, eating fresh peaches.

Home....yes, we baked pies. Three apple, one pumpkin. I told the girls it must be, "Pee-pee" day. Pies, pizza, pumpkin, aPPles...Margaret and Jonathan made three pizzas while Evelyn and I cut up all the apples and Mirielle rolled out the pie crust. Joseph requested the apple pies to begin with, so we guilted him into helping peel some apples.

Emily and Aaron drove to work together today, so they came in and had some dinner and pie after work.

The house is a mess, thanks to the little girls who have been playing house all over the living room. The 12-pack of paper towels made a nice wall for their house, but now it has opened up and there are paper towel rolls all over the floor at my feet. They also used the huge package of toilet paper, but that is still sealed. They used a toy bin and a laundry basket, which they turned upside down and put couch pillows on, plus they got out toy dishes and blankets and books. Books aren't just for reading, they make great walls for houses.

Someone covered up with a quilt, now it is in a heap in a chair. A few sweatshirts, a stack op papers, a princess cup, a magazine...oh, how cozy it is in here.

I have done enough today, it will be here when I wake up.

aaah, friday how I love thee....

This weekend is empty. Not planned. No fundraisers, no baseball games to work at. And guess who love it?

I am picking up my two littlest children from school this afternoon and taking them for ice cream. They remember that I did that on the first Friday of school last year, the little smarty-pants princesses. Please, Mama? Please? So now I hafta skip lunch so I can have an ice cream cone too.

Jamaica is calling me these days. This year is our 30th anniversary, don't you think we should go to Jamaica for like seven or eight days? Or perhaps to the Dominican Republic? Shh, I was sitting here in my comfy chair, looking at places, oh the warm and sunny beaches and pools with swim-up bars....one place has jacuzzi tubs out on the deck of each room. Or rooms with the pool running along right outside the room, just step outside for a swim. Or better yet, rooms right on the beach with ocean views. Some of the resorts have these virtual tours, so it seems like you are standing right there. Of course they are filmed when the places are empty, so there are no fat old Russian guys with rings on every finger, drinking vodka at ten a.m.

I am thinking it would be nice to go to an adults only place, me that loves kids so much. I do love them, but if I can't bring my own kids, I don't want to be splashed by spoiled kids. And I would really love to bring my own kids. Kind of. Sometime. :)

Nothing wrong with dreaming, right? Paul has been gone so much for work, three separate weeks spent in Louisiana, then the two weeks in Germany. When he's home, there are so many things to take care of, so our time together is limited. Now, I am not complaining, and if we can't go on another trip, we will be fine. But it is fun to think about. Sometimes I think it is worse that we have taken vacations, now we know what relaxation is, and how much fun we can have together!

Fall has arrived this morning, sunshine and crisp air! I already made pumpkin muffins the other day, and I cannot make them again, at least until I have a whole houseful of kids who want to help me eat them. I will not say how many I had, but it wasn't one and it wasn't two. I can not be trusted with a pumpkin muffin, and I darned well know it. So I will make pumpkin spiced coffee instead. And maybe some of those pumpkin Paleo cookies with toasted almonds.

I did make chocolate chip cookies last night. I have stayed away from those, but it was chilly in here, and I didn't think about it too much, I just made up a triple batch and baked some up, before I went out to put the chicken on the grill for dinner. I accidentally put in six sticks of butter instead of three, so they were really flat, and surprise! Really buttery. They taste absolutely amazing, even though the consistency is not right. I had to slap my little hand a few times. Oh, I didn't have a whole cookie. I do not eat cookies anymore. I just had a taste of dough. And another and another. And a little piece of cookie, and another and another. dang it. All my hard work, then I do something like make cookies. I need a clothespin on my nose and a piece of mint gum in my mouth.

Can you believe I am going to be a grandma soon? Benjamin and Ashley are having their baby next month! They will be home for Christmas with a two month old baby in tow!

Emily is working hard these days at her real job, and doing things with the younger girls, and helping plan for the church grill for the soccer weekend coming up.

Abigail is still home on medical leave from work, after her knee surgery.

Mirielle is all done with school, has passed her nursing exam, and is interviewing for jobs.

Joseph is doing drawing work online, he just finished helping illustrate a Christian children's book.

Aaron has a Real Job working at the same hospital as Emily, as an Registered Nurse. He had his wisdom teeth out yesterday.

Mali has started year two of nursing school, and is working part time as a receptionist at a hotel.

Sam is in his senior year at high school, he will be graduating in January and leaving for the Army sometime after. His official ship date is in July, but he is trying to move it up so he can go sooner.

Margaret is in eleventh grade and is in the top five of her class.

Kathryn is homeschooling, and is such a joy to be with.

Evelyn is in 8th grade.

Suzanne is in 7th grade.

Sonja is in 6th grade.

Jon, homeschooling 4th grade. He loves learning!

Charlotte Claire is in 2nd grade.

Camille is in 1st grade.

And that is all I have for today. Oh wait, let me mention that I am thankful for today. I am thankful for my kids, my family, my friends, and for everything that God sends my way.

first day of school

Homeschooling Kathryn and Jonathan is going to be fun! Our first day went well. After we got our basic work out of the way, we decided to do gym class (walking!), and art (photography!)at a local park. Suri got to go too, even though she is not homeschooling.

Sam,18, Margaret, 16, Sonja,11, Evelyn, 14 Suzanne, 12. And...

My first grader Camille Anaya, and second grader Charlotte Claire.

Jonathan Robert, such a character. He has been obsessing about tablets. He has researched them and ogled them and saved up money for one. Unfortunately he lost his cow wallet, but Gramma called yesterday and made his day! She took him shopping and let him pick one out! I don't think his feet have touched the ground yet. He has been just beside himself, downloading things and figuring things out. I was nice and let him use it to research some things for his first day of homeschooling.

Margaret 16, Kathryn 15, Evelyn 14, Suzanne 12, Sonja 11. My five-girls-in-five years. When they were little, I wondered what the teen years would be like. Oh my goodness. Worse than I could have ever imagined yet way better too. They are all so strong and opinionated, yet they have kind hearts and forgive each other...Taking them all shopping, like I did yesterday, is a wonderful adventure. They are good shoppers, they know how to find the clearance rack, but it certainly adds up!

Evelyn sometimes gets irritated when people look at us. Well, girls, act like normal human beings and maybe people won't stare! One of these girls pushed her sister through the whole grocery store in a cart, I just pretended I did not know them.

So we survived our first day of school. I did cry when that school bus swallowed up my little girls. But not for long, thanks to sweet little Jonathan, who was all gung-ho to start work on his first project, an essay about his shopping trip with Gramma, followed by a thank you note to her.

Paul worked from home today, which was kind of nice. This is my first bit of down-time yet today, and I have to get those little princesses tucked into bed soon. We have chosen clothes for tomorrow and packed lunches. I filled out several packets of paperwork, they need one of each sheet for each child, and seven are in public school now.

I think I am ready to get back on a better schedule, since I woke up at six this fine morning.

And that is all the exciting stuff I have for now....

stormy day....

Evelyn didn't just want to throw away her old rainboots. So she got creative.

Today has been a luxuriously lazy day. Stayed in bed too long, didn't take my walk, had a healthy breakfast of one egg, one sausage link, and an ice cold peach. And coffee. Lots of it. Kathryn and Suzanne and Jonathan and Charlotte Claire and Camille joined me in the pool. I swam and paddled and exercised in there for over an hour, until the thunder got close and the underside of the leaves on the trees were blowing. Camille and I sat in the sun on the deck, drying off as the thunder moved in and the clouds took over. We ran into the house just as the huge drops started to fall. The house got dark as we took care of some more tomatoes from the garden. We cored them, dipped them into boiling water, then into cold water, peeled the skins off, quartered them, froze them. Not my idea of fun, but we have more tomatoes in the freezer to make sauce and chili and salsa with, in the cold winter months.

I also started a pot of chicken soup for dinner, as the kids have soccer practice this evening....

And here I am again, in my favorite chair, longing for a second cup of coffee....and some chocolate. No matter how motivated I get, how hard I work on eating healthy stuff, I still love that chocolate. Paul brought some back from Germany, it doesn't get much better than that. But it is long gone.

Summer was once again too short, and I am going to miss it dearly. I don't much care how the weather goes, I just don't like the school stealing all of my kids every year. Well, this year I get two of them at least:)

Ahh, a few more days of summer...

The sky is brilliant blue, the breeze is warm, it is humid enough to make me feel like I had gone for a swim instead of for a walk down the road this morning.

Paul and I are working at the baseball game this afternoon. It's a gorgeous day for a game, too bad we are on the other side of the counter, and will be wearing hot polyester smocks and ugly black caps. We have to wear long black or khaki pants, or knee length shorts. I mostly wear gym shorts and mostly not in public:) So I will be hot.

The older kids are all at the youth conference, so we had to find someone to watch the four youngest. My brother and his wife, who have ten kids, will have them at their house for the afternoon. A few of their kids with some grandchildren will be there for my four to play with.

So this year we have a huge garden. It is Paul's garden. He loves being out there, walking in the dirt in barefeet. Me: not so much. I think it's easier to just buy some veggies at a local stand. Our garden has been yielding tomatoes. I ate a whole Heirloom tomato with my breakfast yesterday, a whole one the day before sliced with bacon bits. We chop them up and add chopped Vidalia onions, garlic, basil, and olive oil and have the yummiest bruschetta. We make salsa. Mirielle has made two batches of sauce, plus the most awesome fried green tomatoes...

Last evening Paul went out and picked tomatoes. We cored them, dunked them in boiling water, then in cold water, peeled off the skins, quartered them, and put them in gallon baggies to freeze. We filled three and a half. Two large bowls of tomatoes left, we decided to save them for another day. Then I realized we still had a huge bowl of them on the table. But Paul is still on Germany time, it was like the middle of the night to him, and he was getting tired.

He is mowing the lawn right now, and I do feel a teeny bit guilty sitting here like a lazy bum, but heck, when he turns off the mower I can get up and get busy quick...ha.

And it IS Sunday. The day of rest, right?

Homeschooling. Why did we finally decide to jump in? Well, Kathryn, who is 15, essentially decided for herself. She is a beautiful girl. She is sweet and pretty and smart and has different and radical tastes in music, she is a rebellious teenager only not really so much, she just likes to be herself, she refuses to be molded into anything. She works out every day and takes good care of herself. She is a gymnast, she can do the most incredible things. From what I gather, she is effortlessly popular in school, and the boys really like her. She just decided she doesn't want to deal with all of that stuff right now. She had some rough times last year, and to her right now, the most important is to live a Godly life. Sometimes one has to flee the things that would ensnare them. This is her decision, based on what she feels she needs to do, and we support her in it.

Jonathan is a totally different story. He is an expert right now on phones and tablets. He focuses on things and talks about almost nothing else. A while back it was Hess trucks, before that it was vehicles of all sorts. He is like a miniature adult, helping with smaller kids, but not exactly meshing with kids his own age. He would rather help out and do grown up things. School was hard for him, because he would usually catch on to the concepts quickly, then get totally bored when he had to do pages and pages of the same concept for homework. If he didn't complete the homework, he lost playtime. I tried to talk to his teacher about it, but she was frantic about the dreaded State Tests. Oh, the pressure! She would yell at the kids so much that Jon said it wasn't even worth trying to be good at school, you got yelled at anyway.

Jon's reading level at the end of third grade was the end of fifth grade, and he has always gotten math quickly. I am just really excited to teach Jon, explore things with him, things that interest him, not beating things with a dead horse like they do in school.

My little girls are fine with going to school, but down the road I am certainly open to homeschooling them too. Sam only has a half year to go, and Margaret, who is going into 11th grade, is in the top five in her class. She doesn't mind school at all. Evelyn is going into 8th and loves school. Suzanne is going into seventh, and Sonja into sixth. She is also fine with school for now. If Kathryn has a good year homeschooling, perhaps a few of the others will choose to do it too.