snow day!!!!

Another snow day! Last Monday was also a snow day. The Snow Day Fairy must've granted a wish that all Mondays are snow days.

Children are waking up, I hear talking from the little girls' room. I have been up for an hour and a half...oh, exciting stuff...I washed dishes and swept the floor, cleaned up the plant that Bad Little Kitty knocked down during the night. That kitten is CRAZY. I picked up the empty package from that fresh Italian bread I bought yesterday. I thought there were four slices left after dinner last night, but something tells me the package didn't find it's way to the floor over near the door by itself. I suspect one big bad black lab named Suri. She is The Hungry Thing.

We have snow. It is taller than the mailbox now, and still sprinkling down from the sky. Right now it is coming down like rain. Yesterday, the flakes were huge and fluffy, filling that driveway up again right after we cleared it. I don't mind the snow when I can sit in my chair and look out the windows. But, Paul had to drive to work. My older kids all drive to work (Emily and Abigail and Mirielle and Aaron and Mali).

I drove in it yesterday. Jonathan didn't come right out and say that I was a Baby, but as my co-pilot, he hinted at it. See, he really really wanted to go to his little cousin's birthday celebration. Our destination: four miles north. But the gas station in town is closed on Sundays. And this vehicle I wanted to drive was seriously on "E". So we drove four miles south to the other town, got gas, then drove up to the birthday party. It was a joy, to see that small boy so excited for his friends and his presents and the snacks. I enjoyed seeing my sister, and my nieces, and friends. (ha, I crashed the party instead of just dropping him off and having to come back to get him later:)).

The ride home was where the fun began. It was really really snowing, and dark out. It was hard to see where the road was, especially because the windshield wiper on the driver's side was not working properly...there was a huge smear right in front of me, allowing me to see only if I scrunched down low and looked out over the dashboard. I was glad it was only a few miles, and I was happy to get home. Jon said, "See Mom, we're alive."

We had pulled pork for dinner, it had been in the crock pot all day. Yay me! I feel so accomplished when I know what's for dinner! We had it with green beans and the bread with butter. We re-watched the last episode of Downton Abbey, and had popcorn. Then the girls switched channels from, "The Hunger Games", which was on tv, and The Grammys, which were rather tasteless in parts...I mean, Madonna, really? She looks good for her age, I'll give her that. But. Then the newest episode of Downton came on, and we enjoyed that. I probably wouldn't even watch it if it was just me, but watching it with a living room full of us is fun.

Kids are emerging from their rooms now, all happy because.....it's a snow day!!!! That means there are nine of us here for the day instead of the usual seven...Paul is the only one who left the house this morning. I will be a good mom and get off of my computer, and talk to the kids.....

saturday....

picnic, anyone?

This snowbank is taller than Miss Charlotte Claire!


Char, Camille, and Jonathan went with me to pick Paul up from the airport. (Emily 30, Margaret 18, Kathryn 16, Evelyn 15, Suzanne 13, and Sonja 12, went out to dinner by themselves). So I took the three youngest to Panera Bread. I got a half salad, Asian with chicken and almonds, dressing on the side, which I didn't eat. I did eat the fresh baguette, and I bought a loaf of their cinnamon raisin bread to take home. Okay, I also bought a bear-claw (a pastry with lemony flavor, cinnamon, brown sugar, and toasted almonds), which I shared equally with the kids. Well, mostly equally. And I had coffee. They had soup bowls and grilled cheese sandwiches. The wife of my nephew said that her husband wouldn't go to Panera because he can make soup and sandwiches at home, why should he pay for food then have to take care of his own dishes? I found that too, last night. All that money to eat, and you have to clear your own table. hmph. But clearing up after only four of us, and not having to wash the dishes, it wasn't too shabby.

Charlotte Claire had a loose tooth, and pulled it out in the parking lot. It was drama, of course. Blood! I enjoyed it thoroughly. She was absolutely thrilled, I don't know why kids like losing teeth so much.

I can't do the math, but I certainly have Been There Done That with kids losing teeth.

And no, the Tooth Fairy didn't remember to come last night.

Paul is home, it is so nice to have him back. He is busy doing stuff, but he'll crash sometime in the afternoon because of jet lag.

Yay, the Panera cinnamon bread is gone! I only had a little bit of it, and now it's gone, yay!

I made Paleo pumpkin cookies the other day, with raisins. I used coconut flour. They are so moist and yummy. I had a few for breakfast with my coffee. They are good and satisfying, but not the kind of thing I want to eat all of in one sitting.

I have chicken in the 'fridge, I think I will make some Chinese food for dinner.

Five kids are in here right now, so I think I will be done with this now. Today is a good day, it is snowing out, and we will probably stay home.

snow and snow and cold....

Kitty wanted to go out, but for some reason....he didn't want to STAY out.

It is 11 F, -11C, and snowing. I looked on the weather map, and the rest of the state was clear, just a little blob of lake effect snow hovering over hour house, like Winnie-The-Pooh and his rain cloud.

Joseph is frying some bacon, and making more coffee. The little ones are doing school work, and I am "helping" them. It is cozy in here, with that brightness that only snowy days can bring. Margaret is all done with high school, and all back from Florida, and enjoying the lull. She is going to Norway for a sisters' conference with Emily next month, then hopefully she will be accepted to the one-year work/program she applied for, in Norway, starting in June. She is looking for a part time job until then, to pay for the plane ticket.

We are going to rent a camp this summer! We love the Adirondacks, but our camping-in-tents experiences have been...challenging. Having a specific week several months in advance will help everyone to be able to get the time off. Four nurses in the family, two working nights and two working days, makes it difficult to all get together. Paul will be in the country for the week Emily has requested the camp, hopefully it works out and we are able to reserve it. Sunshine, barefeet, sunsets on the lake...!

Camp or no camp, barefeet and sunshine sound pretty sweet right about now.

brr, it is so cold. The sun has come out, sparkling on the deep snow, making it look almost inviting. The kids are asking to, "go someplace". I am tempted. We can only play outside for a short period of time when it is this cold, but perhaps we could go to the mall or something...

Paul is coming home tomorrow! I am taking my brother to the dr. in the morning, then in the afternoon, to the airport!

my favorite day of the week!

The weeks go by too fast for me, I am not one of those Hurry- Up -And- Get- Here, Friday! kind of girls. No, I enjoy my days. But Wednesday is extra special, half price day at the thrift store!

This morning I was tired, of course, after last night's airport trip. And seeing that I don't always learn from my mistakes of staying up way way too late and being a zombie in the morning, I stayed up way way too late. I found some blogs written by other mommies who have traveling husbands. I am not the only one who likes heading out the door to Target without having to answer the #1 dumbest question in the world: What do you need at Target? Seriously, though, I read of a study proving that the spouse/parent left behind to hold down the fort was much more likely to suffer from illness and depression that regular people in the general population, although you probably realize that the study was not worded like that.

One woman described her struggles with serving dinner alone, waking up to every noise knowing she was THE protector of the household, and having to kill a mousie all by her lonesome. And of course a person had to comment and tell her she was a baby, that other people had it worse, there are military spouses who have husbands or wives who are actually in danger, ect. Oh come on. There are always those better off or worse off, but that doesn't negate our right to vent.

There is some comfort in knowing we aren't the only ones.

Whenever Paul comes home from a trip, it seems like he asks if I have done one thing or another that I was supposed to do. And the thing he asks about is always the one thing I forgot about. He never seems to ask about the other three thousand things I DID take care of.

The school nurse called today. Well, she said, Evelyn got hurt in gym class. It seems she was snow-shoeing and fell down. She got hit in the nose with another kid's show shoe. So she had a bloody nose, a swollen lip, and her tooth hurt. But she was okay. Never a dull moment.

Margaret, all happy and back from Florida, took Jonathan, Charlotte Claire, and Camille to the pool today while I went out and about. Suzanne came with me. I found a few good things at the thrift store, a jacket for me for $3, a pretty polka-dotted night gown for a few bucks, a really nice scarf for a dollar and a half, a t-shirt for Margaret, and a Corelle coffee mug for 79 cents.

We got the oil changed on the minivan (I hope Paul remembers to ask me if I did that, so I can shrug casually and say, "Of course.") We went to the bank, the dollar store, Big Lots, where I bought a new trash can...my old blue one was at least 15 years old, and the top was broken. This new one, I don't know. The top swings downward, what a smart idea! Trash can get all over the swinging top! ugh. Anyway, we went to the grocery store for bananas and grapefruit and cereal and chicken and tea and and and.

The kids are watching, "Despicable Me", which is adorable.

It is snowing out, again. I am glad I went out and about when the weather was mild. Paul comes home on Friday!!!! I can't wait to see him. As much as I hate that he travels, I love when he comes home. There are adjustments though. I have been the Boss for a few weeks. I have had to make those decisions about whether it's safe for them to drive on our snowy roads, and have had to make sure there is always enough milk, as there is no one to stop on the way home. I have had to make sure we don't get snowed in, and that the trash gets to the dump. I have given the pep talks, and broken up the arguments, tucked in the princesses, and set the boundaries for tablets at bedtime. I have vetoed or okay'd the television viewing, and kept an eye on the thermostat...you know, sometimes No One cranks it up. There has been no daddy here with a twenty dollar bill in his wallet for the kid who gets invited out and about with some friends. I have found that I am stronger than I thought I was. I can handle this! Except for when I feel like I can't, and I cry. When he comes home, it takes a while for him to fit back into the groove of things. He is usually so tired and jet-lagged for the first few days, he just takes a space on the couch, pretty much. He tries to stay awake. He does try.

Anyway, life is interesting.

it's the middle of the night....

Yet here I sit...decompressing. I almost said, "decomposing", but that wasn't the right word.

It has been a long and eventful day. I went with Mali to her appointment, and saw that little baby on a sonogram. A nice steady heartbeat, and a healthy looking little blessing.

Mali came over here for a while, and even fixed lunch for the little kids. She made them mac and cheese, applesauce, and carrots and green pepper slices. She chilled on the couch with a blanket while I sat with my feet up and had coffee.

Then...the basketball game at the Dome. I filled nacho trays and waited on some customers, but it was a late game, starting at 9:00pm, and not very many people buying food. I was supposed to pick up my three daughters from the airport at 11:40 pm, in Rochester, but they flew into Binghamton instead. Mini road trip! Kim, my sister-in-law and dear friend, volunteered to go with me. Kathryn wanted to come along too...she has been battling migraine headaches, and the Dome was not agreeing with her. So, off we went, down route 81 toward Binghamton.

We stopped for coffee, yum, and may or may not have had a peanut donut. What is eaten on a road trip stays on the road trip.

Anyway, we picked up three happy and suntanned daughters, and headed home.

They visited the gulf coast, went out on a boat and watched the manatees, shopped, went to dinner, relaxed at the pool....and came home happy as can be. When we got out of the van at home, Margaret was pretty surprised at all the snow. The snowbank near the road is as tall as the mailbox.

It is now 2:00 a.m., and I need to go to bed. The crazy kitty is sleeping on my arms, making typing almost impossible. I have already gently relocated him twice, but he purrs and finds his way back to me.

I came home to a very clean house, and am ready to hug a few excellent babysitters.

Tomorrow, I need to get some small children out of the house. They need to get out and do something fun. Problem is, we need some groceries, and they don't think shopping is fun.

And, I will probably sleep in a little.

Yeah, so I am almost sleeping in my chair.

I have nodded off a few times here, and this disjointed post with the kindergarten-like writing is not one of my favorites, but oh well. Tomorrow is another day....

never a dull moment...

Not boring, not exactly exciting...but certainly not dull. Okay, we have to backtrack to begin this story.

It was the day of the big snowstorm, and I got a phone call from Mali. She was throwing up blood. She was at work, at a small hospital in a small city. She talked to her sisters who are nurses, who advised her to go to the big hospital in the big city. So she called me. And I hesitated. And um, didn't go with her. And felt like a total shmuck, a bad mom, a horrible person. The snow was coming, and we live 40 minutes from the big city. The snow WAS coming. With Paul in France, the thought of leaving the kids all here with a storm coming...even with Joseph here...I just couldn't do it. I told her that if she got there, and things were bad, I would come up. To let me know, to keep in touch. Still, I felt schmucky.

She is okay. She isn't a big eater on a good day, and having morning sickness doesn't help. Poor girl.

Anyway, this morning I got up and headed to the store because...oh dang, we have mice! We have either been extra lucky all these years of living out in the country, or our mice have been extra sleuthy. I haven't found signs of them in the kitchen, but in the downstairs. So we went to the hardware store for some mousetraps. And a quick stop in the store for oranges and fresh bread and green peppers, eggs, milk, and popcorn.

Mali texted me and asked me to go with her to her dr. appointment. I have to be at the Dome by five for a basketball game, so I am free in the middle of the day. Sure, I said, I will go. I will be glad to redeem myself of a bit of that shmuckiness.

So this is a short post. The kids have some assignments, but I have to talk to them for a few minutes before I go.....

snow snow snow....

We got some snow, over a foot. Jon shoveled for over an hour this morning. I joined him, and we managed to clear enough of the driveway to get one vehicle out if we needed to. We didn't need to.

The dogs like to go outside with us, but Duke is old, he doesn't last long. Suri though, she loves the snow. She likes to put her face under it. I found her buried tennis ball, and she was pretty happy. She carried it into the house with her.

Camille thought Suri was cute like this.

Snow Day! NO school! The homeschool kids still had school though. We learned about Antarctica, China, and The Industrial Revolution. We read, looked up maps, and they have essays to write. Camille is writing hers now, but the other two are allowed to wait and do it tomorrow.

Well, I thought I could write a post, but there are seven kids in the living room right now...