summer 2011

summer 2011

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012
family

Friday, April 14, 2023

pretending it's summer....

 ...bare feet, little pool on the deck, ice cubes in the freezer...(our ice cube maker doesn't work, so we always have trays of ice cubes, but when I'm feeling extra extravagant, I'll buy a bag of ice and put it in the ice cube dispenser...the clear cubes are a treat.  Ours, with our iron rich well water, even with an iron filter, and with a tap filter, are not so clear...but they're healthy, right?)

Yesterday I spray painted a previously yellow, then painted blue, Little Tikes table, that we use on the deck.  I think it was black at some point too.  The paint was flaking off, it looked horrible...so I scrubbed it off and painted it a blue-gray that I had in the spray paint bin.  It looks remarkable.   I also spray painted one of my kitchen stools, and am very pleased with it.  A spontaneous decision, made when I found the ivory spray paint, primer & paint in one...hmm, that would touch up that counter stool...which was black when I bought it, and that black was starting to show through.  

Camille and I were going to go to the store to stock up on things for the weekend, but it was SO nice out! Sonja didn't have class, but she did have tons of work to do.  We put up the umbrella, so she could work out on the deck.  Cam and I decided by three o'clock that we'd had enough sun, and off to the store we went.  A bag of ground coffee to make iced coffee (the girls really like iced coffee when the weather gets warm, and since we're pretending it's summer...), the ice, some lunch meat, strawberries, bread, cheese, the basics.  

Since we are pretending it's summer, I also got lazy, and hungry, in the store.  We had already gone to Aldi, and were in Tops...Tops makes the best fried chicken.  It's just so good, and I could smell it, and I had not eaten anything yet, and it was warm and sunny and I wouldn't have to cook...so I bought some.  The girls had these elaborate rice bowls with mango that they had been planning on, with chicken, (I cannot eat tropical fruit at all, cannot digest it, horrible pain...).  I had a big salad with shredded cabbage, raw spinach, peppers, and a little dab of Aldi Asian Sesame dressing, then some chicken.  Well.  My stomach gurgled and my intestines rumbled, they took turns rumbling and gurgling, until...well, I'll spare you the lovely details, but hmm, I don't think I tolerate the raw cabbage?  

What a pleasant evening.  ugh.

But, I'm fine now, and it's dawning on me that that has happened before.  I should keep a food journal.

I did have a few squares of Norwegian chocolate last night. (six. two rows.)  Why I feel the need to confess this, is beyond me, but it is SO good. I would eat the entire bar with no problem, if it was good for me.  Some people are like, you just need a little bit of chocolate, too much and you feel awful.  I'm like:  must be nice.

This fine morning I'm off to the pool, yay! Another week making it all three days!  Barely.  We share cars, Paul works from home but also drives up to the house we're working on, he's going there today at 11:30, so I'll have time to swim.  Sonja has clinical today and tomorrow, so my car is gone from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days.  

Speaking of my car:  so many miles on my nice new car.  And, look at that temp!  That was after driving for a bit, when I first got in, it was 89. ( I was nice and picked Miss Char up from school so she could get maximum time out in the nice weather.)(Sonja drives my nice car to college, it's what we can do to help her, so I can't complain, but...I'll be glad when she graduates and buys her own!)

I have to run, got to get out the door so I'm not the last one in the pool...walking in when everyone is in there is not fun, but of course it's always how it is...ugh.  



Thursday, April 13, 2023

my life: the zoo

 

A tried grandma rocking a tired baby after a beautiful long day.
Kathryn and Margaret with Tennyson, Wulf, Achilles
Sam and Grace's kids, Ruth and Grant
The kids weren't thrilled about being rounded up for a picture...
Kathryn and Margaret and Grace with Achilles, Wulf, Tennyson, Ruth, Grant, Rhys, and Jamison in the carriage...
Achilles and Grant...I didn't even pay much attention to the animals, the children's reaction to the animals was much more interesting.  Plus, I was trying to stay out of everyone's way with the carriage.
Rhys.
Wulf
Achilles and Rhys
Celebrity moms ha...

I got to take care of this little sweetheart.  The hood has a nice mesh vent, and it wasn't humid out, I just worked on keeping him out of the sun.  

Everyone came here after the zoo, the kids were tired but still had enough energy to keep us hopping.  I grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, and we had cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes, sweet potato chips, veggie straws...

Right now, I'm heading to the store to get a few things for the weekend...it's beautiful out so I want to go quickly...


Wednesday, April 12, 2023

in the middle of the sunshine....

 

Today, pretty nice...tomorrow, perfect, Friday, too hot...:)
I went with Kathryn to Walmart, she needed some diapers.  Rhys needed a chocolate bunny. It was 50% off.  What?!  She needed it!
This fine morning, I'm off to the pool, then we're going to the zoo...the grandkids and their mamas, and some friends with their little ones...then, the zoo is coming here!  I've got burgers and hot dogs, and lots of patience.  Well, I don't exactly have the patience yet, but I'll be praying for some extra, and God is good.  I'm glad, so very glad, that the grandkids come over and revive this house, liven it up.  I mean, sitting on the deck in the sun all by myself, planting some bulbs, getting that grass seed in, spray painting the chairs and that heat register for the house we're working on...all sounds lovely, but I can do that tomorrow.

I haven't heard back from the cardiologist about the heart monitor results yet.  My back still hurts, but it's not always awful, just in fits and starts...I'm falling apart, but not giving up, if that makes sense.  The pool is magic, I'm super thankful I get to go.   I'm trying to be much more serious about avoiding sugar, I think that'll really help me feel better.  The chocolate is like a siren, isn't it?  ugh.  :).  Have a nice day!

Monday, April 10, 2023

and it WAS hoppy!!!

 

The Easter Bunny:  now, before you think I'm too creepy, it was Sonja.  (She's such a good sport!)(I wasn't going to post this because I look so fat, but then, I am fat!)
Camille, full-steam recovery, ditching those crutches and limping along! 
Emily...
Paul with four of our girls, Evelyn, Mariel, Kathryn, and Charlotte Claire holding Kathryn's little Jamison.


Emily and I...
Elise hugging Sonja...
Some Jamison time...
Paul with Tennyson...
Our Easter Sunday welcome snack, pink milk and coffee, cookies, muffins, cinnamon rolls.
Miss Camille...

After all this fun, and an amazing ham lunch with all the fixings, it was home...23 of us...outside for some sunshine, then in the house too...I made pulled taco chicken for fajitas, rice, and some hot dogs, Sam cut up the cheese, pepperoni and salami, and chips and dip...then, time for carrot cake!  


Mine had white chocolate buttercream, Mariel had cream cheese frosting...her's was still warm because she baked it here, ha, yes, a cake was baking with all the kids running around and everyone here.  Both were equally delicious, I decided what the heck, and enjoyed some cake.  It's almost too bad I did, because it just reinforces it:  cake is SO GOOD, ha.

Paul with Rhys...
Me, with Ruth and Tennyson...Tenny started to not feel well...I was in the kitchen getting some food, he came to me and said,"Hama, Hama, come sit.  Chair, Hama.  Blanket."   Oh dear, of course, Tenny...I could tell he was not feeling well...I rocked him for a bit and he fell asleep, so sweet.  Margaret gave him some meds, infant Tylenol or something, and he perked up a bit.  Ruth just likes sitting with me, and wanted to join us...poor me, huh?  

Char LOVES little Jamison!!!   Such a nice auntie!

Now I've run out of pictures...not really, I actually have lots more...but I've run out of time, I have to go to water aerobics.  It's a nice sunny day, and here in the northeast, we're finally getting nice weather...it'll be 60 today, warmer tomorrow, and by Friday, sunny and 80!!!!



Sunshine!  Sunshine and WARMTH!!!  So glad!  Off I go now, hurry hurry hurry...!

Saturday, April 8, 2023

hoppy easter!

 

Carrot cake with white chocolate buttercream...finally made the carrot cake.  It took longer than I thought, the peeling and shredding the carrots.  The baking scale is a total game changer though.  If you bake, you need one.  
A rather messy Easter basket, but it has tons of good chocolate in it.  (it's for all three girls)

A random pic from the past...that's Margaret holding crying Camille...
And this is baby Jamison...
We took a little trip to Target...
Lucky me...all these fun girls, and the baby too.  I got a turn carrying him around, he's so sweet.  Rhys loves her baby brother.

Then, on Friday night, we took our first ice cream jaunt of the season.  It was great fun, we drove around the countryside afterward and Paul showed us some places he used to fish with his grandfather, and a farm where a guy used to have a lion.  

I'm tired tonight.  We did some work on the house today, and then I made the cake...then some steaks for dinner.   Paul and I watched a movie, an old war movie set in Berlin with subtitles...then I made the frosting.  So, I'm tired.  And, tomorrow comes early, I have to leave by 8:30 in the morning to help with lunch.   

Ah well...have a really nice Easter, hoping it's with friends or family, or both.  :)



Thursday, April 6, 2023

a no-pics day...

Pool day...my pool friends were talking about a big local Mennonite store, which I have never been to.  Road trip! Must-do! I've been to the smaller stores around here, you can get oats in bulk and sausage from Pennsylvania, sprinkles galore, and homemade cookies.  Their eggs are cheap, and they sell flowers and plants.  Apparently there is a huge-0 store, one of those I didn't know I needed this much stuff stores.  hmmm.  

I started this post yesterday, but...life happened, aka my girls happened.  With Sonja and Charlotte Claire on break this week, they're around a bit more. Sonja is still busy with homework, and Char worked yesterday and is working today at church, doing painting.  When they plop down to talk, or make a sandwich and turn on an episode of Psych, I close my lap top and enjoy them.

An outing yesterday with Kathryn, Rhys was my buddy.  She's turning two in June, every time I see her she's saying more words.  

I'm not really that big, it's just that Rhys is so tiny, ha.  :)

This fine morning, I have to drive Miss Char to work, then drop my car off to get the front brakes done, then I think I'm helping Kathryn with something.  Camille had her post-surgical appointment, all those bandages unwrapped and snipped off.  Stitches removed, everything looks good.  She's allowed to unbuckle the brace and bend the knee several times a day, but has to keep it braced up while walking.  She's weaning herself off the crutches, was walking around with just one in here yesterday, said she felt like an old granny.   I say, harrumph.  What's wrong with an old granny?

After her appointment the other day, I went into Aldi for a ham, 40 pounds of potatoes, 7 jars of applesauce, some apples, ect., for our Sunday dinner at church, Easter dinner for around 75 people. Emily bought a ham too, I need to get three more.  (a lot of the 75 are children).  We'll get some nice coffee, rolls, asparagus, and we'll have cookies/cinnamon rolls and pink milk for the kids when they get there.  There's going to be a huge egg hunt, which the older kids help with for the littler ones.  

After all this fun, the family is coming over here for Paul's birthday.  Mariel's making a carrot cake, and I'm making a carrot cake, just because we've been talking about carrot cakes...

Ah well....short post, have to make Charlotte's coffee...can you believe she's almost seventeen?  She's chomping to get her driver's license:  time, slow down!!!!!  (I make her coffee because...I'm nice.:))


Monday, April 3, 2023

one sunny windy Monday...

 Here are the good things about today:

I went to my water aerobics class.  I hadn't been there since last Monday, because of the heart monitor.  (You can shower with them, but you cannot submerge them, so no swimming.)(Now I have to wait for the week or so it takes for them to decipher it, and decide my fate)  

Kathryn needed a few things from Walmart, so Rhys stayed here with the girls, and Kathryn and I went with baby Jamison and Achilles.

I found some Keto ice cream bars on clearance, a five dollar dress, and some fifty cent dark chocolate raspberry bars, along with 75 cent Lily's chocolate.  

The day was sunny, leaning towards warm, but too windy to be outside with Jamison.  We did enjoy the sunshine from inside, as Kathryn visited with the kids after our Walmart trip.  Rhys took a big nap, and we all had some baby time.

Miss Char enjoying some school break...

He was trying to sleep, but I wanted a picture with his eyes open, so I kept talking to him...almost.

Dinner was lazy and cheat-y.  The girls had late lunches, I had some peanuts and blueberries, and a few of those little keto chocolate chip cookies from Aldi...wow, you realize how small a portion is with the tiny bags, three servings, ha.  Today I bought pecan smoked chicken wings, so I put those in the oven.  I wasn't even hungry, but I ate a few.  Then two of the Keto ice cream bars, I'll deserve it if I get a tummy ache.  

The girls are gone now to a gathering, and Paul is working on the house we are fixing up.  I am here all by my lonesome, which doesn't happen very often. I really don't mind.  

Paul is home now...