summertime.....

The back yard...when we built our house, this was an old overgrown cornfield. No trees at all. These trees planted themselves.

The wild area between the back yard and the back field, which we call "the snake field"....

Kathryn Grace and Jonathan, playing WII....they look so clean and refreshed and tanned....they are taking a break from the pool....

Camille loving her dolly....

Jonathan and Charlotte Claire watching "Curious George"....I like public television...one half-hour show is just enough....

Camille lookin' cool. I did so much cleaning up today, finally after all these days of just the basics. I straightened and vacuumed and mopped and dusted and scrubbed and sorted.....and the kids are erasing it all! I mean, who brought the economy sized jug of peanuts out here to the living room, and most importantly, who spilled them? No one, that's who. I couldn't seem to get the work I wanted to do finished to take them in the pool, so I had Aaron take them out and watch them while I finished....it is way to hard to mop floors with kids all around. (I used to mop at night when thely were all in bed, but they stay up too late and I am too tired).....As soon as I start mopping, Sonja appears, soaking and dripping, with a jar of applesauce....can she please have some? No, go outside and let me finish. A few more kids start trickling back in, wanting snacks, or drinks, or just to see what I am doing, or to tell me that Camille wants MOMMY in the pool. Okay, kids, just get back outside and let me finish!!!

By the time I was finished, I was so hot and sweaty....I would spare you the details, but...nah, I was soaked. Sweat was dripping off the end of my nose. I felt like I had already been swimming....so the pool was doubly refreshing today.....

We came in and had some lunch, chicken strips and green beans, and cantaloupe slices. And ice water. It is 89 degrees in the living room right now. Downright tropical...but getting out of the pool and sitting in the scorching sun feels great, for a few minutes anyway. I actually fell asleep on the couch for like a half hour this afternoon....we set the fan on the table where the dvd player is, and the breeze, even though it was a hot breeze, felt fine. The kids only woke me up to tell me like twenty important things, and Jon asked me a few questions. Then Charlotte Claire brought me a fleece blanket...how nice of her, until I realized that she wanted to snuggle up to me and join my nap. Sorry sweets, it is too hot for that.....

Now, it is the dreaded dinner time....I am going to use the leftover steak....here is my plan: cube and marinade the meat, cube, oil and season some potatoes, microwave them, slice some zuchini and yellow squash and onions and peppers, make schish-kabobs, or however it is spelled. Time to move it move it.

new morning....

new post....the night passed too quickly. Possibly because we stayed up 'til almost 2am talking and talking and being silly, Mirielle, Mali, Margaret, and I. And where are they right now? With the exception of Mirielle, who has a babysitting job today, they are sleeping. I don't exactly regret staying up so late, but....

It is too hot to to go anywhere. The big van with no A/C seems almost dangerous in the heat. It just isn't designed to have no A/C. Most of the windows are just for looks, the back ones that DO open just are flap windows....so while the driver and and who ever has to sit by mom, or with the younger ones, who ever GETS to sit by mom, are relatively comfortable, as are the first row behind the front, when the van is moving and the breeze comes in, anyway....One time years ago I took all of the kids, I think I had 12, and a friend, down to my parents' house on a severely hot and humid day, and ROAD CONSTRUCTION! I was actually feeling woozy, it was so hot in our van....and yet we still had to just sit and wait in the traffic....after that experience, I have been much more careful about packing them up and going out and about in the heat.

We might be going to Darien Lake again. IF I get the tickets, I don't want the kids to get their hopes up too high, but my brother called me yesterday and said he knows someone who can get the tickets very reasonably. Reasonable enough for us all to go for well under $100! I didn't think we would ever be able to go again....with all these guys, even mini golf and bowling are super expensive. Jon and Sonja K. are busy right now, talking about their favorite rides. To hear them, you wouldn't guess they have been there ONCE.....when we were leaving last time, they started talking about the next time we go, and I wanted to say, HEY KIDS, what makes you thing we will ever get to come here again??.....Now, I just need to talk Paul into going. He had lots of fun last time. If he doesn't go, I won't have anyone to wait with whoever doesn't want to go on a particular ride. The older kids will go off to go on the coasters, and I will have the littler ones by myself. So Paul should take ONE day off from work, and come with us. Mirielle has said she will gladly watch the two younger ones for us, as she doesn't like the rides....

The septic tank pump people might be coming today. Country living at it's best! I hesitated to put on this one particular comfortable around-the-house shirt, because I remembered the septic tank pump people might be coming. And the shirt...well, it is CLEAN, but when my shirts get something on them, a stain, that won't come out, well, then it is an around-the-house shirt. wow, when did I turn into a housewife?

Aaron and Sam are back from their weekend in the Adirondacks. They did not drown, or get eaten by bears. The did, however, sleep out with no tents, and Sam lost some sleep due to the fear of bears. The came back tired and happy.

The girls did not do any painting when the boys were gone , so the living room is still half done. We just need one more night of serious painting, and then we can start the kitchen...blah. It will be nice when it gets done though....all the wall hangings from both rooms are piled on one of the kitchen tables, and some of the furniture is still pulled from the walls.....all the curtains are still down, it looks like the grinch was here, except we have no hooks or wire.

Well, I have some laundry to start, and some sweeping up to do...hey didn't I just do all this YESTERDAY?!

not very exciting post....

It was and is very hot today, muggy and sticky and oppressive. How can the southerners handle it on a regular basis? Paul and I headed out to church with just Sonja, Jonathan, Charlotte Claire, and Camille...in the small van with a/c....we to home, ate lunch, and got into the pool as fast as we could.

I grilled some steaks tonight, and we had baked beans with bacon, pasta salad, and cucumber. I feel like I need to go in for another swim, but a cool shower might suffice.

Oh heck, I cannot write tonight...we are watching "Becoming Jane", due to Mirielle's affection for Jane Austen.....I cannot concentrate...these movies are like all dialogue, and way too interesting.......

my camille anaya

Ooh, is she ever a mama's baby....and she isn't even really a baby anymore....she is so huggy (does that sound better than clingy?)....I put her to bed, sat down and put my feet up (after sneaking a few white chocolate macedamia nut cookies WITHOUT sharing, the key word being SNEAKING), and started to write....well, Camille did not want to stay in her nice green bed. So she cried. So we got her up. We are very smart. "Start as you mean to go on"....so I guess we are forming bad habits....but it is very very hot here in New York state. Muggy and still eighty here in the living room, no air conditioning. I cannot let a child cry in this heat, who am I kidding....it isn't the heat....I will put her back in later...she is joining Mirielle, Mali, Margaret, Kathryn, Evelyn, and Suzanne at the table....they are coloring. I always loved the 64ct. box of Crayolas, and apparently they do too. They are also having ice cream and homemade iced tea. Aaron and Sam are camping in the Adirondacks this weekend with a few boys from church. I sent them off with the 52 ounce bag of Starburst, and some warnings to use their life jackets when in the canoes....and that's about it.

I went in the pool three times today. It is so hot out, I had to go underwater to feel refreshed. I don't mind going swimming with 6 or 8 or 10 kids, it is the two youngest that wear me out. They have special suits that keep them afloat, and they have learned to keep their heads up so the suits work effectively. But they have no fear! Camille stands on the ladder, announces, "I jumps!", and she jumps! She goes right under, and comes up smiling! I, of course, am not calm cool and collected about this. And Charlotte Claire is the same way. She likes me to throw her. Over and over again. She comes bobbing up to the surface, and if the water is wavy, due to all the kids in there bouncing around, she sometimes gets a faceful....and I grab her, and she just wants me to put her down, she is fine. I am not complaining about the pool, no I am very thankful for it....for the kids getting the excercise, keeping busy, and being able to cool down. And I do have some help, but the way Camille is, I cannot trust anyone else, really. Charlotte Claire, too. There are times when I just feel tired of being in there watching like a hawk, but if I get out, the little ones have to get out too....anyway, I am not complaining...but not too much else is getting done around here.....but it's summer, we can live with it.

Tonight we had some pasta salad, courtesy of Mirielle....bow tie pasta with green peppers, sweet onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, with red pepper and garlic dressing. And hot dogs and coneys cooked on the grill, and sliced cucumbers. I do love summer.

I brushed out the little girls' hair today....tangles and snarls. We vow that we will not let it get so tangly again. Right.

I feel so sorry for Kate G. , ...the one with the eight children.....her husband cheated on her, moved out....I do not know the whole story, but...apparently he hired a babysitter she did not approve of while he had visitation, so she tried to enter the property, which is forbidden under their visitation agreement. The police had to come because they argued. No matter what happened to their marriage, I just feel plain sorry for Kate. Imagine if your children were being babysat by someone you didn't approve of, and you couldn't do a stinkin' thing about it. Her kids, her house....ouch. What a shame.

Well, Camille is still up at eleven o'clock, I don't know how tired SHE is, but I would certainly like to say goodnight to her. Sweet as she is.....

aah, saturday...a day off...ha

This morning I tried to sneak out before Camille got up...but the bathroom door squeaked, and she was awake and chattering and holding her arms up. Seems heartless to say, "Rats!", but rats anyway.

Sonja K. was getting up, and we were soon joined by Jonathan. We let Rosie out of her cage, took her outside, and gave her food and water, and lots of attention. We tidied up the deck quick, then swept up the kitchen floor, and started the coffee. I let Camille push the button of the coffee grinder. Making coffee is time consuming these days, as the coffeemaker is broken. We have to boil the water in the kettle, then pour it little by little into the filter that rests on the top of the pot. We then made some sausage, toast, and scrambled eggs with green peppers and cheese. I fed seven of the kids while the older ones slept in and daddy went to the hardware store. When he got back, I helped him install a new outside spigot. Then I cleaned up the yard a bit as he is going to mow. I am taking a little break, and the girls are supposed to be picking up their toys and house-stuff from the yard. ha. They are fighting about it. Kathryn maintains she already did her share, and Sonja just came in with some stuff. Suzanne is busy making a house for her Webkin kitty out of a giant Lucky Charms box.....

It is extremely warm today. We are having this warm sunny weather that is just amazing, with no chance of rain. High eighties or maybe 90, a bit humid. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the nineties with humidity. I am SO thankful we have the pool filled and running. I keep telling the kids as soon as the yard is picked up, I will take them for a swim.

We are thinking of going to the beach this afternoon, cooking some hot dogs and coneys, and marshmallows, and watching the sunset. Daddy hasn't gone to the beach yet this year. It is nice to do things a family sometimes. It's good I am adventurous though, or these kids wouldn't go very many places.

I went on a small shopping excursion yesterday with Mali and Evelyn. We went to ToysRUs, which was rather disapointing. That store could be so much better! I passed up the temptation of getting a few new Fisher-Price dollhouse sets, it was hard. I love toys. Especially dollhouse stuff. I always buy the new stuff they put out, and it was hard not to ....but I am the one who likes it the most, and we do not NEED it. I got a few baby outfits for my brother's son and his wife who are having a baby. We also got two rafts for the pool, two boxes of 64count crayons (fun!), and some finger paints.

We the went to the dreaded Target and got what I hope is the end of the school supplies. Also some sneakers and and shoes for Evelyn, and a nice leather school bag that was 75%off....as were the shoes and sneakers, of course. Then on to Price Chopper for bread and milk and cheese and bananas and peppers and bakery sourdough bread ($1!) and angus london broil ($1.99 lb), 30 ears of corn, orange juice, peanutbutter........and a new patio set! I have been wanting one since our old table died a terrible death in a windstorm a few years back. I have looked and waited and watched for bargains. This set has a round table with an umbrella and 5 chairs. Not enough, but at least a place to put the food, and the kids have their small table, and we have lots of other chairs. It was $99, on clearance 75% off. I was SO glad it fit in the van.

We had the best dinner last night: bacon and tomato on sourdough bread and sweet corn. And ice water. It was just the best summer dinner. At 8:00. I was so hot from shopping in the drenching hot weather in the hot van that has no A/C in a hot jean skirt....my feet were even hot...no kidding, my Birkenstocks were slippery because my feet were sweating. Sorry. Anyway, by the time we got home and put stuff away, I NEEDED to go swimming. I took all the kids in while Mirielle started dinner....then we peeled corn in our bathing suits, and I put the new table together....it was worth a late dinner.

Now they are bugging me because I promised swimming...poor me, eh?

sneaking some time in....

This is for you, Joseph....Rosie is so sweet and fluffy...she thinks she is one of the kids...she is behaving herself much better lately....

The kids played house outside last night....at first they were playing "garage sale".....here is Suzanne making her house....

Charlotte Claire did something to Camille....so Sonja rescued Camille....

poor Camille...

Charlotte Claire needs to be nicer....but then Camille DID come into her house and steal her baby....(Rosie wanted to live with them, too)

What a nice cozy house.

I think this is Kathryn's house.






Jonathan's house, nestled between Ben's two cars (he is supposedly transferring the engine from the smashed one to the black one....)

This week I have been getting up extra early to sneak in some time on the computer....this morning I kept falling back to sleep.....and Camille woke up....so...I am on here anyway, but she is up along with Jonathan and Sonja. Camille took a big nap yesterday, so she stayed up 'til eleven last night. She was so good and cute and amusing. When the bigger kids got home from their youth meeting, she greeted them all by name, and showed them her snack (a cup of cheesies), and told them that the "monsters are back!" To Camille, "back" means they went back or they are gone. She somehow learned the concept of monsters, and when she starts talking about them she clings to me with these huge eyes. I have found it good through the years to occasionally have the youngest, or the toddler up later, just to enjoy.

I love my kids. Obviously, right? But I do, I just love them so much. I want them to make the right choices, to be happy, to turn to God. I want them to remain pure, and seek the things that are above. I want them to be kind and forgiving, and successful. I would and do give my life and time and heart for them.....it's like I am rooting for them, cheering for them to do the good. Praying for them, encouraging them, hoping for them.....and then I realize just a tiny little bit how it must be for God and all of man.....how He must want the best for us..

I do not see any evidence that they painted last night, I know Mirielle had a huge headache. They did manage to eat lots of cookies and have some more iced coffee drinks, judging by the empty cups around here and the empty cookie packages. It is rather hard for me to go to bed each night, they are so much fun.

Well, time to start the day for real....

wally world...

Well, Walmart is the place I love to hate. They have what I need, so I need to go there.......we needed another gallon of green paint, so off I went. Samuel, who needed sneakers, and Kathryn and Camille went along. A hundred bucks later, we had our sneakers and paint. And a few other things.

A sad story: apparently the nice older gentleman who mixed our paint the other night has been hospitalized, and is ill. I don't know the details, but the young "associates" that were mixing paint today, (and gossiping) let on that the ill worker's son is getting married this weekend, and maybe he's faking. Okay. What is sad about this ? A sixty something year old man playing hookey from Walmart to go to his own son's wedding? Leave him alone, girls.

Samuel has a fondness for McDonalds, so I used a coupon today and took him through the drivethrough. He was happy. We came home, put away the stuff, and made a beeline for the pool....heavenly. Well, if heavenly includes two crazy jumping-off-the-ladder little girls, who have no regard for their own safety. And a crazy puppy who just begs to come in for a swim (and, for that matter, a crazy mom who feels sorry for said puppy and lets her in).....Mirielle was nice and took Camille in and put her for her nap so mommy could swim and sit in the sun for a bit....now mommy needs to move it move it again. Dinner time approaches. I DO have a general idea what's for dinner. We still have no gas for the grill, so I am thinking of sloppy joes.....we have burger, and rolls.

I have some phone calls to make, and a house to tidy up before daddy comes home so it looks like I have done more than lounge in the sun and play on the computer......