is it spring?

Well, it almost felt like it this morning when I took Rosie-The-Bad dog out for her little walk with NO COAT ON. Am I stupid? Perhaps, but not in this instance. I just decided after letting her out on her own that I really should take her on the leash. I just had a bad feeling about letting her go on her own...so I put on the size 12 boots that the big boys and Paul use for shovelling the driveway, and out the door I went. Here is the good part: it felt like spring. 31 degrees out, and it felt like spring. If it were that cold in October, I would be shivering, but after all the cold we have had, it seriously felt nice. No wind. No snow. Of course it won't be staying this way for long, every single day this week is forecast for more snow. Tomorrow it will be getting cold again, 9 degrees. And windy, and snowy. So maybe I will try to get the girls outside today to enjoy "spring".

I didn't do any laundry this weekend. So no one put anything in the hampers or dirtied any clothes or bedding. ha.

I haven't painted the kids' room yet. Evelyn moved the dresser away from the wall and cleaned underneath it. We still have to move one set of bunks away from the wall and wipe down the walls. I am thinking to take them to Walmart after school today to pick the paint. They all keep asking if they are going to be allowed to help. I asked them if they wanted their room to look good or look awful...not really. Although I did think of saying that. Thankfully I realized how rude it would be....

One thing I hate is when someone calls for Paul or Ben, and cannot talk to me because I am not on their account. "I will call back" they say. "Please don't", I say. Benjamin has school loans. He thought he covered all the bases with the loan companies prior to leaving, paying interest on the loans...the Army will pay for the loans, but not all at once. Anyway, the companies call all of the time, wanting to speak to Benjamin. I tell them he is in Boot Camp, and cannot talk to anyone. "Well, just have him call us back." He CAN'T call you back. "Okay, Mam, just have him call us back." Can you tell me what this is about? Because I can send a payment if that's what you need. "No, we can only speak to Benjamin about this account." blah. So they call, every single day.

So...aside from all the things I hate and have to complain about, I AM thankful for some things.

I am thankful for daughters. If I didn't have my daughters to talk to, I think I would get lonely. Sons are nice to have around too, but daughters grow up to be friends.

This morning I wandered out to the kitchen to take inventory of who was up and ready, just in case the school calls and asks where someone is...(one time the nurse called and asked if Joe was sick, I said yes,because I hadn't been up when the first trip kids went out the door, so I assumed he was in bed. She called back and said, "Mrs. W., we have Joseph here in school...." I died a million deaths.) Anyway, Mirielle and Joseph were leaving for college. Mirielle is always late. She makes other people late. It is never her fault. But she is very funny. She asked Joseph if he could drive so she could study for her test. Nothing like being prepared!

Camille is awake. She just informed me that, "There are scary shadows in your room, Mama. Under the bed. So you have to stay out of there!" I just told her that I love scary shadows.

Okay, last night I was looking up things that husbands like and don't like. One of the things they don't like, surprise surprise, is: chatter. Ouch. Chatter. I call it "talking about important things." But "chatter".....ouch. More specifically, the article stated that husbands don't like "chatter" when they are trying to read the paper or read stuff on their computers or watch an important show. So they tend to ignore their wives or just say, "uh-huh" in a non commital way that shows the wife they really don't want to talk. Now, if the tables were turned...and the husband started talking about what color paint to get or if we should have salad or a different veggie for dinner, the wife would stop what she is doing, and give the husband her full attention, even if she was slightly annoyed because she was reading a really funny blog. Why is that?

Anyway....I am glad for another day.

hmm, husbands....

I think it is interesting that my last post got three comments, and they were all about marriage/husbands. Methinks more should be said on that subject. I was thinking it would be nice to be young and ravishingly beautiful....so that when I said something, I wouldn't just hear, "uh-huh..." No, I would totally have his attention. Why did I make these cupcakes this afternoon? With all I have to do around here, I should be shot. But they were SO good. The white frosting is buttercream, I put half-n-half in it instead of milk....creamy and good and just a little bit buttery....then I mixed a can of chocolate frosting in with some of it for the chocolate....it tastes just like soft chocolate ice cream....oh, deadly cupcakes.

Little Miss Camille Anaya

Charlotte Claire taking a snooze during the SuperBowl.

Little girls...my sweet little sunshines...it was quiet in here the other day for some reason, and I got the most horrible thought, "this is a foreshadow of things to come..." I know, that sounds rather Dickens-y and almost evilish, but....these kids are growing up, and in two years I will be home alone with Rosie-The-Bad-Dog.

This Little Piggy needed his blood pressure taken...

This is the chocolate from Stine and her brother, Tor-Henning....thank you again, you two!!!! Only two of the big bars are gone, and one of the little ones disapeared. I haven't held a trial about it yet...I told the kids not to just take it, I would divvy it out....it is SO good....

We had chicken wings for our SuperBowl dinner. I did not watch any of it until right now, and I am not paying much attention. Most of us ate dinner at the table, the wings and some rice and some yummy steamed veggies (broccoli, whole green beans, red peppers, and slices of squash).

I still have not gotten on that treadmill again...blah! I need to. Would someone please kick me in the rear?

Anyway, I think it is kind of funny that three comments were all about husbands/marriage. I honestly still feel bad about a stupid misunderstanding, and I find myself going back to it in my mind like when you chip a tooth or get a new crown, and the tongue just cannot leave it alone....I don't want to be mad, or sad, or offended... Why should I have demands on him that he be different? He is a very good man, and I truly love him. I do not want to get bitter and hold on to things. To Paul, talking is over -rated. Unless it is one of the rare times he wants to talk. He has no patience for the details. I, on the other hand, have so much to say that I even bore myself sometimes. Well, sometimes he likes to talk about everything, just not as often as I do.

Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. Nevermind that it is Monday...

saturday night

Here are the fun things that have happened here lately...

1. Last night we went out to dinner, Paul and I and our nice little family....Evelyn and Suzanne and Sonja and Jonathan and Charlotte Claire and Camille. We did use the coupon and the gift certificates...so our total was $8.24. And I had prime rib. The kids had burgers and fries and grilled cheese and chicken tenders....

2. Camille liked having a real glass. Jonathan liked having water that wasn't "iron water".

3. Camille said she wanted to take the table home from the restaurant because it was "brown and warm. And the restaurant can have our yellow table."

4. This morning I went to a really fun store with my sister-in-law Kim. We were gone for four hours, which is good, for us. We bought frozen chicken wings, $4 for 5 pounds. We each bought a forty pound case of chicken breast and chicken thighs, and split them. Plus we got 5 pound bags of shredded mozzarella for $9 each.

5. We made pizzas for dinner....I told the boys they could invite friends(they invited four), and we made 6 pizzas instead of our usual four. Mirielle makes barbecued chicken and hot Buffalo chicken pizzas...they are almost to die for.

6. I splurged on ice cream, too....Piece of Cake, Party Cake, and Strawberry....they used their drink cups from dinner.....and we used paper plates, yay!

7. Paul just got stuck in the driveway going to pick Aaron up from work....there is "alot" of snow, according to Joseph, who went out to push him out, along with his friends. There is at least five inches of new snow, it is falling at an inch or two an hour...Joe says he doesn't know how Dad is going to drive, the road has that much snow too.

8. I am learning, little by little, that men think so totally different from women. Sometimes I am just dying of brokenheartedness because of how Paul seems towards me....I think all these thoughts and feel so sorry for myself...and once again, he has no idea how upset I was. Or maybe he does, but thinks I am just making a huge deal out of nothing. wah, poor poor me. I am my own worst enemy sometimes.

9. The house gets messy on weekends. When I came back from my little shopping trip today and had to baggy up forty pounds of chicken (I put balsamic vinigrette and lemon pepper seasoning into the bags so the chicken will thaw in it, and hopefully taste yummy), then proceed with making dinner, then cleaned up, then finally sat down and surveyed the living room that I had swept and mopped this very day...wah. Poor me.

10. Tomorrow we are supposed to bring our lunch to eat together after church...I have to mosey back out to the kitchen and put some of the marinading chicken into the crockpot to cook overnight on low. We have some rolls, so we shall have some barbecued pulled chicken.

11. Abigail and Ashley took Evelyn, Suzanne, and Jonathan ice skating today. Kathryn went with her cousin Susan. Sonja was with me and missed out on skating, so her Aunt Kim bought her a caramel mocha at McDonalds. Plus she got a yogurt parfait AND a Mcdouble AND fries. She did not eat dinner tonight. But she did have some ice cream....

12. I will be glad and relieved when Paul and Mirielle and Margaret get home with Aaron. The girls went with him because they are stopping at RedBox.

Seriously, though, I hope I do learn from these trials.....especially the trials with my dear husband. He is such a good guy, and I would have him guilty and hung in my thoughts sometimes, all because of HIM, of course. Then when I start thinking straight, I see that perhaps, maybe just a little....it is partly MY FAULT. And I am learning slowly by slowly that HE CAN'T READ MY MIND! (ha, that is a good thing sometimes!) Anyway, I am glad don't harden my heart and hold grudges, it is stupid to do that. I think that if one gets just a little bit bitter here and there where no one can even see, sooner or later is becomes manifest....and one grows into a bitter old person, filled with grumpiness. Just think to guard our hearts and screen those thoughts, let Jesus' light shine into the corners of our hears, so that we can be purified day in and day out....that sounds good to me.

I have two little girls who should be getting tucked in...they are in the bathroom brushing their teeth with Miss Sonja supervising....it sounds like they may be giving her a run for her money. I just told them if they get into their footy jammies I will read stories. But what they apparently heard was, "Run back in forth across the living room blowing toot noises and singing, "cheechy waw waw waw""!

friday accomplishments...

If, after reading that title, anyone thinks this will be a long post, ha.

Let's see....

1. I swept and mopped the kitchen and living room.

2. I didn't beat Camille silly when she attempted to carry her small cup of hot cocoa (lukewarm, really) to the living room when I left the room with the phone to talk to my sister in a quieter room....and it spilled all over the floor.

3. I did give said child a shower.

4. I didn't beat Evelyn-the-school-skipper silly when she gave the little girls a bath....and left the bathroom without telling me....I heard splashing and water running and blissfully assumed they were being supervised....ha. The tub was filled to the very brim. rrr.

5. I didn't beat Rosie-The-Bad dog silly when I discovered what she did to the bag of garbage someone so lazily set on the deck instead of putting into the can.

6. I did have Joseph clean up the garbage for me. I figured it was payback for the recycle-able mess down the road yesterday.

7. I washed my favorite jean skirt.

8. I washed lots of other things, and put them all away....clothes monster: non existent!!!!

9. I ate two of Mirielle's coconut oatmeal craisin chocolate chip cookies. No, it was three. No...maybe four.

10. I received a package in the mail!!!!! It was addressed to Paul and I...and it was from Norway!!! A whole stack of Norwegian chocolate bars! A beautiful framed picture of our conference center over there.....and a game for the kids, plus a movie for Margaret. It was so exciting, and I shall be rationing that chocolate for hopefully a few weeks to come!! Thank you so much, Tor-Henning!!! (he stayed with us last year in March, and we hope he can come again some time!)

11. I took a shower and washed my long tangly hair, and brushed it out. (believe me, this is an accomplishment)

12. I picked out outfits for the little girls to wear for our dinner out.

13. Went outside and pretended I was walking down the road so Rosie-the-Bad dog would come after me, from the neighbor's house...I finally grabbed her and ended all of her fun....she likes nothing better than lying at the end of the driveway standing guard...she barks at the passing cars, and chases some...if the UPS man comes, she defends our land from his dangerous packages.

14. Endured the cold cold cold in here. The furnace is not working again...brr.


And of course I took care of my two little sweetie-pies. Gave them cereal and raisin toast and juice and cocoa and barbecued chicken. Snuggled with them and let them "help" me mop the floor...

.

ahh, friday....

again already. Time seems to be going speedy fast. Last Friday I was shopping with a few of my girls, and imagine my surprise when the eleven year old said..."TGIF? No, SHIT." What??? "Oh Mommy, it just means Sorry Honey It's Thursday!" hmm. (she didn't say the word, just the letters. But STILL...)

But Thank God It's Friday again. Weekends mean a bit more time with Paul, and having the kids around more.

We have plans for tonight! Paul recieved some gift certificates for Christmas from work, good for some different local restaurants, so I had the great idea of taking the younger kids out to dinner when the older ones go to the youth meeting some week. I would rather take all of them out, but that would be way over the amount. So tonight we are thinking of going. I am not sure if they will actually like it. They have only gone to McDonalds and the Chinese Buffet. I just hope they behave themselves and don't decide to get all silly and "full of the devil", as my mother used to say.

I have a question....is it okay to use a Buy An Entree Get One Free coupon with gift certificates?

Yesterday's appointment with the heart dr. went well for Mali. Her heart still shows those extra abnormal rhythms, but they are not harmful. She ran on the treadmill, and everything still was A-Okay. She doesn't have to go back for three years. Now that was strange, thinking about how things will be in three years. I will be 48, Camille six years old...wah.

In the waiting room at the dr. office, a lady came in carrying a car seat....a tiny little newborn. While Mommy filled out the paperwork, that baby started mewing....then wailing that impatient little newborn cry...Mali is worse than me, she was just dying to go pick up that baby. Too bad the lady would've have thought I was crazy, or a baby-stealer if I offered to hold the baby for her.

Mali started in on how we NEED another baby. I told her that if I were to have another one, I wouldn't do anything else at all, just hold and enjoy the baby.

We parked the minivan on the top of the parking garage, so when we went back out into the cold, we were surprised that the sunshine had warmed up the van so much. We drove out of the city up to the suburbs where Ashley was shopping at the mall. We went in to meet up with her, and get Mali a sweatshirt, since they are generally cheap right now. I got one for Kathryn too, for ten bucks each at Aeropostale....then on to Target, the store I shouldn't go to. I did fine in there though. I got Mali her birthday present, a pair of bright red Converse sneakers, which were half off. A pair of nice boots for Suze for 75 % off, a bra for one of the girls for $1.98, a pair of knee socks for fifty cents, and I was done.

Grocery store. I had cut lots of coupons, so I saved lots of money buying good things. The store had two triple coupons, so they actually paid me a buck to buy two things of Softsoap. Anyway, it is nice to have cereal and juice and raisin bread and bananas and fresh veggies for the weekend. I HAD to go, because we needed dog food.

Mirielle had dinner made when I got home, ravioli and sauce, and a nice salad. She left to go to the gym, while I put away groceries and heard all about the kids' days.....I heard about how the two little girls decorated the carpet in the older kids' room with deodorant, and how one had hit the other and how one needed a bandaid, and did I get chapstick? I find it a stressful time, all I want to do is sit down and put my feet up...but with dinner and clean up and putting things away, it was after eight when I sat down...I had a bag of Hershey's minitures, and asked the kids "questions"....they love it. They all gather around and want me to ask them something so they can have a candy. Then Emily came in for a visit! We had some cinnamon almonds, and talked...then it was time to get back up and get the little ones tucked into bed....

Of course I stayed up way way too late with Miss Emily, talking about our trip and looking at pictures from when they were little. Ashley enjoyed seeing Ben when he was little.

And now...I am ready for a nap, but the two little jammied princesses want breakfast.

what now??

Paul took the big van today because I have to go to the big city for Mali's heart dr. appointment. The parking garage is no place for a fifteen passenger van.

Joseph has college this morning, just a morning class. So he got to take the minivan instead of the gold car, which has not been fixed yet, which is another boring story which I will skip.

So Joseph left in the minivan.

Aaron texted me from the schoolbus, and said, "Joe is an idiot." Apparently he drove right over the recycling bin. So Aaron told me, from the bus, that I should go out and collect the things strewn around the road. I texted him back and asked if it was just a trick to get me outta my chair.

But it was no trick.

There were cans and jars and jugs and bottles all down the road, mixed in with the couple of inches of snow that have fallen this morning. I did put one glove on, because I am not totally stupid, but the other hand got cold.

As I surveyed the mess, realizing that there was no way around it, I had images of slapping Joseph. But mostly I wondered at this big sweet 19 year old son of mine...out on the road! Blah, watch out for a blue chevy Venture, people!! This kid didn't even know he hit the bin! rrr. He is such a good kid, though, he won't give me a hard time at all, he will just say he is sorry and he will look more the next time.

I hate driving downtown in the big city. I am such a wimp..I have to give myself pep talks, saying things like, Other People are No different Than Me.....I can Drive Just As well As they can.

But the day has had it's good points already. On the counter is a plate of oatmeal cookies, courtesy of Mali, who made them sometime after 11:30 last night, which is when I went to bed.

Twenty days to our trip. I sure hope another storm like the one that just moved through won't be in the works for that week.

The kids' room is clean, again, finally! We are thinking to go out on Friday night with them while the older ones are at the youth meeting to pick out paint. We still have to move the beds to the center of the room so we can wipe down the walls and apply some spackle to the tack-holes, and there are things under the one bunk bed that we can't really reach, so there will be some fun when the beds are moved. We just plain couldn't handle anymore fun yesterday.

Time to get these guys out the door....

snow day!!!!

Ha, it isn't even snowing anymore. We did get some, and Kathryn said it is very slippery out there. I haven't ventured out. Aaron texted me while it was still dark to let me know school was cancelled. Things sure have changed. When I was a little girl, we had to turn on the radio and listen for the long list of schools....I still remember when I heard, "North Syracuse Public and Parochial Schools, closed.."the excitement and jumping up and down. Of course back then it meant one thing: going outside to play. All the kids in the neighborhood would be outside. We had no computers, and daytime television was "The Price Is Right", and "As the World Turns" in the afternoon. Excepting for "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" and "Sesame Street".

Paul is still here, working from home. He is getting ready now to leave, since the snow has passed through.

Jonathan has a huge firetruck. It requires six double A batteries, and it seems that he just happens to have six double A batteries. It is LOUD. The ladder goes up and down, it has lights and sirens, and the fire chief gives commands, like, "Ladder up!" His sisters don't like it one bit. They are telling him it is too loud. I just told them to leave him alone, it is a Snow Day and he has collected all these batteries, leave him alone.

The couch monster is gone, but there is a pile of towels there now. I can tell that Miss Ashley folded them, they are folded neatly and precisely. None of my kids has that talent.

Well, Rosie is across the street barking her head off at the guy who is plowing their driveway....not that she will listen to me anyway, but I shall go get her....rrr.