It's 19 degrees out. That's -7 celsius. That's cold. There is snow on the ground today, too. Snow that I romped in today with the dogs, in my sneakers after my walk. I leashed Suri and took her along. She has some learning to do. She likes to pull me all over and sniff everything everywhere. I want her to walk calmly by my side, leash slack. I tell her that and she just looks at me and wags, while she lunges to smell invisible things.
Tomorrow, Paul and I are going to do something fun with the three youngest kids, Jonathan, Charlotte Claire, and Camille. The older ones are all busy, so we thought we would plan some stuff...and I am stumped. Bowling? A movie? We hardly ever go to the movies, and the movie about Alexander's terrible day is playing at the cheap theater, only $2 a person. But I would rather DO something. The weather is conducive for sledding and skating, but Mama here doesn't do those things, bad knees, ect. I wish I could cross country ski or go snow shoeing. Shopping/the mall is OUT. Not fun. blah. We are planning to go to the grocery store and get some...shh, don't tell the older kids, some steak. I don't know how it is in your little part of the world, but around here, beef prices have gone through the roof. I can't buy a ten pound roast for $4.49 a pound. I just can't do it. Emily and I looked at one, for Christmas, that was like fifty bucks, and we simply decided to buy chicken instead. Anyway, the small store in town has New York strip steaks for $5.98 a pound. For just the five of us, we could do it. We want to make a nice New Year's eve meal. A few months ago I was talking to my younger brother about beef prices, and he said they hadn't had steak in forever....and he only has two kids. Honestly, if I only had to buy a pound or two, it wouldn't be a problem.
Anyway. Tomorrow will be fun. The kids have been staying up too late and sleeping in. One of my teenagers slept in until 1:30 the other day. It's wonderful. But we got the littler ones tucked in earlier tonight, because they will be up late tomorrow.
I talked to my younger brother on the phone today. I have one older sister, four older brothers, and one younger brother. Well, HAD. My brother Billy has passed away. My younger brother, Casey, is a good guy. He was my best buddy, growing up. I never ever see him anymore, and he lives only about an hour away. He married a lovely girl, but unfortunately, she did not care for his family, and he stopped coming to Christmas celebrations, then all other gatherings...he came with just his kids here and there, but not with her. It's sad, really, but that's how it is, I guess. I still talk to him a few times a month, sometimes more.
I took a little trip to the small city today, with one of my daughters. We went to the department of motor vehicles, then to the grocery store quick. ha, quick. Paul is into trying to ferment vegetables to promote good gut health. He wanted me to pick up some sea salt, vinegar, garlic...so to the grocery store I went. I found clearanced Christmas candy, fifty cents a pound. I bought some to put away for a church feast in a few weeks. I also bought myself a little present, a cookie press! It was regularly $24, marked down to $12. It rang up only $6! I can't wait to try it, but I don't want to bake anymore cookies. Jon made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies last night, all by himself. They turned out strange, all flat and crispy...but the taste, and the consistency....oh yum. It's like the oats just caramelized with the brown sugar, chewy and crunchy....so no, I don't want any more cookies in the house.
Isn't even the word, "caramel" lovely? Or am I crazy?
Chocolate, now that's another beautiful word. Creamy. Buttery. Flaky. Tender. Fudgy.
Here's the thing. Bread is bad for you. Why oh why does it taste so good? Not regular sliced sandwich bread, I mean the bakery bread, Italian or French bread, or sourdough...when I enter a store, what do you think I smell? Yeah, the bread baking. If I pick up a loaf, and it's still warm, I put it in the cart. And when I slice it up at home, I eat the end piece, just a small little piece, with butter. And I think it's like a little piece of heaven.
Anyway. Time to go to bed. Tomorrow is the last day of 2014, and I have so many resolutions I don't know where to begin. Paul ordered me a new screen for my Chromebook tonight, I don't know when it will come. I can't wait. I am using his old hp, which works, but it is so huge and clunky and loud and I keep hitting the wrong keys, and not pressing hard enough and ending up with words with missing letters....and I can't put pictures on my blog...wah. Anyway...tomrorow I will share some of my resolutions, and some time next week, I hope, I will be able to post pictures again. As for now, goodnight.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
another quiet day here in crazy town....
I got up and walked this morning! It wasn't easy, it was cold out there! The snow was coming down sideways in the cold wind. There isn't any snow on the ground, but when it's wintery, I want to stay in the house. But once I am walking, I am always glad I went. It clears my mind. I can think about things. It's like meditation, and a little bit of exercise at the same time.
Home again, ahh, coffee...an omelet with tomatoes and green peppers...and a trip to the library with Paul, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, and Camille. Then a quick stop at the store for some important things, plus five advent calendars with chocolate in them, for twenty cents each.
Home...we had meatballs and hot sausage, pasta (not for me!, I had green beans instead). Jonathan made oatmeal chocolate cookies all by himself from a book we got from the library. I don't know what he did, hey came out strange, bu oh so good. I had a few tastes.
I read a whole library book this evening. I almost hate having a good book, I just read the whole thing.
We have some fun plans for New Years! Paul and I will be with only the little kids for New Year's eve, so we are planning on doing something fun like going to a movie, then making a special dinner. Camille got to choose a dessert...blue jello. blah. Char is going to pick some ice cream to go with it. They also want to make a pineapple upside down cake, which is fine with me, I am allergic to pineapple so I won't touch it. The older kids are all going to be celebrating with their church friends)
It's getting colder here in the Northeast. brr. I don't like the blowing snow, or walking on ice...it makes me want to hunker in the house and eat cookies.
Tomorrow I have to go to the motor vehicle department, one of my un-favorite places, with my daughter, to get a copy of her driving record to send away to the court along with some other paperwork, to try to get her traffic ticket reduced. blah. But we will make the most of it...I'll take her for coffee or something. Life is too short to whine about wasted time, even if it's going to the DMV.
Ah well....I am distracted, which is my middle name lately. All the little details that make up life....that's why I like to blog, it clears my head almost as much as going on my walks.....
Home again, ahh, coffee...an omelet with tomatoes and green peppers...and a trip to the library with Paul, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, and Camille. Then a quick stop at the store for some important things, plus five advent calendars with chocolate in them, for twenty cents each.
Home...we had meatballs and hot sausage, pasta (not for me!, I had green beans instead). Jonathan made oatmeal chocolate cookies all by himself from a book we got from the library. I don't know what he did, hey came out strange, bu oh so good. I had a few tastes.
I read a whole library book this evening. I almost hate having a good book, I just read the whole thing.
We have some fun plans for New Years! Paul and I will be with only the little kids for New Year's eve, so we are planning on doing something fun like going to a movie, then making a special dinner. Camille got to choose a dessert...blue jello. blah. Char is going to pick some ice cream to go with it. They also want to make a pineapple upside down cake, which is fine with me, I am allergic to pineapple so I won't touch it. The older kids are all going to be celebrating with their church friends)
It's getting colder here in the Northeast. brr. I don't like the blowing snow, or walking on ice...it makes me want to hunker in the house and eat cookies.
Tomorrow I have to go to the motor vehicle department, one of my un-favorite places, with my daughter, to get a copy of her driving record to send away to the court along with some other paperwork, to try to get her traffic ticket reduced. blah. But we will make the most of it...I'll take her for coffee or something. Life is too short to whine about wasted time, even if it's going to the DMV.
Ah well....I am distracted, which is my middle name lately. All the little details that make up life....that's why I like to blog, it clears my head almost as much as going on my walks.....
Sunday, December 28, 2014
here i am, still alive and well....
Sometimes life interferes with blogging. Which is fine, I would rather be too busy to write than to just plain not having anything to say. I ALWAYS have something to say. The kids have been on school vacation, we had three Christmas celebrations, and Paul has been off work on vacation. Today we worked at the college basketball game together, then went to the grocery store with Camille and Jonathan. We bought ten pounds of chicken wings, which I made tonight, mostly Buffalo hot ones, but some barbecued ones for the younger kids. We also had carrots, celery, and a bag of chips.
I didn't go on my walk to day because of working at the Dome, which is hours on my feet, plus the nice walk to and from the parking garage, up that big scary hill.
The kids are staying up later and later, and sleeping in longer. Sonja has been gone to a friend's house since yesterday, she is home now and is Chatty Cathy herself. I am listening to her, I really am.
The princesses are in their room, all tucked in but still going strong.
Have I mentioned how nice it is to have Paul home all these days? Really really nice.
Okay, fun: at church, the over 30 year olds have to put on a feast for the under 30 year olds. There are 26 of us over 30, and around 70 under 30 years old. The feast is in less than a month, and we have to practice songs, skits, and prepare the menu, and plan the decorations. I can't say much on here, because we are going to surprise them with the theme, ect. It is so very fun...I am in charge of food, and have big plans.
Never mind, Sonja is talking and I can't type and listen, and so...bye for now.
I didn't go on my walk to day because of working at the Dome, which is hours on my feet, plus the nice walk to and from the parking garage, up that big scary hill.
The kids are staying up later and later, and sleeping in longer. Sonja has been gone to a friend's house since yesterday, she is home now and is Chatty Cathy herself. I am listening to her, I really am.
The princesses are in their room, all tucked in but still going strong.
Have I mentioned how nice it is to have Paul home all these days? Really really nice.
Okay, fun: at church, the over 30 year olds have to put on a feast for the under 30 year olds. There are 26 of us over 30, and around 70 under 30 years old. The feast is in less than a month, and we have to practice songs, skits, and prepare the menu, and plan the decorations. I can't say much on here, because we are going to surprise them with the theme, ect. It is so very fun...I am in charge of food, and have big plans.
Never mind, Sonja is talking and I can't type and listen, and so...bye for now.
Friday, December 26, 2014
'twas the day after christmas, and all through the house....
not a creature was stirring, not even Marge.
Marge didn't go skating with Paul and the others,
with all of those sisters and two of her brothers.
So Mom made the mint coffee she loves and dad hates,
while the kids get their exercise tying on skates.
She sits with her feet up, pondering this:
If she loves her kid muchly, why is this bliss?
Her sprouted grain toast spread with pumpkin jam that Emily bought her,
Makes her appreciate her sweet oldest daughter.
The grapefruit from Florida from Gramma are so yummy,
One of the last ones left will go in Mom's happy tummy.
While cleaning the kitchen, looking forward to writing,
she thought it would be fun in poem form, exciting.
But now as she sits while the dogs lie there snoring,
she knows it is too much work, and is boring.
So, we survived another Christmas! It's hard to sum it all up, so I will just write some random sentences...
I walked this morning, three days in a row. Yesterday Abigail joined me, making it a pleasant Christmas walk. I know everyone wants to get in better shape after the holidays, and I am no exception. We haven't feasted on rare Who roast beast, but we did have a ham dinner yesterday...with squash, mashed 'tatoes, stuffing, applesauce, cranberry sauce, rolls...Christmas eve there was a big pot of meatballs, hot sausage, fresh bread and butter....and we had brunch on Christmas eve too...homemade pancakes and crepes, berries, eggs, bacon, sausage, grapefruit, orange juice....on Christmas morning, as per tradition, we had cinnamon rolls, the kind that come in the tubes...I didn't have any, but the smell! oh dear. torture. Poor Sam, we skyped with him on Christmas morning...his very first Christmas away from home...and when he asked if there were cinnamon rolls and I said there indeed were, he had teary eyes.
Today, all the kids will be here at once for the first time of the season, except for Benjamin in Washington state, and Sam-the-soldier in Washington D.C. None of the nurses work during the day today, so later they are coming for our Secret Santa and stockings, and for Chipotle style food. We are having chicken fajitas, taco salad, ect.
So...while it hasn't been ALL about the food, well, it has been pretty yummy around here. Plates of homemade cut out cookies, fudge, snickerdoodles....and boxes of chocolate, bowls of red and green M&M's....for me, it's like a constant conversation with myself...on the one hand, heck, it's Christmas! But on the other hand, for every little morsel of chocolate I put in my mouth, I have to work that off, or worse, leave it on. So, it isn't a total riot to have this much yummy stuff around, for me.
But having the kids around, oh so nice! The older kids pitched in and bought Evelyn an iPod. Paul and I bought iPods for Suzanne and Sonja. Jonathan got a remote control helicopter, his Hess truck from Gramma, a pogo stick, a video game from Abigail, and a electric panel learning set from Emily. The little girls got Frozen dolls from Gramma, (which they LOVE), Star Wars stuff for Char, a Calico Critter playset for Cam, and a few other things. The older girls that live together got a food processor, and a few individual gifts. I got a scarf, some chocolate, and some good coffee beans from Paul...
We were sitting here during the day of Christmas eve, and I asked Paul if he got his secret santa gift, and he just looked at me. oops, he forgot! Out the door he went, shopping with Evelyn. :)
We can't find Camille's Christmas doll. It was her "big" present. Charlotte Claire got one that I purchased online from Target. Cam's was from Kohl's, and it never came. Or perhaps it did, and we put it somewhere and can't remember where. It supposedly was delivered the day after the girl's car accident, and I am drawing a blank, big surprise. I don't know if I hid it somewhere really well, or if it really didn't get delivered. I told her that if we can't find it, I would buy her one...but when I ordered it before Christmas, it was on sale and only like 20 bucks, now it is $49.99. blah.
You must be SO organized, they say. You must have a system, to have all those kids. You must have schedules, even to use the bathroom! ha. ha ha ha.
Our washing machine chose a fine time to break. A few days before Christmas, it filled with water, but wouldn't spin or empty. I am so extremely thankful Paul wasn't in France. He took it apart and found some stuff that had clogged it...he cleaned it out, put it back together, and it works fine again.
Paul has had the whole week off. He is all mellow and relaxed. We have been on the same level lately, getting along really well. If you have been married for any length of time, you might know what I mean. Those times when you just aren't connecting, are't in sync. But lately, we have been just going in the same direction or something, it is almost tangible how we are just FOR each other. Not that we normally fight or anything, we don't. But we have our times. Our misunderstandings, hurt feelings, silences. I hate those times, and thankfully they come less and less as the years go by. I think we both realize how short life is, and each have more acknowledgement of our own sin, and are more forgiving. Plus, ha, we just plain like each other...) We do wonder sometimes how we got so lucky....
Aaron came over on Christmas eve...then got a text from a friend...his friend found a dog along the highway in the city. Aaron left, sneaky like, with Kathryn. I thought perhaps they were going to get the dog, and yeah, I was right. He came in the door with this adorable little Jack Russell...the poor boy was trembling, but still wagging his little tail. Our labs loved him, but he jumped up and tried to show them he was boss. The kitty wanted to play with him, but he wanted to chase the kitty. He settled down on different children's laps, and made Christmas eve very special. Aaron put an ad on craigslist right away, in case there are kids out there all brokenhearted about losing their pup at the holidays. Aaron is bringing him to the vet today to see if he's microchipped. He will turn him over to a shelter if they people at the shelter can guarantee he won't be put down, and will be adopted. We can't keep him because he likes to chase the cats, and he is so high energy. Aaron sleeps during the day because he works nights...he said that little dog was a darling, slept so nicely in his bed with him, but at 8 a.m., that dog was up and ready for the day. Aaron has to sleep in the day, so he doesn't want to keep the dog, wah.
If it were the case that he would be put down, we would keep him at least until we could find a good home for him.
And...that's all I have to say about that.
Marge didn't go skating with Paul and the others,
with all of those sisters and two of her brothers.
So Mom made the mint coffee she loves and dad hates,
while the kids get their exercise tying on skates.
She sits with her feet up, pondering this:
If she loves her kid muchly, why is this bliss?
Her sprouted grain toast spread with pumpkin jam that Emily bought her,
Makes her appreciate her sweet oldest daughter.
The grapefruit from Florida from Gramma are so yummy,
One of the last ones left will go in Mom's happy tummy.
While cleaning the kitchen, looking forward to writing,
she thought it would be fun in poem form, exciting.
But now as she sits while the dogs lie there snoring,
she knows it is too much work, and is boring.
So, we survived another Christmas! It's hard to sum it all up, so I will just write some random sentences...
I walked this morning, three days in a row. Yesterday Abigail joined me, making it a pleasant Christmas walk. I know everyone wants to get in better shape after the holidays, and I am no exception. We haven't feasted on rare Who roast beast, but we did have a ham dinner yesterday...with squash, mashed 'tatoes, stuffing, applesauce, cranberry sauce, rolls...Christmas eve there was a big pot of meatballs, hot sausage, fresh bread and butter....and we had brunch on Christmas eve too...homemade pancakes and crepes, berries, eggs, bacon, sausage, grapefruit, orange juice....on Christmas morning, as per tradition, we had cinnamon rolls, the kind that come in the tubes...I didn't have any, but the smell! oh dear. torture. Poor Sam, we skyped with him on Christmas morning...his very first Christmas away from home...and when he asked if there were cinnamon rolls and I said there indeed were, he had teary eyes.
Today, all the kids will be here at once for the first time of the season, except for Benjamin in Washington state, and Sam-the-soldier in Washington D.C. None of the nurses work during the day today, so later they are coming for our Secret Santa and stockings, and for Chipotle style food. We are having chicken fajitas, taco salad, ect.
So...while it hasn't been ALL about the food, well, it has been pretty yummy around here. Plates of homemade cut out cookies, fudge, snickerdoodles....and boxes of chocolate, bowls of red and green M&M's....for me, it's like a constant conversation with myself...on the one hand, heck, it's Christmas! But on the other hand, for every little morsel of chocolate I put in my mouth, I have to work that off, or worse, leave it on. So, it isn't a total riot to have this much yummy stuff around, for me.
But having the kids around, oh so nice! The older kids pitched in and bought Evelyn an iPod. Paul and I bought iPods for Suzanne and Sonja. Jonathan got a remote control helicopter, his Hess truck from Gramma, a pogo stick, a video game from Abigail, and a electric panel learning set from Emily. The little girls got Frozen dolls from Gramma, (which they LOVE), Star Wars stuff for Char, a Calico Critter playset for Cam, and a few other things. The older girls that live together got a food processor, and a few individual gifts. I got a scarf, some chocolate, and some good coffee beans from Paul...
We were sitting here during the day of Christmas eve, and I asked Paul if he got his secret santa gift, and he just looked at me. oops, he forgot! Out the door he went, shopping with Evelyn. :)
We can't find Camille's Christmas doll. It was her "big" present. Charlotte Claire got one that I purchased online from Target. Cam's was from Kohl's, and it never came. Or perhaps it did, and we put it somewhere and can't remember where. It supposedly was delivered the day after the girl's car accident, and I am drawing a blank, big surprise. I don't know if I hid it somewhere really well, or if it really didn't get delivered. I told her that if we can't find it, I would buy her one...but when I ordered it before Christmas, it was on sale and only like 20 bucks, now it is $49.99. blah.
You must be SO organized, they say. You must have a system, to have all those kids. You must have schedules, even to use the bathroom! ha. ha ha ha.
Our washing machine chose a fine time to break. A few days before Christmas, it filled with water, but wouldn't spin or empty. I am so extremely thankful Paul wasn't in France. He took it apart and found some stuff that had clogged it...he cleaned it out, put it back together, and it works fine again.
Paul has had the whole week off. He is all mellow and relaxed. We have been on the same level lately, getting along really well. If you have been married for any length of time, you might know what I mean. Those times when you just aren't connecting, are't in sync. But lately, we have been just going in the same direction or something, it is almost tangible how we are just FOR each other. Not that we normally fight or anything, we don't. But we have our times. Our misunderstandings, hurt feelings, silences. I hate those times, and thankfully they come less and less as the years go by. I think we both realize how short life is, and each have more acknowledgement of our own sin, and are more forgiving. Plus, ha, we just plain like each other...) We do wonder sometimes how we got so lucky....
Aaron came over on Christmas eve...then got a text from a friend...his friend found a dog along the highway in the city. Aaron left, sneaky like, with Kathryn. I thought perhaps they were going to get the dog, and yeah, I was right. He came in the door with this adorable little Jack Russell...the poor boy was trembling, but still wagging his little tail. Our labs loved him, but he jumped up and tried to show them he was boss. The kitty wanted to play with him, but he wanted to chase the kitty. He settled down on different children's laps, and made Christmas eve very special. Aaron put an ad on craigslist right away, in case there are kids out there all brokenhearted about losing their pup at the holidays. Aaron is bringing him to the vet today to see if he's microchipped. He will turn him over to a shelter if they people at the shelter can guarantee he won't be put down, and will be adopted. We can't keep him because he likes to chase the cats, and he is so high energy. Aaron sleeps during the day because he works nights...he said that little dog was a darling, slept so nicely in his bed with him, but at 8 a.m., that dog was up and ready for the day. Aaron has to sleep in the day, so he doesn't want to keep the dog, wah.
If it were the case that he would be put down, we would keep him at least until we could find a good home for him.
And...that's all I have to say about that.
Monday, December 22, 2014
..merry merry christmas....
Still love this guy like crazy!
Okay, 18 years ago today, I got the most wonderful Christmas present!
Margaret Cheryl. This is Marg holding the little baby we watched last week.
She was my Christmas baby, coming home from the hospital on Christmas Eve. Margaret is graduating from high school next month, half a year early. She has gotten excellent grades, taken hard courses including some college credit classes. She is musical and funny and creative. Margaret is Margaret no matter who is around. She is the oldest of those five girls in a row...
We are celebrating her 18th birthday by going to the Dome for a church fundraiser:)
cookies!
Our tippy tree....
And since I am being random, here is a picture of my soldier son Samuel, he is the first one on the right. He has been busy down there in Washington D.C./Arlington. The Old Guard not only patrol the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier, they are present at funerals at the National Cemetery, and participate in retirement ceremonies and award presentations. They are, though, first and foremost: infantry!
Random: a selfie with my 13 year old daughter, Suzanne, and my sister's youngest daughter, photo-bomber Audrey:)
Ten of my daughters...and one little friend, Tassia. So we managed to record a few of their songs, but this is not my computer, alas my poor Chromebook is dead. Paul is going to order a new screen for it, but for now, I am using his laptop. One of the songs is on youtube, under My Five Daughters, but I think the setting is semi private. The other song is on facebook...
Our house is busy today with happy children. Jon estimates it will be about 70 hours until we open presents. They had a fantastic time yesterday at the Christmas feast....there was a cocoa station with cookies and fudge...
my sister's daughter Becky...There were firepits set up outside, with outside activites. Indoors there was a ball pit for little ones, dollhouse stuff, a reading of the Nativity with coloring to do, a pin-the-tail-on-the-reindeer game, by my son Joseph, and of course presents. The youth aged kids each pick a name and buy a gift for one of the kids. This year, they gave each child a number, and hid the gifts all around the meeting hall. We had brunch together (3 different kinds of quiche, bacon and sausage, grapefruit, melon, oranges and bananas, and pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream.
Dinner was spinach/cheese stuffed chicken breast, with roasted red potatoes and carrots, and a salad with honey dressing, grapefruit, and candied pecans.
Dessert: brownie/chocolate pudding, and cheesecake shooters.
Anyway, it was a fantastic day. Beyond fun.
And, it is very busy in here right now. The little girls thought it would be a good idea to put scarves over their eyes and spin around until they got dizzy. I tried to tell them they were going to get hurt, but nope, had to find out the hard way. Camille smacked right into the sharp corner of the square coffee table, hitting her knee pretty hard. That game is over now.
We are trying to plan when to do our Secret Santa...the nurses are all working different shifts on Christmas eve, Christmas morning, and Christmas night. We are thinking to do it on the 26th. I am excited, either way. I have already gotten my present from Paul, that fun trip out west, so I am all set. I have some good surprises for the kids...I tortured Evelyn by picking up one of her gifts from under the tree and having her feel it, to see if she could guess. ha, she will never guess.
Anyway.....merry Christmas!!!
Friday, December 19, 2014
quiet time....
It's been a whirlwind here lately. But today I am staying home.
I am going to bake cookies and make some fudge for our church Christmas celebration, which is on Sunday. And then there is this thing called homeschooling...
My five daughters-in-a-row, the ones who were involved in the car accident, are lovely. Oh, they can quibble and squawk at each other, but when they are all getting along, it is a beautiful thing. They are planning to perform a song on Sunday, John Lennon's old, "So This Is Christmas". Kathryn plays the guitar, and they all sing it, and I think it's amazing...to see them work together, and of course me being totally tone deaf, I think it sounds excellent. I assure them it will be fine, but they keep practicing...
The two little girls are also singing a song. Perhaps I will record these and put them up here, so Ben and Grandma can enjoy them.
Okay, so after all these years of being busy, sometimes I find myself not sure what to do next. Seriously, for several years, that was simply not something I could actually decide...I mean, I never had a choice, really, except for prioritizing what was the most urgent, then dealing with it. The one year old pooped, the newborn needs to be nursed, the two year old got into the Desitin, the four year old needs a nap or a snack or a story, the school kids need help with projects or homework, someone's ear hurts or needs a shower or broke a glass....I would just go from one thing to the next, somehow keeping the house half-way decent along the way. I made it a point to keep their clothes nice and clean and always leave the house with them matching, or at least in similar clothes, and looking spiffy. It was work, from dawn 'til dusk, and mostly on very little sleep. A good nap was a rare treat, always sought after but seldom found. I would bake my Christmas cookies with lots of little hands helping, between nursing and changing diapers and figuring out meals. I would wrap presents when they were all in bed, often juggling a baby too. (I totally miss my Sammers this year, he was my #1 helper wrapping presents. We would go into my room and wrap, and oh the fun we had! He helped me for several years, and I always knew it was the time with Mom that was the draw for him, oh I am sad he can't come home for Christmas this year. He called last night, and I told him all about the decorations here, where everything is, and what it looks like, then I texted him some pictures...he may be 19 years old now, but he is still child-like in some respects, and misses home right now....)
Anyway. My days were filled to the max. Add in doctor visits and appointments and grocery shopping and our frequent adventures and outings, and oh, it was busy.
Now, with nine kids still at home...it seems quiet. There are no diapers to change, no one wakes in the night. The presents are all already wrapped, and stacked under the tree. I can bake several dozen cookies with nary an interruption.
Of course there is still laundry and messes and the daily dinner dilemma...and of course the grocery shopping and the sweeping the floors and cleaning up...I take a break now and then and two little girls scramble up to the arms of my chair, and we talk or read stories, or just sit and relax.
But sometimes, I actually find myself not sure what to do next. With actual time on my hands. Free time, time to decide what I really want to do, or need to do. It's strange.
Paul is working today, but has ALL of next week off. The school kids do, too. Yay!
My kids are all still sleeping. oops, we have gotten on a late schedule. The little girls never sleep this late. Joseph is up, he made the coffee:) My cup is empty, and I think that is a sign to get up and start some cookie dough...although honestly, sitting here in the quiet is very nice....
I am going to bake cookies and make some fudge for our church Christmas celebration, which is on Sunday. And then there is this thing called homeschooling...
My five daughters-in-a-row, the ones who were involved in the car accident, are lovely. Oh, they can quibble and squawk at each other, but when they are all getting along, it is a beautiful thing. They are planning to perform a song on Sunday, John Lennon's old, "So This Is Christmas". Kathryn plays the guitar, and they all sing it, and I think it's amazing...to see them work together, and of course me being totally tone deaf, I think it sounds excellent. I assure them it will be fine, but they keep practicing...
The two little girls are also singing a song. Perhaps I will record these and put them up here, so Ben and Grandma can enjoy them.
Okay, so after all these years of being busy, sometimes I find myself not sure what to do next. Seriously, for several years, that was simply not something I could actually decide...I mean, I never had a choice, really, except for prioritizing what was the most urgent, then dealing with it. The one year old pooped, the newborn needs to be nursed, the two year old got into the Desitin, the four year old needs a nap or a snack or a story, the school kids need help with projects or homework, someone's ear hurts or needs a shower or broke a glass....I would just go from one thing to the next, somehow keeping the house half-way decent along the way. I made it a point to keep their clothes nice and clean and always leave the house with them matching, or at least in similar clothes, and looking spiffy. It was work, from dawn 'til dusk, and mostly on very little sleep. A good nap was a rare treat, always sought after but seldom found. I would bake my Christmas cookies with lots of little hands helping, between nursing and changing diapers and figuring out meals. I would wrap presents when they were all in bed, often juggling a baby too. (I totally miss my Sammers this year, he was my #1 helper wrapping presents. We would go into my room and wrap, and oh the fun we had! He helped me for several years, and I always knew it was the time with Mom that was the draw for him, oh I am sad he can't come home for Christmas this year. He called last night, and I told him all about the decorations here, where everything is, and what it looks like, then I texted him some pictures...he may be 19 years old now, but he is still child-like in some respects, and misses home right now....)
Anyway. My days were filled to the max. Add in doctor visits and appointments and grocery shopping and our frequent adventures and outings, and oh, it was busy.
Now, with nine kids still at home...it seems quiet. There are no diapers to change, no one wakes in the night. The presents are all already wrapped, and stacked under the tree. I can bake several dozen cookies with nary an interruption.
Of course there is still laundry and messes and the daily dinner dilemma...and of course the grocery shopping and the sweeping the floors and cleaning up...I take a break now and then and two little girls scramble up to the arms of my chair, and we talk or read stories, or just sit and relax.
But sometimes, I actually find myself not sure what to do next. With actual time on my hands. Free time, time to decide what I really want to do, or need to do. It's strange.
Paul is working today, but has ALL of next week off. The school kids do, too. Yay!
My kids are all still sleeping. oops, we have gotten on a late schedule. The little girls never sleep this late. Joseph is up, he made the coffee:) My cup is empty, and I think that is a sign to get up and start some cookie dough...although honestly, sitting here in the quiet is very nice....
Thursday, December 18, 2014
a quick post....
This is my favorite friend. No offense to Duke, the chocolate one, but Suri is just cute.Oh what a day. Today, I went out and about with this lovely lady, my oldest daughter Emily.
We went to Costco, which was too much fun. There were food samples galore. I tried tirimisu, Lindt truffles, standing rib roast, and cranberry bread. Okay, and Toblerone chocolate and cheesecake. And the rib roast again, just to be sure. Okay, and the Lindt once again. And just to be clear, it was lunch. And dinner was a simple bowl of soup.
I had to go to court this evening, my most un-favorite place. Okay, I kind of love going and hearing the others' stories, but who likes standing before a judge? The good part: we never had to stand before the judge! Because our summons/appearance ticket stated 6:00, and lo and behold, court starts at 5:00! The officer/guard wouldn't let us in, until I showed him our ticket. He had us wait in the space between the two sets of doors while he got the bailiff.
The bailiff was a sight bit nicer than he, and welcomed us in out of the cold. He listened to our condensed story of what happened in the accident, then went to fetch a lawyer to talk to us. The lawyer recommended we write a letter to the district attorney, along with a letter from our insurance company.
And off we went, new tasks to do, happy to have escaped scary court, to stop on the way home for a hot coffee on a snowy night....
Home, ahh.
Perhaps I will write more tomorrow....
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