Oh no! It's one of THOSE moods!

It's one of the moods I love/hate. I call it my domesticated bliss mood. The mood where everything you see that needs to be done, you want to do. The laundry...not only do I want to do the piles that I have sitting here...I want to strip all the beds and do a zillion loads of bedding too. I want to organize dressers and closets. The kitchen...not only do I want to clean and bleach the counters...I want to rearrange the cabinets, make a 4 course meal and do tons of baking. I want to get out my sewing machine and start tinkering...making Christmas presents, draft dogs, curtains, etc. And the kids are home! I want to take them up to the lake and go to the playground, go outside and kick the soccer ball around with them, sit out in the shade and watch the chickens.

UGH! The reality is... I'll end up with piles of sorted clothes and beds stripped. The kids will be clamoring for dry bedding when they should be happily jumping under their fresh linens and going to sleep. What clothes I did manage to wash will be sitting around in baskets, threatening to sneak back into the dirty laundry piles. I'll end up with my kitchen table piled high with various things from the cupboards and I'll throw together a quick pot of pasta and sauce together at 7pm. I won't get my sewing machine out and I'll probably never see a ray of sunshine. (ok, can't really say that will be true since I'm sitting in a sunbeam like a kitty right now lol)

Yep, it's one of those moods I love and hate at the same time. One of these days I may surprise myself and actually get everything I want accomplished. I doubt today will be the day. But you never know.

Time to go throw a load of bedding in the machine. Wish me luck! ;o)

I am getting TOO old for this job!

Oh my goodness! I'm no spring chicken anymore. I had a doctor try to tell me that 6yrs ago...but would I listen...NO! Well Dr S, I'm listening now...because I have NO CHOICE! Right now my body is threatening to shut down at a moment's notice.

It all started before the sun came up yesterday. For some reason I've been finding myself awake at 4am. Usually I'll toss and turn for an hour or so, finally giving up trying to fall back to sleep and going out into the living room. Sean usually follows within 15-30mins. At least yesterday he let me sort and throw in some laundry before deciding he couldn't live without me by his side.

Then it was time to get ready for the Fall Conference at church. Due to needing to get Michelle to work and Tom's run to the dump we got to church 1.5hrs after I'd planned. It was beautiful day and Sean was taking full advantage of it. He LOVES the playground!!! Watching him it's amazing to realize he wasn't walking a month ago. He's getting fast! Most of my day was spent shadowing him along with attempting to sit and talk with the ladies.

It got really chilly, really quick once the sun went down. Then Sean fell apart. So I decided I wouldn't try to stay all night for the snack bar. I packed up the younger kids and we headed home. The proper thing for a responsible mom to do would've been to thrown them into the tub and wash off the grime of the playground. Instead I plunked myself down on the couch, changed Sean's diaper and nursed him while cuddling with Danielle. It didn't take either one of them long before they were out cold.

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't go to bed because I had to go back to church and pick up the older kids after the youth meeting and they were done cleaning. So I finished watching Princess Diary 2 with Eileen and Olivia and tried to catch up with things online. What I managed to do was doze off on the couch for about an hour. At least I woke up so I could pick up the kids when I needed to.

We got home and I sat back on the couch and talked to Luke for a while (Liz and Carrie went right to bed). Then I heard the noise every mother dreads at 1:30 in the morning...the phone ringing. It was Pat's personalized ring. UGH!!!! What now? Hopefully it wasn't he needed me to bail him out or he was in the hospital.

Nope, no jail time or hospital visits involved (phew!). His car was being idiotic! It was making a weird noise so he pulled over, now it wouldn't start. The only problem...he was on Route 81, south of Binghamton! As in...in Pennsylvania, south of Binghamton. "Luckily" it was only about 10 miles over the NY/PA border.

So I woke up Tom, put Sean's car seat into the car, grabbed the GEO's title (incase it was decided it was best to scrap it) and the temporary AAA membership card I received in the mail this week, and made a cup of coffee. Tom mumbled and grumbled about Pat not checking the oil (they JUST topped it off last Sunday when he was here!), grabbed a gallon of oil, his power inverter, my laptop with his Civilization CD in it and made himself a cup of coffee. We loaded the car and put Sean in his car seat and then hit the road.

After a few mistakes on what mile marker they were closest to we finally found them. They put oil in the car, tinkered with it a bit and it very reluctantly started. If he stopped giving it gas it'd quit but we decided it was best to try to get as close to home as possible with the thing. We stopped at the closest convenience store, grabbed some caffeine and a snack and then headed North.

We convinced Pat "as fast as possible" wasn't a good option for the car right now. That slow and steady was the way to get it home in one piece. That poor thing really took a beating on the hills. Pat was worried he'd run out of gas. We decided it was better to risk running out of gas then to stop the car before we got it into the driveway. We made it and pulled into the driveway shortly after 7:30am.

Sean had slept most of the drive and was raring to go. After all, the sun was shining! I fed him and let him play then managed to convince him to go lay down with me. After nursing a while he finally fell asleep for a decent size nap. Just wish I could've slept the whole time.

If this happened 10yrs ago, I'd have been raring to go after my little nap. Now all I'm doing is yearning for another nap! Which is pretty bad since I normally consider them a waste of time. Oh yeah I can see me just thriving with a nighttime job that leaves me with only a few hours of sleep every night. (something we've talked about recently). I'm turning into an old fart!!!

Few more pictures I wanted to share

I'm suppose to be in the shower getting ready for a mega trip to the dentist. I've been told to expect to be sitting in the chair for 2 hrs (starting the caps for my front teeth). Liz and Olivia are getting work done before me so we'll probably be there 4+ hrs. UGH!! Luckily my parents live a few miles from the dentists. My mom's agreed to come and pick the 4 kids (Liz, Olivia, Danielle,and Sean) after the girls get their work done. Then I can sit in the chair care free. LOL

So instead of showering I decided to throw a few pictures up. Let's see if I can get this done before time runs out...tick tock, tick tock. Most are from the trip to the zoo we took in September. A few are from around the house.

Val and Michelle by the duck pond


A visitor during our lunch


Sean fascinated with our visitor


Danielle holding up the world


Me and the little ones


Val and Danielle


The colors changing, this morning as the first trip kids were waiting for the bus

Sunday....Apple picking

I took Sean and Danielle to the meeting for the first time in a looong time. Because it had been so long I had to reteach Danielle how to act during a meeting (staying next to me, playing quietly, whispering if she needed to say anything). Sean is at the prime age that is difficult to have at the meetings, so I was wrestling with him quite a bit. It'll get easier the more I go...just need to stick with it.

Shortly after we got home Pat and Alex pulled in the driveway. They'd gone to my sister's house and picked up the 4 girls and brought them home. It was time to go apple picking! Liz had mentioned taking Sean and I blew her off saying he didn't need to go. Thinking about it more though I decided it would be nice if he went. As they climbed into the van I yelled to Pat....can you take Sean and he agreed!

Drew got home from work in time to go so Pat picked him and Allison up. I guess they also picked up Cory (Michelle's boyfriend) on the way through the village....so 15 kids with no parents. Weatherwise it was a perfect day to go!

Tom had no clue that I had shipped Sean off because he was taking a nap. That is until I came into the bedroom and announced we were TOTALLY alone! (first time that's happened in probably 1.5yrs!) I think we were having "fun" before they even pulled out of the driveway. LOL

After we cuddled and snoozed I announced we had to get up and get on with our date....it was rooster butchering time! Tom offed the roosters while I plucked and cleaned them. I still haven't decided which one of us has the worst job. We managed to take care of 6 of them before night overtook us. We finished just in time because the van pulled into the driveway as I was washing off the last one. I couldn't imagine doing that icky job with Sean underfoot!

Everyone was starving when the came in. I made a huge pot of broccoli soup. You can tell I haven't made the soup in a while because everyone was excited about it. It's one of my quick meals during the winter and they can get bored with it, but not now. Now it was a yummy feast!

The whole group
back row... Luke, Cory, Michelle, Val
middle row... Pat, Liz holding Sean, Carrie, Alex holding Danielle, Allison, Drew
front row... Jake, Eileen, Olivia
(click on it to see a larger version)


Who needs a ladder when you have a Lukey?


Pat being bad...climbing in the tree


Sean says...This day gets a thumbs up!


Danielle says...Is this how you do it?


Val, Allison and Michelle


Olivia, Alex, Danielle and Eileen


Carrie and Olivia


Pat! King of the apples!!!

Saturday night...Michelle's toga party

The kids had a good time. We hung out for a few minutes but ended up going into Liz and Carrie's room to watch Shrek the Third and then went to bed.

Janna (Val's best friend), Val, Michelle, Alex (Pat's girlfriend), Allison (Drew's girlfriend)


Sweetpea...Drew and Allison's dog


Drew and Allison


Pat and Tom


Janna and Danielle

Picture sharing time! Saturday morning

This weekend was busy and fun filled. The kids took lots of pictures so I'll steal them from their pages and share them here.

The issue I can't talk about has been resolved. Thank you for your prayers and positive thoughts, they helped a lot. We have a lot to be thankful for...things could've been a lot LOT worse. While no one likes setbacks, I'll gladly take this one over what we originally thought was going to happen.

I almost had a heart attack this morning. I was talking on the phone with my SIL. I put my coffee on my computer table, walked about 5 steps away from it when I realized Sean was next to the cup. Before I could turn around and get back to it, he had turned it over onto the table. He also managed to get it on my keyboard (bottom left quarter of it). I took a blow dryer to it but it didn't help, nothing was working when I tried to turn it on. I unscrewed the bottom of the case, cracked the case and turned the blow dryer back on. This time the laptop started but I didn't have a keyboard or mousepad. I now have a keyboard. :o) I JUST made the first payment on this thing!

OK onto the picture sharing....

Saturday morning...Breakfast with the Bears at the Zoo through Allison's work....

After they ate breakfast they made treats for the bears. Danielle made them a candy necklace with licorice whip thread and fruit loop beads. Olivia and Eileen made them wraps with tortillas, peanut butter, honey, apples and sweet potatoes. They then took the treats into the bear pen and hid the treats for the bears to find. They got to see how the bears feel because they were being observed while in the pen. lol



Michelle inside the pen


A bear finding and enjoying Olivia's treat


Allison and Danielle watching the bears


Olivia and Eileen


All my girls who went...

I forgot to mention

I also managed to finish and publish my first post over at the newly relocated Mega-moms Blog

I did a take off of a post I made over at LOK last week about going to elementary school open house for the 19th time in a row.

So jump on over and take a gander...Do I HAVE to?. Oh and feel free to drop me a note and let me know you visited.

Sitting for a few minutes

Aaaaaaaaaah! Don't mind me, I'm just sitting on my butt. Yeah usually someone would be right to say I should get up and get going. Right now though if you said it you'd be risking your life. ;o)

Everyone is where they need to be for the present moment. Although they should start returning in no time at all. Danielle, Olivia, Eileen, Michelle and Val went with Allison to the zoo at 8am. They were having breakfast with the bears through Allison's work. I guess they get to go INTO the bear area and hide food for the bears to find. Sounds like lots of fun. They're suppose to be home around noon. The other kids, minus Liz went over to our church's bible competition at 9:30. Liz is home as she's sick with what looks to be strep throat. Right now she's napping upstairs with Sean. I couldn't get her into the dr so found a 12 day supply of antibiotics in my med cabinet to start her on yesterday. Yeah I know...you're NOT suppose to do THAT! But I can't let her stay sick until I find some free time and a vehicle...so I did it. Tom had an errand to do in the city so I'm truly sitting here alone right now!...when the sun is shining! Can't remember the last time that happened.

So what am I doing? Trying to ignore the HUGE list of things I should be doing while I sit here, nursing the rest of my cold coffee and scarfing down a fresh from the garden tomato sandwich. I've gotten the chickens watered and fed, and their coop cleaned out. Both the clothes and dish washer are going along with the clothes dryer. Should I start with the refrigerator, counters or bathrooms next? Hmmm...

Michelle is throwing herself a birthday party here with Drew, Pat, Val and a few friends...without little ones underfoot. It was all she wanted for her birthday...since she's never had a big birthday party. OOPS! So I've farmed everyone out except for Danielle and Sean, they'll stay here with Tom and I. Yep, we're staying put, that way we can make sure it stays at the level it was intended to be. I know Michelle is a responsible girl and doesn't want it to be anything but what's planned. But I've found word of mouth can do some crazy things and it's good to have backup. We'll probably hide out in our room with some snacks and a few movies.

Tomorrow looks to be a bit more relaxed, I think. Unless Tom has plans, I haven't talked to him about what's going on tomorrow. My plans so far are to go to the meeting in the morning. Pat and a few of the big kids want to take the little ones apple picking. So he's taking the van and picking up the kids from where they're spending the night and going. I've been invited but I was hoping that Tom and I (along with Sean) could spend the day here together. I was actually thinking of attempting something romantic like butchering roosters! ROFL! It HAS to be done, they're fighting each other constantly. What better time to do it then when you don't have a lot of little ones looking over your shoulder, getting into things or needing your help when you're a mess. But like I said, I haven't totally connected with Tom about tomorrow so we'll see how it goes.

Starting back in some group blogs

And the first one is LOK's Large Family Cooking Blog which started up this month. It's off to a good start and my first post is up...

Get it Done Ahead of Time which talks about my favorite shortcut in the kitchen.

Make sure you check out all the posts so far. And of course feel free to comment, we all love to get comments.

Up next is the relocated and revitalized Mega Mom's blog. But it's not quite ready yet, so it'll have to wait. I'll let you know when it's done and published.

Officially still on hold

But unofficially things are not looking good in our unmentionable situation. Granted it could be worse but it's still not like it should be. Looks like we're in for a fight and it's going to be a looong hard one.

It's so hard to try and be merry for a birthday with something so heavy hanging over you. I'm not even praying for a positive outcome anymore. Now it's the strength to give it over to God. I know everything that happens is for my benefit, even if I don't like it. I know that there's nothing I can do about things by thinking and rethinking it through. I just have to be patient and let the wheels that are spinning do what they have to do whether it's in our favor or not.

Another full fledged adult

Michelle is 21 today! We're not doing anything too special, just her birthday dinner which she picked out (pancakes, bacon, sausage, and fruit & yogurt parfaits) with cake and ice cream. I'm not sure how the timing of it'll go since we also have middle school open house and the youth are having a feast tonight at church. Luckily I canceled a dentist appointment that was today or I'd be ready to crawl back into bed. Actually I am ready to do that anyways.

Poor Olivia, she's laying on the couch next to me under a very comfy fleece blanket. She can't seem to keep her eyes open and get moving. It's one of those chilly, grey, wet mornings that makes it hard to get out of bed much less out the door. I already miss the beautiful weather we had last week. I could sit here wishing I'd enjoyed it a bit more, but I won't.

Sean on the other hand has NO problems getting up and getting going. He's been running since before his eyes opened (he literally does sit up before he even gets his eyes open). I think he's been over every inch of this house already. Unfortunately he's also discovered Michelle's birthday cake sitting on the counter and has tried to pull it down to see it a few times. This is gonna be fun (or I'm going to have to find a higher place to put the thing). Now if I could just bottle that energy....

Hopefully we'll have some news on the thing I can't talk about. I HATE not being able to talk about it. I'm normally a lay it all out there type of person. Stupid need for privacy...but I'll respect that, kinda.

Well Olivia is finally moving and that means I should help her and pay attention to her. I'll be back if there's any news on anything.

Asking for positive thoughts and a prayer or two

That thing I mentioned I can't talk about last week. Well I still can't talk about it but it's trying to go toward a really bad scenario for us. The we're fine and it's nothing major may be about to change to we are in deep doo doo.

So please send everything you can to us. Send for us to not be anxious. To have the strength to handle whatever comes up. And most of all for things to stay nothing major and fine.

Thanks

Oh this is ridiculous!

Why does it seem that all the forces in the world are against me? I was bound and determined to go to church this morning even if it wasn't going to be easy.

Michelle had to be at work at 10. Technically I could drive there and back in time to make it to the meeting at 11:00. Tom graciously offered to drive her so I wouldn't have to worry about it. It also allowed Val to go and fill out some forms for a job she applied for. One obstacle down.

We are out of propane. That means no hot water, stove or dryer. I wasn't sure there were clean clothes for everyone (behind in laundry as usual) but found ok things for the kids to wear. Would it really kill them it they wear shorts when it's jacket weather? We made plans to go over to church and use the showers over there. So we should be all set.

It was decided that the girls and I would run over to the church grounds early enough so Michelle could shower too. Then we'd head to church a bit early so the boys could shower and I could throw the little ones into the utility tubs over there. Everyone that needed to get up did and we headed out the door with time to spare. Problem was...the van was dead as a doornail!!! The headlights had been left on since yesterday afternoon. So the 6 of us squeeze into the car and get our showers. We got home with plenty of time to jump start the van. Or so we thought. Problem is the van was SO dead that it took forever! The van hadn't started and it got to be past the time that Michelle needed to leave for work so Tom had to give up on getting the van going and leave. Unfortunately that meant that we wouldn't make it to church...AGAIN! *heavy sigh*

Just so you know

I'm still around. There's some things going on here that I can't really talk about so I've opted to not blog at all. We're fine and nothing major is wrong, it's just a private matter. Hopefully things will be resolved within the next week and I'll feel free to post whatever I want.

In the meantime other news around here...

Drew starts a new job on Monday. It's not the best one in the world but it's better then the one he didn't have yesterday. lol Now he needs his car fixed. He has the parts, just needs the repair person to do the work, hopefully this weekend.

Pat started a new job yesterday. It's a warehouse job which isn't so great when you're afflicted with a bad back/sciatica pain but he's plugging along. He also registered for classes for the January session at a nearby community college. It's nice to see he's getting some direction in his life.

Michelle turns 21 on Thursday. She's still working at her job as a cashier. There's talk of training her to be on the front desk soon.

Tom's union just settled their contract for the next 5 yrs. So there's a few raises in his future. He should also get a retroactive check for the raise he should've received in January (been working without a contract since then). It's already gone as usual...this time for heating oil.

This Thursday we went to our 19th straight elementary school (K thru 4th) open house. While getting ready I realized we have 8 more of them to go to. lol 27yrs of elementary school is INSANE! It's also one of the harder aspects of being a mom to all these kids. To keep the enthusiasm alive. To not adopt a ho hum...btdt attitude. It'd be SO easy to do. Afterall, how many times should one person have to guess which self portrait is drawn by your child. I guess it's hard for the teachers too. One teacher seemed to blow us off a bit quicker then the other parents. Kind of a...you know the drill type of attitude. Oh well it made me appreciate the visit to teachers who get a kick out of seeing how big the babies have gotten and to catch up with old students.

After we were done in the classrooms we hit the new playground even though it was dark. (added an element of fun to it) Everyone had a blast with Tom being one of the biggest kids. Sean LOVES the slides and Danielle was swinging on her belly almost the whole time. We finished off the evening with a late dinner of sandwiches, a practice spelling test and a few wound up kids not wanting to go to bed.

Sean's sleeping habits are leaving much to be desired. He's so restless! It's a good thing I don't need a lot of sleep. He's not looking to nurse as much during the night as before which is good, but he's constantly moving. It doesn't help that he's been waking up really early...like 4 or 5am. I'm usually awake by then but I'm also selfish. I want a FEW minutes of alone time. So I nurse him and try to get him back to sleep so I can attempt to sneak out alone. Instead what happens is that he thrashes around for almost an hour, touches Tom (which Tom does NOT like) and I get frustrated. Then we end up creeping into a dark living room and have some fun until one of the sleepyheads decides to join us. I'm not really sure if moving into his own bed or room would help. He seems to seek someone to touch while he's sleeping. I guess I should just adjust my attitude and embrace our one on one time while I have it. He's not going to be this little and adorable for ever.

Today looks to be a chilly rainy grey day...perfect working inside the house weather. This house really needs some attention. I'd even like to start painting but it won't be happening soon. I'm limited as to what I can do around here today as we seem to be out of propane! UGH!

35 hours later....

The power has returned to our house.

Our neighbor told us she called the power company when she got home from work and was informed that our power was restored at 3:30. I let her know it had come on at 3:30....for two minutes!!! Then I heard a loud zap and we lost it again. She assured the lady at the power company that we were indeed still in the dark. The kind lady said she's look into it. A phone call at 7 reported that our power was restored at 5:10. Ummm no it wasn't. We're still in the dark here. They were sending someone out as soon as possible. We were still in the dark when we woke up this morning. Most people had power restored by last night so school was in session. I didn't bother getting the kids up and ready since no power means no running water.

Bright and early this morning I called the power company myself. The recording let me know they were aware of the interruption in our area affecting 17 houses (there were 13 houses on our section of the street that were out). The estimated time of power being restored....6pm TOMORROW!!!! Oh no! I found out power was restored to the church grounds the evening before so we made plans to go over there and take showers tonight before bed. (allowing clean kids to go to school in the morning)

We (actually mostly I) got to work...dipping water from the well by hand to fill big totes for each bathroom and the kitchen. Wiping down tables and counters with wipes. Heating water for dishes. The kids cleaned up their bedding (they got to sleep on the living room floor last night). There was food in the fridge and freezer that wouldn't last until tomorrow and would need to be dealt with.

The kids have actually been enjoying these last two days. They did lots of drawing, bike riding and board games playing. Carrie and Luke finished the books they were reading (by flashlight or ds screen light) and enjoyed them...which is a big thing for both of them.

Around 11ish we started seeing a pretty sight...power company trucks driving up and down the road (first time we'd seen them since the power went out). Someone mentioned the power was on and everyone tried to tell them they were crazy. Finally enough people turned on things to see that they weren't full of it. While everyone was glad to have running water again...they were sad to see the fun end. That didn't stop them from running for the computers and video games though. Me being the mom...I ran for the washing machine. lol

So we're back to modern living. There's been talk about having a powerless weekend on purpose in the future (the fridge would stay powered up). I can't see it happening until next year though (wouldn't go without heat in the late fall and winter). Hopefully mother nature doesn't decide we need to have one sooner. :o)

Ike got us!

We've been without power since I'm sitting in my running car with my laptop and my modem plugged into an inverter which is plugged into the car's cigarette lighter. I'd say I'm sadly addicted to the net but really I was just trying to get some news about what's going on around here.

Last night was an awesome night even if it meant us losing power. Luckily Michelle and I went and did a good amount of grocery shopping before all this happened. We were getting shoved around by the wind. The kids were fighting the wind while bringing in the groceries at 11 (yes, I know they should've been in bed but I wasn't home to make sure they were).

Unfortunately I now have a bunch of perishables in a non working fridge. We HAD to have a backwards dinner tonight (dessert before the meal). The kids' eyes popped out of their head when I plopped HUGE scoopfuls of ice cream into their bowls. It was a brand new gallon and it was turning into soup! What was I suppose to do?

Anyways, last night...After I got all the cold stuff put away (into the working fridge lol), I took Sean and went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. It was HOT and humid with the warm winds blasting. For a while the clouds disappeared. The moon was so bright that I could actually make out colors of things. While sitting outside I was wishing I could wake up the other kids to enjoy this, but of course they had to go to school in the morning and I couldn't interrupt their precious sleep. I made the comment that if I homeschooled I could wake them up and let them enjoy it and even turn it into a lesson! LOL

It started getting cloudy again about 1am'ish and the wind kicked up a notch or two. Everyone had started to go into bed, leaving me on the front porch alone. Then I saw it....flashed of green, red and orange against the clouds. I called everyone back just as this HUGE bunch of flashes went off. I'm assuming it was transformers and substations going offline especially since we also lost our power with that huge bunch of flashes.

Danielle woke up due to losing the lights (WHY does that happen...they're sleeping!) and I brought her outside with us. She wasn't very comfy with what was happening so I tried to appease her by bringing her on the couch while I sat and watched out the window. Still too close for comfort for her, she wanted to go in our bed. So I did and I fell asleep. I'd have stayed up all night if could've.

We lost a smallish tree, no big deal. We're all ok and we're actually enjoying the powerless day and unexpected day off from school (it was canceled). It's dark out and the neighbor just pulled into the driveway so I'll have to log off. I'll be back as soon as the power's back on.

WHAT! What, What's going on?

Sorry I've had a bit too much of crazy frog being slammed into my ears. It's Sean and Danielle's favorite bopping song. I don't mind it...the first 10 times! LOL Still I have NO idea why I'm up at 4am. Actually I've been tossing and turning since at least 2:30. I only decided I'd had enough of my bed at 4. I know I haven't been sleeping well lately but this is INSANE! You'd think being bogged down with a cold which came on yesterday would leave me snoozing. At least it's all I could think about last night....my eyes just didn't want to stay open. Still, I didn't go to bed too early for me to be up at this ridiculous hour. Oh well at least I'm getting some alone quiet time...until Sean starts fussing. (and it took 45mins btw) Maybe I can actually get something accomplished on here. I keep thinking I should be in the bathrooms picking up and wiping down. But I might wake someone up doing that. I guess I could manage to go throw in some laundry quick. BRB OK...done, now I don't have to feel like I'm wasting valuable hands free working time, I'm doing something lol. I love the human's ability to reason.

Can someone PLEASE tell me HOW a toad got into my livingroom? As I walked down the hall just now I thought I saw a mouse (it's getting that time of year and I've hard some activity). Only this mouse was acting really weird, running sporadic. I decided to follow it and try to get rid of it. When it hit the light of the kitchen I realized it wasn't a mouse but a toad hopping. Now I don't mind toads, I'll pick them up, pet them and carry them around. But I do NOT want anymore live creatures taking up residence in the house....thankyouverymuch. If it's still dark out...why are my roosters crowing away? I think I need to adjust the lighting situation in there. I'm afraid to mess with it and risk my hens not starting to lay in a few months. It also doesn't help that there are too many roosters in that coop...at least 13. We're going to have to cull some out VERY soon....maybe this Friday (day before trash day so we can take care of the waste expeditiously.

I can't share the pictures I was going to since my camera and card are in the big girls' room and I don't want to disturb them to get it. I'll try to get some up later today. I didn't manage to put them up on Thursday because I ended up running to Walmart AGAIN! Just for a few things...yeah right. Walking down the aisles it was...oh yeah I forgot we needed ketchup. Hmmm we're out of mayo and instant coffee too. Next thing I know my cart is full. Yet it lacked on of the major things I went there for....CAT FOOD! So I'll have to go back...AGAIN! Where are the days when I could go grocery shopping once every 2wks and not step foot in the store for another 2wks? (Tom would do milk and perishable runs) Someone has got to put a stop to these kids growing!

OH! Speaking of growing...Sean is walking!!! He started last Thursday with about a half dozen steps at a time but it was with a distinct purpose. Now he's trying to do it as much as possible. Although crawling is WAY faster for him so that's his goto locomotion when things are important. It's amazing how the little ones seem to sprout once the big kids go back to school. I don't know, maybe I'm just seeing them differently without the others' interaction.

I'm waiting on pins and needles here...one of my friends is at the hospital having baby #13 as I type. Well I'm assuming he wasn't born yet. She could be done and enjoying her new bundle this very minute (or catching a few z's) It's amazing to think how much our family has grown since we met in 1999...I had 9 kids then, she had 7! I thought I might have a problem with baby lust when she had her baby but I'm good. I joked that maybe it's because Sean is still so needy, I'll see how the NEXT one goes. ;o) Either way, I'm thinking of her and can't wait to hear about the little man. (so if you're reading this Catherine...you can call me!!! *hint hint*)

Hmmmm look at me. Get a few minutes to think for myself and I turn into a rambling fool. I'll spare you guys anymore of my nonsense for now. Hope the weekend is the best it can be for everyone.

Note to self...

If purchasing a laptop is in your future. It'd be a good idea to make sure you have a LAP to put it in!!! I've been looking at laptops for years now and drooling. I just couldn't bring myself to commit to spending that large sum of money for something for myself (mostly).

Then I saw it...a refurbished Toshiba with 2G of RAM and a huge harddrive for $200 less then the price at Walmart (which also happened to be the the max price I was hoping to pay) . With us down to one computer and having to be referee all summer I finally made it all the way through the checkout process without chickening out.

It arrived yesterday to much fanfare. The kids know it's MY computer but they're excited that they won't have to wait until I'm done to use the desktop. To add to their excitement we also added another desktop yesterday. I LOVE back to school sales...and Bill Me Later. So most time was spent setting it up. I'd get it downloading a program and head downstairs to throw in laundry while I waited. EVERYTIME I tried to sit on the couch with the thing...Sean would have a fit. It was either that he was mad because I wouldn't let him slam bang on it or climb across it. Or he was mad because there was something besides him in my lap and he'd be trying to push it out. *heavy sigh* My poor poor needy guy.

I'm sure it'll get better. Either Sean will need my lap less and/or get used to something besides him in my lap. Or I'll find more opportune times to use this thing. Right now though I'm really wondering if giving up my computer chair and desktop was really the best choice. And here I thought a laptop would be awesome. LOL

It's been really busy here with school starting. I have some really cute pictures to share from a trip to the zoo this week too. I'm hoping to get them up tonight after I get back from picking up Michelle from work. That is if Sean decides I can. :o)

I really should....

* Check my hotmail account more often! I missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime. No not all the lotteries I won. No not the hidden money of someone dying of cancer who wants to give it away to a total stranger...ME! (how do I get so lucky?) The opportunity to be a MOVIE STAR! To have my own ongoing docu series. Excuse me while I pick myself up off the floor. Even IF I wanted to do it and could get Tom and ALL the kids to agree to it. WHAT would the show be about? I keep thinking of Seinfeld's tv show about nothing they were pushing . I can see it now...
- Mom on the computer, ignoring the mess behind her
- Kids running amuck
- Mom driving in car
- Mom home and running like a chicken with her head cut off
- Mom driving in car
- Mom home, throwing dinner on the table
- Mom driving in car
- Mom yelling at kids to go to bed
- Mom sitting at the computer, ignoring bigger mess behind her

Ok, so not all my days are like this but it feels like it lately. I REALLY need the girls to get a car they can learn to drive on. Well, Liz and Val having their permits might help too. lol Michelle doesn't want to learn to drive a stick shift and she definitely doesn't want to learn on a 4mo car! My thinking now is if I can get the 3 girls to get their license and then their own cars...I can downgrade from a fullsize van to a minivan. :o) But I'm not holding my breath.

Well I never finished/published this post. Wouldn't you know I now have some fodder for the show. On Friday night I took Carrie and Liz over to church then headed to Michelle's work so I could pick her up. We get home and I jump into the TOK chat. The phone rings at 12:30am, it's Liz...Can you pick us up at 1? Instead of saying what I wanted to...No, I'm coming to get you now. I answer...OK...then I hang up, jump back into chat, talk to Michelle, yell at Jake to get to bed because it's 1:24 and he has to get up early in the morning! Chat a bit more, fall asleep in my computer chair until I hear Sean crying. Then I jump into bed with Sean and fall soundly to sleep.

What you say? I forgot to mention picking up the girls at 1. Did I? Really? Yeah I did and totally forgot it until the phone rang a little after 7am. The ringing phone jumpstarted my memory and I realized what I'd done (or more like NOT done) the night before. With tears in my eyes I answered the phone (I just knew it was them) with a quick...I'm SO SORRY! I'm on my way right now! Be there in a minute!

Liz forgot her phone and couldn't call me after she realized I wasn't coming. Luckily the meeting hall was unlocked and they could go into the mother's room and doze in the recliners. They were exhausted though and had a looong day/weekend ahead of them. I felt guilty for most of the weekend but luckily they weren't here to play off of it too much. It might've snagged them a new pair of shoes a few days later though. lol

Yeah the worst mom of the year award line starts here.

Outlet Mall

With us being busy and gone all weekend and Michelle having Monday off it was declared a...Stay at home day! I needed to get laundry done and organized for school since it started in less then 10 days. Then I got to thinking...10 days? Hmmmm I really need to go shopping for school. Some of my kids are still wearing sneakers from last Sept. I'm not sure about backpacks and certain kids are low on clothes (Luke and Jake...decent shirts, Eileen...bottoms (skirts and jeans)) I know! We'll go to the outlet mall! When I asked everyone was excited and got ready to get out the door.

Michelle made egg salad and fed everyone sandwiches on the way. We brought bread and salami for sandwiches later in the evening. We also threw in...snacks, cups, and our water container. So no needing to waste money at the food court. Both the umbrella and my regular stroller were loaded in to the back of the van, all the kids were buckled in and we were off by 2pm.

OMGoodness!!! The place was PACKED! It was not the ideal place to be with 2 strollers and 8 walking kids to keep track off. Still the kids were good for the most part and we did ok. The boys got a bunch of $2 and $3 shirts, Luke found a pair of sneaks to replace his from last year, and I got a TON of things for 2 baby showers I know that'll be coming up. Blue for my neice and pink for a church family. It was so much fun! I've come realize once I have grandkids coming I will be in a LOT of trouble if I don't watch it! Everything is so cute!

One of the kids asked why so many people were speaking a different language. It floored them to hear that people from different places come to this area only to shop. I saw a LOT of cars packed with both luggage and shopping bags.

Sean was a perfect angel in the stroller. He didn't cry to get out the entire 5+ hrs we were there. He enjoyed sitting there watching everyone. When he waved to everyone he looked like he was on a parade float. He has the princess wave down pat. lol

I have to redo my lists of supplies and see exactly what I need. I think I have most of the basic things. At least enough to get through the first week of class...I think. I know I need to take a trip to the vision center on Wednesday. Luke and Liz's glasses are both pretty beat up and out of warranty. Luckily our plan covers them getting another plan now. I hope.

I told the younger girls that I'd break out my sewing machine and make them skirts. At first I did it because I know their skirts can be done pretty easily. Now having looked in the store I think I'm going to HAVE to do it out of necessity. Where are all the skirts in the stores? I noticed the lack of skirts when Tom and I were in Walmart on Saturday. Shopping yesterday just confirmed it...they aren't putting skirts out much anymore. I don't know maybe it's just a matter of looking in the wrong places. Or wanting them clearanced and there aren't any right now. I hope so. I've already gone through the having to make your own clothes era. I don't want to do it again, especially for the older girls...they can be so particular. Guess it's time to tune up my grandmother's sewing machine and weed through my fabric supply.

Today is Danielle's 3rd birthday! She's so excited. One of Michelle's co-workers, E, has "adopted" Danielle and wanted to get her something for her birthday. Last time we were in the store he asked Danielle what she wanted. She was so excited to see him that she was tongue tied. After he walked away she found her voice again and said she wanted a sucker. So Liz took Danielle over to him and she told him...I want a sucker! He was amazed it was all she asked for and said he'd look for a HUGE sucker. Danielle is hoping that today is the day that E has her sucker for her. :o)

I'm not exactly sure what we're doing for her dinner. Last week when I asked her someone mentioned Chinese which she jumped on big time (it's her favorite place to go to eat). I am NOT going to pay for everyone to go to the chinese buffet but maybe we can find some things to fulfill that requirement at Michelle's work (Orange chicken chunks, egg rolls type of thing). Hmmm maybe I'll have someone make her some jello. You can't have a chinese buffet without jello! lol

I'm having the girls wrap Danielle's presents while we're gone to take Michelle to work and run errands. Hopefully later I'll have pictures to share. I know I have some really cute pictures taken over the last few weeks that I've wanted to share (posts were already pretty picture heavy so didn't...like this adorable but poorly lit one).