What's a girl to do?

It's bed time. Actually, it's a couple hours past bedtime. But on Wednesdays, getting to bed comes a little late because of church and such. But even by this point, they should be nestled in their beds, quiet, and at the very least pretending to sleep.

So you can understand my shock when I kept hearing all this noise from down the hall. Don't they know Heath and I are about to sit down to some tuna fish salad and some T.V.? Oh wait, maybe they do, and that's what all the commotion is about. I holler at Daniel once and all the kids twice to hush and get quiet. But still, the disturbance continues. So I finish making the salad (because it was important to finish it before I made my children obey), and head down the hall to correct some children. Now mind you, I'm thinking that little Heath and Malcolm are goofing around, or maybe Daniel and Terry. Probably all the above. What a surprise to the system when I turn the corner and discover it is Terry, and Terry alone. He has swiped his older brother's book lamp, is under his covers head to toe, has a stack of books waist high, and is reading them with all the vigor a two year old can muster. He's growling with the beasts, counting all the flowers, pretending he knows his ABCs and is reciting them. He's talking in girl voices, and boy voices, mean voices, and someone's laugh that kind of scares me. Now tell me, what am I supposed to do? Do I get on to him for disobeying and squash his imagination and enthusiasm for reading? Or do I let him get away with being up past bedtime, but kindle his new found love for books?

Too bad for him he's the sixth of seven children. I'm not taken in by much. Excuses for staying up late are just that. Excuses. And to abolish any doubts I may have had, when I said his name, he jumped nearly eight feet in the air, shut the light off lickity split, threw all the evidence in the floor, and proceeded to tell me how much he loved me. Um hum. Busted.

What is that?

So for those who regularly read my blogs, I have posted a link right over there ->. It's for a new site to the sewing group I regularly visit. So for all you quilters, or those who think they might like to learn, or for those who are bored and need something to pass the time, click on the link and check it out. This awesome pic shows one of the projects that I bought from my favorite site.

Oh, and just to brag, I also made the pj's my niece is so beautifully modeling. Thanks for looking! OH! And as much as I don't want to tell you, they are having a contest as part of their grand upstart. Just follow the link and it will tell you how you can enter. But if you win, you have to share the prize with me!

One of these days

I so wish I had a digital camera. I know. For those of you who know me, I have resisted for such a long time. I have clung to my 35mm, "real" film camera for years now. But there are just times that a digital is needed. I get that now. Like tonight when I went to shake up the Parmesan cheese, and it exploded all over little Heath, the table, and the floor. Or the quick shot of Paulee and Terry covered in brightly colored, tiny hair bands that have been glued on with baby lotion. Or Paulee in the bathtub fully dressed, water running, washing herself, and the walls with the washrag. Of course Anderson is always a photo opportunity. He's just so cuddly and chubby.

I could say that I was working on getting a camera. But I have to confess. I spent my savings on a new serger. So, the envelope is empty. I'll just have to start a new collection. Wonder if there is anyone out there that needs a product tester? I have plenty of subjects to practice upon!

So, since I don't have a camera, I do not have any pictures from our zoo trip yesterday. But don't worry; the entire populace of Oklahoma was at the zoo (with the exception of my mom), so just find one of their blogs and you'll get to see our wonderful zoo. It was absolutely crazy! We took our family, Jeffie Jean's best friend, and some youth from church. And the friend's family met us at the zoo. It was wall to wall people. And most were rude! It was all well until someone grabbed Daniel and tried to separate him from our human train so that they could shove their way thru. Let's just say this Mamma Bear raised her hackles and put a stop to that. And also got the lady to stop her foul language as well. What a mess.

We are currently trying to spring clean around here. It's not going too quickly. The laundry room is organized. But that's about the only room that is done. We're going to start painting the rooms in the house, but want everything sorted, cleaned, and organized first. It may be Christmas before the first swab of color goes up. Of course, Paulee and Terry have done a wonderful job of decorating the walls themselves. I have never had a problem with kids writing on walls or anything other than what is appropriate. But these two have changed all that. It doesn't matter where I hide writing implements either! And it's so hard to get on to Paulee Rea. She is so cute concentrating so hard and being so serious as she finishes her masterpiece. Well, not really. I cannot stand writing on walls, shades, doors, floors, couches, beds, desks, window seals, cabinets, counters, or shelves. And it doesn't make it any worse if she uses pencil, pens, markers, crayons, colored pencils, sharpies, or highlighters. It's all really bad! Now to break her of this horrible habit. I'll post pictures as rooms get painted. I'll find a photographer. Having my Dad and Mom visit with their camera is cheaper than buying my own at the moment.

And lastly for today. Pray for my sister-in-law and her husband, Teri Lynne and Scott Underwood. Scott goes in for surgery tomorrow, and it is quite risky. Teri Lynne is having physical issues due to stress and anxiety. We know God is in control, so we appreciate them being bathed in prayer.

The days keep marching by!

I got up early this morning. Well, by my standards it was early. I was awake by 0630 and cuddling with Anderson, and out of bed by 0645. Now I know for so many of you out there, these times are either regular times, or if you see the alarm clock reading 0645 and you are still in bed, you jump five feet in the air, heart bursting, yelling like a little white rabbit about being late. Not me. I have a horrible habit of sleeping until eight. My older kids are mature enough to get breakfast for all, cereal albeit, but they do. And I get up in time to avert disaster with the little ones.
Needless to say, I was really stoked to be up before anyone else! I had the chance to be the "proper" Mom. Psh. I went to the kitchen to start breakfast and found that some storm must have blown through last night. I mean, surely I didn't leave the kitchen in that state! So I began to clean the kitchen so that I could get to my stove. So, 21 plates, 19 forks, 8 spoons, 4 butter knives, a case of glasses, and Top Chef's inventory of pots and pans later, I was able to start the scrambled eggs. By this point the kids are up, thanks to their alarm, so there went my whole idea of surprising them by me waking them up. They sit down to eat, and I keep washing the ever reproducing pile of dirty dishes, and notice that the laundry room has exploded. Again. Like it has every day this past week. I'm pretty sure that they just put their clean clothes straight into the hamper. Totally bypass the drawers, throw it in the laundry room, where it becomes Mom's problem, not theirs. So I start yet another load of clothes, run down the hall and back with today's outfits for Terry and Paulee, and drop everything because Anderson is on the brink of death due to starvation.
Just as he is finishing up, I notice Paulee and Terry look a little different. Upon closer inspection, I am puzzled to find my children have began to turn purple. They both have big purple lines down their necks. Terry has a big purple circle on the back of his left hand, the palm, and the webbing of that hand is also strangely purple. Paulee has the rash of purple dots on one leg, and her chest has a curious array of purple marks. Guess what. They found a marker in Daniel's room that had been left out, and it was purple! And it was the worst washable marker I've ever known. The marketing director for that company should be lashed for that lie. Into the tub they both go to try and scour these markings off. The whole time I get to answer Terry's question. Yes, one question, not multiple questions.
"What are you doin' Ma?"
"I'm washing the marker off you and Paulee"
"Oh, get it off. It's dirty."
"Yes, that is my whole intention. To wash off the marker."
"What are you doin' Ma?
"Still washing the marker off you two."
"Oh. What are you doin?"
This goes on the entire 10 minutes they are in the tub. With Paulee's occasional opinions inserted into the conversation. It ended by me saying, "Apparently NOT washing off the marker. Just sitting here swiping a washrag over you for your enjoyment!"
"Oh. Fanks Mom!"
So, I get them dressed, run through my typical "Stop playing. Stop reading. Stop sitting. Get dressed. Clean your room. GET MOVING!", get myself dressed, switch the laundry over, and just happened to glance at the clock. It's only nine o'clock. NINE! What a sense of foreboding comes over me as I realize that my day of being up and at 'em and head of the game, is just going to be a day that I fight to stay above water.
Oh, and did you notice? Not a single second has been utilized for school. So we drag it with us to a church function in the hopes that they will complete the assignments. But the day was not a loss. We came home and spent hours outside playing. I got out the baseball equipment and played catch with each child individually, watched Paulee get blown over by the wind a couple of times, and just thoroughly enjoyed my children. Terry was mesmerized by the tractor that drove past. Yes, I live in a town where people just drive their tractors and 4-wheelers from place to place. And to finish the evening, I cooked with Jeffie Jean a recipe she picked out from her first cookbook. It was a birthday present from her Aunt Teri Lynne, and she has spent hours devoted to reading the book.
So, I may not have crossed much off my to-do list, but I accomplished more than I could have hoped.