Saturday, March 31, 2007

Grand Aventure, Family style

Today is Saturday. That means groceries. My family eats. No suprise there, right? But I am still amazed at the VOLUME of food that is eatten. For example- Hot dogs, macaroni, and green beans. That is 4 boxes of Mac, 3 packages of weiners and buns, 3 cans of beans... and about a gallon of milk. Thats for ONE meal. Just one. Multiply that by 3 meals (and snacks) a day, for a week. Can we say multi-cart shopping trips?? So, needless to say, when we shop- we shop BIG!! Usually, we try and get in to Walmart (love 'em/hate 'em... they have cheap milk!) early to avoid the lines, weirdos, and make the quickest possible exit. Most of the time it is a true family adventure. ALL 9 of us pile into the Beast (big ole white 11 passanger van that NO ONE would drive if they didn't have to) and head to town. But not today. Today, Steven had to work. Being that we were completely out of milk- We HAD to go in. All 7 duckies and me. Brave? Insane? Take your pick~ My little shoplifter also needed to make amends. I don't know if bringing back the little plastic toy phone was more tramatic for him, or for the elderly greeter that he apologized to. Poor lady, she was trying so hard to make it easy on him~ but Oh! how the boyo cried. Hopefully it will stick in his mind, that sticky fingers are BAD. Not a pleasant trip, but not the worst experience by far. We made it in, out, and are here to tell the tale. We did manage to make it out with 2 cart fulls- and under $200- to boot! Not too shabby~ And on the way home- I came up with a plan to help make an impression in my young fire bugs as well. They will have the pleasure of researching, writing, and presenting a report on fire safety. To the extended family. Tomorrow. Horror of horrors- public speaking. If that's not enought to scare ya strait!! Having a house full of kids is always a challenge. Some of those challenges are harder to deal with than others. I am always second guessing my choices and my decisions hoping that, in the long run, it will all turn out well. That my kids will manage to actually grow up, stay safe, and be good kids. Looking at things like that, it makes a grand aventure to Walmart look like a vacation!

Friday, March 30, 2007

Daily Life

Around here, there is never a 'normal' day. I would go so far as to say normal doesn't come into our vocabulary on a regular basis. I have relatively good kids. Exceptionally well behaved at times. Especially in public, or within a few days of a gift giving holiday. Or holiday that they think gifts should be given. Like Tuesdays. Their good behavior, or the facsimile of, does not always come back home with them. My children could win Oscars, Emmys, maybe even a Tony for their public preformances. I can hear their acceptance speeches- "I would like to thank my family, for all the practice in fooling the world into believing any of us had manners!" Ha! If you only knew~~ Lately, my little duckies, have decided to see just exactly how far they could push their poor old mother (ME!!!) before I need to be carted off. Sometimes, it doesn't seem like that cart will get here fast enough! They, of course, have decided to do it all at the same time. How considerate of them. Really. [insert child like evil laughter here.] Let's see how many buttons we can push, before the steam starts coming out of her ears- like the cartoons on Saturday mornings. Seriously, I have over-heard the conversation. For example, this week has been a doozy. A 3 1/2 foot tall shoplifter, a brush with pyromania, the bloody nose caused by airborne choo-choo train, and the near destruction (and possible heart issues) barely avoided in the damage dome to my camera finished it off. I can feel my hair turning grey. Right. Now. ...but it's Friday. The weekend is coming- the light at the end of the tunnel is inching closer. I think I can hold my breath until then. Maybe.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Officially a BLOG.

Yea! I have a site up~ Thanks for coming, I am so glad you could be here! My plan is to document, comment, record, and periodically vent about lifes ups and downs. I am a stay at home mom, a homeschooling one at that. 7 kids- 6 months to 13 years old. Ups and downs ARE my life. People sometimes have difficulty believeing what happens around here. Honestly, I couldn't make this stuff up. Read, enjoy, and feel free to comment- I'm sure some of you have been there, wish you were there, or possibly are glad you aren't. This is Life. As I know it~ Thanks for sharing it with me.