Daily Diary

i have been a slacker about updating the blog because I've been swamped, SWAMPED, by everything else. i'm even overwhelmed for me. Tonight I've been in the school room making phone calls for the church supper on Wednesday night, which of course, promotes pro-life legislation. This is going to be a great year for the pro-life movement.

Vivian threw up twice today.

Vivian pooped on the floor once today.

Charles was reading today the following sentence: The cat is gray. Only when he read it he read: The cat is gay. He raised his eyebrows at me. "Nice," he said. I said,"Keep reading."

Caroline and I did not do Saxon Math today. So now we get to do two lessons tomorrow. I'm seriously excited about that.

We were in the car driving and I had not noticed that the car in front of me had stopped. I was forced to slam on my breaks. Oliver sat in the very back of the car and as the force of the brakes hit and we all lurched forward, Oliver threw his arms in the air waving them and yelling, "Crash! Crash! Crash!"

Gabriel has two main types of communication: happy whine, sad whine. I wish he had a mute button.

We went to the park.

Vivian threw up at the park.

Nothing else of significance happened at the park which rather surprises me.

Over the weekend, my brother took my two oldest offspring to the Rennaissance Festival where he bought them swords.....My brother will probably never reproduce, which is a bummer. Now I can never truly pay him back.

Family Circus

I'm not sure that I can truly capture this for readers, but shall try.

Charles and I were reading Dr. Seuss' Hop on Pop yesterday. A page read Pat Hat Pat sat on hat. Which Charles read and then studied the illustration for a moment. He turned the page and read Pat Cat. He stopped and looked at me. "Dun, Dun, Dun" he said singing the "word" in a building suspense sort of way. And then he proceeded Pat sat on cat.

We were in the car running errands and having general conversation. Charles mentioned that he had seen someone at church who hadn't been there for a long time. "Does that guy go to another church, mom?" Charles asked. "Yup," I responded. "oh, well what church does he go to?" Charles continued. "I don't quite remember the name of it, " I answered," But it advertises as Party on Sunday."

There was silence in the car for a few moments as Charles digested this information. A look of horror crossed his face. "That is ridiculous. You do not party on Sunday. You go to church to worship God. That is a very serious time and you don't need to be having fun while you do it."

Random thoughts

How do you find the time? That is a question that is often posed to me, and let me tell you, it ain't easy. The first thing to go is meals. Friday during the time generally set up for the preparation, consumption and clean up of lunch, I was feverishly working away on a flyer promoting HB 1. "Mom! We are starving!" the kids yelled from the downstairs. "In a minute!" I yelled back. They sighed and found something to fight about in order to kill time and distract their growling stomachs. Ten minutes later, "Mom! We are really hungry, come on!" I glanced at the clock and knew that if I left the computer then, there wouldn't be a chance to return and finish the job. " Can't you guys just dig in the pantry and find something?" I heard 4 pair of feet race for the large cabinets that pose as pantry. After about 20 more minutes, I had finished printing out the flyer and went downstairs. Charles, Oliver and Gabriel were sitting happily at the counter eating a balanced lunch of crackers, chow mein noodles and whole grain tortilla chips, and washing it down with drink remnants that stood next to the sink. Fortunately the drink remnants were all water or lemonade- not that perishable. Caroline, with a more elevated sense of lunch food, was eating a yogurt at the dining room table and had a glass of fresh water. It's survival of the fittest around here.

Daily Diary

Today we are celebrating Charles 6th birthday- his actual birthday is tomorrow, but he doesn't know that, and we don't have time to celebrate tomorrow. Pancakes for breakfast- picture soon to follow.

It would appear that there is a huge percentage of friends out there that are totally worried about me packing up 6 kids and heading out into the wild blue yonder and wondering why my thick headed husband is allowing such a thing. Well, I didn't realize how worried he was, until this past week when he bought me a heavy duty camper, and I asked him the same question. He is after all a Hodges, and things generally go down as a Hodges husband decrees. But he is as concerned as I am that the kids experience America in this way during the summers, and can not possibly take the vacation time to go with us. However, let me offer to all of you out there this ointment for your fears. My dear old dad is coming along for the trip. Perhaps old does not inspire your confidence in terms of help for me, but my dad is quite physically capable, and frankly, I can deal with driving and caring for the kids myself. Dad provides security. A male presence will make my husband feel a lot better, and hopefully all of you. And don't worry- I'll be posting updates all summer- though not giving away our exact physical location since this blog is open to any and all-and you can follow along on the joys, downers, and calamities of a summer with the clan with at least a little peace of mind.

Daily Diary

Well, it would appear that us housewives would make $138,000 a year were we to receive monetary compensation for a 92 hour work week. As I reflect on this, I realize that were I to be single and applying for jobs- I would never, NEVER, accept this job for so little money.

Daily Diary

This morning I burned a bagel in the toaster, and not wanting to eat it myself, I scraped off much of the burned part and set it on the counter in the hopes that one of the kids would eat it. Charles ate one bagel and then asked for another. "There's one already toasted on the counter," I told him. He hurried off. Silence. "Mom," he called from the kitchen, " Did you put lots of cinnamon on this?" I paused and then said, " No." He picked up the bagel and carefully examined it. " This thing is seriously burnt and I'm not eating it." I laughed. I guess I couldn't pull one over on Charles.

Daily Diary

Last night we had company that seem to come in shifts- or at least the last two additions. It was amusing clearing away one place and making way for a new one. I was unaware that May 1st is May Day. Janice, a friend who comes occasionally on Tuesday nights, brought me a May Day gift. A book instead of flowers (as flowers, I am told, is the tradition). I was very pleased with the book. It's a compilation of the stories behind 150 of the great hymns. Now I think it rather sad that I've never celebrated May Day before.

Today is Vivian's birthday, so I took a picture of the kids gathered around the birthday girl. Vivian was highly annoyed that everyone was around her and touching her, so she kept wriggling her shoulders and scrunching her nose. Gabriel was pitching a fit because he had to get down in the midst of eating his breakfast. Anyway, it made for a funny picture.