Day Two of My Vacation

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Yesterday I made an important decision.


I WILL NOT call Cook's to come and inspect until the kids are gone. I'm not sure he'd be able to get through the house.


I established my priorities early.


Drink my coffee and then....


First thing in the day, pick up all the sleeping bags out of the middle of the living room floor.


Get everyone fed so Brad will quit asking for food. Let me rephrase that: So I can tell Brad he has already eaten when he asks for food.


Then immediately begin to get the clothes organized and figure out what we will all wear to church in the evening. Don't put that off until later.

The kids manage to find plenty to entertain themselves what with the Lego and my propensity to hang on to every toy that's ever entered my doorway. (That really is an exaggeration, but my kids won't tell you it is.)

Then I got out the project of making bricks to build a medieval castle. This is a long term project since every set of bricks takes 30 minutes before it can come out of the mold and we were going to have to mold many, many times in order to get all the bricks needed to begin the construction. However, this did not preclude the kids all "building" with the bricks that did come out of the form.

LUNCH: A big factor in Brad's mid-day. 

I was all about being "healthy" again. 

BOLOGNA sandwiches. 
Made with WHITE BREAD.  
I don't even keep white bread in my house.   This was a loaf that was a part of the purchases I made when we went by the store Sunday night after church.

That Sunday evening shopping trip had one thing in mind:  LAST TRIP to the store.  Hopefully.


White bread. Hamburger buns.  Doughnuts. Bologna.   Soft drinks.  Packaged peanut butter snack crackers.  

Is your head not already resounding with the thought:  HEALTHY CHOICES

MORE milk.  (When I raised my children we drank over a gallon a day and that is happening again.)  

More cereal (Generic cinnamon toast crunch)  
Sliced cheese.  

Premade sausage patties and canned biscuits (with the thought that one of our "supper" meals will be eggs, biscuits, and sausage).    


A side trip by the Dollar store to pick up a couple of very small dolls for Rachel and Autumn to have at church.



After Brad, the girls, and I had eaten ours and Sam and Zack tore themselves away from their activities to come and eat, Sam said he'd rather have tuna, which was fine with me because it actually would be a better choice than bologna. Zack wanted a baked potato with cheese on top. He ate the WHOLE thing. Much to my surprise, since he "gets sick" when he eats healthy foods. He did want to leave some of the cheese on his plate, but I said, "No, eat it. That's all the protein you got with this meal." So he did.


After lunch.... somewhere in this time frame.... I got the MOST WONDERFUL phone call. Sister Nicky called and said that she and Brother Jeremy had talked about it and decided they wanted to bring our supper. Would we rather have pizza or barbeque?


The kids voted and only Autumn voted for barbeque. Sister Nicky asked if I wanted three or four and said she wanted us to have plenty. I thought they were coming from Little Caesar's so I said "Three would be plenty and would probably leave some for tomorrow." (Those sell for like $5 each.)


NAP TIME!!!
I put Autumn down and I made sure Brad was in his room, the boys and Rachel occupied and I took a nap myself.  I had somehow managed to work my reading and praying into the hectic morning so I didn't need to do that first.

When I got up, I started the getting ready for church process: baths and showers, pressing clothes, finding socks and shoes.




The Pizza arrived earlier than Nicky said. WE were GLAD because our bologna had long run out and we were HUNGRY!! As I was standing there eating it, I looked again at the box and it said: 

PIZZA HUT

WOW! I didn't expect that and I felt guilty for saying "three" because I know three pizzas from Pizza Hut would not be same price as three from Little Caesar's.


We gobbled it down. The kids wanted Parmesan added to theirs. I added hot pepper.


Then we got ready for church.... which was wonderful. A very good start to the meeting. I was glad I had decided to take my vacation.
Again Brad sat with Sister Katie and Autumn with Tesia. 

Tesia laughed later telling me that Autumn had told her to stop saying amen, because if she said amen that man might yell at her.


We came home and had chocolate ice cream and cookies for snack.  The girls wanted to slide awhile.  Zack wanted to finish a picture he'd started drawing at church.  Sam went back to the game he had created and Brad decided to read to all of us out of a devotional book.  Brad is a good reader.

With no objection--except from Brad--the kids all went to bed.   He really doesn't like being ushered away from food sources.


Sorry to say, when I finally went to bed--after playing a few rounds of Persian Puzzle-- my legs were so cold I couldn't go to sleep. Even after two pair of legs warmers, they didn't want to warm up enough to allow me to drift off. Finally, I turned on my electric blanket.


Some time after 2AM I went to sleep. However, I had put Autumn to bed in my room this time and she didn't wake up at six o'clock and Brad remained in his room, so I was able to sleep UNTIL 7:30!  But I'll be looking forward to nap time by afternoon, I'm sure.

By the way, know what I said about Autumn needs to be watched?
The kids were hollering-- as I was typing away here-- "Autumn has a cooked!!!:


To let you know how turned around my thinking is from everyone esle's, my main concern was not that Autumn had a cookie but WHERE WAS Autumn's eating the cookie.   So I knew I'd have to go make sure she was at the bar.   Or at least NOT ON THE CARPET.

Sometimes I think I only had unbending two rules with my kids activities in the house: 
1)  NO eating or drinking on carpeted areas.   NOT EVEN water as a wet spill picks up dirt off people's shoes.
2) NO throwing.    I had a light fixture that I LOVED and was determined to protect it from flying objects.

Anyway, I went to make sure Autumn was eating her cookie in the kitchen and found out that Autumn had RED HANDS.  Immediately I knew that Autumn had found the ink pads I had left out when I was making Valentines with Felisia.  

I made her find the pad for me and then I took her to the bathroom to find out FIRST HAND just how easily that ink will come off.   I'm asked so many times by customers, I was actually glad to get the opportunity to find out.

Answer:   Not easily.  It is going to require more than one or two hand washings.  

A little later:   As I start my morning pick up and cleaning, I am finding out the best way to find out other things Autumn has gotten into is to look behind the chairs and furniture.   She knows she needs to hide what she's doing.