Since I Was Up

Well, since I was up after John mauled me in bed for 20 minutes before I got up to put him back in his own bed , I thought ......might as well run down stairs and "switch the loads" as we call it in our house.I don't even call it laundry anymore.It is in a CONSTANT state of sorting, starting, and switching! It is a blessing and a curse to have a big home. My laundry room is located over 3000 sq ft form where the majority of my life is "lived". I NEVER seem to be visiting that end of the house. I try to avoid it at all costs because it is in the "boys
" area.Chris and I , Kate, and the "little boys" sleep on the main floor. The "big boys", Alex, Steven, and Ryan, live in the basement.It is not a scary, cement , cold ,leaky basement basement like you might be imagining. It is fully finished.BUT,the things they can do to the basement are things I would rather only see once a week!The forts they build out of blankets, the experiments they do in their bathroom,the "towers" they build out of old VHS video tapes...etc etc

Alex has his own room, but NEVER sleeps in it. He LEAVES the light on constantly in his bedroom and bathroom just to make sure our electric bill stays nice and high.He owes me $$ every time I find it on.(I think he just hit $110.00) Steven and Ryan have 3 beds in their room and he always joins them for fun and games after 9:00 pm.When you hear laughter you know it is dangerous. Someone is jumping off a top bunk into a PILE of every blanket,pillow,sleeping bag,or piece of clean or dirty laundry they could find! I BRACE myself for the first cry and feel RELIEVED when there are no broken bones or need for stitches.I am just too busy for ER visits.Laughter can also mean different items are being balanced on the blades of the ceiling fans and getting ready for take off!Oh, I love my boys!!!

I don't know if I could be a Mom to 5 girls.TOO much emotional garbage and boo hooing over nothing.Kate is a great daughter.She fits in great with her brothers, but has a touch of girly girl when she needs it. She has no problem climbing up a tree and reading her book in a dress after church.(by the way...in the summer my big kids would climb the tree and ask for their food to be delivered "drive in' style and they would all eat up in the tree. It was a fun memory I just recalled.Our friends, the Powner's were here in the summer from Colorado and would do it with them. FYI the Powner's are GREAT kids and I LOVE when they visit UT in the summer and come and stay for a few days(Andrea, If you are ever reading this, I love you and your kids)! We have fun together.I love being with her and my boys, too. I am very blessed.

Well, it is 3:41 am so I should try to go back to sleep before it all starts over again. Katie has to babysit at 7:45 am and I just found her sleeping on the couch in her clothes with the book Twilight in her arms when I came through the living room. She has already read all three of the Twilight books, but is wanting to read the first one again this weekend.

Yesterday my friend Sue Zan came over with her two little ones and we did a bunch of cooking together.My friend Amy,who now lives in UAE,and I used to cook meals for the week together. We both have 6 kids and it worked out great. Every Monday we would get together. One of us would plan the weekly menu and buy all of the groceries for the 5 meals.We would make 10 meals total and each have 5 prepared meals with a written menu for the week. I loved it and we had a great time together talking.(Amy, I MISS you!!) Well, Sue Zan,who was introduced to me through Amy,has stayed here with our kids multiple times when Chris and I have gone away for marriage retreats and trips. She is awesome! My kids LOVE her.She was wanting some help getting dinner on the table every night and so we made 9 meals yesterday for her to eat this week and freeze for later. It was a ton of fun.Johnny swung from the chandelier while we were doing it, but it was great fun.
I am really going to bed now.
Rita