At least we remembered the sunscreen (Day 2)

Friday morning I awoke with a bit of a headache, so I decided to go outside to take a walk. (My family was all still sleeping soundly). I stepped out the back door and was greeted by the fragrant aroma of honeysuckle.

If you have been to runnerdave's house you know that there is only one way to take a walk. Down the hill. So I walked down the hill, which was all well in good. Unfortunately, when you walk down the hill, you have to walk back up it. (My shins hurt for three days from this).

After walking up the hill, I unloaded all of the stuff and brought it into the kitchen. Then I sat down and had a bowl of rice chex which we had brought (yes, I'm that stupid). Dave's tennant from upstairs came down and said hi. He said he wasn't bothered by us coming in so late because he had still been awake.

Then the kids started waking up. I fed them breakfast. Then I cleaned out a very cobwebby window well to make s0me extra space for some of the stuff we had brought. The cleaning helped me to feel better.

Eventually, Paul woke up and we had some lunch. Then we drove to Grandma Linda's house to drop off some the stuff we had brought for Cheryl's wedding. We brought swimming stuff with us thinking the kids could go for a swim while we were there. I even remembered to cover them with sunscreen. The drive from Dave's to Linda's takes about an hour. And by the time we arrived it was pouring down rain.

The kids ran into Grandma's house and instantly covered the floor with toys. Linda spent a little time with the kids. But Cheryl came home soon and the two of them had to leave for some wedding planning stuff.

The children did not want to pick up the toys. But after much discipline we were able to get the toys crammed back into the cupboard. Then we set off for the giant eagle to pick up some groceries. Paul took Sam and walked to Radio shack. Omi was hungry so I decided to nurse her in the sling while I shopped.

Unfortunately Abby and Isaac behaved terribly at the store. The culmination came when they unloaded about a hundred calling cards from a display and dumped them on the floor (while I was trying to pay).

So I made the decision to keep the kids home (at dave's house) and put them to bed early.

Dave was at the house when we got back, so he and Paul took off together for the church. I fed the kids some peanut butter sandwiches, and put them to bed around 7:00. They fought and got up and fought and got up. So I spent much of the evening administering discipline and fretting. I had to put Isaac in the playpen.

Then I went outside and paced back and forth on the deck until Paul came home (around 10:30). Unfortunately, Paul forgot to bring me dinner, so I ended up eating a turkey sandwich.

Please don't let us fall off the cliff (Day 1)

Last Thursday (6/12) as our saga begins,

I readied all of our stuff for vacation, and then the children and I waited for Paul to get off work so we could set off for Pittsburgh. my dad stopped by in the afternoon to bring some stuff by the house. He wanted to spend some time with the kids before we left, so he took them to the backyard to play. A couple of minutes later he came back with a groundhog.

Many of you are aware that we have been trying to get rid of a groundhog for the past year. We had a trap sitting in our yard so long that we'd pretty much given up and were planning to call an exterminator. Well apparently our woodchuck finally decided to check out the trap. My dad took him (trap and all) and stuck him in the back seat of his vw convertible. Then he took him to a nature preserve to set him free.

Shortly after Papa left I had to nurse the baby. The other kids were playing quietly. I should have known something was up. When Omi finally finished I found what my adventurous children had accomplished. They had gotten a two pound bag of mozzarella cheese (shredded) and mixed it with water to make cheesy goop. (This is approximately when Paul arrived home). So I called Nana (my hero) who offered to clean up the cheese mess so I didn't have to clean it before leaving.

So off we set on our trip. We took US 30 from Ft. Wayne most of the way across Ohio. When it came time to stop for dinner there was nowhere to stop. So we went passed exit after exit. Finally we saw an exit sign that had a Long John Silvers, Dairy Queen, and KFC on it. We assumed that if they had all of these things there would be somewhere else that we liked.

So after exiting we saw a place called Woody's and a Marathon station with a miniatureLong John Silvers, Dairy Queen and KFC. The DQ didn't have anything but ice cream stuff, and the KFC only had breaded chicken. So with our fish and wheat allergies we decided to go onward. Paul wanted to go to Woody's. But I wanted to go up another exit to McD's which the gas station attendant told me how to find.

Fortunately, Paul went along with it. Everyone was delighted to see that McD's had a playland!!! So the kids had fun and played. I had a salad (because I didn't want to gain any weight, because of my bridesmaid dress).

After dinner we set off again. The kids napped part of the time, but spent the last hour or so of the trip screaming (from about 1 AM onward).

We did just fine until we got off of I-279. It was dark and spooky at this point. We went up a twist road called cemetery lane (which wound around a cemetery) and then followed some other winding roads in the dark.

We finally made it into Millvale (to runnerdave's house where we would be staying for the week). Millvale apparently does not feel the need to label most of it's streets so we were trying to follow the directions. We turned onto a street that looked right. Then we turned to go up a really steep hill. Up and up and up we went. At the top of the hill we looked over at the house. It wasn't Dave's house. It didn't look at all like Dave's house. And unlike the hill that Dave lives on, this one didn't have a turnaround area at the top. Instead it had the edge of a cliff.

I had been driving, but there was no way on earth that I was going to drive down that hill. So Paul and I switched places. Then I sat in the passenger seat and repeated Psalm 23 to myself and prayed silently that we wouldn't fall off the cliff (the children were screaming).

Eventually we got turned around and went down the hill. We drove a few streets up and found the correct hill and drove to the top. We were so tired that we didn't even bother to unload stuff. We just got all the kiddos out and took them inside and went to bed.

too be continued...

Look who's Five!!!!

A bully problem

We have a bully problem around here. And since I don't have Mrs. Pigglewiggle, I'm not sure what to do.

Isaac is my little bully. He's been picking on Sam for quite awhile now. But lately he has taken to picking on Abby too. It seems that he can knock her over fairly easily if he gets a running start. Then he will pin her to the floor.

There are days he spends almost as much time in time-out as out of it.

He also is very inventive in getting what he wants. Even if it's in a sealed package on the top shelf of the cupboard. Though at least he is very good at sharing his finds.

Sometimes I feel like a rather insufficient mommy.

But of course, I am.

God alone is sufficient. May I trust in him.

Puppies are Cute

Therese got to visit the family today. Mary loved it. Apparently Lea enjoyed the puppy too, but overall thought she was too hyper.

Mary and I sang part of the VeggieTales song about puppies whose lyrics I've been using for blog titles.

They tired her out. After a bout of being hyperactive just before it was time to go, she fell asleep after getting back to my place.

The day tired me out too, so now it is time for bed.

Puppies are Cuddly

Last night and today I have had the experience of puppy sitting. This experience will continue until Wednesday evening when I return the dog (Therese) to her owner. The picture is from the end of March, when she was much smaller than she is now.

In anticipation of this task, I got a baby gate so as to keep the not 100% housebroken dog in my kitchen (where there is tile). But, to my dismay, she figured out very quickly she can jump the fence. So she's been spending time outside and has to sleep in her cage at night.

In some ways, it reminds me of dealing with my siblings when they were babies/toddlers. A lot of energy, coupled with bouts of napping, we do not speak the same language, and she likes attention. And attention she gets, even from strangers as we are out for a walk.

In the morning, I take her to my folks' house when I go to visit. My youngest sister is ecstatic. She loves all animals.

And on a side note, Happy Birthday Jess!

Farewell to Joy

My friend Joy and her family are moving away. She and her husband and there three children. They live only two blocks away now. But in 5 days they will live in Arizona.

We only saw each other a couple times a month. But it was nice knowing I had a friend close by. I regret all the times that we were too busy for playdates.

This will be a great opportunity for them. Ted's family is out there. And his new job pays well.

But I am certainly sad to see them go.