When I asked Scooby this morning if he was ready to go out and eat his breakfast, this was his response--crowding himself into the smallest space he could find by his bed. He's no fool--he knew it was raining. Finally about an hour later, he heard children and barked, and I was able to get him out, using a leash. He hates the rain, but with a houseful of children, he can't stay in--he's too excitable and energetic with strangers around. But it was indeed a rainy day, and there went plans for a zoo trip. Megan's boys, Sawyer (5) and Ford (almost 3) were out of control, noisy, fighting, wild--it was chaos. When Jordan and Jacob arrived (Jacob for some inexplicable reason wearing his pumpkin costume from last Halloween which no longer fits him), they decided they had to take their three boys somewhere so they went to Chucky Cheese--as politely as I could, I declined and refroze the hot dogs I had out for lunch. You cannot imagine how I welcomed the peace and quiet and settled down for a bit of work. But just as I was about to fix myself a hot dog, Mel and the girls arrived from Frisco. Mel shares my antipathy to Chucky Cheese, so we had hot dogs and a good visit. Maddie, our voracious reader, built a fort of umbrellas on the front porch and then lay on a towel on the concrete (how uncomfortable is that?) to read. When the Austin boys came back, Maddie organized them into an army with rifles over their shoulders (I forgot to mention they arrived with an arsenal and are very noisy about their guns, plus they swing them around so that I'm sure they'll whack someone or something, like my grandmother's tureen!). All of a sudden it was controlled--I told them I'd pay one dollar to the one who found my monitor, and lo and behold, Sawyer found it under the bed! I paid each of the four--Edie had declined the hunt--fifty cents. Then about three they all left for a play date with a friend of Megan's who used to live in Austin. Oh blessed quiet, I had a good nap and then fixed turkey tacos makings. Christian is off tonight--people don't eat on the patio at Joe T.'s when it's raining--so he came for dinner, but didn't go out with the girls. He played chaffeur.
The girls did finally pull all their cars off the street, and they have it all settled which child will sleep where, but I'll be darned if I know where they are all going to sleep. They've gone out on the town, and Maddie and Edie have gotten the little boys all ready for bed and are watching TV with them. That's all of them above though Edie kind of got cut out of the picture. We miss Lisa and the Houston cousins Morgan and Kegan. Now it's time for me to go say "Bedtime!" I honestly don't know what I'd have done with three little boys myself--I know I raised four children under four but I was a lot younger and had a lot more energy. The big girls love doing this. What a blessing.
All is quiet. Edie is snuggling with Jacob, and Maddie is reading to Sawyer. Ford is sound asleep--I just snuck in and gave him a kiss but he never budged. And Scooby and I are in our quiet hideaway in my office. Although it wears me out, I love having all of them here and a houseful of children. I love the hugs and kisses and, especially with Maddie and more recently Edie, the sense of camaraderie. I am so blessed!
No comments:
Post a Comment