Sunday, September 28, 2008

Heaven on earth?.....Let's hope not

“The only reason why we ask other people how their weekend was is so we can tell them about our own weekend."

(Chuck Palahniuk - freelance journalist)


Thanks for giving me a long weekend off from blogging. I am forever in your debt (as long as it costs me nothing) and enjoyed being able to teach the homeschool workshop and host the upper school parent/student/sibling party, with nary a thought of my blog...or competing ...or grits...or the corners of my home.

Whoa...That last part is a brazen-faced lie. I totally scoured the corners of my home, even though when 60 people descended on it, you couldn't see many corners. Then we cleaned again after they left. My children still don't understand that system of events. Clean - Mess it Up - Clean again. All in about an 8 hour span.

It's called Hospitality, kids. And every last one of them agreed it was worth the energy expended...and they are already begging to have the Lower School Party here. I told them I'd pray about it and see if Jesus feels like One Family should take all the fun of hosting Both Parties.

So, the party was Friday night - and it ended late (a sign of a good party), and we let everyone sleep in until 9am - which irritates my husband to no end- and seems to cause him real physical pain, but he knows our Love Language is Sleeping In, and we would've liked a tad more love (like till 10ish), but we appreciated the gesture, as well as the pancakes and waffles waiting for us when we "finally dragged our lazy butts out of bed"..and I quote.

But I think the kids were a tad surprised when after all the pre-party chores on Friday, Dad had a to-do list for Saturday as well. Every family has the "thing" they're known for. Athletics. Music. Intellect. Community Involvement. Missions. Working Around the House (that would be us). Working While Other Families Play (that would be us, too.) HOH says it makes us appreciate our (practically non-existent) free time, more. And I agree (in public.)

Don't believe we're hard workers, eh? I knew I'd have to prove it to you, so I took these pictures:

We all know what autumn means, right? Time to open the windows and try to lower those mega-hundred dollar utility bills. Know what that means, right? Time to tighten the screens so the mom with Scoliodentosaurophobia can survive the open windows. Know what Scoliodentosaurophobia means, right? Fear, as in heart-stopping, call-your-husband-to-come-home-from-work (but he won't), fear of lizards.

Justin and Dad worked on screens..... Twenty-Eight Windows Worth of Screens. The HOH may not come home when I call with a Lizard Alert, but he's doing his durndest to make sure they don't get in!

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Mary-Faith took frequent chicken breaks while "checking on everyone."



Winston's Saturday was kind of a bummer, since it was a re-do of a previous job. Notice the level in the background. Too bad he didn't think of using that the first time. He spent yesterday turning our flagstone "pond" into a flagstone patio. He had a great attitude through it all, and did a wonderful job. I'll try to include a picture of the finished patio tomorrow. It looks great!







Andrew's job was to weed. Even with mulch, we need to do weekly weeding. And it's the perfect job for our Daydreaming Boy.



Daniel and Molly were the window sill clean-up crew. This is the "before" picture, when he's dealing with a bad attitude as he realizes there are still about 17 windows to go.



And here is the "after", when I told him I was putting his picture on my blog.
Vanity - Sometimes it works in our favor!




Daniel dustbusted, then Molly came along and wiped the sills clean. They always beg to work together, and as long as there's no time frame for completion (due to very frequent giggle fits), I always let them.




If anyone from Child Services reads my blog, (please stop) we let the kids have frequent water breaks. And I think he's even sitting down. Frequent sitting breaks...yeah, we always do that, too. And when they're done working, we make them wash off in the pool...er, I mean - we let them swim to their heart's content.





And here's Mary-Faith taking another chicken break - Actually, it can't be a legitimate break if you never had anything to "break" from, can it?!



Ahhh...Here's the "supervisor" finally getting around to her own chore - Painting the boy's room doors.








And no self-respecting blog post is complete without a few kitty pictures. Our sextuplets are getting cuter by the minute. They are almost weaned, are playing and pooping on schedule (Kelly, the poop reference is for you..since I know you think no self-respecting blog post is complete without a little potty humor.)
They will be ready for adoption...as soon as you can get here! One is spoken for, but that still leaves FIVE.

 





13 comments:

jax said...

Those kittens are almost cute enough to make me want one! But then ... they will probably turn into cats just like all the others do, won't they?
And oh, how I miss those hard-working Saturdays at home... :) Not to rub it in, but my husband lets me sleep as late as I want on Saturdays! On the downside, I usually have to physically drag him out of bed at some point around noon.

Anonymous said...

Oh, Jax, you're finally on to us! We only made you work hard all those years so it wouldn't be so difficult to think of leaving us and getting married.

Guess it worked since you're happily married. Stay in bed as long as you want, sweetheart. You need all the rest you can get to get ready for that wild GrandSon of mine you're carrying. (and I say wild only because he has no chance of anything else. Not with the parents he has!)

Kelley said...

That is SO funny to read your dislike (fear? really?) of lizards! I actually already had planned a part of my next post to contain a few BENEFITS of having lizards inside the home. Perhaps you won't be visiting my home anytime soon?

I love reading how Daniel and Molly beg to work together. That is so sweet!

The kittens are adorable and I so appreciate that bit of potty humor...just for me! How cool is that...

brite said...

Jax, Even if that grandson is not wild he will still be a child, and will probably not sleep until 10am...so definitely sleep now. We still relish the memory of those days, and try to relive those Saturdays on our anniversaries. :) Mom, sounds like a very productive day, and as much as I would like to have all that done at my house, it's still worth it to not have it done and be able to sleep at will. (I'm not sure Dad's plan worked...it may have backfired and turned us all into sleep-loving adults.) The kids look great...Cooper loves seeing what they're up to.

Meg in Tally said...

Mary-Faith is surely a woman after my own heart. We must eat first to keep our strength up!

That Daniel is sure one cutie! And Molly! She just exudes all that sweetness!

Now, about your mama-cat. She must really be a brazen hussy(did I spell that right?) to have all those colorful children!

NOTE: This is absolutely no reflection on YOUR colorful children...we know the "brazen" around your house is only of the feline variety!

Anonymous said...

What is a "chicken break"?

I laughed out loud when I saw Daniel's bad attitude face ... life is so, so difficult, what with all the dust busting, only getting to swim AFTER chores, and having to wait your turn to play Nintendo.

Anonymous said...

my children never really understood the whole clean up to, have people over, to mess it up and then clean it up again. tell your boys that Jesse is cleaning all twenty eight of our windows too, and he has to do the second story windows as well.

Chicken break, i will have to try that one. and maybe i should take photos and tell them they can be on your blog....

Mrs. Pittman said...

Jessica-
You totally should start your own blog! Your children are beautiful, your house is beautiful, and YOU are beautiful. What's not to love about a blog like that?
On second thought....I really don't need that kind of competition. Just keep commenting on my blog for the time being, OK?

Laura said...

Which kitten has been claimed? I'm trying to talk my husband into letting us get one for my Sweetness.

I thought you just really hated skinks. I didn't know about the passionate fear of lizards.

Anonymous said...

Hi Princess Deb! I've spent quite a few hours reading your blog from start to finish!!! I love your wit, your wisdom, and your cleverly decorated corners! ( I was hoping for one more "w" word, but couldn't think of one!) Your home is beautiful! So is your family! I love the pictures of all of your children and grandchildren, who have all grown so much! You've inspired me so much, that I decided to start my own blog! Come over and visit some time! ~Elizabeth

Kahlua Keeping Koala said...

Wow, I've got lots of training to do.

Anonymous said...

blackberry grits on thursday the 17th @ 9:30ish.... whoo hoo, i have NEVER been so glad to turn a calendar page in my life....

Anonymous said...

i didn't turn the calendar page very well since thursday is the 16th of october... and the day for grits....