my week, and how was yours?

Two out of three of my itty-bitties that I birthed, one without the use of drugs thankyouverymuch, have gone off to summer camp for 5 1/2 days in the wild wilds of Michigan.  I'm telling myself how much they'll miss Mamma, but I don't think they even noticed when I peeled out of the parking lot, the sound of freedom ringing in my ears.  I almost ran down another mom doing the happy happy joy joy dance.  The little women are so excited they didn't even sleep last night.  Their week will be filled with s'mores and bunk mates and swimming and canoeing and sports and singing and crafts and torturing the counselors and I do believe we will be hearing every minute detail of their experiences for years to come (or at least until next year when they get to go again).  I sent them with disposable cameras so you too can be forced to hear/see the rundown of their week.

This week we have a work party coming to help out around the Children's Homes, doing things that need to be done, and all for the low low price of Mike's lasagna.  They're going to need nourishment as they clean out pole-barns and move out one entire household and then drive it across Indiana and Michigan.  Gotta love church youth groups!  We love slave labor  hearts on fire for God.

I have been spending some time trying to figure out where the dickens I am.  One thing about living in a state with no mountains - no landmarks!  Which way is north, south, east, west?  I haven't the foggiest.  I'm not saying that to be amusing, I really don't have the foggiest idea.  Since we live in the country, there are lots of county roads but they don't seem to connect the way I think they should.  Trying to find a back road to the nearest city the other day, I insisted I knew exactly what I was doing and argued with my hubs on which directions to turn for about 15 minutes.  As we slowed down and entered what I thought was the exact destination, I was feeling pretty smug.  And then I realized we had just entered the town we had left 15 minutes earlier.  I am now stocking the glove compartment with maps and home drawn directions to every which way I may ever need to go at any given time.

Today was my first day driving the big ol' school bus size van.  Easy peasy.  Much easier than navigating.  I'll take driving every time.  I just need a boost to get up into the driver's seat is all.

Alas, I must go clean the bath tub.  Again.  Every bloomin' day I need to clean the bath tub.  I keep wondering WHY.  WHY OH WHY?

And then I remember, oh -

Gianni's why.

Right now the little angel is doing dishes.  That's right.  Yes, I AM letting him stand on a wobbly kitchen chair, with full access to the sink, the water, the soap, and a half dozen dishes.  It's keeping him occupied.  So I can write this.  Which is so important.  It makes me think of the day that I had about a half year ago, when he was really being pesky and into every bloomin' thing (I like the word bloomin'.  It's my word of the day.  Makes me feel like Eliza Doolittle) and it was a super long week and I was pooped and he grabbed my phone and made a long distance call to some guy in like, Madrid, or somewhere, and they held a conversation for a few minutes.  And I just sat there.  Cuz he was occupied. And I had peace.

Laugh all you want and just try to take away my Mother of the Year Award. ( Runner-up).  I'm a professional parent and I have the job description to prove it.

Home sweet home

So you feel as though you were with us on our Great Road Trip of 2010, here are the highlights from each state we lumbered through.

Idaho...

...Utah...

...Wyoming...

...Nebraska....





...Iowa...






...Illinois...

...Indiana...





...and finally, Michigan...



This is the old gymnasium on our property. Apparently these willows have to go as they are messing royally with the sewer system. I love willows. But I suppose, given the choice, I would love a working sewer system more. You may revoke my tree hugging card now.




This is downtown St Louis.




This is our humble abode for the next 6 weeks or so. It's a two bedroom little house, maybe 900 square feet. How do we all squeeze in, you may ask? Are you kidding me? We've been on your couches since Christmas! This feels like a palatial McMansion!




This house sits right across the driveway and is the one we'll be moving into right around the end of July.





All in all, we clocked 2,013 on the good old Penske and I don't plan on traveling further than say, 20 miles, for about a year. But if you'd all like to visit me, I've got a fab two bedroom guest cottage in mind! Truth be told, the trip was not too bad and I don't think we'll even get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms whenever anyone shows us an ear of corn.

I haven't had a job in a bit now, so it's kind of fun heading to staff meetings and the like. We are reading each and every sentence of the Houseparent Training Manuel as part of our, wait for it, houseparent training. There's lots to learn, from parenting to paperwork to budgeting to everything else. I went to my first baseball game as a house mom to cheer on our 14 year old, who did awesome I might say. Mike started cheering and calling him "Wheels" since he's a fast runner and the name might stick. I can't talk about the kids here at the home(s) and I can't mention their names, so we may have to come up with nicknames for each of them - one down, a few more to go!

The girls are loving having room to run, and I must say, so do I. Not that I'm running, it's just a figure of speech. I only run from big, hairy spiders. I have gone on some country road bike rides though, which has been quite lovely. Anna feels as though it's Christmas as she rips through boxes we packed 7 months ago and discovers toys and clothes she forgot she had. She changes outfits about three times a day now. Cora is excited as she can now ride a grown up size bike. Moose loves the bugs and the tractor and the teenage boys who swing him up to the basketball hoop to dunk. All of them love getting most of our groceries from the food provided by churches in a big storeroom. Subsequently they have all discovered Chef Boyardee to their Italian father's dismay and chagrin.

Mike loves his sock drawer. You never want to see a grown man cry, but these were tears of joy when he finally got to unpack that suitcase and put everything in an actual dresser. It was a beautiful moment - we embraced and wept and than held a ceremonial suitcase burning in the backyard.

I love everything. It's a beautiful place and we're having a great time. I miss all of you and if EVER you felt guilted into leaving comments for lonely, friendless, me, now's the time.