Best Friends and Katherines

Hannah Passed Her Learner's Permit Exam

If you live in the state of West Virginia or are passing through please feel free to ask me when she is on the roads. I will not be offended and I can give you directions for detours away from her projected travel path. Yeah, five more to go and a lot more time on my knees praying.

Happy Father's Day

It has been a lazy day around here so far. I've tried to call my father but I'm having no luck in finding him. Al is enjoying the emptiness of the house. No children around here until tonight so it is very quiet. I got up for the beautiful sunrise this morning, as it is the Summer Solstice, and fell back asleep an hour later flanked by three dogs.
I hope all the fathers out there are having a blessed day.

Lessons Learned

Living with a dating teenager has taught me that I should have made the dating age even higher. Sixteen is not a good age no matter how mature you THINK they are. Let's just say that in the opinion of my beautiful sixteen year-old that I am not fair, old-fashioned, mean and I don't care or understand. She forgets that I too was 16 about 31 years ago and I do know and understand but I have to be a responsible parent. Tears are falling and I feel bad that she has to be denied but I feel they are getting too serious so she can only see him once a week and chaperoned. She's feels that's wrong of me and that makes me feel even stronger that it is so right for me to do. Only 4 more girls after her. I'll be a pro by the time the eleven year-olds hit sixteen.

Rain, Rain, Rain

Three days of rain. Can you feel the tension between all six children growing in this house? They've been out to visit and to the movies but my kids like being outside. They had it planned out for the summer. Sleep half of the day and then play outside. Well, the triplets had that plan. They like to ride their bikes and build forts and trails in the woods. They've had enough of each other the last three days. It's not raining right now but it certainly looks like it's going to start at any moment. I want to wake them up and push them out the door screaming "Please go do something to use up some of that energy!". I'm going to give them another hour and then they are out the door with a biscuit in hand. If I don't get them out of this house I am afraid one of them is going to try to kill one of the others and my dibs are on the 13 or 14 year old girls trying to kill "The Boy". It has been mentioned in passing that his days are numbered.

What Was I Thinking?

I was so looking forward to having everyone out of school. I had been dreaming about what fun we would have. No one is interested in having fun. Kate wants to sleep until 3 pm every day. Hannah intends to spend every day with friends doing something. Katherine wants to read for pleasure and the Trips......well for once in their lives they are behaving. I hardly know they are here! They are all growing up and I'm depressed. I've been thinking picnics and visits to the pool. So far no takers. They are even helping around the house! What has happened? I'm confused.

My creative journal is coming along now that I've stopped reading it and my summer journal workshop is passing me by as I am two assignment pages behind. I have done my own thing with both ventures and I constantly have to tell myself not to start all over again. Am I having fun? Yes. Can I be a bit of a perfectionist? Ummm, that would be yes.

In the last couple of days, I have made strawberry/rhubarb jam (yummy) and traumatized my children with a crock pot vegetarian lasagna. I have attempted to guilt my eldest daughters into doing the summer journal pages. Kate made a cover sheet and went off to put together a power point presentation. She is giving herself assignments. Guilt hasn't worked on the other two. This wouldn't be so sad if I hadn't decided to devote time to my girls this summer after being so ill the last few years. My last hope is when I get to take them to the drive-in they will want to go. I need guilt lessons from my mother.

This week, I am going to the pool. With or without children. I'm going on a picnic. I may have to wait for my lovely husband to come home from Pittsburgh to have someone to go with but I am going to have fun despite them.

Can I Just Add.....

I liked Hannah so much more when she thought kissing was disgusting!

Laziness

I have been somewhat lazy this week. No posts since Sunday! My only defense in my laziness is that I was trying out something new creatively and just running kids around town. Today is the last day of school! I can't tell you how happy I am about it. If we had been homeschooling, like last year, we would have finished mid -May or earlier. Hannah has the last 2 finals today and Kate hasn't had any finals at all. I let Kate stay home and sleep in. Why send her when they are doing nothing and I do mean nothing?

I started a summer journal class with Rachel Denbow. I have two pages finished and I do not like either. They look so girly. I told my friend, Vickie, I felt as if I was channelling some inner female who hates me! She thinks I'm being hard on myself and she's probably right BUT where is this girly girl coming from who really likes pink? I won't make you suffer the pages but I may be starting from scratch again-fourth time this week.

All in all a good week. I've walked with the dogs and spent some quiet time with Al. I have watched "So You Think You Can Dance" and "River Monsters". I put in some time at the mission and I've painted and pasted. Today, the plan is to clean my home. I have allowed Hannah's boyfriend to come over and visit for this afternoon. After a long "discussion" about Hannah not having a Constitutional right to "making out" in our home, I think it's going to be fun. I hope, hope, hope that I was not as argumentative when I was 16 but I have a feeling I might have been. I am getting selective memory.

I think our dogs are enjoying our weather. They run several times a day and it's hard to take photos of them unless they are sleeping. They are sweet company during the day when I'm home and they are wonderful watch dogs despite their sizes.