7 Quick takes

1. Well, yesterday definitely went better than the day before. Maybe because I didn't *decide* to do anything, just did it. :) No am TV. Got Jed's schoolwork squared away first thing ( before Ella even got up. I usually wait and do schoolwork with him and 5 other kids during her naptime, which causes a time crunch, so this is a better route). Actually had a meeting with everyone ( who needs it) on their schoolwork ( oops, except Jackson). Got a walk in.
Went to Sam's and only spent 130$ which is a world's record! Also went to Target with only Noah and Ella, which saves lots of money, too.....Jed and Manny scramble my brain when they are with me at stores ( which equals not a lot of clear thinking on purchases) even though I love to take them along. Returned overdue library books and dvd's and actually found a MISSING one! Dinner was made in the afternoon (Zak helped me with that one) and I think I got 5 loads of laundry done....along with attending to several other housekeeping details. Yay!

2. We keep riding by Sonic to see if the lines have died down. They haven't.
What possesses people to stay in those long lines just to get a Cherry limeaide or a burger? :)
My only explanation is that we only have two Sonic's in Michigan and one is way down river. I imagine some people might be driving a distance and so don't want to pack it up and go home?
Who knows.

3. Tim fixed my bathroom scale ( was that an act of endearment or ? :) I was pleasantly suprised to see the Holiday damage wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. In fact, I didn't gain any weight, which puzzles me because my pants sure feel tighter. Oh well, I certainly can't rest on my laurels since it wasn't good to begin with. Ugh, enough blathering about this topic.

4. For the first time in my child rearing career I am faced with one leaving the nest. We'll see for how long ( he might be back today! :) Details on how this is all going to happen have been sketchy, but he packed a bag and took off last night for a stint at college in FLorida.
I've been trying to hold my tears, as they may be wasted, but if it is truly happening, there WILL be lots of sobs.

5. Gosh, Dyl will be 18 tomorrow. I think these older ones hitting the *adult* stage ( even though 18 is hardly an adult) really boggles my mind. The 4 oldest, especially. Probably because it was the most intense period of child raising for me (when I had 4 under 5 years old), I have them as infants or toddlers indeliby sketched in my mind. I find myself staring at them in wonder right now. How did this happen?

6. And on that note I always chuckle when I think about what my older kids did when they were little compared to the ones who are their age now. Once Al turned 7, things settled down for me even though I had another baby. 7! Crazy! Jed is almost 7, and while he is generally a pretty good fellow, I can't imagine him being as helpful as Al was at that age. Ditto for kitchen cleaning or babysitting, or.........

7. Yes, he is off. A plane ticket taking him to Florida and Ave Maria University, 1200 miles away.
Yes, there were tears.
But what does a troubled mother do? Majorly cleans his room :)