Laundry

I was watching Jon & Kate plus Eight today & saw how they have a neighborly lady come in on Thursdays & fold all their clothes... GASP! And then another person comes over & actually (here's the kicker!) PUTS IT ALL AWAY! I was instantly green with envy. Having a large family myself I feel I have lamented about my laundry enough that I sound more like a broken record then my own personal daily reminding. I'm actually great at getting it from the laundry chute to the washer & then also again from the washer to the dryer ~ I'll even lay out sweaters & jeans for air drying, I presort & spot treat & I hang up Mike's shirts straight out of the dryer. I wash everything on cold in case that stray red sock falls into the lights & I have a stockpile of soap & dryer sheets. My problem resides in the laundry baskets themselves, and I blame it on those cute things all the time. I love my hipsters, but the basic ones work just as good & they all look so nice holding all my "after the rain" scented clothes. So good in fact that I let them sit there, on the cold floor of the basement for a week or so until I decide that they've stared at me long enough & I take them upstairs to my bed to fold them all. Once the clothes are all neatly folded they sit there on my bed begging to go back into the basket... what am I to do, so I comply & there they are again... rustled through often to find that "pink pair of jeans" or that "blue shirt with the sparkle in the middle". Finally, on another day, I get disgusted that my room is engulfed in baskets & I start the methodicness of putting it all away... Mike is often dragged into this, which he doesn't really mind because as he says "All the hard work is done".

Maybe I should ask around my neighborhood... surely someone has nothing else better to do then fold all my laundry... or maybe I should just buy a few more laundry baskets!

Pros & Cons of a Nap

Today my 2 year old was tired, cranky & just not a pleasant little lady... avoiding naps like the plague has been her silent motto for the past year or so, but today she needed one. BADLY! While my husband took a shower & got ready for work he had her lay down on our big bed & he covered her up & lo & behold she fell asleep. Such a blessing! Quietness took over the house as Maverick (the baby) was also catching up on his sleep. Left with just Madi she took over jumping & running laps & just generally having a good time as the lone child in command of the entire first floor! An hour went by & a second & then Miranda slowly, carefully woke up & decided to put on a pretty shirt over her dress & come downstairs... fast forward to 10 pm... my little cherub is still in a fantastic mood, relaxed & smiley, coloring and playing like a princess, not even a wink of exhaustion...

Seven Passengers in an 8 Passenger Truck

AH!!! I love driving the kids around in our Suburban! I don't love the gas mileage, I don't love my 42 gallon tank & I certainly don't love how messy 6 kids make the interior... but I do love driving them around. I've been doing a LOT of driving lately ~ some days we manage to get to nearly every corner of the city ~ back & forth, sideways, around & around. I'm enjoying it because a few really special things happen when I start driving. First off, there's the whole process of getting ready, getting out & getting in. Interesting to say the least! Especially in Wisconsin, in winter (oh, wait, its really spring now... someone let WI know!).

Here's how my getting out goes...
Ten Mittens, 6 hats, 6 scarves & 2 missing boots, Purse, Jackets, Diapers, Make Sure the back door is closed, sweater, Bag of stuff to go, Water Bottle, Found A Missing Boot with the other 2 Mittens inside, Stove is Off, Dryer is Done, Dishwasher is running, Other Boot under the Sleeping Dog, Zipper Up, Alarm, Keys... no Keys, Turn Off the Alarm, Check the purse, check the jacket pocket, Under the Couch, Oh, Keys, Lock the Door, Unlock the Door, Alarm, Lock the Door, out to the car.

Then we have instead of "shotgun" it is now the "middle of the middle", the most highly coveted spot in the back 2 seats. I'm not sure why that spot is so enticing ~ maybe the lights that are above, maybe the clear view of the front seat, maybe the roomy cushions, but that is it ~ the middle of the middle!

Once they are all buckled in, havoc may or may not ensue & even if it does it is contained to that small area in the back 2 seats where everyone sits immobilized by their respective seatbelts. The front seat beside me is usually empty or I have the bags intended for the rest of the day waiting. If I want I can turn on any channel on the radio, bore them with talk radio if they are being unruly or I can be nice & pop in a CD, plus I have full control over the heat, the windows, the doors & the direction. Sooner or later the 2 littlest start to nod off ~ probably out of sheer boredom, rather then the soothing hum & jostle of the car & sometimes I'm blessed by even Madigan drifting off... then quiet stretches out & the big kids immerse themselves in reading, coloring or asking for math questions (easy tip for parents, just use the numbers you see on the side of the road to come up with interesting math problems for them to solve based on age). Close proximity is no longer an issue & brother & sisters love each other again because a stick of gum needs to travel from my hand to the back seat!

Ah... The Peace...

Why Children Don't Like to go to BED!

It dawned on me tonight as it is nearing 10pm & my children are still awake (they are on Spring Break) the reason WHY children don't like to go to bed. My 2 year old, Miranda & the 4 year old, Madigan are the main culprits as they consistently test my patience with their getting out of bed tactics. Morgan & Marina usually giggle & read & talk before heading off to lala land & I like to encourage their interaction, so I usually ignore it for about 10-15 minutes while I'm coaxing the others to sleep. Mitchell is our best sleeper... he walks in his room (usually wearing some form of outerwear, most recently a light jacket, but very often his SnowPants!) lays on his bed & 3 minutes later he is dead to the world. Maverick is following those footsteps as he can sleep through almost anything (including my brother cutting tile with the tile saw right outside his room). Madigan & Miranda are my breaking point, though... While at first I thought they were thinking they were "missing" something by going to sleep, everyone else is going to sleep, too, so in effect there is really no one to play with. Tonight, I came to the conclusion that they are fasinated that I continue to "live" while they are asleep. Last night they asked just to sit on the stair landing & watch me. Tonight they keep asking what I'll be doing while they are sleeping. I keep trying to make it sound really boring, but I must not be good at hiding my excitement of a little "me" time. I hear the little feet on the stairs & undoubtedly, there they are!

Our Easter Rush

The Kids all sang Thursday night at the Maundy Thursday Service... such sweet voices. Then Friday we got an all day Spring Snow Storm that dumped 14 inches in 18 hours so most of the city canceled their Good Friday Services. Saturday, with the snow already melting ~ I headed off to the Clinic & found, after a interesting nasal swab, that I just have a "really bad cold"... no worries, so the Easter Dinner at our home could go on. Grandmas, Grandpas, aunts, an uncle, cousins & our family gathered for a feast, a small egg hunt (Morgan & Marina filled & hid eggs for Mitchell, Madigan, & Miranda), and we tied pieces of silk around eggs & boiled them for some unique & colorful colored eggs.


Sunday the children sang again for 2 services & we had a light snack afterwards at church (read: donuts & rolls). Then we were invited over to Mike's aunt's home for his side of the family's Easter. After ham & quiche & some birthday cake (Sarah, Mike's cousin turned 9) we stopped at a local Walgreen's where the Easter Bunny was taking pictures with the kids! How fun! A few rounds of Spite & Malice (card game) & an episode of Quantum leap & it was off to bed.

Happy Easter to all! Christ has risen, He has risen INDEED!

Welcome

March 21st 2008

Inspired by my friend Jenny, I decided I should really keep a running blog on the Happenings of the Johnstone family. We are 8 deep... mom, dad, 4 girls & 2 boys... and seem to always have a million things going on. Its easy to get caught up in the daily chaos & forget that everyone else has their own daily chaos that they deal with. My favorite comment, when people find out how big our family is, is "how do you do it?" Its the same as everyone else, just magnified. Our 6 children are 9 down to 14 months & we couldn't be more happier! We have been married for 10 and half years & up until 4 days ago I had been pregnant, nursing or both the ENTIRE time!

My husband is the loyal breadwinner of the family which enables me to stay home & give the kids all the attention they need. Unlike bigger families we do NOT homeschool our kids, they enjoy school & all it has to offer. They are also active in the community. Our 6 year old son just finished being in Fiddler on the Roof & our 8 year old daughter is going to be in a production of Sound of Music. Before that the 3 oldest were in a production of Oliver. They also play soccer on recreational teams.

Today is snowing like crazy & doesn't feel like Spring at all! I am sitting here with a 102.4 temperature debating whether or not to call the clinic & get some good medication. Easter is in 2 days & the house needs to be cleaned & organized for the extended family to come over. Our 2 youngest kids just got over pink eye. Tonight the kids were looking forward to spending the night at Grandma & Grandpa's, but we'll have to confer with the weather & see where that leads us.