I guess it's been a couple of days since I posted last.  I've got excuses though!  I almost always post at night shortly before going to bed.  Thursday night we had a major thunderstorm with lightning and everything.  Lightning is much rarer here than it is in Wisconsin, so a big thunderboomer is a bit more exciting than it used to be.  We unplugged all the electronics, including the internet, so I couldn't post.  But I did get something accomplished.  I worked on the laptop with battery power and got my final edits done on my manuscript.  Now I'm going to send it in to an agent and hope she loves it so much she begs to represent me.

Last night, my computer was hijacked by #2 and I didn't get it back until right before bed when hubby hijacked it for a little while.  By the time everyone was done with it, I was too tired to bother posting.  So, here we are.  I thought I'd better post right now in the afternoon so I don't get derailed again tonight.

I'm trying to get the house looking decent for the summer.  If I'm going to be stuck with the kids all summer (yesterday there were 8 of them running around here, ages 5,7,8,9,10,12,14,& 15) I'm not going to do it in a cluttered house.  I brought a load to the thrift store Thursday and am working on another one for Monday.  I don't know how we accumulate so much junk.  #4's room looks really good, I got 1 bag of thrift and another garbage bag of garbage.  Got 2 bags of thrift and another of garbage from the boys room, though that one still needs some work.  I get a thrill in getting rid of stuff.  If I had my way, our house would have the absolute bare minimum to survive.  Of course, bare minimum includes the tons of books we own, because you need books to survive.  I'm never going to be one of those crazy old ladies who have narrow trails in their box and rubbish filled house...though I really do want to chase neighbor kids out of my yard with a broom, I think that'd be fun.

You sound just like my boss. She LOVES to get rid of stuff around her house. My family is the opposite. Both my parents grew up during the depression which I believe led them to be pack rats with Dad worse than Mom. I'm not as bad but could stand to clear out more stuff.

You don't have to be "stuck" with four kids at home. You do have other options. 1. You could decide you enjoy the opportunity to be with your children as they are growing up so fast. 2. You could send some to Wisconsin to be with Mom. She would love it!!!! She is with me right now. Lori too. She was mentioning yesterday that she would love it if Hannah wanted to spend the summer with her... or any of the others.

DON'T FORGET... ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!