Just call me crazy

Let me first say that I am writing this post with Zach beside me anxiously waiting for the computer. This is a good reminder of why I come over to my parents' house after the kids are in bed!

Tuesday, August 4th: We went to the pool and enjoyed another hot, summer afternoon. Love it! My dad brought Aly and Phil over to the pool, so that was a fun surprise. Aly stayed over at our house for the night, but before going home, we went to the Dollar Tree. Me and 7 children...and my reply to several curious people was "all but one are mine". Each child (except Noah) was able to pick out one thing to buy. Yes, I am beginning to think I am crazy, too. It takes a long time for 6 children to decide what they want to buy in a big store where they can buy ANYTHING they want...almost anything anyway. They were very good about only picking out one thing, though. They would put what they had found down when they found something better, over and over again. I went through this craziness so we could also pick up a birthday gift for Zoe's friend, Morgan. Matt was having fun fishing with Robert Baird, so I was on my own. We made it home after a quick stop at the grocery store and I fed the kids pancakes for dinner. The kids made their beds in the living room and then they watched "Benji, Off the Leash". I put Noah in his crib, so the kids could eat their treats in peace and I could relax and read in my room. That last part didn't work out so well with Zach and Kate staying awake through the movie and venturing into my room repeatedly, but they did finally fall asleep during the second movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". I went to sleep, too. I was exhausted!

Sidenote: Zach is now on the porch watching a movie. I'm glad he's not whining at me anymore. :-)

Wednesday, August 5th: A day the older kids had been waiting for...we went to the Bangor State Fair! Zoe: "This is the BEST day of the summer!" Well, before we made it to the fair, we took a trip to Castine Community Health Services, so Emily could have her ear looked at. The Bucksport office couldn't see her until Friday, but if I was willing to travel to Castine (about 40 minutes away), which I was if they had a morning appointment, then she could be seen today. Emily had been complaining of an earache on and off for about a week, but she woke up in tears this morning and she could barely open her mouth to eat. She has Swimmer's Ear, so she can't go swimming again until next Wednesday and she gets ear drops once a day until next Wednesday. Bummer! There was no way we were keeping Emily away from the fair, but she looked and I'm sure felt miserable the entire time. Matt stayed home with Kate and Noah, so Zoe, Emily, Eleanor, Zach, Aly, Phil, my parents, and I went to the fair. The older kids spent most of the 7 hours we were there riding rides. The Tilt-a-Whirl, Polar Express, Swings, and Sea Dragon were favorites. Zoe is afraid of heights, but she went on the Gondola Wheel and then she got up the courage to go on Freak Out with me. Aly was for it until we started to move up in the line and then she got out of the line. Zoe had second thoughts, too, but I told her that we would stay at the fair longer if she went on with me. I didn't "freak out" until we were going high on the ride. I had fun, but the thought going through my mind while on the ride was "this would be an awful way to die if the ride breaks!" Zoe did very well considering she was a bit scared to begin with. She wanted to go on the ride again later on, but having the experience once was enough for me.
Eleanor and Zach enjoyed the dragon ride, the fun houses, the bounce house, and the merry-go-round, and Eleanor went on the swings and loved it! We enjoyed the tiger show and the motorcycle show, although the motorcycle show was the same one we saw at the circus.

Zach update...Zach just asked me, "Why are you taking so long?"

Eleanor and Zach had swim lessons this morning. Emily couldn't do her class. :-( Emily is still feeling miserable today. She is drinking liquids because it hurts too much to eat. So sad! We dropped Zoe off at the Blue Hill park for Morgan's birthday party and she is spending the night at Morgan'a house. We are hanging out at my parents' house for a few hours, so Emily can be a bit less miserable in front of the tv...and I can play on the computer...and pick up Noah's messes that he keeps making!

Random Notes: On the ride back from Castine yesterday, I thought of my 2 favorite moral voices...Dr. Laura and Glenn Beck and decided that they can never die...or retire for that matter.

Eleanor had a chance to participate in cheering camp this week, but she doesn't like to camp, so she refused to do it. Telling her it was cheering camp was a mistake. I told her it would be just like her cheering class, but she still refused. Matt told her it would be like a cheering school, but she still refused to go. Okay...saves me time and money.

We have eaten 2 tomatoes from our garden. :-) I tolerated one bite, so I could say that I have eaten from our garden. I don't mind tomatoes on a sandwich or in a salad, but I don't like plain tomatoes.

Noah lets me know when he is done eating now by saying, "All done". He also has a disgusted facial expression. So cute!