And that's just the laundry.
That doesn't even begin to describe the work of cooking for 18 mouths. Or cleaning after 18 people. Or educating them, because this family also home-schools.
Granted, with so many older children, the parents have quite a few able bodies to help with all those chores. But managing, supervising, training all those children to do the work of the house... that is a task with complexity beyond words.
Suddenly the amount of work I try to accomplish in a day seems paltry, and the lack of success I have in completing my to-do lists seems... well, like a lack of self-discipline, or a refusal to self-discipline, more likely.
Ok, I just had to get that off my chest.
Germ Warfare
The germs are attempting a full-frontal attack, using sneezing, coughing, and gooey fingers jabbing at faces. I have a scratchy sore throat today, and Sam woke up with a junky voice. So far, he's doing ok, though. I'm taking zinc and hoping that stops my cold in its tracks. So far, Elli seems fine. Here's hoping.
Brag Session
Elli
This morning I met with Elli's teacher, the head of special education in our district, and the special education teacher working with her this year. We discussed the transition to first grade, specifically what things about Elli they should keep in mind as they place her in a class, and what characteristics we think her teacher should have.
It was a great meeting. The special ed teacher started out by saying, "I have to brag on your daughter for a minute before we start."
I loved the sound of that! She proceded to show me how well Elli is doing learning sight words. She first introduced the concept of words by showing photos of everyone in our family, with the name next to it (Mommy, Daddy, Sam, Anna, Elli). Then, she reduced the size of the photos and increased the size of the words. Finally, she covered the photo completely. Elli could correctly identify each name. So last week she started with the sight words my, like, and the. Elli has done awesome. I am so thrilled, not only to hear that Elli is grasping the concept of words, but that she is so excited to work on it. The teachers said that when they get out the word cards, she sits up straighter and just beams. She is eating it up, and I am so encouraged.
Sam
I brought Sam with me. He was very excited to wear his train "pack-pack" and go to Elli's school with me. He sat on the floor in the principal's desk area (we met in the principal's office), and played quietly with toys the entire meeting, except when he asked to go to the bathroom. That he insisted on doing by himself. Everyone at the school loves him. Well of course they do. He's the best!
Sam and Anna
I got my hair cut today. I tried to go before my meeting at school, when I only had Sam with me. But I didn't get there early enough. So I made an appointment for after lunch, hoping that the kids wouldn't be too tired to do well. We brought a Thomas the Train video because the salon is child-friendly and has a TV for the kids to watch. I also brought a stroller so I could strap Anna in one place. I didn't want her to poison herself, electrocute herself, or otherwise get us in-invited!
The video/stroller setup worked like a charm. About the time Sam started playing with another boy and Anna got tired of sitting in one place, I was done. Everyone loved the kids and were very impressed at how well they did.
(For the curious, I didn't get anything dramatic done this time. Just a trim.)
Response to Bearsieboo
Yesterday, Bearsieboo asked me the following question.
Since I've started blogging, I've noticed lots of mothers knit. Huh? Why is that? I'm just curious. Maybe I'm missing out?
Why did you start knitting, Joy? Why do you knit now? What are some of the things you've knitted?
I thought I'd answer in a post instead of in comments, since it's kind of involved.
My grandma taught me how to knit (garter stitch) when I was a child. I did a few square dishrags, and then got into something new. Later she showed me how to purl, so I did a couple more dishrags. I have picked it up now and then since then, but never did anything beside squares and rectangles.
My recent interest in knitting came from taking a road trip with an old friend from college, Brooke. The entire 6 hours up and back from a mutual friend's wedding (a mutual friend who just so happened to teach Brooke how to knit), she dug project after project out of her bag, showing me these amazing socks, mittens, and sweaters. She loves to knit and her enthusiasm is contagious. By the time I got home, I was eager to try it again, this time doing something more interesting than a dishrag.
So one evening a couple weeks later, Brooke came over and showed me how to make a baby bootie. It was a simple pattern and a very short project. I had something to show for my work within hours. I was hooked.
I knit because I enjoy making things for the people I love. I also like having portable projects. I spend a decent amount of time (though not as much as I used to) in waiting rooms, and knitting is much easier to carry around than scrapbooking, another favorite hobby (though you have to pick the right project - an adult-sized sweater or a queen-sized afghan wouldn't be so portable) and sewing. I like how easy it is to get out a knitting project and how fast it is to put it away. Again, scrapbooking and sewing take a ton of space and lots of time to set out and put away. I just don't have that kind of time very often, though I really like those activities. (I'm looking into MyPublisher's photo books - I might be able to get photos captioned and put into albums this way while the kids are young). Knitting allows me to do something with my hands when engaged in what would otherwise be idle time (watching TV or a movie, waiting anywhere, visiting with friends).
So are you missing out? I don't know - it depends on what you enjoy doing! You might really enjoy it, and you might find it boring. I know some people prefer crochet to knitting, so don't assume if you try one and don't like it that you will dislike the other as well. I'd be happy to show you what I know sometime if you'd like.
Here's what I've done, what I'm working on, and what I would like to do in the near future.
Off the needles
Pink w/fuzzy brim baby booties and hat - girl (size 0-3 mo)
Navy/white Baby booties and hat with Yankees logo - boy (size 3-6 mo)
Purple hat w/fuzzy brim and pom-pom - girl
Pink/purple nubby hat - girl
Socks - girl (size small)
On the needles
Socks - for me in this pattern (not enough knitted to show, so this is just the yarn)
Trellis cardigan - size 6-12 mo
Waiting for the needles
Socks - small child (I'll probably make socks for Sam from my leftovers)
Socks - baby (I'll probably make socks for Anna from the leftovers from Elli's socks)
Something made from this yarn in this color
Something for Sam from this yarn
