Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Back home! oh the Fun!

back home -oh the fun!

Well, I have been resting this past week and am feeling so much better. It is good to be home. It is much more hot here though! Welcome to Alabama!
The kids are good and we have enjoyed just being in the same house together. I am real proud of them. They have matured some and it is good. They have been taking care of me and it is actually good for me to get back into my role as mom though I have the feeling that they don't always appreciate that! Ha!
Things that have been the "norm" around here for years, just went out the window while I was gone.I have discovered that if you have a BIG family you have to sort of run it like an organization. There have to be some boundaries and rules or utter chaos will ensue so over the years, we have installed "norms". This cuts down on waste of time, money and energy. Our lives are much more peaceful now that we work as a team. Believe me, there have been many things we have tried and we have sort of worked out our own system, pulling things here and there that work for us. I expected to come home to utter disorganization but was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't too much out of order! There were only a few things, that I had to set back in place. I will just share a few with you and maybe you will get a glimpse of what it is like in the Carter household and maybe you will get a few laughs!
I have enjoyed doing things like cooking meals for them since I have been home but the girls have become so adept at it, that it is sort of like I'm coming in and taking over THEIR job.
I also came back to my kids who have "their TV shows" they have to watch on TV. What? In our home before we left, rarely did we ever watch TV unless it was educational. Maybe 2 hours a week? Now the TV was on 5 hours a day? Ben obsessed over the weather channel, Maggie, had to watch "ZOE" (Who?) Eli was stuck on Sponge Bob, Graham couldn't pick just one show he loved and Nathaniel searched high and low for anything to do with racing. Seora, well, she is a movie person. Being the mean mom I am, I decreed Off with the TV and showed them where the swimming pool was!
Speaking of the pool, I was amazed at the amount of towels being used. Typically, our norm is, you get one towel per week for the pool and one towel per week for your shower. "HANG IT UP TO DRY, It will be ready for you when you are ready for it."
But... They were getting a NEW towel every day for the pool AND their shower and for their buddies who were coming over to swim with them! The laundry room had a mountain of towels to climb over! I mean think about it! You have 8 people using 2 towels a day times 7 days in the week and you have to wash 112 towels a week!!!! That doesn't even include the Friends!
I told them this wasn't a Resort. "Keep your towel or drip dry."(Smile)
Which reminds me about washing. Can you comprehend how much laundry cycles through this household? A LOT!
We have certain days that a specific person's clothes can be washed on. For example, Monday is Seora and Maggie's day. If their clothes don't appear in the laundry room on that day to be washed, they are out of luck.
I came home to find some of my children, making a regular habit of washing their pair of shorts and shirt ONLY, because they couldn't make a decision of what to wear today and liked what they wore yesterday but it was dirty! So, after a lecture on how much money it cost to wash only a pair of shorts and shirt in a non emergency situation, I think they may have gotten the point. :)
Another major concern was the amount of food being consumed! Gone was the norm of three meals a day and 1-2 reg. portioned snacks and eat in the kitchen, dining room or outside.
In was a free food for all, whenever, wherever, whatever and however much you wanted!
Seora did ask me if I was going to lock up all the food now. Ha! Ha! LOL
After reassuring her that was not a plan of mine, I explained to them, that food was there if they were hungry but the "norm" was being put back into place. Eat in moderation. Eat meals when they are prepared.
Sooooo.... it is good to be back home and work out all the quirks that come with running a big family.
Having kids is NOT boring! There is something always happening!
Well, summer school is in session, (Because kids around here thought the work I left for them to do was too hard to do without a tenth time explanation. )(SMILE) So I must run. I promise to write more about our Africa trip very soon.
Melissa

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