Channeling domestic goddess

Today I am channeling my mother. And I am so impressed by her once again. Why? My mother raised 6 kids (the five girls pictured and our older brother). And yet, somehow, we each felt loved and taken care of. We managed to grow up without killing each other. We had enough time devoted to us. AND she didn't need to be committed once a month. So I know it's possible and I'm learning.

Last night Boyfriend came over with his two kids which brought the house up to 5 kids ages 2, 5, 5, 6 and 8. Lots of fun, lots of chaos. We let the kids have a sleep over and they spent most of the day together today. I think they wore each other out because now that two have gone home to take naps my house is SO quiet. I can't remember the last time my kids were this quiet. And I have a nice glass of ice water and my computer. Ahhh...

So, some of the more amusing highlights. I heard water running and we decided it was best to check it out. Turns out the two youngest were standing on a couch leaning over the half wall behind it and using the sprayer on the kitchen sink to, I can only imagine, make it rain in the kitchen. No harm done, really, just a little wet vinyl to mop up. Whoops.

The two girls (both 5) were playing with play-doh for a while and you might have thought it was Christmas morning when I pulled out the alphabet cookie cutters. They had a great time cutting out numbers and letters for a good hour. Erin kept running to me "Mom, look!" with her 1s and 5s. "The 5 is just like my name!" she told me. "Well, actually, it's like your age". She just looked at me for a second and said "That's what I said". Mmm, you are going to be your mommy some day, aren't you?

At the end, being told it was time to go home, Boyfriend's oldest was upset. She didn't want to go. At the same time that I felt bad for her I was also just a *little* bit relieved. Why relieved? Well, if she's upset about leaving then she likes it at my house at least a little. And it's important that she likes being around my kids because I can see this will be happening a lot down the road. So, no, I didn't want her to be upset but at the same time, yes, I'm relieved.