Mom and Dad have been promised that they get the night off
from kids for the next big date night event, whenever that is; and I’d say
they’ll have earned it by the time they return our overnight guests later this
morning when we go to church. Whoever
does draw the short straw for that night, though, will be hoping that it’s warm
enough to have that future mass sleepover in tents.
Before we get to the main event, our day started out quiet
with Tai Chi; picked up speed with breakfast and juggling getting ready for a
work day; and then it was non-stop action around the house and yard as we did
everything from house cleaning and laundry to getting the lawn mowers ready for
winter storage and doing a tune-up on the emergency generator. I worked with Dad most of the day, and though
the work wasn’t always very exciting; we both really loved getting to spend
that time together. I don’t really think
much about how much that’s changed since Ethan and Ehlana were born, and Mom
and I really don’t get much time alone either, but I miss that more with Dad
because I at least had a monopoly on Mom’s time for more than nine years. They’ll be thinking the same thing soon
enough when I’m the one on the go all the time like every other teen in town.
Today it was their turn to spend most of the night playing
with their friends, and that included dinner at the Inn,
so we wrapped up the work by three-thirty so they could get ready for their
date night while I watched Ethan and Ehlana.
Rowen came over early to help me, and that gave me a chance to grab a
quick shower too before the other kids and teens started arriving. Alicia had worked with Mom all morning, and
with Violet before she headed back to Woodvale; but took the afternoon off when
we stopped for lunch so she could have a long break before spending the major
evening babysitting job that Erin Green and two other friends had been hired
for by the collective parents.
Our house is currently filled to capacity with nine girls
and seven boys, not including the babysitters; since they’ll be going home
after Mom and Dad get home from Sheldon's.
That includes all of the younger Emerson, Bassett, and Faulkner kids;
Rebecca, Michael, and Tim; Emma Norton; Naomi and Aiden; and Ethan, Ehlana, and
me. Girls are on mostly on the third
floor, except for Ehlana, Naomi, and Sophia Bassett; and the boys are on the
second floor.
We didn’t start the night out with everyone. Michael and Rebecca were at the Inn until the dinner rush was over; and they brought Tim
with them. That still left our
babysitters with thirteen kids to feed, but Mom was prepared with a stack of
frozen pizzas and since Patrick and Scott were the only two food vacuums in the
house; it wasn’t hard to keep up with the demand cooking two pizzas at a time. We ate in the dining room, and it took an
hour and a half before the boys were finally finished trying to impress the
girls with their amazing feats of eats, drinks, and desserts. Rowen and I helped with the cleanup after
that, but it didn’t take long thanks to the use of our best disposable
dinnerware.
Though the girls outnumbered the boys, the living room was
video game central; my lounge was Christmas movie headquarters; and my bedroom
was the main toddler play room. Patrick,
Scott, and Ryan Bassett weren’t all that interested in playing video games
until Michael and Tim joined the party, so they spent the first part of the
evening upstairs despite the overwhelming risk of girl germs. They played with Ethan and Aiden for a while;
heckled our first Christmas movie choice; and had time for a couple of pranks
before they were mostly Michael and Tim’s problem for the rest of the night.
Rebecca hadn’t planned on staying overnight with us, but
Jenny made plans with Shane while their parents were out, and Jake had already
decided to stay at Stephanie’s house when he’d expected his parents were
getting a kid-free night; so staying with us was better than messing up her Mom
and Dad’s rare night when they were home alone.
I’m really glad that she is here, and Ehlana, Naomi, and Sophia
especially loved the time she spent playing with them tonight – and some
quality cuddle time later when we were all watching a movie in the lounge.
My room and the lounge were boy-free after Michael and Tim
took the other five boys down to the living room, but I’d better mention that
before they did that; Michael showed off his saxophone skills using the sax I’d
brought home from school for the weekend.
I’d been playing it, and Rowen had been playing her flute, because
Jessica, Lindsay, and Emma had asked us to; so the jokes some of the girls had
about me and Michael after getting him to play too just didn’t seem right or
fair. At least they waited until the
boys were gone before starting in on the sax jokes.
I’m sure that I’ll hear about having Michael and Tim in the
lounge for the last movie we watched too after all of the younger kids were put
to bed, but there’s nothing to write about for that. Rebecca and Emma were with us; we had regular
babysitter visits; Patrick and Scott were regular, if uninvited, visitors; and,
in case you’ve forgotten (Aunt Leanne), Tim has a girlfriend, and Michael and
Lisa can’t be far away from officially joining the couples club too. Rowen and I also sat in the window alcove,
just in case some joker attempted a mistletoe intervention, but that didn’t
happen anyway.
We wrapped up that last movie by one, and by then, Emma was
sleeping; so we tucked her in and left her on the sectional sofa. Michael and Tim went down to the second floor
at the same time that Rebecca went to her room – the bedroom that Violet uses
when she stays with us. Sorry to
disappoint anyone hoping for one last opportunity to tease Rowen and me about
being in my room alone and unsupervised with two boys.
There has been some unsupervised girl talk happening since
we climbed into bed with Mandy, but Rowen’s falling asleep, and I probably
should be wrapping this up and getting some down time too. It’s been a fun night, and another really
good day, but we’re sure to have a crazy morning trying to get everyone fed and
ready for church in just a few hours, so...
...say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.
“Goodnight, Cassie.”
