Toothbrush Soup

My life is crazy--that is the understatement of the year. I can hardly keep up with things like cleaning and grading and breathing. The other night Giselle was up for two nights straight doubled over in agonizing abdominal pains. We were nervous that she had appendicitis, so I spent all night in the ER with her. She received bloodwork, a catheter, and a CT scan. She did not have appendicitis, but the doctor was sure that she has contracted the giardia or other African intestinal bacteria that Diamond and Florence have. The reason we feel that this is likely is that we found her getting water in her play teapot from where else, the toilet! I'd like to say that I disinfect my toilets after each child uses it, but are kidding me, I have seven kids, I'm barely still breathing. So, in short, we have to treat 3 of the 7 kids for parasites. Which brings me to the next part of the story:

Today, Sophia and Florence were in the bathtub together when Giselle ran and jumped in. Close on her tail was Gwynyth, who exclaimed, "Wait, Jelly, your bum isn't clean!" Apparently, she needed another wipe down after her dirty diaper. Oh, disgusting! So I go in to the bathroom, which was flooded with water, and I found the girls with ALL of our toothbrushes in the bath, and also clean laundry that was nearby. They were scrubbing underwear and t-shirts with our toothbrushes. Being the cheap skate that I am (don't laugh, it keeps us afloat with 7 kids), I decided to take the almost brand new toothbrushes and boil them to sanitize them. It was about $30 worth of toothbrush.

This would have been a great idea, if I weren't stretch so thin. I also was trying to do the wash, clean the kitchen, and head up a homeschool project at the same time. I had the kids make little puff ball/pipe cleaner ants, butterflies, and cats for A, B, and C. It was a very involving project, which the children loved. However, midway through, Gwynyth asks, "What is that really bad smell, I'm choking." Suddenly, I notice my eyes are burning. I run to the stove, and all of the water has boiled out and the toothbrushes have almost melted into a plastic soup. It was smoking profusely and sparks were beginning to fly. The house stunk so bad, we had to open every window and door. The kids are still mocking me.

I have so little time to do anything, and the kids are really trying my patience. I have been so amazed at the natural love and affection that has arisen between us and the kids. It feels like they have always been part of the family, or at least that they were always meant to be in the family. But, the disciplining and teaching and guiding is taking a lot of my energy. I have to be so strict with Diamond and Florence. However, if I am that strict with Diamond and Florence, then I have to be with the other kids as well. It requires an immense amount of energy and patience to discipline correctly--meaning following through with the consequences. The hard part of discipling seven kids is that each child is so different and the consequences have to work with their personalities. Brian prayed last night for wisdom that we could figure out the needs of each child and understand their individual potential and personalities. Heaven knows we need as much inspiration and wisdom as we can get.

So, as you can guess, I am tired and strung out, so I went out on my own today and cut my hair off to above my shoulders. When I came home, Diamond and Florence cheered. Giselle, who strokes my hair every night as she falls asleep, stood immovable staring with an expressionless face. She might be in shock for awhile, but I really needed the change to feel pretty again. I think I might dye it tonight to just really finish off my "me day". It's sad when you consider a haircut and color a vacation.