It's 9.00 AM back at home. Some of my friends aren't even up yet. Here's what I've done today:

Woke up at 6.30 AM British time. Took a shower and got ready for when kids and dad came down at 7.00. Helped with breakfast and packing lunches. Helped with the frantic getting ready of the kids for school, as everyone's running late. While mum is away taking 3 oldest kids to school, I stay at home with Josiah, who's 2 (have I mentioned there are 4 kids yet?). After being coaxed by his dad to stay with me, we play a couple of games. After mum leaves again for excercising with friends, we dress up like pirates and run around the house hiding treasure and weathering storms. I think, unfortunately, mum might have a picture of us. Since we buried our treasure, we have to help one of the townspeople (mum) with some chores (putting away the wash) so we can earn money to eat (though Josiah is the only one who gets lunch at this point). Then it's time to make tea. And I mean tea as in the meal, the meal we normally think of as supper. I get to make my first real meal all on my own (well, Josiah tried to help me for a bit, but then he had lunch and was put down for a nap, because pirating just wore him out), and let me tell you, it's a bit nerve wracking. It's one of the children's favourite meals, so they'll know if I got it wrong. I spent about an hour and a half on it. Now I get to have lunch. It's about 14.00 over here, though I usually get to eat at 12.00 or earlier. In about an hour and a half, the other three children will be back from school, and it'll be games and helping them until tea and then more general craziness until bath time (which is a struggle sometimes) and then bed time. They're supposed to have lights out by 19.00. I haven't gotten back from downstairs until at least 19.30 yet, but maybe that'll change. Saying goodnight to four children who really don't want to go to sleep and who'll do anything to get you to stay and talk to them is often a long process. I usually skip two of them. And then I'm free. Relatively. Depending on which day of the week it is.

It's a good time, really. I love the kids to bits. And I've started saying things like "lovely" and "a bit." And I think I might get a whole week off in the summer, and I'm definitely going to use it to go to Scotland or Ireland. If I don't get a whole week off, I might ask for a long weekend sometime. But the family's going to the grandparents this weekend, and I think I'm going to opt out so I can do some traveling and so I can practice my baking and cooking. I think mum and dad have an unrealistic idea about my cooking and baking skills. Oops.

So have fun waking up, some of you slackers back home. I'm only jealous slightly. I'm in England.