More from tonight

Much easier to get the camera out when Sean is there to chase Patrick. He's rather busy these days.

He's got a ticket to slide

Looks so much older with the new big boy haircut. We went to the zoo tonight for the concert and ended up playing on the playground most the time. I had hoped for more dancing but he didn't break out the moves until he was in the stroller headed out.

Haircuts finally

We've been looking shaggy for a while...

Trying to get to the beach with Barbie

I finally got a photo of Patrick trying to get into a book. And yes, his favorite books are Barbie ones...

While Sean was gone

We tried our best to keep busy.... the kids threw books and toys down the stairs and made the usual mess. I had the exciting chore of washing the couch. People always ask me if I regret having a light colored couch with children. Well, the key is getting fabric you can throw in the washer. Sunbrella baby.

Jude Law Baby Mama??

I'm sure it's only a matter of hours before some tabloid comes up with the name of Jude Law's baby mama, whom his publicist refused to reveal. Clearly this is some groupie who was able to overlook his recent years of no showering and who remembered that he still has a lot of money for child support. Let's hope the baby inherits his good looks but not his bad British fashion habits and hair styles (are those styles or just dirty, dirty hair?).

He's Leaving Las Vegas

Sean is finally headed home after 4 days in Vegas. Not sure how the winnings worked out this time but it sounds like he had a good time with his friend Andrew, who has a condo there. Andrew tried to talk Sean into going in on the condo back during residency when we obviously had zero cash. His share would have been as much as our home at the time, so I convinced him that it was better to be friends with someone with a condo in Vegas, than to OWN a condo in Vegas. Bottom line, if I am going to own vacation property, I am going to be able to decorate it myself.

We did manage to keep busy while Sean was gone. We went to the rodeo on Thursday and saw some Mutton Bustin by Megan's friend Kira. We also had a funnel cake, which is really the main point of going to the fair. We successfully avoided going on any sketchy looking rides after I convinced them it would be nothing like Disney. On Friday we hit the pool party at the club as it was too hot to go back to the fair. I took them Saturday morning instead when it was cooler so they could see the animals. As always, the 4-H'ers acted so annoyed that we were there to look at the animals, how dare we invade sacred 4-H space! We meant to go to the park afterwards but it was too hot for me by then so I took them to Target to buy a toy. Yes, reached desperate measures on day 3. More Superhero toys kept them busy all afternoon so it was money well spent. Then we braved Chili's for an early dinner, which was obviously their choice. I do hate walking into a restaurant where the majority of the people are so large that you just feel bad for them. I always pass on dessert after that...

Sadly I could not think of anything to buy with my "gambling budget", must be the result of small town shopping opportunities. I am feeling too big and tired to do any travel of my own this year, so I will have to come up with some other ideas. Props to Lisa for giving me all sorts of ideas for new expensive hobbies to try! With his trips to Pebble Beach, the ND vs USC game, and Colorado for a work party all coming up, I need to start making a list!

Frustrated Boy

Patrick is at that stage where he gets really angry that he can't climb into books. He tries everything, including putting his feet on the page while I am trying to read it to him. So perhaps he rips up the books out of frustration? Now that he is sleeping in the big boy bed he takes advantage and will play for a while before going to sleep. I heard him for a good hour in there today before it was quiet and when I got him up it was obvious what he had been doing... little shreds of books all over the place. He is currently trying very hard to get in an old family photo from before he was born. I better not find smashed frames around the house next...

Big Boy Bed

After Patrick started climbing out of his crib we set up his big boy bed, so it would be ready when he was. He played on it for a few days but still slept in his crib and then when we had the sitter he convinced her that he would take his nap in the bed. Since then he has slept there and only once have I found him confused, standing next to it in the middle of the night. When he gets up from nap sometimes he will just go read books in his chair. Of course when he wakes up crabby at 7am after a late night, he kicks the wall and yells until we open his door instead. So far so good on Patrick not knowing how to open doors! He is rather short for his age, quite convenient!

And yes, I did buy him a white sheet finally...

Hairstyle Inspired by Jon & Kate Plus 8

We don't watch the show, but Kate's hairstyle got such rave reviews that Anna wanted to try it out the other morning. I have a similar picture of Megan but she demanded that I keep it off the blog. The pool has not been kind to their hair this year so unless I wash and dry it before going someplace they look like street urchins.

Bonnie, you are killing me

This Bonnie gal, who is a realtor in the area we rented a home on Lake Michigan last year, keeps sending me listings of fabulous homes ON Lake Michigan and in Beach Walk that are great deals because of the economy. Oh the torture... the perfect beaches for kids, the beautiful Seaside, FL style homes... 14 hours away. UGH. Sean would go for it for ND football season too, if not for that drive. Can't imagine we will ever live much closer than 14 hours either so we must adjust the dream. Sigh.

Doctor, doctor?

I have had to fill out quite a few emergency forms for the girls lately and they all ask the same questions.... who is your doctor, what's their phone number, who is your dentist, etc. So in the 60 minutes the girls are at golf camp, why would they need to call their doctor? If they get whacked with a golf club, I'll tell you who you call: 911. And then you go to the ER. Call me at some point, that would be helpful, but let's get this going here.

Why would you call the pediatrician? So you can leave a message with their nurse, waiting to hear what to do? That's a little more appropriate for things like, "Anna has a bit of a cough." I do oblige though and put down the name of the pediatrician we try to see each time, who Sean is friends with from work but probably not the officially assigned Army primary care manager. And for phone number I put down the appointment line number because it has a snazzy code to it and I can remember it. 239-DOCS. Go ahead, call it, enjoy some muzak while you wait 20 minutes.

I suspect when it comes to the country club emergency forms they are actually just fishing for names for their next membership drive.... The real question then is, how do we make sure we get credit for sponsorship??

Not Ready For This

Patrick was pounding on his door last night, nothing like opening up the door and finding a crib escapee. Finally got him to stay in the crib by sitting with him forever until he was too tired to fight going to bed. I had high hopes that he would forget this skill overnight, but no. He was knocking on his door this morning too. At least he can't open it. Yet. So Sean set up the big boy bed which he then refused to stay in for nap time, duh. We left up the crib too and by waiting until he was super tired, I was able to get him to nap today. Yes, beach week would have been a nightmare with this stinker.

Vacation, Toddler Style

People with no long term memory skills keep inviting our children on vacation. Apparently no one remembers what it is like to spend endless hours with a toddler who has endless energy. Let me spell it out for you:

6am Rise with the sun because vacation homes do not come with black out shades. What? Everyone else can manage to sleep in? So who is going to get up and try to keep him quiet: big fat pregnant lady. Off to the kitchen to stop the shouting for food. Stomp, stomp, world's loudest little legs go up the stairs. Then there is the crying because with 24 other people in the house, someone drank all the orange juice. Working it's way into many dreams will be the the sounds "OR JUU", but no one will know what it means. Then the demands for pancakes or waffles and not the frozen kind, this is one pampered boy. How in the world the BFPL is going to make that while trying to keep loud toddler from getting into every cupboard/ going up and down stairs is a mystery.

6:30am A few early risers get up to start their morning routine... walk on beach, drink coffee on deck, all done quietly. No one has energy to deal with demanding toddler this early, so off we go in the stroller with cookies, having given up on breakfast.

7:30am BFPL must go lay on cold tile floor to catch breath. Force the father of toddler to come help, which does not go over well after a late night of playing poker. Now BFPL can make pancakes. Big failure as kitchen is always missing a few key things, like something to cook more than one at a time...

8:00am Most adults in the house have appeared, if only to find out what the stomping was. Sorry teenagers who like to sleep until 11am, we are letting him loose now. Stair time! Okay, who is going to follow him up and down stairs for an hour? A couple kind souls take 5 minute shifts, leaving only 50 minutes for BFPL. The father has gone for a run, then a shower, then breakfast.... No worries, after 2 hours there are still hot pancakes having been made one at a time for 2 hours...

9 am feed and sunscreen other children who have no problem sleeping in and avoiding playing with toddler. Suncreen up the toddler, resulting screams rouse the rest of the house.

10am beach time! Okay, hold toddler hand every second while near the water. Constantly pull things from his mouth... rocks, shells, seaweed, cigarette butts. Now make a castle! Eat sand! Pour sand in hair! Look forward to long bath later trying to remove sand! Other children complain about hot sand, itchy sand, and bugs.

10:10 back to the house pool! Hold toddler every second in pool as he refuses life jacket, swimmies, floaties, everything. Oh, no eating the styrofoam noodle! Bite, bite! Choke, choke! Now out of pool, run around pool, again and again! Oh, were people trying to relax and read next to pool? Ha ha, funny joke on them! Run, run! Now help toddler jump into the pool over and over again. BFPL back is breaking. No time for socializing father of toddler, on duty! 2 hours of non-stop vigilance until lunch. People walk by on their way to the beach, think toddler is amusing, walk faster.

NOON: guessing game to see what random food toddler will accept for lunch. Fail at dragging lunch out until nap time, back to the stairs, up and down, up and down. Why is everyone avoiding the house?

1pm NAP TIME!!! Toddler disagrees, refuses to stay in pack-n-play and laughs mockingly when you put him there. BFPL should know better, toddler has mastered getting out of real crib, pack-n-play is for amateurs! Takes full hour to wrestle toddler to sleep.

2pm Ah, bliss, toddler is sleeping. Wait, can't leave toddler though, he can open doors with lever handles which apparently make the house handicap friendly. Must stay with toddler which is fine because BFPL can't move anyway.

2:10pm Lunch time for late risers, clang clang in the kitchen. And toddler is awake! And refreshed! And yelling POOL! Sunscreen up! Father of toddler is at beach, hiding. Repeat morning routine until happy hour.

4pm Fire up margarita machine! Sorry BFPL, none for you! Everyone amused by toddler as they quickly grab drinks and head to non-child proof deck with stairs of danger. Wave to toddler from windows. 5 minutes of peek-a-boo. More margaritas and everyone forgets the loud morning.

6pm Dinner that toddler refuses to eat, make alternate dinner. No highchairs so chase toddler nonstop during real dinner, tag team with father of toddler.

7pm Bathe squealing pig toddler and wrestle into pajamas in hope he will sleep at night.

8pm Take toddler for long long slow slow walk, too tired to go faster.

9pm Read books, only 4 would fit in suitcase, so read them each 10 times. Whee! And again! Try to convince toddler to ignore sounds of party upstairs. Know that the later toddler stays up the later toddler will sleep in. Oh wait, that's wrong. Toddler is up at 6am no matter what, thanks sun! Wow, sounds like fun up there, BFPL too tired to climb stairs again and oh yes, can't leave toddler anyway. Toddler plot to find the pool is obvious as he runs to the door every chance he gets, checking the lock.

10pm Toddler finally gives in and falls asleep. No time for shower for BFPL, must get sleep too. Repeat 6 more times. Ah, beach week is so relaxing! We'll be back in 5 years!

New 4th of July Tradition

I opened up the candy cupboard to get the stuff to make smores and noticed all the Christmas and Easter candy. Hmm, perhaps it is time to get rid of that?? I guess Megan forgot about her half eaten Easter bunny, too bad. Sean never got so desperate during a late night shift as to break into that. So it is all gone now and no one else has noticed yet!

Happy 4th of July!

Sean spent most of it at home, waiting to see if he was going to get called on to work, so that was convenient for when Patrick needed to sleep. I didn't even have to get my suit on at the pool today, just watched the girls play. It was a bit chilly so this worked to my advantage. I took them back at night for games on the golf course and then fireworks. The girls were braver this year, especially Anna who kept yelling "this is totally awesome". After every firework... They were quite impressive, a step up from the "do it yourself and try not to get hurt" variety. I tried to get a few photos with varying results.

Yes, I take photos of the girls too...

They just went to a party at the pool, after which they both complained that they don't get to have their parties at the pool... seeing how it's a bit chilly here in the winter. No worries though, Anna has been planning her party for 6 months now, she has thought of other options. She has already told us she will be very mad if the baby is born on her birthday. Great. Her baby name list now includes Kit and Ruthie from American Girl Dolls. I still won't give in even if the baby is born 11 days early.

Haircut time?

Pabo does not enjoy haircuts so I try to go as long as possible between visits to the salon...

Pabo

Some people have met Pabo, which is Patrick's alter ego, the one who does all the naughty stuff. Patrick is quick to point out all the things Pabo has done and he in fact came up with the word Pabo, which may stem from "bad boy", we aren't sure. We are sure that Pabo lives here though. Lots of ripped books, spilled cereal, and messes galore.

Patrick also thinks he is quite the big boy and tries to do everything the girls do, including drink from real cups with one hand. His sisters had sippy cups until they were 5 I think, so he is definitely ahead of the curve in this house. This morning he was trying to dance while holding a cup of orange juice. Ladies, you will want to avoid this guy at the bar in 19 years, he will get his drink all over you.

He has been really enjoying the pool this year and frequently brings us swim diapers and says his word for water, which is go-go. I guess go-go is the sound he hears when drinking water? That is another one that we have no clue about but he uses it all the time. He loves to fall down and splash himself in the pool and of course throw balls for hours. This usually results in a good 3 hour nap when we get home but yesterday he decided that 20 minutes in the van was good, so that was a long afternoon. Pabo was most definitely in the house!