Back to Real Life

Always sad to send guests on their way, especially ones who are so helpful and entertaining! The girls are going to be rather grumpy tonight when they get home and realize the fun has left. Thankfully dear Netflix not only sent 2 movies for the girls but threw in a bonus 3rd movie for them because they thought it would take extra long for James and the Giant Peach to arrive (they were wrong). So, I can pacify them with a movie night at least. Maybe a double feature if I am a really lazy parent.

I know many people are anxiously waiting (haha) to hear how the new waffle maker worked out and I think it was quite a success. It is the All Clad one from Williams Sonoma and if I had waited until tomorrow to order I could have gotten a $50 gift card with it. Figures. Perhaps someone else can take advantage of this bonus though, it's a great deal. I used the special waffle mix though so perhaps that is why they were so good... will have to try my usual recipe next.

As for the weekend, we took the kids to a zoo and out to lunch each day, first in town and then in Topeka. Sean had to work Saturday morning and then later went out to the "driving range" with his Dad which actually means play 9 holes at the club. Then Sunday morning they went to play Colbert Hills and decided to quit golf membership at the club and join there. Cheaper and better and hopefully ND won't find out about the donation you make to K-State to join. We will still do swimming at the club, per the children's demands.

Having just Patrick home (and no girls to keep him busy) is really cutting into my work time, so the house was not nearly as clean or organized as I would have liked, nor did I find time to bake anything. This problem won't be solved any time soon and I hope that doesn't scare off future guests! Don't look at my floors or in the pantry... and I promise to at least have caramel bars from now on!

ps in the picture of Patrick and Megan on the lion, he is trying to scoot her off of there because he wanted to be in the picture alone. All day he kept climbing on stuff and then demanding "pic" with a big smile on his face. I guess we will see how he adjusts to having to share the spotlight even more in a couple months...

Kiss Mommy?

Patrick comes out in his pajamas tonight saying, "kii mommy" and I think, "oh how cute, he wants to give me a kiss before he goes to bed." Then he shows me what he means, kicking his legs quickly in some sort of high energy dance. Ah yes, kick Mommy, of course. I guess I need to stop talking about how the baby is kicking me, he apparently wants in on the action.

Christmas in August?

I went to Hobby Lobby the other day and they were putting out Christmas decor-- and it was of course on "sale". It's been a while since I was in there, perhaps they leave it up year around? Here I was debating how early you can put out fall decor, silly me, I should have done that months ago. It was an unusually cool summer... certainly in the mood.

Anyway, I needed some marbles which is why I went in that madhouse in the first place. Megan has been needing something to play at recess that might keep her from digging in the dirt and coming home filthy, so I thought marbles would do the trick. Of course they are just the kind you are supposed to put in vases and such and on the bag it clearly states, THESE ARE NOT A TOY. It also warns that they are a choking hazard for children under 12. I guess once you hit 12 marbles just pass right through you? Megan was pretty concerned when she read this (see, be careful about pushing your children to learn to read!) and I had to convince her it would be okay. She is a rule follower to the extreme. I don't think she has played an actual game of marbles with anyone yet but she was giving them out to other kids to play with (something about how they are pretending marbles give them super powers) so perhaps she will make some new friends through bribery. Or maybe she is just in the giving mood, it is the Christmas season after all!

Busy Tooth Fairy

Anna lost her first tooth sometime between going to bed on Thursday night and getting on the bus Friday morning. I just happened to notice she was missing one right before she got on the bus, she was so happy, just the hugest smile. Well, then we forgot the write the tooth fairy a note to explain what happened (I am guessing she ate it with her usual bread and butter breakfast of champions) on Friday night so we told her we'd do that the next night. Then Megan lost her tooth Saturday night right as we were leaving a party, so double excitement. Megan is starting her 2nd round of teeth loss according to the dentist so I think we have a busy year coming up. And not to be left out, Patrick is getting his 2 year molars or whatever those teeth in the back are that cause so much whining. You can kind of see the missing teeth in these photos and of course Patrick had to get in on the action and say "hi" to the camera.

Guests are coming!!

Just when we thought no one would visit us again (lots of complaints about that 2 hour drive from the airport), we are happy to report that Sean's parents and Aunt Maureen are coming in this weekend. Maureen is picking up Jay's car, which Patrick now assumes is Sean's car since it is parked in his spot in the garage. No, "daddy car" is not a BMW, sorry Sean! The first night his poor Civic was in the driveway there was a storm with a teeny bit of hail. Just enough to get Sean thinking he could use that as an excuse to replace it if damaged... with this Maserati that he keeps talking about, and not in a joking way I fear. I know he works hard, but come on, this is Kansas. Where would he go to get that serviced, Chicago?? It also gets 9mpg, seriously. And people are all yelling about how immoral it is to drive a "gas guzzling" SUV?? That Maserati holds 2 people, how many can you carpool in an SUV, 13? Well, if they're small people and they usually are...

Anyway, in honor of our guests I ordered what is supposed to be a great waffle maker and it should be here in time to try it out. Not many opportunities coming up to get to KC to shop for real, time to pony up and just pay those shipping charges, argh. I will let you know if it is a success!

Tempted by a White Kitchen

Sean has several friends from residency at various places who have been working hard to get us to move so Sean can work with them again. It's always a gamble getting a co-worker fresh out of residency so of course they would rather have Sean come since he has a few years experience. There are a couple locations where we would be closer to family and even some of our best friends from college, so that would be nice indeed. Can barely imagine what that would be like... and of course most people in Manhattan have always had that and from what I have seen it keeps them pretty busy!

It gets harder to consider moving the longer we have been someplace of course. The girls have their friends and school and activities, would hate to start all over in those departments. Most of my friends here are staying long term, unlike in Texas where so many of us moved away the same year and that made it easier to leave. Now I can always find someone to go to lunch or coffee with or meet up at the park or zoo with the kids. So many stay home moms and that is the key to sanity when you are home with the kids too. Of course the great K-State babysitters help a lot too!

It is also so cheap to live here, which is helpful after being years behind on retirement savings and college funds. I cringe to think of what we will shell out for the next house. I wasn't sure if I would find something I like that wouldn't cause Sean to choke at the price but I did.... as always, I am a huge sucker for a white kitchen. I guess I have something to look forward to if the Army agrees to move us... this is where I would be making my caramel bars to eat all by myself until I could make new friends... (my laptop would look so cute on that built in desk).

Enjoying Life as King

Patrick is quickly adjusting to life with the girls in school all day. I didn't think the girls required much of my attention but it really is much easier with just Patrick. Have just done a few quick trips to the park and zoo so far but next week we will venture out more since I don't have endless appointments and errands to run. I did manage to get a few quick photos before he was off and running. Tonight he figured out how to unlock the front door so a good thing we put the chain on when Anna was in her escaping phase.

Something we've all wanted to do...

Sean just upgraded to one of those phones that you do everything on and he is rather obsessed with it. So he'll be hanging out with the kids and while they play around him, he is checking email, surfing the web, showing them youtube videos of cats, etc. Well, tonight Patrick comes up to him and is whining about something Megan did to him and Sean just keeps looking at his phone and nods like he is listening to Patrick. He might not be 2 yet, but he's no fool so he then screams and slaps the phone away. Bravo. Bravo.

First Day of School 2009

Megan 2nd grade, Anna kindergarten, Patrick almost 2 and ready for lots more attention... well, for 3 months at least. The girls like their teachers and classes and want to start riding the bus tomorrow. Who am I to stand in their way?? I have stuff going on 4 mornings this week so Patrick is probably going to think I've gone back to school also. Next week will be more normal.

Exercise Makes You Fat

At least according to an article on time.com and maybe even in the actual physical Time Magazine, does anyone still read that? Anyway, like I need another excuse to not rejoin the gym or take up running again! The point of the article is definitely true for me though: exercise makes me extra hungry and I eat way more than the calories I burned. Exhibit A: college. We would go out and run two laps around the lakes and then eat everything and anything we wanted for breakfast on the weekends (or dinner on the weeknights). Ah, the convenience of the dining hall... no food shopping, no food prep, no need to decide what to make, if you pick something bad you just go back and get something else.... oh and let's not forget, no clean-up! (Okay, except for those years when I worked in the dining hall, I did my share then to say the least). Yes, feeling nostalgic for those days as I clean up the kitchen for the 5th time today.

Anyway, I was discussing this concept with a friend who also agrees with the research and she took it a step further. She thinks our houses would be cleaner if we didn't work out and get too tired to pick up the crap laying all over the place. I contend that picking up all that crap would be enough exercise to lose weight since I don't sweat doing that and then think I deserve 2 desserts in exchange. I can't really test this theory for a few more months since no matter what I am expanding in every direction, but I will keep you posted. I can assure you that cleaning is a workout though since I was really sore on Saturday night after getting the house totally cleaned. My hips hurt so bad that I couldn't walk to the kitchen for more cake..

Way too polite...

I just heard Sean on the phone with some ER doc from rural America and I had to make sure I kept my laughter quiet. Sean was giving him an anatomy lesson apparently... explaining what the various organs shown in the study were and yes, they were the right size and in the right places. Perhaps a new doc who thought that the radiology coverage was based in India where they don't always get docs reading the studies? Nevertheless, makes me a bit nervous to think that guy is treating patients.

So for everyone who doesn't think standardizing health care treatments is a good idea, well... not all docs are equal and some treatment plans are outdated. And sometimes patients get x-rays when they come in for bug bites on their legs. True story. Hmm, perhaps there is some waste in our current health care system, everyone who pays an insurance premium is paying for all those unnecessary studies ordered. Let's not think about the tax dollars that are wasted when those are Medicare or Medicaid patients. Don't worry about Sean's income... there will always be plenty of work for him. He is more concerned about having plenty of golf...

Ball Hoop

This is Patrick's favorite phrase and I hear it nonstop all day long. Thankfully our porch is pretty shaded so we can tolerate long hours of ball hoop. And then there are times when he takes a break to push the balls in the doll stroller. Not even two yet and already rejecting dolls.

Wasting away again on Ft Riley

Not nearly as fun as it sounds either, it is not Ft Margaritaville, after all. I made my second attempt today to get my military ID renewed. The first time the nationwide DEERS computers were down indefinitely and after an hour of waiting- and an hour of Sean missing work- with no end in sight we gave up. So, got the sitter again today and headed back down there only to find that it was a mere 3 hour wait. Well, she was lying to me of course as that 3 hours would run into lunch hour and these are government employees, so that 3 hours is paused for a 1.5 hour lunch hour, so make that 4.5 hour wait. At $13/hr for a sitter? Hell no. If I am waiting 4.5 hours for something, it better be for a baby to arrive. In fact, those 4.5 hours would be only slightly more painful than waiting in those horrible chairs listening to people on their cell phones having the world's most boring conversations. I even brought a book thinking it would be a hour wait and I'd need something to do. Ha ha, so naive!

It was also military police fundraising day based on the number of people I saw pulled over getting tickets. I was followed most of the time I was on post and since we've been in the Army 8 years now I know that 30mph means 30 mph, not 32mph. Is this how the Army pays for the stuff they want but aren't given? It was body armor and better Humvees a few years ago, surely there is something else as necessary that they need now but isn't in the budget. Oh but our fine Defense Appropriations chair Rep. John Murtha has tacked on $80 million to the budget for an antimissile defense project (based in his district) that Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants killed. I think that means the military doesn't want it? Yes, let's have lobbyists and their bribes, kick backs, and kick downs determine what this military (and country in general) needs. If only I had the same attitude I could have slipped the reception gal at the ID office a $20 as I informed her that she might want to check her schedule again to see if I had an appointment this morning. But no, I merely made an appointment in 3 weeks, her next opening. I really wanted to punch someone and the guy with the huge smile announcing that it was his last day in the Army... well, he was looking like a great target.

HURL

I am reading Julie and Julia finally and having a hard time stomaching the descriptions of the French food she is making. Why in the world would you ever boil a calf's foot to make some sort of gel to put a poached egg in?? I think this book is bringing my nausea back. I am definitely more in line with Barefoot Contessa where you take good (mostly healthy) ingredients and use simple instructions to make delicious meals. If only I could find all those ingredients here.... my wish may come true next Tuesday when a hopefully better grocery store opens up. Cross your fingers! I am tired of not finding such things as skim milk and chicken breasts on the bone at our usual store. I don't expect them to have the vinegars or herbs I need, but come on- skim milk?! The perils of shopping on a Sunday night I think.

It's Not the Dells

But we did go to the new splash park here in town, with a very interesting crowd I might add. Couldn't quite figure out the older lady doing her choreographed dance in the middle of it all but it looked like she was really enjoying herself.

Topeka Day O' Fun

Kind of depressing that everything we did in Topeka after an hour drive, used to be 10 minutes from us in San Antonio... we do like the Topeka Zoo better than San Antonio's though (except for the kid's area in SA, nothing beats that) because it is very easy to walk through in an hour and they only have the big name animals. Don't waste my time with 30 different kinds of deer/antelope type animals. Then we did the usual, rode the train, played at the park, went on the carousel, ate at Red Robin, went to a real bookstore, then enjoyed a quiet ride back with a napping Patrick. Today would have been the day to drive to the Dells if Sean had been able to get time off work and that thought scares us. 14 hours of Patrick in the van?!