Survived the first week of summer!

Patrick kicked off the day in a horrible way and I was afraid that I was going to lose my sitter because of him.  I had to move the cars around and to make sure he wasn't run over I had to put him in time out to calm down and he trashed his room more than ever, which is saying a lot.  Usually it is just emptying the dresser and bookcase but today he also stripped his bed and emptied the shelves in his closet.  Took me ages to clean it up this afternoon but in the process I found a box of summer clothes that I wrongly assumed had been outgrown.  Bonus, don't need to buy him anything new!  Anyway, he finally got over his demands once I left and was decent for me when I got home.  He and Anna actually got along and played with frogs for a while.

I had to make Megan leave them alone because once she gets involved then Anna rebels and the fighting starts.  So Megan and Emily cleaned up the tree house and put pillows and towels out there which then had to be brought in since we were finally getting rain.  Figured.  Happy for the rain though because I am too lazy to water the bushes much...

I picked up pizza and we got movies from the library so it was actually fairly calm here tonight.  I only had to put the littles to bed 3 times before I gave up and ignored them.  They must have finally put themselves to bed or else they are being really quiet.  They decided to wear coordinating pajamas, ones that I found in the box, and naturally they insisted on a photo.  At least they aren't wear the matching pairs of girl pajamas anymore...

Patrick also likes to hug and kiss Emily right in front of me so I will tell them how cute they are.  And then back to wrestling on the pile of couch pillows.  The other day they were literally climbing the walls though...  a little stir crazy.  This was the first day of no pool after going six days in a row, I wasn't sure how it would go but the sitter kept me sane and so did some great friends!

Club miracle

We spent the afternoon at the club pool and didn't spend any money.  I cannot emphasize enough what a victory this is for me.  Of course I did bribe them with plenty of treats from the grocery store today.  The littles could not agree on a color for the car grocery cart so they each got their own.  One was filled with the food we actually needed, the other was filled with their treats.  I guess the good thing about those crappy store cookies is that they are "fresh" for weeks so I hid a lot of it to dole out later.  The girls leave for Virginia in about three weeks, hope to not have to take them to the grocery store again before then, too expensive.

Father's Day

I just got a great coupon in the mail for Tommy Bahama, geared towards Father's Day of course.  I am lacking greatly in the clothes department so I was thinking that I could use it for myself.  And then it occurred to me that I obviously deserve a Father's Day gift this year since I am doing it all right now, so shop away!  Now to find someone to babysit so I can go golfing...

Patrick now asks on a daily basis if Daddy is coming home tomorrow.  He has no concept of time, nothing works.  He also doesn't understand after SUMMER, not after the first DAY of summer.  I do think the time is passing faster now, at least until we are all tired of the pool.   And I have yet to order a drink at the pool so don't go taking bets on how many summer beers I have had.  I must be able to yank them out of the pool and drive them home at any moment.

A weekend to enjoy

Trying not to think about how this should be a four day weekend for Sean and instead focusing on the fact that we finally have a way to see people on the weekends.  Happy pool season!  Friday night at the pool was perfect and I didn't even have to buy the kids any food.  So great to see a few friends up there, always seems to be someone we know which is the whole reason we didn't just quit the club like so many others.  Yes, the kids prefer to swim at Cico pool but that's a whole other level of stress so we will only go there for special treats.

After Patrick refused bedtime until 10:45 last night he is of course the first one up and complaining to me that his night vision googles aren't working.  He is also asking me to go buy the kind that let him see through buildings.  Yes, let me go invent those and get back to you.  I have to take the kids to Target with me to get Megan a sunscreen shirt before we go to the pool today and I have a feeling that it's not going to be pretty--- or a cheap trip.  Patrick has been reviewing the Toy Story movies and books (fine literature there) and noticing auxiliary toys that he doesn't have (because they don't make them) so I'm sure he is going to throw a fit about going to find those.  At least he is playing with his Toy Story toys again so I am going to use this opportunity to remove all other toys from the hearth room.  Tired of them being thrown all over.  I have somehow managed to get a few projects done around here so I am feeling calmer.  Of course, 75% of the children are still sleeping... this calmness will pass.

Great teachers

We continue to be amazed by the teachers the girls have had at the Catholic school.  They obviously aren't there for the low paycheck, talk about dedication and commitment.  Both Megan and Anna adored their teachers again this year, here are photos from the last day.

Summer's on

Second full day of summer for us and no pool today due to the weather.  Yesterday we spent six hours there and the girls have the weird sunburns to prove it.  So much for letting them forgo the sunscreen shirts this year.  They have learned their lesson, sunscreen just doesn't work as well, especially if you aren't willing to sit down and dry off well enough to put more on and have it work.  We already hit the food minimum for the month with one meal up there.  We'll see if we can limit it to one meal a month to keep the bill down.  Hahahaha!  I did tell the kids once a week but I doubt that will even hold.  They beg the entire time for food, it is so annoying.

I didn't get photos because I wasn't going to take the camera along with our 37 bags of gear.  Somehow we remembered everything except shoes for Patrick.  It's going to be a long tiring summer for me.  Somehow the kids still had plenty of energy last night and fought going to bed until well after 9pm.  I just don't understand what else I can do to wear them out.

I do try to keep up a good attitude and I think that must confuse people into thinking that things are normal for us.  Sean has a site visit coming up and will not exactly be safe for a week and I probably won't hear from him at all.  I know plenty of wives go through an entire year of their husbands in danger, but in the general population, no one else can relate to this.  I also have four kids who are all having some serious behavior issues in response to this deployment, things that I don't discuss with many people and certainly not in this blog for privacy reasons.  But these are things that stress me out immensely.  I have a lot of great friends who have made a real effort to reach out and they are the reason we're getting through this horrible stage and to them I will always be grateful.  Eight weeks today, sixteen to go, so we are one-third through this!

Where's Emily?

On weekends I let the girls stay up later than me, watching movies, so then at some point in the night I will get up and turn off 27 lights that were left on.  So last night I went down to the basement and turned off the movie screen that Anna fell asleep in front of, then I went upstairs to check on the rest of the kids.  Emily had started out sleeping in Patrick's bed, then he wanted her to sleep on his floor so there was a pile of blankets there.  However, there was no Emily in his room.  I figured she went back to her own bed then so when I turned off the lights in that room I was puzzled that she wasn't there either, not even tucked in with Megan as happens frequently.  I was getting a little concerned, went to check the couch in the hearth room, no luck.  Finally I went back down to the basement and there she was, in her "cozy" chair as she calls it.  She slept until 9am so she must have been up pretty late with Anna.  Very crabby today, I keep hoping she will accidentally take a nap so she won't be a monster at another graduation open house tonight.  I'm sure she is expecting candy there...

Candy buffet

The children will always think that graduation open house means candy buffet after they hit their first one yesterday.  Patrick even went for the more decorative candy items but I insisted he wait and eat it our house, not in the lovely home with my dream white kitchen.  Oy, can you imagine the mess he would have made?!

Another beautiful morning

Perfect weather and I can't get out to run.  Deployment sucks.  Really can't leave the kids alone for any length of time, they get into so much trouble.  I did just reorder Megan's glasses over the phone at least.  I lost them at City Park, argh.  The saleslady at the fancy Walmart vision center said that usually you have to come pay for them before they place the order but I mentioned that it would be a huge pain to bring all the kids in just for that, so she did it.  Perhaps there was a note on Megan's file about how the littles kept getting into everything last time...  Now to see if my firm voice mail to the country club billing department works.  I told them that they would prefer if I didn't come in person to resolve the DOUBLE automatic withdrawals problem because I would have the children with me.  Oh the threat of the Keenan children....

Doesn't do it justice

But you can get an idea of how filthy Patrick was yesterday.  I think the black stuff from the rubber mulch at City Park is worse though, so hard to get it off.

Dirtbag motivation

If I ever get the photo that a friend took of Emily and Patrick covered head to toe with dirt that was stuck to their sunscreen I will post it, but in the meantime I assure you it was beyond ridiculous.  I couldn't even take their photo myself when we got home because I was terrified that they would somehow make it to the furniture if I didn't immediately carry them to the bathtub.  Patrick had streaks across his face, his hair was full of that fine dusty dirt, and he had fallen and scraped his knee and that had dirt all in that.  Emily even had her back covered with that sunscreen dirt because Patrick kept pouring dirt on her when he was digging.  This was at field day for the girls' school and apparently someone thought I had signed up to work a game like I did last year.  Umm, do I look like a fool?  I know my limit.

Anyway, I was so mortified by the filthy littles and then the sweaty bigs with their ratty hair that I finally found the motivation to take them in for haircuts.  I originally was just going to have Megan and Patrick get theirs done since they needed it the most and Anna was protesting but when I was checking them in at the super fancy Great Clips, the gal was like, only two?  Are you sure?  Okay, make that three.  And then Anna shocked me by wanting to go short like Megan.  This will make showers after the pool this summer so much easier.  Emily is still growing out the haircut she gave herself, hopefully someday she will look normal again.  In the meantime, here are shots of the other three:

I may need to finally upgrade to a fancy phone just so I will have a camera with me at all times because the hair lady was having a good time with Patrick.  He is always very stoic and refuses to smile no matter what they say.  And he won't answer any questions.  He did do a very subtle head shake for "no" when the lady spiked his hair up high before she started trimming the top this time.  It was so funny because his hair was so long and she made it look like a spiky mohawk.  I was afraid he would like it and the last thing I need is the boy being the one in this house who primps in front of the mirror.   He is already quite enamored with his reflection.

Afterwards I let them each pick out a movie at Target and a family of girls there felt sorry for Patrick and wondered what he would get to watch.  I assured them that he loves the Barbie movies too.  Yes, I have broken them of the nonstop TV show habits but now they have figured out that begging will get them a movie.  They adapt well.  The DVD player is old, that actually might break on its own.  After that they insisted on going into Famous Dave's to eat instead of getting takeout as was my plan.  It wasn't busy and they were not fighting as much as usual so I braved it.  I am not stupid though, I immediately ordered their food but then it took forever.  Finally our waiter brought out the kids' food and was so apologetic because my meal had fallen on the floor and it would be out in five minutes.  Umm, he thought I'd get to eat at the same time as the children?  Hilarious!  I wish they'd always drop my meal because it gave me time to get the kid food cut up and ketchup distributed and then my meal showed up-- and it was still hot.  And they didn't charge me for my meal or Megan's salad so it was a very cheap dinner.  We made such a mess that the tip had to make up for that though.  It wasn't health food but at least everyone ate enough that they didn't want cereal an hour later.  I figured we all deserved some lazy time so everyone split up to go watch their own movies.  I won't break the DVD player just yet...

We heard it was okay...

We have gone down to the fountains a couple times now and only a few other kids have stopped by to play and not in bathing suits.  The other parents seem to question whether these are officially fountains for playing in or not.  We are just going full on bathing suits and towels and even some toys, looking a little white trash but it keeps the kids busy during the witching hours so I really don't care.  Perhaps they meant you can play in this little area:

But of course my kids want to play in this area.  They have also found some coins... so clearly other people think it is a decorative fountain.  Oh well, we have almost made it to pool season, soon this won't be our only option.

Shame on me

I gave in and let the kids have popcorn again after a long hiatus due to popcorn fights.  Popcorn is banned again.

A boy changes things

Now the big girls are interested in worms and bugs too but Patrick has really taken Emily to the next level.  They thought this game was super fun: letting worms wiggle on your feet.  Pretty sure that never occurred to me to try that as a child.

Got by with a little help from my friends

I'm not going to get high with a little help from my friends though, no worries.  Maybe a glass or two or wine at some point but that's it.  Yesterday ended up being much better than I expected.  We usually don't see anyone on Sundays and I figured with it being Mother's Day everyone would really be having quality family time.  Apparently I looked stressed enough that friends helped me with all the kids (no nursery, whee!) during mass, then others helped at breakfast after mass, and then Megan was invited to spend the afternoon elsewhere so that reduced the fighting in the house.  Oh and our sitter was so sweet to give up an hour so I could run outside, that's a big deal these days.  Heather was beyond kind to invite us over for dinner since Dillon has only been home from the hospital for a week, so that was a great surprise.  Way to put Brian to work!  And then this morning I found a surprise gift on my porch from another friend who suspected that I did not get a day of pampering yesterday.  Yes, slightly different than last year when I was so excited to see the kids after the week in Paris and Belgium.  That my friends is how to do Mother's Day... be gone the week before and then you will really appreciate your children!

As for today, I think we need a break from our gym routine since I ran yesterday and don't feel like showering yet again.  Also, I arranged a lunch date with the friends I usually talk to at the gym, so I will still get my social time then.  Yes, I'd rather eat and talk than exercise and talk, big surprise.

The update from Sean included an incident where he was just making polite small talk with a female doctor there and she immediately had to tell him she had a boyfriend.  Whoa!  Apparently even a 4 starts thinking she's an 8 after a few months in a heavily male population.  He found a way to mention his wife and four kids of course.  I guess that might not stop some guys from sneaking into the female CLUs but Sean knows he has it pretty good, some might even say he is spoiled.  I know he is anxious to get home but others keep trying to extend their tours there because it is such a cush assignment.  I think that says a lot about the life waiting for them back home.  Sean has always been very appreciative of all I do but I think after 6 months away he will really be happy to be home.

Weekends suck (have I used this title before?)

Next up for a punch is anyone who says TGIF.  I have yet to figure out how to keep them all happy for any length of time and a whole weekend would be impossible.  If I plan something to do out of the house Anna has a fit.  She would prefer to stay in pajamas the entire day, watching her shows in the basement.  While I don't mind that she leaves everyone else alone, I feel that I am giving up on her by just letting her do that.  After hours of coaxing I can finally get them all in the car to go someplace, but then to get them to agree on a place to go.... ugh.  We decided to start at City Park today and it was insane, lots of parties going on there.  So next up was Tuttle Creek park, also full of parties but I at least found a parking spot, so that was the winner.  Nothing like having to sit at the park for an hour before dinner, smelling whatever everyone else was grilling.  The only meal that the kids will all eat is pizza so that was my plan for tonight.  Sean is missing Papa Johns and has requested it when he gets home.  I may have to leave the house as the smell makes me ill now....  I even gave up on getting them Wendy's for dinner because they don't actually eat it, they just want the stupid toy which they don't ever play with either after a few minutes.  I could just get them toys at Target I guess and skip feeding them?  Because we need more crappy toys in this house!

I started reading the free book from church, per Kitra's recommendation.  It is making me feel very guilty for just "surviving" right now, not thriving.  I think the author has never been a single parent to four crabby kids.  It also has some concrete tips like, I should pray while I'm doing endless dishes.  Yes, God help the person who brings me more dishes after I have closed the kitchen for the night.  I should also be happy now, not waiting to be happy later.  Valid advice but I'm pretty sure September will be a much happier time.  We are enjoying time with friends now of course and great to talk to Sean over the computer every day, but nothing compares with having him home.  A little retail therapy and a small glass of wine have kept me from losing all patience today.  I can't work out the logistics to go run for real, had to resort to other rage management techniques.  Ah, now to get them all to bed in the next couple hours so I can work on season 2 of Downton Abbey.  Going to the WWI museum in KC actually helped me understand the plot more, I highly recommend both!

15 is big metal chicken

Fifteen years ago I could never have predicted that I'd get at phone call at 6:45am from Africa telling me to open the front door.  I probably couldn't have predicted that yesterday either.

Glad to see that Sean has kept his sense of humor all these years.  As anyone who reads blog posts that go viral knows, the 15th anniversary present is big metal chicken.  If you are completely confused, just go google big metal chicken, surely that post will come up.  Kitra was Sean's accomplice and she earns extra points for sneaking all the way up our street lugging that thing.  I mean, lugging Beyonce.  Now I am searching for the perfect spot for her... where the neighbors can't see her.  I'm sure they would mistake my sense of humor for questionable decorating moves.  For now she is hanging by the firepit so I can see her while I do nonstop dishes all day...

Day 2

Second day of "broken" TV was almost a success.  During the after school chaos and whining Anna took Emily downstairs and figured out how to turn on the big TV and how to pull up an on-demand episode of Dora.  Interesting how she always demands that I come down and turn everything on for her when she wants to watch her shows.  I think she just wants a bodyguard in the scary basement.  Anyway, she told me that she couldn't stand the whining anymore.

Yes, now take that whining and multiply it by four and tell me how much alcohol I am allowed.  I would be much more tolerant of their demands and issues if I did have some wine but I feel that is just a bad road to start down by myself.  Better to just buck up and get them in bed early so I can have some quiet time instead.  And think of the money I save by not having to restock the wine fridge every month!  After "fixing" the TV when the kids were in bed I watched Modern Family and decided that we need a fun car, some fish tacos, and definitely some days away from the kids when Sean gets back.  So I have plans for the money I am saving.  Almost to 6 weeks which I figured out to be about 25% done.  With school ending, this month is flying by so that helps.  Hopefully summer won't drag...  I know the kids will think it goes fast.  Ha ha, maybe they won't think that without their precious TV!  I can break the one downstairs too...

Cable is "broken"

Day one of telling the children that the cable box is broken.  It is unplugged and if this plan works I will call and cancel the cable, at least until Sean gets home.  I don't watch TV, no judgements on those who do, I just don't have the motivation to keep up with shows.  Plenty of other ways that I waste my time obviously!  So far the littles are falling for it and they have only whined a little.  In exchange I am letting them pile up every pillow and cushion and all the napkins (who knows why) by the couch and they are jumping and making forts.  Yes, it is irritating me that my house is trashed but sacrifices must be made.   And my room is spotless, I will retreat there.  I will also use up valuable sitter time today to shower because I spent my time at the gym talking with a good friend instead of getting a shower there.  Well worth it.  I also need to send the kids outside with the sitter when she gets here so I can put everything back in the freezer.  It seems that all the ice cream sandwiches are gone but the kids are still looking.  And by looking I mean emptying the freezer.  Time to reorganize it anyway.  Ugh, they found the hidden ice cream treats, that boy can sniff them out in a closed unmarked box.

Cinco de Mayo!

Perfect day to watch nonstop Dora and make tacos for dinner.  This wasn't actually planned, just happened to be the only food I had left and I was not motivated enough to go get takeout (for myself at least).  I am finding that it's just too much work to go out and get good food and I'm not really in the mood to eat anyway.  Deployment diet.

I did let the kids go out and play with the hose for a while just so I could turn off the TV and it turned into making a mud hole in the little area that has dead grass and is waiting for mulch.  I was fine with that, figured they needed baths anyway.  So Megan got her shower and then Anna went in for hers and the littles were sitting on the steps, drying off while they waited for their baths.  I started dinner and a few minutes later I found them naked in the mud hole, running around filthy.  They can strip down pretty fast apparently.  I hope the neighbors didn't see although I'm sure they couldn't help but hear my yelling.  Everyone is all clean now and we are within an hour of bedtime if I'm lucky...  Here are some "during" shots, before the real trouble.

May scavenger hunt

The kids got to do their second scavenger hunt a few days ago and I promised Sean some photos.  They started with finding a puzzle someplace that I forget and then they put it together to get the next clue which led them to a photo in their room that has Kira in it.  Then they found a locked bag in the Wii room.  Quite fitting since one prize was a new Wii game.  Unfortunately the Wii decided to stop working so that is useless.  Patrick has been playing his new Leapster game at least, just a little too loudly unfortunately.  And yes, we are still at the stage where Patrick only wears underwear.

Less bitter update

I feel I should point out that the kids are doing really well now and not fighting nearly as much.  I think they are finally used to Sean being gone and just getting to talk to him over the computer.  I have also decided that if watching TV keeps them from being so sad, then that's what we're going to do to distract them.  They are forgetting about the point system and bribes which is good because I was sick of buying them stuff.  Just more stuff for me to clean up...

Sean has settled into a leisurely routine that other husbands would be jealous of.  Obviously he misses the kids like crazy and it's hard for him to see kids in the dining facilities as the embassy employees have their families with them.  Still not worth $30,000 in plane tickets just to go hang out in the city and see him on weekends.  Not when it's so hot there...  This isn't like the month he did in Hawaii during med school and I made the tough decision to go visit for a couple weeks.

Doesn't seem like Sean is going to go on many, or perhaps even any, missions which is fine with me.  Any travel involves risk and that's not really my thing.  He is just checking the box over there, counting down like we are.  He did get to play in a poker tournament the other night and he won.  Not quite the same as winning big in Vegas but a nice distraction.  Hard to believe it has been 5 weeks since he left.  Trying not to think about how he has 4.5 months to go, seems endless.  No idea how anyone survived the 15 month deployments they used to do but I am thankful I don't have to find out.

Week 5: Time to log off facebook

Frankly, I don't know how so many people stay on facebook, especially those who are single or infertile, so many status updates must be like getting punched.  I rarely post anything because no matter what I'd write, there is someone who would see it and hate me at least a little bit.  I figure I will write what I want on this blog because if someone is sensitive to things I have to say, they won't check it more than once.  Anyway, I am tired of hearing about all the fun other people are having with their husbands or what father-child bonding activities are going on.  I realize this is irrational and it's my problem not theirs, so it is time to just stop checking it.

I do wish there was a button to click on facebook that says "you're the winner" instead of "like".  The worst is when people post articles about things the rest of us should be doing and then they make their self righteous comment to introduce it while letting you know they have known this all along.  Yes, you are the winner!  The rest of us are losers!  Where do I send the trophy??

That is enough ranting and raging for tonight.  Sean is worried that I won't have any friends left when he gets home.  There are at least a few who are doing their part to support the troops by going to lunch with me and keeping me sane.  We are definitely looking forward to the pool opening and hoping lots of friends will join us there.  Then maybe Friday nights won't suck so much.  There is no hope for Sundays however.  Soon we won't even have the nursery at church so we will have to stop going because the littles in mass combined with all my rage issues is not a good combo.  I have considered pulling the priest aside and letting him know why he won't be seeing any checks from me this summer, but that's just because I have been watching Downton Abbey and feeling petty.

Last year

Had a little more fun last year on this day....  Kids are too freaked out to let me go this year.  With Sean having no freedom right now we realize how ridiculous it is that we didn't take more long weekends without the kids and enjoy the fact that we now have the time, money, and sitters to do that.  We will fix that when he gets home.  Taking a rain check on the 15th anniversary next week.

What is the plural form of nemesis?

I am currently battling with my arch nemesis the printer and my other nemesis (the auxiliary nemesis?) STATE FAIR PROJECT.  They work together and team up on me and require a lot of time on my computer that is not fun.  The printer is very finicky and refuses to acknowledge the wireless router RIGHT NEXT TO IT unless I get firm and turn off the printer while reminding it that I have permission to throw it away (Sean is sick of these problems and has thrown that gauntlet).  So then I turn it back on and and it's all, "oh, here's the wireless signal, I must have overlooked it" and I quickly print something.  God help me when we find an error and have to reprint because that prissy printer goes back to, "what wireless signal, I don't know what you're talking about," and I shut it down again.

Meanwhile normal life is screaming around us and interfering with my ability to quickly print everything we need.  When I was trying to print up the paperwork for Sean's bonus the highlight was when I finally got it to print and that paper slipped off the printer tray and shot right under the entertainment center.  It's still there... we'll get that when we move someday.   It is a testament to my self control that I didn't punch the printer or the cabinet.

Anyway, this state fair project has mostly been done without any input from me because I am definitely on team "do it yourself".  I did pull out a wine cork from Veritas Winery for her to glue on and represent the wine industry, which I told her falls under agriculture.  Farmers drink, right?  I would be hesitant to include anything to do with drinking in a school project but they give my kids wine twice a week at school, so that's cool.

So for the random part of this post, I will recap the weekend.  Started out with some wishful thinking on Megan's part that she had appendicitis (which she thinks will bring Sean home).  She even had Anna show me her scar from her surgery and then showed me that it hurt in that same spot on her.  She did seem in pain but no fever, she had been eating and I recalled that we've had this pain on and off for a while.  However, having sent Anna to school when she had this problem, I tend to get paranoid and pay attention.  I mean, not paranoid enough to wake up all the kids and hit the ER, but paranoid enough to run through my list of friends in town who could help out if I begged.  Once again, everyone seemed to have fled town and I was digging down pretty deep so that didn't help my stress level.  I just kept checking on her all night and then in the morning I thought I'd have to run her in to get checked out.  Of course she woke up feeling totally fine, my prescription of "go to bed" worked, patient cured, it's a miracle.  Or an ulcer from stress, you know, deployments are awesome for the kids.

After all that I figured I could handle taking them to Topeka for the day, way easier than the ER that I thought we'd be battling.  Let me tell you, I was ready to whip out my "you have woken me up no less than 1000 times in the past 6 years with negative head CTs" card to get faster service too.  Now that Sean is deployed I have no problem playing this deck of cards I've been hanging on to.  Anyway, Topeka trip, a success, wore the kids out, not much fighting, hit the zoo, the park, the train, Red Robin, bookstore bribe, took up the whole day.  Then Sunday we only left to go to church and then were trapped inside the rest of the day by rain.  Decrease in sanity.  Oh wait, back to the Topeka park.. it was  inhabited by a lot of white hip hop families, which I found impressive because I didn't know they still sold that kind of clothing.  Tonight Patrick had his baseball cap on sideways and I asked him why and he said he saw someone wearing it that way.  He sure did, UGH.  I might have to just hide the hat for a while and hope he forgets.  Of course if he refuses to get a haircut without daddy then he may have the Vanilla Ice hairstyle going by the time September rolls around, bleached out by the pool and sun...  Ironically, Patrick does not enjoy it when I crank Ice, Ice Baby on the 90s station in the car.  

Yes, that last shot is Emily fighting with Anna.  She's right in the mix of it now and talking more every day so she can boss us all around.  You should see her control the skype sessions with Sean.  Even today when it was just me she kept climbing up on me and putting her feet in front of the camera and saying, "two feet".  Yes, fascinating.  We got to see Sean stand for revery as he was outside when they played it, and then at the end they do a little part that makes me think it's time for the dog races to start.  Perhaps disrespectful to say that but it's true.  Oh and we saw the wild Africa dogs at the zoo too, they are fast!  I even got a photo, with Patrick's face in it as always.  He can't miss a shot.