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.