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I really hope that Kari starts to feel better soon. She is on her fifth week of feeling really miserable. I won't go into details, but she is up all night running to the bathroom. So much so that the dogs have started sleeping on my side of the bed to avoid being trampled in the middle of the night. She has lost over 14 pounds and has very little energy. So little energy, in fact, that all she could do the other day was get up, take a shower, and go right back to bed.

I had been under the weather too, but not nearly as bad and I am feeling almost tip top now. I was down right productive today. Made French toast for the girls, got the dishes done, started some laundry, got all the toys down stairs picked up. (While playing drill instructor Dad and forcing the girls to help which makes it more work.)

Rylee was actually great about picking up the toys. I promised a trip to the park after the toys were picked up and boy did she go to work. I didn't even have to give her any instruction, she just got to it. Reagan, on the other hand, was threatened with staying at home if she didn't get it in gear. She never really did, but I couldn't make her stay home from the park. I guess I shouldn't threaten anything that I am not 100 percent willing to follow through on, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

As we were heading out the door Kari put her hands together and bowed to me.
"Is that a thank you or are you praying for me?" I asked.
"Both." She replied with a tired smile.
The trip to the park went smoother than I thought it would. The girls all listened pretty well and there were no major meltdowns. Meltdowns are almost inevitable with four kids four and under. Someone is almost always going to be unhappy. But today we beat the odds. I must say that it is a little stressful taking four kids to the park. Even though it was not real crowded I felt like I always needed to be aware of where each kid was and what they were doing. When a group of ten to twelve year old's came over and informed me, in a British accent that a "quite violent game of tag is about to take place up here...quite violent indeed." the pressure went up a little. With all those small people running about it is difficult to watch everything. Picture a lone secret service agent escorting Obama through a Main Street parade in a small southern Mississippi town when the President is insisting on kissing all the babies and shaking all the hands. You just can't watch everyone every second.

Rylee, too interested in playing to notice the steadily growing pressure in her bladder, had an accident. I loaded the twins in the wagon (very glad that I brought it) and took the girls to the bathroom to clean up. After we had taken care of business and I was washing Reagan's hands Rylee ran out of the washroom. I didn't like her being out of sight and hollered for her to come back inside and wait until I was done. At the risk of destroying her innocence and carefree ways I gave her a small lecture.
"Rylee, when we are out you need to stay were I can see you. There are some bad people in the world who would take you away...and I would never get to see you again. You need to stay where I can see you so that I can protect you. Okay?" I said.
"Okay." She said. She didn't seem to think too much about it, other than "that sure is inconvenient."
So we left the restrooms and continued on the path that leads around a small lake. Rylee wanted to look for fish and other "creatures." Rylee and Reagan ran out ahead of me while Madison sat perched on my shoulders and Jordan sauntered a few paces behind the wagon waiting for me not to pay attention so she could pick some berrys that I told her not to touch. I was wondering if my lecture had had any impact on Rylee and whether I should have told her that at all as we approached a man standing on the bank of the lake, fishing. Rylee dropped back to me, with a glance over her shoulder at the fisherman and then back to me. Then in a very loud voice, that the kids use mostly in grocery stores to embarrass you with discussions about the size of their last bowl movement or their knowledge of anatomy, she asked "Dad...Do you think that man will take me away?"
"No, honey. I don't think that man will take you away." I answered.
There it was. That first big crack in that glass wall that is her, soon to be totally shattered, youthful innocence. Damn.

We played a little more on the play ground and the girls didn't even put up a fight when I told them that it was time to go home. I did, however, get to listen to Rylee prattle on about not having anything to drink in the car and not being able to watch a movie.

When we got home the garage door would not open. My first though was that it might have been Halloween vandals, naw that couldn't be. Maybe someone had fiddled with the lock. I shrugged and lead the girls around to the front door. Reagan insists on ringing the door bell, which I don't encourage as it gets the dogs all riled up. The door bell didn't ring and all the lights were off. It was becoming clear why the garage door didn't work. It also explains why many of my neighbors where standing out in their driveways looking bewildered. Why is it that when your power goes out that you have an almost uncontrollable urge to stand in your driveway looking up and down the street, scratching your head, with a stupid expression on your face? I know that is what I tend to do first and it has never once helped get the power back on. Hmm.

It was a good thing that I was planning on cooking fajitas on the grill since we wouldn't be cooking anything in the oven. Kari had been motivated and vacuumed the house while we were gone. I was thinking that maybe she was on the mend, but that task had pretty much sapped her strength and she went to lay down. I thought the kids would be pretty tired too, but they were quite a handful while I was trying to cook dinner. They started playing Frisbee with the paper plates, digging their grubby paws in the cheese, fighting over chairs, letting the dogs out, peeing their pants, hitting each other with the fly swatter, wanting to be held, and generally making my job of cooking dinner more difficult. I did, however, get dinner served and they all ate well for a change.

After dinner I let the girls have a little more Halloween candy. As I was watching them munch contentedly on chocolates it occurred to me that the power had been off for quite some time and it could be awhile for it to come back on if had taken this long already. Ice cream. The ice cream was melting. That is the only good thing that a power outage is good for. You have to eat the ice cream before it melts. It just would not due (or is it do) to have the ice cream melt. Would it? No, it certainly would not be acceptable.

"Do you girls want ice cream?" I said. I am sure that I felt a twinkle in my eye.
"Ice Cream!" Rylee said. I was considering how much sugar they could consume before slipping into a coma. Maybe I shouldn't have offered ice cream. But it might melt!
As I took one step toward the freezer with my mind 99 percent made up, the lights came back on.
"Ahhh...Umm...Maybe we shouldn't eat the ice cream." I said
"I want ice cream." Rylee chirped.
"Well, I was going to get it out because the power was off and it was going to melt, but now the power is back on. So with all the candy that you have had maybe we should wait till tomorrow. Okay?" I said.
"Okay." She said. I couldn't believe it. She bought it. She wouldn't have had to fight very hard for me to give her a small bowl since I had already said that I would. But she let it go. They all let it go. Sometimes, well...most times it seems, kids will surprise you.

So if your power goes out don't go stand in your driveway, like an idiot, go straight to the freezer and eat your ice cream before your excuse is gone.

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