Random Thoughts for Tuesday

In no particular order...

• It's my youngest's birthday today.  She is four and her royal cuteness is in typical form!
• I am going to miss the shower wand that I can stretch to the kids' toilet to wash down skid marks.  Then again, perhaps I won't need one when we get American toilets back.
• The city shuts off the hot water for two weeks every year to flush the system (so they say).  Every year they fail to coordinate with me, and I'm in town for this event.  The baths have a hot water heater but the kitchen has cold water for that period.
• Sveta doesn't use soap when she washes my dishes.  It grosses me out even more when I have no hot water. I re-do everything she washes when she goes to another room.
• I commissioned a painting from an artist friend.  My in-laws' 40th anniversary is this fall and we wanted a painting of their house done.  He felt that the house looked "a little sober" so he painted it rather happy.  I had to very respectfully ask that he sober it up again.  He said it was an easy fix; he just had a lot of pink and orange and yellow paint from another project that he had decided to use.  I am praying that it's boring brown when I meet him again....or I'll cry.
• Lucky us.  Euro 2012 begins next week and our street is the fan zone.  A.K.A. party central for all of June.
• Due to the aforementioned soccer hullaballoo, a bunch of streets and metro stations will be closed at various times, so I'm trying to run errands that need to be done ahead of time.  Baby Girl had her portraits taken last week.  Praise the Lord she didn't put on a show and smiled prettily for posterity's sake.  We go up to the embassy this week for her medical check-up.  Then I'm staying home.  In the midst of the party out on the street.
• The M&M jar is half gone.  Makes me smile!
• We have pack dates. The van ships the 12th. The big pack is the 21st.  The air shipment is the 25th.  As soon as the piano is gone, I'm pulling things off the balconies and will start tearing the house apart in preparation.  Thank goodness for an enclosed balcony and a sauna so I can keep everything separated!  
• We don't usually do an air shipment, but we have 3 kids and Mr. YH has his flying gear to take back.  My brother-in-law is buying a car for us to have when we land in Chicago.  Therefore, I can only pack for a long-ish vacation in suitcases (even though we are authorized excess baggage) simply because the car will not hold all that stuff.  Hence, an air shipment that should arrive about the same time we get into Arkansas.
• I'm dreading the house hunt with 3 kids and hot weather.
• I'm tired of moving. 
• But I don't want to lose perspective and sink back into American culture fully.
• Sveta just vacuumed my wedding album with the floor attachment.  Have I mentioned she uses toilet bowl cleaner in my kitchen sink?  Seriously, I love her to death.  And on some things, I've just given up on.
• Now, off to cook some hot dogs that one birthday girl has requested for lunch!