every handout in every town

This is probably going to come out wrong, but:  sometimes my children are incredibly stupid.

They refuse to wear coats in even the coldest weather.  I bought Emmett a brand-new coat last night, and he made a big fuss about how comfortable it was, and then this morning he threw on his ratty old hoodie with the sleeves coming apart and trounced out in the single-digit temperatures.  He  won't wear the coat to wait for the bus because then he'll either have to cram the coat into his backpack, or leave it on and sweat.  Who can sweat in this weather?  I've been on buses, and toasty they ain't!

Similarly, Grant had plenty of time to put on his body spray/man perfume this morning, but not enough time to notice that he hadn't brought in his backpack from the car or to pack his lunch.  He left his lunch home yesterday, too.  Either he's embarrassed about the lunches or he's a space cadet.

I screamed something fierce at Ike this afternoon because there are only so many times you can be lied to about the rabbits being fed and watered when they really haven't before you sort of come . . . unglued . . . and there is yelling through gritted teeth and prophecies of blame, like such as the "Those bunnies are going to die, and when they die it's going to be your fault.  You are the one who will have killed them because you were too lazy to give them food and water."

Willa spends a lot of time in her room, waiting until she's ready to stop whining and talk like a normal person.