Varmints

We have/had a varmint problem and for some reason I am always the one to cross their path. It all started one evening when I ran back home to grab the dominoes and as I was crossing through the garage and into the game room I saw a rat run across the garage. I jumped, quickly ran back into the house, tried to convince myself that it wasn't a big deal, they are more scared of us than we are of them, but it was no use, instead I went back across the street and had Jason fetch the dominoes (losing about 45 minutes of playing time as Jason attempted to hunt down the rat). The next day I was walking outside to the washing machine when I saw the same activity and decided that they had discovered the recycling bin so I promptly took the recycling to the recycling center and made sure the bins did not have anything of interest in them, which is a challenge because rats will pretty much eat anything. Jason went to Lowe's and got some rat poison and set a few rat traps. For the next week or so I (why me?) slowly saw the rat population dying. The first one made it all the way out of the garage, and the next 3 slowly attempted to make it out of the garage door, dying further and further from their destination each time. It seemed like I found one dead one a day for a few days and then they were gone.... I slowly gained back my confidence of being able to enter the garage without either slamming the door, hitting the broom handle up against the wall, whistling, or any other loud noise I could think of to hopefully scare them away BEFORE I startled them and had to see them run away, or in the case of the poisoned ones, look at me, but not be able to move. I think maybe three days went by before I was startled yet again..DAMN the rats were still here. Jason checked the rat poison and sure enough it was all eaten so we put more out and waited for the poison to trickle in.

This last time it had been a solid 10 days (and a good thing seeing as our house is on the market and we have had a few showings. Prior to showings my routine has consisted of opening and closing the garage door and leaving the music in the garage playing just in case we still had varmints, hoping they would stay away from loud noises). I lucked out and did not see the initial varmint issue part three. Jason said that he saw a GIANT rat and a baby rat. GREAT, now there is still poison under there, some being eaten and some not, but they are no longer dropping like flies. So there are either some dead under the house or there are just a few left and have learned to not eat the poison bars.

Yesterday Blythe and I were walking over to the neighbors house for dinner and Blythe was trailing behind me as I went to turn off the water to the garden and Blythe said "Mommy, whats that?" I casual walked over to see what Blythe saw and it was a baby opossum. I told her to walk towards me and I met her, picked her up and yelled to Jason "Come outside, right now and get the gun!" [yes it sounded totally redneck, but if you know Jason you know that right now could be interpreted as 'sooner than later, but it might still be 10 or so minutes.'] I guess the tone of my voice must have gotten his attention because he was outside in a flash and I said "the GIANT rat that you thought you saw, no, no that is a baby opossum." Unfortunately I have had my fair share of run-in's with opossums and I know one when I see one. We 'took care' of the baby possum and I was hopefully that was the end, but Jason reminded me that he had seen one other baby rat.

This morning I cautiously entered the garage, surveying the scene and rustling items around and there was no movement so I proceeded to the washing machine, dumped in the diapers, turned it on the rinse cycle, closed the lid, and walked back inside. After the rinse cycle finished I walked outside to add the soap. I opened the lid, jumped back, heart racing thinking I certainly just saw something move IN the washing machine, so I did what any sane person would do and jumped up onto the tiled sink to have a look into the washing machine from a safe distance (cause you know those rats will get you!) and saw nothing, so I quickly reminded myself that I am just jumpy and it was probably just a diaper cover or a wet bag falling down into the machine after the spin. So I open up the lid, go to pour the soap and EEKK NO, NO, there IS something moving and it most certainly is a baby RAT. So in my best red neck voice I again yelled into Jason, waking him from his slumber, "Get out here NOW and bring the gun." Don't tell Jason, but I just might have to use this tactic again as I have NEVER seen Jason jump out of the bed and get into the garage as fast as this morning. He grabbed the rat baby with tongs, put him in a box and 'took care of him with a bee bee gun.' Then he assures me that NOW our problem is gone...right, well we can hope. But seriously, HOW did the rat baby get into the washing machine? I leave it closed, I know there is a drought, but come on our next door neighbors have a pool, go drink their water!

The worst part about this varmint infestation is what Blythe has learned. She opens the door to the garage, looks out and says "no rat babies," just like she would say "no cars," if she was looking to cross the street. She of course thinks the rat babies are cute and always wants to see them. She even fetches Jason a ziploc bag after he kills the varmint because she knows he is going to put it in a bag and then put it in the trash and if she is lucky she will get to hold the ziploc bag and help put the varmint in the trash and she always says something like "we will see him tomorrow," or "he going to go play in the trash truck" She clearly doesn't have a real understanding of the word 'dead.'

And now for the pictures that I promised....and to continue with the killing theme I have going here I have killed 2 tasks with one stone by making the memory book pages and sharing them with you for your promised pictures :)









Happy Monday!

Give and Take

There's not enough hours in the day for me to keep up all my hobbies at full speed all the time. Which means that there is a constant give and take and shuffaling around of hobbies/activities. I am currently neglecting the blog because I have neglected my picture review. I assure you there has been no shortage of picture takings, but a real shortage of picture review. I view my blog as a way to put pictures and words together so I often have a hard time visioning a blog without pictures, but that's what today is.

Today is the one week marker of our house on the market and we have had 2 inqueries and one showing, which we view as success so far! It also means that we have kept the house in tip top shape for a solid week and this is the first time that I have really understood the saying that "if your house looks great all the time you must be spending too much time on it and not enough time with your kids." I tend to think of myself as a pretty good house keeper, as in anyone could walk through the door at any given moment and I wouldn't think twice about inviting them in, but being market ready at any given moment is a whole new ballgame and a game I am eager to quit because it feels empty and very un-homey. So much so that I have loosened the reigns and decided that realistically I could get the house (mainly toys) back to tip top shape in 30 minutes and I am controlling when the shows happen so we have found a happy medium between the 'well lived in house' and the 'market ready house.'

You know that when I am neglecting the blog I must be working on another project. 2 weeks ago it was project get house market ready and then last week it got combined with knitting a sweater for Blythe. It's called a baby surprise jacket and I hope the surprise goes as well as planned because right now it looks like a large mis-shaped rectangle.

Our inside to outside ratio is quickly changing as the weather is heating up and the pools, parks, and sprinklers are calling our names. You have cute swimsuits with sunhats, sundressed, flowers, sidewalk chalk, and splashpad pictures to look forward to in the very near future.

Don't worry I will get to the Easter pictures before too long, but hopefully this update will tide you over. Have a great weekend!

It's ALWAYS a good time to dance

One of the best parts of organizing, purging, de-cluttering, and cleaning is the necessity of really loud, up beat, dancing music; which always lends itself to frequent dancing breaks and we of course have ALL the right moves.



Both of the girls have enjoyed this week of cleaning because they have scored all kinds of little treasures and they enjoy the thrill of what the next little crevice might have waiting for them.

According to Blythe you can never have too many belts



We took time out of our busy playhouse schedule to celebrate Jericho turning 9 months, which is just crazy and exciting at the same time. Let's start with my favorite picture, which I can't get printed in an 11x14 and on the wall fast enough.













Although we are NOT ready for the garage sale or for the house to go on the market on Monday we decided we had earned ourselves a trip to the local horticulture gardens and a picnic with friends. We were all oohing and aughing, o.k .mostly reprimanding our children to stop throwing rocks, when we got a little unexpected spray. If nothing else it sent the kiddos running without rocks in their hands!








Darn limb that blew into the shot to take this from a GREAT picture to a decent picture


Have I mentioned that she is pulling up on EVERYTHING..someone is ready to get steady on her own 2 feet









Have a fantastic weekend!

What's That You Say?

Many of you have heard the buzz that we are putting our house on the market which expands into a mess of questions that I too am wondering what the answer to. Such as "When are you moving? Where are you moving? Did Jason get a job?" and the answer to all those questions is the same....Time will tell. For now the game plan is that Jason will finish up in June, start his job hunt in July, and start the new job in August. If we plan to be out of this house in August the time to put it on the market is NOW, so we are de-cluttering, organizing, arranging, and sifting through old treasures because the house goes on the market a week from TODAY!

But since our house is in pretty good shape we decided to go on a camping trip this weekend. I had a 10K race in Brenham so we camped out in Sommerville on Friday and Saturday night with the Hartl's!

The toddlers were in love with being outside 24/7. It was probably the windiest weekend in months, but we only fared one broken limb on our tent and it kept all the mosquitoes at bay, which is always a plus. We discovered that air mattresses are like crack for babies, we couldn't lay Isaac or Jericho down unless they were out cold because as soon as they hit the air mattress it was P-A-R-T-Y time, day or night, it didn't matter.





















Blythe while sitting in her lawn chair: "I need a beer for my hole."

Cheerio 'OH's

Jericho is still pretty blase about baby food, table food, solids, whatever you want to call it, but she does have a new found love for Cheerios.

First you get your pinchers and you pinch one...



Then you turn it over to examine it for any flaws...



Then you put it and a few fingers in your mouth...



Then you start to chew...





And you finish it with a great big 'I did that all on my own smile'


Look closely and you will see 2 teeth!

And if you are really lucky you can swipe sisters water and wash it down...



And of course if Jericho is into something, Blythe is too..








Yes, apparently you have to get your entire body in the sink to clean up from Cheerios.

Little Clicks of Heaven

Most people would describe me as frugal and some would venture to be truly honest and call me a tight wad, which is true, but Jason has taught me that some things are worth the extra dime (or two). I am so happy that Jason pushed me to consider purchasing an SLR and really consider the semi-professional level of a camera. I have not regretted one day with my Canon 50D and I am excited every time I get a chance to download the pictures on my computer and see how many great memories I captured. I am not a big editor, as with most things in my life I tend to lean toward the natural/organic side. I find it far too easy to get into over-editing and over analyzing a picture, because for me its about the memories and the little clicks of heaven that I score. I am just starting to get comfortable shooting in full manual, but it also comes with a price. Kids are fast and they aren't always doing the same thing long enough for 2 clicks, let alone a click, with a pause to change a setting, and another click, but I'm challenging myself photographically and trying not to fall into the 'easy' auto settings.

I have also challenged myself to not let Jericho fall into the 'second child' category as far as pictures and video's etc., but THAT is a challenge. I am happy to announce that she does have something written for every day of her life up to this point and that WILL continue till her first year and she has been captured via photo just as must as her big sister, but I have failed to bring out the video camera and capture all of those adorable little moments that you pour over as a first time parent. I completely failed to get her first mobility move, the inch worm, but I did manage to capture the inch-worm trying to convert to all fours, and just today I tried to get the updated all fours master video and while that goal was technically not met, it was replaced with something far more funny, amusing, and memory worthy...





Blythe spent most of this weekend doing what she loves, mothering anything and everything. This weekend was a little harder on her as she decided to try her hand at twins..twin Mr. Potato Heads that is.

She figured out how to wrap them up, hold them at the same time, and wear them around her waste so she could cook.









Jericho is SUCH a happy baby, waking up and happily playing in her crib and trying her hardest to swipe Nilla or BAB once they have been abandoned on the floor











We wrapped up our Monday evening with a family game of HIDE



and SEEK



HAPPY MONDAY, have a great week