froggie gets married

Soooo...remember this?

I was trying to save them. But apparently they didn't need saving. Apparently they were on their honeymoon and were probably a little miffed that I was interfering.

Oh, me and my meddling ways.

But no fear. Mission accomplished, I guess.

Yes. Tadpoles.

Can I just say...

GROSS!

(that yellow stuff floating all over is pollen. That is not fun either. It covers EVERYTHING!)

funshine friend

Thanks Funshine. I needed that.

It's a rainy day here. AND there was a cockroach on the boys tiolet this morning. It scurried when I turned on the light and fell into the toilet so I flushed it. Brian said flushing doesn't kill bugs they crawl around in the pipes because the pipes aren't full of water all the time. So now I'm freaked out that it will come crawling out of who knows which plumbing hole and just be there. And isn't it true that if there is one there are many others? I am totally not loving this. Should I call someone in to spray? What. ugh.

Can you say Heebie Jeebies? Like I'm gonna go take a shower now! Have you seen that old worm movie? Where the worms bite and eat people? They came through the plumbing. I think my shower holes are too small, but still...

On a positive note...I think I might splerge and order me some See's Candies easter treats. I'm thinking the Scotchmallow Eggs or the Chocolate Butter Egg. Mmmmm...

what a new coat of paint can do

It was a quick weekend trip to Knoxville to help Cally paint some walls! We finished the living room and kitchen by midnight Friday and decided we had enough time to get a bathroom done. Bathrooms are harder than we thought! And the color was a little shocking to begin with. But we did it and I was back on the road to home by 5:30 pm. Saturday. I didn't get a picture of the bathroom...maybe Cally will post some finished product pictures here. Maybe...but no promises. I'll send her an e-mail. The bathroom is really blue. Kind of bright. I liked it.

The older kids were with the Dads in a Cave! They spent the night in a cave! It was the Lost Sea thingy. They loved it. I'm glad for them. Their clothes were SOOOO dirty. I just threw them away. I'll take a look at their pictures and see if there are some good ones to post.

Adventures...what fun!

trouble with toads

Well, Frogs actually. I just liked the alliteration.

Friday night I heard the croaking in the backyard. It was really loud and close to the house which led me to believe the little froggies had hopped their way onto the pool cover and gotten trapped. Our pool cover is a tarp that is weighed down on the edges with logs and cinder blocks because the fancy water weights thingys all popped shortly after we purchased them. Bummer.

Anyway...I went out to the pool with the net in an effort to rescue the frogs. There were FIVE of them! In my pool! I mean - ON my pool cover. Poor guys. Lured by the reflection of the moon and now stuck. But they probably didn't know it yet. They would when they tried to go home though. So I began my efforts to catch the frogs one at a time and transport them to what I thought would be a fabulous froggy place. A large puddle next to the pebble pile in the woods. Perfect.

I labored and felt like such a hero. I had to recapture some of them because they kept jumping off the net, so, yes...I touched them with my bare hand! Kind of freaky at first until my mental vision of 'fangy frog teeth' was replaced with more a more realistic 'no fangy frog teeth'. (I have limited experience with frogs...until we moved here.)

Now. Frog #4 was a little tricky. He kept swimming away. He was a big sucker too. I followed him around the pool until I stepped on the liner that happened to be pulled taut OVER THE STAIRS! In I went right on top of that frog. AND IT FREAKED ME OUT!!! Luckily, it was the shallow end stairs and I was able to grab onto the railing like a flailing crazy woman after a few seconds. But let me tell you - my heart was in my throat and I felt sick. If that had been the deep end with no railing to grab I'd have been a goner. Seriously. Bad News.

After I caught my breath and calmed my thumping heart I looked for frog #4. He was sitting right there on the cover. Like nothing had just happened. Or laughing at me. I couldn't tell if he was phased by it or not. I scooped him right up and plopped him with his three other friends and went back for the last one.

He was little, but I caught him with the ease of a professional who has been through a lot for the experience she has gained. He would not cooperate however and I ended up just leaving him in the grass near the edge of the woods because I remembered about the coyote I have seen a couple times running around. A wild coyote. Scary place I live, I tell ya.

I trudged back toward the house and see my lovely daughter standing on the deck. I guess she heard me scream when I fell in the pool. She was upstairs in her room reading. Bless her. Came to check on her momma.

Frogs "saved" (except for the whole coyote business - I didn't think of that), I went in and changed. Debating on whether to make this public or not. I decided not, but at the risk of much snickering and such, I did tell Brian.

But - I changed my mind about the public thing because guess who we saw last night in the pool?

ALL FIVE FROGS!

So the story had to be told. sigh. I have learned my lesson. What do I know about nature?! They were probably in there to escape the predatory snapping jaws of the coyote, eh? I left them alone and all but one were gone this morning. If that one is stuck that's okay. His friends will be back tonight and bring him a little supper I am sure. He may be a little more "jumpy" about fangs than his buddies. Har. Har.

,

be prepared

Yea! We finally have long term storage. There's rice back there too. It will be boring fare if we have only that to live on, but it's a start. We still have to get it to the basement. Wheat and beans are heavier than rice. The oats are the lightest. I helped the FedEx guy hand cart them up to the house from the street. It was a good workout.

I got some of those mylar water bags and box things and have been filling them up. Brian says we have our pool too, but...ick. I guess in an emergency.

I'm trying to work out a menu thingy to get the right stuff for my 3 month supply.

But, like, what if there is a MAJOR tornado that knocks out a sub-station and we don't have power for a month. That would wreck all my chicken and stuff in the frezer. I'd like to get a generator, but then you've got the problem of storing fuel. This is a lot of work.

I feel better now that that is here.

K- waiting for exciting happenings or thoughts to entertain. Until then you get Food Storage.

Maybe this will help:

My brother. The master Hula Hooper.

change of heart?

Finally...I can post something.

Oh, wait...Erin wants me to read her a book.

Let's see. It has been a while. Since I posted that is. We read books yesterday. And the day before. And the day before.

(Erin is repeating "Just click that button, Mom. The red one at the top. Click that button.")

I have some thoughts in this here head of mine, but nothing tremendously interesting has happened lately. Except for the snow on Sunday! My thoughts are about Blogger friends I have never met but feel like we are best buds and should meet for dinner. Is that wierd. It's wierd.

("Just click it mom! It's just up there. The one that looks like this." She drew a X on the table top.)

But this is the thing. We went to a few preschools this morning to check them out for next fall and, well, I got a little meloncholy. One more year until my baby is in Kindergarten. Then I am childless all day long. Excited - Yes. and no. Did I just say that? Going grocery shopping by myself would be great! And lonely. sigh. I...

("Mom. Now can we read a book?")

'Tis a short time the wee ones are mostly mine. Three are out there already. 15 minutes away! I may never know some of the things they hear or experience during their day. Something someone says may stick with them for life and it might not be from me.

K-No post today. At least not one with pictures. Or an appropriate song. All right, maybe I've got a song. I'll just quick pull it to the top for ya. I love this song. Why? Because.

Off to read some books.