While taking down the front brick steps, we came across a few little eggs. Before we found them, a few had already been destroyed, so we knew what kind of snakes they were, otherwise the rest wouldn't be sitting in an aquarium under a heat lamp right now.

From what I had read, I had little hope that they would make it, since once they are layed, they aren't supposed to be turned over, and by the time we got them out of the bricks and into the incubator, who knew what side was supposed to be up. But out of 9 or 10, I hoped the odds would be on our side for a few to hatch. I also thought that they wouldn't be doing anything for a few more weeks, but look what we found when we got back from the park today (see pictures below)!

He/she is now happily foraging in the flower garden somewhere, and finding its first meal. Even if the others don't hatch, I consider it well worth it that we saved at least one. Happy life, little ringneck snake!

A day at the Park

We spent most of the time wading in the Potomac River and finding seashells, but I'm always leary of bringing my camera around bodies of water, especially when I'm outnumbered in the kids:adults ratio. And then we had a wonderful picnic lunch. I guess it wasn't enough I get to share my life with two handsome boys, but I get two beautiful nieces as well :)

Photography

Glueing

In most things, Brent is the one who does things neatly and precisely. Alex usually tackles things like an all pro full-back, moving through the front lines letting nothing stop him.

However, it turns out if you give them popsicle sticks and glue, Alex carefully puts one dot for each connection and makes extravagent designs. Brent covers the stick in glue 1/2 inch thick and then just pours it over the rest. I think he managed to stick two together like a sandwich, glue oozing out all over the newspaper. It got to where Alex and I couldn't stand to watch anymore.

Puppets!

Writing

I've been told I'm not writing often enough, which is true, but honestly things have been status quo for a few weeks. The weather has been beautiful, and we've been spending time in the sprinkler and our little pool here and there. I wish I had more pictures, but they are masters at getting me wet somehow no matter where I stand, which isn't so much good for the camera.

I've been posting pictures of Merlin because the boys absolutely LOVE this kitten. And the other evil cat? Well, he's been a fluffy ball of purrs and kisses and snuggles as well. Merlin brings out the best in all of us, I guess. When I come home, he wakes from his afternoon nap and as soon as I scoop him up under my chin he just melts into a melody of purring and leans his neck back to push on my cheek if I stop rubbing him. At night, when the kids are in bed and mommy gets her cherished mommy time, he terrorizes me for a bit. If I get a snack, he will relentlessly stalk me. I guess his early foraging days made him into a living garbage disposal, because there's NOTHING this cat won't eat, it seems. He'll reach his paws under the couches to unearth months old crackers or crumbs that the boys (okay...maybe me too) have spilled at some point through the cushions.

And in trying to get him potty trained well, I've moved the litter box into the living room. Brent is constantly fussing whenever he steps into the "glitter" that they track on the nearby carpet. That's one of my favorite Brentisms of the week, that, and when he calls his goose bumps "ghost bumps".

We played t-ball in the backyard the other night, and it was one of those rare occasions where both the boys were in good spirits and played well together. And didn't get bored or want to make up their own rules after 5 minutes. AND...they're getting really good! I was impressed! Alex has the muscles and Brent has the hustle. Even if they seem to think Mike and I did nothing in life before they existed. "Have you ever played this game before mommy?" Ha! As if.... Tomorrow I'm putting my trophies up in his room.

Garden update:

I've given up hope on the beans and peas. I'll have to do more mole-proofing next year. But we are getting a monstrous cucumber every day at least. Zucchini totals are at 4, and there's 5 good sized watermelons growing these days. The sunflowers are over 8 feet tall already and still no sign of blooming. It's kind of amazing how fast they grow.

The last two days I've had the most wonderful tomato sandwiches for dinner, and that looks to keep up for quite awhile. There's about 30 on the vine ripening. Our topsy turvy cherry tomato plant is doing really well, for anyone that was curious about how they do. It looks funky as anything, but there are a few bunches of green tomatoes that are getting close to ready.

The peppers are slow, but producing. And soon I'll unearth some carrots and potatoes to see how they're coming along. The pumpkin plants are growing well, and we hopefully timed it so we'll have our own to carve up this year. Baby cantaloupes are cropping up here and there. I can't wait for those!

We've picked sage, chamomile, rosemary, chives, oregano and spearmint from the herb garden, that we're going to dry and make into our own spices.

See...nothing exciting. Just life as usual these days. We're enjoying the straight-a-way for now, soon enough I'm sure hills will pop up, but it's nice to cruise for a bit.

Just plain cute

Yes, I know I'm cute..


Holding on for dear life?


Not choosing the best place to nap







Spooning :)

Summer slump

I've been sick with a summer cold for a few days, and hoping that the boys wouldn't catch it too badly. Yesterday Brent started running a low temp, fighting the germs as best he could. Last night when I put him to bed, he was feeling fine, and went to bed gracefully as he does these days, as long as he has his trusty blue flashlight to play with in the dark for awhile.

His room is next to ours, and when I came to bed around midnight, I checked in to make sure he was sleeping good. I'm helpless not to do this every night, it seems, as if I can't seem to get to sleep unless I've checked to make sure he's still breathing. Does this irrational fear ever leave a parent, or is it just something I'm OCD about?

He was fine, as always. I slipped into bed and tried falling asleep. One little cough escaped me, and 30 seconds later he was by my side.

"I need some more milk, please"
"Okay, hon. Did I wake you up"
"Yes. You coughed, mommy"
"I know...I tried not to. Sorry!"
"Can you just get me my milk now?"

So I obliged, and he made a midnight potty break, and back to bed he went. Mike was sleeping in the other room with Alex since his room is being used as a guest room this week, so I tucked Brent back in, thought about it for a second, then asked if he wanted to come sleep in the bed with me since he wasn't feeling good. I thought he would jump at the opportunity, but he said no. "Well, if you change your mind, just come in later". "I won't change my mind!", he insisted. And closed his eyes and fell back asleep in two seconds.

4:42 am: I feel a tap on my shoulder.
"I changed my mind mommy"
"Alright, hop in, little bug". I felt his head and knew he was getting a little worse. Around 6:30 he woke up for good, and I turned on some cartoons and went back to sleep while he watched Bakugon. Finally we went out to see the rest of the crew, and when I checked his temperature, it was 101.7. Pretty high for Brent standards. He rarely goes above 100. I hated to go to work today, but I leave at 1:00, so I'll be on nurse duty soon. He told me this morning that "work is at home today", trying to get me to stay. But he's in good hands for these few hours.

Merlin updates:

The kitten has fully integrated into the family, it seems. He prances around for a while in the morning, then hibernates until early evening behind the desk, when he emerges to wreak havoc on Doof. For the first couple days, Doof was SO excited to have a playmate. Now, he perches on top of the ottoman to watch the black and white blur racing around the room with an expression of "Please make it stop...I'm tired of playing...I'm sore...My tail is not a kitten toy...and in general I'm not amused anymore".

Now our biggest problem is keeping all food hidden. Doof, for all his pesty problems, doesn't touch or desire people food. Merlin, on the other hand, will crawl into a Dorito bag and have two eaten before you can get across the room to stop him. Doritos?? Really, Merlin?? You may think they're for cats, but the silent odors you emit afterwards tell a different story. One tiny kitten shouldn't be able to single handedly clear a large room. But it does crack the kids up as they dance around and sing songs that could be titled "Kitten poots" or "Stinky kitten butts". Did you know four year old boys NEVER NEVER EVER get tired of laughing at such things. Ever. It's in the fine print of that life contract you sign when you find out your embryo developed a Y-chromosome. It's in there, I swear! Right after the part where you agree to put up with an all blue wardrobe for the first year of life, and before the warnings about how much money you'll spend on Thomas toys.