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.