Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

We have been having some major issues with bugs lately. You may remember that last summer, when we first moved in, I was stung by something. Then we had the ladybug infestation.

Well recently, with the spring arriving, the bees and wasps have made a reappearance. We had a large amount of them on and around our deck and back door. After watching for a while, we realized that they appeared to be going in and out of the siding on our house. Kevin went out there to do battle. He set up some traps, and sprayed the ones that he saw flying around. Despite his efforts, his actions did a whole lot of nothing. The bees remained.

Next we found one in the kids bathroom on the second level of our house.

Then, we found one in the master bathroom, also on the second level of our house.

Both times, I closed the bathroom door, blocked the crack underneath the door with a rug, and left the Yellow Jacket in there for Kevin to do battle with when he got home. Getting stung once was enough for me. I have always been very open about the fact that I consider bug killing one of Kevin's 'husbandly' duties.

The time had come to call in the experts. My friend, Audra, recommended a company to us that takes care of such problems.

The day that the 'bug man' was to come, we spent the morning at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence. The 'bug man' was to come in the afternoon of the same day. Noah was more excited about the 'bug man' then he was about the zoo! He kept asking if he could watch him do his work.

Mr. Buggy started out in our attic, where he found three hives and many bees flying around. He did some mist type application, which by the way, completely freaks me out. I hate the idea of chemicals being sprayed in or on my house. But in this case, the aggressive and territorial Yellow Jackets who were living in my attic freaked me out even more.

After the attic application, Mr. Buggy went outside and sprayed down the house and the flower beds where we had digger bees setting up camp. The kids were so excited to watch all that was going on, that they ran around the house from window to window so that they wouldn't miss anything.

Here is Noah trying to open up the blinds.

Mr. Buggy, himself.

So, since the visit by the 'bug man', we have only seen one bee. Unfortunately, it was in Noah's bedroom. That set him off, just a little bit. Fortunately, Kevin was here to get rid of it. We haven't seen any buggy friends since!

Braids

Well, Rebekah finally has some hair! She has stopped pulling...thank goodness! There is still some damage on one side where her hair was broken, but it is starting to grow out. It is still very fine and very soft, but at least it now has some length to it.

The other day I decided to see if it was long enough to braid, and guess what? It was! It was so cute...and Rebekah was so proud of it!

There they are....her very first braids. :)

Hmmm....Do You Think She's Tired? - Part II

Despite the fact that Rebekah hasn't napped since before Christmas, there is still the odd day that she just can't make it through. This was the second of those days recently.

She started out in our big brown chair....covered with a blankie and 'reading' Noah's Scooby Doo books. I kept glancing over at her and noticed that her eyes were getting heavy. Despite her best efforts to stay awake, she nodded off within minutes.

I couldn't help staring at her as she slept. Noticing how big she has gotten, and wondering where all the time has gone. She isn't a baby anymore. She is a 'big girl'....as she reminds me numerous times each and every day!

There are still some features of her babyhood left....the dimples on her knuckles...the full cheeks. I cherish those subtle signs of 'baby-ish-ness' that are left because I know it is only a matter of time and they will have slipped away too....

Isn't she beautiful?

And there she sleeps with puddles of books at her feet....dreaming about....???

Game Night

For his birthday, Noah received a new Battleship game. He has several other games also, and enjoys playing them with us. I just wish we had more time to play them! We knew that Battleship was going to be a bit of a stretch for Noah, at least in the beginning. I believe the recommended age on it is 8 and up. Noah just turned 6.

Kevin and I are 'game people'. We enjoy a good game, and have dragged many of our other 'couple friends' into the mix too. Some of our favs are Taboo, Cranium and Pictionary. We have had many laughs with friends over these games. (GoMom: Are you and GoDad up for the challenge of a game night when you come and visit?)

Anywho, we decided to sit down as a family and try to teach Noah how to play his new game. Actually, the idea was that Kevin would play against Noah, and I was there to coach him and help. But, then Bekah wanted to get into the mix, and suddenly it became a family affair. Bekah had fun putting the pegs on the board for Kevin, but the problems began when he turned his head and she rearranged his boats halfway through the game. That didn't go over very well...

Noah seemed to catch on quickly, and had a good time learning the strategies.

I think it is going to take a few more practice runs before Noah is completely ready to play the game without a 'helper'. He and I tried to play a few days later while Kevin was at work, and it ended in frustration and tears. He had forgotten some of the rules and then got confused, frustrated and angry. I guess we all have days like that.

He is off at a day camp today, since it is spring break here. He loves this conservation area, and will attend camp there in the summer too.

Maybe we will give Battleship a try again today when he gets home. :)

Concentration

One of Rebekah's favorite new pastimes is cutting paper. It is the simplest thing....but it can keep her going for an hour.

She is a fan of all things that she deems to be worthy of being a 'big girl' and I guess cutting paper is one of those things! It does involve scissors.....so I can see the reasoning!

Every time she sees a pair of scissors, she will ask me if they are 'children's scissors'....meaning, 'can I touch them?'. Most of the time the answer is no....but she continues to ask.

Pretty soon we are going to have to make the move to the big girl bed. Right now...Bekah still sleeps in crib. She is doing pretty well with having dry pull-ups at night...and we are using the big girl bed as a bit of an incentive for the night time training. So far, so good. She has had 4 of 5 dry nights!

Wish us luck!

Opening Day

First of all, I have to say, I can't believe it has been a whole week since my last post! Where does the time go?! I feel like I need a few extra hours in each day.....

With that said....on to my topic! T-ball season has begun!

This is Noah's first year playing t-ball. Kevin and I figured he would prefer it to soccer....which he played back in the fall. Soccer didn't go over very well..... So, we are moving on to the next thing!

As we suspected, Noah has enjoyed t-ball thus far. There is less contact with the other players, and even though it is a team sport, the performance is more individual. All of these things make t-ball a positive thing!

In our little town, the opening day for the kids t-ball and baseball teams is a BIG deal. All of the teams design and make a banner, and get to march in the opening day parade. They had a former Red Sox player throw out the first pitch and a local celebrity (former American Idol top twenty) sang the national anthem.

Noah's team with their banner......

There's the little guy........

Team photo.... Isn't it funny to see the difference in size of all of these kids? They are all the same age!

I will keep you updated as the season progresses. Right now, Noah only has one game under his belt, and unfortunately, I didn't get to watch most of it. I was too busy chasing Rebekah around. Grrrr... I have forbidden her from coming to any other games...although, I am not quite sure how I am going to handle the ones that fall during the week when Kevin isn't home! It just isn't fair to Noah....I didn't even get to watch him!

Like I said....I will keep you posted on our progress!

Hmmmmm....Do You Think She is Tired?

This is what a three year old child, who has stopped napping, but still needs a nap, looks like in the afternoon after a short car ride.......

I let her sleep like this with the car parked in the garage for a half hour and then finally went to wake her up. And guess what?! She still went to bed that night!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy birthday to me.....happy birthday to me.....

This is me, on Tuesday, with my sad little cupcake. I made the cupcakes with the kids....and Kevin put some icing from the fridge on this one.....which was too hard and made the cupcake break apart. That is why it looks the way it does.


It wasn't all bad though....we also ate mediocre, take out Chinese food.

I really can't complain though....I did get to go to Geneva in March! :)

Oh, and two years ago, for my 30th birthday, we were in Venice......

This is Noah and I with my Italian made birthday cake......yummy.....


This is Kevin and I at the restaurant in Venice......


I guess it would be kind of hard to beat a birthday in Venice.........

I'm Over Here....

If you have been noticing that my posts have been a bit infrequent lately...it is because I have been spending a lot of time here. Feel free to pop on over and say 'hello' over there too!

You'll help out my hit counter..... :)

Wow...Check That Out!

The other day I looked out Rebekah's bedroom window, and this is what I saw.....

It is a bit hard to see in this pic, but that is a man up in the tree. A very tall tree!

So, as it turns out, our neighbours on one side had decided to cut down some trees. Two of the three trees were actually hanging out from their property and over our house. They didn't look too sturdy there either. A good storm and we may have had a new skylight in our roof! They spoke to Kevin and apologized for not having cut them down sooner, and let him know when the work would be taking place. Well, Noah thought this was the best thing ever and was NOT happy when he had to leave for his skating lesson in the middle of the action.

There is our friend again! It took the good part of a day, three men, and some serious equipment to take down the three big trees. It was something I had never seen done before, so I have to admit, it was kind of fun to watch.

We may have another chance to watch this kind of action again, as there is a tree on the other side of our property that is as dead as a doornail, and Kevin has to go and talk to that neighbour about getting him to take it down. A huge chuck of it has already fallen and creamed our mailbox! It is only a matter of time until more of it comes down.

I will keep you posted on how that discussion goes!

Hello Spring...Sort Of.....

I (like everyone else) am eager for spring to arrive. The kiddies and I got a head start on the weekend, despite cold and wet temperatures outside.


For Easter, the kids each received a grow kit. Each kit contained a pot, dehydrated soil pellet, and some seeds. Noah's were sunflowers and Rebekah's were daisies. I had also purchased a mini herb garden grow kit that needed to put together too. So, out came the kits and the spoons and we dug right in.

Rebekah was a bit concerned about getting dirty hands........

Noah, checking out the details......

Hmmmm, now let's see what these instructions say.....

We got all of the seeds planted, and today was a beautiful day. Maybe spring really is here... Kevin was on the phone today getting estimates for topsoil and mulch deliveries. We have quite a bit of work to do outside on our property....some clearing and raking and trimming and planting, and, and, and. It seems like this list of 'ands' never ends!

Oh well, at least spring is on the way!

Twenty Little Piggies.....

Several weeks ago, when we were all still feeling a bit under the weather, I decided to give Rebekah and I a little 'pick me up'.

Rebekah had never had nail polish put on either her finger nails or her toe nails. She had noticed it on other little girls, and admired it from a distance. I have to be honest, more than one time, I have thought to myself, 'what was she thinking?', when I have seen a very young child wearing nail polish. All I could think about were the chemicals from the nail polish seeping through tiny, thin nails and into the system of a child.

Having said that, in a moment of impulse, while Bekah and I sat on the floor of my bedroom, I asked her if she wanted a pedicure. I knew it would be a lot of fun for her, and at that moment, that little bit of fun was more important. So we sat on the floor while I painted our twenty 'piggies'. This was the result.....

Bekah's toe nail polish didn't last very long. It chipped and came off within a few days. I was kind of glad, to be honest. I won't be putting anymore on her for a long time....but it was fun while it lasted and it did what it was supposed to....it made her smile despite her cold symptoms and discomfort.

It turned out to be a good day.....

Ooopsies!

OK, so you are going to get to laugh at the expense of Kevin and I, if you keep reading. We have both had a few 'oopsie' moments in the past, and I figured that I would share the latest and greatest in an effort to keep you all entertained.

Me first. When we moved into this house, it took me the longest time to learn our phone numbers! I my defense (and I do need one), we had four new numbers and they all had different area codes too! Kevin had a new work number and a cell number, and then I had a cell number plus our home number.

During this time, we made the decision that we needed to teach Noah our new phone number. In an effort to do this, I had the brilliant idea that I would write it in large numbers on a piece of paper and stick it up on his bedroom wall. That way, whenever he was laying awake in bed, he would stare at it and hopefully memorize it. My plan worked like a charm. Noah learned the number in only two days.

Then Kevin looked at it, and realized that I had written down the wrong number! I had all of the correct numbers, but in the wrong order! I had transposed the first three numbers with the area code. I had taught our child the wrong phone number! It was funny because when Kevin looked at it, he doubted himself. He actually had to go and get his cell phone and look it up so that he could be sure himself! We were all confused.

Fortunately, it only took Noah one day to correct my mistake and learn the correct number. :)

Kevin's turn.

Last weekend, we had one of our teenage babysitters come to stay with Rebekah while Kevin and I took Noah to the pottery studio for his birthday party. There was a minimum age of six at the studio, and it was not the type of place that I would want to take Rebekah!

Our babysitter is sixteen years old, and for her birthday her parents bought her a brand new Saturn Hybrid (nice, huh?!). I had run down to the end of the drive way in order to check the mailbox, and as Kevin backed our new-ish (less than one year old) minivan out of the garage, I watched with horror as he backed right into our baby sitter's car!

Her car came away (amazingly) unscathed, but our van was not as lucky. The Saturn has flexible side panels, so I watched as the whole door caved in and then popped right back out! Not so much as a mark on the paint!

The van however, has a huge dent in the bumper. This is the same bumper that had to be replaced when the van was only a week old because I was rear ended while driving with the kids. This time though, insurance isn't going to cover it. It is going to cost us $350 to fix.

At least my 'oopsie' was free!

In an effort to make us feel better, feel free to share your 'oopsie' moments too! :)

Noah's Big Day!

Noah has hit the ripe old age of six!! We celebrated with a birthday party last weekend, and then on the actual day, we fielded lots of phone calls and had cake with our immediate family.

I am warning you, this post is going to have a lot of photos. Get ready!!

Noah's birthday party was held at a pottery studio. The nice thing about it was that the children actually worked with the clay. It wasn't just a 'paint your own pottery' kind of place. There were 12 children, including Noah. A handful were from our street and a handful were from his kindergarten class at school.

We served cupcakes in order to keep things moving. The kids had to make 2 projects from clay, and then paint them both afterwards. They only had two hours to do it all in...

This is Noah, turning the wheel on the rolling table. This is how they flatten out the clay into thin sheets.

This is Noah's adorable friend, Brenna. She is the only child I have ever met that talks as much as he does! :)

Noah...deep in concentration, working on his pinch pot.

Me and Noah with his new creation.....

Time for the gifts!

The Scooby Doo cake. It took me SIX hours to make the EIGHT colours of icing and assemble it all. If it weren't for that darn hamburger, Scooby would have been MUCH simpler!

Noah, blowing out the candle....a Scooby Doo candle, of course!

Noah and I with the masterpiece!

Happy birthday, buddy!

xo