Super Slow-Mo

You ever have one of those days where everything seems to be in super slow-mo?? That was what my day was like - the day just draaaagged by. My computer was slow, Farm Town was (is!) slow, slow people driving today...lol

Bobby did a bunch of research on lizards today & has found the kind to get. It's called a Bearded Dragon and according to the Pet University website and Animal World website, it is the top choice for a pet lizard. They like attention, they are fun to interact with, as well as to observe, and relatively easy to care for. Sounds fun!

I'm really tired, so I 'm cutting this short, but I just wanted to say thank you for all the concerned emails about the 'bite' I had last week and for the sweet words of comfort for Tucker. I really appreciate it :) So, I'm re-setting the mouse trap - wish me luck with that, as I'm not good at it - and going to bed. Hugz all around :)

Total Drama Island Part II

I woke up to sobbing and the words "She's dead, Mommy!" Ahhh...the lizard didn't make it. I kind of figured this would happen, I just didn't think it would happen so soon.

Tucker's grief was about what you expect: hurt, anger, regret, blame. One thing I learned with my mother's death is that everyone experiences the various stages of grief differently but it's all normal. There is no set-in-stone way to get through it. So, as I helped Tucker deal with the loss of his pet, I was amazed again at how God uses us. I'm also thinking that these events were in part a lesson for Tucker. Thursday, one of the daycare boy's baby frog died and Tucker was less than compassionate because the two of them had been at war over the other's perceived bullying. Which is not like Tucker because he's a pretty sensitive kid, but this kids does really know how to push Tucker's buttons. So we talked about that, as well.

In the end, we don't know why she died, exactly, but more than likely because she was not a pet store lizard. She wasn't meant to be inside in an enclosure - however nice it is.

We had a funeral this morning before church and we planted some wildflower seeds nearby to mark her grave. Tucker didn't really feel up to staying for church - he was pretty emotional all morning - so we left after worship, but actually he was doing some better after playing with one of the other little kids in the back. Sully was, well, Sully...he went out to her grave and saluted it. He concerns me sometimes, LOL We went home after checking on the dog at Dad's and had some lunch, and by that time, he told me he was glad she was with Jesus, but he still missed her. Acceptance.

Bobby promised the boys that payday, he would go to the pet store & buy them both lizards. These should prove to be a little hardier. Bobby's first reaction to Tucker's grief was "Huh?? It's a lizard..." His compassion level needs some work, lol. So, we'll have two lizards next week, and double the drama, double the fun....oh boy!

Total Drama Island

Have you ever seen that cartoon on Cartoon Network? Total Drama Island? I don't watch it & my kids don't realy watch it, but today made me think of it. Well, the title anyway, lol.

We spent most of the morning straightening up around the house. I had a pile of sweaters from winter that needed to be put away,(did some farming, too hehehe) and the boys, of course had to clean up their disaster of a room. The incentives for doing an extra good job were a 'army man' for Sully & a container for Tucker's lizard.

Bobby came home with a bag of live crickets to feed the lizard - in between the cleaning & such, we also had bug hunts so little miss lizard could eat. We went to WalMart & came home with army men & a 10 gal aquarium and a vented lid for it. We put shavings in it, a couple of sticks for her to climb on, some smooth river rocks and a butter dish lid for water - she's still pretty little, so didn't want anything too deep. Put her in & she seemed happy. Ok, time to put in the crickets. The lady at the pet store said to just put them in & she would eat when she got hungry. Well, we put them in & for the most part they were bigger than her. A couple of them seemed to get aggressive and it did kind of look like they were trying to eat on her or something. Well, Tucker got upset & started crying that they were gonna eat her & she was gonna die. OMGosh! the drama!! LOL, that lasted for about 15-20 minutes.

I asked Bobby if we could pull the crickets out and put them into something else and just feed them to her when she needed one. That was fun - to watch anyway, hehehe. Bobby pulled them out and I would stick them into a plastic coffee can. We got to the last one and decided that this one we would leave in, but it needed to be de-headed. He turned to Tucker & told him to pull it's head off because it was his lizard & he would have to learn how to do it. Tucker wouldn't do it and then Sully says "I'll do it!" and he did! LMBO

Oh, and I haven't caught that mouse yet. He is apparently too smart for the trap, or maybe just not hungry. I just saw him run behind the tv. Well, time to go to bed. Now!

Summer Moon

OMGosh! the moon is gorgeous tonight! It's big and orangey-yellow with!a halo around it from the humidity, I suppose. I wish I had the right kind of camera and lens to get a good picture of it. I just took the dogs out for the last time tonight, and almost didn't want to come in - except that it's 82 degrees with 72 % humidity at 11 pm, so uh, yeah, I came back in.

I am sooo glad this week is over. Dad is in California - comes back Wednesday - and I am working his evening hours plus going by the house twice a day to take care of the dog. There's been drama at the daycare almost every day...I'm flat worn out. I didn't get out of work at 9 tonight because when I opened the garage to drive out there was a yellow Dodge truck parked in the driveway blocking me. Who parks in front of a garage door to a funeral home? I'll tell you - somebody who only cares that they are late for work and aren't going to drive around looking for a parking space. It was a girl who works as a bartender at the bar & grill behind & to the east of us. She knew better because the owners have told all their employees not to park there. They had to because some other idiots have done it - she isn't alone.

So, I'm ready for bed, except that I now have to hunt up a mouse trap, because I just had a mouse run across my foot. Luckily, I'm still wearing my shoes. As it is, I about dumped my laptop doing the 'eww' dance.
Ok, off to find a mousetrap & then to bed...

Locusts

The locusts we have here in Kansas aren't actually locusts,
but cicadas. And they are loud!
Here is a picture I found on the web of one coming out of it's shell. They leave these shells behind and they can be found on trees, in the dirt at the bottom of trees or in yards and gardens - everywhere, really.
And kids like to pick them up and scare you with them - fun.
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And here is another picture of what they look like after they emerge from their shell. It's locust time here - they are out & making lots of noise. I like to hear them, actually. If I searched, I might be able to find a sound file of them.
The sounds all blend together - locusts, crickets, frogs - and if it wasn't so stinking hot that you had to run the AC, I would love to leave the windows open at night to listen while sleeping. But, you can kind of hear it all even with the windows closed and the AC going, so that tells you it's pretty loud, lol.

One time about 10 years ago, I guess, because we didn't have Tucker yet, we were out walking and I apparently kicked a locust. It landed directly underneath me and did it's warning rattle/buzz sound and I jumped and danced like I had something alive in my shorts, lmbo. My husband still teases me about that! He laughed so hard I thought he was gonna have a stoke.
Well, it was pretty funny :)

Farming

I knew I shouldn't have done it. I kept saying no. My friends kept inviting me, but still I resisted. They gave me all kinds of gifts....Then, today, I gave in - I now have a farm in Farm Town on Facebook. I know what will happen next - I'll become so involved in it that I'll have to drag my laptop around with me everywhere I go and I'll no doubt start having dreams about plowing, planting & harvesting. OMGosh! When will I have enough coins to start buying buildings & fences & paths?? It's gonna get ugly...Bobby won't be able to live with me...wait! Maybe I should get him hooked up with Facebook & and get him to farm too! Then, he'll be so obsessed with it too, that he won't care! Sounds like a plan to me! hehehe...

All kinds of exciting things happening today...ok, so really just two things, lol. One of Tucker's friend's gave him a baby lizard for his birthday. I didn't have the heart to tell him no, so we now have a lizard to take care of. She's a pretty little thing - all blue & purple. I have no idea if she really is a 'she' or not - Brian (Tucker's friend) says she is, so I guess so, lol. He has been a mother hen to her all evening - finding little bugs for her to eat, checking on her constantly. We wouldn't let him put her container in his bed, though. You gotta draw the line somewhere, hehehe.

Cruisin'

I'm going on a cruise!! Well, not a real cruise, hehehe - a virtual cruise over at Escape From Reality :) It's gonna be a lot of fun! August is vacation month, so we're just kind of taking things easy - no tag sales or auctions, just games & fun stuff. Anyone interested in joining the group should mention how you heard of the group and who sent you - we're all about keeping everyone safe & happy, and keeping spammers out. Oh, and the current banner - the one with the Mermaid and sparkly diamonds - I made it :) hehehe

Today was reasonably quiet at work, except that I didn't get anything done but genealogy all day long. I don't know why, but the genealogists run in packs. Weeks go by and all is quiet. Then suddenly and without warning they descend! They come with pages and pages of notes - organized by names, or not organized at all. Our records aren't categorized by names, but by years, and then by date in the order of death. Names are only for looking in the index, after you know the year. The seasoned veterans know that, and it makes the job easier. The newbies always assume it's alphabetical, like almost everything else. We have over a hundred years of death records, and only the last 6 years are computerized. Everything else is in very large books and binders. Some of the books are so old they are falling apart. We don't allow anyone else to handle them because they are so delicate.

I got a rather large request dropped onto my desk today and it is, of course, not organized in any way, shape, or form. There are 3 and a half pages - double columns! - of names...ugh! On a brighter note, Sully came home with a shoebox full of snails and snail shells... yay :|

Snakes, Sporks and Birthday Cake

My middle baby turned 9 today. He's getting to be so big! We just had a simple little party tonight - chocolate cake, chocolate chip icecream, and just us and Bobby's parents and my dad. Dad is leaving in the morning for California, and we wanted to celebrate before he left. In two weeks we'll have a party with the whole family & a cookout, homemade icecream, and a decorated cake, lol. Woohoo!

He had a pretty good day today. One of the boys at the daycare found a garden snake and so all the boys were wanting to hold it - ugh! This same little boy told Tucker that he & his dad were fishing in Joplin last week and saw a Black Momba in the water and they shot it...and my son believed it. I don't know if this kid's dad was messing with him and he believes it, or if he was messing with Tucker, but my kid swallowed it whole, lmbo! Ok, so if there are Black Mombas in Joplin, then are there Cobras in our backyard?? LMBO This is kind of like the 'Korean' fighter jet that got 'shot down' during camp last month. (there was an airshow at the base nearby & they had several vintage planes flying in the area) Kids are so funny!! Sully came running up to me with something in his hand - thankfully not a snake - and was so excited!! "Mommy! I found a spork!!" I'll have to remember that when I'm trying to decide what to put in his stocking this year for Christmas :)

Weekend's Over :(

The weekend sure went fast! We mostly worked around the house this weekend. Bobby worked on the storage shed attached to the carport out back & I worked on the family room & living room. Saturday morning Bobby went & picked up the motorcycle - it was having an o-ring replaced because the fill cap for the oil was leaking. We went for a ride in the afternoon & it was fabulous!! Perfect weather! Rode through the park & stopped for a little bit - I was surprised there weren't more people out on such a day. It was the same out at the lake. Our ride got cut a little short, though because Bobby started to get a migraine, so we had to go home, but it was still fun!

Watched some movies this weekend - nothing new, but still good. Pink Panther 2 - we'd only seen it once quite a while back, so it was like new, hehehe - another favorite of mine; 50 First Dates, and True Lies. True Lies was on TNT tonight, and since they ran it back to back, it's on again right now. That is one of my favorite Arnold movies, and Jamie Lee Curtis is sooo good in it, lol. And actually, Tom Arnold is great too. One of my favorite scenes is where he (Arnold) has just been given truth serum and Jamie Lee asks him if he's ever killed anybody and he says "Yes, but they were all bad." Men In black and MIBII were on Saturday night & so the boys watched, of course. They love those movies, lol, and I like them too.

I got bit by a spider or something last night on my upper thigh. At first I thought it was a mosquito bite because it itched, but by this afternoon it was hurting when I would try to scratch it, so I went & looked at it and it was red and swollen and had a little black dot in the center. I'm keeping an eye on it - so far it hasn't changed, which I'm taking as a good sign.

Tucker's birthday is tomorrow - 9 years old! Hard to believe... He's wanting a cell phone really bad, lol, but I told him he can't have one until he's 10. I may relent, though, and get him one for Christmas. It'll be a pay as you go kind, of course, LOL

Time On My Hands

All day at work I was feeling like time was just flying by - the day was going by so fast! LOL, I found out why... I have a a 4 year old XP computer at work. It has crashed 3 times and all three times I have been able to resurrect it with out too much lost. Lately when the power goes out and it doesn't get shut down properly, the date reverts back to January 1, 2005 and you have to adjust it or nothing will work properly. Even internet pages won't come up right because it tell you that something is wrong with the digital certificate. This morning I was having all kinds of trouble, and finally had a duh! moment and went in and adjusted the date. I glanced at the time and it looked ok, and then went about my business. At one point I looked at the clock on the display and thought 'Holy Cow!! Where's the day gone?? It's already 3:30!!' Then later I started shutting some things down because it was getting close to 5:00. At 5:08 I thought 'Ok, why is Dad so late??' My dad works here too - evening/weekend reception. We have someone here to answer the phones or the door until 9pm. So I look at the HUGE antique clock we have hanging on the wall across from my desk - it says 3:50 "Huh??" That's not real reliable because, well, if you were over a hundred years old and had to be wound up to keep going you might not be so reliable either! So it loses some time occasionally...so I look at my phone and that's when I realize I did not re-sync the time when I was setting the date this morning (thinking it was right) I have been an hour and 10 minutes ahead all day! Now, I feel like I have all kinds of time to do stuff, hehehe...