For the Birds

Apparently those birds that were keeping me up all night do work the night shift. Two years ago I had a lovely (cough) family of house wrens build a nest in my hanging impatiens plant. Last year I didn't have any hanging plants. This year I figured it was safe again, that my birdie "friends" would have moved on to greener pastures. I was wrong.

I first noticed their new nest about 2 days after I hung the plant up. I immediately removed the nest because there were no eggs in it. I can't remember if I checked again yesterday or Saturday, but the plant was clear of nests. This morning I checked again. I found not one, but *two* nests and one of those nests has three eggs in it! ACK!!!!! So, once again, I am not going to have a pretty hanging plant. I can't water it right with nests in it and I can't bring myself to take the nests out if there are eggs in there. I suppose I should be grateful. My neighbors have a quite large nest that was built on the frame of one of their bikes (hanging from the carport ceiling). There were *three* adult birds sitting in it when I showed it to Aaron earlier. Someone at their house won't be riding their bike for a while. My grandma once left a pair of my grandpa's jeans on the wash line to dry overnight. The next morning the house wrens had built a nest in the pocket of those jeans, so Grandma left them there until the eggs hatched. Apparently they are real opportunists. Kind of like squatters, I suppose.

So, all is not lost. Aaron loves birdies and he really enjoyed seeing the eggs. He's looking forward to them hatching and seeing baby birdies again. I did move the plant so it's not right next to the front door. The last thing I need is to get dive-bombed by a little freaking bird whenever I leave my house.

Poor Micah

This morning Doc ate a frog. Micah is very upset. I'm still laughing and will continue to do so as long as the frog doesn't make an encore appearance in the form of vomit in my house. Poor Micah. Last night he found out Marissah is dissecting a frog on her field trip to the zoo on Tuesday and now this........How will he ever recover? (snicker)

As Seen on TV

Aaron has a real affinity for anything and everything sold on television. He wants Moon Sand and Floam. He wants an AirHog and Blendy Pens. But his fascination doesn't end with himself. No, no, no. He's constantly telling me about the things for the whole family, including the Ab Lounger ("Mom, you'll never have to do sit-ups again," he tells me--as if I do them now!).

Today while Aaron was watching TV he had a brainstorm! "Mom, if Nana falls out of bed and gets hurt she might need LifeAlert!" I laughed so hard I thought I'd cry. And then I called my mom so she could laugh with me. Aaron, of course, couldn't understand what was so funny. He doesn't want to risk Nana falling out of bed and getting hurt. In fact, he just asked again if we can get that for Nana (without being prompted by a commercial this time). Isn't he a nice kid, worrying about his grandma like that? ;)

I'm mean....

Doc, our puppy, has a huge fear of the vacuum cleaner. I don't even have to turn it on, as soon as I pull it out of the closet he's barking at it in a very threatening manner. Once I turn it on I usually don't have to worry about him because he hides from me (and the vacuum) under the dining room table.

Today I was using the hose to vacuum around the legs of my dining room table and Doc came over to voice his displeasure with that loud machine. I thought maybe I could get him to see that the vacuum wouldn't hurt him, so I held the nozzle out toward him. Well......at that very moment he lunged toward it to bark.....and ended up getting his nose sucked by the nozzle. OMG! The look on his face was so priceless as he turned tail and ran. He was too scared to even bark again. And me, I am so evil, I laughed until I thought I would pee my pants. It was seriously funny. I doubt he'll ever recover from this and will remain terrified of the vacuum cleaner forever... Hahahahahah!

Happy Birthday, Big Boy!

My baby is FIVE today. How in the world did this happen? Seems like just last week I was holding him in my arms, wondering over his tiny little hands and feet. Wasn't it just a few days ago that he was learning to walk, all unsteady but with a big smile on his face? And I swear it was just yesterday that he was starting to talk, a few words at a time, but making sure we knew exactly what he was saying.

Now my baby is a big boy. He'll start Kindergarten in the fall. He's older now than Micah was on the day Aaron was born. It just doesn't seem possible.

So, happy birthday to my big boy! Love you, Aaron.

P. S. When I asked Aaron what kind of presents he wanted for his birthday he told me "Just look in my bedroom. Whatever you don't see, that's what I want." Not asking for much, is he? ;)

Adding to the Teen Angst

Yesterday I introduced Marissah to one of my all-time favorite songs: Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meat Loaf. Yes, I know it's cheesy, but it's high school memories! I've often told people that one of the reasons I knew Mike was the right man for me is that he didn't scoff at my Meat Loaf CDs and instead sang along.

Not only did Marissah hate the song ("It's stupid."), but she became quite embarrassed, even blushing a lovely shade of red, when I began singing it in the commissary. Hahahahahah! Ah yes, I now have a weapon.

Each and every time she got sassy with me last night I started to sing. "I can see paradise by the dashboard light...." Amazingly enough, this works well. I love it!

Book Review: On Call in Hell

On Call in Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story
by Cdr. Richard Jadick with Thomas Hayden
©2007

On Call in Hell is the account of Navy battalion surgeon Richard Jadick's experience in Iraq. From the relative calm of Haditha Dam to the Battle of Fallujah, Jadick and his corpsmen ran their makeshift trauma centers, trying valiantly to save the lives of young Marines. The book is an inside look into battlefield medicine and it's an incredible read. I'll never again look at corpsmen or Navy doctors in the same way. Highly recommended, even if you don't care for war accounts.

From the Mouths of Babes.....

Aaron: Mom, close the window because I'm getting cold!

Me: The window isn't even open. It must be your imagination.

Aaron: Uhhhhh! I don't *have* an imagination! I only have an imagination if I have a big box!

(Still not sure where the big box comes in, but it's pretty funny!)

Stupid Bloody Birds!

I didn't get much sleep last night. It wasn't because of my kids, as you'd likely guess. Nooooooo. Instead I had some stupid-ass birds chirping outside my window all. night. long. Yes, during the night. When it's dark! Apparently these birds either have their days and nights mixed up (a la human babies) or they're currently working the night shift. Whatever it is, it better stop. I've had my windows open during the night because it's been nice and cool (compared to our daytime temps which are in the upper 80s already), but that's going to have to change if these effing birds don't shut up. I'm no bird-hater (unless they're flying near me and/or swooping, then all bets are off), but I'm more than tempted to buy a damn shotgun and let fly out my bedroom window. If nothing else maybe it would scare them off.

Stacie, wanna come have some target practice? We can tell Mom they were starlings........ Heh.

P. S. I really love that spellcheck didn't prompt me to correct "stupid-ass."

It Should Be a National Holiday!

Yes, it's Opening Day! If you don't know what I'm talking about you have no business being an American and that's final. Baseball season opens today and this day should be celebrated like Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. In fact, I think we can just scrap Columbus Day and celebrate Opening Day instead. Ah, when I'm Queen of the Universe things will be different.

As I was catching up with rosters in the paper today, I found that I must remain a Yankees fan. Now, I'm always a Twins fan. Forever. But I change my other team allegiances based on players. I only became a Yankees fan because Chuck Knoblauch played for them. Of course, along the way I also became an Andy Pettite fan. I love Derek Jeter (my God, who doesn't?) and Doug Mientkiewicz has been a favorite since he played for the Twins. So, what's a girl to do when Pettite, Jeter and Mientkiewicz all play for the Yankees, along with Mariano Rivera and Johnny Damon? Well, she's gotta stay a Yankees fan! Ah......