May. 25, 2007 - So glad to know, I'm not REALLY old...
Yesterday, one of the children asked me how old I would be today. Upon hearing that I'm turning 31, Rocklin said "that's old...but it's not REALLY old". Magdalyn piped in with "yeah, it's just a little bit old". A few minutes later, Rocklin says "yeah, Daddy though is REALLY REALLY old". So glad to know I've got two more years before I join the club of "Really Really Old".
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May. 21, 2007 - Happy Birthday Parker!
Parker is ONE today! Where did the time go????
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May. 16, 2007 - Woo Hoo! I can finally blog here again...
I had trouble getting logged in for over a month and finally got it straightened out. Thanks a bunch Jodi!!!
In the meantime, I started another blog and you can check it out at www.raisingrebels.blogspot.com. Jerald also started a blog, though it's been a while since he updated you can find him at www.littlerebels.blogspot.com. Hopefully later today he will be able to post an entry.
We've been busy busy busy around here. Vacation, illness, school and the daily maintenance of life has sure kept me on my toes. Parker is about to turn one in less than a week! Where has the time gone???
Rock and Mag are enjoying playing T-ball through the county parks and rec and Jay enjoys birdwatching at the park while they play ball every saturday morning. Aaron is now talking up a storm and constantly has me laughing. Here's a conversation with him yesterday...
I was trying to make him repeat the following sentence "I will be nice to books"
Here is his attempt...
Mom: Repeat after me Aaron. "I"
Aaron: "You"
Mom: No, not me. You need to be nice to books. Say, "I will be"
Aaron: "You will be"
Mom: (giving up on the I vs. You for now) "nice"
Aaron: "nice"
Mom: "to"
Aaron: "three"
Mom: "books"
Aaron: "books"
Mom: "Let's try that again, all together."
Aaron (with mom saying it properly): "You will be nice three books"
Computer time is up, the natives are restless and we've got projects to get done today.
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Mar. 12, 2007 - Fun in the snow...
We've had a bit of snow twice since I last blogged. Just a couple of inches each time and it was gone by a day or two later. We did have a chance to get out and have some fun though. The children enjoyed shoveling the driveway with the first snow fall and building a small "igloo" the second time around. We also had some indoor "snow" fun the past few weeks. One day we piled shaving cream on the kitchen table and played with matchbox cars and the "snow". Another day, we froze some water on cookie sheets and pretended to have frozen pond adventures with plastic animals and matchbox cars. This week looks like the joys of winter are nearly over and Spring is on the way, so we will soon be gardening and playing in mud puddles!
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Feb. 28, 2007 - kissin' cousins...er make that kissin' siblings
While I had the camera out to take pictures of Parker, I snapped this one of Jay, Rock and Mag. I didn't get any good pictures of Aaron this time. He was too busy eating yogurt to care about getting his picture taken.
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Feb. 28, 2007 - Avocado Baby...
The first food for all little rebels is avocado. When Mag was a baby, we found a book called "Avocado Baby" and so ever since then, all the babies around here become known as the "avocado baby" as soon as they start solid food. It's a cute book about how eating avocados make the baby super strong, he beats up bullies, chases away robbers, moves a piano, etc. Well, yesterday was Parker's turn to become the avocado baby. For a week or so, we've noticed that he makes chewing movements when ever he sees someone else eating and since he has 8 teeth and is nine months old, we decided it was time to start solids. We wait until between 8-12 mos before reaching this milestone. Like all of his siblings before him, Parker did not much care for this strange new taste. The first few bites he seemed to enjoy, but then he changes his mind. I think he was more fascinated with the idea of the spoon going in his mouth than anything. We will try again this afternoon and again every afternoon for a while. In another week or so, he'll get to try bananas and I'm thinking he may like those more.
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Feb. 28, 2007 - Editing....
After reading several things lately about internet safety, I decided to remove the children's names from my blog. I started editing past posts, those of you on bloglines probably got annoyed finding that I had 9 new posts and it really was just edited old ones. After going through a few entries, it became tedious and I decided I really didn't want to bother. I don't really like using the nicknames, it sort of changes the flavor of the blog, seems hokie or impersonal or something. Besides that, I can find plenty of other unproductive ways to waste my time, editing blog entries is not high on the list. I guess, I just had a paranoid moment after reading the articles and then allowing my seven year old to start his own blog, but I'm over it now. Speaking of, Jay now has his own blog, you can check it out at www.littlerebels.blogspot.com. We had trouble getting him set up here at HSB, so after weeks of frustration, we just let him start at blogspot, because he was just itching to get started.
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Feb. 25, 2007 - First haircut...
Yesterday, Kev and the boys (except Punky) needed haircuts, it was decided that Chickie should also get hers done. So, off they went while I stayed home to do some cleaning and organizing. Of course some snuggling with Punky while he nursed as well. I was going to say that Chickie had never had her hair cut before, but I better say she has never had her hair *professionally* cut before. She's cut it herself several times. Many of you are probably thinking no way, you'd trust your hubbies to take your daughter for her first haircut. I have no worries here. Kev loves Chickie's hair, so I knew he would be very conservative in his choices. Honestly, I would have gotten another inch or two more cut than what he did. She had not quite two inches cut off the back and her bangs cut. Looks adorable I think, but she doesn't like it. When she arrived home, she immediately went to the bathroom, looked in the mirror and proclaimed "WEIRD, just weird, I look weird". She said she doesn't like the bangs " 'cause I don't like stuff just hanging around on my forehead". Here are a couple of pictures before and during the haircut. Kev didn't take any after it was finished and I've not had the chance to yet. I will try and remember tomorrow to do that and post them.
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Feb. 6, 2007 - Letter to my Grandpa
My Grandpa died on Sunday. I thought I'd share part of a letter I wrote to him. First, here's a picture, this is the only time he held Punky, it was taken in July.
Pop-pop,
As I sit here this morning, my mind is flooded with memories of you.
*The time you sent your grown daughters to their room for fighting and they obeyed.
*The trip to
*I remember one birthday when you surprised me with my own little flowerbed. I will never forget how much you loved flowers and that you were thrilled to share that love with me.
*The joy you found in my children. You enjoyed their antics and never got tired of hearing the funny things they say and do.
*The night we were eating dinner and mom-mom’s chair broke out from under her. She fell and you, Uncle Artie and I sat there stunned for a second. Then you said, “mom, are you alright?” She was able to squeak out that she was okay and you said “good, then we can laugh” and we all laughed until we cried.
*Then there is my most favorite memory of all. When I came back from college, before Kev and I married and I was living with you. I’ll never forget the day I made lunch and mom-mom told me to put mustard on your sandwich. You stomped your foot on the floor and said “that’s it. I’ve had it. I do NOT want mustard on my sandwich. I hate mustard.” I’ll never forget that mom-mom began to argue with you, insisting that you do like mustard. She said “for fifty years you’ve eaten mustard on your sandwiches.” You looked at her and replied “and for fifty years I’ve hated every bite.” At that point, I went to my room and decided you could make your own sandwich. You know, as I remember that day, it was funny. Very funny. At the same time, it speaks volumes of your character pop-pop. For fifty years you ate mustard on your sandwiches, when you hate mustard. I used to think it was because you wouldn’t speak up to mom-mom. That might be so, but as I recall the memory, something else comes to mind. Maybe you never spoke up because you didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Maybe you decided to just be thankful for a wife that made your lunch. We’d all do well to be thankful for our spouses the way you were pop-pop. I know you didn’t have a perfect marriage. I know there were tough times, but yet again your behavior speaks volumes of your character. I never heard you and mom-mom fight. I never heard anything but love towards her in your voice. Even when you were irritated, you were loving and kind and funny.
Pop-pop, I love you so very much. I told you that so many times, but I don’t think you ever understood just what you meant to me. You were my Grandpa, but you were so much more. You were my rock, a shelter, during a tumultuous childhood. You were more than a Grandpa, you were my sunshine on so many gray days. You were more than a Grandpa, you were my own personal clown to make me laugh when I needed it most. You were more than a Grandpa, you were one of my biggest fans, always encouraging me to reach for the stars. You were more than a Grandpa, you were were my hero. You were more than a Grandpa, you were my friend.
Pop-Pop, you left an amazing legacy. In numbers alone, it’s amazing…seven children, twenty-two grandchildren, and so far twenty great-grandchildren. What those numbers don’t tell, is the legacy of love, humility and servanthood you passed on to us. You loved your family more than anything, and you served them faithfully for years, working so hard to provide, never complaining. When life gave you lemons, you not only made lemonade, but you put those silly little tropical umbrellas and a crazy straw in your glass to boot!
I am thankful for the 30yrs I had with you and I will cherish the memories.
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Jan. 29, 2007 - Not quite fine art, but we had fun...
We are in the midst of turning the upstairs bedroom into a school room/play room/Office. Last week, the children and I cleaned out all of the junk (it had been a storage room) and then we painted the entire room a sky blue color. This weekend, we gave the children paint and brushes and the adventure began. We started with clouds and then the birdman wanted to do birds. Mr. Astronaut did a few, I did a few, but most of them Birdman painted. Then Chickie wanted a sun so I helped her with that. Finally, Mr. Astronaut asked to draw a space shuttle, big surprise there
. After all that, they convinced daddy that they should get to do airplanes as well, five... one for each child. Mr. Astronaut drew all of the planes, then each of them painted their own. Chickie and I did Punky's and I helped Zigity. I still need to do the door, window and baseboard trim and clean up the mess before we move everything up. Hopefully that will be done by the weekend. Here are a few pictures...When I took the pics, the children had all gone downstairs except Mr. Astronaut, so he's the only one that got in on the picture taking.
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Jan. 16, 2007 - Trumpet of the Little Rebels...
Mr. Astronaut has been mentioning for months that he really wants to learn to play the trumpet. Yesterday, as we were reading Trumpet of the Swan I suddenly remembered that we had a trumpet in the basement. Kevin played for only two years, but he still has his trumpet. During snack time, I trudged down to the dungeon and found it so we could have a "show and tell" session. Of course, NON-musical momma just showed them the nice not very shiny trumpet and then put it away. When Kev came home, the children were excited to share their find, so out it came again. Daddy had great fun for nearly an hour showing them how to lubricate the valves etc and then teaching them how to get a sound out of it. I think it will be LOOONNNNNGGG time before we are doing any recordings, but they sure had fun. Mr. Astronaut especially enjoyed the noise, er music of the trumpet. He is now more convinced than ever that he would like trumpet lessons. He has asked me already about eight times this morning if he can get it out and practice. We also spent some time this morning listening to audioclips of "Taps" and reading a bit about that.
and of course Punky didn't play, but I have to add a pic of him, just 'cause he's cute!
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Jan. 15, 2007 - Tidbits for today...
Hard to believe we are halfway through January already! The unseasonably warm weather makes it even more unbelievable. We've quite enjoyed warm days and only cool nights, as opposed to cold days and frigid nights! Nature walks and birdwatching has been a regular occasion as of late. Saturday, Kevin took the three older children for a walk through the back field and they had great fun trudging through mud. There was a rather large gaggle of geese towards the North, so they walked in that direction and came home with quite the collection of feathers. Of course, what nature walk is not complete without bringing home something for mommy, so I have a lovely vase on the kitchen counter abounding with freshly picked weeds. We've also been enjoying lots of read-a-louds. We are reading a chapter a day of E.B. White's Trumpet of the Swan and we've also been enjoying many of our FIAR books that we've not read in a while. We've picked back up with American History again this past week, after a break for the past several months. I decided to start with just a quick review of Leif Ericson and Christopher Columbus. When I asked "who remembers Christopher Columbus?", Chickie was first to say "I know, I know". She went on to explain that he was "some dead 'splorer (explorer) dude". I've also been working on getting our pictures done so I can finally send out our annual letter. A friend has designed a WONDERFUL card for us, but we've had trouble getting it printed. Kevin is way more computer saavy than I, so he will be trying tonight to upload it to another online printer. Punky's lunch is over, so ends my computer time. I am off to clean the bathroom, do some math, and then we are off on an expedition to Canada via our imaginations!
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Dec. 8, 2006 - since I'm sharing creative writing assignments...
Birdman wants me to share one of his as well. Of course, chickie wanted to keep up with her brothers and also wrote 3 stories of her own. Her first two were pictures with a bunch of letters, but the last one she drew a picture of a man with a load of wood and wrote "Bil has wud".
Here's Birdman's story, it's about Willie the cardinal. Once upon a time, there was a cardinal named Willie. Willie was silly and had a friend named Billy. Billy was a silly Billy. They played together every day.
The End
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Dec. 7, 2006 - Something less profound...lol
Now that Mr. Astronaut is reading, it's time for him to start doing creative writing assignments. His first chance came this morning when I told him to write a story about "Tom the Turtle". Here, unedited, unrevised, is the first ever published writings of Mr. Astronaut...
Wunts A Pon A time there wus A trdl namd Tom. Hiy wus lonliy. Wun day hiy fawnd a rabit. The rabit wus frendliy. The trdl sed helow the rabit sed helow. Thae plad and danst and ran and thae jumpt and the rabit sed goodbiy
Diy End
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Dec. 7, 2006 - Something profound...
So, a certain friend has been bugging me that I should update my blog. Since I'm a great friend, I'll allow her to remain nameless. Though, if you check www.homeschoolblogger.com/tribemommy, you just might figure out her name
She says I should think of something profound to blog about. Not sure I can do that, since by the time I have a minute to blog my brain is usually mush for the day. Birdman had a profound thought today...he said "the years just go by so fast. One year seems like one day sometimes." Then there are the difficult days that make you wonder if the day will ever end! As I pondered Birdman's thought, I was reminded of a phrase I often say to others when they are going through a difficult time, "this too shall pass". It's easy to think of that in terms of a difficult season ending. It's encouraging to be reminded that a trial won't last forever and that we will get through it. Today, I thought of this in a new light. "This too shall pass", yes, these moments will be gone forever. Sunrise, Sunset and the moment will be but a memory. On difficult days, this is encouraging. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that I won't have all little ones forever. They will get bigger and be more helpful and the work load will be different. Then there are other days, where it's not so encouraging. Days where it's a reminder that I need to make the most of these times. Life is short, there are no guarantees about any of it, except that it will someday end. I must seize the moment, ALL of them, good and bad. I must remember to not be so busy living that I don't really live. As I pondered all of this today, I was encouraged to seek first His Kingdom and to line up my priorities with what the Lord wants for me. He wants me to love my husband and my children and to do my best to point them in the way they should go. How can I do that? One day at a time, one moment at a time. In the midst of checker games and moody science videos, during meal preparation and house cleaning, while changing diapers, tickling toddlers, in all things I can be fixing my eyes upon that which is eternal and leading my children to live a life that brings glory and honor to the Lord.
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Nov. 11, 2006 - I never realized...
How many things contain soy, oats and peanuts. Now that we are beginnning to get some answers to food allergy issues, I'm having to read every label and it's a bit overwhelming. So far only 2 of the 5 children have been tested and we already have to cut out peanuts, soy, oats, oranges, and shellfish. We are praying the others will all have the same allergies so the list doesn't continue to grow. I'm so glad to finally know for sure what to avoid rather than just guessing all the time. Guessing wrongly and then watching your child react to something you thought was safe is not fun! Now I'm off to find something for breakfast that doesn't contain soy...
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Oct. 26, 2006 - Happy Birthday Mr. Astronaut!!!
Happy Birthday to my favorite Astronaut! Hope you have fun this weekend with your new rocket and science kit!!
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Oct. 13, 2006 - He's TWO today!!!
Happy Birthday to my Ziggity Zoo!!! I love you little man!
***this isn't the pic I wanted to post. I can't get the other one sized right...grrr***
This was in September, he was hiding in this suitcase and jumped out just as I walked into the room. Just happened the camera was handy so we could get a pic.
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Oct. 12, 2006 - School on the fly...
I just love it when school happens on it's own! We've had a crazy busy week and have not done much seatwork, aside from spelling and math. However, education has certainly happened around here. Rocklin read Green Eggs and Ham all by himself on Sunday! I know it's twaddle, BUT it encouraged him to read and it's the first book he's read by himself so I don't mind too much. Won't be long and the twaddle will get dumped for a lot of wonderful books. Sunday afternoon, we went to the airshow at Dover Air Force Base. We all enjoyed watching the thunderbird show, but the highlight for my boys was the C-5 galaxy, which happens to be their favorite plane. They were very excited and didn't mind one bit waiting in line 20 mins to have a peek at the cockpit of the C-5. The pilot told Kev, this is the first time ever that they've opened up the cockpit for viewing. Poor Kev had to wait in line twice, and climb the ladder carrying a child twice. The first time he took Rocklin and Magdalyn and then second round was Jerald and Aaron. Parker and I just hung out below, I'm not much for climbing ladders. Apparently, neither is Jerald. He got about halfway up and made the mistake of looking down. He went from excited to very pale real quick and he froze, holding up the line for a minute. It took much prodding from Kev to get him to continue and he was sure glad to be back down on the ground afterwards. Tuesday, Kev's dad came over to take care of some yard work for us. We recently had a new well put in and so he was spreading out the dirt, etc and the children had fun "helping" with that. They found lots of sea shells mixed in the layers of dirt and they plan to try and dig a few pieces out to examine soon. Let's see, what else...oh, yeah, yesterday while Rock and I went on our date, Jerald helped Pop-pop clean out bird houses and plant turnips, beets, and carrots. He also picked some fresh basil to bring home. This morning has been spent pretending to be explorers. They have built a boat out of beanbag chairs, clothes baskets and a cardboard box. They've safely made it to antarctica and set up their tent. At the moment, they have a world map out and are inside the "tent" discussing the fastest, safest route from Antarctica to Madagascar. Rocklin wants to make a pit stop to the Nile river to look for crocodiles. Parker was in his tugboat (aka exersaucer) for a while and is now snoozing in my lap. Aaron and Magdalyn are just going along with Jay and Rock's expeditions. I think after we make birthday cake, I'll pull out some info on Madagascar since it seems to be the hot topic at the moment....for now, I'm off to find some warm clothes so I can join my gang in Antarctica, they are just about to go ice fishing. Now, if I can just find my mittens...
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Oct. 12, 2006 - Tis the season...
Birthday season that is...
Happy Birthday today to Pop-pop (Kev's dad), we hope it's a wonderful day!!! Aaron turns 2 tomorrow and we will be celebrating with cake at Nana and Grampie's house. Rocklin turns 6 on the 26th and daddy turns 32 on the 31st. Kev's parents will also be celebrating their 42nd anniversary on the 24th. So, it's a busy month! We will be spending this afternoon making Aaron's cake and cards and Jerald wants to make him a birthday gift. Not sure what he has up his sleeve, but I'm sure it's something that will keep him occupied for quite a while. Kev's parents had a grand time (or was it exhausting time?...maybe both) keeping Jay, Mag and Aaron yesterday while I took Rocklin (and Parker) on a date. We wandered around toys r us for a bit looking for the perfect birthday present for Aaron and then we went grocery shopping. Rocklin decided the perfect gift was a tube full of dinosaurs...considering Aaron LOVES making dino noises, I'm sure he will be thrilled. We also picked up a matchbox car (his very favorite toy), a container of magnetic letters/numbers, a "pound the peg" game and a beginner sized soccer ball. Somehow, I think Aaron will have the most fun with the gift bags and packaging!
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Sep. 28, 2006 - A giant amongst us...
Of course not really, but it came to mind when Parker was put on the scale yesterday. He is growing like a weed!!! He's gained well over ten pounds and grown over four inches since he was born. No wonder I keep thinking he's older than four months! He's only about seven pounds lighter than Aaron. I'm having a hard time getting good pictures of him. Seems all the good ones are when I don't have the camera handy. Here's one from a couple of weeks ago, the first time I ever put him in the exersaucer. He wasn't sure about it at first, but now he loves it nearly as much as he likes the swing.
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Sep. 28, 2006 - Fun with Corn!
We took a bit of time out of our day to make a mess...err, have fun with paint. Yesterday, the younger three children had well visits with the pediatrician and so Jay and Rock enjoyed some time with Kev's parents. Mom-mom and Pop-pop took them on a nature walk into the field where they discovered deer tracks, grasshoppers and other assorted neat things. They brought back two bags of corn for the birds (the field was recently harvested and there are always leftovers!
We were having a sort of sluggish day, everyone seemed to be in a foul mood, so on a whim I declared it a great day for painting. I waited until the two little ones were napping and then sent the older three out to pick some ears of corn from the bags. I wouldn't tell them why they were picking corn, so they were quite busy trying to figure out what we were about to do. Jay's theory was that we were going to do a craft, Rock suggested I was gonna make them eat it and Mag thought I might be wanting them to "do something with them". They had great fun rolling the corn into paint and then rolling it across their papers to make neat patterns. They each chose different colors and different techniques for their masterpieces. Just as we finished, Aaron decided to end his nap early, so I cleaned up the biggers and then did one on one with Aaron so I could keep him from eating and/or spilling paint....or at least I thought I could. The instant I put the paint in front of him, he dipped his finger and then put it in his mouth before I could even process what he was doing...have I ever mentioned how fast that child is???? He decided that it didn't taste so bad and he tried another color a few minutes later! Aaron is like Jay at that age and does NOT like his hands to get dirty with paint, so he skipped the corn cob and used a paint brush instead. The artwork is now displayed as usual on the kitchen door leading to the basement and they are busting at the seams, waiting until tomorrow morning to show daddy.
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Sep. 28, 2006 - Rock is reading!!!!
This is such exciting news around here! He has struggled so much and it all finally clicked for him and now he's trying to read everything possible. Last year, he didn't want to read because he thought I'd stop reading aloud to him once he learned. After much assurance that I'd continue to snuggle and read with him, he finally said he'd like to try 100 EZ lessons to teach your child to read. We made it a good ways through and stalled...he was bored and just didn't like it at all. We fumbled for a few months, trying to figure out what to do next. A few weeks ago, he asked to try and read the first word list in the Victory drill book...he read every word on the page. After that, a friend recommended explode the code so I ordered book 1 right away. Rocklin LOVES explode the code. He's wanting to do 3-4 pages a day. It's not only been excellent in helping him to read, but it has been a HUGE boost to his confidence. We are all very happy for Rocklin, but no one shows it better than Jerald. It is sooooo neat to see them be each others best friends and biggest encouragers. Jerald has worked with Rocklin a lot, helping him learn the letters and teaching him simple words like cat, hat, bat. Jay even drew a little "reader award" certificate and presented it to Rock along with a peppermint candy.
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Sep. 6, 2006 - Daddy's girl
One day last week at the breakfast table, Magdalyn told her brothers "When I grow up, I'm gonna marry my daddy." I explained that she couldn't marry her daddy. I told her that God would send her the right husband for her. She got real pouty, crossed her arms and said "FINE. If I can't marry my daddy than I'm not gonna get married. He is MY daddy and I am HIS chickie and it's gonna be like that forever and ever. I am never gonna move away from my daddy. So, mommy you are gonna just have to get a grip and 'cept I will be here forever and share my daddy with you." Kev asked her if he could get that in writing so when she changes her mind in a few years, he can pull it out.
We had a similiar conversation this morning. She said that she and her husband and all her children were going to live here with us. she is "NEVER leaving her daddy."
In an age when so many girls are looking for love in all the wrong places because they don't get it from their daddy. I am very thankful for the relationship my husband has with his daughter. She thinks he hung the moon and he would die for her (or any of his children for that matter) in an instant and that's exactly as it should be.
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Aug. 22, 2006 - First bats in the attic and now snakes in the bathroom!
We weren't quite ready to start the new school year yet, but we got a hands on science lesson this morning when this little guy (or girl) was found in the living room and eventually caught in the bathroom.
So, here's the story...
Usually, I try and get my shower before Kev leaves in the morning. This morning, that didn't happen. I put up the baby gate and closed doors so that everyone was contained to the living room and I went to take my shower. When I went into the bathroom, the children were playing "snake hunter" with their plastic and stuffed snakes. I told them to play nicely and not get to rough and I'd be right out. After just a couple of minutes in the shower, they became very loud. I yelled for them to settle down and they ignored me. After the third time, I got out of the shower, opened the bathroom door and yelled (had to yell because they were screaming) for them to come to me. My intention was to assign them each a spot to sit quietly while I finished my shower and got dressed. They refused to come, which made me absolutely livid! All the while, they were screaming about snakes, but I thought they were being disobedient and continuing to play. With all of them yelling, I couldn't really understand what any of them were saying. So, I quickly threw on some clothes and came just a foot or so out of the bathroom. By then, they had quieted down and were all (minus Parker) standing on the couch. I said "why did you continue to disobey me when I called you?" The answer was "um, mommy we didn't come because there is a snake under the table". Well, there is a small table just outside the bathroom door and then there is the kitchen table on the other side of the same wall. I thought they meant the kitchen table, and I didn't believe them. **sidenote: Rocklin loves snakes and has MANY fake ones and often puts them in places trying to scare me**. So, I said "there is not a snake under the table. Quit your foolishness and every one of you come here now." They didn't budge and repeated, "we aren't coming 'cause there is a snake under the table". I peaked around the corner and saw nothing under the kitchen table. Jerald politely said "no, that table next to you. It's right next to your foot." Now, remember I had come out of the shower in a huff, so I didn't grab my glasses and couldn't see too well. I looked down and sure enough, under the table was a snake all curled up. Looked just like one of Rocklin's fake ones. At this point, I was very angry and told them that I had enough silliness and for them to pick it up and take it back upstairs with the rest of their snakes. About that time, it moved and I went screaming across the house for my cell phone faster than I think I've ever moved. In my state of "freaking out", it didn't occur to me to watch where it went. Instead, I ran and got my phone to call Kevin. When I got back, the snake was gone. Judging by where it was found and where the children were, we were able to narrow it down to two places...the bathroom and the masterbedroom. While waiting for Kevin to get home and find it, I began packing bags because NO WAY am I sleeping in this house with a snake on the loose. Kevin gets home and searches everywhere in those two rooms. He doesn't find it. He looked for well over an hour and finally he had to get to work. (by the way, as I'm typing this, the bats are beginning to stir as they get ready to go out for their nightly feeding
). I kinda thought it had gone into the bathroom, under the vanity. Kev looked as best as he could and didn't see it though. When he emptied the vanity, he left everything on the floor. He was walking out to leave and I went into the bathroom to put away everything. Just as I reached down to pick up a drawer, I saw the snake go under the vanity. I screamed worse the second time than I did the first! The boys went running out to catch Kev just before he pulled out of the driveway. He stuffed the hole on one side of the vanity with a towel and tried to get the snake to come out the hole on the other side. Didn't work. So then he turned on his drill, hoping to scare it out. Didn't work. Finally he ended up having to take out the sink and vanity to get to it. He was going to kill it, because he doesn't like snakes and believes "the only good one is a dead one". Our resident snake lover had other intentions though. He really wanted to keep it. NOT going to happen. So he said, well will you at least not kill it? Could we please take it out back to the field and let him go? The softie that Kev is, they took a nice long walk and let the critter go. After he was out of the bag, he just sat there for a bit. Rocklin got to touch it and they took a few pictures and some video footage. After the fact, we learned why Rocklin was on the couch with the other children when I first came out of the bathroom. It took him by surprise and scared him also. By the time Kevin got home, he was fine and he helped Kevin catch it. Remember they were playing "snake catcher" when the snake showed up. Rocklin saw it on the floor and thought it was one of his toy snakes, so he picked it up. Well, he found out real fast it wasn't a toy! I imagine even for a snake lover, that would take a few minutes to get over!!
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