Neighborhood Hang Out

A few months ago, my aunt and her family stopped by my house for a little visit while they were in town. While they were at my house (it was a total of about and hour) I had three different little boys over at my house to play. She asked me if my house was the "Koolaid House;" you know, the house that all the kids hang out at. Well, it kind of is. And I don't mind. It's nice to have the kids here and know where they are and what they're up to. It's kind of fun to see who all stops by and asks if Jace can play in a day's time.

Well, apparently my house is super cool. Because not only are the neighborhood kids dropping by and hanging around, but the critters like to hang out too. Yes, I've talked about the scorpions, lizards, gross bugs, and the tarantula; the last couple of days a snake has joined the mix, and it really didn't want to leave.

It started Saturday afternoon when I went to get the mail. I saw something sticking up out of the grass and thought it was a stick, but as I got closer I realized it was a snake "standing" up pretty straight and high in the air. I took a picture of it on my phone to show the boys and then Bryan and I chased it off into the neighbor's yard.

Saturday evening, Bryan discovered that the snake was living in a hole behind a sprinkler head at the corner of our driveway. The boys and I found it entertaining to sit and watch it peak its head out of the hole and slide in and out. A couple of neighbor kids came over as I was getting up the courage to kill it with the shovel when the little 11 year old girl asked if she could catch it. So I let her. She patiently waited for about an hour but the snake never came back out again enough for her to catch it.

Well, today things changed. As I was getting out of the shower, Jace came running into the bathroom and said, "The snake's on the front porch and Rusty's cats are attacking it." I wrapped myself in my robe and went out my garage and my neighbor was standing there with her son, another little boy, and her two cats were on the porch by the snake. Here's the story:

She said she was in her back yard when she heard this blood curdling scream...and it wasn't stopping. So she sent her son to see what was going on. Apparently the other little boy had come to my house when I was in the shower, and saw the snake all stretched out across the step that leads into my house and he started screaming like a little girl. So she came over and brought her cats to try and kill the snake, but they lost interest and wouldn't do the nasty job. So there were six of us standing at the end of my porch watching this two foot snake. It had curled itself up and so my neighbor got the guts up and put a bucket over the top of the snake and said she would send her eleven year old daughter back over to dispose of it in a couple of hours.

Well, I couldn't wait that long and so I called my neighbor boy and asked him, "Shamon, are you afraid of snakes." He told me, "No, I'll be over," without me even having to tell him what I needed. He came over and tried to get the snake into the bucket, but it just wasn't working out they way we had hoped. His mom then drove by and stopped and she ended up being the hero. She took the shovel and did a series of dragging, then scooping and throwing the snake down the driveway, across the street, and over the edge of the cliff.

I am just a little puzzled as to why all of the nasty creatures seem to love my house. Enough already!! AND.... why is it that all of the critters like to play as Bryan's away? If we ever move, it won't be because we don't like the neighborhood, it will be because we don't like the creepy crawlies that COME with the neighborhood.

A Reprieve

Ah, Fathers and Sons.

The one night and morning that you look forward to for several weeks, maybe even a whole year, that guarantees you some "alone" time. Some time to do all (okay, some) of those things when you always think, "If I didn't have to take the kids, I would do that." So you can imagine how excited I was to enjoy this alone time.

Well, as the day was going on and I was trying to plan out my evening of excitement, a couple of things hit me. The first was trying to decide what I actually wanted to do with all of my time. I even made a list. Should I go shopping, clean the house, work on a craft, call up a friend and go out, plan for trek, of just plain veg. So many good options because all of these are accomplished much easier when the kids aren't around.

As I sit here typing this I still can't decide what I'm going to do with the rest of my time tonight.....

Also, as I was taking down the tent (because it was set up in the basement), gathering blankets and pillows, shopping for their dinner and other necessities, and preparing some of their dinner ahead of time, I thought how ironic this Fathers and Sons thing is. Here the MOTHER is preparing and gathering and making sure they have everything they need so that the BOYS could dash out the door as soon as DAD got home so that they could go do some bonding.

But then again, I guess I want to ensure they get gone for my own selfish desires.

Well, this night has turned out to be even more ironic. The weather has not cooperated at all. Wet, cold, rainy weather is not going to be an enjoyable time for a five and three year old. So Bryan decided that they weren't going to sleep over, and unfortunately that brand new tent just isn't going to be used quite yet for some actual camping. Maybe basement camping is all that tent's going to see. He also decided that it would be best to feed to boys at home where it was warm and not so miserable.

Which I have to agree with. He's absolutely right. I would do the same thing if I were in his shoes.

However, now that I have spent my entire day preparing for them to go off and enjoy themselves so that I could enjoy myself, I am now left with dishes and a messy kitchen to clean from their Father and Sons dinner.

And I can expect them back at 10:00-ish (or maybe sooner).

So much for a restful night to myself, sleeping in, and a lazy morning.

So much for my reprieve.