Bird Nightmare

I don't even know how to begin to describe this. I'm very, very afraid of birds. All kinds of birds. When they're flying around in the sky or singing in a tree I'm good. I love watching the Blue Jays and Cardinals in our yard. My fear involves birds coming anywhere near me.

I was driving down a residential street today after dropping the kids off at their schools. I suddenly saw a wild turkey starting to cross in front of me. A LARGE, VERY GROSS wild turkey. I slowed down because I didn't want to hit it. I thought he would cross the road and be on his merry way. Quite suddenly, FOUR MORE huge, gross wild turkeys charged my van. They had the front and driver's side completely surrounded. They were pecking my van!!! I tried honking my horn to scare them away. That did not work. THEY WOULD NOT MOVE! The baby was terrified and crying in the back. (I was a little scared myself.) Someone pulled up behind me and took photos with his cell phone. Ultimately, I backed up at full speed and I was able to "lose them." They were still running after my van! It was a frightening six minutes (although I'm laughing now).

Birthday Zone

This is the time of year when is seems that the birthday celebrations run into each other.

The four year old turned five. He cried the other day because he says he wants to be four again. Those must be the glory days. When asked what he wanted for his birthday dinner his response was, "Candy, pop, eggs, and mac & cheese." Mmmm. Sorry you weren't invited?

The eight year old turned nine. This was crazy to me since her birthday happens to be the anniversary of me entering my current line of work. She wanted to get her ears pierced for her birthday. (She was given the green light a year ago, but has been TERRIFIED to actually do it.) It was quite an adventure. She has been tormented by the thought of the PAIN (which I tried to convince her really isn't that bad). She tried to jump out of the chair when the girl was ready to shoot in the first earring. She had changed her mind. Me, being the caring mother that I am, said, "Oh no you don't. You are doing this." She did it. And she's glad. She said it didn't even hurt. Well, maybe a little. I need to take a picture...

The baby will be two in a few weeks. Hard to believe. He's a little boy now. He does a great "dying scene" whenever he's playing with swords. He has yet to surrender the Santa hat from Christmas. He wears it and sleeps with it. He refers to it as his "Elmo hat." At least I know he's not color blind. A couple days ago I heard, "Bye mom," followed by some loud, awkward steps. I walked around the corner to find him standing at the front door ready to go outside. Now, doesn't that look like a child who is prepared for sub-zero temps? Maybe the stain on his shirt will keep him warm.

Speaking of birthdays...I'm late in reporting on my 33 birthday challenge. I challenged myself to write 33 thank you notes, watch 33 movies, read 33 books, and try 33 new things. I'm no longer 33, but happy to report that I accomplished my goal. It was a race to the finish with the books. I was reading three books a week at the end. Here's my report:

*Think about writing a thank you note to someone almost every week. Maybe some of you already do that, but I realized I never really thanked people for the great things they do. It has made me more conscious of that.

*There are not a lot of great movies out there. Most of them were a HUGE waste of time. I guess that's why I don't watch a lot of movies. Two of my favorites: Twelve Angry Men and North and South (not the Patrick Swayze version).

*I love to read, but never really made a lot of time for it. This forced me to make time for it. I read some awful books that I felt obligated to finish because I couldn't waste being halfway through. I also read some great books. Favorites: Knuckleheads (my shortest book, but had me laughing out loud), I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (great find, Loni).

Some of the new things I tried were really simple (recipes) and some were more of stretch (lifestyle changes).

EVERYONE SHOULD TRY THIS!

Exciting Stuff

Here's our list of exciting stuff:

1. We don't have to use the microwave in complete darkness for fear of overloading the breaker.
2. My number of weekly laundry loads has been cut in half with the new washer and dryer.
3. No more loud traffic passing by my bedroom window. (Although I did hear a dog last night, and I'm not friends with dogs that bark when it's bedtime).
4. We have more space for children to exhibit their craziness.
5. Our kitchen actually has counter space. The family has their fingers crossed for mealtime.
6. Bedtime has been slightly more peaceful. I don't hear as much of this, "Make him stop breathing on me!"

I would post pictures, but I don't want the creepies to see my house.

Moving Day Approaches

Moving is...Children in boxes. Children emptying already packed boxes. Children knocking over boxes marked "Fragile." Toys packed. Nothing for children to do. Tylenol. Wondering why we've accumulated so many things. Exhausting.


Incidentally, I'll miss the big trees in our yard. (Maybe not the raking though). We planted the one in the bottom picture and it's quite large now. The children are distressed about leaving the yellow house. They swear they'll share a room FOREVER if we'll call the whole thing off. Promises, promises.

I Hate Walmart

This post will be completely devoted to (in my opinion) the differences between WalMart and Target.

Oh, Target. I grew up going to Target. Those red carts are like the blood that runs through my veins (I know, it's blue inside my body...). I LOVE Target. It is bright, cheery, clean, organized. They have happy little displays. I know where to find everything. The employees are lovely, always asking if I need help.

Walmart. Oh, how I LOATHE Walmart. It is dirty. It is disorganized. The lights feel oppressive. The aisles are too narrow. Things always seem jumbled. I even had a cashier teach my four year old some naughty words during what she thought was a friendly cashier/customer exchange. That's just icky.

I say the savings isn't worth it. I think I'm permanently divorcing myself from Walmart.

Vacation

Here are some snaps from our recent vacation. My camera pooped out and they look a little blurry.

Anyone who knows us, knows that four members of our family love, love, LOVE Star Wars. (The other family member likes it a "normal amount.") At one of the Disney parks, they have a show where they pick a few kids to receive Jedi training. They get to wear robes and fight with a "real Jedi." Then Darth Vader (que music in your mind) enters the stage and all the kids on stage get a chance to have a one-on-one light saber battle with him. Hubby had spent lots of time planning our day around this show. We got there early and staked out a front spot for the kids. By some miracle, both the older kids were chosen. Can you imagine the nightmare had they only chosen one? It's difficult to see in the pictures, but Darth Vader looked VERY real and was quite tall. Four year old told us later that he was only shaking because he was cold, not because he was scared. (It was almost 100 degrees and we were all dripping sweat.)

We were so lucky that grandma and grandpa met us there! It was fun to see them and we needed the extra hands!

Baby Lu was a good sport. He loved all the rides and shows. He was the only child who didn't protest in the Haunted Mansion or any of the other "scary" things.

See my baby trying to snuggle the car (below)? This was a highlight for him.

The weather was hot. There were NO LINES. We did lots of walking. We wouldn't have changed a thing.

Our vacation was really nice

Lots Happening

Fall isn't complete without our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. It was a bit rushed this year, so we'll go back again (hopefully before it's FREEZING). I love the colors!!! This is my favorite time of year. I love the crisp air, amazing colors, and snuggling in a warm sweater. The kids were once again frustrated by my desire to photograph them. People must think I'm a maniac mother when they hear me yelling for my kids to PLEASE TAKE A PHOTO!

It is difficult to push 4x your body weight. This wagon didn't budge! A guy can try...

Okay, so for those who took the time to read this entire entry and look at my sweet children, you get bonus news. We found a house. If all goes well we'll be moving in on November 9. It's in the same city, about five minutes from where we are now. I'm super excited and if it doesn't work out, I'm crawling in a hole.