last week the kids and i visited the local Critter Barn, where Miram and Levi got to observe and interact with lots of different farm animals.
i also took our own little critter out last week to try to get some decent 9 month pictures of him, though we didn't get even one smile--he was way too distracted by all the interesting and yummy looking things around him!
...and now crickets join them.
it's kind of sad, really. i used to not mind crickets. i have always found the little chirpy sound they make at night soothing.... that is, until they started invading our house. that cute, cozy chirpy sound has been getting a little too close for comfort.
it all started last week when i heard that chirping coming from our front entry. this is understandable, however, since the trim and some of the baseboard around our front door is presently torn off because matt is working on it. we couldn't find it behind the shoes, so i figured it was just living in one of the cracks, and i was ok with that...
...until one night, just before bed, it met me in the middle of the living room floor. apparently he was out for an evening stroll. i think my screams scared him back home, though. seeing a rather large black bug in the middle of the floor was too much of a reminder of the australian cockroaches we used to meet up with on a regular basis.
anyway, i'm not sure if this guy relocated or just invited his friend, but next thing i know i am hearing the cute-turned-evil chirpy sound in my bathroom. and no, it was not outside the window. i sent matt to hunt it down one morning, and he found it behind our cabinet, but before he could capture it, it darted behind the pedestal sink where he couldn't get to it. "well, i'm going to be late for work--i can't deal with it right now," were his parting words. great! how am i supposed to use the bathroom knowing that thing is hiding in there?!
i didn't know where the flipping thing was (nor was i about to go after it alone), so i was learning to live with the occassional chirp, thinking i was conquering my fears. little did i know it was a cricket conspiracy--they are out to get me!!
this morning about did me in. i walked into our laundry room and a cricket FALLS FROM THE CEILING just centimeters in front of me! since when do crickets hang out on the ceiling?! i told you they are after me. you should have heard me scream this time. and then you should have heard matt laugh at me.
i'd had it. this cricket was not geting away this time. in australia we used to zap the cockroaches with this spray that would kill them, since they were too big to swat. the closest thing i saw this morning was my oximagic stain spray. i grabbed it and doused the thing, and just as i thought he was crawling off to die somewhere...
...he transformed into attack-cricket! he came out from where he has been hiding, first with little cricket steps, and then one giant cricket jump--right toward me! apparently my spray had made him delirious or something, but he about gave me a heart attack. i exited the scene as fast as possible (more screams) and sent matt in to try to kill him again (more laughs). and what he discovered was that this had been mr. cricket's final hurrah before his death. he disposed of him neatly (though not reverently).
sorry if you are a cricket-lover. don't worry--there's still plenty of them singing their choruses right outside. but let me assure any more crickets out there that may be reading this--don't step foot in my house again if you know what's good for you.
this children's adaptation of Pilgrim's Progress really captured my kids' attention! this surprised me a little, because it is written in old english, and you would think at first glance that some of the illustrations would be too scary. but even my three year old would sit for whole chapters and would ask me to keep reading when it was over! makes me want to read John Taylor Gatto's book, "Dumbing Us Down"--it's on my list! have we come to expect way too little of our kids? i am always amazed to read in the laura ingalls books, too, how the children will quote entire poems or passages by heart, do complex long division problems in their head, etc. i bet they didn't learn that stuff watching sesame street. :)
the kids played for hours in the water; i got to prove for one last time while in my 20's that i can still water-ski (it's been quite a few years, and i am feeling it today!); matt took numerous laps tubing, skiing, and kneeboarding with the guys; and matt and i came in second in the bean bag toss competition. i won't mention the shady midnight blobbing adventure... :)
and hats off to our generous hosts, who gave up their bedroom so that matt and i and our kids could have their room, while they camped out on the kitchen floor! next year we may need to bring a tent...
and Blueberries for Sal, since it's that season... if you haven't read Robert McCloskey to your kids, you need to! such sweet stories with nice illustrations, as well. Make Way for Ducklings is another great one of his.
