The tax man cometh...

... and he has brought gifts! I just finished doing our taxes (I use www.taxact.com) and I found myself pleasantly surprised with the refund this year. Always a pleasant way to start the new year, paying off credit cards.

~Insert pithy comment here~

I was going to try to find something humorous to say up there, but I am too tired. And it isn't really late either, I just am nodding off in the chair. Some random late night movie is on, and it is lulling me to sleep.

Baby Leah is sick now. An acquaintance had a sick little girl, didn't tell anyone yet she brought the sick child to a get together, alas Leah has a cold and cough. No worries, just a routine stuffy nose and cough. I've had to use the dreaded nasal aspirator every hour, followed with a lotion-y tissue. She is sporting a bright red little nose and a semi-permanent slick of snot on her top lip. All with a smile though. Even with her issues, she is still lively, happy and full of those great toothless smiles. She is snorting as I type, I can hear her through the monitor. I have a vaporizer near her crib, with the Vics Vapo stuff wafting in the steam. And she still is all clogged. Poor baby. Imagine her trying to nurse! She starts out nursing very actively and then has to take a break for air. So sad!

Good day over all here, Joe did well with his homework. No attitude with me, no drawing a blank with math... he just got to it, and finished his work. He had time to play with his toys, make a giant "sponsor" sticker for his Cub-o-napolis car, and even play Silly Pins (hallway bowling) with me and Lily before bed.

Cub-o-napolis is a Cub Scout event where they decorate a box to look like a car. They attach rope, or suspenders to keep the car up around their torso. Then they run a lap around the track. They have to pull in for pit stops; i.e. change tires (shoes), refuel (get a drink), wash the windshield (goggles). Of course no driver performs his own pit stops, he needs a pit crew (that's me). So awards are given for best car, fastest time, most organized pit crew... I can't wait, I think it will be really fun for all the kids. Lily is going to have a car as well. I think they are going to let the siblings participate also.

Lily is still doing ballet, now they are on the bar doing the usual ballet moves. I need to get a bunch of pictures of that. And pictures of Joe at Cub Scouts as well. Lily was getting a little bored with ballet, but I am going to make her finish what she committed to doing. The dance semester ends in April with a Disney-themed show, I will have her stick to it until then.
She has hinted at gymnastics, we will see about that. She is always throwing herself around anyway maybe she needs just a little direction. Who knows if she'll change her mind in between now and April. She is a six year old girl. She is also growing into that obnoxious phase (ugh), but I will still keep her! I love her in spite of her new odd ways!

And that concludes my entry tonight. I need sleep.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Poor little guy. I put him out of his misery though. :-(

Poor little guy. I put him out of his misery though. :-(
Originally uploaded by B_Williams

So as of tonight the "mouse count" is up to 6; (not six in one night, but total since I found mouse # 1). This guy was stuck to a glue trap for mice AND rats, so it was a deep tray full of very sticky glue. He had already escaped out of one of the other traps, the glue traps for mice that I bought. The one that caught him for good came from the Rodent Guy, and the Pro's don't mess around. That trap was meant to stick the poor unfortunate soul who ventured on the glue fast and tight. As soon as I saw the mouse I knew I would have to end its suffering - his eye was stuck in the glue. His nose was half in the glue as well. The only thing I could think of was a quick death by my foot. I folded the glue trap on top of him, he squeaked. I think I scared him, plus I'm sure the glue stuck him from above also. I wrapped it in a grocery bag, and ~gulp~ stomped once, very hard.

My 8 year old boy laughed, it was a brave laugh as boys will sometimes do to mask their feelings. He may have felt bad for it, but he laughed instead. I thought at first he was being really horrid, till I realized his laugh was not the usual laugh. He was a little more animated than usual, so I think he might have been a little affected by the mouse. But on the whole, I think he was just being a typical boy. They laugh at things like that.

Lily cried. She knew I was going to have to kill it, but still she cried. I hugged her, let her sit on the kitchen counter while I cooked dinner. Her and I talked over why I had to kill the mouse. I told her a story from my childhood, a squirrel fell into our fireplace. It didn't die right away, but it was badly hurt from the heat. My mother wanted to kill it, put it out of it's misery, I cried, I wouldn't let her! I was also older and in need of a lesson. My mother didn't kill the squirrel, instead we watched it die a long painful death. I knew she was right then, the animal needed to die fast, no more pain. So I related this story to Lily, and how I learned a lesson that night. I asked Lily if she were mad at me for killing the mouse. She said she was a little, the mouse was "so cute, he looked like a baby mouse!" But she also understood the squirrel story and she gradually began to realize it was for the best.

I have never had to stomp on a creature. I really, really, really, really hope that was the last little dude. I spray foam/steel wool-ed the crap out of all the little places the mice were known to travel. I guess it worked.

Knock on wood that was the last mouse.

I don't want to stomp on anymore creatures.

yuck.

Jerry's relatives are not welcome here.

I'm ready for sleep, have been tired all day. Here is the tally so far for the past few days:

Number of loads of laundry I hung to dry outside (because the dryer broke...): 5

Number of mice I have caught in my kitchen: 4

Yep, mice. oh joy!

The first two I caught with a humane trap and I released them into the field near the house. I thought I only had one mouse then, but I was surprised to find two in the trap.

(BTW, mice really like peanut butter)

I had also bought sticky traps and they were set out in case the humane traps didn't work. And as I was about to go to bed about 30 minutes ago, I happened to look on the floor where the cabinets and the refrigerator meet. Where I had a sticky trap, and it was full. ~shiver~

Okay, only two mice so it wasn't as full as it could have been. But still, eeeewwww. I didn't want to pick the trap up with my bare hands, so I found some old BBQ tongs that I don't care about anymore. I put the mice into a plastic bag, and that into the big trash outside. The little mice were glued in rather uncomfortable positions, I saw feet going the wrong way, chin and fur stuck down... poor little vermin. Trash day isn't until Friday, but I honestly don't think I can kill the mice. I am gonna let nature take it's course, i.e. starvation or heat stroke inside the trash bin...

But that still feels really bad, I know it would be more merciful to make death quick for them. On the other hand, they are mice. In my house where I live with my children. Part of me wants to say, "Screw em, they can just hang out in the trash till Friday." And then another part of me feels like a bad person, what a horrid way to die, stuck to a trap. I don't want the mess of a snap trap... Arrgh, decisions. For now, tonight I have the glue traps for whomever else there is to catch... ~another shiver~

I have two theories as to how I came to have mice in the house. I have not seen any mouse evidence until about a week ago. Lily saw one in the bathroom, and I finally saw them yesterday, that is when I bought the traps. In looking, I found some mouse poo under the kitchen sink (I placed a trap there immediately) and I found mouse poo behind the refrigerator (also another trap was placed there). But it isn't a lot of mouse poo, so I don't think they have been there very long.

AND, about one week ago, after putting kids to bed, getting into PJ's (I had been upstairs almost one hour), I went downstairs to find the laundry room door was WIDE open. So that is my first thought as to how the mice got in.

HOWEVER: In August my refrigerator broke and repair men had to change out the fridge, and the copper tubing that goes into the wall had to be messed with. Today as I cleaned behind the fridge, I saw that the recess where the tubing goes into the wall isn't sealed anymore and you can see into the space between the walls. If I were a mouse, I'd take my family in there.

That is where Jerry always hid from Tom...

SO.... If the mice have been in here for a long time, they had to have been living in the wall, otherwise I would have seen their droppings and I would have fixed it! Now that I have 4 already caught (~shiver~) I am starting to question if that many mice would have ventured in during that hour the door was open.

I think I am going to have mouse nightmares. BLEAAAHH! I can't even stop myself from stealing glances at the peanut butter trap I set a little while ago. I have two sticky traps together, and a dollop of peanut butter in the center. And I hope there is no one left in the house to catch! And of course I am thinking about baby mice... and..... and yuck.

I seem to always have vermin to deal with when my husband is not here. Lice (eeewwwww), weevils (eeewww, but really easy to fix), and now mice. But these are huge vermin compared to little bugs.

I bleached my floor today.

Guess I have to do it again tomorrow. ~sigh~

-B.

Weekly Re-cap

So they started to sell lemonade instead!
Originally uploaded by B_Williams

So the weather service has issued an extreme wind warning for all the islands this weekend. Our power usually goes out when the winds get severe, so I am preparing for that. As I type now, I have a lighter in my pocket just in case we are suddenly thrust into darkness. Joe and Lily just went back to school on Wednesday and I was really glad for the break, for the quieter time during the day. Since Monday is Martin Luther King day, and counting the no school tomorrow, we have a 5 day weekend now. And only 2 days of school this week. Tomorrow has a 90% chance of heavy rains and high wind, so time to break out the puzzles (and maybe the propane so I can cook if the power goes out).

Joe and Lily are enjoying a later night tonight, not the usual early bedtime on school nights. They are watching The Wizard of Oz for the third or fourth time in the last few days. I showed them this movie a few years back, but it didn't capture their imagination then. One of my friends has the movie on DVD, so we have been visiting Oz daily! That movie is such a classic, it holds it's own with current movies, really a great flick. I love that my kids are captivated by it too. Lily asked me, "Mom, what is over the rainbow, does it really looks like that?" I told her, "I've never been over the rainbow, but I like to think it might look something like that." She said, "I think so too!", grinned and went back to watching Dorothy and Toto.

Yesterday Joe and Lily decided to try capitalisim by selling shave ice. A little over a year ago Joseph had birthday money to spend. He bought a hand crank shave ice maker. It is a little time consuming and you really have to put some muscle into it! After the first shave ice, they switched their product to lemonade. And when that was sold out they went to an orange drink I made with water, sugar, orange extract and red/yellow food coloring. I put some sliced orange in to make it look more orang-y. They sold each cup for 25 cents, and a few hours later they came in with $3.00! Not too shabby for a few hours work. The next time I have a yard sale I will let them set up shop again. I bet they will make some bucks then!

Both kids also earn money by recycling. They take the cans and bottles outside and sort it, then I drop it off and give them the money. Lily likes to buy gum while Joe usually buys little toys like a slinky, or some silly putty. They saved a little money however, and their newest purchases were Siamese Fighting fish, also known as Bettas. I bought the fish accessories, but they each picked out their own fish and paid the money for it. Each kids was able to keep their own bamboo plant alive for a year, so I have high hopes for these fish. :-)

On a whole different topic, I had a closet ressurection yesterday, as I decided to try on my pre-baby Leah clothes. Normally, such an activity is depressing and unmotivating. However, I have been watching what I eat lately and I also have gone back to working out like I used to. I was rewarded with jeans that I could zip! Not everything looks pretty, I still have A LOT of work to do, but I feel great that some progress has been made! I am as motivated as ever now, and I also have a few "new" clothes to add to my closet. Of course I am sore from the exercise I did yesterday, so when I stand up from the computer after posting this, I will no doubt creak and groan like an old lady. But as they used to say, No Pain, No Gain.

That is all. I've nothing else to say, and I have to go prepare my home in case I am without power with three kids over this five day weekend. I wish the weather was a little better for driving, the North Shore here is expecting 25-25 foot waves!!!

I'd love to go see that!

5 minute update:

Hello out there! Here is the 411 on me:

It is 2:30 am, I am mopping the floor, doing laundry, trying to catch up on housework.
I am having a hell of a time balancing the 3 kids, house, dog, yard, yada yada, oh and Me. Must find balance, must have some time for me. Seems like time for me happens in the wee hours of the morning.

I'm feeling bad for not writing something, so that is why I am making this quick one. As I type, the floor is literally half mopped, the water is cooling in the bucket, must hurry up!

Kids are good, Christmas was lots of fun, New Years was good as well. Check out Flickr for all the pics.
Joe had a kid beat him up a few days ago, not too serious, as far as fights go. He had some scratches, punch marks and attempted bite marks. He fought back, as we have told him to do. The kid was older, 10 or 11 maybe. Joseph has recovered, physically he was fine after a shower, emotionally, he was fine after dinner and a good nights sleep. I have seen him go a little more towards the MAN land after this experience. He is a little tougher in a good way. (SIGH) I guess this is what happens sometimes, on the journey to manhood. I felt my heart break each time I saw his red scratches and punch marks. My poor baby.

Lily is her sassy self. She will be starting her dance class next week, she is excited of course. She is 6, going on 16 as little girls do. Nothing really new to report on her, she continues to help with baby Leah, draw pictures, play outside... I'll report any news on the Lily front.

Big news with baby Leah, she can now sit up all by herself! Ta Da!! I took baby New Year pictures (see Flickr photo stream) and during the photo shoot I realized she didn't need the boppy pillow for support. She is thrilled with herself! Joe and Lily think it is really cool too. I am glad she isn't frustrated anymore. Anyone with kids remembers how narfy babies get when they want to move, or roll or sit up and they can't. She plays for long stretches at a time now, I guess the next step is crawling! I'll keep you posted.
So, that is the quick blog. I am back to mopping. And then off to bed. I'm sure the floor will need mopping tomorrow (sigh). I will get into some kind of groove and get more constant with the blogging. That was of course my intent all along.

Hang in there with me, I will get this figured out better, the whole kids, house, dog, and me time. I guess I should put myself farther up on that list...

I'm sick... no wait, it's a commentary!

Hi out there! I am sick with the crud so I will get back to writing more in the upcoming week. My voice is shot, my nose stuffed and congested. I have been drinking a lot of hot tea. The kids will soon be on winter break (!) and I don't know who is more excited; Joe and Lily or me. We are looking forward to sleeping in, and the leisurely days, spending more time each other. Tonight I let them cook dinner, something very easy from a box. While it was baking in the oven, we took a short walk around the neighborhood to admire the Christmas lights. Leah especially loved it! That baby could look at pretty lights all night long. We even took our puppy, and she was wearing a little doggie hoodie. My neighbor's dog grew too fat to wear it, so Jewel got the hand-me-down doggie sweatshirt. Very cute, and useful as well (she is a Chihuahua, they get cold if the sun goes behind a small cloud :-). Well, I am off to have more nearly scalding tea. My throat seems to be craving super hot water, it feels wonderful and I can talk after about 3 cups!

Oh, here is a thought provoking thing I did today; one of my friends sent me a video of wedding -- an Iraqi wedding. At first nothing really stuck out as odd, it was just a normal Middle Eastern wedding... then you see a little boy, maybe two years old. He is holding a handgun. It looks like he is trying maybe to give it back to his daddy (who is standing up over the boy), but he is looking at something else. Then somehow, the toddler shoots the gun!!! And it hits his dad in the chest, killing him! This was all caught on a cellphone camera. Wow. There was a watermark on the video with a web address so I typed that into my browser and suddenly I was at an all Arabic web page. Me not being able to read Arabic, I pushed the translate button and I found myself on a news site. And it was really fascinating to see the news headlines in that part of the world. I could read what makes their news stories, see what sort of things go on day to day over there. It was so full of tragic stories; suicides, accidental shootings, rape, murder, bombings... and there were also graphic photos to go along with them. Of course the news here in America sensors the images, however we still report on the crimes, though it seems we have fewer horrific stories. I just tried to imagine what it would be like if the news I am used to watching was as raw as the news on that site. What would my frame of mind be like? My children as well, since they also see the news? I usually turn the news on every morning as I nurse the baby and Joe and Lily are getting ready for school. They float in and out of my room, catching little bits of each story. But since the news here is quite tame (compared to what I saw on the Arabic site), I don't feel bad letting the kids hear or see the news. They should have some knowledge about the rest of the world. However, if there seems to be a troubling story about Iraq coming on, I'll turn the channel since their daddy is deployed. They don't need any help imagining what could go wrong...

But what if our news showed the real pictures???!!! Raw, unedited, and sanguinary??!!

I am not writing this to suggest we change our newscasts here in America and start to show every gory detail. Nor am I here to denounce the news stations in the world who do show the horror in technicolor. I suppose I am just marveling at the difference of each culture. Trying to imagine myself living there, seeing those images on the news. How would that affect my frame of mind, the choices I make for my family? The way I protect my children? I also know my husband and my brother are living in Iraq for a while. So that is their reality right now. They may not be living in the big cities, sharing the same streets and market places with the locals, but they do interact with them, they do experience the same things and at times they even may see those horrors. So I ask myself, What if it were me living there, can I imagine myself living there? I want to understand what it is like for my husband, and for my brother. For all my friends and family who are there right now.

I think it is so easy to dismiss the nature of what it is like in other places in the world, places that are politically unstable and therefore physically dangerous. I know I have done it, put the danger out of my mind when my husband has had to deploy. He has been gone several times and I think part of me threw a defense up to deal with the stress. I never forget that he is in a dangerous place, how can I? But each time he has had to go, I have made sure to keep those thoughts from occupying my mind. To not allow the images and fear to fill my thoughts with worry. Moreover, I have small children, I've had to shelter them somewhat from what it really is like over there. They know a lot now, but I still protect them as best I can from uncertainty and distress over their daddy. Perhaps I listened to my own sterilized versions of deployed life a little too often. I have not let myself "go there" too many times, if you know what I mean. Otherwise, if I did, I think I'd be constantly irritable and troubled, if I let myself recognize what I know to be true. It is a different and dangerous world that my husband and brother live in for now. It is not all sand and camel spiders, scorpions and MRE's. There are guns, bullets, and grenades, with humans who will use them against another. And then I remember it isn't just Soldiers and the extremists they fight living there. There are also families, mothers just like me. They too rock their babies to sleep at night, and make dinner for their families. They take joy in celebrating the simple wonders of each day. All the same, they have a darker cloud over their heads, and I wonder if they think about other cultures. About societies who have a more coated and modest newscast. What might those mothers think of the place I live?

And even as I write this blog, my husband has called me from Iraq, a welcome break from such serious thoughts above. We are able to talk about our kids, talk about what they need to feel better about daddy being gone. We think about gifts we are going to buy for them, all sorts of little things husbands and wives talk about all the time. We manage to cram all that in with each phone call, those calls that never seem to last long enough. Those phone calls are like appetizers, making you hungry for the full meal, but of course the next call isn't long enough either, so you never really seem to feel full.

I began this post with the notion to make it quick, just a note to say "I'm sick, tune in next week..." and now it seems I've written a brief commentary on "The News Style of America vs. the News Style of the Middle East" as well as "Dealing with Deployment Stress". Well, I didn't see that coming. If I'd known I would still be at this computer chair 2 hours later, I would have made a cup of tea. Tea sounds great now, I think I'll go start a cup steeping...

Anyone who has any thoughts to add, or shared experiences dealing with loved ones in dangerous places, please feel free to comment! Or if you have nothing to really add, but you just like to type, you can comment as well! Have fun! Go crazy!

:-)

Just the two of us...

Making a book for Daddy
Originally uploaded by B_Williams

Every other Saturday night, there is a "Parents Night Out" daycare here on post. Since Erick is deployed, I have a special card that entitles me to free use of that daycare. Without the card, the fee is not too bad, I think $5 an hour. So, I signed Lily and Leah up and I took Joseph out this past Saturday night. He really needed some one on one time with me, so the timing was perfect. That morning Lily had a ballet dance to do, and there was also a holiday fun fest at the same place. We drove out to the place, it was a 30 minute drive (which is considered a long drive in Hawaii). Lily did her dance, the kids got to play a little at the fun fest, but the evening belonged to Joe and I. On the way home from the fun fest, we stopped at Walmart to find some crafts for our night. We decided to make a book for Daddy, but we made a wooden cover, front and back. That way Joe could use some tools!

This was my first time ever taking my kids to daycare. I have dropped other people's kids at daycare and I always found them to be a little depressing. Well, mostly just the infant room. The cribs look so instutionalized, all steel and plain white sheets... However, I know the babies don't care about what color the sheets are... they just need the basics; diaper changes, milk and cuddles. And there was plenty of everything for baby Leah. There were two workers that night in the infant room, and 8 babies were expected. Now that would certainly curl my toes to watch that many infants, but I also know these ladies are pro's, they have tips and tricks, plus a large dose of patience. And they were both soft and sweet with the babies. I had pumped milk for Leah for 2 days and I had an almost full bottle of milk (took me that long to get 7 oz, my hat is off to the working mom's who pump everyday). The daycare changes the diapers every hour, whether needed or not, so I brought plenty of labled diapers. And the two women in the room had the whole baby in each arm thing happening, they were feeding kids with both hands. So I knew Leah would have some cuddle time. Later, when I picked her up, the one lady said Leah wasn't liking being rocked, so they just laid her down in the crib and she put herself to sleep. I should have told them that when I dropped her off! Leah is a really easy baby.

So, once Leah was in the infant room, I took Lily to the building next door, the older kid daycare. They had a gym with dodgeball to play, movies, a fooseball table, books, crafts... you name it. Lily brought a blanket and pillow, but I don't think she stopped playing to ever need them. Lily was situated, Leah was set, it was time for Joe now. I felt really odd, like I was forgetting something, to not have a baby carseat, diaper bag and two kids to help through the parking lot. It was a nice change to just have one child for the night.

I started the night with fun and did something a little out of character for me. I grabbed his hand and said, "Joe, lets run! Let's hurry to the car, c'mon follow me, this is a short cut!!" And I took him along the side of the building, we ran through the grass field and all the way to our car. When we got there, he was all smiles, out of breath and just beaming! I had him sit up front and by the time I pulled out of the parking lot, he had already started to come out of his shell and was talking a whole lot.

We went to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's, Joe's choice. We shared dessert, and talked about all sorts of stuff. A great dinner. We drove home and immediatly went into the garage. I think Joe really likes to be in there, it is like Daddy's main room, it has his motorcycle and his scent (I often go in there to remember Erick). We got busy making the soccer book, starting with painting. We shared the jobs, I stapled, he hammered. We made it a team effort when we used the power drill. We both painted and glued, he did all the writing on the photos (he picked the ones he wanted to use). By 10:00 pm, he was so tired, but very happy. I told him we could just stop for the night and finish in the morning. We had a great time together, he opened up and talked to me, I was able to give him 100% of my attention. I had just as much fun as he did!

When I went back into the infant room to get Leah, I could hear her crying a litttle, poor baby. She had just been asleep, but woken up a few minutes before I got there. Once I went over to her though, before I even put the crib side down, she quieted down. She knew momma was back and she was happy to see me. It felt really good to hold her and she snuggled right onto my chest. They said she did well while I was gone, and she drank almost all her milk! Next time I will try to have a bit more milk just in case, I'll have to start pumping a day earlier! After picking Lily up, getting all the kids back into the van, I felt really happy. The Parents Night Out was a success! Lily had fun, but couldn't wait to go back home. All the kids were so tired, they passed right out fast asleep.

The next night (tonight, as I write this), when I put them to bed, Lily and I planned our evening together. We are going to go to dinner and dessert and then home to do makeovers! She will do my hair and makeup, and I will do hers. We will use the clothes in my closet to play dress up and of course, we will take pictures of all our beautiful styles! She is really excited about it, and Joseph is looking forward to going to daycare. He thinks it will be fun to play with other kids his age. He also asked about the next time he and I go out. I suggested we stay in the house and cook. And bake. He gave me a BIG smile, I think he likes that idea!!

The Parents Night Out is really meant for parents to get away for a night, to recharge away from the kids. I may sometime sign all 3 kids up and just have time alone, but for now, Joe and Lily need me. And this is an awesome way I can give them my time and attention.