Wow, don't blog for a week...

and it gets harder to blog daily again!

The Forever Home renovation has been at a bit of a standstill. We need to shift gears and revv up the momentum once more. This would be a very awkward time to stall out on the work. Zorak did get the pad poured for the new steps off the hillbilly deck (the one off our room). When he took the railing off, he simply grasped it with one hand and wrenched it to the side - off it came, like honey from an oiled cup. Um... huh. I knew it wasn't terribly strong, but I must admit that I'd had a bit more faith in it than it deserved. Not like experience has given me any reason to, I guess I've just become a backwoods Pollyanna.

I worked my butt off in the back yard yesterday, raking, raking, raking... raking. My thought was to clear the back area around the house, weed whack it (don't ask), water and then weed 'n feed. Well, I spent a couple hours out there and I think I *nearly* cleared a small area - maybe 10x20? Maybe? Where did all these leaves come from? And will I manage to get these gathered before fall comes again and we are buried forever, entombed in mulch? It's not looking good, really. If my blogging comes to a rather abrupt end sometime in November, please contact the Volunteer Fire Department and Marlin Perkins. No, scratch that - tell Marlin to send Jim. Jim could find us.

We're outta here in about half an hour for the dentist's office. All three boys have a checkup today. Yeah, like Smidge is going to be compliant. He'll be cheerful about it as he says, "No, noooo, nooooooo," in his little sing-song voice. I wonder, at what age to they just knock 'em out to get a look? I imagine it's much like doing vet work on a gorilla. A cheerful gorilla. The older two, though, they're going to open up like little unhinged snakes. They are so happy to know this is a "no numb lip" visit. I think they'd put on a song and dance if the dentist asked them to. Should be an interesting visit.

Then it's off to run errands, errands, errands, but at this point I'm teetering on the edge of a to-do-list entry, and I'm trying very hard not to go there.

Oh! Ticks. This is the beginning of tick season. Or it's the apparent time for ticks. Or perhaps it's just that the little buggers love us. Whatever it is, they're everywhere lately. Balto had to get a new tick collar - we put it on yesterday. A few hours later, I noticed a jelly bean sized tick on his neck (and I'm not talking a Starburst jelly bean - I'm talking the mongo cheap ones you can buy year-round). That sucker was vile. Naturally, I called the boys out to take a look (thus, in my mind, reinforcing to them my request that they keep the dog out of the house until the collar has a chance to kick in). Now, I'd like to think I'm relatively brave. I'll hunt bear with a bow. I'll hike the desert without fear of scorpions or rattlers (healthy awareness, yes, but not fear). I'll eat things I can't identify, and I'm raising four children thousands of miles from family. Obviously, I am not of a weak constitution. HOWEVER when that thing happened to let go and come tumbling down toward my foot just as I was trying to clear the hair away from it so the boys could see... well, I freaked. I screamed like a little girl and just about broke my neck trying to back up far enough that it couldn't scamper onto me and suck the life from my body. Not that there was any need to worry - it looked like the Garfield of the tick world. It's body was so big it's little feet could barely touch the concrete. Still, with the screaming and the cringing. The boys were fascinated by the tick, but a bit worried about me. Man, I'm a wuss.

Now that the flowers have begun to fade, we're living under a lovely canopy of green. It's gorgeous. It also cuts down significantly on the heat. Aside from short stints in various other places, I've always lived in the desert southwest, so it's pretty amazing to watch things just grow on their own, without any coaxing on our part. A friend asked the other day what it's like here, and the best I could describe is that it's like the Garden of Eden, but with ticks. (And I'm pretty sure the ticks were an afterthought, or perhaps part of the punishment... I don't think they were actually in the Garden.)

Anyhow, it's time to round up the little ones and head out for our daily adventure!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy