Lost and found

The boys and I got home from College Station late on Sunday night to find this little guy waiting around on our back porch for us.....

We thought it was VERY strange. We've never seen this little guy before and he ran off as soon as we got home. But funny thing is...he shows up now every night at like 12:30 am. Jackson whimpers and sometimes even barks out loud at him. Talk about middle of the night heart attacks! Nothing like a dog barking to wake you up with a heart beating out of your chest! So this morning, the dog was still around. Curled up on a towel on our back porch. Jonathan picked him up and feeling his ribs and skinny tail, took it upon himself to feed little poochy. Uh oh! So, I did the only responsible thing to do.... I passed the buck! Call your dad and ask him what to do. So Michael says "It's ok to feed it" (Whew!) "But make a sign that says 'FOUND' and put it by the mailboxes. If no one calls, we'll take it to the pound". Well, needless to say the boys were heartbroken about the pound. They felt that was just like signing a death warrant for the little guy. But after reminding them that we would NOT keep this dog in the house anyway, I told them that he's cute and sweet and would probably be adopted quickly and would avoid the "trip through the one way door". But in the mean time, Jeffrey retrieved a cat house from up on our loft. It's just the right size. So now, in our back yard, we have a precious little long haired dachshund eating, drinking, and making himself at home! Jeffrey and Josiah wanted to name him. I strongly advised against it saying, "Don't name the dog! We're NOT keeping him!!" but the bleeding hearts won out, so "Doc" it is.

Isn't he cute!!??!!

And in other animal news, Wave (the faithful trusty ultra low maintenance Beta fish) has a new roommate next door....

Welcome to Phillip. Jeffrey used his money a couple of weeks ago and brought him to the farmily.

Now if all pets were as easy and painless as Betas, we'd have a houseful!

Preparedness pays off

The night before last I met "face to foot" with a lovely (NOT!) little baby scorpion. Yep, I stepped on the wee one barefooted...with my laptop in hand, even! At first I thought I had stepped on a chard of glass (like I had done two days earlier...shoes, Jennie, shoes!!), but as the sharp pain turned to a crazy stinging burning pain I knew it must have been something else. Because I still had my laptop in my hand, I couldn't get a good look at the underside of my foot to tell what it was and at first I couldn't see anything on the floor either. I started shaking my foot (think hokey pokey) and saying in a not so calm voice, "Is it off???!!! Is it off??!!" By now after my one hundred repeats of "OW! OW! OW! OW!" all the boys and Michael were in the hallway to see what was going on. Finally, Michael had the presence of mind to take the laptop out of my hand, although I have to say it must have been an impressive sight seeing me dance like that on one foot with one up in the air so someone can examine the bottom of my foot WITH a laptop in hand!! :-) It was then that I saw the little scorpion. And it was tiny. We've seen some big ones in the house off and on over the last several months. This one was probably only 1/4 the size of some of the big ones we've seen. I guess I'm glad it was little. I didn't need to add the disgusting "CRUNCH" of an arthopod feeling on my bare feet added to the intense burning. And in my own defense I do NORMALLY wear shoes around the house, especially in the evenings b/c we have seen so many scoripions around, but Jeffrey had just worn my outside to close the chicken coop and they were wet. I'd asked him to just leave them outside and I'd carried on barefooted. Guess what...I haven't been barefooted since Wednesday night!!!!

So how is this a story about preparedness, Jennie? You didn't sound prepared at all? Well, I'm glad you asked. A few months ago I had read about and purchased from Beeyoutiful a product called Activated Charcoal Powder. In the article I read, it was touted as being fabulous for helping to heal spider bites. It supposedly draws the poison out of the blood and out of your system. You can take it internally or make a poltice externally. The stories were amazing of what it could do, so since I was ordering some other things anyway, I tacked some onto my order. And put it on our medicine shelf. Well, about four days ago, Michael said "I've been meaning to ask you, what is that black stuff on the shelf?" So I told him about the charcoal powder supposedly being great for stings and bites to draw out poison. Well, my quick thinking husband on Wednesday night remembered about the charcoal and asked if I wanted to get it. Brilliant! I love that man! So, I had Jonathan fetch me the Beeyoutiful magazine and Michael followed the directions to make a politice.

Here's my foot on Thursday morning after sleeping with the politce on all night.

Here's my foot wrapped in the poltice w/ a moist paper towel and saran wrap (to keep the paper towel from coming off and then the charcoal getting all over my sheets. THAT would have been a mess!!

Here's the charcoal paste that we used as poltice. Looks like black tempra paint. Thankfully, it didn't smell badly. Not much of a smell at all really.

The product of the day!

I put an ice pack on my foot while Michael was making the poltice. Then we wrapped the poltice around the spot on my foot that was hurting. I couldn't ever really see exactly where it stung me. It was somewhere between toe #4 and pinky. But that whole part of my foot was throbbing. After we put on the poltice, we wrapped the ice pack around it for a few more minutes, and then I went to bed (w/out the ice pack). I wasn't sure what to expect pain wise the next day. I've never been stung by a scorpion, but I was thinking it would be like a bee or wasp sting. So maybe a little red at the site and tender for a could of days. Well, guess what?? When I washed off the charcoal, I couldn't even see where it was red and there was NO pain. None. It was like I hadn't been stung at all. Amazing! My two thumbs up for prayers and charcoal!! And being prepared!

The fall garden

A little over a month ago, I put Jonathan and Jeremy to work earning a gardening badge for Boy Scouts. It just so happens that for a gardening badge one of the things that you have to do is start six plants from seed....hmmm....I wanted to start a fall garden, all I had was seeds, boys need to start plants from seed.....no brainer! Get to work boys!

And now after lots of lovely rain and cooler weather, here's what we have...

romaine lettuce...

beets...

pumpkin..

here's our jalapeno tree that has really taken off since there's no cucumber vines smothering it....canned jalapenos are on their way!

swiss chard...and finally spaghetti squash...can't find the photo. We also have basil and cilantro and sugar snap peas that are growing. I'm so thrilled with how well things are growing! Hopefully, we'll have some good harvest. At least we'll have some good leaves to eat if nothing else goes well! :-)

Jack and Josiah at long last....

Finally, after a couple of misfires, the long awaited weekend to spend with Jack actually arrived!! Last weekend, we had not only Hagen visitors but also Sisson visitors. Michael and Josiah picked up Jack and Steve at the airport and drove over to Bryan/College Station, watched a couple of football games, went to Shipley's, played at the Aggie Fan zone and then came home. Then Jack got to spend the night and play and play and play! I always get amazed at how much Jack and Josiah love each other. I don't think either one of them stopped smiling all weekend long. Or stopped throwing balls and tackling each other either!! What fun!



Jack and Josiah at the park near my mom and dad's house.

J&J at Wings and More.

At the Bryan High football game.

At the Allen Academy six man football game

Dagerath Academy "Class Favorites"

Doesn't this title bring back horrible memories?!?! I mean, what were people thinking when we had to pick class favorites? Like we didn't know WHO the popular kids were? Like they needed to be reminded that they were the most popular? What about the other 99.9% of your "class"…did they need to be reminded that they WEREN'T the most popular? Do I have a chip on my shoulder about this? No, not really. Really I don't. But I will say that it's pointless things like "Class Favorites" and "Mr. and Ms. Dagerath Academy" that make me never want to subject my beloved off-spring to such meaningless drivel. That being said….. Don't these pictures look like a yearbook photo for class favorites??!!

We had so much fun with the Hagens last weekend! We were soooo glad they went to so much time and trouble to navigate flights to come down and see us on their fall break! Thanks, Hagens!!!! Here are more photos from the park.

Crawfish in all their "beauty"

For Classical Conversations last Monday, Jeffrey had to prepare a presentation about either a science fact, owls or crawfish (aka crayfish, crawdads). Although I tried to persuade him otherwise, he chose crawfish. He prepared a nice report about them, but to him that wasn't enough. He wanted HANDS ON! He begged to go to HEB (where Here is Everything Begworthy) and get some crawfish to take and show his class. Michael picked up two and brought them home to Jeffrey. It was then he told me that he wanted to take ONE to class and dissect the other one. Flashbacks to Junior High and all those crazy things that kids get to mutilate-I mean dissect. So I dug out my dissection kit and let him have at it. He tried to set up shop on the kitchen counters, but I quickly sent him outside!! Jonathan went along as the photojournalist.



Of course, the first thing he did was pull off the claws! Isn't that a boy for you!!

Here I had to show him that you don't cut the crawfish in half straight across. You have to make a long cut from head to tail and just under the shell.

Snip, snip....

I've never eaten a crawfish before, and now the deal is sealed....I'll NEVER eat one! Jeffrey did a wonderful job on his presentation in class. It was entitled "Crawfish: The Roaches of the Sea". Doesn't that make you want to rush out and head to a crawfish boil!! :-)

Holy Downpours, Batman!

Rain...wonderful rain!!! We've been so thankful to have some falling in this dry land! Everything is turning green and pretty and we've actually had to MOW our yard....twice! Last Thursday evening was one such wonderful night when we had a lovely rain storm. It's so nice to be at home (and not camping!) when it's raining. Michael and I had even commented on how nice it was. Well, guess what. On Friday morning, Josiah went out to Michael's car (it was still raining a little even then) to put a football in the back. He came in and very innocently told Michael (who stayed home from work that day) "Dad, the back door was opened, so I closed it for you". Instantly the wheels started turning in Michael's mind..."Back door??? Opened??? Had it been opened all night during that lovely long rainstorm???" Yep, to all three. He had inches of water standing in the back of his car. Here's all the stuff we took out of the back....

And put on racks and in the oven to dry....

He'd been saying he wanted to clean out the back of his car! We got him a gift certificate for his birthday for a car detail and he wanted the car decluttered before he cashed it in. Decluttering...check!

Not too long after we started all the heaters and fans on the back of the car, the boys noticed the chickens eating something strange. Jeremy first thought it was a black plastic bag. Turns out it was....


A BAT!!!! Yep our little chickies stumbled upon this guy! We talked to the boys about how bats don't really drink human blood and that they are actually good to have around because they eat mosquitos. And now that we have had rain, we've also had mosquitos. So, bring on the bats!!

Campouts and clean houses

Last Saturday was another busy day around our house. The Patriots "B" team, on which Jeremy is playing until his ankle is back to full (or fuller) strength, had a game in the morning. They lost, bummer. There's a post coming in the next day or two about football stats, so I'll leave game details for that post. The day started off cool and rainy and we weren't sure how the game would go. But the rain stopped in time for the game and picked back up for the next event of the day. A scout campout! Wow! Camping in the chilly rain......makes me glad it's BOY scouts and not GIRL scouts! Lots easier for me to bow out of that one! We weren't sure who would be making the trip for the campout. Jonathan and Jeffrey were both a 100% for sure because they had been practicing some things to move up another rank and wanted them "checked off" by a scout leader. Jeremy and Josiah couldn't decide. So, I pulled out all the stops...it was the "Do you want to go camping with daddy and have fun and play outside and all that fun stuff??!!! or Do you want to stay with me and ALL you'll be able to do is help me clean the house....it's going to take hours and you won't be able to play on the computer or watch TV or play outside....you'll just help me clean the house and do any schoolwork you've not finished for the week." Can you tell I was a little hoping for a weekend of some peace and quiet?? :-) Well, believe it or not, Jeremy and Josiah chose NOT to go camping. I know, it's a little (I mean ALOT) crazy! I was almost ready to go camping after my speech! So, right after lunch with the team after the game, Michael, Jonathan and Jeffrey headed north to somewhere for a messy muddy camping adventure. We'd heard on the radio that the chance of rain was 100%. I guess no one told the Scout troop that we are fair weather campers. I mean we camp only in April and October (not too cool, not too hot), we never go far from home, have been known to just turn around and head home when we've forgotten our pillows and couldn't get a fire started, and NEVER camp in the rain!! I guess that's what Scouting is about, right. Try things you never have before.

So, Jeremy and Josiah and I head home to start our afternoon of blessing our home and my husband (isn't that a nice way to say cleaning the house! :0) Then, we get a call from Michael. I'm sure there were tears (of joy) in his eyes when he told me that because of the chance of severe weather, the scouts WEREN'T spending the night. They were just going to do the activities that were planned and then come home. No tent-pitching in the mud. No soaking wet clothes. No sleeping on an air mattress!!!
Here's the troop that showed up for the campout.

Doesn't he look GLAD to not have to spend the night in the rain?!?!?!

So, it turns out I DID get a weekend of peace and quiet. The house really is so much more peaceful when it's clean and it was so nice to have Michael and everyone at home. We didn't watch a lot of tv or play on the computer. It was just a wonderful weekend of sitting INSIDE and listening to the rain!!

Taking cakes to a whole new level....

Jeffrey and Josiah have been learning about ancient history in Classical Conversations this year. Jeffrey had a *brilliant* idea to make a cake that looks like a ziggurat. Are you smarter than a 3rd grader?? Do you know what a ziggurant is? It is a temple that was used for worship in the ancient city of Sumer (and all around Mesopotamia). Ok, history class is over. Let art begin.... When Jeffrey first mentioned his idea after CC one Monday,I thought the idea would pass. But, nope. He never gave up the idea, so on Sunday night, he and Michael made the cake and then Jeffrey and I put the shape and frosting to it...

and added Kit Kat stairs! I had just picked up the Kit Kats on the cheap at Walgreens, and I'm so glad that I did. They were PERFECT for stairs.

What we forgot to get a picture of was the finished product on Monday. He had created a little paper replica of the "Moon god", Nana on top, like a true ziggurat would have had on top. He shared the cake with his class and then with whoever else wanted some during lunch at CC. Way to go, Jeffrey!!

Happy Birthday to Michael

Sept 25 was a big day at our house! My sweet heart celebrated birthday number....

Michael's dad ,AKA Grandpa, came into town for the weekend! We had a wonderful tinme. Opening presents, eating cake (chocolate sheet cake, at birthday boy's request)...

And then we went and had lunch at Carrabbas...

Look at that GIANT bowl of tomato basil soup!! I thought I'd asked for the cup. Michael wanted to get a picture of it!

And here my sweet man with his Carrabba's birthday dessert.

And the boys with Grandpa.

Happy Birthday Michael. I can't wait to celebrate 80 more with you! :-) I love you!!!