Happy Birthday, Heather!

 

 

 

 

Birthdays.   They just won't leave us alone. 

 But, I'm glad we have them so we can celebrate those we love.

 

Happy Birthday, Heather!  Hope your day is as wonderful as you are. 

 

Love you Bushels!

Aunt Crickett

 

PS:  Kinda stinks that your B-day and Mother's Day are

next door to each other ~ but then, could be double the fun!

 

PSS:  Had to crop your lovelies ~ sorry

Bat Master Son and His Side Kick, Goldilocks

Every now and then we encounter the very thing that will make a grown man scream like a girl:  A Bat.  One such encounter occurred Monday night as we were nonchalantly watching "Wheel of Fortune".  The girls were piled on the sofa with me.  Kelly was stretched out on the love seat and Ben was tethered to his phone in a chair behind me and the girls. 

You know how sometimes you think you see a flicker of something, but it's not really there?  Well, that's what I thought.  As I was getting ready to show Rease a quilt block I had made that day Helena screamed:  "There's a bat!".  Now that gets your attention in a hurry.  All business stops and we stare up toward the ceiling and sure enough here it comes, swooping and spiraling from the top of the stairs into the living room creating a pandemonium of great magnitude.  All girls jam up against me, taking cover underneath the box that holds my quilt blocks ~ 'cuase, ya know, bats love hair ~ Kelly bolts out of the house, I think and Ben ends up near the dining room on his belly.  That's where we all remained as we screamed like girls every time the bat would swoop down and circle.  It would go back up the stairs and return lickety-split-quick ~ just to torment us, not once, not twice, but hundreds of times. Okay, not hundreds, but a lot.  We were frozen where we were ~ except for Ben who, by then, was slithering on his belly across the floor to retrieve his phone.  It must have had the wing span of 5 feet!  No kidding.  Well, maybe 18 to 24 inches, but no smaller.  I'm almost sure of that! 

It finally went back up the stairs and didn't come back down.  Now there's food for thought.  Who's room did it decided to park its scary, batty little self in?  Hm?   It was up for debate.  Meantime, Kelly reappeared (with pillow on head, looking like she stepped out of a cartoon), Bob made his presence known, and discussion began on how to "remove" this beast from OUR home. It was a conundrum of sorts.

Since we couldn't "visually and easily see" this home invader and couldn't guarantee that it left by the same means in which it entered. Kelly decided to go to Colin's house for the night.
She gathered Baby Girl and left the older two to decide their fate.  They, being brave souls, decided to stay home and tough it out ~ until it was nearing bedtime.  I gently informed them that my bed was not big enough for four people.  They needed to chew on it for a bit. 

In the meantime what follows next, well, is typical for our home.  Bat Master Son (chaser of the bat, Master of his fate, and Son of my life) and his sidekick, Goldilocks (my heart throb) took matters into their own hands.

They don the safety gear - helmets, gloves, bats (as in baseball)
crab nets, flashlights and a tennis racket

He's going on a "Bat Hunt". . . . . Notice ~ all nooks and crannies are
covered.  No bat touching his skin, no sir!

Goldilocks is a little braver - more skin exposed,
but she's walking softly and carrying a big stick!

They suited up and proceeded to go on a "Bat Hunt".  All went dark upstairs as they tried to flush the beast from it's hiding spot.  Slowly, stealthily, they went from room to room, shaking curtains checking door frames, lamp shades, on top of and behind dressers. You name it, they checked it. All to no avail.  The beast was much more clever than they.  It had picked it's hiding spot well.  Away from probing eyes and "Bat Artillery.  Clever.  Little.  Beast. 

They gave up the hunt. They felt sure it was closed up in the third floor bedroom.  Sure of it.  But, just in case all upstairs doors were shut (either to keep the beast in or to keep him out).  Not being secure that the beast wouldn't enter their bedroom, the girls opted to stay with their dad.  No bats in his house.  They wouldn't have to sleep with one eye open ~ unlike the rest of us who were doomed to stay in the House of Bat.

Not seeing the beast for a couple hours, we felt confident (somewhat) that he was indeed trapped on the third floor.  So Bob and I retired for the night.

Just about midnight as I was settling into a deep sleep, my bedroom door flies open and in jumps Ben. Bat Master Son yells that he got the bat, but he thinks he knocked it out!
What?  Down I go to inspect the situation.  Yep, there he was, wrapped in the crab net.  He had emerged from only God knows where to descend back down the stairs, catching Bat Master Son off guard.  He swung the net and with one fell swoop and knocked the Beast down!

We stand there for a few seconds analyzing the situation and Bat Master Son asks for the flashlight.  He needed to check out the "Creature".  He bends over and touches it with the flashlight.  The bat flips out and looks like it's about to take flight.  That's all I can say, because Bat Master Son and I both screamed and did the "Curly Shuffle" to exit the area just in case our lives were in jeopardy!
I didn't realize I still had it in me to move that fast!  Whew, I guess when your life is on the line you can do miraculous things.   I heard Bob laughing up stairs.  Yea, he can laugh because he wasn't on the front line, defending his homeland.  But, we didn't let him off Scot free.  He got to take the Beast outside and rid us of it.  Whatever went down out there is between Bob, the Beast and the Heavens. 

Ahhh.   Sweet peace.   All's calm on the Home Front, at least until the next adventure, be it plumbing, traveling or bat hunting.

Kentucky . . . .

I feel like Dan'l Boone.  I need to live in Ol' Ken-tuc.  Yep, I do.  But I am here ~ on the sandy land of the Eastern Shore. None-the-less, I shall be happy where I am ~ so I say to myself. 

The last two days of my mini (unexpected, but very much appreciated) vacation went by in a blur.  Well, for that matter, the whole time there flew by like it had the devil on it's heels!  I barely had time to turn around before I walked back in my own back door.  Ridiculous.

The Saturday before I came home I had the pleasure of being able to go to one of Sarah-Sponda's Guard competitions.  It was great.  Those kids work so hard to do what they do.  And the hard work shows in their performances.  Sarah did a great job and I am so proud of her. 



Sarah during Guard competition.  (I know she's in there ~ I saw her!)

It's a story played out using a combination of rifles, flags, dance and theater.  All set to music.

Then, it was home the next day.  Long drive with pleasant memories and a sad heart at leaving my loves behind:

I Love You

Hope and Baby A ~ who's not a baby anymore :(

Just in case one is curious as to what my boy's agenda was for the weekend, well, he was able to go to
opening day at Keenland (a horse racing track).  It was a fine affair:  suit and tie, dressy clothes for all and the women wore hats! 

2nd day of Keenland ~ not quite as formal.  Handsome
dudes, I must admit.

We won't talk about who won or lost on a horse.  Nope.  For one (or two) it could be painful. 
But even with that, I believe life long memories were made by all.  And Mattie (Ben's friend), well, I think he could just move there with no hesitation at all!

Happy Birthday, Hope!

Oh.  My.  Stars. 

Fourteen years old.

Stop.  Stop it.  Right  now. 

 

You are sweet, intelligent, funny, loving,

caring, kind and loyal. You a great Aunt,

a good Sister, a wonderful Daughter, and

an irreplaceable Granddaughter!

Yea, I know there's a little stinker in

there, too.  :>)

But, that's what makes you ~ you!

 

I am blessed to have you as a Grandie!

 

Have a wonderful day Lady Bug!

 

I love you to the moon and back!

 

Love,

MOM-MOM

Little Boy Blue

Sometimes life hands you a squirrely basket.  Sometimes that basket is overflowing with nutty situations.  And then, sometimes, life  hands you a gift basket.  I got a gift basket on the third of this month.  Quite unexpected. But most assuredly appreciated.

I got to fill an empty seat heading to Kentucky.  It was a last minute thing ~ like the day before the trip last minute ~ and the best part is the kids ironed out the details:  mostly the babysitting part of my life.  The rest was easy peasy with only one stipulation ~ I couldn't, repeat, couldn't, be a backseat driver.  No way.  No how.   I was gently told I would be put to the side of the road.  (tee-hee).  I don't know what makes Ben think I'm a backseat driver.  No earthly idea.  I eagerly promised with some hesitation in my mind, 'cause ya know, it's hard giving up control.  Hard I tell ya, but the reward at the end would be well worth minor heart attacks in the back.  Besides, I had a great opportunity to read  (when I wasn't eyeing the road).

I made Jenny promise not to tell the girls I was coming. I wanted it to be a surprise ~ and you never know, things could've gone wonky here before I got the chance to leave.  Then hearts would have been broken all the way around. And I would have been ticked, and cried all week.  No one wants me in that situation.  No one.

I must say the secret kept well and the looks and reactions of the girls was as priceless as it gets.  I would not have traded those moments for all the tea in China!  Three squealed and one broke down in tears.  Chokes me up just reliving the whole thing. Love knows no boundaries when it comes to family.  It's always an open book with tons of chapters to be written.  And I love to write.

I got to spend Thursday and Friday with Hope, Erica, Alicia, Alaina and Little Boy Blue!  Can I just tell you he took my heart right out of my chest the moment I laid eyes on him.  He still has it.  Just when you think you can't squeeze another ounce of love from your body God hands you this:

 A small bundle of Heaven sent love.  Fresh and sweet.  Gentle as a spring breeze.

 

 

He has every single one of his Aunties wrapped around that tiny little finger of his.  He couldn't grunt
without being picked up. If he stretched, someone was there. And he certainly didn't have to cry for more than three seconds before being rescued, nuzzled and soothed.  Yes, yes, we think we will keep him.  For. Ev.  Er.

I have more to write about my quick but wonderful trip.  I  shall do that soon.  Very soon.  But for now I must run and do something un-fun like venturing to Wally World.  And we ALL know how I feel about that place. 

But before I go and before I forget, I want to thank Kellifer for borrowing vacation time so I could go, I want to thank Jenny for asking her, and I want to thank Benjamin for taking me. 

It was a wonderful trip.