Annie Plans her first break in

"Mommy, when do I get to go to gymnastic class?"

This has been a question I have been dodging for about a year now.   Annie was given a gymnastic class for her birthday last year and loved it.  Sadly, mommy can't really afford to continue this, so I've been telling her that gymnastic class is on break.  A very long break.   Today Annie came up with a solution to her gymnastic cravings. 

"When the teachers are going shopping, maybe they will leave the door unlocked so they could get in.  And we could drive there and maybe sneak in.  And then maybe we could bring my gymnastic suit and maybe you be my teacher.   And then they won't know we were there and that is what sneaking is about, mama."

I wasn't sure how to respond to Annie's first real criminal plot, but I tried to handle it as best I could.  I told her that wouldn't be right and maybe we should not do that, but perhaps we could pray for Annie to be able to go back to gymnastics soon.

last nights excuse at bedtime

"Annie, it's time for bed."

"I feel dirty, mama.  I think I need a bath."

"You don't look dirty."
"Um...it's camouflage.  Which means you can't see it, but it is really there, mama."

Why my car hates me

Many of you are aware that my car is evil and bent on causing me total financial ruin.   Well, it's getting very creative in how it does this.   Usually it just breaks down, lots of lights go off, and things start banging around under the hood.   I guess after numerous attempts at this just leading to very costly repair but not complete annihilation of my bank accounts and me, my car has come up with a new strategy.    It now gives out a loud siren call whenever I am not accelerating.   So yes, the car is trying to drive me crazy.   Never in my life have I heard a sound so ear piercingly disturbing.    At first you think it's just a little noise, but it builds, slowly making you want to tear your hair out and scream for mercy.   I hate driving.   I make no attempts at hiding the fact that driving is not my favorite thing to do, now though I just want to cry whenever I get in my car.   Slowly this car is going to be the end of me.   If this mysterious sound cannot be stopped soon I will start leaving it parked in bad neighborhood with the keys inside, engine running and pray for someone to take it away.   Far away.   Like Utah or Ohio.  Sadly, I don't think anyone would go near if they heard it's cry.  Deterring even the faintest hopes of salvation through carjacking.

In my basement

Aside from the rat and thousands of spiders, today we found a baby toad in my basement.   Annie wanted to go downstairs in the morning for a rat check with her giant pink snake.   They had been up all night perfecting their rat hunting strategy.   They went with an early morning frontal attack.  I was less than excited to hear that it required a 6am wake up call.    "Now mom, you have to wake us up very early.  Like before the sun mom.  ok?  so don't forgot or go to sleep.   This is important."   Well I slept in and thankfully she forgot.   When we finally made it downstairs we happened upon a baby toad when sifting through the spider webs.  He looks a little sickly and is on his way to Gigi's to go live in Annie's toad house.   So the count is now up to six baby toads.   We made need to add on a west wing soon, or the residents might get hostile.

Did I mention Annie named her toads?   They are loving named: Merryld, Harold, Carold, Ferrold, and Terrold.   When I asked her the new toads name she asked, "is there a Larrold yet?"    Welcome to the family Larrold, good luck.

tomato time

"MAMA!  MAMA!  We have TOMATOES!"   I guess you could say Annie was a little excited to find two barely red tomatoes in the garden this morning.   She promptly brought them inside and ate them.   I barely had a chance to get this picture, and no I did not get the chance to wash them.  In less than a minute she had eaten them both and said, "aren't you proud of me?   I picked them all myself."

Return of the Rat

  Annie and her snake mapping out their rat catching plans.

  While this isn't really a return of the same rat (I killed him) I discovered that there is a rat in my basement.   How do I know this?  He threw a shovel at me yesterday.   Prompting me to scream and then run up the stairs and lock the door.   Not sure locking the door helped much, but it made me feel better.   So I am now afraid of going in the basement.   Sadly, my laundry is piled up down there waiting for me to finish washing it.
      So last night when Annie's dad dropped her off I asked if he would go in the basement to look for the rat while I rotate laundry.   Annie overhears this and immediately springs into action.  "I will protect you mama!   I have a snake!"   Annie, who had just been to the Zoo that day, learned that snakes eat rats.   Pulling a large pink and red snake from her tote bag she heads to the basement door.   "Lets go guys, I be first.  I have the snake."    Annie bravely charges down the stairs and starts looking in every corner for the rat.   The whole time I'm praying she doesn't find the rat.    finally finished we head up stairs and Annie says, "lock that door, I don't want him getting out.  I will try again in the morning."    Which she just did.  Annie insisted, "you go check your laundry and I will get the rat."  In two seconds she's at the basement door with her four foot long pink and red snake.     She is so convinced that her pink and red snake is really going to get the rat, I can't do anything but hope she never finds the rat, because he was big and not the least bit afraid of me.  I doubt a little girl and her pink snake are going to frighten him.

A trip to the arch

Friday was fun day for us.  We went to Soulard market and the arch.

First stop was for lunch at McGurk's.  Annie loved the Koi pond/ waterfall.  She thought it would be good idea if Texy built her one in the back yard.  He said, we'll see.   I got to buy barbecue spice at soulard market and then off we went to the Arch!

Annie found a fun sculpture on our walk up to the arch.

We stopped on the stairs to the arch for a little rest.

Then back to climbing the stairs

Garden update

Hydrangeas are doing better than I thought.   I'm so excited how well they've done.    Last year this one only had five leaves and it had never flowered.  

Everything else in the yard is hit or miss.   The tomatoes are doing incredible.   The bell peppers and eggplants are pathetic (way too much rain for them). Blueberries are coming in strong, but I think the neighborhood birds are on to them.    It seems to be early bird gets the blueberry around here.

chicken update

The chickens are doing great.  They now have grass!   Which they are super excited about...

Annie checking for eggs.

This is Annie giving Gertrude and Puff girl their "tickets" to go on the

 walk.

Annie giving the girls the grand tour around the yard on the new grass.

update

I feel terrible that I haven't been around to post, but it seems dating Texas is a full time job.   Every time I turn around there is another family function going on.   I love all of it, but I've started to realize I'm not getting my stuff done.   My house is going to be taken over by laundry and dust bunnies if I don't scale back.  Thankfully Texas gets it and promises that after this week things will settle down (we'll see).   Most of you know that my family is relatively small.  Just my parents and my two siblings mostly.   Everyone else lives far away.  My mom supplemented our lack of family with close friends who became more like family than the distant relatives that live elsewhere.    I'm forever grateful to her for that.   I have some of the most amazing people in my life because of this.   The struggle I have now is keeping up with all of Tex's family events.   Knowing when they are, arranging babysitting if needed.  Remembering to shower, digging through my clothes to find something to wear.   I don't think I've ever been so worried about what to wear in my life.   Silly I know, but I worry.
So what you've missed during this chaotic social storm is that Annie is now mother to three baby toads, and when I say baby I mean baby.  They are smaller than my thumb nail, can only eat baby ants, and are the cutest things ever.   Today Annie insisted on taking them to playgroup with us, and thanks to the critter container from Texas,  Annie was able to do just that.   So don't be surprised if you see us showing up places with a container full of baby toads, and thank you mom for housing them at your house.   I'm feeling a little overrun with animals right now. 
Other than that, there's not much going on.   I'm still trying to figure out how to keep up with my life.   Annie still hasn't passed the 30 pound mark, and Banjo has yet to sit on command.