now I know

Now I know why people create and choose to live in gated communities.

Pest exterminating solicitations, Carpet cleaning specials, Meat delivery services, Jehovah's witnesses, and the kid you've never seen before who supposedly lives "next door" who comes to peddle candy, magazines, or what have you for a fund raiser supposedly for school.

I'm fed up. I'm building a 12-foot wall around our home. With an electric fence. And a moat. With sharks with electric laser beams attached to their heads.

Nah, I'll probably just put a sign on our door telling folks I don't know to back off. Let's see if they comply.

I dropped BLP Stephanie off at the airport this morning; she's going to visit her family. When we returned home, I saw the people dressed in their Sunday best with the umbrellas suspended over their heads mozying on by our home. It wasn't raining. It was sunny. I went around the block three times hoping they'd proceed past our home onward to pester some other unsuspecting person(s) but unfortunately on the third lap they decided to stand in our driveway in the shade of one of our bushes and have a little chat underneath their umbrella. They were right in my parking spot.

E was cranky and I wanted to go home. I didn't want to do laps any more. I pulled in. I took my time exiting the vehicle, perhaps two to three minutes, cleaning up trash and miscellaneous papers scattered around the vehicle. They stayed there and waited for me. I sighed and opened the door.

"Oh, what sweet children!" one of the ladies exclaimed.
E started crying. (He's going through a fear of unfamiliar faces stage.)
"Oh, I'm sorry."
You should be.
They proceed to say hello to L and she, in her normal demeanor, welcomes the attention. They say that they come with a message of important relevance. They hand me their publication The Watchtower on which the cover reads "Seven Steps to Better Parenting."

"Thanks."

I think Steven and I rather move even further out into the boonies on a bigger piece of land with less residences so close to us before we move into a gated community. Some day. Hopefully that some day the market will be better. And I hope we can get a donkey. And an otter. And seal. And one of those really big trampolines.

where does the time go?

Whizzing right on past me as I sit aghast and somewhat oblivious... that's where.

Okay, it is time to answer my interview questions (it's taken long enough!)
Q=Z and A=ME!

Q: So what are you going to do with the little whipper-snapper?
A: More like what I have I done... I heard they could live without food or water for weeks. So I just kept him on my desk under the glass for a few days, which, because time seems to get away from me, turned into a week or two. Steven finally got on my case about it and asked me to "take care of it" (kill it) to which I replied "not until the cricket sacrafice" to which he responded with a no-joke straight-face "hell-no" look. Of course I did my cricket experiment when he was at work one day thereafter and the kids were napping. And it wasn't that exciting. So after the cricket and scorpion did their little dance of predator vs. prey, I removed the cricket and put a cotton ball soaked with rubbing alcohol under the glass. Mr. Scorpion passed shortly thereafter. Re-releasing him would have gotten me kicked out of the house for certain.

Q: What does the initial sting feel like? What's the treatment for scorpion sting? How long does the numbness last?
I can't believe it. There is still a bit of numbness left, but it is almost entirely gone, thankfully. The websites and poison control personell lie! It lasts much longer than "several days." Try a couple to a few weeks. And the sting is as painful as hell. I've never been stung by a bee so I really don't have anything to compare it to, but let me tell you, it hurt. The pain radiated up my arm and throbbed and ached like nothing I've ever felt before. Then a tignly numbness ensued that spread up my arm to my shoulder and into the right part of my lower face. Weird. Nothing a couple acetaminophen couldn't help with, though. And the treatment is just a little ice for 10 minutes on and off after being stung, a dose of your normal pain releiver, and time. Unless you start to drool or twitch. Then you need to go to the ER.

Q: Are there any natural repellents that will keep them out of your closets?
Elimination of crickets. It's their numero uno food source. No crickets, no scorpions. So the crickets have got to go.

Mister E man cut his first tooth a couple Wednesdays ago and now his second one is popping up on through, too. Miss L is really into imaginary play these days and her figurines and stuffed animals are taking on lives of their own in her active imagination. Her new favorite show is Wonder Pets. It's nice to add some variety to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einstein cycle. Luckily we've been running around so much these days there isn't all that much time left for TV.

My BLP Stephanie has been going through some challenging times these past few months and that is partially (not entirely) why I have been missing. To sum things up, my buddy accidentally got pregnant with her boyfriend (of questionable potential) of 6 months while she was on an IUD. She's in her early 30's to. Seriously.... what are the odds? So anyway, she was renting an apartment in town near the university, her roommate moved out, she couldn't get a new roommate to split rent, she makes a measly salary working for Head Start and has no family here in town. Her boyfriend is freaking out and is still uncertain as to whether or not he will step up to the plate and do the honorable and right thing. (He intially cried "do over!" and wanted her to terminate, which was something that she could not do. So Steven and I invited her to move in with us until she can get things together and in the meantime save money for this unexpected little miracle about to come into her life.

Now for a couple of random tidbits. My horoscope for this week said...

Your inner restlessness is encouraging you to seek out experiences from all walks of life, which can bring you greater self knowledge and understanding. You still have many opportunities to explore on the career front, so don't give up just yet, either. These wonderful chances aren't going to last forever, so grab then while you can!

And a excerpt from E's weekly developmental e-mail (month 7, week 3) because it is him in a nutshell (whereas L never went through this....)

If your baby's not yet exhibiting separation anxiety, prepare yourself: It may be right around the corner. If he is, be forewarned that his clinginess may escalate over the next few months before gradually subsiding.

Q: Why has my baby become shy around strangers?
A: It's a natural stage many babies go through called "stranger anxiety." Your baby may turn away, cling to you, or cry in the presence of someone new ? or even a familiar relative or friend. Granted, this can pose a problem if you're trying to have someone else take care of her for a while, but the reaction will disappear with time ? and there's an upside to it. "Stranger anxiety shows that babies have started to figure out who they know and who they want to be with. It's a big cognitive step," says pediatrician Jason Homme of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

And last but by no chance in the world least, A VERY BIG FAT SINCERE BELATED BIRTHDAY TO NUGGET! Good grief I feel guilty about missing the little guy's day. If I'd actually check the calendar now and again perhaps I wouldn't be so lost where time and its passage is concerned.