Removing our unwelcomed guests

We discovered honey bees in the wall of our kitchen bay window last Saturday morning.  This was the second time we've had then in roughly the same spot.  Last time, we had them exterminated and never had the comb removed or did any bee proofing.  Well, two plus years later, they returned.  Turns out that new bees are drawn by the pheromones the old ones left.  A few years older and wiser, we opted for a live removal, bee proofing and repair.  Finding the bees wasn't as easy as I would have liked.  And as our contractor K took off layers of wood, we discovered we had more rotten wood than we thought we had.  But he finally found the bees, the comb and some honey and went to work vacuuming them out.

He used a shop vac with a "bee filter" on it.  After gathering the bulk of the bees, he checked for a queen.  It's all about the queen where honey bees are concerned.  If you have her, all the rest will follow.  Satisfied that he had her, our contractor set the boxes out to gather the rest of the hive.  As you can see in the photo on the right, the bees gathered on the box where the queen was, where K simply vacuumed them into a separate box.  (He'll later combine the bees into a box, reset the combs into a frame and deliver them to a beekeeper in the area.)  K's estimate for this hive: about 3000 bees.  Sure didn't seem like that many...

The job was mostly done by the time I picked JHP up from school.  I went out to talk to the contractor and take some photos, but John wasn't interested in joining me.  But he couldn't stand not to see what was going on either.  The kitchen window didn't show him what he wanted to see, so he went to the bathroom and carried his big heavy step stool over to the back door, where he could see all the bees safely from behind the door.  I didn't know he could actually carry the stool.  I imagine now I'll see it all over the house.

The exposed house is covered with plastic sheeting while we make some decisions and some phone calls on just what to do next.  Since things are somewhat exposed, do we go ahead and replace the windows there that we've been talking about doing for months?  Or just repair the outside and worry about the windows later?  Decisions, decisions.

-EBP-

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Lots of good stuff

We made it to Froberg's on Friday to pick some strawberries.  It was a totally different experience from last year.  I think we went Good Friday last year and so it was SUPER busy.  But this year, we arrived early and had lots of space to ourselves.  Last year, the berries were huge and ripe ones were easily found.  I don't think we travelled but about halfway down the row before our buckets were filled.  This year, there were lots of berries, but they were smaller and many were rotting on the plant.  It's been hotter earlier this year and it's been dry, dry, dry. 

 Last year John was really into picking and did a wonderful job of picking this good ones. This year he was just at good at getting the good ones, but he lost interest quickly.  In fact, he got more of a thrill out of running up and down the empty rows than he did picking the strawberries.  But he was still glad we went to pick is "favorite fruit."

Later that evening John got a package in the mail from Grandma and Paw Paw.  Even if we'd wanted to save it for Easter, there was no way John would have made it through the evening knowing there was a package with his name on it in the house.  So, we let him open it, mostly for our own peace of mind.  As you can see, it was an Easter basket in a box, complete with a cute little stuffed lamb, some candy, a card, a coloring book, and a little handheld game.

 In addition, there were a couple of eggs with some goodies.  Among the goodies, some money.

And taking after his father, he know exactly where his money belongs: the BANK!  In his case, it's one of his piggy banks.  Believe it or not, without any encouragement from us, he loves to put his money in his bank.  I know one day that will change, but for now, his little stash will continue to grow.

The rest of the weekend has been kinda low-key.  We did try out a new Mexican food restaurant last night.  It has a cool play area for the kids and great food, too.  And tonight, we went to have some family photos taken - by a professional!  I actually won a free mini-shoot from a newer photographer in the area that I met recently.  It was a bit awkward for me since I'm usually behind the camera, but the experience was an enjoyable one.  Can't wait to see how they turn out! 

The only other remarkable thing about the weekend is that John did not nap yesterday or today.  I think that made it 4 or 5 out of 7 days that he did NOT nap this week.  He can make it until bedtime on no nap, but sometimes it's not pleasant.  Typically, when he's beyond tired he just starts acting obnoxiously silly and won't listen to anything you say, which leads to unhappy parents.  And that turns into an emotional mess of a boy when all is said and done.  It can be painful for all involved.  We are still enforcing quiet time, but I guess I need to rethink our procedure to encourage the quiet part.  Maybe this week will be better.

-EBP-

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Hunting eggs

Last Saturday we went to a Easter Egg Hunt at the church where John goes to school.  It was a warm day and we played around a long time before the hunting actually began.  But as you can see, although John was red-cheeked, he was quite excited to be waiting for the hunt to begin.

 I had to laugh at his approach to hunting.  He ran through lots of eggs to find the ones farthest away and most difficult to find.  Gotta check out this video to see him in action. 

He did come home with a decent amount of eggs.  Thankfully, it was mostly gummies and tattoos.

A nice man offered to take our photo.  John's looking dazed and I'm squinting, but at least we were in it  together.  (Daddy had decided to stay home and mow.)

It's been a busy week.  It was the last week for my Wednesday Bible Study and today was an event at church that I photographed.  And when I wasn't attending, I was getting ready for both events in a variety of ways.  Mix that in with John going to school, a baseball game with Barbara, and thinking about the bees that moved into the kitchen wall (AGAIN) and I'm one tired woman.  One bright spot is that my FOUR volumes of 2009's blog came in the mail yesterday.  Only one glaring error I've discovered so far.  Can you see it?  You might need to click the photo to see it larger.

Tomorrow we'll go pick strawberries at Froberg's where we went last year.  So, look for some new photos in the next couple of days.  I'm smart enough not to promise them tomorrow, though!

-EBP-

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Waking up

Daddy got home about the same time I was waking John up.  Unusually, John wanted Daddy.  And since we'd gotten new books at the library today, Daddy picked up a book lying on the bed and read it to John.

 After the book, John goofed around a little before we went over to SNBNA's our regular Friday night pizza.

 "Look, Momma!  I can swing myself!"  Look at that concentration.  I laugh at some of the faces he makes when he is doing something requiring concentration.  Like the tongue sticking out while he dribbles the soccer ball. I need to get a photo of that. 

-EBP-

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New entertainment

 Lately JHP has discovered temporary tattoos.  He'd gotten three for Valentine's day and recently used them all, asking for more.  So I found some more for him this week.  His new "ride" - Ramone of Cars fame.

 Something else I found this week:  a bubble cyclone.  All those bubbles brought him great joy (and silliness)!

The wind kept changing direction, which meant John kept changing direction, often running small circles through the bubbles.  There one thing I can say for sure about my son: if you start him running, he's likely to keep running.

-EBP-

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Lovely

The weather's been great this week after a tease of rain (seriously, just enough rain to wet the sidewalk) on Monday.  So we spent some time outside after dinner yesterday.  Since we all trekked outside, the boys thought it was time to water the plants.  It seems to me that I have lots of photos of John (of various sizes in this pose) watering the plants.

You can tell how dry it was by the evidence on his lip.  Even with a good wipe of the mouth, the milk mustache crept it's way outward.

One of John's new things to do out in the backyard is to dig in the dirt.  Last year when we got the side fence replaced, we moved the dirt from the post holes to the back edge of our foundation.  The dry/wet/dry of the last couple of years had taken it's toll on the dirt near the house.  So we backfilled and John got a new play area.  The grass might fill in this summer and regardless if it does or not, I won't complain when he is totally content to dig away.  No one sees this area and it needs to be "worked" a bit anyway.

John's taken to "calling" you when he wants to chat.  I don't remember what we were talking about, but we were "on the phone".  He learned how to "phone" from watching me in the car when Five Little Monkeys comes on.  "Momma called the doctor and the doctor said..."

The amaryllis popped open yesterday.  Monday it was closed.  Tuesday opened.  Man, it seems like just last week that I noticed the shoot coming up.  Last year, time moved more slowly or maybe the amaryllis did.  Of course, we've been much warmer earlier this year after those really cold snaps we had in Jan & Feb.  Maybe that's what did it!

Aside from his incisions and some tenderness in that area, JHP is back to normal.  His activity level is back after some slow down over the weekend.  This week has been whinier than I'd like.  Tonight he cried almost uncontrollably before dinner for apparently no reason. We are trying to teach him to control those emotions and get himself out of the pit.  Sometimes, this takes more intervention and distraction on our parts to lift him up.  Tonight we just tried our best to encourage him to stop crying and let us know if there was something we could help him with.  Eventually, dinner was enough to distract him out of the emotion.

"Crap!"  That's what I heard from the backseat this morning.  It was used in context, correctly, over some little frustration.  And Daddy heard it again tonight.  My firm response:  "Mommy shouldn't use that word and neither should you."  Daddy's response:  "If you use that word again, I'm gonna wash your mouth out with soap."  I then warned John that Daddy knows firsthand all about mouth washing and he should take the warning seriously.  What I didn't tell JHP was how Daddy knew so much about mouth washing.  (In case you don't know... JNP got his mouth washed out with soap when he was a kid for a similar offense.)

-EBP-

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Day Surgery

Early Friday morning, we made our way down to Texas Children's Hospital for John's outpatient surgery to repair is ectopic testicle and a hernia. We got there at 7am and there was plenty to keep John occupied. The waiting area was outfitted with lots of books, toys, game systems, and riding toys. John went from one to another like a little ping pong. He wasn't at all clingy and wasn't much interested in the Child Life specialist that came to talk with John about the surgery. There were too many distractions. The first time he showed any hesitation all was when they called his name to get his height/weight/vitals taken. Soon enough, though, he figured out the nurses thought he was cute and all was good.

We got called back into the next holding area for some further questioning. The nurse practitioner listened to John's heart and then we got John changed into his special hospital pajamas.

We waited here a long time, although it didn't seem to bother John. I think he as most bothered by having to share his cool little ride-on tractor with some of the other boys in the waiting room. My only complaint about the whole day was that the doctor's office had told me the surgery was scheduled for 900a, when in reality it was on the schedule for 930a. So we sat in this waiting room for almost an hour and a half. Then finally the doctor came to chat briefly and tell us his resident would bring us the paperwork to sign and that the anesthesiologist would be by, too. The both came about the same time. We asked our questions of the resident, signed the paperwork, and off he went, only to be brought back to mark the surgery site in permanent marker. THAT is what John's shown off in lieu of dropping his drawers to show off one of his incisions. And that was the second time he showed some hesitation during the process. Then we talked with the anesthesiologist, signed her paperwork, and walked with her, her trainee, and a nurse toward the doors while John rode a little red push car down the hall and into surgery. We stopped for hugs and kisses, but he was ready to move on with his entourage of attention, never looking back after he left us. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall...

Right at 40 minutes after he left us, the doctor walked into the lounge to share with us that all went well. His only comment was that the teste that was relocated is smaller than the other, but it looked to be in good condition. I guess I'll need to find out what the implications of that are at the follow-up appointment. Shortly after he left us, we were shown back into the recovery area. John was asleep on his gurney. Just a few minutes later he woke, a bit disoriented and ready to be held. He sucked down some apple juice and half a popsicle, managing to meet all the criteria for discharge in record time. But then he didn't want to go home. And he cried about it. A lot, which I suspect was a result of the anesthesia. He wanted to stay with the pretty blond nurse. He didn't want a ride in a wheelchair. So, I carried him all the way to the car, while he continued to cry. We were in the van by noon-ish and home by 1230p. Surprisingly, John didn't fall asleep in the car, although he was quiet.

Once home, I deposited him on the couch to watch some TV and eat some saltines. I moved him to his bed about 230p and he went down for his nap without much comment at all. Then I did that same. I was really beat and since I've been battling the runny nose, etc. all week, I felt it was a good opportunity to rest as well. Daddy ran the errand of getting the pain meds for John. And my lovely friend Jennifer had brought us a wonderful home cooked meal for supper that night. So I had no obligation except to my pillow!

We've kept it low key this weekend, mostly hanging around the house. We did go out to dinner last night and we went to church today. John's moving pretty well. He's still walking funny at times, tiptoeing around the house. I suspect that it's a result of the glue they used to close the large incision. Maybe it's pulling a little. John couldn't bathe until tonight. While he hadn't played too hard, a couple of days of light sweating during his sleep began to build into an aroma that I didn't find too pleasant. He's old enough to try to con you. He keeps asking to be carried "because my incision hurts" or to ask for his pain meds for the same reason, when it's most obvious that he hasn't been in that much pain. We've always suspected he has a high pain threshold. I think being a little uncomfortable will keep him from doing something silly to damage the incision.

I should note that the first three photos were shot with my cell phone camera. Guess who left the point and shoot at home? I was pretty unhappy when I realized that. Such an occasion and I left a decent camera at home! Next time I'll pack it the night before! Like I did everything else this time around...

-EBP-

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