Mr. Green, on the patio, with his fangs.....

Well, the two police officers just left the house. Police Officers? Were you vandalized? No, we were merely held captive by a MOJAVE GREEN RATTLESNAKE. Holy Moly! I know, it begs the obvious question - why police officers? Well, our town is kind of, hmmm, small and the Animal Control folks were already off for the night. The police officers actually carried it off into the desert (I said, "Nate aren't they worried about the other ones out there?" Everyday heroism as far as I'm concerned!) and shot it with a .......crowd-control bean bag at close range. Don't laugh - I'm serious. It makes you wonder about being in the controlled-crowd.

The snake story is this...
Nate was working on the sprinkler system in the front yard. He came in to tell me about it and then was getting ready to walk back out. He opened the front door and then the security door and heard the "something." As he was looking around to see what it was, it registered with him that the "something" was a rattle that belonged to the snake writhing around less than 2 feet from the front door. He did a little jig in the air as he quickly closed both doors. Talk about some adrenaline. I didn't even happen to me and I'm still revved up as I type.
It turns out that the snake was looking for a cool place and he found it on the patch of patio next to a potted plant recently watered by yours truly. I guess I'll be going with more hardscape on the patio and less living things requiring water. The living things that require watering attract other living things that require watering. I actually had watered the potted plant by hand because the drip line to it had been chewed by some living thing requiring water - probably my arch nemesis - "the bunny".

Just another day on the edge of civilization..... (please don't let this influence any plans to visit us - I take it all back. It wasn't a big deal. It was the adrenaline talking.)

Peaches

Hi, my name is Jennifer and I just started putting up 30 lbs. of peaches. That's right - 2 times 15 pounds of sweet, delicious, organic peaches. I love Abundant Harvest (our produce supplier).

I filled three gallon-size freezer bags with cleaned, sliced peaches (and just a tad of apple juice.) I've got about a half-gallon sliced in the fridge, getting good and juicy for breakfast tomorrow. The rest (about 12 pounds) are still getting to the perfect ripe stage.

What would you do with them? Suggestions?

I'm making cobblers for friends this weekend. But other than straight out eating them (my sampling to ensure quality while slicing and storing resulted in a total consumption of about 3 peaches on my part!), other good recipes? I'm not making jam. Anything else? Send it my way, if you have other suggestions. Or, stop by if you like peaches.

Good Eats

So I've been trapped, but I've made some yummy stuff lately. Last night included gazpacho. It was quite good and actually fairly easy. I was pleased with myself. It was Nate's request. I ask everyone what one thing they'd like every week. Nate either says pork, fish, or something completely out of left field like gazpacho. A few weeks back it was gumbo and previous to that, curried chicken. He likes to challenge me, which is fine. I'm up for it. Anyway, I used a couple of recipes off of foodnetwork.com as a starting place. Way yummy and totally guilt-free as far as healthy goes. Anyway, I just wanted to blog about something other than mommy-hood.

Trapped

I am a prisoner in my own home these days....Jackson has some weird illness that entails 103 or higher fevers, so we're stuck at the house. Since its like 109 outside, we're actually stuck IN the house. I'm out of routines to entertain restless children. Jackson would like to run around, but he's been dizzy, so I've put the cabash on that. I thought I'd let him just sit and watch TV, but then Delaney just wants to do that and ends up with all this nervous energy. Meanwhile, I'm paranoid about Drew getting sick, so I'm trying to keep them all in separate rooms. An infant with a 103 fever? Not such good times, I'm thinking. So...I've been concocting a plan for this afternoon. I think I'm going to get Jackson set up watching a video (as in sneak into his room without Delaney's knowledge) and then do the reverse with getting Delaney set up running through the sprinklers. Can I pull it off? I'll have to let you know.

The kids have said some funny things lately, I just can't remember them all.....

1. About a month ago, I was putting Jackson to bed and asked what he wanted me to read to him. He said, "Mom, I just want to read for myself tonight." GASP! My heart sunk a little. He hasn't done that since then. I will miss his little boy self, but his bigger boy self is pretty fun also.

2. Delaney was talking to some dinosaur or dragon or killer monster toy in the car the other day (she does have a big brother, after all). She was telling the killer monster toy how precious he was to her in the sweetest voice. I almost drove off the road.

More sweet faces

 
 
 
 

We really do still take pictures of Jackson and Delaney. The first two are from around the house. The second two are from a farm my good friend, Alexia, took us to one day after swim lessons. The kids had a blast feeding chickens rose petals from some nearby bushes. Who knew that chickens ate rose petals? I didn't.

Faces of Drew

 
 
 
 

Besides the smile, here are some other looks we see on occasion.

"Pieces of Drew"

 
 
 
 

So here are some recent favorite photos. Check out the fat dimples on his hand! Next time we see each other, ask me about what was entailed with the close-up shots of his sweet features.

Smiling Drew

Drew's grandparents will not be surprised to hear that he continues to exceeds expectations on all fronts - he is, after all, the most amazing baby ever, except perhaps for their other grandchildren.

Here are his new tricks...
* smiling (this is my favorite!)
* making gurgles and coos
* reaching out for things and sometimes succeeding
* he has rolled over three times now, from his tummy to his back (1 time while screaming his unhappy head off, the other two at his 2 month old check up, showing off in front of the doctor). We have not had a happy replication at home yet.

His most recent stats from 8 weeks old:
weight: 15.5 lbs (that's about a pinkie above the 99% line on the chart)
height: 23.5 inches (about 90% line - in keeping with earlier measurements)

Trip to SC

So, Drew and I went to SC to see my brother John and his family. John is being deployed for a year to Afghanistan. We had a short, but good visit. John assures me that he will be very safe, deployed to a war-zone, because he will work in a building. That's just him - wanting to keep things low-key. He'll be gone for 12 monthes. Prayers directed towards him and his family are greatly appreciated.



Somehow, the only good picture I got of anyone from John's family with Drew was Garrett, helping give him a bath. Before he helped, he gave me his guidelines - if there were any bodily functions that happened before or during the bath, he was out-of-there. The bath went fine.
During our trip, we also got to see my Great Aunt Toonie (and she is great!, her daughter and graddaughter's families (the beautiful brown-haired girls and the little cutie with the golf club with his Papa), two of my best friends from college, as well as church friends and neighbors. Also, I was at church the Sunday Mom was awarded an Honorary Lifetime Membership to the Presbyterian Women. She was totally surprised!



Here are the photos. If you object to the old film version, you can click on the "view all images" button and it will take you to the photobucket file where you can see the real photos - look in the upper right corner of the screen to view the album.

Jackson's Hair

 
So it all started when Jackson saw my brother, John's, hair or rather lack there of. John shaves his head - he is easy to spot in the airport - I just look for the shine coming my way. Well, I bought John this wierd, green, rubbery thing that stretches over his head and gives him crazy, spiked hair. I also got one for Jackson. Well, Jackson's kept slipping and John's stayed put. Hence, Jackson's desire for a shaved head (that and he likes Uncle John). He's asked about it once a week since Christmas. You might notice from the picture that Jackson is lacking in the skin-pigment department. (He is one pastey-white boy.) So, the compromise was the number 2 blade on the trimmers and a promise of wearing a hat anytime he's outside. I have to admit, I do like the haircut - it is really easy to care for and I think it looks cute. Nate took him to get it cut while I was out of town visiting said brother John. Jackson is talking to me on the phone - telling me about his hair. It's for the best - I probably would have cried - I like his little-boy-hair longer and tousled. I can't believe Jackson will start 1st grade this year!

Where have YOU been?

Nate's map looked so fun, I had to make one of my own! I'm a little surprised that I have a bigger percentage than him - I think maybe he forgot some places he's been. If you're reading this and his percentage is bigger - he's gone back and corrected his map. I'd love to see the map of his sister, Tymaree. Customs officials look at her passpport with wonder. It's kind of amazing she's never been detained under suspicion - her passport is crazy busy!

Fun little map tool