Don't get me wrong....I looooooove springtime. The weather. The flowers. The sweet grassy smells. There is one thing about the spring time that I LOATHE.....and it's reared its ugly head twice just today (literally) That is the fact that snakes are coming back out. I cannot deal with snakes on any level. I lose all rationality if I spot one . I can't move, I can't react, and I can't think. It doesn't matter if I'm in my car and they're on the road.
When Austin got home this afternoon (about 5 minutes before I did) he was standing on the edge of the porch where he informed me that a large (and by large, I mean at least 4 or 5 foot) black snake had been sunning himself and scooted under the porch upon Austin's arrival. Yikes.
Well, after scouring the yard, I went out with Hannah and Chandler so they could play in the playhouse and on the trampoline (since, as far as I know, snakes are not fans of bouncing). All was well. Later, I had to come inside to take care of some laundry so I gated the kids on the front porch so they could keep playing (my laundry room is right next to the front door, which was open...info for anyone who might think I abandoned my children to fend for themselves). All was well until Hannah started screaming. She'd gotten one of her little beach chairs out of the playbox and when she opened it, there was a baby snake inside. Of course I grabbed Han and Chan and ran into the house while simultaneously yelling for Austin, who was in his barn working. It turned out to be an oak snake (which, in my defense, looks ALOT like a rattlesnake...especially to someone like me who isn't going to hang around to determine the shape of its head and whether or not there are actual rattles on their butts).
So, we had a chat with Hannah on proper snake protocol (which I let Austin handle, because MY protocol is NOT what you want your kids to learn...... involving total fear and meltdowns!). So, spring is here with all its pros AND cons. There isn't enough valium in the WORLD to make me okay with snakes, but I suppose that short of moving to Alaska where it's perpetually too cold for them, I'll just have to beat down that "city girl" part of me and deal with it. Especially since we are soon to be moving (we hope) to a temporary house that is apparently notorious for its snake population. I wonder if hypnotherapy would work....at least to the point where I won't terrorize my kids!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Fishers of ......well, Fish!
We took the kids over to Austin's grandparents' pond for their first fishing experience. Aunt Vici had given them little fishing poles not too long ago and casting in the living room was losing its interest. Yes, we live on a fishing lake, but we thought our luck would be better out on the farm. So, we packed up the kids, some rubber boots, Austin's fishing pole, and some rubber bait (Hannah vehemently vetoed live bait of any sort!) and headed out for our maiden fishing voyage. Here are some pics from the kids inauguration into the Bassmaster Society :)
Annnnnd....here's the "fish" they'd caught.....Hannah called it her seaweed fish (she's always been pretty literal)
But, eventually they caught some actual fish.....here's Hannah with her catch of the day!
Chandler wasn't sure what he thought about the whole situation. He got pretty upset when the fish was flopping around before Austin could get it picked up.
Once they got tired of the fishing process, the kids started playing in the water. Guess they were going for the more primitive fishing practices....just jab 'em with sticks!
Hannah picking out the perfect bait to catch "the big one"
Hannah and Austin: She couldn't cast, so he had to get the fish on the hook for her
Hannah helping her daddy reel in the monster bass they'd hooked
Annnnnd....here's the "fish" they'd caught.....Hannah called it her seaweed fish (she's always been pretty literal)But, eventually they caught some actual fish.....here's Hannah with her catch of the day!Chandler wasn't sure what he thought about the whole situation. He got pretty upset when the fish was flopping around before Austin could get it picked up.Once they got tired of the fishing process, the kids started playing in the water. Guess they were going for the more primitive fishing practices....just jab 'em with sticks!Chandler has gotten to where he stands like this alot....I just think it's too cute :) It's like he's scoping out the perfect place for daddy to cast.
Chandler didn't believe in the whole casting process....he'd rather just swish the pole around in the water to lure the fish that way!
It didn't take long before Chan got too far out in the water and fell in. I didn't think to bring extra clothes (even though that should have been the FIRST thing I packed!) so by the end of the day, he was down to nothing but his diaper and his rubber boots. Unfortunately, my camera died before I could get a pic of THAT cuteness....so this picture will have to do.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The Baby Doc
I went in for my checkup today with my OB. I am officially 12 weeks as of yesterday and things are still looking good. My very best friend, Carrie, and my godson, Zion came along for the trip. Cabs got to hear the little peanut's heartbeat and she got all teary. My fabulous nurse, who's been with me through all three pregnancies (well....four), Sharon had to search pretty hard to find the heartbeat. I wasn't concerned at first because Hannah and Chandler always liked to send her on a scavenger hunt for theirs (which resulted in an impromptu ultrasound with Chan to make sure he was okay) but after a minute or two I started to get nervous. Just before I got really scared, we heard that beautiful little heartbeat going fast and strong. I won't say just how fast, because my mom would immediately start making baby gender predictions!
All ended up going well and I'm scheduled to go back in a month for another checkup and ultrasound at 16 weeks. Normally, this would be the one where we would find out the sex of the baby, but this time around we are leaving for a delivery room surprise. I'm hoping that my curiosity doesn't get the best of me in the midst of the sonogram....I crack like an egg under pressure!
The best news....I didn't get yelled at for the second month in a row for weight gain! I've been really concerned because I'm eating everything I see but I'm not exercising quite like I did with the first two pregnancies. Now that I'm feeling better, I hope to fix that soon though. Dr. Bankert loves to give me a hard time if I sprout a few extra lbs more than I should in a month.
So, overall....great appointment. Baby's doing good and I got to see my Cabs and my little Z man! I'll update in a month :)
All ended up going well and I'm scheduled to go back in a month for another checkup and ultrasound at 16 weeks. Normally, this would be the one where we would find out the sex of the baby, but this time around we are leaving for a delivery room surprise. I'm hoping that my curiosity doesn't get the best of me in the midst of the sonogram....I crack like an egg under pressure!
The best news....I didn't get yelled at for the second month in a row for weight gain! I've been really concerned because I'm eating everything I see but I'm not exercising quite like I did with the first two pregnancies. Now that I'm feeling better, I hope to fix that soon though. Dr. Bankert loves to give me a hard time if I sprout a few extra lbs more than I should in a month.
So, overall....great appointment. Baby's doing good and I got to see my Cabs and my little Z man! I'll update in a month :)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
My Rant
There was a letter to the Editor in last week's Herald that got me fired up. S. Brenner wrote in complaining about parking in DeFuniak (for the first sentence) and then proceeded to bash the Baptist Church (of which I am a PROUD member) for the remaining 3 paragraphs. I wrote a letter to the Editor in response, but I'm too chicken to send it in (along with my desire to NOT embarass my family with my rants and raves on random topics), so I'm posting it here. If anyone who reads this knows the person who wrote the initial letter, please feel free to print out my response and throw it at them!
Editor:
This letter is in response to the letter written by Mr. S. Brenner. Mr. Brenner’s letter focused its attention on bashing the First Baptist Church parishioners for parking violations and questioned the police department’s ethics in this regard. Here is my question: Why pick on the Baptist Church? Is it because he truly has issue with the parking issues of our fair city? Or is it because he has issues with the church? His letter never attempted to address this same issue which occurs all around DeFuniak. For example: the churchgoers of First Presbyterian Church are forced to park all up and down Circle Drive because they only have eight or nine actual parking spaces designated for their church. First Methodist Church and St. Agatha’s Church both face the same parking problems. Mr. Brenner didn’t see fit to even mention any of these places. Let’s step away from the churches and examine the situation in other areas as well. The parking for the public library on the circle clogs up that entire area, and not just on one day of the week. Try six days (and as a Media Specialist, I am certainly not saying that people shouldn’t be going to the library.). How about when Walton Middle School has a basketball game and Park Avenue becomes their parking lot? What about when Walton High School has a large event and cars are forced to park all up and down Walton Road? Mr. Brenner also called into question the morals and ethics of people who attend First Baptist Church based upon their parking choices. Well, Mr. Brenner, the church has done a lot to try and alleviate the issues of parking, which have been met with much aggression and hostility from folks. How in the world can you fault someone for wanting to be in church on Sunday? The parking problems of all of these places show one thing: that people are interested in things going on in our community, be it sporting events, reading at the library, or going to church. Our community is growing and we should be working together to help adjust to that growth, not slinging mud at people. I feel quite confident, by the way, that if my choice on Sunday came down to skipping out on church because I couldn’t find a parking space, or being in church learning about the Word of God, the Lord would forgive me for parking the wrong way on the street if that’s what it took (and please don’t spin that sentence around to say that I am implying Christians can commit any crime they want as long as they are in church on Sunday.). I can definitely respect the opinions of someone else in just about all matters, and I certainly respect Mr. Brenner's right to his own opinion. What I don’t respect is writing a letter bashing the First Baptist Church under the guise of complaining about parking violations in general in our town.
Sincerely,
Alison Shoaf
Editor:
This letter is in response to the letter written by Mr. S. Brenner. Mr. Brenner’s letter focused its attention on bashing the First Baptist Church parishioners for parking violations and questioned the police department’s ethics in this regard. Here is my question: Why pick on the Baptist Church? Is it because he truly has issue with the parking issues of our fair city? Or is it because he has issues with the church? His letter never attempted to address this same issue which occurs all around DeFuniak. For example: the churchgoers of First Presbyterian Church are forced to park all up and down Circle Drive because they only have eight or nine actual parking spaces designated for their church. First Methodist Church and St. Agatha’s Church both face the same parking problems. Mr. Brenner didn’t see fit to even mention any of these places. Let’s step away from the churches and examine the situation in other areas as well. The parking for the public library on the circle clogs up that entire area, and not just on one day of the week. Try six days (and as a Media Specialist, I am certainly not saying that people shouldn’t be going to the library.). How about when Walton Middle School has a basketball game and Park Avenue becomes their parking lot? What about when Walton High School has a large event and cars are forced to park all up and down Walton Road? Mr. Brenner also called into question the morals and ethics of people who attend First Baptist Church based upon their parking choices. Well, Mr. Brenner, the church has done a lot to try and alleviate the issues of parking, which have been met with much aggression and hostility from folks. How in the world can you fault someone for wanting to be in church on Sunday? The parking problems of all of these places show one thing: that people are interested in things going on in our community, be it sporting events, reading at the library, or going to church. Our community is growing and we should be working together to help adjust to that growth, not slinging mud at people. I feel quite confident, by the way, that if my choice on Sunday came down to skipping out on church because I couldn’t find a parking space, or being in church learning about the Word of God, the Lord would forgive me for parking the wrong way on the street if that’s what it took (and please don’t spin that sentence around to say that I am implying Christians can commit any crime they want as long as they are in church on Sunday.). I can definitely respect the opinions of someone else in just about all matters, and I certainly respect Mr. Brenner's right to his own opinion. What I don’t respect is writing a letter bashing the First Baptist Church under the guise of complaining about parking violations in general in our town.
Sincerely,
Alison Shoaf
Updates on the Homefront
A few updates:
The House: We actually have a serious prospect on our house! The contracts have been signed, but it's all contingent on the sale of our buyer's condo in PCB (which is under contract, so that is looking positive!). If all goes well, we'll have a closing date of May 1st and a move out date of May 7th. Whew! We just pray that God's will be done here and that no matter what....we will be where we are supposed to be (which is hopefully in a house with more room than this one!). We don't know for sure what we're going to do....we are looking for some property, but we also know of a house that we might be interested in if the seller is willing to come down a little on the price. Our goal is to keep our mortgage payments the same as what we have now. Who knows....I'll update more as things change!
The Kiddos: Hannah is amazing us more and more every day. We have come to realize just how blessed we actually are with her. She plays so well with Chandler (really...she does....) and we realized the other day that we don't appreciate just how good she is. She has her moments of difficulty, but she's three....that's expected. Chandler is growing so fast. He imitates everything his daddy and sister do...it's so funny. He's trying to jump these days, and it's so funny to watch him try to get his pudgy little feet off of the floor. He's still not talking much....but he understands just about everything you say to him. I told him today to put his cup on the table behind him and he just turned around and set it right where I said. He can point to pretty much any body part on cue and if anyone is singing, that boy is spinning around, clapping, and dancing. He'll probably do talking just like he did walking....nothing, nothing, nothing, and then all of the sudden he'll be speaking in full paragraphs!
The Preggo: I'm on week 11.5 and doing alot better. I haven't worn my SeaBands in about a week and a half and the nausea hasn't come back. I am going to have to get my maternity clothes out of the attic in about another week.....my pants are getting a little snug, which is just weird to me this early on. Hopefully they didn't miss an extra kid in there on the ultrasound!! I am hoping that I'll get some more energy back in the second trimester....especially if we're moving anytime soon! I've definitely been having cravings...but it's always something different. I went through an oranges phase, a pickles and cream cheese phase, and today I would have just about paid any price for a pasta salad...which I didn't get :( Unfortunately, due to how cruddy I've felt, I've not been exercising like I should be....my next appointment is on March 17th and that scale is NOT gonna be my friend.
Work: Work is work. Austin and I still have jobs, which apparently is something that alot of folks can't say anymore. I always thought that the teaching profession was stable and I had nothing to fear, but apparently nationwide, teachers are being let go due to budget cuts. Fortunately, I was awarded tenure two years ago so I should be fine for now. Austin's profession, on the other hand, is one that is shaky at best, but he's been VERY blessed with seveal jobs and hasn't slowed down too much lately. It's been a very good thing that his business has remained small....people aren't really willing to build an entire house these days, but they're still willing to add a deck or dock or something like that on the smaller scale. We just thank God for taking care of us!
The House: We actually have a serious prospect on our house! The contracts have been signed, but it's all contingent on the sale of our buyer's condo in PCB (which is under contract, so that is looking positive!). If all goes well, we'll have a closing date of May 1st and a move out date of May 7th. Whew! We just pray that God's will be done here and that no matter what....we will be where we are supposed to be (which is hopefully in a house with more room than this one!). We don't know for sure what we're going to do....we are looking for some property, but we also know of a house that we might be interested in if the seller is willing to come down a little on the price. Our goal is to keep our mortgage payments the same as what we have now. Who knows....I'll update more as things change!
The Kiddos: Hannah is amazing us more and more every day. We have come to realize just how blessed we actually are with her. She plays so well with Chandler (really...she does....) and we realized the other day that we don't appreciate just how good she is. She has her moments of difficulty, but she's three....that's expected. Chandler is growing so fast. He imitates everything his daddy and sister do...it's so funny. He's trying to jump these days, and it's so funny to watch him try to get his pudgy little feet off of the floor. He's still not talking much....but he understands just about everything you say to him. I told him today to put his cup on the table behind him and he just turned around and set it right where I said. He can point to pretty much any body part on cue and if anyone is singing, that boy is spinning around, clapping, and dancing. He'll probably do talking just like he did walking....nothing, nothing, nothing, and then all of the sudden he'll be speaking in full paragraphs!
The Preggo: I'm on week 11.5 and doing alot better. I haven't worn my SeaBands in about a week and a half and the nausea hasn't come back. I am going to have to get my maternity clothes out of the attic in about another week.....my pants are getting a little snug, which is just weird to me this early on. Hopefully they didn't miss an extra kid in there on the ultrasound!! I am hoping that I'll get some more energy back in the second trimester....especially if we're moving anytime soon! I've definitely been having cravings...but it's always something different. I went through an oranges phase, a pickles and cream cheese phase, and today I would have just about paid any price for a pasta salad...which I didn't get :( Unfortunately, due to how cruddy I've felt, I've not been exercising like I should be....my next appointment is on March 17th and that scale is NOT gonna be my friend.
Work: Work is work. Austin and I still have jobs, which apparently is something that alot of folks can't say anymore. I always thought that the teaching profession was stable and I had nothing to fear, but apparently nationwide, teachers are being let go due to budget cuts. Fortunately, I was awarded tenure two years ago so I should be fine for now. Austin's profession, on the other hand, is one that is shaky at best, but he's been VERY blessed with seveal jobs and hasn't slowed down too much lately. It's been a very good thing that his business has remained small....people aren't really willing to build an entire house these days, but they're still willing to add a deck or dock or something like that on the smaller scale. We just thank God for taking care of us!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Hannah's first dentist trip
HKay went to her first dental cleaning today (March 5). After making several phone calls to find a dentist in the near area who would take a three-year-old, I finally found one in DFS. Now, Hannah can go either way when it comes to reactions to new things. If in the right mood, she would face just about anything with a smile. If not in said "right" mood, she can make the experience a holy disaster. Fortunately, today she was in the right mood :) 
It all started out with us practicing in the car on the way there how she would open her mouth nice and big for the dentist so he could see all of her pearly whites. Well, that practice paid off. She was no more in the dentist chair before she leaned back and stretched that little mouth as wide as it would go. The dental hygienist didn't even have her gloves on yet! After that, Hannah told the poor girl about every toothbrush she's ever owned in her whole life (which luckily doesn't span more than 3.5 years....otherwise we'd probably still be there!) She was a champ through the whole procedure. 
The polisher tickled her gums and we had to take a giggle break or two, but in the end, her teeth were deemed "perfect" by the dentist. She was dubbed "best patient of the day" (granted, it was a short day...they were only open until 2:00 and this was at 12:00...and no one else was in there the entire time we were there....but that's beside the point!) and left with some fabulous prizes which included a new toothbrush, a sticker, and a little toy.
So, unlike her mommy, Hannah now loves the dentist and can't wait to go back in October again. Does God love me enough to make it that easy with Chandler? It'll be interesting to find out when he's old enough to go!
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