We're almost three months into living la vida Florida and I have to admit that it feels like quite a bit longer because it's taken us NO time at all to happily acclimate to having Simon around a whole lot more. The weeks filled with the dread for the weekend-o-work that bled into another long week are long gone and we find ourselves asking each other, "sooo what should we do this weekend?!" quite a bit. It's like a whole new world.
This past weekend lent itself to the tiniest bit of adventuring on Friday night when we decided to drive and park a mile from a playground downtown, walk to said playground, have a picnic, and walk to to the car and drive home. Yes, a grand adventure.
We parked, loaded our caravan (three kids in the jogger, two kids in the beach wagon), encountered flights of stairs, rerouted ourselves, got almost to our destination when we noticed that one of the jogger tires was on the verge of exploding (because of the heat? not sure) and then suddenly it was flat so .... it made for a fun walk back.
At the playground. Plotting exactly how many kids he could fit in his pockets.
The kids hated the fountains (misters? technical term?)
Phoebe required not one but TWO swim shirts on her person.
And this would be such a great picture if only Theo wasn't pre-tantrum, Bosco was magically frolicking about, and Phoebe wasn't about to pick up that random Chick-Fil-A cup ...
If only.
(I grabbed the cup before she did ... feline like sprinting and reflexes)
On the s-l-o-w walk back Julia gave Theo an elocution lesson on all the important words in life, "Theo say 'JU-LEE-UH'" ... "Theo say, 'Par-KING LAWT'" ... "Theo say, 'POOP'" ... etc. Which had Theo like ...
"N-O"
Onward to Saturday when I got bit by the baking bug not once but twice. The kids had never had monkey bread and we had some biscuits on the verge of expiring in the fridge and so ... the shoe fit.
Unfortunately, I started the tiniest bit of an oven fire. Simon might not call it tiny but he handled it and the bread went unscathed. And since that had been such a success I decided to jump on the pumpkin ship that everyone is hopping and make some pumpkin bread.
I only forgot the sugar and accidentally more than doubled the baking soda so not even the whipped (whiffed - as Julia calls it, where's her pronunciation skill set NOW?) cream topping could save the seasonal delight. I don't know how I do it either.
After polling the Facebook page for show/movie recs Simon and I decided to start The Americans (I only had to close my eyes ~5 times ... not bad!) and I watched Catastrophe while Simon went to a Notre Dame game watch. Both winners, so far!
We continued working on getting Julia's people's arms out of their ears ...
work in progress.
And I capped the weekend off last night by taking the trash outside and immediately feeling something wiggle underneath my foot and oh, just a SNAKE. A gross black snake that is apparently common around here. I did what any rational human would do and I shrieked, watch it dance + coil about, and then ran inside to do some Googling ...
Solidarity J ALLMON. Solidarity. {I believe it was a black racer snake and I don't care how harmless they are ... or how hot it is outside ... steel toed boots from here on out}
Anyway, I know it's tough to top but at the very least I hope your weekend was just as magical. (Minus the reptilian horror show.)
This past weekend lent itself to the tiniest bit of adventuring on Friday night when we decided to drive and park a mile from a playground downtown, walk to said playground, have a picnic, and walk to to the car and drive home. Yes, a grand adventure.
We parked, loaded our caravan (three kids in the jogger, two kids in the beach wagon), encountered flights of stairs, rerouted ourselves, got almost to our destination when we noticed that one of the jogger tires was on the verge of exploding (because of the heat? not sure) and then suddenly it was flat so .... it made for a fun walk back.
At the playground. Plotting exactly how many kids he could fit in his pockets.
The kids hated the fountains (misters? technical term?)
Phoebe required not one but TWO swim shirts on her person.
And this would be such a great picture if only Theo wasn't pre-tantrum, Bosco was magically frolicking about, and Phoebe wasn't about to pick up that random Chick-Fil-A cup ...
If only.
(I grabbed the cup before she did ... feline like sprinting and reflexes)
On the s-l-o-w walk back Julia gave Theo an elocution lesson on all the important words in life, "Theo say 'JU-LEE-UH'" ... "Theo say, 'Par-KING LAWT'" ... "Theo say, 'POOP'" ... etc. Which had Theo like ...
"N-O"
Onward to Saturday when I got bit by the baking bug not once but twice. The kids had never had monkey bread and we had some biscuits on the verge of expiring in the fridge and so ... the shoe fit.
Unfortunately, I started the tiniest bit of an oven fire. Simon might not call it tiny but he handled it and the bread went unscathed. And since that had been such a success I decided to jump on the pumpkin ship that everyone is hopping and make some pumpkin bread.
I only forgot the sugar and accidentally more than doubled the baking soda so not even the whipped (whiffed - as Julia calls it, where's her pronunciation skill set NOW?) cream topping could save the seasonal delight. I don't know how I do it either.
After polling the Facebook page for show/movie recs Simon and I decided to start The Americans (I only had to close my eyes ~5 times ... not bad!) and I watched Catastrophe while Simon went to a Notre Dame game watch. Both winners, so far!
We continued working on getting Julia's people's arms out of their ears ...
work in progress.
And I capped the weekend off last night by taking the trash outside and immediately feeling something wiggle underneath my foot and oh, just a SNAKE. A gross black snake that is apparently common around here. I did what any rational human would do and I shrieked, watch it dance + coil about, and then ran inside to do some Googling ...
Solidarity J ALLMON. Solidarity. {I believe it was a black racer snake and I don't care how harmless they are ... or how hot it is outside ... steel toed boots from here on out}
Anyway, I know it's tough to top but at the very least I hope your weekend was just as magical. (Minus the reptilian horror show.)
We have very harmless snakes here too. Unfortunately, we also have a canal running through our property which is apparently where all the snakes like to hang out. I wear my rubber boots outside anytime I will be on the grass. Because snakes=hell to the no.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're all settling in and adventuring! :-)
We moved to the country a few years ago, something we were so excited about because space ! and zero people! and shoving the kids outside without worrying about them getting hit by a car! All the things! The first week in, not one but TWO blue racers slithered out from the depths of hell (re: our porch) and now All the things! have been slightly/ irrevocably tainted by the desire to set fire to the whole lot and move back to town. God speed, Grace. God speed.
ReplyDeleteHere's my snake encounter from last year...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ourabclife.com/2014/05/you-know-you-have-snake-in-your-garage.html
It was terrifying and involved my neighbor telling me he'd only killed a snake with a gun before... Maybe some snake sulfur is in your future?
The Americans is awesome! Absolutely not Gilmore Girls, but still wonderful! Let the nail biting commence. :)
ReplyDeleteNow I know how to pronounce Julia! Thanks J!
ReplyDelete(Totally serious though. My sister is Julia but we pronounce it Jule-ya)
My turning-4-next-month year old asked for a snake for her birthday. NOPE, nope, and NOPE!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who has mini cooking disasters. Always a wonderful read, keep it up!
ReplyDeleteCatastrophe 💑, is anything but one!!! Show me a human (adult version) who doesn't love an Amazon (or Netflix) (or HULU) series and I'll.... Well, I'd...... Probably just call them silly and laugh as they pay for HBO 💰💰!!
ReplyDeleteTell Simon we miss him at Mercy, however it's so nice to see you all getting some major family time together!!!!
We visited Tampa just last weekend and were at the same park! And yes, we used to live in St. Louis before moving to Florida and SNAKES! I knew they were in Missouri/Illinois, but I never saw them! We see them quite frequently now.
ReplyDeleteOk so stepping on a snake would freak me out but nonpoisonous snakes keep poisonous ones away. If your house is marked as his "territory", you won't see the dreaded rattlers! ...bright side?? :)
ReplyDeleteI thought so too but I read that's a myth? I really hope you're right!!! Ha
DeleteWell, I couldn't live there anymore -- I am terrified of snakes! I'm sure they serve some worthwhile purpose other than to scare me to death, but none come to mind at the moment. Steel toe boots and stilts sound like a good option.
ReplyDeleteWe're you barefoot?? Trying to figure out how heavily I should shudder.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're getting family time! We may have just started residency this past July but I'm already counting down the days...
ReplyDeleteI'm grateful that Google exists so people can ask anyone willing to respond if a single, specific snake will find its way back to their house.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I once went into my bathroom and found A LIVE SNAKE ON THE FLOOR. And, no, it was not an outhouse but a proper home with walls and doors that should have prevented snakes from sneaking in to scare me.
"I'm grateful that Google exists so people can ask anyone willing to respond if a single, specific snake will find its way back to their house."
Delete^^had me laughing so hard I woke my husband up!!! Thanks for that.
SNAKE!!! Oh no no no...
ReplyDeleteI won't take our trash out here because of bears. LOL. No really....a black bear chased my neighbor when she was taking out her trash bin. Chris hates it because there are trash bags waiting to greet him when he gets home from work.
That's what I do, too, lol. I remember we heard one at the trash shed and my husband was looking out the window for it. I turned on our back deck light and it was standing right there at the glass door. I nearly fainted.
DeleteMy grandmother SWEARS that racer snakes would "chase" her when she was a kid. After further inquiry I discovered that meant when she saw one she'd take off running, look down beside her, and the snake would be zipping along NEXT to her person. Now I realize you might be cursing me for sharing this information but hear me when I say that I thought twice about it and decided to inform you of the possibility, lest you die of fright if this happens to you. Hope we can still be friends! :)
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I were leaving our house the other week in the car when all of a sudden he let out a shriek. There was a snake in the road headed towards somebody's yard haha. He doesn't like snakes. Then the other day I came across one of those huge green grasshoppers in the house and let out a shriek. A few days after that my husband let out another shriek in the house this time due to a small scorpion. I feel like we're living in the woods or something and not a brick house neighborhood!
ReplyDeleteI was 8 months pregnant with #2 with #1 on my lap and the photographer put the camera down, said my name, and then "I NEED you to get up now. There is a snake!" Somehow I outran the black racer apparently *this close* to my head at 8 months pregnant. *shudder*
ReplyDeleteOkay I am a Northern transplant in FL and the two things I will never get used to is "palmetto bugs" (fancy name for very LARGE cockroach) and snakes. Rule of thumb with black snakes. If they are aggressive and come at you.....those are the scary ones. Ones that dart away are little black racers and are usually harmless.....still doesn't make it any easier I'll tell yah!
ReplyDeleteJust Googled Black Racer, naturally. Oh heck no.
ReplyDeletesee...another reason form me to never live in Florida. Slimy slithering things in the dark. I already have to deal with the human variety her in DC. LOL!
ReplyDeleteWe have black racers, too (G R O S S). One has shed its skin TWO years in a row right next to our porch (I can just picture it wriggling against the brick ughhhhh). Annnd that fountain pic is awesome and would be cool if you edited out the two errant models, too. ;)
ReplyDeleteAaahhh! Oh no!! My worst fear. I'm now going to go have a nightmare because of you. Ha! :) <<not funny.
ReplyDeleteFlorida born and bred here. I hate and feat snakes to an irrational level. However, I put up with a black racer for years because they are harmless and, much more importantly, keep the dreaded rattlesnakes away.
ReplyDeleteBoth solid show choices. I would also throw Orphan Black into the mix as well.
ReplyDeleteI can't even say the word "snake" without hyperventilating. I grew up in the Nevada desert and they were a common thing around my house. I'm still traumatized. I saw a copperhead in my mother-in-law's yard last summer and screamed and cried and hid under the covers like the adult that I am. I will never EVER visit her again.
ReplyDeleteShudder. My sister in law in FL is waiting for the gators to move into her neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteNew England winters may be reminiscent of "The Shining" but the most threatening thing I've seen in people's yards in my town was a turkey.
Glad that the transition has gone smoothly. So, do like FL better than other locations you have lived? How's it rank?
ReplyDeleteCANNOT WAIT to get to the point in the med journey where weekends off are an actual thing!
ReplyDeleteYou are in my backyard!! My son loves that park. (He is almost 2) We ride our bikes around there at least once a week. Although my son refuses to go in the misters. He also wants to always wear 2 bathing suits at a time.
ReplyDelete