Smatterings

- We've had a spider problem. (again) It started when Squirt came downstairs an hour or so after putting her to bed. This was a shock as the girls NEVER get out of bed. This has caused a problem with potty training, but overall is a miracle in which I am perma-grateful. Anyway, she was shaking as she called to us from the stairs. She said there was a bug in her room- and there was: a spider the size of a silver dollar walking around on the wall above her bed. It had a teeny tiny body and scary-long legs. Squirt was shaken, but we calmed her down, and she slept. The next afternoon, I spotted yet another spider on the garage wall. This one was larger, and I could clearly see some alarming markings. An internet search heightened my alarm about (whisper voice) brown recluses. In short- I lost all composure and went nuclear on the situation. I worked my Dad up into a worried froth as well. If there was anything that could not be tolerated, it was the recluses. You have some black widows? That's a bummer, but at least it isn't (whisper voice) a brown recluse! As kids we were told we couldn't have a tree house because black widows would just move in. Spiders were always enemy number one. Probably because we grew up in the desert, and really, deadly spiders (and I guess rattle snakes) are all we've got to be afraid of. And growing up, we never had a snake problem. After some research I decided we were all doomed and proceeded to have spiraling panic attacks whenever I put the kids to bed and left them to be devoured by deadly spiders.

- I had a professional exterminator come out. This was a big deal for me. Not because I'm a cheapskate about this, but because I just do not have much confidence in them. Exterminators, at least the door-to-door kind, have come across to me as hucksters. They are trying to upsell me more and more toxic chemicals. I fell for it once when we bought our first house. The salesman regaled me about making small holes in the walls to kill all the bugs that could be living inside my newly erected house! My Dad would later talk some sense into me- since the drywall is screwed into studs only a few feet apart, this effort would have been pointless. I am not wild about the thought of spraying chemicals in general! But we had been doing a do-it-yourself pest control effort with stuff we bought at the home improvement stores. Either The Husband, designated (by me) bug sprayer, was not doing it often enough, or spiders are just impossible to get rid of completely. (I ascribed to the latter ideal) Additionally, I thought, what all does it take to become an exterminator? A two week course? Then buy some seriously dangerous chemicals online? With the brown recluse scare I was at my wits end and called up an old high school acquaintance that has his own extermination business. I figured he would at least be a little worried about my family's wellbeing above simply selling me product using all kinds of scare tactics. (I was right, he was awesome)

- In an effort to calm me down, my Dad did even more research. (my Dad is also awesome... the awesomest, in fact) He sent me this link that immediately relieved my shaky nerves. At most we have what is called a desert recluse, and is probably the better of the recluses to have. (I would still prefer a zero-recluse population, like any normal person) Not completely benign, but not anything to raze a house to the ground about either. The probability of a spider bite is minute, having the bite become anything like an image search of brown recluse bites, (do not do it. SERIOUSLY. Never, ever do that) it is infinitesimal bordering on impossible. The results after the professional spray has been totally astounding. We've found a few spider corpses, even more crickets and other assorted little pests. I am still feeling the creepy-crawly-itchy sensation a majority of the time. At least I feel safe enough to sleep, and I fret at least 80% less about the kids. Yes, I am a runaway anxiety train... I know.

- The end of the school year is drawing nearer. In one of the girl's homework packets, there was a note that said "Your kids are almost first graders! Where has the time gone?" No. I am not ready to wrap my head around my kids being anything other than Kindergarteners yet. Although all day school? I am ready for that. I've made swimming lesson arrangements. It doesn't feel like I have enough "planned" to get us through the eternity that is summer break. We may just live at the splash pad. I may have no hair left to pull come August. Good times, ahoy!

- Squirt got her eyes examined the other week. After dealing with Bunny's new glasses, this experience was relatively tame. She doesn't need an adjustment in prescription. Which means I will be buying new frames for her (to match Bunny's new super-expensive frames) and hope she doesn't have a growth spurt that may radically change her prescription before the insurance deems her eligible for a lens change. (more expensive!) I briefly considered just keeping her in what she has now, but we all know that is not FAIR. (grumblegrumble)

- In other "fairness" developments, Squirt came home with another birthday party invitation. The only parties the twins have attended are ones in which they have both been invited. Usually by families we know. Unfortunately, Bunny is in a class where we know the parents of her friends/classmates, while Squirt is in a class in which we know zero of the parents. Somehow Squirt's classmates seem to do big, elaborate parties, inviting the entire class. (thirty kids!) This party is no exception. It's at a venue where the hosts pay by the number of kids, so I would be incredibly uncomfortable asking if Squirt's twin can come along. Plus, there is a reason we put the twins in different classes! So they can grow as individuals, having their own friends & experiences. This is great, except for when there is a small inequality. Like when Bunny comes home with a cupcake from class, or Squirt comes home with a special project done in just her class. There is lots of wailing when things like this crop up. I feel bad telling Squirt she cannot go to the birthday party. I also don't want to deal with a very hurt Bunny who would be left behind. There is probably no good answer here. What if all of us parents decided to stop having kid parties all together?! Do something with your family. Or invite only people you actually KNOW. 

- I forgot if I wrote about the parent in Bunny's class who keeps flagging me down to get our kids together. Her daughter IS friends with Bunny, but I am just... not in the market for more friends. We had a play date (after much feeling bad about blowing her off time after time) and well, she likes to be super mom. So you can see how we wouldn't be instant best friends. She still waves at pick up. I don't want to socialize! She's lovely, and her kid plays nicely with my kids. Now I realize I'm sounding like a grumpy old bridge troll. Moving on! 

- Remember last summer when I was super mean mom and bought the girls only bermuda shorts that I knew would last all summer without getting too short in July? (summer weather lasts through most of October here, that's a long time for clothes to have to fit) This year I bought a ton of skorts. (shorts underneath was requested by the school, and I was 100% willing to oblige) The skirt length seemed to have the coveted "room to grow." Well it is barely May, and the skirt keeps creeping up further! These tiny-waisted girls and their hyper-long legs! The skirts barely fit around the middle, so I don't even think I could go up another size without duct-taping the waist. Am I going to be purchasing two summer wardrobes for these kids?

-Little Man's scar continues to heal... just at a glacial pace. 

- In other news! Remember the time we put a deposit on a rental house two years ago and it suddenly went up for auction? I just don't feel like combing through my archives to find the post(s), but it was a hard time, awful really. Recently, the owner of the house randomly contacted us, (again, two years later!) telling us that he was now able to refund the deposit. It is a miracle. While I'll admit I have harbored lots of not-nice feelings towards this man for two years, I am so grateful to him now. He was having a very difficult time himself, and made great sacrifices to repay us. I am humbled by the whole situation, and my faith in humanity seems to have been restored. What this man did was undoubtedly wrong, and it all felt completely unfair to me, however I learned a great deal from the experience. Everyone makes mistakes and is a victim of circumstance as well, it takes a very special person to make things right, no matter how long it takes.