Showing posts with label Pets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pets. Show all posts
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Sunset the albino ball python
Friday, March 05, 2010
The sound of the vacuum cleaner....
Another post on family life by Patsy
There is something slightly comforting about the sound of the vacuum cleaner running. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s constant humming drowns out the sounds of the ringing telephone, the way too loud Sponge Bob episode on TV, or the screams from children fighting over the same toy. Anyway, I find it somehow soothing. It can be pleasant to lose yourself in the relative peace of the soft pings and tinks as the vacuum picks up the occasional stray object. One can revel in the knowledge that not only are you grabbing a few quiet moments, but you are also keeping your home “Good Housekeeping” clean. I never mind vacuuming….at least I didn’t…until we became dogless.
I sense confusion, dear reader. Can it be that you do not comprehend the connection between the family dog and the peace of the gentle vacuum sounds? Allow me to enlighten you. You see, while we had a dog, I could vacuum the entire house listening to the gentle sounds of the carpets being cleaned. However, the first time I vacuumed under our dining room table after our dog was gone, I was forced to face a very grim reality. The soft pings and tinks of the vacuum doing it’s job suddenly became loud and continuous thunks and rattles. There was debris in mass quantity under my table! In short, there was enough food under there to feed a third world country! While our dog Tucker was alive, I was happy living in total denial believing that my children were at least eating some of the healthy foods that were placed before them. Now, I was being forced to look at my sons in a very different light. Those little stinkers had been passing their unwanted food to the dog for years!
Believe me, I have been the recipient of whinning and complaining comments about my food for years. I am under no delusion as to my children’s abhorance of healthy green vegetables and low fat meats. I am also completely comfortable in my ability to cook good tasting food. My skills are not in question. It is their taste buds that are to blame. No, it is not the shock of finding they had not wanted their food that caught me by surprise. It was the knowledge that they had somehow gotten the food from their plates to the floor without being caught that really caused me some trepidation. Were my children really this good at deception? I didn’t know whether to applaud their slight of hand, or discipline their unethical disposal of perfectly good food.
I am no stranger to the picky-eater. I had a very good friend whose son would only eat yogurt and cheese sticks. He might occasionally eat a few potato chips dipped in ketchup, but that was it. And definitely no peanut butter! I once tricked him into tasting a peanut butter and jelly sandwich by telling him it was a PBJ. He took a bite, swallowed and said, “Not too bad”. That was until his older brother explained to him that PBJ stood for peanut butter and jelly. He proceeded to throw up. That was the day I learned a very valuable lesson…..always work alone. Of course the whole situation was a little more comical because the boy’s mother was a nutritionalist.
At that time, my first son was just a toddler and I had no real idea of the problems that awaited me. He became a picky-eater the day he started to actually chew food. OK, that does sound a little strange, but he really wouldn’t eat anything that took too long to chew. That pretty much narrowed down the meat choices for him. Hotdogs were OK, hamburger was not. In fact, we have been known to ask for a cheeseburger without the meat at fast food restaurants. (It’s funny…they never believe you the first time you ask for that, and they always give you a slight smile as they repeat your order back.) Of course, as he grew, he learned to eat a wider variety of meats. He now eats cheeseburgers with the meat, but not much else.
One of my adopted sons had a hard time eating any vegetable and could not stand the idea of someone else holding a spoon anywhere near his mouth. The first night we put our “foot down” and actually required him to eat his vegetables is now known in our family as the “green bean incident of 2007”. He was amazing in his perserverance. The child actually held one green bean in his mouth for 45 minutes without chewing or swallowing. I’m not really sure if we can completely claim victory in the green bean showdown, because he never actually “ate” the thing. He just held it in his mouth until a little trickle of green drool started running down the side of his mouth. Finally, I think it just mixed with his saliva and he swallowed it accidentally. It’s a sweet little family memory that we will always cherish.
I have a son that will eat mostly meat, but not much dairy; a son that will eat all dairy and bread, but not much meat; sons that eat a huge breakfast of any kind, but not much supper; and one who can’t seem to find a food he doesn’t like. As long as it is well known that I am not a short-order cook, and everyone must eat their vegetables, I can live happily in total oblivion. But now, I have come to the realization that my “happy place” of ignorance is being threatened. I can see that I have only two options open to me…either get another dog, or stop vacuuming under the dining room table. I wonder how long it takes for food to bi-degrade on it’s own……
There is something slightly comforting about the sound of the vacuum cleaner running. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s constant humming drowns out the sounds of the ringing telephone, the way too loud Sponge Bob episode on TV, or the screams from children fighting over the same toy. Anyway, I find it somehow soothing. It can be pleasant to lose yourself in the relative peace of the soft pings and tinks as the vacuum picks up the occasional stray object. One can revel in the knowledge that not only are you grabbing a few quiet moments, but you are also keeping your home “Good Housekeeping” clean. I never mind vacuuming….at least I didn’t…until we became dogless.
I sense confusion, dear reader. Can it be that you do not comprehend the connection between the family dog and the peace of the gentle vacuum sounds? Allow me to enlighten you. You see, while we had a dog, I could vacuum the entire house listening to the gentle sounds of the carpets being cleaned. However, the first time I vacuumed under our dining room table after our dog was gone, I was forced to face a very grim reality. The soft pings and tinks of the vacuum doing it’s job suddenly became loud and continuous thunks and rattles. There was debris in mass quantity under my table! In short, there was enough food under there to feed a third world country! While our dog Tucker was alive, I was happy living in total denial believing that my children were at least eating some of the healthy foods that were placed before them. Now, I was being forced to look at my sons in a very different light. Those little stinkers had been passing their unwanted food to the dog for years!
Believe me, I have been the recipient of whinning and complaining comments about my food for years. I am under no delusion as to my children’s abhorance of healthy green vegetables and low fat meats. I am also completely comfortable in my ability to cook good tasting food. My skills are not in question. It is their taste buds that are to blame. No, it is not the shock of finding they had not wanted their food that caught me by surprise. It was the knowledge that they had somehow gotten the food from their plates to the floor without being caught that really caused me some trepidation. Were my children really this good at deception? I didn’t know whether to applaud their slight of hand, or discipline their unethical disposal of perfectly good food.
I am no stranger to the picky-eater. I had a very good friend whose son would only eat yogurt and cheese sticks. He might occasionally eat a few potato chips dipped in ketchup, but that was it. And definitely no peanut butter! I once tricked him into tasting a peanut butter and jelly sandwich by telling him it was a PBJ. He took a bite, swallowed and said, “Not too bad”. That was until his older brother explained to him that PBJ stood for peanut butter and jelly. He proceeded to throw up. That was the day I learned a very valuable lesson…..always work alone. Of course the whole situation was a little more comical because the boy’s mother was a nutritionalist.
At that time, my first son was just a toddler and I had no real idea of the problems that awaited me. He became a picky-eater the day he started to actually chew food. OK, that does sound a little strange, but he really wouldn’t eat anything that took too long to chew. That pretty much narrowed down the meat choices for him. Hotdogs were OK, hamburger was not. In fact, we have been known to ask for a cheeseburger without the meat at fast food restaurants. (It’s funny…they never believe you the first time you ask for that, and they always give you a slight smile as they repeat your order back.) Of course, as he grew, he learned to eat a wider variety of meats. He now eats cheeseburgers with the meat, but not much else.
One of my adopted sons had a hard time eating any vegetable and could not stand the idea of someone else holding a spoon anywhere near his mouth. The first night we put our “foot down” and actually required him to eat his vegetables is now known in our family as the “green bean incident of 2007”. He was amazing in his perserverance. The child actually held one green bean in his mouth for 45 minutes without chewing or swallowing. I’m not really sure if we can completely claim victory in the green bean showdown, because he never actually “ate” the thing. He just held it in his mouth until a little trickle of green drool started running down the side of his mouth. Finally, I think it just mixed with his saliva and he swallowed it accidentally. It’s a sweet little family memory that we will always cherish.
I have a son that will eat mostly meat, but not much dairy; a son that will eat all dairy and bread, but not much meat; sons that eat a huge breakfast of any kind, but not much supper; and one who can’t seem to find a food he doesn’t like. As long as it is well known that I am not a short-order cook, and everyone must eat their vegetables, I can live happily in total oblivion. But now, I have come to the realization that my “happy place” of ignorance is being threatened. I can see that I have only two options open to me…either get another dog, or stop vacuuming under the dining room table. I wonder how long it takes for food to bi-degrade on it’s own……
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The Dark Knight
We had a sick bat in our yard this weekend and with the kids and pets we had to get rid of it. Animal control wouldn't come out so the true hero went to work. Thought we would have a little fun with the video footage. No animals were harmed in the making of this video!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tanner's Triops
By Patsy:
I am often baffled by my own actions and find myself in situations where I am shaking my head in wonder and feeling the need to check myself into some type of mental clinic. Why is it that no animal can come across our path without it turning into a beloved family pet? I am sure my mother will swear under oath that this is NOT a trait I acquired from her. She had more sense than I do.
However, we are now the proud owners of a new pet. No, this is not the dog that my sister-in-law asked us to keep while her family moved over seas to South Korea onto an Army base.
No, this pet is not my nephew’s lizard, Leo, that also was unable to travel overseas. Although Leo has captured the hearts of each and every boy in the family, one must admit that he is not the smartest of all animals. He often walks around his aquarium looking for crickets to eat, the whole time the crickets are riding around on his back. He’s not too intelligent, but he sure is funny.
No this new pet of ours is a lot worse than any of our other pets. You see, when Leo came into our home, so did about 3 dozen crickets for him to eat. Within 48 hours, I had set up a little cricket house and looked on line to determine their favorite foods. Did you know that crickets eat oatmeal? It’s true. We fed the crickets that were in Leo’s cage and then we set up another container for the rest of the crickets. They have some nice warm bedding to hide in and little toilet paper rolls to play in, a little dish with a wet sponge for their drinks (apparently, they are dumb enough to stick their whole heads in water to drink and then drown themselves) and a little corner of oatmeal, fruits and veggies for them to snack on.
As embarrassing as this is, however, the worst part is that I have also set up a little box of dirt in the cricket container for them to lay eggs. At this time, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first cricket hatchlings as they incubate on top of our living room TV.
Then on top of this Tanner bought some “triops” at the homeschool convention we went to in Richmond. The nice thing about these guys in this video is they only live about a month!
Pray for me!!!!!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Huddle Highlights
PWC hosted a regional Wesleyan Children's ministry training event on Saturday and I felt very happy when it was all done. It was everything we hoped it would be. A few highlights:
- Pastor Karl was tremendous. His messages on relating to kids and the basics of children's ministry were so timely. He really inspired and challenged so many of us!
- Teamwork. I was so proud of our staff. they all pulled together and made this event happen. It was so nice to have a team backing me up.
- Great workshops. I heard lots of good buzz about all our break-out speakers.
- Excellent lunch. Great job to Greg Beecher and Memories!
- Good district response. When all was said and done there were 22 churches represented and 135 attendees.
- The vendor area was tremendous for a conference of this size.
- Personally it was really cool for our family to hang out with Pastor Karl. He consulted for us on Sunday morning and gave us some good feedback. We were a little upset he ate Tanner's snake Slidey though! :(
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Friday, November 30, 2007
Monster tree
We cut down our tree Sunday as we are in the process or transforming our home into a Christmas wonderland. This has been our tradition for 14 Christmases (or is it Christmasi?).
We cut down the biggest most garantuan tree we have ever gotten this year. Of course we had to hall up hill to our van. Thanks to Blake, Tanner and even David for helping me haul it. It is a full 8 feet tall and very full. Patsy is standing next to here, although you can't see the bottom.
After we set the tree up star, our cat found a comfortable and sweet smelling place to sleep. She didn't appreciate the flash though.
After we set the tree up star, our cat found a comfortable and sweet smelling place to sleep. She didn't appreciate the flash though.
Since the tree is too tall for our star this year Blake decided to be a be the star himself!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas
This year we experienced something we have never had before. A Christmas with just the four of us - plus Jesus makes five!
Anyway its been kind of nice. We talked to family and everything but for the most part we just relaxed and played games and played with the toys and put together a puzzle. Very nice change-up. The boys wished for a cat - and they got one. They decided on the name Star since it was under the Christmas tree. Anyway hope everyone had a great day celebrating Jesus Christ - "The Famous One."
Anyway its been kind of nice. We talked to family and everything but for the most part we just relaxed and played games and played with the toys and put together a puzzle. Very nice change-up. The boys wished for a cat - and they got one. They decided on the name Star since it was under the Christmas tree. Anyway hope everyone had a great day celebrating Jesus Christ - "The Famous One."
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Multiplication
OK I hate to admit it. We have pet rabbits and through an unforutnate experiment of trying to divide the female from the males using mesh - the lady got pregnant. I was not real happy about this. A couple of weeks ago she had TEN babies. Sad thing - 4 died, but we managed to keep two of the really little ones alive using cat milk so we now have six pretty healthy baby rabbits. You know what - they're pretty stinkin' cute. They fit into your had and curl up there and sleep. I'm sure in a few weeks they will big and uncute and I will be ready to give them away! Except for maybe the littlest runt. We named him Bunnicula after a famous kid's book.
Why are animals always so fun and cute when their little babies and then they grow up to be not so interesting. Maybe that's why I work with children!
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