Nu nu nu nu nu nu BAT HOUSE!!

We went to a friend's engagement party last weekend. It was a good time, sans kiddos. One of the (only slightly) alcohol-fueled discussions Ry had was about the ridiculous amount of mosquitoes that call our backyard home. Seriously, right now I can't let the kids play in the yard for 5 minutes without a new crop of bug bites all over their legs.

A friend of ours built a bat house for his property. He now has 3 bats, and swears that it seriously cut down the number of mosquitoes on his property. Ry, of course, was very interested in this non-chemical solution to our mosquito problem. I was a little skeptical about bats living on our property, but figured this interest would melt away like Ry's headache the next morning.

I was wrong. 

The very next day, Ry was at the hardware store buying the required supplies for a roomy 25-bat inhabitance. He and Gummy Bear spent most of the afternoon putting this beauty together. Bear is getting old enough that he really helps with little projects like this.

We only had one minor injury, quickly remedied by a bear bandaid.

Bear was very proud. Do you see the opening at the bottom? It's about 3/4 of an inch wide. That's how the bats get in because they can collapse their skeletons. Seriously.

And because we live in the northern part of the country, we have to paint or stain the house dark to help hold the heat.  It's drying in the basement, but we're going to get it up sometime this week. Apparently, the toughest part is actually attracting the bat. Once you have one though, others quickly follow. Our friend is willing to gift us a bat, but I have no idea how in the world we would get it from his house to ours.

In other news, I just used the phrase "our friend is willing to gift us a bat." Life is weird sometimes.

Feeling blue

Yes, I'm in a blog slump.This is mostly due to the fact that we've had quite a lot of crap to deal with here and I'm feeling quite blue. Our problems are not real problems. No one is ill, we have a comfy house, and our kids are brilliant and cute (one humble opinion).

Ry and I have been trying to the do right thing, financially for quite a while now, and it just seems that every step forward leads to two steps back. Learn from us. We bought our house in 2005, at (what we later learned) was the peak of the housing bubble. Now, 7 years later, after paying our mortgage faithfully, on time and in full every month, we are still underwater. This is depressing. We tried once before to refinance the house, so that at the very least we could start making more headway on the principal. We are again in the process of trying to refinance the house to a 15 year note. The appraisal came back quite a lot lower than we expected, making us even further underwater than we thought.

Add this to the fact that my unsuccessful job search seems unlikely to end any time soon and you might be able to see why I'm feeling a little blue. As it turns out, my new degree isn't worth a whole lot until and unless you have a couple of years of experience or a BSN to go with it. Since the experience seems unlikely to materialize without, you know, a job, my next avenue is to fast-track the BSN. If I go full time, I can probably get it finished in about a year, but it will cost more money, that we don't have. This is super depressing.

So anyway, we are trying to figure out our way forward. While we do this, I find that I'm totally unmotivated to update the blog. Sorry. I'll get back to it sometime.

Please don't think that my life is doom and gloom. It's not. I'm having a lovely summer with the boys and my mom. We have been able to spend lots of time together, see our friends a lot and generally enjoy all that summer has to offer. There's just this stuff hanging over me at the moment.

Here's a picture of Gummy Bear making a cheese volcano with what was about to become a lasagna. He's going to be a very good husband some day.

What do you see?

Tonight we went out to dinner to celebrate Ry's return home for the weekend. I sat next to Cheeky Monkey, who directed me to draw the following picture.  Take a minute. What do you see here? Ry and I laughed until we cried about what we saw. I'll describe our interpretation below and then tell you how it really went down. First though, write your own narrative and leave it in the comments.

Ry and I thought: This is a domestic disturbance in the kitchen/dormitory. One partner is unhappy because the coffee is cold. S/he threatens to dismember the other partner with the ax if the problem isn't rectified. The partner says "but I can't fix it, because I don't have arms!"

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Did you write your version?
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How it really went down:

CM: Draw a sad face. I draw a sad face.
Me: Ok. But why is he sad?
CM: Because he doesn't have feet!
Me: Ok. I'll give him some feet then. I draw a body, legs and feet.
CM: Good. Now he needs a chair. I draw a chair.
Me: There you go. Do you think he needs arms?
CM: Yes! I draw arms. Now make his bed! I draw the bed.
Me: What else?
CM: He needs a picture! I draw him holding a "picture". And a cup. Make a cup. I draw a cup. Now make a happy face. I draw the happy face.
Me: Does he need feet too?
CM: Yes, and shoes. I draw feet and shoes. Now make the bed. With a blanket and pillow. I comply.
Me: Anything else?
CM: More bed. And blanket and pillow. I draw another bed with requisite linens.

Sadly, dinner arrived right after the last bed was drawn. It all seemed so innocent until I looked at the complete picture.

Stuff I said today

I'm feeling pretty discouraged tonight. I was given reason to believe I might be getting a phone call about a job last week. Today that hope was pretty well extinguished. I never expected to be unemployed in August, but here I am. But enough about that.

 The good part about still being unemployed is that I am spending lots of quality time with the boys. Ry is out of town this week, so I am spending an especially large amount of quality time with them this week. Here are a list of things that actually came out of my mouth today:

1. I don't think you accidentally kicked your brother in the head.
2. No more talk about poop at the breakfast table, OK?
3. Yes, clouds make shadows. That's why it's shady sometimes.
4. Yes, you are just as cute in your new outfit.
5. You have to put your pants on if you want to go outside.
6. Do you see that I'm doing something? Then please stop asking me the same question over and over again.
7. It hurts when you do that, huh?
8. Put your underwear on!
9. No, I don't think the bee wants to drink milk from your straw.

Makes you jealous, right?

Ukulele Week Wraps Up

As promised, here is the last song selection of Ukulele Week. Tonight, I dragged my husband in front of the camera again, mostly against his will. I'm not sure why he's so camera shy, being all cute and good sounding, but he is. I've learned a few things from ukulele week:

1. The next time I'm going to have a "Fill-In-The-Blank" Week, I should really plan ahead. I'm sort of lucky that I a few songs in my back pocket and a very tolerant husband.
2. Still, I had a lot of fun, and hope you had fun too. All your comments and phone calls really meant a lot to me.
3. I have no idea how real, professional artists remember so many songs. I have 4 or 5 I could pull out without music and words. I have real respect for those people who play dozens of songs every night.


Please enjoy the last ukulele song I'm likely to post for quite a long time.

Ukulele Week Gets the Blech

I woke up this morning feeling distinctly unwell. I don't know exactly what's wrong with me, but I just generally have the blech. I dragged myself to church this morning since it was the week of the big picnic, hoping I'd start feeling better. Then, I took a 3 hour nap when I laid down with Gummy Bear for his. The moral of the story is, Ukulele week is going to take a quick hiatus and should conclude tomorrow.

RE: Ukulele week requests Becky: request granted Melydia: request granted (because, my sister, you know?) Cathy: I'm working on it. The strum pattern for that Iz song is wicked hard. It's going to be a while before it's video-worthy, but when it is, I'll get it up here.

Ukulele Week Gets NSFW

This, my friends, is what Plan B looks like. I had grand plans for a really pretty duet for me and the hubs. And then we couldn't figure out the harmony and this is what you get. Not safe for work or kids or anything really.



If you feel (rightly) cheated by tonight's selection, go visit my sister's blog, where she turned in a really beautiful version of The Rainbow Connection. Go. Seriously. Now.

http://quirkyquarks.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-ukulele-debut.html

Ukulele Week Gets Sentimental

Tomorrow is my Dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Dad! Today's ukulele song is for you.

I learned this song from my grandmother when I was probably 9 years old. It's one of those songs that is my childhood. When I was 10 or 11 my family when to the state fair and they had a karaoke stand. I got up and belted out Sentimental Journey in front of a crowd of bewildered Mid-westerners. It was the first time my Dad had ever really heard me sing. To hear him tell it, he was pretty surprised. He got a recording of my stage debut and squirreled it away.

Then, he played it at my wedding. I cried.

Here's a new version for you Dad. Thanks for always believing that I was something special. Love you so very much.

 

Ukulele Week Being OK

I have some pretty exciting news today. I finally got my nursing license number! This morning, however, I was looking at another two weeks (at least) of no progress and no answers when I called. A friend of mine had the number of a particular person at the board for me to try. I spoke with her and she called me back 20 minutes later to tell me that I would have a number by the end of the day. YES! And I do!

Before this happened however, I was starting to get a little panicky. You know how you get in your own head? I started thinking that all the jobs were going to pass me by because I was never going to get a number and I was never going to get a number because something was wrong with my application but I would never know that something was wrong because no one would give me any answers! So when I was thinking about what song to post for Ukulele Week, this one seemed perfect.

I've had a big weight lifted off me today, but I know for a fact that a lot of other people that I love have had a pretty crap week. So this is for you too. You know who you are. This is far from perfect, but it is about the 86th take and I'm done.




This is one of my many outtakes. Don't listen if you don't want to hear me say a potty word.

Ukulele Week Sings You to Sleep

A sweet little lullaby from Sesame Street.




See the original here: http://youtu.be/Jc20vMz0V7Q

It's Ukulele Week at Jubelog!

Right, so I didn't announce Ukulele Week yesterday because I didn't know it was going to be Ukulele Week until today. So. Surprise! It's Ukulele Week!

Today's video features a very reluctant (and adorable) husband singing one of my all time favorites, Swinging on a Star. This song is used as a timer in Hudson Hawk. Hudson Hawk is a charming movie featuring one of my favorite actors, Bruce Willis. My husband is my very favorite human. Do you see how this all comes together?

Please to enjoy.



I'll be posting a new video every day this week. If you have any requests, let me know in the comments.

Cause I haven't done this in a while

And hey, it's not like I'm working as a nurse or anything. This is a cover of the delightful Sophie Madeline, who I had the pleasure of seeing Friday night. I just love the beautiful chord transitions in this one.




Go see the original: http://youtu.be/62-8cKa4jnY. She's better.

Our night away

Being a full time at-home mom this summer has reminded me of why I don't want to be a full time at-home mom. It's not that we haven't been having a fun summer, we have. It's not even that the kids have been particularly difficult. It's that I don't get a break. I'm with them all the time. Gummy Bear will literally talk all day long if I don't interrupt him and Cheeky Monkey is ... well he's two.

So it was with crazy lots of excitement that Ry and I took an evening away in Philadelphia last night. I'm so grateful to my mom and Greg for giving us occasional breaks that I can't even put it into words.

We stayed in a lovely suite that Ry was able to get for reward points. Bonus!

The impetus for our trip was that a favorite singer-songwriter-ukulele player, Sophie Madeline, was going to be touring in the US. The venue, the World Cafe Live, was perfect for the kind of acoustic, mellow sound that she has. We were four tables from the stage and got to meet her after the show. She is as adorable and shy in real life as she appears in her videos.  The food was above average and since we took a cab, Ry and I partook in a few adult beverages.

Here we're waiting for a cab after the show and more adult beverages. We had planned to walk around the city this morning before heading home. Unfortunately, the aforementioned beverages meant that Ry was out for that plan.

Still, we had a lovely time and got some much-needed time together.

When we got home, the kids were super cute. So that was nice.

Monkey: "Breaf deep. Breaf deep. Breaf deep!"

If you thought that was cute

Check out Gummy Bear's first dance class. His review to daddy when we got home? "It was fantastic!"

8 Things

1. I am still waiting for my nursing license number. This is annoying to me. I did finally get my fingerprinting and background checks done last week, so I'm hopeful that I'll have a number sometime in the next week or two. In the meantime, I am getting a nice collection of rejection emails.
2. I am registered to take the class and test for the Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification in a few weeks. Many of the jobs I see advertised either list it as required or a "strongly preferred". Maybe it will make me more marketable. Either way, at least I feel like I'm doing something. I never really expected to still be license-less, job-less and prospect-less nearly 2 months after graduating.
3. Ry is going to be away for a class for two weeks in August. If anyone would like to come and visit, I'd be super happy for the company.
4. Gummy Bear has been taking swimming lessons for the past 2 weeks. This week he swam the length of the pool without floaties. In so many ways lately he's turning into a proper "boy" instead of a preschooler.
5. The Bear went to his first Vacation Bible School a few weeks ago. He had a great time and has been singing the songs they learned, complete with the dance moves as a "show" almost every day. I've posted the video. He's perfected his moves since this video was taken. The real show starts around 1:11 if you don't want to sit through the first bit.
 
I'm thinking of enrolling him in a dance class, since he seems to have enjoyed this so much.
6. Speaking of a proper "boy," Bear starts kindergarten in less than two months. Eek! How is this possible? We ordered his backpack and lunchbox today. I believe he is going to a good elementary school and he'll do beautifully, but I'm boggled that he's old enough to go to school.
7. The Cheeky Monkey is very much 2 these days. He destroys anything he can gets his hands on and wants  nothing so much as to be just like his big brother. He's a lot sneakier than his brother was at the same age.
8. I'm always surprised by how quickly our summers go away. At the beginning, we have this big empty stretch of weeks ahead of us, full of possibility. Somehow, it's the middle of July already and we've been busy nearly every weekend. The good news about my lack of job is that I've been to enjoy the summer with the boys.  We're planning another camping trip at the end of August after Ry gets back. Hope you're having as much fun with your summer as we have been!

They're what's for dinner

Phallic meat rolls.

They're what's for dinner.

They were so tasty when we camping, that I just had to make some at home in the oven. I giggled the whole time I did it, because, you know, I'm 12. This is easily the most preservative-laden meal we've eaten, but they were so good. The boys had Chicken-Apple sausage, and ours were Chipotle/Montery Jack Chicken sausage. I would definitely recommend the pre-cooked sausage if you are going to do this, since the sausages take longer to cook than the crescent rolls.

RAWR!

Updated: Yes, the cat is that big.

What I heard

"What the hell?"

What Monkey said:

"Up the hill?"

Lesson: always clarify.

Camping, part deux

We went camping again this weekend. Yeah!!! It was 102 F. Booo! We found some good ways to beat the heat, and thankfully, it cooled off to the mid 70s at night, so it was really comfortable. And now, for the recap:

This time we stayed at the Atlantic City North Campground. We chose it because it was fairly close to the beach and not too far from home (a little over an hour drive). We had to do a bit of a campsite hokey pokey when we first arrived since our first campsite had some broken glass on it, but after we landed we got comfortable, took a dip in the pool, and tried out our new pie irons. These are the best camping tool EVAR!

The first night we made pigs in a blanket and the second was pocket pizzas. They cooked up warm and flaky and delicious. Seriously these were two of the best camping meals I've ever had.

The kids really dug it too. Gummy Bear is just strong enough to flip them on the edge of the fire pit. These suckers are made of cast iron and they are really heavy.

And of course, there were s'mores.  After we tucked the kids into bed, we were amused by the "quiet hour" announcement at 11 pm. Someone came on a very loud speaker to tell us to be quiet. Oh, the irony.

The next morning we got suited up and headed for Ship Bottom. The campsite gave us free beach badges, so it seemed like a no-brainer. Incidentally, we also bought a new tent for this adventure. It's enormous. It has a hinged door. And an awning. So, it's not really a tent. But still awesome.

Ship Bottom was a lovely sandy beach that was busy, but not crazy.

Cheeky Monkey wasn't interested in getting in the ocean at first. He had a lovely time playing in the sand though.

Gummy Bear, on the other hand, loved jumping in the waves. He and a new friend had a blast letting the surf carry them up and down the sand.

When we got back, we tried something new: ice cream in a ball. The basic idea is that you put cream and sugar in one side and rock salt and ice in the other. Then, you shake.

And shake.

And shake. Until you have ice cream. It took us about 45 minutes to make a pint of ice cream, but I think we learned some important lessons and it wouldn't take us that long next time.  The ice cream was delicious. We made mint M&M ice cream. Very good.

Saturday dawned hot and steamy. After a morning spent in the pool, we decided to seek some air conditioning and went to see a movie.

Cause, damn.

I'm not really sure what they were doing in this picture, but they were cute, so, whatever.

We had a storm roll through Saturday night, so we rode it out in the game room. Most of these games were around when Ry and I were little.

Today was much cooler (highs in the lower 90s). Check out was at 1 pm today, so we hit the pool for an hour or so before we had to clean up the campsite. There were frogs all over the campground and Cheeky Monkey found this one swimming in the pool. He grew very attached to it. So attached in fact, that he wouldn't let it go until I got the camera and took a picture.  The rest of the story doesn't need words.

We got home this afternoon, and our two very tired boys happily sat down in the air conditioning to watch a TV show. Hurray! We're all tired and bitten, but happy. Another camping trip, successfully navigated.

A Review of Hospitality Creek Campground

I decided to review the campsites we are visiting for two reasons: 1 - I found reviews to be very important when we were looking for campsites and 2 - We want to remember what we liked and didn't like about each of them since our memories are notoriously spotty when it comes to that sort of thing. I'm posting them to Yelp and also here. That said, this probably doesn't apply to you, feel free to read ... or not.


We visited Hospitality Creek late in late June. We went tent camping and chose a site with water and electric. The fees for the sites were a little more expensive than other nearby campgrounds, but, as we learned, were very worth the extra money.

We have two small boys, ages 5 and 2.5, so we were looking for a family-friendly spot with lots for the kids to do. We arrived right at check-in time and were greeted at the entrance by a very friendly member of the staff. We found that everyone, staff and seasonal campers, were very friendly.

Our campsite was right next to the well-maintained, clean bathrooms, which was great for our recently potty-trained 2 year old. The site was huge, clean and nicely shaded. I wished we brought our boys' bicycles, since the quiet, paved streets offered lots of good biking opportunities. Luckily, some nice neighbors were willing to share. The campground offers several playgrounds, as well as a large swimming and fishing lake with a nice picnic area. They have a traditional pool, which was lovely. The real standout for our family was the activity pool. Our boys were in water heaven with the spouts and cannons and lily pads. The activity pool was busy, but never seemed super crowded.

We stayed for two nights and never got bit by a mosquito or fly. I don't know if they spray for bugs or if we got lucky, but it was nice not to have to bathe in bug spray. The camp store is well stocked and the snack bar had a good variety of food and snacks. While we cooked over the fire both nights, the staff also told us that there is a pizza place that delivers.  While we didn't really participate in the scheduled activities because our boys were too enamored of the activity pool, it seemed like the other families were having fun.

We had a wonderful time and will definitely be visiting again.


Hospitality Creek Website: https://hospitalitycreek.com/