Butterflies

As I mentioned in Little D's birthday post he got bug stuff from Grandma Moss. But before that Big J had brought home 5 caterpillars that a friend from work had brought him for the kids. So it worked out perfectly. We watched them make their cocoons and then when they were done I transferred them into the butterfly habitat. Now they have all hatched and we have 5 butterflies fluttering around in there.

Here you can kind of see them through the mesh one is out and the other 4 are in cocoons still.

I have been wondering how long we are supposed to keep them before we let them go.


We made sugar water and put it on flower heads and then cut up a strawberry and put it in the bottom. I don't know if they eat strawberries but I do know they like oranges so I figure that they are close to the same.


So anyway, Its been fun for the kids to watch and we have a coupon for more caterpillars if we want to get some later. It came with the butterfly habitat.

Do you smell Gas?

So today was interesting...

Started out the day getting ready as usual, packed up the kids and headed for Costco. I had to go because we were out of Dishwasher stuff and it is the cheapest there and it was $3.50 off. So we did that, bought more than I should have because, well, lets face it, its COSTCO. And you cant go in there and leave with one thing. Its virtually impossible. We came home and I left the kids in the car and just brought in the groceries and put what needed to go into the freezer away. Then hopped back into the car and ran to the bank and Kohl's to find 2 shirts to match what I bought at Costco for Little A, pictured here...


They are the cutest tutu's I have ever seen. I wish she demanded to wear one everyday. Instead I am practically forcing her to wear them.

So anyway, we get back from that and Little C is just about asleep. We go inside for lunch, when Little C falls off his chair, so he is crying and cranky and Little A tells me that she is not hungry but instead wants to watch the Butterflies all day. So I start to get Little C some macaroni salad before he freaked out. Then Once that was done I got the trash and closed it up to take outside, when I smelled something.

I couldn't tell what it was at first. So I stood there for a min and decided that it was definitely gas. I was like what? It smelled like my oven had been turned on. (cause whenever my oven is turned on I can smell the gas before it lights) I thought to myself that this was strange because I wasn't cooking anything or had cooked anything since dinner yesterday. I looked at the oven and it was off. I even pushed the off button just in case and it didn't do anything. So I tried to call Big J. He didn't answer and so I called my Dad. I said "Dad I smell gas." He said "Open the windows and get out of the house and call the gas co." Easier said than done i found out. He said to just get the phone book and I told him that I didn't have one (I always just look up numbers on the computer) So I tried to look for a statement from them and my dad said to just get out and call 411. So we hung up and I tried 411, I said "The Gas Company " and then they connected me to PG&E. I was like there was a 411 call wasted. (That will probably cost me.) So then I called Kathy. She gave me a number and I tried to call that, I got a message of some lady and she said that if it was residential that I had to call another number. I tried calling that one and got some other weird place.

So frustrated and not knowing who else to call I called 911. I said "I'm sorry to call this number but I have a gas leak and I don't the gas company's number." He said that it was fine and transferred me to the Fire Department. When the fireman came on he took my name a number and address and I told him that it was maybe a gas leak and I didn't know who else to call. He said that he would send someone to come check it out.

After hanging up the phone I got in the car and pulled out to the street. Just in case it was gonna BLOW! And we waited in there. Meanwhile I was thinking man I hope they don't come with their sirens and lights on, its no big deal I'm sure.

This is where it gets embarrassing. I

start to hear sirens and I'm like oh Man! Little A is going "Where are those sirens going?" I was like, "Um ... here." And then like 30 seconds later I see one rounding the corner. I was like turn your lights off there is no emergency. I would have been fine with one of those little fire department trucks that the captains usually drive. But no... OH NO... They came with the cavalry. 3 Fire trucks and a Police Car!!! They went inside to check it out and then one of them came out to talk to me. He asked me If I had cooked anything and I was like not since yesterday and he was like, "Did you know that your stove burner was on?" In my head I was like "If I had would I have called you?"I was like "NO, I haven't used it since yesterday" He asked if someone else could have done it and I was like well one of the kids could have I guess. He said that it was on and that's probably what it was coming from. He said that there was a lot though and that they would fan it out and then see if that really was the problem.

I was so embarrassed. The neighbors of course were outside watching and wondering. I kept saying that this was so embarrassing and Little A kept saying STOP SAYING THAT! I was like sorry but it is!

Also when they were going inside I was a little embarrassed at the shape that my house was in. It was messy and we had been gone all morning and didn't have time to clean it up yet.

When they were done I repeatedly thanked them and told them how sorry I was. The Fireman was like "Don't worry, that's what we do. You did the right thing, there was a lot and you never know." But still I swear I looked at the stove and it all looked normal. They said that it was right in between where it would be off and lit and so it was harder to tell. But I bet he was just saying that to make me feel better.

Big J will now have fun with this incident. He is already joking about it. I asked how his day was and he said "It was alright, not as exciting as yours was!" Yea whatever! That's what I say.

Playing in the Rain

The kids are always saying, "Why don't you ever let us use our umbrellas?"


Its not that I don't LET them use them, its that we never need them and if we do we never have them with us or we forget about them. So the other day it rained and we were just hanging in the house. I remembered their umbrellas and told them to go outside and play.


I think that Little C thought that it was the coolest. He only used his umbrella for the first couple mins though. Then it was just playing in the rain.

Pool Party!

So today was Little D's birthday. He is now 7 years old. Man! That's crazy! So for his birthday he asked for a Watch and and Alarm Clock (which he has been begging me for for months) and Lego sets. He got all those things and more.

Little C thought that he was so cool posing just like his big brother!

We had a pool party for him and it was great. I bought him 2 disposable cameras so pics at the party will follow later after they are developed. He had about 8 other kids show up there were about 6 girls and only 2 other boys. So all Little D's girlfriends were there. We swam from 10:30 to 12 and then we had pizza, cake and opened presents. The party ended at 1pm so after presents I let them all play until their parents showed up.



The cake said Use The Force Danny! And I couldn't find anywhere that had Lego Star Wars cakes so I had them make me a cake that looked like outer space and I added some Star Wars Lego guys on top.


I also found an awesome alarm clock that looks like a GIANT Lego piece. Its awesome! Well at least I thought so.


He also got 2 models that he can build with his dad. A few books to practice his reading. A Bug catcher set that has already come to haunt me. I wish I had never suggested it to Grandma.

His watch was from Little A and she was very adamant that this was the watch. I tried to get her to chose a Transformer watch but she insisted that this was the one. But Little D loves it and so that's all that matters. His friends gave him a Lego set, gift card, dart gun, motorcycles he can paint, Nerf basketball set, marshmallow shooters, Iron man figures, and money.

** A POST INSIDE OF A POST **

DON'T BUG ME!


About the Bug Catcher Set. I thought that this would be fun for the kids to catch butterflies, ladybugs, caterpillars, and earwigs and rolly poly bugs.

In fact Little A opened it all up and was all ready to go catch bugs. She was gone about 10 mins and came back with nothing.

However fun I thought this would be for the kids, I was not factoring in their father....

Within minutes of going outside Big J comes back in with a big jumping spider! YUCK! He puts the spider into the container. After which he says to me this is the best present EVER! Then goes out to try and find food for the spider. He comes back no more than 3 mins later with a BEE!!! A bee he caught with a net and sucked up with the bug vacuum included in the set. I just about died. This was the almost cool part but still gross. After about 10 seconds of the Bee being in the canister the spider had caught him and killed him. The spider is now just sitting with the bee in its mouth. We have been waiting for him to wrap him up but so far no go.

Guys are so yucky!