We were having a fairly calm day yesterday, resting between all the parties and before today, when Matt's childhood best friend (also Matt) arrived from Seattle for the long weekend. The kids were playing in the yard and I was having coffee on the back patio, looking over some materials for Julia's history lessons--I am still trying to deny that summer vacation is about to be over, but these lessons still had to be planned. All of a sudden, I realized that Sophie was barking, and so were Rosie and Riley, our neighbor dogs. Additionally, there was a very loud chirping sound, like a bird call, but I didn't recognize what kind of bird. I called to the kids to see if they were by the fence, since sometimes Rosie barks at them and then Sophie races to their defense, but they were nowhere close by. Upon investigation, we found two tiny squirrels at the bottom of the maple tree (luckily in the side yard, where they were protected from the dogs by being outside of the fences...) curled and crying that piercing chirp.
They weren't newborn, because they had sleek fur all over, looking like miniature versions of squirrels except for their tails, which were smooth rather than bushy. However, their eyes were still closed. (We later found out via Internet that they were around one month old, since they open their eyes at 5 weeks. Since the dogs were distressing them so, we decided to bring them inside, so I carefully picked them up with a cloth diaper (not wanting to get a human smell on them) and put them into an unused 5 gallon aquarium we had in the basement with some hay and the diaper. One was noticeably stronger, and he moved around and burrowed comfortably into the hole in the top layer of the diaper. The other poor little thing sort of rolled into a ball and lay still.
We Googled "rescuing baby squirrels," and made a recipe for squirrel Pedialyte, after ascertaining that they weren't dehydrated yet. However, they had no food since the website said NOT to give milk of any kind...when my brother rescued a nest of baby squirrels when I was a kid, I remember feeding them bread soaked in milk. I had no clue what to do. Here are the people I contacted for help:
--Kent Animal Shelter, who told me to call Animal Control.
--Animal Control, where I got an answering machine.
--Petco, who told me to put them back under the tree for the mother to find, and if she didn't get them to call either Quogue Wildlife Refuge or another rescue place in Westhampton (but if I called them I had to say I FOUND them in Westhampton...) So we put them back out, hoping they wouldn't die in the night. They didn't, but the mama didn't come find them, either.
--Quogue Wildlife Refuge, where I also got an answering machine.
--my neighbor Suzy, who told me to call a vet because they usually sold formula for baby wildlife. Since they hadn't eaten in at least 24 hours, I was committed to getting them to eat. They'd eagerly taken a bit of the Pedialyte today--but as soon as they realized it wasn't their preferred food, clammed up and didn't want more.
--Riverhead Animal Hospital, who told me I could buy formula for puppies and mix it with heavy cream--and would have to feed them EVERY 2-3 hours, around the clock! She also kindly gave me the number of Michelle, who rescues baby wildlife and who, in fact, took a squirrel from the vet yesterday....
--Michelle, the angel of squirrels, who told me I could bring them right over! We hopped in the car with them and had them at her office right after that, and she said she'd call us after the weekend and give back the tank.
So the story has a happy ending, thank goodness. I was picturing a sad little funeral for baby squirrels, and frankly wondering if a cat made off with them if I could get away with pretending it had been their mama!
Strangely enough, Matt said that if we nursed them back to health, they'd be tame in our yard and wouldn't it be cool to be able to hand feed squirrels....yes, that would be adorable, but since we sic Sophie on squirrels at the bird feeder every single day, I don't see how it would work. Besides, I think you all know that we don't need any more animals to be responsible for!!!!!
Jen
A blog about a busy mom who homeschools her four children, juggles activities and housework, and still manages to find quality time to be a family.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Two Days at the Beach
I have been really lax about posting lately--but with good reason. We have been having parties galore here--a barbecue for folks at Matt's office, Ben and Emma's combined birthday bash, and tomorrow a baby shower for my friend, due in October. My dear friend Jenn is also visiting from NC, and although she isn't staying with us, our daughters have had two sleepovers and we have seen their family nearly every day of their trip.
Yesterday we decided to head out to the beach in the late afternoon--it had been threatening to rain all day and we'd put it off, but finally decided that we should just go. Luckily, it never rained at all, and we had a lovely time. Tide was low, so we walked down the beach and headed out on a sandbar, something I have always wanted to do since we moved here 7 years ago, but had never actually done! We collected a whole bucket of shells, including 14 conch shells (!)--a truly unprecedented number for us. We also found: the leg from a blue crab (these are a bright royal blue, truly lovely to see) a fish skeleton, completely picked clean, and two really nasty fish heads--I guess they had been bait at one time, but one of them had been gotten by seagulls and was just unspeakable.
On the playground on the way out, Matt was pushing Emma in the swing. She was trying to tell him some long story--but so was Julia, and he couldn't understand either one of them. Finally, she shouted to Julia: "Jooya, you're instracting me!" (distracting in 3 year old....) It was very funny.
Today we headed to the beach with Jenn, her dad, and her kids. Since they live in the western part of NC, they haven't seen the ocean since leaving Long Island back in December (or really, I guess, since the last summer) so they really wanted to go. It was just like old times--us in the chairs with the little ones digging and sitting in the big bucket, the boys running, splashing in the surf, building roads and forts, and the three older girls swimming nearly the whole time (though they did end up sunbathing near the end of the afternoon--yikes!) We got to talk and talk, and yes, there were interruptions from the kids as there always are, but it was nice just to be with her--the rest of this vacation of hers has been so busy that we haven't gotten to just sit much at all. The girls are downstairs right now, watching movies and giggling, and will probably be up till 3 am like last sleepover.....it will be hard to say goodbye again after tomorrow's party, that's for sure.
Speaking of which, I have 36 cupcakes waiting to be frosted in the kitchen for said party...so I will sign off now. I will try to post more this week than I did last week!
Jen
Yesterday we decided to head out to the beach in the late afternoon--it had been threatening to rain all day and we'd put it off, but finally decided that we should just go. Luckily, it never rained at all, and we had a lovely time. Tide was low, so we walked down the beach and headed out on a sandbar, something I have always wanted to do since we moved here 7 years ago, but had never actually done! We collected a whole bucket of shells, including 14 conch shells (!)--a truly unprecedented number for us. We also found: the leg from a blue crab (these are a bright royal blue, truly lovely to see) a fish skeleton, completely picked clean, and two really nasty fish heads--I guess they had been bait at one time, but one of them had been gotten by seagulls and was just unspeakable.
On the playground on the way out, Matt was pushing Emma in the swing. She was trying to tell him some long story--but so was Julia, and he couldn't understand either one of them. Finally, she shouted to Julia: "Jooya, you're instracting me!" (distracting in 3 year old....) It was very funny.
Today we headed to the beach with Jenn, her dad, and her kids. Since they live in the western part of NC, they haven't seen the ocean since leaving Long Island back in December (or really, I guess, since the last summer) so they really wanted to go. It was just like old times--us in the chairs with the little ones digging and sitting in the big bucket, the boys running, splashing in the surf, building roads and forts, and the three older girls swimming nearly the whole time (though they did end up sunbathing near the end of the afternoon--yikes!) We got to talk and talk, and yes, there were interruptions from the kids as there always are, but it was nice just to be with her--the rest of this vacation of hers has been so busy that we haven't gotten to just sit much at all. The girls are downstairs right now, watching movies and giggling, and will probably be up till 3 am like last sleepover.....it will be hard to say goodbye again after tomorrow's party, that's for sure.
Speaking of which, I have 36 cupcakes waiting to be frosted in the kitchen for said party...so I will sign off now. I will try to post more this week than I did last week!
Jen
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
One Year Ago....
On this day last year, we closed on our house and spent our first night here! Yes, it was Emma's 2nd birthday, and we didn't plan it that way--but it was a happy coincidence. We weren't done with the closing till about 5pm, and then we went back to our rental house, picked up the kids and the dog, the birthday gifts, the cake I'd made that morning and the other van, loaded with essentials for our first few days, and drove HOME. Turning the key in the door for the first time was wonderful.
We ordered pizza for dinner, and because we bought the house with lots of furniture and other things in it (the lady who had lived here since the house was built in 1950 had died; we bought it from her daughter and since there were many useful and beautiful things in the house we made arrangements for her to leave a lot in the house) had no problem eating dinner, with a table and chairs, dishes, a dishwasher, etc. Emma opened her gifts after dinner and we had fun playing and exploring every inch of our home.
The work began the next day....painting, fencing, unpacking, cleaning, etc.---but that first night at our house was just fantastic. It feels like we've always lived here now!
Jen
We ordered pizza for dinner, and because we bought the house with lots of furniture and other things in it (the lady who had lived here since the house was built in 1950 had died; we bought it from her daughter and since there were many useful and beautiful things in the house we made arrangements for her to leave a lot in the house) had no problem eating dinner, with a table and chairs, dishes, a dishwasher, etc. Emma opened her gifts after dinner and we had fun playing and exploring every inch of our home.
The work began the next day....painting, fencing, unpacking, cleaning, etc.---but that first night at our house was just fantastic. It feels like we've always lived here now!
Jen
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMA!
Today our little sweetie is three! We woke up and had a great morning, despite the really lousy weather--who ever heard of August 21 being 57 degrees and raining all day?! (Although the day Emma was born was a rainy one, it was at least 75 or 80 degrees, so it still felt like summer...)
One bright spot was that Matt worked from home, which allowed us to have present opening early in the day rather than have her open while Daddy was at the office, or (much worse) trying to get her to wait until dinner time! She loved her silk dress up skirt and slippers (reversible panel skirt in sea blue and lime green with matching beribboned headband, and pink rose and ribbon covered shoes, perfect for dancing!) Her little Waldorf strawberry fairy doll was also a hit...she danced happily around the living room.
We made French toast for breakfast--which ironically, the birthday girl and Ben both turned up their noses at! They'd already eaten cereal because I had to go to the grocery store for more milk and eggs to make the French toast, so I guess they weren't hungry! Anyway, it turned out beautifully. The rest of the day was a quiet one--movies, reading, playing, Matt working at the computer, playing with the kittens, Julia going to her friend's house in the afternoon, making cupcakes for the birthday girl. I made chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and chocolate sprinkles (and a green 3 on each one), then chocolate ganache with pink and white sprinkles (and the same green 3s on the other half of them) as per Emma's request. Ben and Emma also went outside in their rain boots and coats to splash in puddles and explore the yard--they lasted about 20 minutes, then came in and Emma had a bath! We had steak salad with blue cheese vinaigrette--yes, Emma eats that, but no dressing--for dinner, then sang to our birthday girl and had cupcakes. She was sound asleep before 8:00.
I can't believe I have no more little babies! Three years old is officially a preschooler, and they change so much the year they turn three, morphing into children and losing all the baby roundness. We've been diaper free for months now, and yet there's no going back--soon we'll leave strollers behind, I keep changes of clothes in the car but don't have to carry a diaper bag, nursing will be a thing of the past pretty soon (which will be utterly mind boggling since I have been producing milk since February 1, 2000!!) It's sad in a lot of ways, but we are ready to have a family of kids, I think. I will always remember my babies very happily, but they are turning into great kids and we are having a lot of fun there too.....
Jen
One bright spot was that Matt worked from home, which allowed us to have present opening early in the day rather than have her open while Daddy was at the office, or (much worse) trying to get her to wait until dinner time! She loved her silk dress up skirt and slippers (reversible panel skirt in sea blue and lime green with matching beribboned headband, and pink rose and ribbon covered shoes, perfect for dancing!) Her little Waldorf strawberry fairy doll was also a hit...she danced happily around the living room.
We made French toast for breakfast--which ironically, the birthday girl and Ben both turned up their noses at! They'd already eaten cereal because I had to go to the grocery store for more milk and eggs to make the French toast, so I guess they weren't hungry! Anyway, it turned out beautifully. The rest of the day was a quiet one--movies, reading, playing, Matt working at the computer, playing with the kittens, Julia going to her friend's house in the afternoon, making cupcakes for the birthday girl. I made chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and chocolate sprinkles (and a green 3 on each one), then chocolate ganache with pink and white sprinkles (and the same green 3s on the other half of them) as per Emma's request. Ben and Emma also went outside in their rain boots and coats to splash in puddles and explore the yard--they lasted about 20 minutes, then came in and Emma had a bath! We had steak salad with blue cheese vinaigrette--yes, Emma eats that, but no dressing--for dinner, then sang to our birthday girl and had cupcakes. She was sound asleep before 8:00.
I can't believe I have no more little babies! Three years old is officially a preschooler, and they change so much the year they turn three, morphing into children and losing all the baby roundness. We've been diaper free for months now, and yet there's no going back--soon we'll leave strollers behind, I keep changes of clothes in the car but don't have to carry a diaper bag, nursing will be a thing of the past pretty soon (which will be utterly mind boggling since I have been producing milk since February 1, 2000!!) It's sad in a lot of ways, but we are ready to have a family of kids, I think. I will always remember my babies very happily, but they are turning into great kids and we are having a lot of fun there too.....
Jen
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Future Professions
The other day Ben, Emma and I were lying on my bed after reading some stories. Emma came out with, "When I grow up, I'm going to be a ballerina!" Ben's reply was, "Well, when I grow up, I'm going to be an airline pilot."
Emma looked perplexed and said, "But you're my big brother!"
Ben looked at her kindly and said, "Don't worry, Emma--I'm always going to be your big brother. I just want to be a pilot, too!"
Jen
Emma looked perplexed and said, "But you're my big brother!"
Ben looked at her kindly and said, "Don't worry, Emma--I'm always going to be your big brother. I just want to be a pilot, too!"
Jen
Friday, August 17, 2007
Kittens Playing
Molly and Bo are good little kittens--mostly. They allow the children to play all kinds of games with them, including wrapping them up in blankets and carrying them around. Julia has made around forty cat toys, all on the same theme--ribbon, feathers, jingle bells and tape. They'll chase those things all day long. They already can climb stairs, so sometimes they go up and keep the kids company in their room. They use the litter box flawlessly. They have beautiful purrs, like to cuddle, get along with Sophie, and ignore Mimi.
But. Matt and I go to bed between midnight and 1 am, in general. That's when the fun begins. They hop up on our bed, acting like they want to curl up and sleep with us--which would make sense, considering the kids have run them ragged most of the day. You'd think they'd be tired. But no. They roll around the bed with each other, biting each others' tails, making little mewey sounds, and occasionally diving for our feet if we move. I generally sleep without covers in the summer, even with the air conditioning on (at least till the dead of night when I sometimes get cold) but I have had to resort to the sheet over my lower legs so I don't get scratched!
If we manage to get them off the bed, they start in with the curtains, or climbing up the wicker laundry hamper, or finding some tiny toy/ball/bell/dust mote/crumb on the floor, which they'll then pounce on, run up and down the hall with, and in general make it impossible to sleep. However, we can thank Rachel for the solution. When we brought them home last Friday--it's already been a week--she lobbied to keep the cat carrier in a corner of the living room so they'd have a place to sleep away from Emma. She insisted that since they're just babies, they need their naps, and got the kids into putting them in the carrier occasionally to sleep.
This has served us well when their antics are too much at night. I just scoop them both up and put them in the carrier. Wednesday night when I did this I didn't even lock the door, in case they needed the litter or a drink in the night. I didn't want to wake up to mewling (or worse, have them wake Emma!) They curled right up and we didn't hear from them again. But last night they were a little rowdier. About 20 seconds after I'd returned to bed, I was startled when both kits jumped up on the bed and resumed their play fighting as if they'd never been sent to time out! This time I latched the door, and we had peace for the rest of the night!
Yay--here's one reason we can give Matt for getting two kittens! If we'd locked one kitten in a carrier, it would be sure to cry and protest, but Molly and Bo have each other and either curl up and go to sleep, or continue their game inside the carrier. Either way, we get a good night's sleep!
Jen
But. Matt and I go to bed between midnight and 1 am, in general. That's when the fun begins. They hop up on our bed, acting like they want to curl up and sleep with us--which would make sense, considering the kids have run them ragged most of the day. You'd think they'd be tired. But no. They roll around the bed with each other, biting each others' tails, making little mewey sounds, and occasionally diving for our feet if we move. I generally sleep without covers in the summer, even with the air conditioning on (at least till the dead of night when I sometimes get cold) but I have had to resort to the sheet over my lower legs so I don't get scratched!
If we manage to get them off the bed, they start in with the curtains, or climbing up the wicker laundry hamper, or finding some tiny toy/ball/bell/dust mote/crumb on the floor, which they'll then pounce on, run up and down the hall with, and in general make it impossible to sleep. However, we can thank Rachel for the solution. When we brought them home last Friday--it's already been a week--she lobbied to keep the cat carrier in a corner of the living room so they'd have a place to sleep away from Emma. She insisted that since they're just babies, they need their naps, and got the kids into putting them in the carrier occasionally to sleep.
This has served us well when their antics are too much at night. I just scoop them both up and put them in the carrier. Wednesday night when I did this I didn't even lock the door, in case they needed the litter or a drink in the night. I didn't want to wake up to mewling (or worse, have them wake Emma!) They curled right up and we didn't hear from them again. But last night they were a little rowdier. About 20 seconds after I'd returned to bed, I was startled when both kits jumped up on the bed and resumed their play fighting as if they'd never been sent to time out! This time I latched the door, and we had peace for the rest of the night!
Yay--here's one reason we can give Matt for getting two kittens! If we'd locked one kitten in a carrier, it would be sure to cry and protest, but Molly and Bo have each other and either curl up and go to sleep, or continue their game inside the carrier. Either way, we get a good night's sleep!
Jen
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