Muggy, Hot, and Buggy

I have obviously been out of the South too long. I have become a wimp. I thought living in Okinawa for three years would make our return to the South a breeze, but I was wrong.This past week has been so hot. But even worse is the humidity and the bugs. The kids,especially Camille can't play outside without getting covered in bites which then get infected and it looks like she has a terrible skin disease. Don't get me wrong. Okinawa was hot and it was humid, but being an island there also seemed to be occasional breezes and I don't remember the mosquitoes being quite so large or aggressive (perhaps West Nile does that to them?). We are now officially prisoners in the house, except for our daily library trips(we've all been gobbling up books and we are all happy to have an excuse to be out of the house). There need to be more indoor play spaces and I don't mean those insanely tall indoor climbing structures or scary bouncy things where the big kids could easily crush smaller ones. I mean an air conditioned tent set up over an outdoor park...somehow I don't think the local Parks and Rec Depart can afford that, but a mama can dream, right? And what about air conditioning the paths at the zoo?

I know I have really lost my southern endurance because I can not imagine living without air conditioning. But this wasn't always the case. I remember very clearly the day my elementary school got ceiling fans in each classroom. It was a big day. We did not have air conditioning at school or at home (except for one window unit that we only ran at night). My body is now so acclimated to air conditioning that the thought of being without air conditioning makes me cringe. Amazing how quickly a luxury can become an absolute "necessity"!

I realize how boring my life is to be writing about the weather (and central air) but it has really been a big factor in our lives this week (except for Adam who doesn't see the outside world between the hours of 6am and 8pm). The other big weather issue for us lately has been dramatic summer storms. The kind I remember from childhood. Those daily afternoon storms that blow in on huge, dark thunderclouds. Sunny one minute, ominous and dark the next. Followed quickly by a dazzling (and scary) lightening show. I have to admit to still being a little scared of lightening but I realized yesterday that I need to get over that really quick because both kids are picking up on it. Despite telling them everything was fine, they didn't buy it because I was cowering in the hallway when I was positive lightening had struck the house. I don't remember having thunderstorms in the northwest. And I thought for sure we would have them in Okinawa but I really don't remember that many storms with lightening. Certainly lots of rain and typhoons,but not much thunder and lightening.

So now that we are stuck inside more, we spend a lot of time by the windows observing the wildlife in our back yard. Daily breakfast appearances by the squirrels, lunchtime with the lizards, and yesterday we watched a pair of cardinals enjoying our birdbath. We have also had a snake sighting in our neighbor's driveway and of course there are lots of resident mosquitoes. Summer in the South...muggy, hot, and buggy.

Post-vacation report

One of the big negatives of having two wonderful weeks of family time is returning home. Wonderful to be back in our beds, but not so great to deal with the emotional aftermath. Both my kids are reacting to the lack of non-stop attention and action. Noah is now "bored" at home and jumping off the walls missing his cousins and friends (Sydney and Zoe). Camille wanders the house looking for people to hold and feed her non-stop. She has also perfected "hitting" and hits us in the face on a regular basis. Noah told me today "I want a baby that doesn't hit. Can we get a different baby that doesn't hit?". Amazingly this is the first time he has ever made a comment like that and at that moment I could understand his sentiment...Camille had just walked up to him and hit him directly in the face with a tire pump. Ouch. Yesterday morning I had a similarily frustrating experience with her. I took her diaper off and let her have some diaper free time in the kitchen while I got breakfast ready. She took that as an opportunity to squat down directly on my purse (hand dyed, hand sewn one I got in Thailand) and pee like an angry cat. She then stood up and slipped backwards in her own urine. I hadn't been planning on bathing her or my purse before breakfast, but that is what happened. I guess I am partly to blame for letting her roam diaper free, but did she really have to pee on my bag?

Random Mama Thoughts

How do you remove ball point pen writing from a computer screen? I discovered this artistic creation on the screen this morning. Any suggestions?

Why aren't there more drive-through windows for family use? I would pay extra just to use a drive through window for the post office. I always put off mailing things because I dread standing in line with my monkeys. Actually "standing in line" isn't the correct terminology since Camille doesn't just stand anywhere these days. She's climbing, jumping, and running any chance she gets. And Noah enjoys teaching her new tricks like how to swing on the ropes that create the endless lines at the post office. If there can't be a drive-up window, why can't there be a short line or special waiting area for frazzled mothers and restless children? I know it would make everyone much happier.

And is it really bad to give your children goldfish crackers three times a day in place of traditional meals (surely there are some omega oils in those bright orange creatures,right?)? Since returning from our travels I have not made it to the grocery store yet...another place that would be nice to have a drive-up window for those emergency runs for milk, bread and toilet paper. I think I have gotten much lazier since becoming a mother.....always trying to think of ways to make outings easier or ways to make our food supplies last longer to delay a trip to the grocery store. So rest assured we did not have goldfish crackers for dinner tonight. No, we had pancakes, chicken, and the last of the frozen peas.