Tales of a Gecko

At the end of the school year, Kylie's teacher asked for volunteers to take home either the class gecko or bird. I knew the bird was out of the question, because David would go berserk with the chirping. But, I thought, hey, the gecko would be fun. The kids would love to see it prance around its tank, eat crickets and drink from the water bowl. We would only have to feed it and clean out the tank once a week. And the BEST thing? We wouldn't have to keep it forever.

No big deal, right? Only one BIG problem, we all strongly dislike handling reptiles of any kind. Well, we were going to conquer that fear.

Well, the first day was rough. It was the David was released from the hospital, so everything was crazy. And I was already stressed that I was going to kill this thing. What if it didn't have enough light? Enough water? Enough crickets?

The first day, 2 crickets got loose...there is no mercy for loose insects in this house...they got squashed. I was having to buy crickets 3xs a week because they kept dying on me. (I later realized it was because I was getting the non-chirping kind which die off faster). And I still hadn't gotten over my fear of holding it, so I enlisted help - my neighbor, a friend from church, my sister, it got ridiculous. I needed to fight my battle once and for all, so I did this:






Yep, I held him, double gloved and everything. The kids were cheering me on, but no way were they going to handle it.

As the summer progressed, things got better and we learned so much. We checked out a book about geckos, watched it shed and eat its skin twice

and saw it pounce on his food. Spencer would walk by the tank each day, puts his hands behind his back and say, 'Hi, Pots' over and over. It was a lot of fun to watch. And the BEST thing...it goes home tomorrow!

After...

After...
A week of Girls' Camp with the Young Women of our church,
10 days in blissful Colorado,
Hitting the ground running with 27 classes in 10 days,
Neighborhood drama,
Our 7th anniversary,
Spencer's 2nd birthday and
Catching up with my Church duties...

I am back to blogging!

My age is showing

In the car we were listening to a song about a prune. It says something like, "no matter how old it is, the prune is always wrinkled".

Kylie piped up from the back, "Hey, mom, this song is like you."

Me: "What do you mean by that?"

Kylie: "Because you have wrinkles."

Me: "I do not."

Kylie: "Yes, you do. They are all on your hands. Well, you haven't always had wrinkles, like, when you were a baby like the prune, but you do now."

(Now, I should post a picture to prove that they are not all over my hands.)

The story of the chicks

One day they were there and the next...

they were gone.

The End.

Sorry Katy you couldn't snap pictures as our children chased them away.

Yes! Another post!

The "exciting things happening at the Astorga house" ended up being even more exciting than I originally thought.

Picture this:

9:00 p.m. Thursday -
A call from David one night while relieving stress at Target saying that he had just called 911 and they were on their way. I seriously thought he was kidding. Okay, he wasn't. Now, who for? The kids? Nope. David. What? What is he thinking? He has no insurance! (I know, I am a great wife.) Okay, fine, whatever. What is so terribly wrong? His heart. Oh, that is no big deal. What? HIS HEART!

Arriving on the scene as the EMTs finish up and rescue is on its way. He is stable and we refuse the Rescue, because it's cheaper if I just take him. A few good friends come to the rescue to administer a blessing and watch the children. We go to the hospital and just wait in the parking lot. We want to make really sure we have to go in. Remember, no insurance. He feels much better an hour later. We go home.

Friday - David rested. All. day. long.

Saturday - typical Saturday

Sunday - typical Sunday UNTIL 1:30 am. David jumps out of bed. It's his heart again. He says he has to go NOW. We call our neighbors and don't even wait until they get there. On the way, I ran my first RED light ever and drove the fastest I have ever driven (any guesses?). We go right in this time just in time for him to pass out on the wheelchair. They wheel him back. Sound exciting enough? I, for one, can't take anymore. And good thing it doesn't get too much more exciting. Everything looks good except for his potassium...normal is 5.0, his was 2.2...critically low. 7 hours , 3 potassium pills and an IV with potassium later...we are discharged with orders to follow up with his doctor.

So, here we are 15 days after the onset. After seeing a cardiologist, heart is great, but potassium is still low...3.2. Here begins another journey...WHY?

Father/Son Campout

David was so excited to take Spencer on their first camp out (I was equally excited). We were nervous that Spencer wouldn't sleep and they would have to leave in the middle of the night, so he decided to not set up a tent and sleep in the Tahoe instead. I received a call around 9:30 from David that went like this:

"Hey, how's it going?"
"He won't sleep." (I hear Spencer talking in the background.)
"How long have you been laying there?"
"About 45 minutes."
"Go let him out to run around, " I suggested. (That is because I would have almost given up at this point.)
"No, I'll just keep snuggling him."

I thought for sure I would hear them come home in the middle of the night. But, they made it! David said it took Spencer 1 1/2 hours to finally fall asleep.

Spencer loved the outdoors, the fire, the dirt, big boys to play with, the food, running, the birds, etc. He was in dreamland. I suspect this will be the first of many.

New

A new tooth.

She lost her first tooth on May 10th and already another one is getting ready to fall out. I am jealous. When I was a little girl, it took me until the 1st or 2nd grade to lose any of my teeth. But, she will have 2 out/in by the end of her kindergarten year!
(FYI: Those are strands of hair across her face.)

New eggs.

We had a mommy and daddy duck scoping out place to lay eggs. We thought they would choose our neighbor's yard, but they chose ours! There are 6 six eggs. I didn't pull back the leaves any further in fear I would be attacked by a hidden parent. I realize now that I would have been safe. The mommy lays all morning on the eggs and is no where to be seen in the afternoon just to return in the evening. I hope we get to see the little chickadees when they hatch.