7 Quick Takes Friday: Bats, Graffiti and Running 5 Year Olds

-1-

This week, back in Michigan, Paul has been dealing with bat problems.

As in bats inside of our house.  

I didn't understand the magnitude of this at first.

You see growing up in California our cats occasionally brought bats in our house.  And we'd see bats diving for bugs in the backyard.  And my grandparents even had a bat house (like a bird house, but for bats) on a tree outside.

So when Paul told me that a bat got in our house I laughed and asked if he got it out and then was baffled when he said he called an exterminator. "For a little cute bat?" I may have said, picturing something like Stella Luna.

You see. growing up, those bats were teeny tiny.  I knew that there were bats that were larger, but I pictured them swooping down in rain forests in South America, not terrorizing homeowners in a city in Michigan.

And so, after a day of wondering why he didn't just shoo the thing out with a broom I asked exactly how big this thing was and he said about a foot and the picture in my head came crashing down.

Until I decided he was exaggerating.  There was just no way.  Sure bats get that big, but not in the US.  Twelve inches isn't a bat.  It's a small bird of prey.

So I settled in to do a little googling.  And after clicking on one website about the nine species of bats found in Michigan I made it through two entire paragraphs before I mostly had to stop reading because oh how wrong I was.

There were far too many bats over a foot across on that page and one that grows to fifteen inches.  I still shudder to think about it.

But not as much as I shuddered when Paul called and informed me that a bat got in the next night too.

The exterminator has now been out three times and they're working on bat proofing our house.

Because wow.

I do not want to see Maggie taking down a fifteen inch bat in our living room.

-2-

James needs to stop growing so fast.  

Today I had to drive into "the City" to get him a few new outfits because he's outgrown everything I brought with us.  

I knew we were coming out to California for two months.  He had been in six month clothes before we left and he'd just outgrown them and I'd pulled out all the nine-month clothes and packed the smaller clothes away.  

So I packed an assortment of nine month clothes and he outgrew him a couple weeks ago but I kept squeezing him into them and I got on twelve month outfit, but that looked too small by the second time he wore it and so today I purchased a few eighteen month outfits and look:

It's a tiny bit long in the arms and an even tinier bit too long in the legs, but it's perfect for him to wear right now.  And hopefully it that "tiny bit too long" will give him a little time to grow and last at least until we get back to Michigan (and hopefully longer).

-3-

I'm pretty sure it's because he's determined to keep up with his big brother in just about every way.  They're pretty inseparable these days:

I'm really liking the not-quite-two-years-apart age gap for these two.

-4-

The girls have both been running a lot, which I'm totally encouraging.

The first time we took them out on the track Maggie ran three quarters of a mile before calling it a day.  

I think I need to find an easily accessible (fenced) track near our house when we get back to Michigan.

-5-

Patch still can't say his r's.  Or his g's.  So perhaps this hat that James loves was a poor choice.  

But with his fair complexion he really needed a hat.  And he looked so cute in it.  And the kids are a little frog crazy since they've been catching frogs on the porch all summer.  

-6-

So on the night of the first bat incident, Paul walked out of the house to go to the store and what did he see?

This:

I mean, our car has been hit and had quite a bit of damage in parking lots since we've moved to Michigan but this takes the cake.  

We reported it.  And thankfully it washed off with a power washer:

But still. Somehow this is way more upsetting than the two foot dent in the back side panel above the tire, since you know it was intentional.  

-7-

Maggie's been determined to get out today.  She's already gotten through two sets of deadbolts twice.  She's stealthily moving furniture around to reach them and she knows how to work them all now.  

Reading the social stories about not going out of the house is doing nothing.  at all.  So it looks like I'll be on my toes today.  All day.  

The other day she hurdled a fence and Patch screamed:  "Maggie running!  Maggie running!" so at least just about everyone around here knows to spring into action when she makes an escape.  

And prayers are greatly appreciated.  Because she's fast.  And if you glance away for even ten seconds she's gone.  

For more Quick Takes head over to This Ain't the Lyceum.  

Patch and the Mouse

I may have mentioned during our cross country drive, that Patch has developed an extreme fear of Mickey Mouse.

It happened when we were stopping for the night in Iowa, and we were trying to convince Patch and Maggie to stay in their beds, when they really just wanted to bounce off the walls even though it was way past bedtime.

The TV came on and there was a close up of Mickey Mouse saying hello and suddenly Patch ran from the room screaming.  He hid by the sink saying "mouse, mouse" and had to be coaxed to come back out (with the TV off).

I wasn't thrilled with his sudden fear of "the Mouse" mostly because I packed a modest amount of clothing for each child, and because of a super sale at a children's store a while back, and because Patch loved Mickey Mouse up until that moment (he fondly called him "Guy" before the incident in which he became "Mouse!"), roughly half of the shirts I'd brought for him had Mickey Mouse on them.

Over the last month, almost any time he's seen even a shadow of mouse ears (except on the shirts, which are thankfully somehow okay), he's turned and run from the room.

However in the last few days the Mouse phobia has taken a turn.  Patch has started bringing me anything that he might imagine is a phone and putting it in my hand.  Then he pushes it up to my ear and says "Mouse."

The following conversation, which he wants repeated exactly, has occurred dozens and dozens of times (I wish that was an exaggeration):

Patch: "Mouse."
Me:  "Hi Mouse.  It's Mommy.  You can't come to our house today.  At all.  Do you hear me Mouse?  You aren't allowed to come over."
Patch:  "Mouse.  Bye."
Me:  "Bye Mouse."
Patch:  "Daddy."
Me: "Hi Daddy, it me.  How are-"
Patch:  "Mouse."
Me:  "Um, Daddy I was calling to tell you that-"
Patch:  "Daddy.  Mouse.  Guy."
Me:  "I was calling to tell you that I told Mouse he can't come to our house even on the TV."
Patch:  "Bye."
Me:  "Okay, bye Daddy."

And then he smiles contently and laughs to himself and goes back to whatever he's doing.

Until tonight when he brought me my phone and demanded to see Mickey Mouse on it and then proceeded to sit down and watch an old episode of Mickey Mouse (the Three Muskateers one) on my phone.  I finally had to steal back my phone and insist that it was actually bedtime, since he very much seemed to be planning on watching the entire thing.

And now I'm hoping that this means that if he sees a picture of Mickey Mouse somewhere when we're out and about, he doesn't totally freak out...  because you never realize how often you see depictions of Mickey Mouse until you have a child who is terrified of him.

Popsicles, Tutus and Very Important Words

Today Maggie took my hand and led me into the kitchen.  She looked at me and signed "please," while saying the word in her sweet little voice and then said "tummy," which is her way of saying hungry. 

"What is it that you want?"  I asked.

"I want ah-eh-ell."  She said and pulled me over to the refrigerator, excitement clear on her face. 

This week she's said "I want bread.  More bread please." and "I want pizza.  More pizza please." but I had no idea what I want ah-eh-ell was supposed to mean. 

Finally I pulled open the refrigerator door and asked her to show me what she was talking about.  She grabbed my hand and took it and put it on the handle to the freezer and then waited patiently while I opened it. 

Once the door swung open she grabbed my hand again and pulled it down to the bottom of the freezer where the popsicles stay.  "Ah-eh-ell!  Ah-eh-ell!" was "Popsicle!  Popsicle!" 

A few moments later she was outside with Sadie and Patch enjoying their popsicles in the hot summer sun. 

Slowly but surely the words have begun to arrive in greater numbers, starting just before her fifth birthday.  More and more often she can tell me that she's upset because she wants bread or peanut butter or milk instead of water. 

I've also learned that whatever I say I cannot call a skirt a skirt. 

All skirts are tutus. 

All of them. 

She is very into pointing to things, over and over again, and having me label them.  If I get the label right she grins.  If I get the answer wrong she's devastated. 

And the most wrong of the wrong answers is to say skirt instead of tutu when she points to a skirt. 

At least I've figured it out.  And most of the time I can even remember exactly what I'm supposed to say. 

Maggie's Big Day

Last night we started singing a little song to Maggie about how she wouldn't be four in the morning, she'd be five.  Her eyes danced and she laughed as we sang, and she even ran over to dance with Patch and Sadie around the kitchen. 

 

After we went to bed my dad asked if I thought she'd remember it was her birthday first thing in the morning. 

 

At 5:20 am this morning it was pretty clear that she did:

 

She raced downstairs and opened her presents:

 

Happy 5th Birthday to Maggie



 Five years ago today we met our tiny firecracker, our Fourth of July baby. 

And I know it sounds cliché but I really cannot believe how the last five years have flown by.  I feel like she was three... yesterday.

So here are a few of my favorite pictures of our Maggie Rose.  We are so blessed to have her in our lives:

{phfr}: A Trip to the Zoo and Ocean

Yesterday we took a two hour drive out to the coast, to get away from the super high temperatures that were expected (it was still above 100 as we were driving back... after 7 pm).  We planned a trip to the local zoo and a walk down to the beach so that James could see the ocean for the first time (and Patch could see the Pacific Ocean for the first time). 

And here are some of my favorite pictures we snapped along the way:

{pretty}

Sadie had a blast in the little splash area at the park:

{happy}

This little room in the barnyard area was definitely a highlight.  There was a statue of a goat that you could pretend to milk, a horse to ride and a tractor to sit on:

Then the girls pretended to be spiders on a giant web (which was right up Maggie's alley):

And then it was on to the petting zoo, which was, without a doubt, the highlight of the trip:

Maggie was shy standing next to the sheep until she saw Sadie pet her.  And then Grumpa had to stop her from trying to climb on for a ride:

The under water tunnel was another wonderful moment.  I think Mae would have stayed there for ever if she'd had the chance.

{funny}

I thought that this series of pictures was hilarious.  James obviously felt like such a big boy, sitting in the stroller.  I kept having to push him back, because he kept leaning forward to look at the wheels and getting stuck, but otherwise it was going really well.

When we got inside the zoo he decided he wanted to hold Patch's hand.  Patch let him... but apparently when he saw me snapping pictures he had to give me a grumpy frown:

{real}

After a couple stops at stores it was time for a trip to the beach.

I'll admit, I was a little nervous.  I knew Maggie would want to go in.  We were only going to get our feet wet, but we put a life jacket on her just in case, since she's so strong and so determined.

I was also nervous because I don't really trust the beaches on this part of the coast, with their treacherous undertows and sleeper waves (so I knew we'd all have to be super vigilant).

Still after researching family friendly beaches we headed to one that's known for having less of an undertow.  And when we got there Maggie was super excited.  She raced towards the water with Nani and Sadie, while Patch made his way down to the water more slowly with Grumpa:

It was a workout keeping Maggie from throwing herself into the waves.

Patch was content to stop where the sand was wet, far beyond where the waves were reaching at that moment:

Maggie plunged into the ankle deep water without pausing to take of her tights, which is notable because normally she is meticulous about keeping her tights dry and screams if they get a drop of water on them.  She spent a lot of time trying to go all the way in.

Once I was thoroughly exhausted we headed back to the car... which brought on a meltdown of epic proportions that I'd like never to repeat again.  Let's just say that the hundred plus yards to the car couldn't have possibly felt any longer than it was with a mermaid determined to get back to the ocean to swim away.

Once we got to the car things calmed down and we made our way home after twelve hours of fun.  And today our mermaid is back in her pool.

For more {phfr} head over to Like Mother, Like Daughter.

How to Make Your Own Custom Overlay Profile Picture

Lately there have been various flag overlays being thrown here and there and everywhere on Facebook, with rainbows and Vatican flags and Get-Yours-Here posts galore.

The politics or morality of those posts isn't what this post is about (so everyone relax... these weeks have been way too stressful keeping my little eloper from getting into trouble here and there and everywhere and so that is where all of my energy is going at the moment).

This is a post born from one of the "how to's" that someone posted that told whoever was using this particular method to try this and maybe it would work or maybe they would have to do it several times to get there own little flag icon.

After reading the steps I wanted to tell everyone that it's way, way easier to do overlays on your own.
If I can figure it out, anyone can do it.

Here's how I do mine in over in PicMonkey.  

Start by bringing up the photo you want to edit.  Get the picture you want to overlay saved onto your computer too.

Next go down and click on the textures button on the left hand side of the screen (the cross hatched diamond, just above the apple):

Now go up and click on the button that says "Your Own."

Now you can open up whatever photo you want to overlay over your photo.

I already knew that I wanted to use my profile picture that I snapped during Lent as the example because it's a clear head shot that I don't hate (and those can be hard to come by):

However I was having a hard time picking out an overlay that I liked.  I knew a super busy photo with other people in it probably wouldn't turn out all that well with this picture, but most of the photos I take have people in them.  Finally I saw this picture and I thought that I'd give it a try:

With the original blend that came up automatically when I uploaded the photo, it was a little too Darth Maul...

So I went down and clicked on the bar that says "Blend Mode" and moved it from Multiply to Screen (you can experiment with this and see which mode best fits your picture.  Screen tends to be my favorite):

And after clicking on the Screen Button the same picture looks like this:

You can play with the fade and saturation bars to make the image more to your liking too.

Then all you have to do is save your photo and you have your own custom overlay of any two pictures that you'd like to combine.

Happy Photo Editing!