I Have Bird Guilt

It's kinda like Mom Guilt.  You know, when you question every decision you make, wondering if it was the right thing to do?

I try to work really hard to make sure the outside of my house looks nice.  Every spring I plant new flowers in the front beds and spread tons of mulch.  I've replaced the dead builders shrubs (twice) to make sure the landscaping looks symmetrical.  And I replace hanging flower baskets on my front porch seasonally.

Last spring a couple of birds decided that my hanging flower baskets were a great place to nest.  TWO of my four baskets found themselves the home of a mama bird, a daddy bird, and a nest full of tiny eggs that eventually hatched into tiny birds.

It was kinda cute and exciting at first.  Every once in awhile I'd gently lower the baskets so that my kids could see the nest, then the itty bitty babies.  We all loved watching our babies grow up.

Unfortunately, in order to keep from drowning the babies, I could no longer water the flowers.  Hence, two out of four hanging baskets died.  And continued to hang there, a blemish smack dab in the middle of the face.  It was not the most attractive sight to see as you pulled into the driveway.  As soon as the babies flew the nest, I replaced the baskets.

A couple of weeks ago, I completed my spring planting.  New petunias, azaleas, snapdragons and geraniums went into the ground.  So many bags of mulch were spread.  And four beautiful new baskets were hung.  Then last night as we ate dinner, Gabe commented on the birds outside the window.

Not today, birds.

I immediately saw the birds he was looking at, perched on the side of my basket.  I ran out the front door, scaring them away.  I then proceeded to check out all of the baskets for anything they may have left behind.

Those damn birds built an entire nest in a day!

Thankfully, no eggs inside.  So in order to save my plant (don't judge me, they aren't cheap!), I pulled the nest out.

And as I did, they watched me.

The mama and the daddy perched right on the edge of my roof, watching me destroy their home.  And I'm pretty sure I felt their sadness. 

Seriously, my heart bleeds that much.  THE BIRDS made me feel guilty.  I come from a long line of bird lovers.  I keep several feeders in the backyard.  My kids and I love to watch them out the window as we eat breakfast every morning.  Young Gabe can now identify several species.  I even have a hummingbird tattooed on my body.  I love birds.  And I felt bad that those two house finches just wanted to start a little family and I crushed their dreams. 

I left the nest tucked away in the landscaping, so that in the midst of their grief, they could at least keep the materials and move onto a different location.

Mr. and Mrs. House Finch, I wish you and your family-to-be years of good health and prosperity.

Just not on my front porch.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I love the change of seasons.  Every fall, I get so excited to pull out my jeans, sweaters, and boots.  But the time has arrived when I am ready to PACK 'EM UP.  I am now excited for sundresses and flip-flops.

Today will mark the first 80 degree day of the year, and I am oh-so-ready for Spring.  I smelled freshly cut grass on my way home from work today...SPRING!  My bulbs are beginning to bloom...SPRING!  Windows are open...SPRING!

I also have a desire for some crazy Spring cleaning, like organizing the garage and scrubbing the grout in the kitchen.  But as my husband will tell you, I'm sometimes crazy like that.

I am sad to see the potential return of winter early next week, but these warmer days are becoming more and more frequent these last couple of weeks.

Fingers crossed that any day now, Spring will be here to stay.    

I've been a bad blogger...

So sorry about the lack of posts this week, dear readers!  I'll try to make up for it with one big, all-encompassing post.  Go ahead and get a snack...I'll wait.

Okay, Here's what I've been up to:

1. EOG's.

For those of you non North-Carolinians (or those of you who DO live here, but under a rock), these are the big, dreaded, standardized tests that come at the end of the school year (or End Of Grade).  Now these tests are only for students in grades 3-8.

"But I thought you taught students in grades K-1?" you might ask.  And you'd be correct.  But I have managed to be involved in the EOG mania nonetheless.

Firstly, my side job is tutor extraordinaire.  I work with three kids, grades 6, 8, and 9, on math.  I know, weird combo that I teach reading to the little ones during the morning and math to the older ones in the afternoons.  But it works for me!

Two of my kiddos are in the throes of EOG.  One took the test this past Wednesday and Thursday, the other takes his exam this upcoming Thursday.  I have been clocking A LOT of tutoring hours recently!  (It's okay, though.  Good for the ole' bank account!)

Aside from tutoring, I got to take part in EOG joy at my own school.  This week, students on tracks 1 and 2 took the big tests.  And because I'm so lucky (i.e. I'm a warm body and my classes are apparently expendable and easily canceled for the week) I got to be a proctor!

Let me tell you a little bit about proctoring the EOGs.  In a word- BORING.  Basically, I got to sit and stare at a classroom of fifth graders for hours at a time.  Every fifteen minutes or so, I would circulate around the room, looking over shoulders to make sure that the kids were bubbling in the same number on their answer sheet as the question they were on in the test booklet.  But come on...these kids are in fifth grade.  They've bubbled in test sheets a time or two before.

Once kids finished the tests, I had to make sure they were sitting silently.  Once or twice a kid sneaked a book out of their desk and tried to hide it, and I had to tell them to put the book away until the test session was over.  That was the peak of excitement of the whole experience.

OH, and I ALSO got to take parades of kids to the bathroom, and make sure they went in one at a time, and didn't talk about the test in any way.  That was also TONS of fun!

The experience was uber-miserable.  I found myself wishing that I was taking the test, because I thought it would be more fun.

I can't wait to do this again when the other half of the students in my school take the tests in two weeks.


2.  Entering the HGTV Green Home 2010 Giveaway on a daily basis.

I mean, how fabulous is this house?  (Of course, it doesn't really matter how fabulous the house is, because if I actually did win it, I'd sell it.  Because let's be real here...I am SO not moving back to the north.  I WOULD keep the SUV and the $100 grand, though.)

I'm almost tempted to leave this part of the post out, lest you start entering daily, too, and decrease my odds of winning.  But I like you.  So I guess I'll allow it.


3. Dieting and ellipticalling.  (Yes, I know that's not a word, but I like it...so there.)

My stomach has mostly gotten used to liquids for breakfast and lunch, and I'm not hungry and crabby at every moment.  Just some moments, like when J says he's hungry, and I explode a little, lashing out about the fact that he got to have food for breakfast and lunch.  But he's a trooper, and he forgives me.

I may be missing beer more than food, as I am depriving myself of it on the weeknights.  But even that is getting easier.

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to skip the elliptical, because I was feeling a little lazy.  Later in the day, I felt guilty for skipping out, so I ended up not only ellipticaling, but going a few minutes over my normal 30.

Now THAT'S progress, no?

AND, I've lost 6 pounds.  Yay me!


Also, (and you thought I'd forgotten!)...today is

And here's what makes me feel good this Friday (aside from the aforementioned 6 pounds).

The first bloom of the season on my magnolia tree.  After I moved south and saw these trees everywhere, I knew that someday, I MUST have one.  Thanks to the coolest mom on the block (mine), I have one.  She bought this for me on one of her visits, and I love, love, love looking out my kitchen window and seeing it blooming all spring and summer.


So that's all, folks!  Have an excellent weekend!

The YELLOW DEATH is upon us!!

Good news!!  The bees are gone!

Bad news...they're gone because the big spring bloom has happened, and the pollen that the bees craved is now floating through the air, coating everything in its path.

The cars are yellow, the driveway is yellow, the sidewalks are yellow...even my red front door is now yellow.  You can literally see pollen clouds in the sky.  It's disgusting!

There was, however, one bright spot in my pollen-filled day (other than the disappearance of the killer bees, of course).  Daphne, ever the hound dog, was sniffing and snarfing, tracking a bug across the patio.

Up- the-nose shot!  Notice the nostrils!

Buzz...

Yet more evidence that spring has sprung...

My holly bushes are blooming!  They're healthy, green, and have blossoms everywhere.

The bad news about this?  BEES!!  Bumblebees, honey bees, yellow jackets, and all matter of buzzing predators.  They're EVERYWHERE.  Swarming my front door.   

So if you need a laugh?  Drive by my house sometime when I'm coming or going.  You'll find me sitting in my car for an inordinate amount of time, keeping an eye out for a break in bee activity.  Then once I feel as though it's safe, I'll slowly get out of the car, then run wildly to the front door, flailing my arms about to scare off any potential stingers, whining all the while.

The pollen can leave any day now, please.

Spring has Sprung

I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate myself on a personal achievement.  I grew these flowers.  Now you might be asking yourself, "What's the big deal about that?  So she grew some flowers.  Whatev.  Anybody could do that."

But THIS is where you'd be wrong.  You see, I do not have a green thumb.  I have the opposite of a green thumb.  (I cannot exactly determine, by the way, what the opposite of a green thumb actually is.  I know that red is opposite green on the color wheel, but I don't think that having a red thumb is a real thing.  So for now, we'll just say that I have the opposite of a green thumb.)

You see, I can't keep any plant alive.  Not even an African Violet, and I hear that they would most likely survive nuclear war along with the cockroaches.  So for me to actually GROW something is a MIRACLE!  AND...they come back every year!!

So here's to the arrival of spring, and to the return of my beautiful, fragrant hyacinths.