which would make a better playmate...wasp or cockroach? neither.

another great morning walk...except that one of the neighbors on the trail had his dogs out romping with no leash, and they came rushing at us, chaco was a little anxious because both were bigger than him-one was a german shepherd...the guy came running up and apologizing. as we were walking off, he said, "they're really cute." talking about bruno and chaco..i think he was fumbling, just trying to smooth things over since his dogs weren't on leashes and he didn't want to get reported or something...

chaco just looked up at him in disgust and shook his head, "pfsh. jerk." i looked at the guy and said, "it's ok...he was talking to your dog, not you." (i didn't really say that to the guy, because i'm pretty sure he didn't hear chaco mumble under his breath.)

when we got back home, we saw a huge wasp hanging out on the sliding door-outside...in fact i just looked up and he is still there right now.

ew. i don't understand why he doesn't just go and find his little honeycomb nest to hang out in.

and just a bit later, the boys were standing at the glass door looking at something and getting excited. "mama! come look! can we go out and play with it?"

it was a cockroach! he was a giant!!

double ew! i hate cockroaches. filthy ugly dirty!

"no, bruno. no, chaco! i will NOT let you be playmates with that filth! you're not even in the same phylum!" "but ma..." "NO! he can play with the wasp...at least they're in the same class!"

they watched him for awhile, but then they became disinterested. not long after that, bruno found the spot where i had spilled my green shake yesterday (i had cleaned it up, i just hadn't run the carpet cleaner yet) and he started rolling around in it. i decided i needed to immediately take care of that. it didn't clean up as well as i had hoped that it would. boo.

then i decided i needed to grab some groceries...48 items for $120. grr...but while i was there one of my students from last year showed up, "ms robinson!" it was eric. i'll have to tell my student teacher on tuesday! her last day was technically last friday, but she offered to come in on tuesday to help out since we are supposed to have visitors then. it's always good to have moral support-she has been great. anyhoo, she thought eric was so funny-unique. she'll get a kick out of that.

tomorrow...week 3! let's get it done!
julie

wasp you doing in my living room?

 Today i got a lot of grading done! finally i got their books graded! all 49 of them! i was also able to work on some artwork...using the term loosely. i saw something on another blog awhile back, and i thought it was a fun idea, so i am doing the 'remedial artwork' b/c i didn't feel like buying plywood nor did i feel like measuring anything. i don't like math. so this is how it went down.

 1. i got 3 pieces of foam board, then i spray painted them leather brown.

 2.then i took my selections of colors and cut them all up-they are all samples from various stores and paint companies, so they are random sizes. and i used the spray adhesive to coat the board before bringing it in and starting to piece them on the board.

3. then i went ahead and mod podged them.

4. and once that dried, i went ahead and sprayed a sealant on them. and the finished product is:

 one board down, two to go. i think they will be my new headboard.

also in my little world news, i think a cave is starting in my laundry room...i saw a stalactite forming.

so..apparently sometimes the cheap brand leaks. you heard it hear first.

and i had opened the balcony door for the boys to go out and do business; well, i knew something was up because i saw chaco's ears went up and he stood up. when i looked up, i saw the wasp. so i put the boys in the room so they wouldn't get stung. they were complaining the whole time, but it was bigger than them, so i really didn't want to leave them out-besides, i think the neighbor children have been teaching them the song about the baby bumblebee. and that could get ugly.

so i tried to decide what to do because i haven't gotten this year's fly swatter. so i grabbed a magazine (which felt very flimsy for a wasp on steroids)...and i thought he was in the breakfast nook area by the window, but no...he followed me into the living area. then he came toward me, so i swatted and hit him and kinda hid (because i've had a couple of bad run-ins with wasps). then he went back into the breakfast nook area and settled on the blinds for a couple of minutes.

i found a styrofoam bowl i use for painting and decided it would work to trap him. but i still had the flimsy magazine. well, i trapped him and then put the flimsy magazine under the bowl to get him out.once we were outside i let him free. (now, if you have kids watching, tell them to go play). i did NOT LET HIM FREE!!! he tried to sneak out so i definitely let my full weight fall on him, and actually turned the magazine over so i could ensure 100% smushedness(not a real word). then i let the boys out and they saw me let him fly away over the balcony like a brick.

moral of this story: don't fly into peoples' homes just because the screen door is open.

good night,
julie