Life as a Yowler

Last night around 9:00pm, Brielle was sitting at the dining room table eating a snack. She told me she heard something in the fireplace so I came over and listened. I told her “that’s just the wind but great job being on top of it. Better safe than sorry.” Ten minutes later I was sitting on the couch with a heating pad that was plugged in. I saw a bat flying out of the corner of my eye. I put the heating pad over my head and took off running, forgetting it was plugged in. I almost hung myself, so I abandoned the pad. I yelled “kids, you’re on your own” and I took off running for my room. Isla followed me and we both shook and cried from my bedroom. I yelled a few commands to the brave kids still hanging including “I need my phone.” They brought it to me so I could call 911.

Kidding. But I did call Brandon and made sure I told him about his ill timing of being gone. I told him he needs to find a way to take care of this bat. When he failed, I kept yelling orders at the two oldest kids. Caed chose to run to his bed and hide, a perfectly natural response.

The two oldest kids grabbed a blanket and tried to catch the bat. At one point in time the bat grazed Brielle’s head. When it did, joah screamed and cowered under the blanket and Brielle finished up the job. She had opened both sets of doors and chased him outside then slammed the doors shut. Joah gave a great effort, but in the end he gave into wimpiness.

Brielle proved herself a true hero. Some heroes wear capes. Other hero’s protect their moms from bats. I can’t even express how grateful I was. When she retold the story to Brandon she said “if mom would have just listened to me originally when I heard something in the fireplace, all we would have had to do was make a fire.” We will be making a lot of fires in the future, that’s for sure.

We have had a total of 6 bats in our home this summer. This is NOT ok. Something needs to be done. Although I’m not thrilled about having one last night, I am thrilled that we now know where they are coming in. Praise be to God for revealing that to us. We will be taking drastic measures to seal that thing now. We haven’t had any issues in the past with that fireplace, but we have a couple theories. One is that we cut down 5 acres of trees(to do our house addition and pond) so maybe we took their homes. Another is that we don’t ever use the dining room fireplace anymore(since we have a new one in the living room). Another is that maybe when they reroofed the old part of the house, something got bumped on the chimney. Whatever it is, we will get to the bottom of this. I will make it my life goal.

This year has managed to fly by. I plan to start school on Monday with my kids. Joah is in 5th. Brielle is in 4th. Caed is in 2nd. Isla is in kindergarten. The three oldest kids will be doing Abeka video academy. We did it last year with joah, and we were very impressed with it. It’s a great way for kids to learn independently. We have a few trips planned this Winter, and it will be so nice having the kids complete their school lessons on their own. I’m looking forward to having more freedom and flexibility to teach Isla one on one. This is my 4th time now teaching a kid to read and write(at kindergarten level). I know by now that it’s pretty one on one and I’m thankful I will have that time with her. I truly have a TON of respect for teachers and their ability to manage entire classrooms. I have zero idea how you guys do it. You are heroes.

This last year I’ve been dealing with some health issues and got diagnosed with POTS syndrome. Ever since my car accident(three years ago), I haven’t quite felt the same. Its been a learning curve, but the very most effective ways for me to manage symptoms are by pushing water and exercising. I keep experimenting with skipping exercise(I love to sleep in too much). But let me tell you, it’s not worth it. It’s pretty essential that I do some form of exercise every single day, in order for me to function and have energy. I mean these are the things I should be doing anyways. I’ve also increased my salt intake and embraced by inner 80 year old women. Compression socks are now part of my wardrobe. Yay.

I can’t believe summer is nearly over. Every summer I’m reminded how fast time goes. Time really is a thief. I’ve tried to slow down and enjoy my kids. They are growing up way too fast. Somehow I’m already past the toddler years and I have actual kids. They are now legitimately helpful(like during bat emergencies). They make me laugh daily. They still keep life entertaining and funny. I’m so thankful for them and even with bat appearances, I’m so thankful for our home and the new memories we’re making here. It was a long house addition process, but we came through it and we are now enjoying the crap out of this house. I will never get to the point that I’m not thankful every single day for it. Living in the cabin for 1.5 years really taught me to appreciate this bigger space. Brielle whips around the kitchen daily. The boys manage to throw footballls in every single room. Isla manages to cart her makeup collection from room to room, to every single corner of this home. We are so thankful for it. Last school year was a blur(with the moving into the house process). This school year is a fresh start. I look forward to positive memories and family time!