Boys. . .

It was finally nice weather again today after a freezing cold weekend with snow. The kids were driving me nuts at their usual time in the afternoon, about an hour before Bump gets off of work (I know there are several of you that can relate), so I sent them outside to play. One nice thing about living with my in-laws is that they have a great, fully fenced back yard that the kids cannot get out of, so I don't have to watch them every second. I can easily hear their screams if I am urgently needed and they can come in the house if they need to talk to me, it's great! Also, Grandma and Grandpa keep a good eye on what they are up to when they are up and around.

This summer Bump's parents had a really big pine tree taken out of their back yard. It took up the whole back corner of the yard and kept causing problems with the power, phone and cable lines that wound through it. It looks great, but it left an empty corner where no grass has grown and where they usually pile any old yard debris that is waiting to be taken to the dump. Since the tree is gone some funny plants have started to sprout there this summer and one type are some little seedling plants with berries on them that start out green and turn bright red. No matter how many times I tell the kids not to play with or touch those berries they just can't keep their hands off of them, especially Corban. Hopefully they aren't dangerous, I haven't been too worried about them.

Well, as I said, I sent the kids out to play in the back yard late this afternoon and they were actually playing really great together. Bump came home and was helping me finish making dinner when his mom called him upstairs saying that the kids needed him. Moments later he came in carrying Corban and telling me that he had been playing with the berries (big surprise) and he stuffed one into his ear. Red juice was all over around his ear; it would have freaked me out if I didn't know that it wasn't blood. So, Bump held him down while I got the tweezers and pulled the slimey, squished seed out of his ear canal. Luckily it came out pretty easy. Then I sprayed both of his ears with water, just to make sure everything was out.

What is it with kids and sticking things in crevices that they don't belong?! I am sure that this won't be our last experience with this kind of thing, especially having a boy in the family who is really quite stubborn - he really wanted to leave the berry in his ear. Oh, and when Bump brought Corban into the kitchen to tell me what he had done, he caught him trying to sneak another berry into his other ear! BOYS!! Tomorrow I am getting out the weed wacker and mowing down that whole corner of the yard. There will be no more of those berries in our yard, or in our ears!