I... hic... have... hic... the hiccups...hic!

Stuff of Life Well, we're getting into a good routine around here, and it's nice that autumn (my favourite season!) has arrived after some very hot summer days! I have spent the last two days in the garden during Carmen's morning nap while Miriam and Finnegan play in the "rock box" (no we're not too poor to afford sand - we chose rocks over sand because apparently it has a better crush factor when kids fall off swings, and also we thought the neighbourhood cats wouldn't have a hey-day filling it with feces. So much for that idea) I've pulled weeds out of some neglected areas of the garden like the back which is not only tricky to get at but which also is home to some BIG spiders. They look like daddy long legs, but their bodies are more like jagged ovals and even though they run away when I move the leaves they look to have HUGE fangs... at least I think those are fangs. Anyways, you can never be too cautious where spiders and moths are concerned. The point is, gardening would be a lot more fun if it was a bug-free experience. I digress. My plants are doing really well for the most part. This was my experiemental year where I just packed them in and let them fight for blossom glory. Now I have an idea of what is strong and hearty (bee-balm, creeping jenny, lupin) and what is not (bell flowers, clematis, and shasta daisy, surprisingly). I also now realize that when the plant guide says the diameter of growth is 3 feet, it actually means 3 feet. Some of my plants will need to be moved around, but I'm not sure if I should do it now or wait until spring. All in all, though, a very successful garden. And my harvest will be plentiful as well! Beets and Zucchini top the list, with some beans and herbs close behind. I was disappointed in my carrots, which granted I planted late. But I pulled one out last week and it was about as long as my pinky finger and not even close to as wide. Pathetic. Oh well, better luck next year! Miriam loves preschool and is doing so well with piano lessons through Music for Young Children. Finnegan started kindermusik and according to Oma, who takes him, he is VERY shy. He'll do what's asked of him, such as getting a set of bells or a shaker egg, but while the other kids move and dance and sing with the instruments our boy pretty much just holds them and stares at the overwhelming mass of little people around him. It'll take time, but apparently the other parents think he is SO CUTE! Carmen has figured out how to roll and gets around a bit now. Only problem with that is her spit up which was previously confined to her play mat now gets pretty much all over the place. Oh well... we'll get rid of the carpet in favour of hardwood once the kids are old enough not to play with hotwheels on the floor! Jim is enjoying teaching (20 hours a week) but not so much the prep work behind it (40+ hours a week). We are both finishing every day pretty much exhausted. If you are reading this and are a pray-er, you could keep us in mind. We need some relief from this life of constant busyness - and I thought the Ph.D. was bad. This is about 10 times worse... either that or my memory is failing me which is also likely! That's all for now. Working on my first video blog. Should be cool! (If you're a scrapbooker)