It's a jungle out there.

Look!  A flower!  One of the dollar store daffodil bulbs bloomed!

I've had so little luck with daffodils; this one I planted last year and ignored seemed like a long shot -- but woot!  Like last time, 1 out of 5, another little yellow one (under 30 cm tall).  Hopefully it comes back (last year's didn't).

Look, it even attracted a bee!

Um... oh.

That's a little bee, and a little white spider eating it.  I showed it to James.  He's fascinated (possibly the same white spider we saw on the porch the other day?).

It's a bug eat bug world, I know, but I'm still a little disgusted.

I generally try to stop James from killing bugs*.  But today I saw a red lily beetle and immediately plucked it up and stomped on it.  James looked at me questioningly: Ladybug?  "Nope, this one eats Mama's flowers, so we don't like it.  We like ladybugs."  I wonder if he's confused.  I feel slightly hypocritical...

* Mosquitoes, though, definitely get them before they get you.













A couple of days later: the bloom's faded, but the spider's still there.

2019-06-12 - Update: After looking at a bunch of spider photos (Why?!  Why did I do that?!), I think this one is possibly a small female goldenrod crab spider.  Shivers.

Now, and things to look forward to?

From Fatherly "51 Moments of Parenting That Are Absolutely Terrible"

• Realizing that something smells terrible and the only way to figure it out is by sniffing your kids’ asses and clothing as though you were a truffle hog.
• When your kid gets up at 4 a.m., thinking it’s real morning and is energized and stoked to get the day started.
• When your kid becomes obsessed with putting on their own socks and, even though they can’t do it, they’ll yell at you for trying to help until, an hour later, they ask you to fix their crooked sock.
• When your toddler has a Level 10 meltdown and you desperately want to know what happened but you realize that it’s impossible to understand what set them off, let alone translate the angry language they’re speaking.
• Understanding that parenting is introspection, and that, while it’s great to have a better awareness of yourself, you will constantly see your faults reflected back at you.
• When your hand becomes the go-to place for your kids to spit out food they think is gross.
• When it takes 15 minutes to walk 50 feet because, Oh, look there’s a stick, and Oh, there’s a stoop to sit on, and Oh, is that an ant?
• When your kid crawls into bed and wants to sleep so close to you that their head is on your pillow, they’re breathing on your nose, and their hair is in your mouth.
• When you have to repeat same routine every single morning on every single day — to remind your kid to eat their cereal, brush their teeth, get dressed, put on sneakers, put their dirty clothes not near the laundry basket, not adjacent to the laundry basket, but inside the laundry basket. Every. Single. Day.
• When you’re hit with an inevitable health emergency of a child that makes you realize how fragile their life actually is and how very little control you have of sustaining it.
• When you understand that your kid is simply emotionally limited, but also knowing that you can’t help but see them as a spoiled, no-good, terrible little adult with sociopathic tendencies.

Time to Art!

Jaclyn's hit a prime birthday!  Where does the time go?  

To celebrate, waffles and pancakes and art!  

Breakfast for dinner?!  Peanut butter and blueberries?!  

Yes, James, birthdays are magical!  

After the delicious meal, people were ready to clean up and do some art.  Well, except for me and James.  My allergies were acting up, and he was ready to run.    

  

 

Catherine took us outside.  James did laps and I tried not to be too uncomfortable.  Ugh, pregnancy and seasonal allergies are not fun together. 

 

Back inside -- the dining table had been transformed into a group crafting / art area.  People were drawing, painting, sculpting... I was so impressed with the level of talent.  

Catherine managed to get James to sit still and draw / colour for a bit.  

But not for long!  

Happy birthday, Jaclyn.  Thanks again for inviting us to celebrate with you.  

(Get things) Moving Sale

"Whatever the counter-offer -- take it!"*

Dad and Mom didn't want me to host a garage sale -- they just wanted me to get rid of things / give it away.  But, sometimes you can't even give things away (e.g. perfectly good box spring and mattress).

Anyway, I also had Catherine, who's awesome and over the week prior cleaned and rearrange everything, and just made it work!  I was so grateful and impressed.  I think she could/should do it as a business ("Arrange and run your successful garage sale!").

The morning of, Paul and James pitched in too.  Paul placed out the signage (reused from the sale with Erica... which did make a few neighbours wonder if we were moving away).  James with um... rearranging things?  We kept him around long enough for him to get an offer on his guitar, which thankfully he didn't take.  But then with him at my parents, I was able to really get serious about getting things out of the house  (Oh, you're interested in X, I think I have some in the basement...) and posting some of our nicer items on kijiji as advertising.  

Catherine and Clint held the fort throughout.  Paul and I dipped in and out.  

It was less party and hangout atmosphere than last time.  But we did get to know Clint a bit better.  He's so good!  At first I thought he was just great at sales and selling, but then it became clear: he's just really nice and likes / is interested in people.  Someone would be looking at one of his antique chairs, and then all of sudden he was walking over to their car to look the person's self-published book on minor league hockey. 

Anyway, though I sold most items / volume (thanks Claudia, Chris, and Steph for visiting and buying things), Clint made the most money (quality over quantity).  

At the end of it, Catherine took a trunkful of stuff away to charity, and says she'll be back later in the week to take away more.  Thanks so much, Cath - you just might save me from my hoarding ways.  :P    

* What my Dad told me he left on my voice mail... which I never got.  So now someone else has a recording of my Dad yelling advice in Cantonese.
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Update: Unfortunately, someone decided to complain about my car being parked too close to the intersection (not parked in garage because of sale), and I got a ticket!  So money-wise, net zero.  Ugh.