Skipping Town

We have groundhogs. For a while we've noticed large holes/tunnels under our porch, and commented idly, "Huh. It looks like something's living under there." And several weeks ago, while Andrew was out of town, I was sitting in the living room and smelled skunk so strongly I was convinced a skunk was inside the house. Last week, walking around the house with a landscaper who's going to work on our backyard, the landscaper saw the holes/tunnels, announced we had groundhogs, and gave us the card for a wildlife control company. Today, a wildlife guy came over and confirmed it. We have groundhogs. A lot of them. The skunk I smelled was probably startled by one of them. He won't kill them, but we paid a hefty fee for his services: constructing metal barriers underground all along the porch, putting in a one-way door that the groundhogs can use as they emerge to find food and water, and then returning to seal up that door once all the groundhogs are gone. They'r...

Dear Girls, Another catch-up letter, and I've lost track of how many months each of you are, and one of these months I'll do the counting and get back on track. But it's better to write than not write, and it's fun to write about you both right now because we're in a stellar period of cuteness and hilarity. Lucia, at 5 1/2 you're the reigning big sister, eager to "help" Greta whenever you can--even, sometimes, announcing you're going to be the one to help Greta get dressed in the morning. But Greta, you hold your own--you idolize Lucia and look up to her and strive to emulate her in every way; but you don't hesitate to stand your ground and assert yourself. The big sister / little sister dynamic was on charming display this week, since you had your first swimming lesson together. Greta has been watching Lucia at her swimming lesson for the past three months, and finally you're in a class together. Lucia, you led Greta to the side of the...

We journeyed to Connellsville for what turned out to be a fun and eventful holiday. The day before Easter, Andrew and Molly both ran the Connellsville half-marathon; we met them at the finish and celebrated at Valley Dairy. Andrew shocked everyone by ordering a club sandwich consisting of a burger sandwiched between two grilled cheese sandwiches. Later that day, we celebrated Luca's third birthday with a cake Molly created, consisting of small cranes scooping crushed Oreos from the top of a chocolate cake, which was a huge hit all around. On Easter morning, the kids came downstairs and found their Easter baskets, which was thrilling. (Lucia had claimed she was going to stay up all night, or at least get up really really early, but everyone slept until a very humane 7am.) Lucia and Greta each got a plush Rapunzel, tiny plush bunny, M&M necklace, butterfly headband, a small mini-golf Lego Friends set, and a Frozen Lego set (impossible to find except for the fact that one week a...

We greeted our long-awaited spring by having both Lucia and Greta contract a stomach bug. It hit Lucia first, around 6pm on Thursday; she had a rough evening and night, and needed Friday to fully recover. At 2:30am on Friday night, Greta woke up crying about her stomach hurting; a second later, she vomited all over her bed. Charming. She was sick the rest of the night and up till noon on Saturday. Lucia, at five and a half, knows enough about stomach bugs to understand the idea of leaning over a trash can. She also gets really upset and angry about it, wailing "I hate being sick!!!" after each bout. She understands that when she's sick she gets to watch a lot of TV, but also that she has to rest and nap. Greta, on the other hand, had to be physically corralled into aiming for a trash can, and her anger over being sick was laced with stubborn three-year-old-ness. She'd cry about her tummy hurting, I'd ask if she was going to throw up, and she'd say furiously,...