October Events

Time to get caught-up on recent events in and around Wyoming.....

• Sasha is fully recuperated from removal of his wisdom teeth.  Meanwhile, Brock had 5 baby teeth pulled as well.  Like Sasha, he missed 2 days of school - and generally bounced back very quickly.  Here's a picture of Brock's teeth (which are now going to Dad's china cabinet for safe-keeping).  The tooth fairy kindly left $20, but did not take the teeth due to their excess weight.

• Our neighbor Sherry has been taking very good care of Mr. and Mrs. Leopard, and now she is also taking care of Baby Lep!  He/she (it's too early to know gender) was incubated at Pet Zone, and came home to Sharpe Street a few weeks ago.  Baby is colorful and growing nicely - eats small crickets voraciously, per Sherry.  Here's a picture of the newest addition to our extended family:

• In Scout news.....  as of the October pack meeting of Cub Scout Troop 366, Brock you have now officially graduated to become a Webelo.  We are very excited that you have finished all your Bear Cub accomplishments!  They included tying knots with Dad, and researching local history e.g., Frances Slocum & the Wyoming Massacre.  Also involved attempting to make a bird feeder with me, the remains of which effort are in a local landfill.

• The"Warrior Nation" is us:

1. Two weeks ago, you Sasha spent a cold evening at a Wyoming Area vs. Meyers football game.  Had a nice time with friends Gage, Conrad and Alexis1 (Gage had a romantic interest in Alexis1 when school started; quite recently, he switched his attention to Alexis2).  Temperatures were in the '40's, so in an effort to keep warm you frequented the nearby Dunkin Donuts.  Had 1 energy drink and 2 large coffees, then stayed up until 4 am Saturday while the caffeine wore off.  Read more about the actual game here -->  WA Wins 50-20
2. Brock, Steve and I spent a lovely evening in the '60's at yesterday's Wyoming Area vs. Northwest Area (i.e., Shickshinny) game.  Unfortunately, Sasha did not come along.  Brock, you were disappointed about not getting your hair spray painted green, but perked up when offered an LED flashing mouthpiece instead.  You had a great time playing/running with your friends especially Bryce and Michael.  Steve kept me company, including active prevention of cold hands, attempted translation of cheers, instant-recounting of plays that I didn't see, and a walk around the field.  And 5 years after the last Cookie Corner graduation, there's another use for your toddler sleeping bag - it's the perfect size to drape over bleacher seats!!  A good time was had by all.  Plus Steve wrote about the game on NCFE -->  Yeah Team!

• Last Tuesday, we were over-scheduled with 1) therapist appointment at 3:30, 2) soccer practice at 5:30, and 3) appointment for flu shot at 7:45 (note:  first and third items are at the same location, Pediatric Associates in Kingston).  At 7 pm, I sent the following semi-desperate text;  "R fell in the mud at soccer, came home & put him in the shower, changed shower head to fire-hose setting he wanted, came downstairs to finish dinner, bathroom floor flooded, burned rice, A tells me over dinner that he needs dress-up clothes for tomorrow and I left my jacket at the therapist office."  As it turned out, things improved slightly - I found my jacket upstairs on the ironing table.  We did still make it to the flu shot appointment and  got khaki pants & attractive shirt at BonTon.  After school Wednesday, Sasha reported this English presentation for which dress-up was required went Very Well!  Wish I had gotten a picture before he left in the morning, as it will probably be a couple months before there is a chance to see him in duds other than t-shirt and hoodie.

• The Pioneers fall soccer program wrapped up this week, with Brock's last game held on Thursday evening.  The end-of-season party was this afternoon at Fort Cafe.  The wings and pizza were popular, and I was a bit surprised to hear "You hurt my wienie!".  You later informed me, Brock, that your teammate Steven (a 3rd grader) was the injured party.

• With Halloween approaching, tonight Dad took you Brock to the "Trails of Terror" sponsored by the West Wyoming Fire Department.  (During your outing, Sasha and I went clothes-shopping at Sears and looked around at Best Buy.)  You are now sitting and the front porch with Ashley, serenading Sasha and me by playing your recorder.  With Hurricane Sandy aka "Frankenstorm" approaching, there is talk of trick-or-treating tomorrow night (Sunday), rather than on Halloween night (Wednesday).

And to wrap up, here are two of your current favorite songs from YouTube.  Here are 21 Guns  by "Green Day" and Welcome to the Black Parade by "My Chemical Romance".

Our Gecko - Hermie

For close to 3 years, you boys have shared your room with a special pet - Hermie!!  Sasha especially wanted a lizard and after much debate on the merits of different breeds, we decided on a gecko.  Geckos are very happy in a dry, sandy environment, which was a big factor for me.  (For example, we considered turtles, but according to Aunt Di they can be very smelly - so not viable option.)

Here are some nice recollections about Hermie:

• We couldn't agree on a name..... when I started calling him "Hermie", it became his permanent name (unfortunately for him). 

• He lives under the hockey table, in a 10 gallon tank.  His home is complete with a water dish, a hut to hide in, some driftwood he can climb on, and a heating pad under one end of the tank.  Gecko poop is completely dry and can be easily scooped out.

• Hermie eats crickets....  after getting one in his sights, he stalks and pounces on it.  They get swallowed whole, typically with their antennae still wiggling.  He can eat 6-8 at a time in warmer weather.  As a special treat, Hermie also gets wax worms.  He seems to love them, and can gobble down close to 20 at a time.  

• Hermie is nocturnal, so enjoys time with you boys during the evenings.  And summer is his favorite time of year, when he's most active.  In the fall & winter he seems sluggish, generally eats less, and wants to be inside his hut most of the time.  

• When out with one of you boys, he likes to be sit on your shoulder and sometimes up toward your neck.  He's only abut 6" long, so occasionally has gotten lost on the couch or in wraps such as blankets. 

• Then....  there are the crickets.  Crickets will live 7-10 days, or less in extremely hot/cold weather.  So, we must buy them frequently.  Our most common pet haunts are Pet Zone (Pittston) and Petco (near Barnes & Noble).  I have found it disturbing when, a few times, pet store staff have stuck their bare hands into the cricket bin to bag our usual order of 20.  Yuk !!

• Additional cricket issues: 

1. At our house, they live in a clear plastic box, complete with cricket jello to keep them "fresh".  Unfortunately, they poop lots and in the course of a week or so a number of them die.  Gets a bit stinky.
2. In order for Hermie to remain healthy (we discovered after a sickly period), the crickets must be coated in vitamin powder.  To successfully powder a live cricket, I've found the best approach is to tilt the cricket box and encourage crickets to hop into a powdering bag.  I have spent 10-15 minutes at at time tilting the box up/down, waiting semi-patiently for crickets to cooperate.  Once in the bag, they get shaken up in powder (think of the "Shake and Bake" concept) and deposited into the gecko tank.
3. However, every few feedings a cricket (or sometimes two) escape.  Lately this situation is a relatively good thing, since Tiger gets to play with the cricket i.e., bat it around, try to bite it etc. until it's quite easy to catch & dispose of.  Before Tiger though, I would keep a plastic cup and tissues around to make catching a hopping cricket a bit easier.  I couldn't always get them before they found a crevasse or made into the closet..... and we would sometimes find crickets coming downstairs, jumping across the kitchen or living room, and a few times in the basement.  
4. And guess what???  Crickets like to chirp, most especially on hot summer nights.  They can be VERY loud.  Once I was so annoyed that I dumped them out my bedroom window, where they landed on the back porch roof....  and then continued to chirp for the next couple nights (not a successful solution).  We eventually found it best to put the cricket box in the bathroom, so chirping was muted for sleepers in nearby bedrooms.  Yep, and how about them escaped crickets?  Well, that's a big problem since they can be almost impossible to find!!  One sleepless night @ 3 a.m., Sasha and I dug around & pulled stuff out of the closet until we finally caught the pesky bug and flushed it down the toilet.

Well, cricket issues aside, Hermie has been a pleasant, cheerful and well-behaved pet.  Here's a picture of our handsome leopard gecko, taken at JC Penney's not long after he came to live on Sharpe Street.