Bees, Bats, Birds...

Being a homeowner is pretty great for the most part, but sometimes you are reminded just how fun it can be. Within the past week I discovered that we were sharing our home with more creatures than we knew (fun right?).  While walking Roxanne around the yard I noticed a bee going into the wood board overhang right below the gutter on the side of the garage.  Then I saw another one go in.  And then I realized there were about 6 other bee holes along that board.  I walked around the rest of the house and spotted another bee going into another hole way up above the second floor.  Turns out we have carpenter bees, and while I was convinced our house was going to fall apart the exterminator assured me they are common and the damage we have is not really that much compared to what it could be.  

While the exterminator was  inspecting the attic making sure the bees hadn't made their way inside, he discovered something else.  He came down from the attic and said, "Well, the good news is you don't have bees up there, and I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you do have bats up there."  The look on my face must have been priceless and full of disgust.  Basically we need a screen to cover the vent that leads from our attic out the back of the house.  So within the next week or two we will have the exterminator get the bats out and put up a screen, and spray inside the bee holes and patch them up.  

A few times over a 2 week span while outside on our deck I could have sworn I saw a bird flying out of the side of our house.  At one point I realized maybe it had come out of the dryer vent, but when I looked at the vent and the flap that hung down covering the opening I convinced myself no, it couldn't have come from inside there.  Well then last week when I saw the bird again I sat and watched for about 10 minutes, and sure enough I saw it go in and out of the vent.  I love baby birds in a nest as much as the next person (not named Rob), but for safety reasons and my piece of mind, we couldn't just leave them in there.  Luckily the birds were still in the nest building phase, so no eggs had been laid yet.  Using some kitchen tools we got most of the nest building materials out of the vent- and boy was there a lot.  Now we need a mesh screen cover for that to prevent them from going back in.  

To Roxanne's delight that wasn't the end of the birds.  While out on the deck yesterday morning she discovered that another bird is building a nest in the rose bush right outside our kitchen window.  She was very interested in watching the bird come and go and would wait for it to come back.  

We have the perfect view of the nest looking out the window.  It's hard to see in this picture but if you look closely you can see a little bird head in the middle of the bush.

So the bees and bats weren't fun, but not all of the creatures around the house are bad.  I also took this picture at breakfast the other morning when about 6 deer strolled through our yard.

And our azaleas are in full bloom right now- which adds a nice blast of color to our back yard for about 3 weeks.  Bees, bats, birds, and a baby bump :)

Mom comes to visit, bump pics and a shower

Mom came to visit last week, and what a fun, productive visit it was!  We went out to some delicious dinners, got a relaxing foot massage, and did some baby/maternity shopping.  My wardrobe was lacking as I started to grow out of/not feel comfortable in a lot of my things, but mom saved the day on that front and got me some cute dresses, tops and maternity black/grey dress pants.  Mom brought her power washer for us (Rob) to use, and now we have a much cleaner driveway/front stoop. And mom also took on a project I refused to touch since we bought the house- cleaning all of the screens, windows and window sills!  So the front of our house looks much better than before she arrived.  I am very lucky to have such a helpful, loving, generous mom- soon to be grandma!

When you are pregnant everyone asks how you are feeling- and so far so good!  My biggest complaints at the moment are an itchy belly and some trouble sleeping.  I have rarely been one to sleep through the night, so add in some trips to the bathroom and not being able to sleep in my preferred (stomach) position and it's a real good time.  I don't want to know what it's going to be like in 2 months when I'm a lot bigger.  I've also had minor lower back pain, but lucky for me I also have an awesome chiropractor (who knows all about maternity issues/pains) who fixes me.  Below are some of my 23 week pics, which Roxanne decided she should be in as well.

Today I went to a beautiful baby shower for my next-door neighbor friend Abbey.  They bought their house shortly before we bought ours, and now we are both pregnant expecting baby #1.  It will be very exciting adding two new little ones to our cul-de-sac within months of each other!  Today I am 24 weeks and Abbey is 32.