I have not been very good about writing this week, but it has not been the best of weeks. The boys have been sleeping better through the night, but both boys have been up by 5:30 or earlier every morning. I am trying to get better about letting them stay in bed for a bit in the morning before getting them up, but it does not seem to be helping.

Wednesday was an unusually early morning (5 AM for both) and a rough day regardless. It was the fourth birthday for our darling angel Carson. This day is harder on me than the anniversary of his death because I am reminded of the devastation I felt in knowing the fight that was before him. I spent a lot of time that day hugging the babies that I do have. We also spent some time at the gym. I did an hour of cycling and then did weights and core at home during afternoon nap. That afternoon we took the boys to get their hair cut and picked up dinner on the way home. It was a good family day.

Yesterday was supposed to be a swim day, but I received news that the pool was closed for maintenance problems for the rest of the week. While Andrew was at school, I ran errands with Parker and did some gardening work. Today was my "official" day off. Fridays are always hard to sneak a workout in since the boys have music class in the morning. Tomorrow will take me for a run with my friend Jenn. I am hoping we can have a rain free hour or two to get in 10 miles. Then Sunday, depending on the weather, I need to do my first long bike of 2 hours. If the rain does not let up, I am either going to be forced to bike at the gym or on my trainer at home. My training program only calls for 5 long (2-3 1/2 hour) bikes, so I need to get them all in.

The only other excitement that occurred today hapened tonight. The rain let up for a few hours and we had the boys out playing in the yard. Kevin called me over to show me a 3-4 foot snake. I identified it as a Garter Snake. I am not a snake expert by any means, nor am I much of a fan, but I once kept a garter snake as a pet. Still, living in the south, I was not 100% positive on my identification. I brought Andrew over to see it. He was intrigued but did not attempt to go near it. I tossed a stick at it to scare it off since Andrew was still running around. The snake made a fatal move and took on an aggressive pose. I was really starting to doubt whether it was a harmless garter snake. I watched the snake and kept Andrew back while Kevin went to get a shovel. My "brave" husband walked over, handed me the shovel, and said take care of it. I took a 'stab' at it and missed....3 times. I even resorted to trying to hit it over the head which did stun it enough to slow it down. I still could not kill it because it had slithered into the flower bed which was very very soft from all the rain we have been getting. I was standing on the shovel at one point and still could not kill it. Finally Kevin returned to finish off the job. As we went in for the night, Andrew kept saying we killed that naughty snake. I just wonder what tonight taught him. I don't want him to be afraid of snakes (but I don't want them as a pet in my house either). I did check online and the snake was in fact a garter snake that will actually kill other more dangerous snakes. Ooops!

As a side note, the wasp problem seems to have been eliminated, at least for the time being. I have been meaning to mention an interesting fact I came across. When you kill a wasp, it is best not to squish it as that will release pheromones that will attract more wasps.