nakes!

Has anyone ever seen that Funniest Home Videos clip of a little girl, about 3 or 4, who is screaming hysterically, pointing to the ground and saying 'nake, nake!'. Zoom camera to the pathway to a teeny tiny inch worm inching along.

You're saying 'Ohhh cute', right? Me, I'm thinking 'I'm so with you sister!'

Most people who know me will vouch for the fact that I hate loathe dislike really really hate anything that crawls, jumps, slithers, creeps, scurries, buzzes etc. You get the drift. It's unfortunate I live in the tropics where mozzies, cane toads, frogs, geckos and spiders are a part of life. I'm sure they all lie in wait, calculating their next moves to do a kamikaze drop from the portico doorway (cue gecko) or jump out from under the wheelie bin and try climb up my leg (cane toad). Okay, so the cane toad doesn't climb but I'm sure it thinks about it!

I just don't DO spiders. I don't DO frogs. Cane toads. Whatever. The last time a cane toad hopped down the hallway of our house, I rang my husband who was conveniently working in Mt Isa at the time and asked him to do something about it. (I ended up going next door and there was a brave soul over there who evicted the said toad).

So, you can imagine my delight when I had a light bulb moment after little Monkey was about 5 months old. I had my very own spider / gecko / cane toad / frog / miscellaneous scary thing evictor in training! Boys love that kind of stuff right? Give him a year or two and I'll be set! Just need to set a rule in place that mummy likes to admire things from afar and there's no need to bring them inside.

Well... after a recent visit to Nanny and Granddad's, I think I might need to rethink the whole 'evictor' role for Monkey.

Nanny & Granddad live on acreage and their lovely house has a verandah going right around. Monkey was in his element running around the huuuuuge yard, visiting the horses next door, chasing after the dogs etc. At one point he was taken for a walk around the house by one of the other guests who was visiting that weekend. Around the verandah they went and Andrew and I were chilling out, lost in our own thoughts.

The silence was broken by a scream. Not a yell, more of a 'oh my gosh I have fallen off something and broken a limb' scream. My thoughts immediately went to blood, broken bones, calling the ambulance, when Lach came around the corner with his new found friend, tears streaming down his face and not a broken bone or bloody lip in sight.

Apparently, Lach encountered his first grasshopper. He obviously went to say hello and this thing wanted to get up closer and whammo, distressed child. Yes, he was screaming!  Somehow I think he's not going to fit the whole creepy crawly extermination role I had in mind for him... sigh....