So my husband points out some weird, sandy formation around the drain by our water heater and furnace. It's hard and looks like an insect created it. The pictures I took are impossible to see, but they looked like this (but instead were around the drain and the base of the water heater);
I poked it with a stick and out came these little black bugs with long wings, and some white larvae bugs. Well, that was it, I sprayed them with bleach, and scrubbed everywhere I could. I kid you not, they were back in 2 days. It was unreal. I made it my morning routine to go downstairs and pour hot bleach water down the drain and around the floor to keep them away. In the mean time, I scoured the internet. I typed; "mud tunnels", "bug drain water heater", "bug furnace drain", "sand tunnels bug", "exterminator bug basement". I found NOTHING!Well, the bleach was working, so I figured they were gone. After a month of my morning bleach routine, I decided to stop and see if the bugs would come back now that the weather is warming up and the furnace is no longer running- which means that it is no longer damp by that drain. They didn't come back, so I made the bleach water routine a weekly chore. Simple enough.Along with warm weather comes children playing outside. My 6-year-old and 3-year-old daughters were playing "hide and go seek". Our yard is the worst place for this game. There is one tree, two bushes, and the grass. Not so challenging. The girls recently figured out that they could crawl into the window well for another hiding spot. So the other day, I here the 6-year-old yelling that she was hiding in there and can't get out! After I pull her out, I warn her about the spiders and see a humongous one right where she was standing. I grabbed a jar and trapped the black-widow-looking spider. I couldn't see the tell-tale red hourglass on the spider in the jar (which, by the way, is on the under side, not the top side where I was looking- duh!) About an hour later, BEG started scratching her arm violently. When I looked at it, it was swollen so badly that I knew something had bitten her. Since I didn't think this trapped spider was a black widow spider, I sat down and tried to search for different spiders to determine which black spider this was, which might have been the one that bit her.It turns out that I stumbled onto a pest site that did not show the spider I had in the jar, but the exact mud things that were in my basement a month ago. You will NOT believe it.
1- input about what I can improve on
2- seeing my husband in a crowded gymnasium, thinking he's cute, then realizing it's my husband
3- listening to the crickets after everyone is in bed
I started out wanting to build a dog house for Ceja that the kids could all have a hand in building. My husband made a comment about plans and measuring and that brought out the smart $%*&# in me.So I tried to build a house from the idea in my brain. It's kind of hard to build a doghouse for a dog that is still growing, and you don't know how big she'll get. This is what we got:
I intentionally made it crooked as a jab to my husband. I found out that it's actually harder to measure and cut asymmetrical pieces than to do it "right". The cool thing is that I got the wood and shingles from Home Depot's "cull" lumber bin all for $10. The paint was from their "Oops" pile for a couple bucks. We threw in the carpet from our basement, and Viola!, a doghouse.The best part was when we kept the finished product from my husband, and when we showed him, he said, "That's Cuuuute!" Ahhh, a compliment from the symmetry master. It doesn't get better than that!
During family prayer, DH noticed 3-year old BBG opening her eyes and motioning to no one to close eyes and fold hands. Afterward, he asked me what she was doing. I said, "Oh! You haven't met Sally!" Sally is the new girl that our dear daughter has invented. She only appears during prayer time. Apparently, this smart girl had figured out that everyone has to close their eyes during prayer except for mom, who keeps her eyes open to tell everyone else to close theirs- ironic, yes?
Well if BBG can't seem to keep her eyes closed, she devised a way to justify this- she's making sure that "Sally" is keeping HER eyes closed and arms folded. See? All better.
When I shared this hilarious tidbit with my mother, she mused aloud about what would happen if I informed BBG that since I was watching all the children during prayer, I would keep an eye on Sally too, so BBG can close her eyes. I tried it. Surprisingly, she was willing to let me, and even laughed that I was wise to her. Smart cookie!
You have never seen rage until you have seen my husband yell at a puppy for pooping, yes, ... on the lawn!!!!
This is not a new pet peeve (pun intended). Dear Hubby used to drag poor Shazdeh and stick his nose in the poop whenever it was outside of the invisible circle where he was supposed to poop. Mind you, this was the sweetest, most docile, 130 pounds of fur you will ever meet. People who admittedly don't like dogs, liked Shazdeh. Unfortunately for him, his only fault was my husband's biggest gripe.
My argument, in defense of the dog that I had before a husband and kids, was that he was just too old and shouldn't have to change. I realize the irony since I DID manage to get my too-old-husband to turn a doorknob to shut a door and to leave the room before blowing his nose. So I guess I could have worked on getting a dog to limit his Executive Wash to a section of the yard.
But seriously, now we are trying to train this new pup to poop in the "invisible circle"? This is what we got the dog for in the first place- to present the children with abundant opportunities of feeding, walking, grooming, training, and, dare I say, picking up endless logs around the yard. Picking up poop builds character.
If pooping all over the yard is Ceja's only flaw, I've picked another great family dog.
1- That I have all my fingers
2- my son's injury wasn't worse
3- that my son seems to have learned the difference between "brave" and "stupid"
1- that I live close enough to my mom to "pop over"
2- home made Mothers Day cards
3- a good laugh
I just realized that my four oldest children are addicted.
The kids have been coughing for over a week. I usually buy the sugar, high fructose corn syrup, red dye #5- free cough drops. This rogue cough would not be abated by anything natural. The only way I could fall asleep at night was to secure a chemical-ridden treat inside my cheek and suck away. When the kids started coughing, I would break the drops into smaller pieces and put them in a container by the bed for them to suck on during the night. It really helped.
Now the coughs are slowly dissipating. But the requests for cough drops are still going strong. Who knew that Halls mentholatum cough drops would be the downfall of my family? I figured, "At least they aren't asking for candy." Wait. They are the same size, color and sugar content of candy, just with the vaporizing essence of menthol. My kids are addicted to candy that clears their sinuses.
We are just one step away from street drugs.
I'm a little behind on posting because of the funerals, sick kids, and this:
We have been without a dog for a little over a year. Now, you might be like my neighbor and scoff at me, "What are you thinking? Five kids AND a dog?!?" Yes, I thought the same thing as we drove the hour and a half to get her.
I have been seeing my otherwise sweet kids turn into selfish, whiny brats this past year. If I have them get up earlier than 8:00 on a weekend, it's as if I put them on the rack. My neighbor informed me that it's natural, "Kids are naturally selfish." Well I don't think I have to let them wallow in it. Therefore, we got a dog so they can take care of something else before they think of themselves.
We had to start with a puppy so my girls can grow with her and not be afraid as they were with our last dog. I wanted an Australian Shepherd because they are quick learners, can handle hot summers and cold winters (something I felt so guilty about with Shazdeh being a Husky in the hot Utah summers.) Aussies are also good with kids if they are raised with them.
Now a name. She looks like she has eyebrows, so we looked up "eyebrows" in other languages. Nobody liked Augenbrauen (German). French and Swedish interpretations were just as painful. The Spanish word for "eyebrows" is "Ceja", which is pronounced "say-ha". I thought it was cute and changed it a little. The vote was unanimous to name her Ceja, pronounced Asia with an "S" in front, "s-Asia".
Then the REAL work began. I had to be the where-to-poop trainer, the get-off-her-leg grabber, and the nipping-the-heals nipper. It's been a month and she's doing really well. The kids are coming along as well. It is as every mother knows; it takes longer to train a child than to just do it yourself.
If I hadn't prayed about getting a dog now, the type of dog, and whether it was best for our family, I would have broken down long ago. That goes for getting married and having each of our children too. I would have waited indefinitely until I felt I could handle it. Then, I would never have kids. When you feel that something is right, you also have the support of heaven through each difficulty.
This has been a good experience, and I am seeing the benefits of having this new responsibility in our family.
1- Rain, no more snow (for now)
2- Safe return of loved-ones
3- when my son leaves me notes that say, "Thanks for helping me in my hardships," after we worked on a biography assignment for hours. So sweet.
I poked it with a stick and out came these little black bugs with long wings, and some white larvae bugs. Well, that was it, I sprayed them with bleach, and scrubbed everywhere I could. I kid you not, they were back in 2 days. It was unreal. I made it my morning routine to go downstairs and pour hot bleach water down the drain and around the floor to keep them away. 
