Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!

Growing up we chanted quite regularly the old adage, "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!" As a young child I never realized bed bugs were real. I always thought it was just something funny to say so we would all go to sleep and sleep well. Little did I know that these bugs could actually invade my home!

As an adult I would hear stories about bed bugs in hotels, but I never really thought about it. I've stayed in plenty of hotels, but never thought twice about picking up bed bugs in the hotel! I never really considered it a real threat. After all, I never heard about anyone close to me having an issue with these pesky bugs.

So, when I started seeing little black bugs on the beds, the thought that they were bed bugs didn't cross my mind. I was only seeing them occasionally, so I thought it was just another common household bug. So I dismissed the bugs and went on my merry way. Occasionally I would wake up with bug bites but chalked it up to spider bites because we have had a lot of spiders in our home. The thought of bed bugs still did not even cross my mind.

Then I had my fourth child. We had just gotten home from the hospital and by this time the bug population had grown exponentially. I was waking up with a lot of bites, which I thought was hives. At this point I still didn't realize we had bed bugs. I am so oblivious sometimes! I told John that I must be having a reaction to the medication. After a short while I dismissed that notion. Then I thought, well, it wasn't too long ago we changed the laundry detergent. Maybe I'm allergic to that. So I started putting my laundry through a second rinse cycle. That wasn't doing any good.

As I sat pondering this predicament and being frustrated with not knowing what was happening, the thought came to my mind that we probably had bed bugs. I almost laughed out loud because the thought was incredibly ridiculous! Bed bugs? Me? In my house? No way! So I ignored the thought. Then I had the thought again, louder this time, shouting at me! So I went to the trusty internet. :) I googled bed bugs and found multiple websites. I found one with a good description and even pictures of these bugs. To my horror, this is exactly what I was dealing with. Bed bugs!

So, how was I to get rid of these pesky bugs? The prospect looked grim. I thought I could just get some bug spray and get rid of them myself. Maybe there was a good home remedy that wouldn't cost and arm and a leg. But, in all my research, I learned self home remedies were not effective against this resilient bug. We would need the help of a professional exterminator. The search was on. We found a company that we thought would do the job well. During the initial consultation they guaranteed their work. They were confident the problem would be taken care of! They left leaving us hopeful we would be able to take care of the problem. They came, treated our home multiple times, and then the warranty period was over! The bugs should have been gone.

We hadn't seen any bugs for awhile and hadn't been getting bit. All of a sudden Timothy started getting bit big time. One day he had so many bug bites it looked like chicken pox. Emma and Amber were getting bit. Apparently these bugs were resilient to the pesticides used to exterminate them! At this point I didn't know what to do. We had tried the professional exterminator, could we really afford another one?

Then I found out one of my neighbors was dealing with these same bugs. She told me about the company they went to and I decided it was worth a shot. I called them, and they were able to come the very next day. They seemed better qualified than the first company to treat bed bugs! I was confident we could take care of the problem this time. I was so full of hope.

Throughout all of this I had to keep reminding myself that this isn't what I call a "dirty" bug. I didn't get bed bugs because my house is unclean. I do admit my house is a disaster most days, but it isn't because it is unclean. In the bedrooms it is clutter. But the clutter did not cause us to get bed bugs. It isn't like ants that invade when there's food left out.

The other thing to keep in mind was that these bugs do not cause diseases. They are just annoying. And they mainly come out at night when we are sleeping because it is dark and they have a lot of time to eat! They like to stay close to the food source so they will stay close to the beds. We only had bugs in the three bedrooms upstairs. We did not have them in the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, or the basement. That was a relief!

Because the kids had these pesky bugs in their beds, I was ready to throw out the beds and buy new ones. This second exterminator assured us we would not need to replace the beds. He was 100% confident he could take care of the problem. As far as I can tell right now, these bugs are finally gone! They are no longer invading our home. We have our home back. Pesky pests no longer make their home in our beds!

It has been a long journey to get rid of these pesky bugs. Fortunately we caught the problem before it was too bad. The exterminator has regaled us with stories of worse cases than ours. I am grateful we figured out the problem and have been able to take care of it in the early stages!

Reflections on walking

Reflections on walking:

Walking allows the mind to clear and the soul to breathe. Walking awakens the senses allowing a person to enjoy the beauty of the day. Walking engages the senses that have been awakened allowing a person to appreciate the beauty of God's creations!


Reasons for these reflections:

Last week the other carpool mom was out of town, so that left me trying to get Amber to school in the mornings. I wasn't too worried, after all, how hard could it be to get everyone in the car and drive her there? So Monday morning rolls around, and I have about 15 minutes before time to go. I realize, wait, I need to get dressed! Then a couple of minutes later I made the last minute decision that I would let Amber walk to school with some of her friends. She begs me every morning to walk. So I made a phone call to make sure her friend was walking, and then we got everyone out the door. We made it on time! What a feat. I wasn't prepared to walk that morning, but we did it and Amber absolutely loved being able to walk. So I thought, maybe we'll walk all week long. That would be a nice treat for Amber.
Then I came home and was looking at my calendar, reminding myself of activities for the week. Ummmm . . . okay, so maybe walking was not going to work out. I realized I had an online seminar to attend for the next three days. I had to be signed in by 9 a.m. to get the credit for attending. Yikes, yikes, yikes. That's what I get for making rash decisions and getting Amber's hopes up! Never fear, the other moms who had been meeting us were willing to let Amber tag along. I really appreciated them letting Amber tag along. It made her happy to be able to walk. This was a little thing I could do for her so maybe she could have a better day, a better week. John was able to walk with her one of the days and she was so happy to have daddy go with her. What a special treat that was. She ended up being able to walk every day last week.
So Monday this week rolls around. I know there are very few nice days left to walk in the mornings. It is starting to get chilly and I won't be able to justify taking the other kids out. So, when I finished feeding the baby in enough time to let Amber walk, I once again made the last minute decision to walk. But I would have to send Amber on ahead and I would follow in a few minutes with everyone else. I called the carpool mom and told her Amber would be walking. I caught up to Amber about halfway to school. I had to almost run to catch up with her.
Yesterday was the PTA's Walk to School day. I had always planned on letting Amber walk, but I failed to leave as early as I had hoped because I got distracted. I didn't know when the other moms who walk were leaving. So I left and hoped to run into them. Apparently I was too late because I didn't run into any of them on the way. Oh well. It wasn't such a big deal. I'm a big girl and can walk with my children alone. It was actually an uneventful walk. My cousin did catch up with us and walked with the girls for a bit and then ran ahead to catch her friend. I think Amber was a little disappointed to not have her friends walk with her, but it happens. I stayed with her until her teacher took her inside. She was so excited that I stayed.
I was going to stay and let the other two play on the playground for awhile. But after a couple of minutes Emma was complaining about needing to go potty. I decided it would be best to head home rather than fighting to get her into the school restroom! It turned out she didn't need to pee as bad as she thought and we were able to take a nice leisurely walk home. We didn't have a reason to hurry, we didn't have to keep up with anyone else.

So with the few times I have walked with Amber, I have had time to think, to just be outside, and enjoy the fresh air. It has been a nice change from the regular routine. Now back to our routine, back to the carpool. I will miss walking, but I also enjoy the less hectic morning.

We've been busy

Okay, so I've neglected this blog for quite some time. I didn't realize how long it had been. So here's what we've been up to the past couple of months.

During the summer months I was working a whole lot more. I had the best of both worlds. I was still able to be with my family while going in to work a few days a week. But it made the summer very busy. Coordinating schedules was the biggest challenge, but we were blessed to have one of the young women in our neighborhood be willing to babysit one morning a week for the entire summer! I'm sure she could have found something better and more fun to do, but I will always be grateful for her.

The last week of July was Girl's camp. The girls left on Wednesday and even though they aren't my family, I felt so sad sending them off without me. It was very difficult to leave them in the hands of others. I joined them on Friday morning and camp ended Saturday morning.

Right from Girls camp me and John drove to Nephi to meet up with Aunt Deb. My kids were with Aunt Deb and we had plans to stay with her for the rest of the weekend. Fun times were had by all.

About a week later I had Youth Conference. I hadn't been planning on being there, but then I realized I could be there at least the first day. It was so crazy getting everything ready for that. Plus I was trying to get everything ready for our trip to Michigan. It seems as if everything happened at the end of the summer! Thank goodness for the extra work I had this summer that allowed us to make the trip to visit with John's family. The kids were so excited to see Papa John and Grandma Kate!

We left for Michigan on August 13th. Now, the drive can be 24 hours, but with 4 small children, that 24 hours quickly spread into 30! It was a very long drive, but the kids were amazing in the car. The girls didn't fight very much, and the boys were happy as long as we got them out of the car seats every time we stopped! This was the difficult part for me because I wanted them to sleep most of the night, but alas, nothing ever goes as planned.

We spent about 5 days with John's family before heading back home. There were things I needed to take care of and school was starting on the 23rd. School here seriously needs to start later. I felt like we had very little summer. But part of that is my fault for working. I wouldn't trade it for anything though. Life has been crazy but has been so worth it!

Like I said, school started on the 23rd for Amber. Emma started Kindergarten a week later, on the 30th. It is so hard for me to see Emma coming out of school at the end of the day with all the big kids. Seeing her next to all the big kids makes her seem so little still. I've had a harder time sending her to Kindergarten than my oldest. I was so not prepared for this!

Since then we've signed Amber up for soccer so we'll see how this goes. She is so excited. John gets to be her coach, and I am a member of the soccer league board. Amber didn't want to play until she found out John would be her coach! It helps to see both of us excited about her playing. My hope is that she gains some confidence that spills over into other areas. In the past year she has lost a lot of confidence in herself. I would like to see her build her confidence levels again. It makes me sad to see how she is.

Oh, and in the midst of all of that, we've been to the Discovery museum downtown, and the Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point. And the girls have found time to have play dates with some of their friends. I've found time for a few baking nights in the midst of all this craziness. I need to bake to keep my sanity sometimes.

Despite all of that, I have managed to keep my family fed, the grocery shopping done, and actually get a few minutes of shut eye! Sleep deprived mom is not fun. Just ask my kids, and then ask my husband.

Life through the eyes of my children!

Life can be so complicated as an adult. I find myself being caught up in the complications and stresses of life. Amidst the complications and chaos of my life, my children gave me a priceless gift. They allowed me a glimpse into their world, a view of life through their precious eyes!

Here is life through the eyes of my children! Enjoy!

Shoplifting was not on my bucket list!

Yes, I have a bucket list. A list of things I want to do sometime in my life. Shoplifting was never on that list, well until yesterday I suppose. But then again, I didn't intend to put shoplifting on that list. It just happened. I didn't realize I had taken anything until we had left the store! The sensors did not go off as we walked out.
So here's the story. Yesterday I was at the Park City outlets having a girls shopping trip. We were perusing the GAP outlet, trying on clothes and leaving many behind. At one point I had picked up a pair of socks thinking they were cute. I picked up a shirt that I wanted. We finished perusing and paid for our items. I had forgotten about those silly socks by then. So we left. Imagine my surprise and shock when I flipped the sunshade on the stroller only to find those silly socks! I hadn't even made an effort to pay for them. I had completely forgot about the socks in the melee of finding and trying on clothes. So I turned to Cori and said, Ummm . . . I need to go back. She looks at me all funny and asks, why. So I showed her the socks and told her I hadn't paid for them. So we get back to the store and I asked Cori to hold the door open for me so I could get the stroller in. She offered to just take the socks in for me! i am still flabbergasted that the sensors didn't go off when we left or when Cori went back in. I was mortified. So there you go. I am a shoplifter!

Am I really that bad?

A couple of weeks ago I took three of my children to the store with me. One stayed at home watching a movie while John mowed the lawn. This was not the ideal situation for me, but I had no other option. Either let the kids wreak havoc on the house, get in trouble, and get in more trouble, OR take them with me where at least I can keep an eye on them.
So I headed out with a 7 yo, a 2 1/2 yo, and a 2 mo. old child. Now, this should not have been such a challenge, but my children were in a rare mood that morning. They wanted everything they saw in the store, of course! Keeping a 2 1/2 yo entertained at the store is a challenge. He likes to stand up in the cart, not the back of the cart mind you. You know that little seat on the shopping cart with the seatbelt to keep your kids safe? So my 2 yo plays Houdini. He can get out of that seatbelt in 2 seconds flat! I just stop bothering with it. But he does like to stand up. Maybe I have a surfer on my hands.
We were waiting to check out and my 7 yo gets bored waiting. My 2 1/2 yo gets bored and continues to stand up and climb out of the cart. I got mad at both of them. The lady behind me took it upon herself to comment about me and my unruly children. "Maybe you should stop having them if you can't handle them!" Ummm okay. I can handle my children. Why don't people just mind their own business? Obviously she doesn't remember what it is like to have a 2 1/2 yo boy who has a mind of his own!
But this incident did cause me to question. Am I really that bad? I admit I'm not perfect, but if I was perfect I wouldn't still be here, right? I try to teach my children how to behave. Actually, that trip to the store was to get items to help me teach them new chores! How ironic right?

Good lesson to Remember

A friend emailed this story to me and I thought it was worth sharing with more than I had in my email list. I do not know who wrote the story, and I have not actually checked the truth of the story. But, as a story, it still has its merits. It has great worth as a reminder to us all. Yes, this is one of those many stories about veterans, but I have a soft spot for veterans in my heart. Maybe because my own husband is a veteran of many wars. It is difficult for me to fathom how so many people feel entitled to so many things, yet they fail to remember how they retain the freedoms that we all enjoy here in the United States. I think everyone can benefit from a little reminder once in awhile!



A lesson that should be taught in all schools... and colleges.


Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School, Little Rock, Arkansas, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.

'Ms..Cothren, where're our desks?'

She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'

They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'

'No,' she said.

'Maybe it's our behavior.'

She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.

Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you.. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'