Busy Busy Busy

These last two weeks have probably been the busiest in my life. I actually have a to do list that I can't accomplish, which is very strange for me.  Usually, I just don't accomplish it.

This if the nest that Mary found in her screwhole
on her bed frame.  If it weren't for that one in an
easy to see area, we wouldn't have known what the
problem was.  I didn't know what bed bugs were,
previously.  Just thought it was a thing of the past.

There are three bugs in this bottle.  You can see the baby
 one on the tooth pick.

Now for the details.  We got back from our trip to Idaho, on the Tuesday after New Years.  I was very excited about putting up my new bunk bed I got for the boys, so they'd have room in their room for a desk.  It's a very small room, and a very small house, so a desk in their room was essential for doing homework.  Anyway, that actually took about two days to do.  I didn't realize how big a project it was.  After that, I found out that Mary was being eaten every night by bed bugs.  So, I was on the internet hardcore trying to figure out what was the best way to deal with them.  The kids have affectionately named them, 'bad bugs'.  So, I bought some powder online, called 'diatomaceous earth'.  There was a powder called 'bedbugpowder' that sounded too good to be true, so I researched on it, and found that it was actually this diatomaceous earth, with a high price.  So, the powder was true, but the price was hiked.  This stuff has actually been around for a long time, and used for organic gardening.  So, I bought a big bag from an online ag store.  I caught some bed bugs and tried it out on them.  It took between 2 - 4 days to die.  I had caught a few bugs before we left on our trip, and they were still kicking after two weeks, so I knew that these new ones didn't die from starvation.  Bed bugs can actually live for up to a year without food.  Ugh.  The powder is definitely a slow kill, which means that you can still get bites for a while, because the bugs only feed every few days, so, they crawl over the powder, get their fill, and go home and die.  Then, the next day, new ones come out, etc.  until they are all dead.  They hide in cracks and small spaces, so, to quicken the process, we tore apart the room.  I bought some stuff that kills on contact, and filled all the cracks and crannies in with caulk, then, we painted so the walls would be nice and clean, to spot the bugs faster.  All of that took lots more of my time.  I sprayed the bed frames down with the pesticide, and, we happened to have below zero temperatures last week, so we hauled everything outside to freeze them to death, which is supposed to work at those temperatures, we hope.  Needless to say, I haven't seen any bites, or bugs, in the last three days, so, I think we are winning the battle. Many ask why we didn't just use a pest control company.  Well, for one, they aren't guarenteed.  If you miss one tiny little bug, they can come back full force in a few weeks.  Some people throw out furniture to get rid of them.  That doesn't work either because they hide everywhere.  We found nests in the cracks in the walls, in the pictures on the walls, and in the knick knacks on shelves.  Again, if you miss one, it doesn't do any good.  So, you have to let them feed on you, killing them on the way.  This powder is basically kinda like chalk dust.  It's harmless to touch and eat, but not good to breathe.  So, I would just spread it around the room real good, using a mini duster I also bought online, and then close the door for a few hours while it settled.  I would put the pillows under the blankets so they wouldn't be covered.  I repeat this every week, to get any bugs that decided to avoid the dust before, and are now getting hungry.  They don't like the dust, so this is possible.

Okay, so, I finally felt like I could let up on the bed bugs for a little bit, when we were hit with another kind of bug.  This time, the flu bug.  Daniel was hit first, last Saturday.  He basically slept all day, ate very little, and had a high fever.  Mary was next, starting to act sick after nap time, the same day.  Daniel was acting fine the next day, but I kept him home from church with Mary.  Mary has been hit the worst.  Sunday night, I started throwing up, but felt much better after that.  Today, I'm feeling fine.  Isaac came down hard last night.  He got a really high fever and complained of his head hurting.  But, he's acting fine this morning, and his fever has let up, so I think he's done.  Robbie is complaining that his stomache hurts, but doesn't really act sick, so I'm wondering if he has sympathy pains.  But, because this seems to hit very quickly, and fierce, I decided I better let him stay home.  Mary is still sick.  She seems better, then gets feverish again.  It's been three days for her.  Not sure why she's not getting better quick, like the rest of us.

Then, on Sunday, my phone ear piece quit working.  I was actually researching that, when my stomach pains hit, so, I pretty much spent yesterday trying to fix my phone, since I couldn't do much else.  Haven't figured that one out yet, so I have to use my speaker phone until it's fixed, but, that is the latest time consuming problem in our lives right now.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring.  Hopefully, it will bring some peace, so I can get some of my other things done, like studying for my lesson, and preparing for my enrichment meeting presentation.  And, maybe even visit teach, after I'm sure all the bugs have left my house.  What fun.

Oh ya, I forgot to mention the other project that's taking my time.  I decided to create a website to help fellow ipod touch parents find good apps for their kids.  The hope is that it will actually earn me money some day.  That's the hope.   Preview Kid Apps