Long post to come.

I was hoping to be able to do a blog post with a bunch of pictures, but unfortunately, I don't have the cord required to upload pictures from my camera. So, I guess it will have to wait for another week when I get back to NC. I've got some fun ones and will probably get a bunch more. We are having so much fun here in UT, but we miss Mike. It feels so good to be home. UT will always be home for me. But, it would be even better if Mike were here. He was here for a few days and life was perfect. Now he's back in NC working. Lame. :)

Bug bites day 2.

They are now starting to blister. I got one bite on my hand while trying to get the ants off him. It hurts. He is covered and he acts like he doesn't notice them. He must have a high pain tolerence. He complained a little bit this morning when he woke up. But that's it. These are some pictures I took today. They are a little better than yesterdays pictures. :)

Lesson Learned

One more thing I hate about this miserable place is the ANTS!! They are everywhere! Seriously. Our front flower beds look terrible because every time we attempt to weed them we are immediately attacked by red ants. We just gave up. But the only place we had seen them was the front yard.

Anyhooo...I've always been concerned about Jacob and his fascination with spiders and bugs, simply because we have some not so friendly ones around the house. I am always finding him trying to catch bugs. I've even had to stop him from going after the bees. I am constantly telling him not to touch bugs because some of them can hurt him. But Jacob is one that has to find things out for himself.

We finally paid professionals to come spray in and around the house because of all the ants and spiders. I was mostly concerned because I had been seeing black widows around. After they came we did see fewer spiders and bugs. So, I haven't been real worried.

If you've kept up with my blog for a while, then you know how much Jacob LOVES digging in the dirt. I was worried when we first moved here because there were ant piles EVERYWHERE in our back yard. Fortunately they were just the tiny little harmless ones. So when Jacob would start digging up their mounds they would just run away.

Well, today Jacob went out into the back yard to play and about 15 minutes later I hear him start crying, then screaming. Those of you who have kids know that your children have different cries. And Jacob has a very distinct "I'm really hurt" cry. So I hear that cry and I go running out into the back yard. I see him come around the side of the house and he's screaming, "BUG! BUUUUUUG!" and holding out his hand. I thought he must have caught a bee and got stung or something, but as he got closer to me I could see he was COVERED in ants. I new right way that they were red ants. I attempted to wipe them off but they were attached and wouldn't let go. So I grabbed him and carried him as fast as I can into the house and into the tub and stripped him down. They were even in his diaper, poor kid. So, I grab a wash cloth, turn on the water and start washing them all off him. They came off pretty easily that way. But he was freaking out and kept trying to climb out of the tub because he could see them in the tub. The poor kid was terrified. I finally got them all off him and let him climb out of the tub onto a towel I had spread out on the floor where I could dry him off and inspect the damage. The poor kid is COVERED in bites. He cried, and cried for at least half an hour. I gave him some Ibuprofen to help with the pain and then slathered him in hydrocortizone cream. Once I got the cream on him he seemed to do much better. Here are some pictures I snapped of his arms and legs. He wasn't real excited about me taking picture of him so they aren't very good but they will have to do for now.

This leg is the worst. Like I said these pictures aren't very good so you can't see just how bad it really is. His leg is ENTIRELY covered in bites. From his thigh to his ankle.

Fortunately he only got a few bites in his diaper area and his trunk, neck and head were spared of any bites at all. But I guess now he knows, not all bugs are friendly. Maybe now he will be less likely to go after every bug he sees.

After I had him settled down and taken care of I went in search of the offending ant pile. I found it. It was HUGE and I could tell that he had obviously tried to dig in it. So, now my goal is to annihilate every last one of them. I put down a baking soda and powdered sugar mixture for now, because that's all I had on hand (supposedly the baking soda is supposed to react with whatever acid they have in their stomachs and they explode. I doubt it works but it was worth a try). Tomorrow, first thing, I will be going to the store to bring out the big guns. The will DIE!!!

Just For Laughs

Someone posted this on facebook and I just had to share on here. These are funnier than the trunk monkey commercials. lol. My favorite one is the "dropped brownie".



This one was also posted on facebook and also very funny.



Seriously...I laughed so hard I CRIED! haha.

The Swine Flu Scare

What sparked this post, you are asking?? Well, in the last few days I have been seeing facebook status' from people concerned that they or their children or someone they know has the swine flu. I saw 3 in particular concerned that their child had it. If you watch the news and all the hype, then you are probably thinking your child is going to die. Well, you can sort of rest at ease a little bit. Most people don't realize that the H1N1 virus here in the US is no more serious than any other strain of flu. "But I heard of children in NM who died of the swine flu." Well yes. There have been children in NM and other states even that have died from this strain of flu. But what you don't hear about are all the children who die every year from other types of the flu. The only reason you hear about the ones who die from H1N1 is because it is the current scare. However, any type of flu is something to be concerned about in children under the age of 5 and adults over the age of 65. Although, when it comes to H1N1, people over 65 are NOT at increased risk, because they seem to have antibodies against the virus. Kinda interesting. But really, unless you are under the age of 5 or otherwise have a compromised immune system, there is no need to panic. Just stay home, rest up and drink fluids. If you do fall under one of these categories, you do need to be extra cautious when it comes to ANY type of flu.

Anyhoo...I found this great link for anyone interested in learning more about the swine flu (and other types of flu). It's the Center of Disease Control and Prevention web site (this link is the home page for the website). You will find a list of serious warning signs so you will know when to seek medical attention and also preventative measures.

Spiders and Bugs

I know, I get excited over strange things. I thought this was super cute and very exciting. Jacob LOVES drawing. He could draw and color all day long. Last night as I was getting Lulu ready for bed, Jacob was laying on the floor drawing. I could hear him talking as he drew and he was saying "spider, spider, spider. Bug, bug, bug." I looked over at his paper and sure enough...spiders and bugs.
Now this may not seem exciting, but these are his first real drawings instead of just scribbles. So, I'm excited. :)

What We've Been Up To

Since Jacob is getting to be preschool age, and we are not sending him to preschool, I decided I better start doing some preschool activities with him. I found a workbook at Walmart the other day and decided to see how he would do with it. Since he really likes for us to go over the alphabet with him, I decided to start with beginning writing. Just simple stuff. Tracing lines and such. I didn't think he'd really trace the lines but decided to see what he would do. It was really interesting to watch him. As you can see from the first page, he traced all of those lines (except the first 2 which I did) and did a pretty good job. The other 2 pages are to help them get used to writing from left to right. He did pretty good on the first page, but by the time he got to the 3rd page he had had enough and just wanted to color. I've never really watched him color. I've seen the end result of pictures he's colored, but it was really fun actually watching him do it. To look at the last page, it's hard to imagine what would be so interesting about scribble, but again, that is the end result. He starts out actually trying to color in the lines and does a pretty good job. He colored all the spiders legs perfectly. He tried really hard to color in the lines of the birds wings as well. But after a while he just starts scribbling. So, you don't really see the progress he has made.



Jacob has yet to figure out buttons, so I went on a hunt for some sort of activity book to help him practice. Unable to find anything I decided to make my own. And just for the fun of it I decided to throw in things he can tie as well. It's not the best looking book, but it was fun to make.

I actually had to dismantle an old shoe to do this one.

I'm hoping this will keep him busy during our trip home next week. We shall see.

Lizzie has given up her baby swing and graduated to big kid swings. She loves it. Jacob still refuses to sit in a swing. He prefers to swing superman style. haha. He also really likes to push Lizzie in the swing. Which is fine with me. :)

We've decided to start weaning Lizzie off the binky. It has made for a very cranky girl. She gets it at nap time and bed time and that's it. She's not at all happy about it. In fact, as I type this post, she is crying for her binky. Poor girl. Earlier today, I found her hiding in a corner with an empty infants tylenol bottle, sucking on the top out of desperation, since I wouldn't give in and give her a binky. It was pretty funny. I'm determined to have her completely off it by the time she turns 2!!!

Oct. 2009 General Conf. Activity Packet

Here is the link to the packet for anyone who doesn't already have it. I should have posted it yesterday, but didn't get a chance. So, here ya go. http://www.ldsresources.net/october-2009-conference-activity-packet/