Feelin' Ready!

Such a short time ago, I was in a constant state of mild panic... We had lots of baby clothes but not much else to speak of. The nursery was still white and smelled like a dive bar. Nowhere for her to sleep. No way to get her home.

I can recall each gift we received, and appreciate every single one of them immensely! For many families, having a baby is extremely expensive. We are blessed with an amazing extended family that, from half a nation away, has supported us emotionally and financially.
We did "register" for shower gifts*, but only a few of the gifts we received were from the list. Some of the ones that I can already tell will be ingrained into our daily lives and memories of this time are things that have been passed down, made or purchased second-hand. Every single blanket, book and toy we have fits into those categories, most of the clothes too. I can't imagine providing all brand new things to a child; items with no value other than what they cost at the store. My daughter will be surrounded by tangible evidence of a loving family!

Somewhere along the line her room was painted, a theme chosen (then replaced with another and implemented), new carpet installed, furniture bought and assembled, and stuff arranged... I can't even say when we really went from "only have clothes" to "ready for a baby!"

I am sure, the first couple weeks after we bring her home we are going to feel nowhere near prepared for the adventure we've begun, but for now I think it's as good as it gets!

*I understand that if you can get on the "I'm having a baby" advertising lists, there are many samples, freebies and coupons to be had. We haven't gotten much of that, and I suspect it's because we didn't do a traditional baby registry. Instead we used the Amazon baby registry. It was incredibly convenient since I could add items from other sites and only manage one registry, but I think it caused us to miss out on a few deals as well. If I was to do it over again, I'd probably create the lists at the various store websites and link them to Amazon as well in the hopes of getting the best of both worlds.

Ant Bait

It's spring... even in the Midwest!

And with spring, always seems to come ants. Those little "sugar ants" that pester the house incessantly until they randomly disappear mid-summer or you hire an exterminator.

I'm not patient enough to just wait the little boogers out. But I'm even less fond of waiting around so I can pay a bug man to come squirt nasty chemicals in my home. So, I make my own ant bait I'm comfortable using around the dog and baby-to-be. It's easy, cheap and I don't have to make a special trip to the store!

All you need is equal parts really hot water, Borax, and white sugar. Dissolve the Borax and sugar in the water, and pour into an ant-accessible container* in an area with high ant traffic.

The first few times I did this, I made way too much. Aim for about a tablespoon or so of each and make a second batch if needed. To be honest, I never actually measure. You want enough sugar to attract them, enough Borax to kill them, and just enough water that it's potent but it doesn't get so solid they can just walk across the top (yep, that's experience talking). I shoot for the consistency of Elmer's Glue.

I forget how the borax works (dehydration?), but I know they generally have enough time to make it back to the nest  before they keel over. You'll know some are making it back when you suddenly get a flood of ants in the area. DON'T STOP THEM. You want them to come gather as much of your bait as they can and take it back to kill the whole nest. Some will drown in your bait and that's ok; I consider it a form of instant gratification. There are plenty more who will get the job done. :)   Within a day or two, not only will you not see ants in that area, but there's a good chance you will have killed that year's nest and not have to deal with them again until next spring. Take that, bug man!




*Be smart about the containers of bait you put within reach of pets and kids. The ingredients are safe to have around the house, but no one should be eating it! Things like soda/beer bottles with a narrow "mouth" can be tipped on their sides without the bait spilling out or fingers/tongues getting in. You could also carefully poke holes into the sides (not the top; the ants might not get back out) of a margarine style container and keep the lid on. If all else fails, put the bait somewhere the pets/kids can't reach and exercise a little patience in the name of safety. I promise, the ants will find it eventually!

Where are your fingers?

Last week, I was on top of the world. We had put in a cash offer on a beautiful house, and I was basking in the knowledge that I am bringing my child into the world as half of a dedicated parenting team with no debt, a safe home, two reliable cars, and job security for us both. It simply does not get better than that.

I should have realized that what can’t go up, must come down.

This week I have been rudely confronted by the concept that individuals in our society lack both the ability and desire to take responsibility for their own actions. It has brought me to a level of anger I loathe to experience.

It seems the more entities involved in any given action, the less likely it is anyone will accept that they could have had a hand in the guilt-pie. This is propagated by the fact that the few individuals willing to take responsibility for their actions, manage to volunteer themselves as scape-goat for everyone else involved. Sometimes guilt is heaped on that has absolutely no affiliation to the original issue. This teaches our kindly little goat that they will be punished for doing the right thing. Next time, they are not so likely to submit to such persecution.

Rarely do we take the time to evaluate the entire world surrounding each person we point the finger of guilt at. You have no way of knowing how many such fingers are pointed at them, and how fragile that may make them. It really is no wonder we all seem to feel an unknown pressure we can't resolve. This week I have been near tears probably three times a day, every day, trying to resist the pressure other people's fingers are pointing at me. I fear that tears may not be an adequate coping mechanism for those in a less fortunate position.

Someone is thinking… she ought to do as she says and take responsibility for (name whatever wrong I've done you). You’re right. I should. It is something I'm actively working on. I sincerely and whole-heartedly apologize for each and every single time I have done the finger pointing. I too, have been raised in this “not my fault” society, and I’m afraid it has had much more impact than I’d like. Probably even more effect than I’m actually aware of. It’s pervasive, self-reinforcing, and so very subtly entwined in this social construct we experience during every waking hour of our lives.

Very likely, anyone reading this knows me pretty well. You know that I almost never put out a call to action. Today I do so, and urgently.

PRACTICE TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS.

I do mean practice. It's not something that comes naturally to any of us anymore. Take a peek at those dusty, scary (and jam-packed) areas of your soul. Make amends for times you either forced or merely allowed someone else to take the fall. If there's something you are currently trying to get out of admit your guilt, plan ways to avoid the same mistake in the future and allow everyone to move on! Maybe we can show our children that even though it won’t pay off, it’s still worth doing.

Loose Ends

Before you even think it, I already know I’m a slacker.  Thank goodness I believe there are only friends and family following this, and I know you’ll forgive me for the lack of updates.

Let’s tie up loose ends from previous posts, shall we?

House: moved, sold, closed. We did better than I would have predicted on the house, financially. Only having it for a year, there wasn’t much to be made on it, but luck was on our side. We sold to a young family, which we felt good about. They seemed to parallel us in many aspects of life; cooking, gardening, etc. She is also expecting, so that was a pretty quick connection.

Work: moved, progressing nicely on setup, getting the hang of running the office. One thing to note, should anyone ever consider relocating or expanding a company, let the economic development team for the area wine and dine you… then contact the employment office. You will probably get two very different stories on the local labor economy. Both likely have their truths, and both are probably disguising some facts as well. I’m coming to believe that they live on opposite sides of the same coin.

Baby: There will be plenty of discussion about the baby, ‘cause well, it’s a BABY! For now, know that I’ve met my midwife and like her a lot. We got our first kinda tangible evidence of the baby when we listened to the heartbeat. It was fantastic to have Sweetie there with me to share the experience. Not so sure he enjoyed being there for the rest of the appointment (pelvic exam? Yay!), but he stood by me anyway. Next appointment is in a couple weeks. We’re looking at about six weeks until we do an ultrasound, and hopefully find out if my little parasite is a boy or girl.  J Sweetie randomly looked at me the other day and said I was looking more pregnant and less like I indulged too much over the holidays. I still don’t see it, I’m trying to use it as impetus to post a public bump picture soon. Gotta remember to take one….

Dog: I know he’s been on the back burner as far as the blog is concerned, but he’s still a huge part of our lives. He hates the cold weather here, and has started to display signs of impending arthritis when temps hit single digits. I’m looking into both foot and leg protection to help keep him warm during potty runs. We are also changing him back to a food that has significant Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplementation. I may not remember to give him oral supplements, but he will NOT let me forget to feed him so it’s a good compromise for us. I also have plans to stop and talk with a local vet about how people here protect their little dogs.

 

That’s the basics. I know, you’re still kinda out of the loop… I’m working on it! My mind writes to you all the time, but a girl has to get away from the computer sometime!

 

I don't have a clue if comments are working or not, but if someone's willing to give it a shot, you can let me know if I forgot anything!