Paranoid About Bed Bugs

Even though it has been a week since our apartment was fumigated for bed bugs, I am still worried. Any bugs that walk over any surface of our place that has been sprayed will die instantly...for 21 days after the initial spray. But...

Just when I was starting to get a better sleep, we found another bug. This time though, it was in the toilet, dead. When we thought about how it got there, there was only one explanation. The fan is almost directly over the toilet. So we taped plastic around the vent for now. This doesn't mean we have them in our bedroom. In fact, I am sure we don't. But it still made me uncomfortable as I tried to sleep last night. So the problem hasn't been solved, they're still living somewhere in the building...and traveling.

I'd love it if there was a way we could ensure that our apartment was sealed off from all the others. But I don't think that's possible. I've read articles that say they even walk across the halls to other apartments. Ick. What an annoyance.

The House Hunt Continues

Shopping for a home is much different than shopping for anything else. There are so many things you have to consider before you even think about putting in an offer.

Out of the 12 homes we've looked at so far, we've really only liked 2. We put an offer in on one, but as soon as I heard that there were 5 other bids I realized that the chances of us winning the bid were slim. Especially considering the like new 2 car garage on the property. It went for much higher than we would have been able to offer, so we concluded that it just wasn't the house for us. It was nice to go through the bidding process though. I did learn a few things.

So we continue our search. There are so many awful homes out there. People just don't seem to up-keep their homes the way they should. Shingles can easily be replaced by my handy husband, but when there is an issue with the foundation, I turn and run. I've learned to look at homes from the bottom, up. There's no sense in picturing how you will live in a home, if the base of the structure is compromised by shifting or bowed walls.

One house that we loved as we observed the main floor disappointed us with a part basement with many large issues. One issue was the alarming slant of the home and shifting of the main support beam. They tiled the kitchen floor beautifully with ceramic tiles, but as soon as that house shifts a little too much, all those tiles will buckle and one of the nice parts of the home will become a hassle. I'm not into that. If it has a sound structure and has been maintained, I will consider bidding.

We suspect that we will look at many more houses and bid on a few before we can call a place home. Until then, we'll have fun looking at what's out there.

Bed Bugs

Ew! I arrived home from work yesterday evening and as I was hanging my coat up, I asked Jer why our bedroom was turned upside down. His response was "I'll tell you when you're done." With all the bed bug talk on the news, I immediately said "we don't have bed bugs do we?" There was no answer. So naturally I was concerned.

I wasn't panicked...yet, just a little disgusted. After Jer pulled back the baseboards, the box spring, inside and examined the mattress he vacuumed everything. I know he did a thorough job, but that didn't help me from feeling hesitant when it came time to going to bed. He found 8 in total. Half in the bathroom and half ON MY SIDE OF THE BOX SPRING. Why they would just be on my side I have no idea. Once he told me that, I was even more grossed out.

It doesn't matter if you are a clean or dirty person, bed bugs will go for anyone carrying what they're after. Your blood! Thankfully they don't carry harmful diseases. But I'm still agitated that we have them. We suspect they are coming from another apartment. But who knows. They are so rampant in Winnipeg right now that we could have gotten them from a friend, the movie theater or some other source.

Extermination doesn't happen until next week sometime. So, while we wait we are going to inspect and vacuum every day, wash all our clothes and keep them in rubbermaid containers, wash our blankets daily and try hard not to sleep on the couch. They would follow us there, and infest our living room. So far they are only in the bathroom and bedroom...but they're crafty traveling little buggers. We've even started leaving the hallway light on all night in an attempt to keep them away from the living room and kitchen.

I feel so sick to my stomach at the thought of having these things invade our place. Especially when I wonder if they'll exterminate the whole building or not. If they don't, they'll just keep coming back.

We are in the process of looking at buying a house...but I don't want to bring these things with us! So I'm not sure if we'll have to put that on hold or not at this point.

I'm trying not to be paranoid. But it's difficult. On the up side, since we only found 8, we have a small scale infestation, and I haven't noticed more than 2 bites on me. So I'm hoping they can catch them before they get too bad.

Gotta Love A Good Spicy Snack

My Aunt went to the states to do some shopping a few weeks back. When she told me she was going, I requested that she bring me a bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos. I got hooked on their crunchy, spicy flavor a couple years ago. I thought they'd eventually be sold in Canada...but I haven't seen them yet. So, I am stuck waiting until someone I know makes a trip down South.

Why is it that Canada doesn't sell the same things as the States sometimes? I'm guessing it's because they've tried and not sold enough. I hope they try selling Flaming Hot Cheetos one of these days. I'd be willing to buy a shipment just so I could have a lifetime supply all to myself.

When someone brings some back for me, I usually only get 1 or 2 bags. Normally I love sharing with others...but there are just some things that I like to hog. And Flaming Hot Cheetos are top on that list, right behind my family recipe cabbage rolls and Ontario beef jerky.

3D Ultrasound - It's A Girl!

I was a little nervous about having both my parents in such a small room, but everything was fine. They even chatted a little about how much we all weighed as newborns. It was a great feeling, knowing that they could set their differences aside and just enjoy the moment with everyone.

Babymoon was quite a small place compared to what I had imagined, but Jer, me and the 8 family members we invited, managed to fit into the ultrasound room just fine.

It's amazing that we could share that experience with our families. Especially considering this was the first ultrasound that some of them had ever seen. This has made everyone even more excited about this baby. Which is great, because I suspect that I'm going to need some encouragement over the next 5 months.

Seeing everyone else so happy definitely makes the journey more bearable. Although, my pregnancy hasn't been tough so far, I know it's coming. I'm just taking it day by day.

Jer and I were both hoping for a girl, and when the technician confirmed that we were expecting a daughter, we were super excited! Jer is so happy, and I'm loving this side of him. He's just so stoked to be a Dad. I can't wait to see him hold her in his arms for the first time.

She looks healthy, as far as we could tell. She's got a normal heart rate and has all 10 fingers and toes. She's also quite the mover. She likes to move early in the morning and late at night. And this morning, Jer got to feel her kick for the first time. After a few nights of me telling him she was moving and him not being able to feel anything, he was so happy.

Divorce - Like a Skeleton in Your Closet

My parents separated and divorced many years ago. 17 years to be exact. At the time I was 13, and upset that our family, as unhappy as we were together, wasn't going to be a family anymore.

As a child we rely on our parents to fix and keep things together. For me, divorce meant something was broken and couldn't be fixed. This was devastating, especially when I thought of all the times I was consoled in bad situations by the words "it's alright, everything is going to be ok". No matter the situation, divorce is tough on everyone.

Over time, I got over it, but every once and a while I am reminded that the divorce of my parents takes my thoughts back a step. This tainted family past still tries to pull me under it's weight, but I try my hardest to be stronger than that brokenness.

When I was married in 2003, the most stressful thing for me was thinking about my parents being in the same place together. At that point they still weren't speaking to each other. And I was nervous about their girlfriend/boyfriend and the potential for a blow-up. But they all respected that it was my day, and everything went smoothly.

Now that my husband and I are expecting, we want to know the sex of the baby. So we're going to have an ultrasound at Babymoon tomorrow. I have been thinking for a couple weeks now about who I want there. Without hesitation I have invited my Mom & sisters and Jer has invited his parents, brother and grandma. I hesitated to invite my Dad, even though I really want him there, because him and my Mom are still not on speaking terms. But, I have decided to toss that aside. This is THEIR Grandchild...together or separate. If they could suck it up for my wedding, I'm sure they can do it again for our baby. What it all boils down to, is that it's important to me that they both be a part of this. That's the one thing that really matters.

First Ultrasound - Sept. 9

Going into the ultrasound, I knew they were just measuring the baby. Mainly to check on my due date and that the baby was developing at a normal pace. I went into the appointment like I would to any other checkup.

When I first saw our baby, I was in awe. Not awe so cute...awe...I've reached another step in the journey. It's one thing to hear the heart beating - but to SEE it beating. To see it's little legs, hands, face and feet. Wow! Not only could we see it - it was also moving around quite a bit. At one point it had its bum up like it was doing a somersault. We saw it fold its hand into a fist, and shift from its right side to its left. And at 19.5 weeks, our baby was only 6" long. Crazy!

We're not sure what this little one is yet. But we'll find out this week at Baby Moon. At least I hope we will. Jer and I would like it to be a girl. But God is the only one who knows thus far. But that doesn't mean I'd be unhappy with a boy.

As far as names go, we haven't picked any yet. But I have a feeling it's going to be a bit of a battle. Jer likes newer, different names and I like older ones. I also would love to carry on names from my family. I think there's importance in remembering where you came from. Remembering all the people that came before you, and made it possible for you to exist.