September, 2009 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives September 2009

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Not a beetles fan

Posted on September 6, 2009 9:11 pm by TheAngelForever

Friday afternoon, I called JL at work in a panic. Something caught my eye by the hardwood floors and the wood accent on the wall. With a closer inspection, I saw squirmy white worm-like things. I swept them up, took some photos (I will spare you) and kept looking for more. I was disgusted by finding some additional ones. When JL came home from work, we were not able to find any more. I looked online to see if I could identify what had to be some kind of larvae. It seemed like it was probably powderpost beetle larvae. They basically love moist wood. This summer has been extremely wet and our basement flooded two weeks ago thanks to city sewer issues. When reading more about them, it says that they are very distructive over time and usually are not found until people see the damage. Aside from a few exit holes, and wood dust piles in the basement nothing is very clear to our eyes.

This Labor Day weekend has been painfully slow watching, waiting and cleaning to inspect more. Tuesday morning we will have to call an exterminator to come and see what to do. We clearly have a current infestation and need to get it under control. What we will not know until someone comes is what real damage has already been done. Thanks to this wait, my mind is going a mile a minute:

Is our furniture infested?
Will we need to strip off parts of the floor?
Will we need to vacate the house to fumigate?
How much is this going to cost?
Can these beetles really be controlled?
Did they start from new wood that was added to our walls/kitchen when it was remodeled?
WHY now of all times?

I literally had all of this and more going through my mind last night. Of course finding more of the larvae in the dining room, hall way and our bedroom pushed it over the edge. I cried and rocked myself to sleep for maybe two hours and then was wide awake and crying again. All I could think about were these nasty, gross beetles destroying our house, furniture and other items.

Lots of cleaning and laundry was done today and more will need to be done tomorrow. With any luck, we can get someone here quickly, but we have no clue who to contact since we have never had this before. *sigh*

Thanks to this, I am hereby declaring war on the beetles and other creepy crawly, disgusting things that live and destroy items within my house.

Categories:
bad news house losing my mind messy nasty things vent

Last days before first grade

Posted on September 5, 2009 9:07 pm by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

It is still hard for me to believe that you will be heading to first grade on Tuesday. I know that you are nervous about school since things were rocky at the end of kindergarten. This will be a fresh new year, with many new friends and only one teacher. It should be exciting getting to know everyone and learning new things. Always know that Daddy and I are in your corner cheering you on. We will stand behind you and make sure that you are taken care of at school and treated fairly.

This summer has been wonderful. I have watched you play with your brother, read to everyone, do math books for fun, and spend time with your new favorite – the Nintendo Wii. We have also spent a lot of time going to Lowes and Home Depot to build fun new things. Seeing your hands create something new and then use it has been extremely rewarding.

I hope we see the sparkle in your eyes as you discover all that is out there in the world. You love learning and we hope it stays that way for the rest of your life.

Remember that you should never give up, always believe in yourself, and know that you are a winner.

I love you NHL and can not wait to see the world of first grade through your eyes.

Love,

Mommy

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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.

Categories:
Dear Kid Saturday looking back nhl photos school summer

Cirque du Soleil

Posted on September 4, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

For our honeymoon, just over eight years ago, JL and I went to Walt Disney World. When we were making our plans, one of the must sees was the fairly new Cirque du Soleil in Downtown Disney. La Nouba tickets were quite difficult to get, but we snagged some great seats. As soon as you walked into the specially designed theater you were transformed into another world. The show was like no other either of us had seen before. The performers were amazing and put on the show with such gusto. We immediately became fans of Cirque from that moment on.

When we went to Las Vegas in December 2002, we met my Aunt L, Uncle J and Cousin M there. We all agreed that we wanted to see "O" at the Belagio. This show is the one that takes place around a specially built theater with a pool in it. Tickets for this show were and still are extremely difficult to get. I managed to get some for one of the nights we were there. It was fantastic and well worth the price of the show. On Christmas Eve, we had no plans and went to the box office at our resort to see if there were any tickets. We literally walked up right after someone canceled on two seats for Mystere. We quickly bought them and saw our third Cirque performance. Mystere did not disappoint and became my favorite of the Vegas trip. I loved the clowns in the show and the humor involved. Of course, the seats were wonderful in the specially built theater.

It has been many years since we have had the chance to see another Cirque du Soleil. Right after JSL was born something came to our area, but was not a real Cirque du Soleil. It was more about the music and dance of the show. We opted not to go and see that. Yesterday, my father called and said he had tickets to see the show here. Surprise! Of course, since my parents were going we had no babysitter.

My wonderful husband agreed to be a sweetheart and watch the boys, so I was able to go and see Alegria this evening.Oh my! From the moment we walked in and saw the stage, I knew it would be wonderful.

There is just something about the costumes, music, lighting, clowns, performers that combine to make a truly unique masterpiece. The director Fanco Dragone and his troop continue to amaze me each and everytime.

My question this week:

Have you ever been to see a Cirque du Soleil show? If you have, what did you see? If you have not would you like to go one day?

Now I will be off to dream of magical places in far off lands and more Cirque du Soleil performances in my future with hubby next time.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha #64

Categories:
Aloha Friday jl looking back me moments photos show

Clorox College Survival Guide

Posted on September 3, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Monday evening, I went out to get a few things at the store. When I walked in, it looked like a tornado had been through. Then I noticed all of the people that were shopping along side me. They were mostly college students. Yes, this weekend marked the return of all of the college students in our area. As I was walking around the store, I noticed that a lot of the college kids were looking at the cleaning supplies. They were talking about cleaning things up in their dorms. It was easy to tell the upper classmen from the freshmen. The freshmen looked overwhelmed and seemed to be piling up with more items just in case.

This made me think about when I went to college. I opted to stay home because there was a college close by that I really liked. Do not let that fool you, I spent a lot of time with my friends at the dorms. I remember the filth that they encountered when they moved in. Since I lived off campus, I often helped people to drive around town. I took them to buy supplies to clean the dorm rooms. During this time, there were no cleaning wipes, it was mops, buckets, and sprays galore.I recall spending a lot of time helping them clean because the rooms were not left in the best condition and were dirty/dusty from the summer months.

Although my children are younger, I still think about the future. I know that one day they will likely head off to college and I will be "THAT" Mom worried about her kids and making a fuss.

I was recently asked by Mom Central to participate in the Clorox College Survival Guide Blog Tour. Since I know many people that have children heading off to college, and some going soon, I thought it would be a great opportunity.

To ease Moms’ concerns and prepare freshmen for college, The Clorox Company teamed up with college students and moms across the country to develop an authentic College Survival Guide. The guide serves many purposes, with helpful advice such as:

•   A "heads up" on the popular regional trends in clothing and accessories as well as activities that come along with going to school in the Midwest, the Northeast, the South, and the West Coast
•   Instructions for a "5-Minute Dorm Room Clean-Up"
•   Seasonal influenza and novel H1N1 2009 flu virus prevention tips
•   Dorm room "must-haves" for living away from home
•   Lifestyle tips from experienced Moms

You can find the Clorox College Survival Guide 2009 national edition on Mom Central. Head on over to download the PDF format and check it out for yourself. I really think the list of must have items is a great start for all college freshman. Items you may not think of include bed risers (create extra storage under your bed), fan to keep comfortable when studying, shower caddy, laundry basket (no more mom to do laundry) and many more crucial items. In addition to this, you can visit the College Survival Guide Facebook fan page to find regional editions. Head over to Facebook and search for "College Survival Guide 2009" to get started. If you have a child that is heading to college, or know someone that is encourage them to become a fan of this resource on Facebook. I know that I hope this will still be around when my boys are ready to head to college (just let that time go slow please).

There are also videos with tips for students and parents to watch. Here is a video introduction to show you more of what the Clorox College Survival Campaign is all about.

These videos are very down to earth and contain great hints from students and Moms that have been there and done that. As much as we think we know what we need, it is so easy to forget something or not realize a must have/bring to college. I hope that you find this guide and information useful.

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour compaign by Mom Central on behalf of The Clorox Company and received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.