ants vs beals

Is anyone else having ant troubles?  We are generally pretty clean people (although at times it looks like we've been robbed, but that is RARE people) so I'm shocked that we have ants in our home.  I hate them...they are tiny and pretty non-threatening, but when they are marching in their creepy straight line and there is no actual entry point which I can see...I have to think they are teeny-tiny, miniature aliens who have outsmarted the human race.  Have you ever really seen what an ant looks like?

Ant traps.  They suck.

Ant spray.  Stinks and it sucks.

Obsessive vacuuming.  Hard on the back when you're prego.

Toxic household cleaner.  Toxic and wasteful...I'd rather use my 409 to clean the sink, not drown ants.

Professionals.  Overpaid and clearly not useful.

What the hell are we supposed to do?  The Husband found some ant hills in front of our front yard...so pretty far from the house if you were an ant.  He poured gasoline down each hole and lit it on fire while our 4 year old neighbor cheered him on.  Did they come back?  Yes, and they were probably pretty pissed.  Holy shit, one just crawled across my laptop screen.  Gross!

How can one possible keep out the smallest aliens on the planet?  We can't seal every possible hole that might exist around our 104 year old house...that is crazy.  We can't be the only ones with this problem, right? 

People...I'm begging you...give me ant solutions!!! 

ants 1: beals 0

why can't I post a comment, Brooke?

I've gotten word that some people have tried to comment, but are unable.  Suspicious.  Here is what I found online.

"If those who cannot comment are using Firefox, they have to enable third party cookies in order to comment on some formats--and apparently this (blogspot) is one of them."

So...enable those third party cookies.

Soon enough I will have a blog post about our new garage door and I'll even include photos!!  It is being installed tomorrow morning...so exciting.  The Husband is making this house secure and homey for baby boy Beals; what a guy!

wtf

So, today in my program I was visiting some of the classes to see how things were going.  A student raised his hand for me to come over...and I was pleasantly surprised!  This is how the conversation went:

Student #1: "Hi Brooke."

Me: "Hey...what's up?" (no, I don't know his name...shame on me...I only know like 20 students names)

Student #1: "Is that a burn on your face?"

Me: "Um, no...it's this terrible thing called Melasma and sometimes women who are pregnant get it."

Student #1: (to his friend next to him) "SEE...told you she wasn't burned."

Student #2: "I didn't know, it looks like she was burned to me."

Student #1: "I told him that happens to pregnant ladies' faces."

Me: "OK, well, glad we cleared that one up...now I really hope it goes away after this baby is born."

Student #2: "Yeah, me too...I mean, for your sake."

AWESOME!!!!!  As if I'm not self-conscious enough about it.  Want to see it?  OK, here is an actual picture and my interpretation of how I really look.

real picture of Melasma

fake picture of Melasma

This shit better go away.  I'm not against a really intense chemical peel, so if you have suggestions...clearly I'm open to hearing them!

poop-a-looped

So much for blogging everyday...I'll be lucky to have the energy to blog once a week.

Today was day 5 of my summer program and I'm totally wiped out.

Good news: we have 110 students.

Bad news: we have 110 students.

Good news: I get to teach the baking class (so far we made human puppy chow and chocolate chip cookies).

Bad news: we don't have a space on the campus big enough to accommodate the entire group.

Good news: for the most part, our team is rock solid.

Bad news: teachers expect a lunch break away from students.

Good news: my boss has stopped by twice and thinks it's going really well.

Bad news: we probably have to be at this location next year, too.

Good news: I get to leave a tad earlier on the days I teach baking.

Bad news: I have to drive the YMCA mini bus (the short bus) on the days I teach baking.

Good news: I am getting a lot of exercise.

Bad news: by the end of the day I could swear my legs and feet are going to explode.

Good news: I get to miss one day so I can go see Brandi Carlile in Bellingham as our "babymoon".

Bad news: I only get to miss one day.

Good news: I think this proves I'm working in the right field.

Bad news: I'm not learning enough of the students' names.

Good news: because I'm 8 months pregnant, I don't have to go on the 3 day trip.

Bad news: although exhausting, that trip is fun!

Good news: the campus is smaller than last year.

Bad news: the food BLOWS.

OK, I think I'm done with this game.

Now I'm off to hang out with my bestest friend, who is in town visiting.  = )

restless leg syndrome

I'm pretty sure I have RLS and not just because I'm nearly 32 weeks pregnant.  Last night my legs were going into crazy spasm mode all on their own.  I wanted to chop them off.  Then I realized that I have a weird thing about body stumps so that probably wouldn't be a good idea.  It's not a full-on phobia of body stumps, but I get a little freaked out by them.  That scene in Scary Movie didn't help this freaked-outness either.  I know, it's not a stump, but it's equally as freaky. 

The only real phobia I have is of little people and I'm not even sure that is a real phobia as it doesn't have a phobia name.  I'm not exactly sure why I have this fear or even when it began, but it is pretty legit.  I can see them on TV or in a movie and I'm OK, but the second I am physically near a little person I start to have a panic attack.  This is like the meanest, worst phobia to have...but I can't help it.  I remember going to a dance in middle school (Archie R. Cole Middle School to be exact, although I could've sworn it was a junior high when I was there) and anxiously awaiting Stairway to Heaven so I could finally kiss my boyfriend...Stairway to Heaven was always the last song of the dance and they let the kids make out during the entire song!  Well, here we are, having a great time at the dance and as if planned, the crowd parts and running straight at me is a little person.  I think the story was that one of the staff members son was a little person, but was home-schooled or something so she decided to bring him so he could socialize with people his own age.  I nearly fainted right there on the dance floor.  I remember a couple of girlfriends having to walk me over to a chair and bringing me water.  Needless to say, I was sure he was going to run up an attack me at some point during the dance, so I barely enjoyed the making out during Stairway to Heaven.  My eyes were open the entire time...I'm sure my boyfriend, who did open his eyes from time to time while kissing, was like "what the hell is wrong with her?"  I never saw that little person again...but the panic attacks still happen to this day. 

 Any phobias you're a little embarrassed about??

baby names

So, of course baby names are a common topic of conversation lately...not just around our house, but everywhere we go. 

I had a work lunch today and it came up again...then my friend and colleague sent me an NPR article talking about baby-naming-hostility.  People get a little peeved when you don't want to disclose what names you're thinking about.  Why is that?  Are you going to embroider the name on a pillow for me?  We definitely have some names in mind, but I know how judgmental I am...so it stands to reason that other people would be just as judgmental as I would be, right?  There are names I can't stand...like super trendy names or "fad" names.  Oh, you want an example?  Ashton.  Really?  The ONLY Ashton that anyone knew before was Ashton Kutcher...now it's a cool name for your kid?  I don't think so.  Or Bailey, that was super popular a few years back and with that name came Connor and Riley.  I wonder how many Bailey's have to go by their last name or Bailey First Letter of Your Last Name because there are 6 of them in the same 4th grade class. 

See, I'm judging.  According to the NPR article, it is most common to name a girl something that ends in "a" right now.  Emma, Ava, Isabella, Sophia, Olivia, Alyssa...and on and on.  I wonder why that is trendy?  The article also says it is common for people to name a boy something that ends in "n" right now.  Hudson, Evan, Ethan, Owen, Jackson, ASHTON, etc.  Our top names don't follow that "n" rule.  Is that a good enough hint?  My best friend had a dream we named our son Owen William Beals.  My sister had a dream we named him Max William Beals.  Both cute, but both not on our list.  I do love that people other than us are having dreams about our baby though. 

Anyway, feel free to guess or even suggest names for us, but know that until he arrives we're keeping the name a secret. 

For fun...try this.  Baby Name Genie.

relaxing weekend?

What is better than coming home from a relaxing weekend at the cabin having played extreme croquet, strolled around Leavenworth eating ice cream and shopped at Smallwoods for delicious homemade honey and apple butter? HOUSEWORK! 

Today, on our nation's day of independence, The Husband and I worked our little tushes off.  We went to Home Depot and Target.  We tore apart the bathroom in the nursery in order to ensure it gets done before baby Beals arrives.  New tile, new sink, new mirror, new cabinet and new adorable picture from Pier1 of an owl.  Of course none of the new stuff is installed, but it's all purchased and waiting for installation.  I think The Husband and my dad might get it all done the day of my baby shower.  Good ole father-in-law/son-in-law bonding.  I LOVE that they get along so well...even though sometimes my dad can be a little critical. 

The Husband painted the walls of the garage white, which makes the whole space look cleaner and bright.  He also moved the elliptical down there and it is slowly becoming the workout space he had envisioned.  While he worked downstairs, I got all the laundry and vacuuming done AND made dinner.  Oh, before dinner we did walk up to Ladro for some coffee and took a stroll down 44th to check out a house we want our friends to buy.  It is SO STINKIN' CUTE!! Click here to see it.  Did I mention it is literally one street behind ours??  Wouldn't that be so fun, Laura?  hint hint!  Wait, he also mowed and watered the lawn while I picked all the ripe strawberries from our garden.

Anyway, my point is that this was too much to pack into one day...I do not feel like I just had a 3-day weekend.  Tomorrow...back to work to get ready for my crazy summer program where I will work with 120 incoming 9th graders.  Awesome blossom!

short break...

My apologies for not blogging for a couple days...I was up at Camp Orkila on Orcas Island leading a Diversity & Inclusion Training for 230 summer staff members.  So, needless to say I was not connected while in the San Juans. 

I am not headed up to the cabin for 4th of July weekend and there is no internet there.  Sorry folks...I'll try to make my next post a good one.  = )

Happy 4th of July!