Ooooone, Twooooooo, Fweeeeeee, Fooooouuur...

Really, it's almost like something out of a horror film! The house, is being taken over, by BUGS! It's like - their portal - between life as they know it now, and their return to life again post-winter. They huddle, they mate, they - crawl... EVERYWHERE. I mean - we're talking PILES here... big piles. (Outside, of course, but covering the house!)  They are Boxelder Bugs - and they are kind of cool, mostly. Now, I'm in no way fearful of bugs. I even really adore a few - like the above dragonfly! I'm not even creeped-out by the zip-speed centipedes or million-legged millipedes that roam through on occasion. Bees, june-bugs... The weird things with the long tentacles and gripper-feet that try to chase you to land on you - probably laughing wildly as you try with all of your might to brush it off while those little grippers grip... None of that really bothers me. I don't necessarily enjoy having bugs on me - but I also don't mind having 'em around. (Spiders are another story - but they are also in a different category: Arachnids. So there!) ;) However - when they are constantly hovering around YOUR home... your safety zone... your sanctuary... in those kinds of numbers - it's a little bit creepy after all. Thankfully this is only occurring over our fall seasons - which happens to be short-lived this year. :)

Myla used to be terribly afraid of anything that crawled. She would even see them on TV and scream/ cry, and/ or bury her face and whimper... Addie on the other hand, showed her, by - you know - eating one alive right in front of her!  It's truly amazing. These girls come from the same loins, same genetic make-up, and aren't even 1-1/2 years apart in age... but they are like night and day pretty much. Clearly, Addie is our tom-boy. But this seemed to slowly move Myla in a new direction with bugs. She'd still prefer to "stuish" them under her foot... but she isn't overcome with fear every time one happens along any longer. (This is a good thing, as we live in the woods along the creek, a couple of blocks from the river!) So I guess one ingested bug never hurt! And, it's all put back into perspective when the 21-month-old starts trying to count them... "Ooooone, twooooo, fweeeee, fooooour, Yay!" [insert clapping & cheers and giggles here.]  I also happen to be a big-fan of the baby-butt-hover - where they squat down and their buns just barely remain high enough to be off of the floor... Too cute! Addie tends to do that for close-ups of her bugs.


TIP! Filling a spray bottle with water and some dish soap, shaken, and sprayed around the perimeter of the house (and directly on bugs doesn't hurt either) helps get rid of 'em! Yippee - no gross chemicals either! Again, nothing against bugs... but find your own dang house and prepare for dormancy there! Now, if I could only figure out a way to rid myself of my fear of spiders.... Hmmmm. Although I must say - if they are even in the same room as my babies - they are as good as dead-on-sight!  So - I've gained strength in my momma-bear need to protect my wee-ones. I guess motherhood HAS made me stronger! :) Just please, no one attempt to eat a spider. Rather than cure me, I'm fairly certain it would be one thing that might just make me pass out. 

A QUOTE: "We hope that, when the insects take over the world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics."  ~Bill Vaughan

WHIDFML: Looking forward to a good chat with a dear friend!