Wasp Stings and Mosquito Bites and Poison Ivy, Oh My!

Ahhhh, the joys of summer! I'm feeling like I've been stricken with a plague! Thankfully, my arm is completely back to normal after the wasp sting. I'm good there. However, the mosquitoes are getting re-acquainted with their Ole' Buddy Stephanie. "Hey Herb! Remember this ole' gal? We're gonna have a feast tonight!" I must taste really sweet or something because they've always loved me. In fact, Edward says he doesn't even need bug spray when I'm around. He says I'm his bug repellent. Anyway, after weeding in the garden last Saturday for a mere five minutes, I returned with 34 mosquito bites on my left leg and 37 on my right - from the knee down on each leg. And that was at 1:00 in the blazing sun! Forget going down there in the cooler evenings!

As if I wasn't already itchy enough, I've picked up poison ivy somewhere along the way. Now, normally that's Edward's affliction du jour. He is terribly susceptible to it. When he was younger he would swell like a balloon, sometimes having his eyes swell nearly shut. For me, I've prided myself in only having it once in my life, and I think it was a tiny patch on my pinkie. Every time Edward has ever had it, I've never gotten it. Until now. Yay me! I was itching before Drew, Elizabeth and I went blueberry/blackberry picking Saturday. The week before, we did go out to a state park for a little while (Elizabeth went camping with our friends, the Williams, and when we picked her up at the campsite, we stayed to roast hot dogs, make s'mores, and visit for the evening), but I stayed in a chair by the fire the entire time - never venturing out into the woods. Who knows how I got this. It started out as one tiny little itchy place on my neck. I just figured it was another mosquito bite. Within a few days I was itching on my legs and thighs, all around my neck, on my chest and back, arms, and a little spot on my chin. Drew also has it on his arms and now neck and side. I asked Edward if his was poison ivy, and he said, "Yes." I asked him about mine (before it had spread so much) and he answered the same way. Nice.

So last night I did some searching on the Internet about how to get rid of it. Here are some suggestions:

The only over-the-counter poison ivy medication which contains the urushiol killing mineral spirits is called Technu. This stuff works wonders to kill the oil that causes the skin infection, thereby also preventing spread of the oil to other parts of the body. So, buy Technu, and follow all the instructions and warnings on its label.
Isn't that the name of a video game?

If you can't afford to buy Technu, or are just too cheap, then there is another option for the desperate: paint thinner.
Um, won't that burn?

You can put tooth paste on the infected areas and let it sit for 5-10 min. Do this twice a day for 3 days and it will go away.
And your arm will smell minty fresh, too!

Apply cool, wet compresses. Moisten a clean washcloth in cool water and apply to skin for several minutes. Re-moisten the cloth as needed to keep it cool. Using cold whole milk instead of water has proven more effective for some people, and an ice compress can relieve particularly nasty swelling or burning.
Do you now how expensive milk is these days?! Heck no!

Swimming in a pool with chlorine may assist. The chlorine cleans and disinfects the rash. Spend as much time as possible in the pool. Try at least 3-4 hours at a public pool. After doing this the itching will usually stop completely, it will start to go away within days, and will barely spread.
Now you're talking my language!

Bleach also seems to work well when it comes to treating poison ivy. If the poison is on your hand, find a small bowl and soak your hand in it for several minutes. It will sting quite a bit, but it would clean it right out.
And then if that doesn't do the trick, get a blow torch and burn the first 27 layers of skin off. That should make the rash disappear completely!

rub gasoline on all affected areas, then rinse well with soap and water……
And DO NOT light a match! Yikes!

OK this is a really gross way to get rid of poison but it works. it is from the mountains and my grandparents told me about it and how to do it. when u have the poison ivy/oak/sumac then urinate in a plastic container and put a washrag in it and wash over the affected spot, once applied evenly wait till it dries and then go take a shower and wash over spot really good so you get the urine off. i used to have poison ivy really bad but now that i have tried this method i haven't had it in years
Okay, okay, my poison ivy isn't THAT BAD! I'm sure three out of my four children would be happy to help me with this remedy!

If you can find good, old fashioned lye soap, scrub the heck out of the affected area. It will burn when you are doing it, but it dries it up faster than anything I have tried.
The next time I run into Pa and Ma Engalls, I'll be sure to ask to borrow theirs.

Find Jewel Weed, instructions for applying the remedy can be found here:
Um, I think that's illegal every where except California. I'd better not.

Use common sense when trying home remedies. Some of the suggestions you may hear or read about may actually be harmful, so exercise caution and ask your doctor’s advice before trying anything questionable.
You think? Thanks for the permission.

I discovered there are some really weird people in the world. Anyway, I'm thinking this fluffy, pasty white, rash-laden body is gonna look mighty fine on the beach next week! I hope I don't run into any blind people. If they touch my skin they might think I'm a walking billboard, advertising in Braille!

Our First Garden

We planted a garden this year for the first time ever. It seems every spring we always say, "maybe next year."

We certainly have plenty of room on our property for one. We put it back in the corner of our second lot, so as not to disturbs Ross' baseball field :) The garden is right next to a creek bed, just close enough for the mosquitoes to feast on us when we go weed or pick the veggies.

We have tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, and peppers right now. I really need to stake the tomato plants because they are getting a bit droopy. Also, something keeps tasting the tomatoes for us! Arg! Just when one is just about ready to pick, I'll come out to get it and there are bites taken out of it! I'm guessing a turtle. The okra is coming along now that I'm staying on top of sprinkling them with 7 Dust to keep the critters from sampling the leaves.

The empty back half of the garden was once home to corn, green beans, cucumbers, and sweet peas, but we donated those plants to some bunnies. Wasn't that nice of us?

Our biggest success is the pepper plants. There is nothing like fresh homegrown vegetables! It's one of my favorite parts of summer!

A Limmerick

I have a sweet little babe,

Who phoned 9*1*1 today.

Cops came to our place,

To see we were safe.

With the phone, she'll ne'er again play.

Mallory called 911 today. I know, I know. My 15 month old is a genius.

Elizabeth and Mallory were playing as I was making salsa in the kitchen today. Mallory was playing with the phone, when I heard Elizabeth shout, "MOM!! Mallory just called someone!!!" I took the phone away and told her it was okay. About 10 minutes later the doorbell rang. Ross and Elizabeth went to answer it, and I hear Elizabeth scream at the top of her lungs, "THE COPS!!!!!!" as she comes running in to me. I walked in to open the front door and found two officers. One was the father of a boy in Ross' class & husband of woman who has known my family for years. He was grinning, seeing me come to the door followed my little ducklings. The other police man was "Officer Straight Face." He didn't seem to appreciate having to come check in on us. After assuring them that we were indeed safe, they went on their merry way. The door closed, and Elizabeth said, "I thought you were gonna get arrested."

Now, lucky me, three of my four kids have called 911 at some point. All but Drew have made this Rite of Passage. Oh joy! One time, the 911 call was really legit, though. 4 year-old Ross called 911 for me when Elizabeth had her first febrile seizure at age two. I was a bit spooked because it seemed to go on forever. Other than that time, it's all been for fun :-)

*On a side note, I can't for the life of me figure out why I can't space between my paragraphs! Arg! Something must be set this way, and I don't know how in the world to fix it! Sorry! I do know how to write correctly, but blogger just won't let me!

No Fear

It's not every day that you see a 14 month old that wants to jump off a diving board. She loves it. The first time she tried it, she jumped off 10 times in a row.

This is one little girl that keeps her Momma on her toes!

Lots of Fear

Drew is the complete opposite of Mallory.

Brought to you by the letter "Y"

The kids took turns sleeping on the air mattress recently. This is the funny sight Edward saw one night before turning in.

Hello, down there!

And this is how I found Elizabeth sleeping on the air mattress when it was her turn:

...really sunken in. It's kind of hard to tell from this picture, but she was practically touching the ground. Somehow (I don't know how it could happen - it's not like I have four monkeys jumping on the bed each time the air mattress rolls out.) the air mattress got a hole in it, and it deflates while you're sleeping on it. I've looked and looked, but I can't find the hole to patch it up.

*On a side note, I really need to audition Elizabeth's room for Clean Sweep or something. She is our collector/hoarder. I call her the Queen of Crap because of all of her, shall I say, treasures.

Yowza!

Is this normal?

I was stung by a wasp two days ago while at the pool, and I've woken up the past two mornings to find the red itchy spot at least doubled in size each day.

I'm not having trouble breathing, and I just took some loratadine (hope that helps). I've only been stung by a wasp one other time, so I'm hoping this is normal. I would hate for my arm to turn green and fall off.

Phone Etiquette

Let's say, hypothetically, a four year old boy answered the telephone (On the first ring. Before his mother could get to it. He was in the basement. And she was on the second floor. They were separated by three levels) by saying, "Hello? Are you poop? I thought you were poop." And the person on the other end worked for the woman's husband's insurance company. Hypothetically, how would you punish him?

I'll Take Two, Mr. Ronco!

Thanks to the hiatus from our school schedule this summer, my quest to find a peaceful moment to myself often extends well into the wee hours of morning. During the school year, my bed time is often midnight. This summer it has been more like 1:00 to 2:00 a.m. I've always been a night owl, and have never really enjoyed waking in the early morning hours (Who am I kidding? I consider anything before 9:00 a.m. to be early. Do I usually get up before then? Almost always) . "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." Thank goodness I'm not a man, because I would definitely be unhealthy, unwealthy, and unwise! While I bask in my quiet midnight solitude, I can usually be found working on household or crafting projects, reading, on the computer, or catching up on some t.v. I've decided that it's a good thing I don't have a credit card handy while watching late-night t.v. Why? Those ridiculous infomercials really have me wanting their products?

I want a Magic Bullet! Why, if I had one, I could have my family's dinner made in MERE SECONDS instead of an hour!

I'd love The Juicer! If I had one, I could serve my family nutritious kale/beet/lima bean beverages to go along with their meals!

I really want The Clapper! It would certainly make all those awakening-from-deep-sleep-to-go-with-children-on-bathroom/drink-trips a whole lot easier!

To tell the truth, I really do want one of those ShamWow's. It probably could soak up the Mississippi River with just one swipe! That baby would definitely get some good use in a house full of monkeys!

I'm really thinking I could make an extra $208,947 this year if I just follow Carlton Sheet's advice!

Those Kinoki Detox Foot Pads really look like a rad deal! All I have to do is slap those suckers on my bare feet when I sleep, and when I wake up, Viola! Toxins Be Gone!

And who could forget Ronco's Spray On Hair! Doesn't every man want to spray paint his bald spot to match his hair color?

Sign me up people! I want to get while the gettin's good!

Not Again!

Yesterday I thought I'd tackle cleaning these windows on the south side of our house:

Hefty undertaking, I know. With this house we still have SO MANY PROJECTS! Anyway, as I set about getting my work done, Drew and Mallory accompanied me outside to "assisst." I had the water hose turned on very slightly to rinse away the cleaning product. All started off well enough, until Drew began making an "experiment" with the hose. We don't have so much luck with the hose (anyone remember this episode?).

Anyway, before long Mallory began slipping and sliding in the mud, before finally getting a little assistance from Good Ole' Elizabeth.

You should have seen the mud left over in the bath tub.

P.S. School starts 5 weeks from today! Not that I'm counting or anything.

Kung Fu Drew

Drew is known to fall asleep with some crazy things on him or in his bed. This is the latest wacky get-up I found him in:

He wore Sock 'em Boppers on his feet. When he saw these pictures he told me with a straight face, "Don't take pictures of me when I'm asleep."

Crazy Harry

My nephew, Harrison, is such a funny little guy! He always makes me laugh. My favorite story of him is when he was about 2 1/2 and the Schwann's man came to their house. It was at the time when the U.S. was on the hunt for a hidden Saddam Hussein. The Schwann Man had thick dark hair and a thick dark mustache. After my sister closed the door from doing business with him, Harrison was over in the corner and said to Andrea, "Me no love him. Me no love Saddam."

Vacation 2006

The Waddell kids posing in front of the Twister ride

When we zoomed in on Harrison's face, this is what we saw. I laugh every time I see it!

Afro Harry

The kids were captured by Zurg.

Again, this is what we saw when we zoomed in on Harrison.




Here are pictures of his latest shenanigans:

He used a plastic knife to score teeth in a HUGE piece of cantaloupe he shoved in his mouth.

He reminded me of Dr. Teeth (of the Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem fame). To quote him from The Muppet Movie: "Golden teeth and golden tones, welcome to my presence."

Blueberry Picking

We LOVE blueberries at our house, so we're always so excited when the nearby blueberry farm opens for the season. We were extra excited this year because it's been two years since were able to go to the farm (due to a frost after the blueberries bushes had already begun to bloom).
We actually went on the morning of July 4th, since I would have Edward's help in picking. The weather here that day was fantastic! It only got up into the high 70's, so it was a perfect day for picking blueberries!

As you can see, Mallory was very enthusiastic about helping! She actually did a pretty good job! I think Ross ended up eating more than he picked. Every time we looked at him he was eating some. Elizabeth was a good sport without much complaining. Drew started the morning off not wanting to participate (he just thought he would wait for us at the picnic table while we did all the work), but thankfully he decided to have some fun and help us out (and make us laugh by putting the bucket on his head). He declared he was finished about 15 minutes into it and decided to squish beetles instead. He had me in tears of laughter though, because the bug guts (or beetle juice as he called it) smelled HORRID on his arm. He kept sniffing his arm and then gagging from the smell. He was begging to go home so he could take a bath.

It was quite a successful day for us! We ended up picking over 15 pounds of blueberries which ended up being about 60+ cups. We've already made blueberry pancakes, smoothies, and of course we eat them as a snack. I always hope to pick enough so that they can last through out the year in our freezer, but I usually don't get that far. Yum-O!

Orlando

Yeah! We're back! We had a very fun time in Orlando. Because of Edward's hard work, he qualified for the American Family Insurance All-American Convention. He is 5 for 5 in qualifying for these trips, and we really appreciate all he does to get us there! Usually both of the evening functions/dinners are for the agent and spouse only, but because this year's destination was so kid-friendly, they also invited children. They had a fun carnival-themed evening - carnival games, limbo, balloon animals and swords, dancing, plate spinning, etc.
(I made the girls' cute little Minnie polka-dotted pillowcase dresses just for this event! I was happy with how they turned out, and they were super easy and quick to make!)

They had some fantastic face painters. Elizabeth was a lovely butterfly girl, Ross was a beast, Drew wanted a small Spiderman, and my biggest boy, Edward, even wanted to get in on the fun.

Mallory had the "Grip of Death" on me when her dad tried to talk to her for the first hour we were there. She wouldn't go any where near him for the first part of the night.

Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure

We had a really great time at Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure. The day we went to Islands of Adventure, the weather was great... for Orlando. It was still really hot and humid, but it was very cloudy & overcast. Yeah! The next day at Universal, was H.O.T., but we couldn't believe how uncrowded the park was! We were able to do everything we wanted and leave by 2:00 p.m. for an afternoon of swimming. We dragged Drew on a few rides, but he still isn't a ride kind of guy thanks to his Daddy. Mal, on the other hand, LOVED every ride she got to take part in. Ross decided to try to brave a few rides this time that he didn't try two years ago, and he was pretty happy he did. He especially loved the Mummy. He even said, "I really wish I would have ridden this last time." I said, "Ross. I tried to tell you you could do it last time, but you got mad that I tried to talk you into it."

Edward feeds Mallory to a T-Rex

This is the cute little Curious George play area. While I fed Mallory, I sent Edward over with the other three. I knew there was a water area, so I told them not to get soaked. What did I see when I walked over there? Edward telling Elizabeth where to stand and Elizabeth getting a HUGE bucket of water (think water park bucket size) dumped on her. All of the kids were dripping. Edward said, "They're having fun." True, but they wouldn't be having fun later as their wet shorts rubbed there legs raw. Actually, they did dry pretty quickly.

My favorite ride was the brand new Simpson's ride. Hilarious! We weren't allowed to watch the show growing up, and we don't allow our kids to watch it either. That being said, I'd forgotten how funny the Simpson's are! Those one-liners! My favorite was when we were getting in the cars (2 rows of 4), and Homer's voice is heard saying, "Find a seat please. It doesn't matter where you sit. All seats are the same, except for the good ones."

Mallory's sweet, unsuspecting face before the Jaws ride started ;)

JAWS!

She was in my lap before we were finished!

Dear sunglasses,

my how I loved you! Your comfortable grasp on my head was a match made in heaven. Your classy style received many a compliment from others. Best of all, I love that you only cost me $3. You're not supposed to pick favorites, but you were mine.

I tucked you tightly into my shirt when we rode The Mummy, just as I had the last time. It was my fault for not holding onto you, but Ross and Elizabeth were on either side of me, and I had both arms sprawled in front of them, a mother protecting her young. In slow motion, I saw you float in front of my face in the darkness as we plummeted down the first hill. I tried to grab you, but my cat-like reflexes just weren't a match for The Mummy. I imagine you are at the bottom of a near black room, accompanied by other sunglasses, hats, and coins. I could take Elizabeth's advice and ride it again, hoping to have the coaster hit you and send you flying back into my lap. R.I.P.

Deepest Sympathy,

Stephanie