Ants

Do you know the song

The ants go marching one by one hurrah hurrah....?

Well, I don't know all of it either because I didn't teach little kids, but I do know that first verse. Unfortunately, I sing that one verse constantly because of an awful ant invasion that I've had since I moved in.

At first those little boogers came from the dining room and slowly but surely made their way to the kitchen. So Andy sprayed. What happened after that? Those ants just changed to a new starting point to slowly make their way into the kitchen. So Andy sprayed. They kept moving to a new starting point over and over again. So Andy sprayed over and over again. I even called the property manager, and he sent out an exterminator that used a super strong, stinky chemical that I remember from my childhood. That super strong, stinky chemical didn't help those ants.

Every time I saw ants I pulled out my All Natural Antibacterial Kitchen cleaner (which smells really good) and sprayed those ants. The cleaner killed those ants quite quickly. But you know what? For every 20 I killed, here came 20 more. Over and over. For the past week or so I couldn't figure out where those ants were coming. I guess the spraying was working in one way.

Yesterday I became quite irritated about not knowing the starting point, so I conducted an experiment. I pulled out a beautiful white dish and filled it with several tablespoons of syrup. Guess what?!?!?! The ants came in droves to that plate. Then they got stuck in the syrup. Oh I was so happy to see all of those ants stuck. This is the conversation I imagined they had with each other:

"Go back. You'll get stuck. Go back. Go back. We can't move. Go back."

Before you think I'm crazy...during my studies of how to get rid of ants, I did read that ants emit a noise to the other ants when danger is near. The other ants did start running when their compatriots were sprayed with the antibacterial cleaner. I then had to move quickly to get those ants that were running away sprayed.

Anyways back to my story....I followed that ant trail from the pretty white plate with all the dead ants stuck in the syrup. Do you know where it led? Behind the dishwasher. I pulled out the dishwasher and saw hundreds of ants marching to the syrup. Andy arrived about 15 minutes after this discovery and sprayed that ant trail. The best news of all is that I haven't seen a single ant all day. Whoo Hoo!

Now I have to wait and see how long this being free from ants lasts. I'm really hoping that we are finished with the ants, but if not, then Andy will keep spraying, I'll keep spraying the antibacterial cleaner, I'll keep smooshing them, and I'll continue the constant lookout of crumbs on the floor and counter tops.

Facts I've Learned about My Ants:

1. They love meat. If ever a morsel was dropped, they swarmed it. I have 3 young kids. Morsels were dropped all the time.
2. They didn't like overly processed foods like Trix cereal.
3. They loved my gluten free muffins.
4. They loved the Princess and Winnie the Pooh cupcakes.
5. I could follow a trail fairly easily. Except when they disappeared behind the dishwasher.
6. They really can carry a lot of weight.
7. They carried each other. Twice I saw one ant carrying another ant. I don't know if the ant being carried was dead or had some other problem.

Dancing with The Stars

Tuesday evening 7:30 Dubai time:

Andy:  Do you want to watch DWTS?
Me:  Are you asking me out on a date?
Andy:  Isn't this what we do every Tuesday night?

The answer to the last question is yes unless Andy has a work function to attend.  The response to the 2nd question is...I'll take a date with Andy any way I can get it.  And of course the answer to the first question is YES.  DWTS is my favorite TV show.  Here's my take on the remaining contestants:

Florence Henderson:  (just voted off)  she looks amazing and she can move well for being 76. 
Bristol Palin:  she is a cute girl, but she won't make it to the finals.  She only has 1 facial expression.
Rick Fox:  he seems to be a down to earth, nice person but won't win.
Brandy:  she is a good dancer and has a nice figure, but i don't like her much
Jennifer Grey:  she is 50.  i want to look that good now!  she better win.
Audrina Pattridge:  she is a good dancer, but she isn't as good as Jennifer.
Kyle Massey:  I love him.  He is such a character.
Kurt Warner:  very dedicated and confident

Contestants that win have some similarities:

They are perfectionists
They are confident (no time wasted on building confidence)
They know how to control and move their body
They are dedicated to the amount of work necessary to learn the dances
Seem to be good, decent people

Athletes do well on the show because they contain the above traits.  The contestants that appear to have "good" characteristics tend to win.  This makes me feel that there are Americans who still appreciate honesty, hard-work, people who can grow from criticism, and perserverance.  Maybe I'm reading too much into the show, but afterall, it's my favorite show and the only one that I've watched religiously since it first aired.  I can't wait for Rock n' Roll week.  I wonder what they'll do?

A Very Smart Statement

While I was just about to put dinner on the table tonight, Olivia discussed in one sentence a concept that many people struggle to overcome.  She discovered this while she was eating lunch today.  This is her sentence, "My tummy told me I was full, but my mind said, Eat!"  Oh sweet Olivia, that is so true.  You should always listen to your tummy.

Kissing

Boston and Olivia are both having experiences with kissing and being in love with other children in their classes!  Yikes!  Here's the story.

A couple weeks ago I met the Mom of one little girl in Boston's class.  She is the first parent that told me of Boston's love for her daughter.  I apologized, she laughed, and even mentioned having a play date (Boston doesn't need a play date with a girl).  The next day I met the Dad of another little girl in Boston's class.  He overheard me politely urging my son to, "Hurry up."  He said, "Oh, so this is Boston."  I knew something was coming.  He told me of the hearts that he has from Boston to his daughter.  Again I apologized.  That evening Andy and I spoke with our little Romeo about listening to his teacher and learning what she has to teach, and to LEAVE THE GIRLS ALONE! 

Last week Olivia came home telling me about a little boy that always try to kiss her.  After several days of the same story, I spoke with the teacher.  Then I didn't hear anything until today.  Now it has progressed to the little boy kissing her on the lips!  Andy and I both told her to run away and tell the teacher.  I felt like telling her to start screaming as well but that might be a tad much.  I've also envisioned her giggling and thereby encouraging him to kiss her.  She better not be doing that.  She also informed me that this little boy wants to marry her.  I've had a chance to scope out this little boy while volunteering in the classroom.  He does have nice hair but likes to talk a lot.

My verdict is kissing and liking boys and girls are both on all of the kids' minds.  I've met another mom who told me her daughter always kisses the boys.  She told me this as her daughter and Boston were standing just a foot away from each other.  She must know the signs when her daughter is going in for a smooch!  I also have heard several stories of Andy being "in love" in kindergarten as well.  Maybe my children have inherited his romanticalness :)

P.S.  Yes, there is a made up word in that post.  My sisters and I like to use it.

On the Bike

Boston and Olivia are learning how to ride their bikes without training wheels.  Boston took off perfectly fine.  Sometimes he crashes into the bushes.  Olivia is learning, but she gets a little frustrated and wants to quit.  Enjoy the videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAzB7mP-Row
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slM09qr4gdg