BUGS and INSECTS and SPIDERS

My residing state of Georgia has its good points - the average temp is about 85 degrees, its people are courteous, its luscious shrubbery is abundant, and of course these southerners fry just about anything. Oh, and boiled peanuts (I can't get enough of those salt laden pieces of mush).

But Georgia also has a few bad points - the average humidity is like 100%, its people are top of the list in the nation for obesity rates (probably due to that yummy fried chicken, fried pickles, fried Twinkies, fried, fried, fried...), and its luscious shrubbery brings with its great beauty big BUGS and INSECTS and SPIDERS and BUGS and INSECTS and SPIDERS and... Seriously, cockroaches the size of your middle finger... in our house... with a baby.

When we first bought our charming 1940's BUG and INSECT and SPIDER infested home, we weren't aware of the BUGS and INSECTS and SPIDERS that resided in the swamps of South Georgia. Older homes = more BUGS and INSECTS and SPIDERS. Oh, and the bigger the trees the more, you guessed it, BUGS and INSECTS and SPIDERS.

So when I woke up with a bite from an obviously HUGE and DEADLY spider, I got a little worried. But I tried to play tough guy; even taking the dog and baby out for a run in the morning. But as the day progressed, I quickly thought I was dying a slow death from the HUGE and DEADLY venom that was in my body. I convinced myself I couldn't even eat. Too sick, going to die.

So after a night of no sleep due to watching for spiders that were going to get Hadley, and to the fact that my leg felt like it was going to fall off, I convinced myself to go see a doctor bright and early in the morning.

"So did ya get a meskeeder bite?"

This was no mosquito bite. "Really? Could a mosquito cause this much pain?"

"Either that or an ingrown hair. It looks like you just shaved your legs."

I knew I wasn't going to win with this guy, so I didn't tell him what I had dreamed up in my mind.

"In all my 20 years of practice I have NEVER seen a spider bite...." Never is a very strong word, and I doubt anyone who uses it.

He gave me a shot on my butt, handed me some antibiotics, and told me to come back if the ingrown hair gets worse.

Yes, I will be back to show him his FIRST spider bite in all his 20 years of practice.

Here is a roach I cleaned up just TODAY. They are always dead and they flip themselves over. Our monthly extermination does not keep the roaches from coming in our house, it just kills them once they are in our home. Lovely. Don't you want to live in the swamp lands?

On another note, little miss Hadley has been sleeping for 12 hours most nights and has been for about a month! This happened thanks to a wonderful book recommendation by my friend Holly called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.