Yay for Springtime (alternative title: I Hate Bugs)

It has been a long, cold, bleak winter. Throw into the mix that I had a baby in January, rendering me essentially homebound for 2 months with a newborn an overly energetic 2 1/2 year old, and you've got one stir-crazy Momma.

Ca.Ray.Zy.

Every time the forecast even hinted at the promise of temperatures above 45 degrees, I'd start drooling. Slowly but surely, the weather is becoming Spring. Ahhhhhhh sweet, sweet Spring. Green grass. Long days. Warm sun kissing my skin. Playing outside. Fresh air. Grilled meals. After-dinner walks. And bugs.

Yes. Bugs.

It is the inevitable curse to the blessing of Spring. Humans are not the only beings on this earth that long for warmth and sunshine. Bugs of every shape, size and color begin to make their way to the surface this time of year. It starts with an ant here, a mosquito there, a stinkbug landing on the side of your house. Then BAM.

You're infested.

For those of you who are not from Pennsylvania, you may have heard that we are having a crisis of biblical proportions with stinkbugs. I have not hid my hatred for these bastards. I truly loathe them. And if they want my house, they will have to tangle with me, because I am not going down without a fight.

While we wait for their arrival, I've been slightly taken off guard by the quiet hostile takeover of some other uninvited insects (do you hear that, bugs? UNINVITED!!). A few days ago, I was getting Little Chica and I some breakfast while the (yet to be nicknamed for the blog) baby was taking a nap. I happened to glance at the dining room floor to find some black movement by Little Chica's highchair. Upon further investigation, I see the movement is ants. Maybe about 20. Checking around the rest of the room, I see that we've got a small situation on our hands. I do what anyone else would do in such an emergency situation: I grabbed sprayable household cleanser and sprayed the crappers to death (not only did this kill the bugs, but it served to nicely clean my floor as well). Throughout the day, when I saw another ant, I'd spray spray spray, until Hubby got home and could better take care of them.

Ants in the dining room is understandable. Little Chica is not the tidiest of eaters. This is an understatement. Eating with Little Chica is like eating with a food tornado. There is no end to the crumbs, spills, splats, and general mess that adorns our dining room after a meal. So it is no surprise that word has gotten out to the ant community that 3 times a day there is a free buffet in our household.

We really should start charging admission.

Ants in the dining room, understandable. Ants in the downstairs bathroom, not so much. This was especially startling, as I did not discover their presence until I was unfortunately indisposed. You can imagine how difficult it is to use the commode while trying to keep your feet from touching the floor.

I was prepared to battle the stinkbugs. Ants I am unprepared for. I am on the lookout for gnats as well. We struggled with these pests in the Fall, when the weather started changing. They have completely mystified me. One day they just...showed up. At first we thought they were fruit flies. Atleast, that is what they looked like. But they started appearing all over the house. Like in every room. Not swarming, thank goodness. But hanging out at the windows. Every window. In every room. And we realized we were not dealing with fruit flies. And that this might not be easily solved.

One day it got particularly bad, when there were hundreds, nay thousands, clouding the interior of my windows. I sat on the steps in our living room and cried until Hubby got home. After rolling his eyes at my ridiculousness (hey, give me a break, I was in my third trimester of pregnancy!), he used an organic all-natural spray to get rid of them. And that worked. For a little while. The only downside to taking this measure is that our house smelled strongly of peppermint and rootbeer, as the spray used different essential oils to kill the bugs. It was not until Winter was upon us and the temperature was consistently cold that we got a reprieve. On the first warm day a few weeks ago, a few managed to find their way in. They left the next day when the weather dropped, as it usually does between seasons.

But they will be back. Oh believe me, I know they will be back. It looks like the battle is beginning, and with several enemies armed for war. They can put up a fight, but I am not going down easy.

Bring it, Bugs.

PS: Thanks for officially ruining Springtime for me.