The ants are marching...

all over the sidewalks, in the grass, on the patio, through the vegetable garden, in my living room, in my bathroom... What in the world? Anybody have some fantastic ideas about ridding our home and yard of ants safely (for Fischer and the dogs)?

Updates

Post updates...

• The founder of Drop in and Decorate Inc., Lydia Walshin, saw my post and posted about our event on the Drop in and Decorate site. Which reminds me that Emily and I had a fun idea when we were dropping off the cookies at the shelter, you can read about it on the Drop site. I also noticed that Lydia recently posted a much needed tip about how to make perfectly red icing... all of ours turned out different shades of pink... even using and entire container of Wilton red food coloring.
• After my massage, I was hoping that all of my neck-shoulder-arm pain and numbness would be gone. AND it was for a few hours, till it came back in the middle of the night with a vengeance. I even woke up with it accompanied by a rip roaring headache and ALL of those fabulous feelings lasted the entire day Thursday. HOWEVER, I haven't had it nearly as bad since, so maybe it DID work.
• Answers to my cake decorating questions: First, to frost the crumb sides of a cut cake, it worked out nicely to freeze the cake, brush away the crumbs and put a thin layer of frosting (a crumb coat) on and then freeze it again. Then I frosted it with a wide frosting knife and was able to get a "smooth" finish (OK, mine wasn't that smooth, but it wasn't crumby). Second, the mini cupcake papers worked out just fine for removing the mini cupcakes nicely. Third, the Lego candies were chewable, about the consistency of Sweet tarts, and they Do stack for building. Finally, the Lego Fruit Snacks are no longer available in stores nor online.
• Bedtime is an absolute miracle (knock on wood). The new rules and routine are working great... he falls asleep within minutes of me leaving the room, sometimes within seconds! I'm not kidding! He didn't even get thrown off with daylight savings.
• Still working on the mealtime problems.

Talk to me Tuesday: Cake decorating HELP!

I'm attempting to make these cute little Lego cakes for Fischer's birthday party on Saturday. I found the recipe here on Betty Crocker - it is the best looking of all the Lego cakes I've found so far on the Internet. So, today I took a trial run and - YUCK! The frosting is the problem. After making the sheet cake, you slice it into smaller pieces to create different sized Legos... but that means that you are frosting the crumby sides. I froze the cake and still ended up with a very crumby frosting job.

? - Do you have any tips on how to do this? I've decided to do a white cake, so the crumbs aren't as obvious (I tried chocolate today), and I just used the frosting they recommended from the container... but there has to be a better way. Do I whip it or something? Do you know of a better frosting for this sort of thing? I've been using a butter knife, is that the problem?

I did discover, the marshmallows were easier to frost on top of a fork, rather than the suggested tooth pick ... but still they didn't look nearly as smooth and professional as the picture.

HELP!

?- Also, I'm planning on making mini-cupcakes for the kids with Lego candy on top. Do any of you have any tips on the best way to pry the little suckers from the pan without sticking? I've gotten mixed reviews on whether or not to use the tiny cupcake papers. Is there a spray that's better than another? Have you tried those sprays with flour in them?

?- I ordered the Lego candy online and they haven't arrived yet. Have you ever eaten these? Are they the consistency of Smarties or conversation hearts? Will they be easy for 3 year-olds to chew?

?- I tried to find the Lego fruit snacks that Kelloggs had, but they don't seem to be sold in any of my local grocery stores and I couldn't even find them on the Kelloggs website. I saw them on Amazon, but they are unavailable. It is probably too late to order them now anyway... but if you have seen them in a particular store this week, let me know!

Thank you for ANY advice you can share, I need serious help before Saturday.

Talk to me Tuesday... Mealtime

I'm coming to you for ideas.

• Problem: Fischer will NOT stay seated to complete a meal in a timely fashion. He is on and off his seat, playing, talking, etc. Mealtime takes forever, he eats very little, Andy and I get frustrated.
• How we actually caused the problem: We have eaten one too many meals at the coffee table.
• What we've tried: Holding dessert over his head - could care less. Put the high chair back in action - this keeps him in place, but does not ensure that he actually eats.

Obviously, we need to get our family back to the kitchen table, but then what? Any ideas? What works for you? Am I expecting too much?

6 bits of randomness

1. I had forgotten to follow up on the almost Thanksgiving horror story. Luckily Fischer was so distracted by all of the family and hoopla he didn't even notice the turkey. In fact the ONLY things he ate were ranch dip and cool whip! He ate his weight in white creamy substances. Gross. He loved Thanksgiving and was a huge ham for all of the relatives. Seriously, what did we ever talk about before he came along? Anyway, he still seems to be a vegetarian except for the occasional bite of chicken at someone else's house.


2. I also forgot to tell you about the pet psychic, I WILL tell you about that this week sometime. (Thanks for the reminder Angela)


3. Have I mentioned that one of the major downfalls to getting rid of the binky is that Fisch now licks and sucks on his hands? Just FYI in case you are thinking of getting rid of your babe's pacifier. Say goodbye to naps and hello to hands in mouth! Still want to do it? Let em' keep that thing till college... or at least till cold and flu season is over.


4. You know that poem, "When I am Old I Will Wear Purple"? You know, it is the one that inspired the Red Hat Society (of which my mother is the 'queen mother' of her chapter)? Well, somebody lent it to Sophie and Kaia... and now they think that because they are 10 years old, or 70 years old rather, that they can sit and sleep on the furniture - seriously right in front of me, with a look like "yah, so, what are you gonna do?" AND they have begun to eat off the counter and the table and the stove!!!! What? They never did this before. If I find out who tried to liberate my old lady dogs... well... I'm giving them to YOU!


5. We've decked the halls and trimmed the tree and we are oh-so ready for Christmas... and Hannukkah (Andy's mom is Jewish). We've already started reading books about these holidays and singing carols with Fischer. The new thought on my mind is... do I go with the whole "Santa brings you presents" thing? Or do I say "some people believe Santa brings you presents" Or we like to "pretend that Santa comes down the chimney". I want Christmas to be most importantly about the birth of Christ, however I think all of the Santa and reindeer stuff has a place too. How do you do it?


6. Yay, I finally finished my NaBloPoMo! 30 posts in 30 days! Were they all stellar? Not in the slightest, but I did it. Now if only I could devote that kind of commitment to something that really matters in my life. Well maybe this will propel me forward to the next 30 days of something. OK, OK - I'm going to do it for all of you to see... here I go>>> 31 days of exercise in December! I'm doin' it. Wanna come along? I'll keep you posted.

Is selling blood plasma a scam?

The other day I was donating whole blood at the Red Cross. While laying back in the chair staring at the phlebotomist in awkward silence, I decided to strike up a conversation. I was curious about if the blood given at this particular center is used all over the world. No. It is only used in my state... and we use it all up!
I was really curious about selling plasma. I know a lot of people who do that, and I wondered what the difference is. I recently had a friend tell me that selling plasma is actually MORE helpful than donating whole blood. Is this true?
The phlebotomist told me, definitely NOT! She claimed that the plasma sold could never be used in another human body because sellers who may need money, may be more inclined to lie when giving information about their current health status. In fact, she said that certain companies spend 'big bucks' to buy plasma from these places in order to use them in commercial products. Seriously? She claimed that the plasma is used in a number of beauty and personal care products as well as pet food. What? She did say that some of the plasma could possibly be used for research and/or pharmaceuticals. Have you ever heard of this?
She was obviously anti-plasma sales and pro-whole blood donations or other Red Cross donatables (platelets, red blood cells). She mentioned that if I told anyone who sells plasma about this, they'd argue with me until they were blue in the face... or maybe I'd be blue in the face... I can't remember. But anyway, I think the subject is important. If a person is selling plasma for extra money, great... whatever. BUT, if a person is selling plasma because they think they are saving lives... well then, shouldn't they know the truth?
So the question is, is this woman speaking fact or hearsay? Anybody? I've been trying to find information on the subject, and am not having much luck. Websites for plasma centers call it "lifesaving" or "lifegiving".
The only negatives I found were about the donors themselves and some naughty plasma centers. The FDA regulates these centers and has found some to be out of compliance. Apparently, many people do falsify information when going in to sell plasma. They may claim that they do not do intravenous drugs, or do not have specific diseases, or are not pregnant... when in fact they are lying. Some centers apparently falsify reports - over bleeding patients, fudging the red blood cell counts of donors so that they appear healthier than they are, allowing feverish, intoxicated, underweight, or pregnant women to have their blood drawn.
It is an interesting subject, and I really am interested in more information if anyone could shed some light on the subject.
For me, I'll stick with the Red Cross. But if you are going to sell plasma, with the intent to save a life, maybe we should do a little more research.

By the way, doctors and hospitals can get plasma from the Red Cross whole blood donations.