On the topic of "Hate"

hate
Function: verb
1 : to feel extreme enmity toward
2 : to have a strong aversion to : find very distasteful

The word "hate" is not one you will hear often in our home.  I've explained to Isabella that hate is a very strong word/emotion and should not be used lightly. I cringe whenever my friends tell me their kids tell them they hate them. It makes my heart break.

And yes, regardless of how much love we shower our kids with, I'm sure they'll slap me hard with those words some day. Like when we don't let them borrow the car, or leave the house with a micro mini skirt or not let them do who knows what else.

For now at least, hate is often reserved for those things that we totally and absolutely despise. Like for example, Scott hates mowing the lawn. Isabella hates it when Sam goes in her room and messes things up. Sam's too young to hate much of anything,... except for maybe nap time. As for me, two things come to mind right away when I think of what I absolutely hate: Flies and Mosquitoes.

Flies: Well, they're NASTY! Simple as that. They are disgusting little creatures that make my blood boil at the mere sight of one, especially inside my house, which is pretty much inevitable in the South. They land on all kinds of vile stuff outside and then want to land on your food. Ewww! Can you say GROSS?!

Mosquitoes: I honestly did not have any issues with mosquitoes until I had children. My kids are severely allergic to mosquito bites and often swell up like balloons the minute a mosquito lands on either one of them. And many times end up with infected bites. This makes outdoor activities very challenging between the months of May and November. The amount of money spent on OFF and other mosquito repellent products in this house is crazy! The only saving grace we have is VICKS VapoRub, but only if it's applied soon after the bite. So as you can imagine, there is VICKS everywhere in our home, car, diaper bag and purse.
 
And just case you think I'm exaggerating, this is why I HATE mosquitoes:

My poor baby! 

Last night, he helped his daddy mow the lawn. Without applying any mosquito repellent. This is what he looks like today. He has eight mosquito bites on his face and neck. EIGHT!! Not to mention the countless bites he has on his arms and legs. Needless to say, he reeks of VICKS.

Yep, this is exactly why I hate mosquitoes.