FRUSTRATED WITH FLEAS

So my last week of Summer Vacation didn't turn out like I thought it would... AT ALL! Our house is infested with fleas!!! So gross!!! So frustrating!!! So gross (again)!!! Our family has always been dog owners (we love chihuahuas and German Shepherds), and we've never had flea problems. If anything, our dogs might have occasional flareups, but we'd treat the problem right away and all would be well again. It was never a problem. Just an inconvenience. Well, the past few weeks we've had the catastrophe of fleas being INSIDE the house... and then BITING us, too!!! Poor dogs! Now I know EXACTLY how they feel when they're infested with fleas. NOT FUN!!! I have so many bites around my ankles, legs, thighs, arms, even stomach and back. :( My family's housemate and I (I live at home with my family) got the worst bites because our rooms are carpeted. My poor boyfriend even has bites! I guess the fleas traveled on my clothes and jumped onto him... and then infested HIS house and ALSO bit his mom and brother! OMG!!! I feel SO BAD!!! :( And FRUSTRATED!!! >:( To date I've spent $150-$200 worth of flea repellents and the like. I also cancelled all my plans during my last week of vacation just so I can stay home and clean, clean, clean... or more aptly kill, kill, kill these pests! We're gaining ground, I'm so glad to say! I haven't found any NEW bites since yesterday, and my OLD bites are healing. But we can't let up... EVER! The flea life cycle is so quick, and we have to constantly be on the offensive. It's all-out war!!! It's so frustrating!!! (I've Googled fleas like crazy the past few days. I've become an unwanted "expert" on the subject.) Thus, there was no practicing on my steno machine for me the last several days. :P It's been hard to do my normal routine because my time was always spent on trying to de-flea our house, the dogs, and our yards. It's been pretty miserable. :( Tomorrow, for my Labor Day Holiday, I'm staying home (again!) to do more deep cleaning. I'm also going to be getting rid of a lot of junk I store and basically declutter as much as I can. And then Tuesday, September 8, 2009, I'll be back to school. Man! I wish I had more time to relax a bit before jumping back into busy bee school mode. Oh well. Enough moaning. Here's the good things! Gotta always look for that silver lining. :) Here's what I'm thankful for, even in this flea infestation disaster: This flea problem forced me to clean like I haven't cleaned in a very long time! I'm always in and out, going here and there. I'm glad that I was productive IN the home instead of always being productive OUT of the home, such as at school or at work. Also, this insect takeover forced me to declutter like never before. I don't want to be a pack rat, and I've always said that I want to live a more simple life. Here's a great chance to prove that! :) I hope your summer vacation was much better than my last week of fleas! Hehehe. I'll definitely be posting more, especially as the school life kicks up again... when hopefully we won't hear of fleas again either! As in ever! That would be splendid! :)