A Theme

Have you ever noticed that when you hear or see something that is new to you more than once in a short period of time, you tend to start seeing it everywhere? That is happening to me right now and it is a little freaky for a lot of different reasons!

A few weeks ago, my family watched the movie Mouse Hunt. I was shocked when the beginning of the movie started off with a funeral. All the people at the funeral where lined up outside the church steps with black umbrellas overhead in the rain. The next thing you know, out comes the casket, it falls and the dead man in it launches out of the casket, flies through the air head over feet, and drops perfectly down through an open man-hole cover into the sewer system. At that point I wanted to turn the movie off because I didn't think it was appropriate for children. The movie goes on to show two brothers trying desperately to kill the mouse in the house they inherited. Everytime they get close to getting the mouse Mr. Stinky started screaming in fear. I check the case to make sure the movie wasn't rated R and it wasn't (much to my surprise). So, hubby and Ms. Bellie talked me into watching the rest of the movie, while Mr. Stinky stayed in a different part of the room playing and Mr. Mischief slept.

Three days ago, my boys and I were watching George Shrinks. George discovered a mouse in his garage that had an injured foot and was being chased by the neighborhood cat. George, thinking it is fun having someone his size around, rescues the mouse, fixes it's foot, and all is happy until the mouse ends up destroying his Dad's music room.

These two visual experiences taught me that a) there is no good way to kill a mouse and b) mice do not make the best pets. Lessons learned. The end.


This winter my family has come down with one illness or another. We have had stomach bugs, Rotavirus, colds, flu, vertigo, upper respiratory viral infections, you name it. We have missed more school than anyone should and have bought more different kinds of medicine than my cabinet can hold. So while I was pondering "my letter to God" I personally asked him what other plague he would send us. I should have kept my thoughts to myself because now, we have a MOUSE!

Two mornings ago I woke up and found sunflower seeds and millet all over the cubbies. At first I thought the bag of bird food that has been sitting there for forever had exploded but then I realized the sunflower seeds were empty. That first morning I was in denial. "I'll just wait and see what happens" I thought.

Then yesterday morning there were more. I told the kiddos that I think we have a mouse in the house and with their new found knowledge of mice, they were all very excited and made sure that I wasn't going to kill "Mousey"! After Mr. Stinky's reaction to the movie, I decided that a live trap was the best idea. If nothing else, they can see what a real-life mouse looks like up close and personal. The only live trap I had though is big enough for a squirrel. One more day to get a trap, because of course yesterday, I felt too awful to load up kids and go buy a trap.

So this morning the cubbies looked liked this:



Now, they look like this:


I baited the trap with all the full sunflower seeds "Mousey" hid in hubby's boot. Hopefully by morning little "Mousey" will be in the trap and our plagues will end. If not, maybe I will get lucky and "Mousey" will run under one of these outside right as they are falling!