Mouse In The House

We had a mouse in the house. I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, beings behind our backyard is a small hill and past that is the country. I'm just surprised that it took almost 2 years. If it was really quiet inside we could hear it playing with a water bottle cap under the stove. As long as he didn't get into any of our food, I wasn't too worried about it. I knew we would catch it eventually.

It was the boys first day back at school and I wanted to surprise them with breakfast. See I'm not a morning person, so I don't normally (ever) make them breakfast before school. So I go into the living room and open the blinds on the front window. I then turn and go to open the blinds behind the dining room table. As I do this I am mentally taking note of what I see on the floor. Makai's new vacuum, Coco's (our new Mini Pincher) toys, Cali (our cat), sitting next to her toy mouse. Wait. Toy mouse? I don't remember buying her one of those.

And then it dawns on me. Oh Crap! She caught the mouse!

So I have this moment of panic, like what do I do? I think it is dead, so the smart thing to do would be to get something to pick it up with so I can throw it in the trash. And then Cali takes a swipe at it and it runs across the floor. I scream, of course and run into the kitchen to try to find something to trap it with. Nothing. I start to panic. I run into the play room and get the butterfly net, run back into the living room and throw it over the mouse. Cali is freaking out, trying to get at the mouse. "Parker" I yell. "Parker get up! I need help!" "Cali caught a mouse and I need you to find me the bug catcher" (a plastic tub that has a lid with air holes in it). So he comes out of the room and brings me the broken one with no lid.

I'm like "really Parker?" "I'm gonna put this live mouse in something without a lid?"

By this time the cat is frantically trying to get to the mouse and bumps the net and the mouse runs out, across my foot and runs behind the computer. I of course scream and run the opposite direction.

"Bubba!" "Bubba wake up! Cali caught a mouse and I need the bug catcher with the lid."

Cali picks the mouse up with her teeth, and carries it across the room and puts it on the floor.

Apparently she thinks that It is some kind of cool toy.

I trap it with the butterfly net again, when Bubba comes into the room with the bug catcher (it was in the garage on the dryer because a very large wolf spider was living in it for a while).

By this time Parker is freaking out. He doesn't want Cali (or me) to hurt it because he thinks it will make a really cute pet. I try to explain to him that field mice have diseases, and if he wants a mouse pet that we will have to go to the pet store and get one.

As I am attempting to get this mouse into the bug catcher (the boys are sitting on the floor watching) it gets loose again and runs toward Bubba and starts climbing up his pants leg. "Run Bubba,Run" I scream. Bubba gets up and runs and the mouse falls onto the floor where the cat, once again, grabs it in her mouth. She puts it on the floor where I throw the bug catcher over it. Now I just have to figure out how to get get it flipped over so I can close the lid, without letting the mouse loose. With some fin-dangling and the help of a board book (which is now in the trash), we get upright and close the lid. The boys are now trying to convince me that we should just give it a bath to wash the diseases off of it. I tell the boys that we can let it go in the field down the street after school, so it can be free and go find its family.

They boys never did get their breakfast.

Happy New Years

So it is December 31,2011 10:20pm. New Years Eve. At first I was mad because I wanted to be out somewhere partying, bringing in the New Year. I did not want to be sitting here at home, sober, with the kids, just hanging out. But I've been sitting here with my hubby at the computer for the last hour watching a slide show of the past 3 years of our lives.

Me pregnant and the birth of Kai, Thanksgivings in Tahoe, Disneyland with some of our best friends, hubby's brother's birthday, Kai's first birthday, a couple Christmas', the birth of 2 of my nieces, clubbin with my Boos, Partying in our old apartments, our first house, our move to Vacaville, soccer, field trips, my Grandma's funeral ......Life.

And man. All I can say is that I feel very blessed right now. It seems like all the bad times and heartbreak just melt away when you see all the good times flash before your eyes. We have been through so much together, both good and bad, and I can honestly say that there is no where else I would rather be and there is one else that I would rather spend the rest of my life with.

You Are My Soul Mate and I Will Love You Until The End Of Time and Beyond.

Happy New Years Bouchet

Wacky Law Wednesdsay

Every Wednesday I will go state by state posting some of the wacky laws that I am able to find. (some states are funnier than others)

ARIZONA

In Tucson, it is illegal for women to wear pants.

In Glove it is illegal to play cards in the street with a Native American (I'm guessing that on the sidewalk is okay).

In Glendale, it is illegal to drive a car in reverse (so all houses have circular driveways?).

In Nogalas it is illegal to wear suspenders (because they would rather see someones butt crack?).

It is illegal to walk thru a hotel lobby in spurs.

Cutting down a cactus is punishable by a 25 year prison sentence.

If you commit a misdemeanor while wearing a red mask, it is considered a felony.

It is illegal to manufacture imitation cocaine (the real stuff is okay?).

Hunting camels is prohibited. (I wasn't aware camels were native to America)

It is illegal to refuse a person a glass of water.

In Prescott, it is illegal to ride your horse up the stairs of the county courthouse.

It is illegal for any person over the age of 18 to have more than one missing tooth showing when they smile.

In Mohave County, if you are caught stealing soap, you must wash yourself until it is all used up (um, yeah).

It is illegal to posses more than two dildos in any household.

Oral Sex is considered Sodomy.

And last but not least.....

In 1985, an Arizona legislator proposed that each candidate running for the legislature must take a reading and an I.Q. test three months before the election. The scores would then have been posted on the ballot. It was voted down.

*Please feel free to comment with any wacky laws you might know of*

Wacky Law Wednesdays

Every Wednesday I am going to do a post about some of the wacky laws in America. I will go state by state, alphabetically. Feel free to comment with any wacky laws you might know of.

ALASKA

Moose may not be viewed from an airplane.

While it is legal to shoot bears, waking a sleeping bear for the purpose of taking a photograph is prohibited.

It is considered an offense to push a live moose out of a moving airplane.

Anchorage-No one may tie their pet dog to the roof of a car.

In Anchorage, Persons may not live in a trailer as it is being hauled across the city.

In Fairbanks, It is considered an offense to feed alcoholic beverages to a moose.

In Haines, A person may only carry a concealed slingshot if that person has received the appropriate license.

IN Nome, One may not roam the city with a bow and arrows

And last but not least:

In Juneau, Owners of flamingos may not let their pet into barber shops.

Grieving Part 2

*I wrote this blog back in August or September. I was not able to post it before this because the pain was too strong. I still get weepy when I read it, but through writing, I am able to find healing.*

Today I was going through some photos of my wedding and when Parker/Bubba were babies. I wasn’t prepared for how many pictures there were of my Grandma. The fresh round of grief that came over me when I saw them almost knocked me off my feet. My heart felt like it was breaking all over again and the tears just wouldn’t stop. She was such a huge part of my life growing up. I have so many memories of us together. Waking up in her bed after my mom would drop me off before going to work. Shopping together. Taking walks to the creek when I was like two years old, to throw rocks in the water. It’s like having home-movies, playing over and over again in my mind.

I had such high expectations when my Mom moved her up here to the Assisted Living Facility last May. She was finally going to get better, I just knew it. Nobody could tell me any different. All she needed was someone to give her that little push to help her get better. After all wasn’t this a place that was designed to help seniors regain their freedom? I guess I thought she was a product of her environment before she came. Living in a convalescent home wasn’t going to help her get better; it was just going to help enable her to stay sick.

We (my mom, her friend and I) worked so hard decorating her little “studio apartment” so that she would feel at home when she came. We brought some of her pictures, and her lamps. We brought the clock that my Aunt gave her for her birthday all her porcelain figurines. We painted, and bought new bathroom stuff and bedding so it would all match. We put plants top of the cabinets and new dishes in them. We stocked the little dorm sized fridge with the Diet 7-up that she liked.

It just never even occurred to me that she wouldn’t get better. I would call my Mom every day and ask if she was getting better. And after she fell and My Mom, Dad and I sat in the hospital with her all night, I thought maybe now they will be able to tell why she wasn’t getting better. Maybe she just needed a better hospital. Maybe she just needed better doctors. Maybe she just needed us to pray just a little bit harder. I kept waiting for God to perform the miracle that I was asking for.

And when I got that call saying that she wasn’t going to make it more than a couple days longer, I thought maybe the doctors were wrong. Maybe, just maybe, God was waiting until the last minute. You know, testing how strong our faith in him was.
I wasn’t angry when she passed, because like I said in a previous post, I knew she was going to a better place. A place where she could see her parents, and her husband, and her little grandson who died when he was three. A place of music and dancing and rejoicing. A place with no sickness and no tears. And I know in the Bible that it says that she will have now remembrance of the life that she had on earth, but I can’t help but think that she is my guardian angel, smiling down on us, and counting down the days until we can all be together once again.

I look back now and think about how naïve I was about the whole situation. And the regrets. Oh God, So many regrets. Why didn’t I visit her more? Why did it bother me so much to see her sick? I guess it’s because I wanted to hold on to the memory of what she used to be, and I was afraid all I would remember was seeing her sick. But that wasn’t fair to either of us because we both missed out. She missed out on having my unconditional devotion, but I missed out on so much more, because I missed out on Her.

Wacky Law Wednesdays

Every Wednesday I am going to do a post about some of the wacky laws in America. I will go state by state, alphabetically.

I think that the funny thing about these laws is they have had to come into effect AFTER someone did each of these things.

ALABAMA

In Jasper Alabama, it is illegal to beat your wife with a stick larger than your thumb.

In it is illegal to wear a dark moustache that may cause laughter in church.

Bear wrestling is illegal.

It is illegal to play Dominos on Sundays.

It is illegal to flick boogers into the wind. (EWWW!)

It is LEGAL to drive the wrong way down a one way street IF you have a lantern tied to the front of your car.

It is illegal to drive blindfolded. (DUH!)

In Anniston, Alabama it is illegal to wear blue jeans down Nobel Street. (I am assuming black and other colors are ok)

Women of uncertain chastity must be off the streets by 9pm.

Children born of incest are deemed legitimate as are incestuous marriages. (um, yeah. No comment)

It is illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time.

In the event of a divorce, women retain all the property the brought into the marriage. Men excluded.

In Mobile Alabama, it is illegal to howl at women inside city limits.

It is illegal to stab yourself to gain someone's pity.

In Decatur Alabama, slavery is still legal. (how does that work?)

And last but not least:

It is illegal to chain your alligator to a fire hydrant.


*feel free to post a comment with any wacky laws that you might know.*

Sign Language

So I'm sitting on the couch writing some notes for my Sociology class when Parker comes over and sits down.

Me: Do you need something Parker?

Parker: I was just wondering if you had any brothers and sisters.
Me: You know your 2 uncles, those would be my brothers.

Parker: So you don't have any sisters?

Me: Ummmm. No. No sisters.

Parker: Oh. Ok

*Now I'm curious*

Me: Why did you want to know if I had any sisters?

Parker: Because I thought if you had a sister and she was deaf she could like, you know, teach me sign language.

*Where in the world do they come up with these things?*