Mouse in the House

The past few days I've seen something out of the corner of my eye while watching tv. I'd turn to look and would see nothing. Yesterday I turned fast enough and saw a mouse scurrying across the floor. Gross! We've had a couple big snows and the mice have taken up residence indoors. Curt and I continue watching tv while hearing the little guy rustle around the pantry area. I was all disturbed by the mouse, but Curt wasn't fazed. He says, "I grew up with mice in the house. It doesn't bother me." I appreciate Curt's laid back attitude, but when it comes to mice, I'm uptight.

So I bought poison the next day. There was a couple looking at the same stuff. I assured them that the mice go outside to die. "I've been using this poison for years and have never had a mice die in the house", I said. Until now that is.

Curt and I strategically place the poison all around. That night I can hear the critter eating the poison. The next day Jenelle says, "There's a bug in here and I think it's still alive!!!" That "bug" was a mouse sitting on the white couch relaxing while the poison was causing massive hemorrhage inside his little body.

Curt caught the mouse in a container. If you look at the picture, the mouse is in the bottom left hand corner of the box.

A few days later, Curt went into the basement to get something from the freezer. It smelled bad down there! A mouse had died in the basement. The stench was horrible! I swear I could smell it the rest of the day. Anyway, we haven't seen or smelled any more mice, but it's snowing again today. More critters may be coming inside seeking a little warmth.

Snaggle tooth

Jenelle's mouth is always in a state of movement. She had one tooth we called the snaggle tooth. If you look closely at the picture, you can see it sticking out. The adult tooth was coming in and it pushed the baby tooth straight up and out.

Everyday this tooth stuck out a little more. One day after school we had a play date with Eme. The tooth was in that gross dangly stage. Jenelle kept moving it all around. Teeth pulling is one area where I receive a failing grade in motherhood. I just can't pull teeth. I get the heebie jeebies and all grossed out. Luckily, my friend Jen was at the park with us. She reached in and pulled that tooth out. No problem for her.

Jenelle was so cute. She left a note for the tooth fairy that said, "What is your name?" The fairy wrote her back. Flossy is her name and she appreciates all the nice cavity free teeth Jenelle is leaving her.

Happy Halloween.

Jenelle had a fun Halloween. She went trick-or-treating the day before with Zack. The kids went trick-or-treating at Chris' work. They had crafts and games for the kids. Jenelle had a great time and brought home tons of candy.

Yesterday we went around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful night and for once it wasn't cold. We went around a few blocks and then we ran into the Three Musketeers, Eme, Ava and Isabelle. So we went door to door with them for a while.

We had to stop home once to empty her bucket. It was getting so heavy. At the end of the night, Jenelle sorted all her candy. I think she likes that part the best. Well, maybe she likes the candy the best. She has been asking for pieces all day today. The Switch Witch is coming tonight. Jenelle picked out some candy she wants to keep. The rest goes to the Switch Witch (aka Curt). The witch will take the gobs and gobs of candy and switch it for a toy. Jenelle has been wanting this Mermaid bath toy for a long time. I was saving it for Christmas, but that's ok. I really don't want all that candy around the house. We have enough for a couple of weeks and soon we'll be occupied with Thanksgiving. Ahhh! I can't believe it's November already.

Let it snow, let is snow, let it snow.

We got a huge snowstorm this week. I think we got about 24 inches. Jenelle thought it was great. Curt even thought it was great. I thought it was a bit much.

They canceled two days of school. The first day Zack came over. We attempted to make caramel apples, but Jenelle burned and the caramel burned. The kids were stirring the caramel and Jenelle's spoon fell in. She reached in to grab it and got hot caramel on her thumb. The scream was deafening, but she is fine. The caramel burned while I was trying to calm Jenelle down and tend the wound. We got two apples out of what was left. The apples were delicious!

The kids played out in the snow for a long time. Then we went across the street to go sledding. Last year I bought some good snow boots. A very good investment. My feet weren't wet and freezing.

Thursday was another day spent at home. We played the Wii and did more sledding. Jenelle and I ventured out in the snow on Friday. I just joined 24 Hour Fitness and I had a free personal trainer session. So we went to the health club. Jenelle loves the kid's club there. Then we drove to the library which was closed! I couldn't believe it. I'm glad our days stuck inside are done.

Papa's Visit

My dad came to visit over the weekend. Jenelle's loves her Papa. He came bearing gifts. He bought Jenelle a Wii. That night we set it up. We all played bowling. Papa beat us all. Several times! We were amazed at his bowling abilities. We also played tennis which was a lot harder to figure out. I think we'll have lots of fun with the Wii this winter. Thanks Papa! We enjoyed Papa's vist and we miss him already.

What month is it?

It snowed this morning. Jenelle ran into our room at 7:00am and screamed "IT'S SNOWING OUTSIDE!" Her enthusiasm was met with two groans.

Later that morning Jenelle said, "I can almost smell the Christmas tree." Someone really likes Christmas in this house. I'm worried that this early snow is a sign of a cold snowy winter to come. I hope not.

Cute but smelly

We took Jenelle to the orthopedic doctor and he said she needs to wear a cast for 3 weeks. Jenelle chose the color pink, of course. Since this photo was taken, all her classmates have signed her cast. I'm carrying around a Sharpie in my purse because someone new wants to sign it all the time. Jenelle is so cute. She knows where every signature is. If you ask, "where is so and so?", she'll point right to it.

We have 9 more days until the cast comes off. I can't wait. For one, the thing is getting smelly and gross. For two, she keeps hitting me and it's painful. Jenelle and I were playing the other day and she accidentally hit my in the jaw with the cast. It hurt so bad! We weren't rough housing or anything. She just has a brick for an arm now. Curt got hit the other day, too.

Jenelle doesn't seem to be bothered by it. It doesn't itch and she doesn't complain so that's good. I think she has been enjoying the extra attention and help she gets from her classmates.