Hurt Feelings

I have hurt feelings - and they were hurt by none other than our resident mouse. Logic tells me that he probably scurried in while I was mowing the lawn. The children were in and out that day and he could have simply been looking for a safe and quiet place to hide from that nasty lawnmower. Illogically, I take his presence to mean that my house is dirty and that I'm a terrible mother. It's not like I propped the door open for weeks with a little 'welcome' sign advertising cheese, crackers, and sugary cereal...but for some reason, my feelings are really hurt because the little bugger is here.

I canceled everything this afternoon so I could clean the house from top to bottom. Sadly or gladly (not sure which yet) I found 4 mouse tirds on the pantry floor and none on the shelves, behind the fridge, under the stove, or any where that actual food is kept. He seems to have checked out the recycling and that was it...that reassurance didn't stop me from going through 4 pairs of disposable latex gloves and a bottle of lysol though. I spent from 1pm until nearly 8pm cleaning...and I can assure you that every nook and cranny is sanitized, cleaned, organized, and sparkling. I can also reassure you that the mouse traps are empty (except the peanut butter I'm using for bait).

The children don't think I'm a bad mom, they want to keep the mouse and name him...which we just may do if he outsmarts my traps. I'm hoping that by making sure he has nothing to eat, I'll drive him out the exact hole/door he came in and he will move out on his own accord - call it the rodent relocation program...it seems much more humane than actually catching him in the traps.

Wish me luck - and hopefully tomorrow we will be rid of him, because this lemon's got lemonade to make (or work to do as they say in the grown up world)!

May your paths be abundantly filled with lemons, sugar, and sunshine (and no rodents unless you like that sort of company).

~Crystal