Cards are on my mind these days. I started working on our Valentine's Day cards this weekend. I also just wrote a post for TheChicagoMoms.com about why I think we received less holiday cards this year.
Answer: I have a hunch we're getting bumped by people who keep a check list each year and only mail to those who sent them a holiday card. Have you heard of this way of putting together holiday card lits? Well, we don't send holiday cards, but send Valentine's Day cards instead. So, does that count?
I just think that only mailing to those who mailed to you the year previously kind of takes the spirit out of holiday cards. Do you agree?
Check out my post for TheChicagoMoms.com here.
1.31.2011
1.28.2011
Critter Control
In the middle of the night on Thursday Howie jumped off the bed, barking ferociously, and ran into the kitchen like a rabid beast. Then he stalked our mouse zone. Something was clearly in there, yet the traps were mouse free. I woke up every hour for the rest of the night.
First thing Friday morning I called Critter Control. Matt left for his ski trip Thursday after work and, seriously, the thought of chasing a mouse around the house with Howie, W, and my sixth month pregnant self all weekend was well worth the cost.
I had no other option if I wanted to sleep while Matt was away for the weekend. They were here within a few hours. The guy was friendly, found the point of entry, and verified there was not a nest or colony.
I specifically told him I wanted to know how many eyes were staring back at him when he climbed under there. He saw none. Good sign, right?
Then he sealed the entry point and mentioned that if there were any others still inside, they won't be able to make it back outside and may barge their way out another way. As in through the house.
That's when I mentioned that my husband was out of town for the weekend and I wasn't down with chasing a loose mouse around the house. And then I realized I just told a complete stranger, who had done a review of the entire exterior of my house that I would be alone with a 2 year old. My mind flashed to every Dateline episode I've ever watched.
I followed it up with mention of how crazy my dog is, so crazy that I had to send him to my parents knowing Critter Control was coming over. (This is true, Howie is not good when people come to our house for work of any kind, he just barks and jumps all over them.) I neglected to mention that he's a cuddly, long-haired, adorable 25 pounder, but he didn't need to know that. And to make matters even better, I continued to talk myself into a hole and said that I might make my dad stay over just in case anything happens... with the mice.
He seemed genuine, totally nice, but the idea of a random guy knowing I was home alone just didn't sit well. Deep down I knew I was fine, but I did check all the windows and doors a little obsessively. And my dad came over to reset the traps for me. I'm sure the poor Critter Control guy left thinking "That pregnant lady is delusional if she thinks I'll be coming back to attack her and steal her dumb laptop."
First thing Friday morning I called Critter Control. Matt left for his ski trip Thursday after work and, seriously, the thought of chasing a mouse around the house with Howie, W, and my sixth month pregnant self all weekend was well worth the cost.
I had no other option if I wanted to sleep while Matt was away for the weekend. They were here within a few hours. The guy was friendly, found the point of entry, and verified there was not a nest or colony.
I specifically told him I wanted to know how many eyes were staring back at him when he climbed under there. He saw none. Good sign, right?
Then he sealed the entry point and mentioned that if there were any others still inside, they won't be able to make it back outside and may barge their way out another way. As in through the house.
That's when I mentioned that my husband was out of town for the weekend and I wasn't down with chasing a loose mouse around the house. And then I realized I just told a complete stranger, who had done a review of the entire exterior of my house that I would be alone with a 2 year old. My mind flashed to every Dateline episode I've ever watched.
I followed it up with mention of how crazy my dog is, so crazy that I had to send him to my parents knowing Critter Control was coming over. (This is true, Howie is not good when people come to our house for work of any kind, he just barks and jumps all over them.) I neglected to mention that he's a cuddly, long-haired, adorable 25 pounder, but he didn't need to know that. And to make matters even better, I continued to talk myself into a hole and said that I might make my dad stay over just in case anything happens... with the mice.
He seemed genuine, totally nice, but the idea of a random guy knowing I was home alone just didn't sit well. Deep down I knew I was fine, but I did check all the windows and doors a little obsessively. And my dad came over to reset the traps for me. I'm sure the poor Critter Control guy left thinking "That pregnant lady is delusional if she thinks I'll be coming back to attack her and steal her dumb laptop."
1.27.2011
How To Catch a Mouse
Last week I woke up to Matt whisper/shouting my name, telling me he needed help. I assumed it was W waking up with another bout of stomach flu, but instead Howie had cornered a mouse behind the couch. That's right: Mouse in the house.
I *might* have raised my voice and scared Howie off to the bedroom (not good, considering he was our best chance of actually catching it). This only resulted in our scampering around, coming up with a plan, shrieking (me, not Matt), and then focusing on the plan: Matt would use a broom to usher mouse into the empty shoe box I was holding, then release outside. It was an intense couple of minutes.
But, then we got him, and as Matt steadily came down with the broom, the mouse stopped moving and there may have been some blood. And our little mouse friend was done for. The shoe box would be his final resting place.
I came up with some very logical reasons for how the mouse got in: An open door, the drier vent hose-thingy broke that was broken earlier that week, maybe he crawled down the chimney. All seemed like logical answers for the fact that there was only one mouse seeking warmth and we took care of him. I went to bed feeling good that night, confident it was a done deal.
And then Matt decided to investigate further and found traces of a mouse in the uninsulated area way under the kitchen sink, a corner of the house you can barely reach. We set a trap with a little cheese to see if our deceased mouse had left behind a friend. Nothing. Trap went unsprung for days. Then one morning the cheese had been snatched, but no mouse was left behind. Apparently our mouse had an accomplice.
Matt took to the web and -- after some insightful research -- learned that the best thing to put on a mouse trap is peanut butter. So, he put peanut butter on two traps, positioned them in the scary area, and wouldn't you know... I woke up this morning and was informed that we had caught not one, but two mice. Now our mouse issue is a mice issue. (I know, insane, right?)
I worked from home today and BRAVELY encouraged Matt to reset the traps. I listened carefully for any snap noise, kept checking them, totally freaking about what I might find... And nothing all day. It's like a horror movie.
A horror movie that gets worse... Because Matt is going skiing this weekend. What if a mouse gets loose? Seriously! What the heck would I do? I shudder to think of it. Ugh.
I know, I know... It's ridiculous for me to freak out. We have no signs of mouse activity outside of this one area, no chewed open bread bags or cereal boxes or those other gross signs. They're contained. And we have a 50+ year old house and it's been about 50 degrees below zero. Of course a mouse found a way in! What are the chances that we got the three free loaders or that taking a few down will lead any others to retreat and kindly exit stage left?
Let's hope we've won the war.
NOTE AFTER ORIGINAL POSTING: This morning the traps were mouse-free, but some of the peanut butter seemed to be missing. To play it safe, Matt tightened the spring. This could be a good sign.
I *might* have raised my voice and scared Howie off to the bedroom (not good, considering he was our best chance of actually catching it). This only resulted in our scampering around, coming up with a plan, shrieking (me, not Matt), and then focusing on the plan: Matt would use a broom to usher mouse into the empty shoe box I was holding, then release outside. It was an intense couple of minutes.
But, then we got him, and as Matt steadily came down with the broom, the mouse stopped moving and there may have been some blood. And our little mouse friend was done for. The shoe box would be his final resting place.
I came up with some very logical reasons for how the mouse got in: An open door, the drier vent hose-thingy broke that was broken earlier that week, maybe he crawled down the chimney. All seemed like logical answers for the fact that there was only one mouse seeking warmth and we took care of him. I went to bed feeling good that night, confident it was a done deal.
And then Matt decided to investigate further and found traces of a mouse in the uninsulated area way under the kitchen sink, a corner of the house you can barely reach. We set a trap with a little cheese to see if our deceased mouse had left behind a friend. Nothing. Trap went unsprung for days. Then one morning the cheese had been snatched, but no mouse was left behind. Apparently our mouse had an accomplice.
Matt took to the web and -- after some insightful research -- learned that the best thing to put on a mouse trap is peanut butter. So, he put peanut butter on two traps, positioned them in the scary area, and wouldn't you know... I woke up this morning and was informed that we had caught not one, but two mice. Now our mouse issue is a mice issue. (I know, insane, right?)
I worked from home today and BRAVELY encouraged Matt to reset the traps. I listened carefully for any snap noise, kept checking them, totally freaking about what I might find... And nothing all day. It's like a horror movie.
A horror movie that gets worse... Because Matt is going skiing this weekend. What if a mouse gets loose? Seriously! What the heck would I do? I shudder to think of it. Ugh.
I know, I know... It's ridiculous for me to freak out. We have no signs of mouse activity outside of this one area, no chewed open bread bags or cereal boxes or those other gross signs. They're contained. And we have a 50+ year old house and it's been about 50 degrees below zero. Of course a mouse found a way in! What are the chances that we got the three free loaders or that taking a few down will lead any others to retreat and kindly exit stage left?
Let's hope we've won the war.
NOTE AFTER ORIGINAL POSTING: This morning the traps were mouse-free, but some of the peanut butter seemed to be missing. To play it safe, Matt tightened the spring. This could be a good sign.
1.25.2011
Our New Year's Eve at Revolution Brewing Company
We had an awesome New Year's celebration this year. Seriously, I don't think I've ever been able to say that before, as New Year's is one of those holidays that constantly raises our expectations and then doesn't deliver.
Call me cynical, but seriously... New Year's just usually ends up disappointing. You pay too much money and have to wait in lines for drinks and eat cold food and the bathroom is always dirty or never has toilet paper and drunk people get pushy and you have to fight for a cab to get home. And then you wake up with a hangover.
But, not this year! We went to the family-friendly party at Revolution Brewing Company after our friends, Kari and Anthony invited us to join them. They hosted a 5:00-7:00 party before their regular party and I was apprehensive at first, but it was pretty awesome. We all had a great time and I'm loving this whole family-friendly New Year's party thing. So, I wrote about it for TheChicagoMoms.com. Check in out here.
Call me cynical, but seriously... New Year's just usually ends up disappointing. You pay too much money and have to wait in lines for drinks and eat cold food and the bathroom is always dirty or never has toilet paper and drunk people get pushy and you have to fight for a cab to get home. And then you wake up with a hangover.
But, not this year! We went to the family-friendly party at Revolution Brewing Company after our friends, Kari and Anthony invited us to join them. They hosted a 5:00-7:00 party before their regular party and I was apprehensive at first, but it was pretty awesome. We all had a great time and I'm loving this whole family-friendly New Year's party thing. So, I wrote about it for TheChicagoMoms.com. Check in out here.
