The windows are open in the Hill house with the fresh air rushing in, and it feels heavenly. Fresh air is just good for the soul, and I'm so looking forward to more days like this. What I'm looking forward to even more is the mouse that has taken up residence in our home to be gone. Oh yes, you heard me right, there is a mouse in my house. Let me explain...
Yesterday, husband woke me with breakfast in bed to kick off our Valentine's Day. As we started eating our pancakes, he looked at me and said, "I don't know how to tell you this." I was a little nervous, because what in the world did he need to tell me that started off like that?? He went on to explain that after I had gone to bed the night before and as he was prepping for the next morning he came across mouse droppings...IN OUR KITCHEN. He told me he had set traps and was so hopeful that he could tell me, "there was a mouse, but it was taken care of." Instead, he had to tell me that there was a mouse who had escaped from the trap and was still somewhere in our house.
Yesterday, husband woke me with breakfast in bed to kick off our Valentine's Day. As we started eating our pancakes, he looked at me and said, "I don't know how to tell you this." I was a little nervous, because what in the world did he need to tell me that started off like that?? He went on to explain that after I had gone to bed the night before and as he was prepping for the next morning he came across mouse droppings...IN OUR KITCHEN. He told me he had set traps and was so hopeful that he could tell me, "there was a mouse, but it was taken care of." Instead, he had to tell me that there was a mouse who had escaped from the trap and was still somewhere in our house.
If you know me, you know how terrified I am of all rodents. It's a completely irrational fear that paralyzes me. I can't look at them, definitely can't get near them, and can't even have someone joke about them with me. Nope, just can't handle it. So upon learning that a mouse was in my house, not the basement, not the garage, but actually in our home, I could have died. I tried to convince husband to stay home from work, but obviously he couldn't. He set more traps and told me if I heard a noise he would come straight home. I lived on the couch or in my bed for the entire day. With the exception of that time my daughter was ready for her morning snack, which could only be found in the kitchen.
Y'all I put on my rain boots, and literally worked up a sweat as I stood in the foyer trying to make myself go into the kitchen. I knew I had to do it, but I really didn't want to. After five minutes of talking myself into it, I stepped into the kitchen, grabbed the snack and water as fast as humanly possible and got back out of there. It was my own personal Fear Factor experience, and I never want to do it again. On top of that emotional chaos, I ended up really hurting my toe in the process. Apparently, I had my toes curled in my boots, and that first lunge into the kitchen was more like a big stomp. I heard my toes crunch, but couldn't focus on that while I was trying to avoid the monster mouse. But when I finally took a look, I bruised one of my toes, a toe that happens to have a pin in it from surgery five years ago *ouch* and doesn't have the bending capability that it once did....well it kind of does now. Needless to say, it hurts a lot this morning. All over a mouse. Good gravy.
If you watched my Instagram stories yesterday, you know all about this. And some of the backstory of how husband figures this mouse made its way into the house. Let me catch you up if you missed it...last week as husband was walking from the driveway to the front door, a brown thing dashed in front of him, followed by a hawk swooping down to grab it. Well the mouse escaped down the drain that leads to the driveway, and the hawk went hungry. Husband thought it was the coolest experience, while I was alarmed and worried that there was a mouse in our yard. I know it's nature, but still! Husband thinks the mouse snuck into the garage, which should have just been fine. But, he ended up down there over this past weekend to start work on another house project. Our 1950's ranch doesn't have outlets in the garage, so he cracked the door leading from the garage into the basement to run an extension cord. He left that door open, well barely cracked all night. That's when the mouse must have come into the basement, and found its way to the kitchen.
Unfortunately, husband told me this morning that the mouse-with-nine-lives, escaped the trap once again. So here I am, sitting on my couch, feet high off of the ground and paranoid. I can't even. If this mouse isn't gone by tomorrow morning, I'm quite possibly going to lose my mind. Who am I kidding, I think I'm already losing it a little.
All this to say, we ended up spending our Valentine's Day apart while husband ripped apart the kitchen to find the darn thing and throw away/sanitize everything the mouse had left droppings on so he could track the little stinker better. Luckily, we have a date lined up for tomorrow night, so we'll be celebrating then. And I hope we're toasting to a Hill victory over Stewart Little while we're at it too!
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