I think we're alone now.

After catching 5 mice in a 48 hour period I think we got them all. I also found the hole where they were getting into the drawer and plugged it up. Hopefully that will be the end of the mice in the drawer saga. I have disinfected and put my chopsticks in that drawer. I will be mad if there are mice on my chopsticks. I have nice chopsticks in there.

We are planning on going to Chicago next weekend to the Winterfest at Navy pier. It should be really nice. We are working on the details. Hotels are pretty expensive and ideally we would stay overnight on Saturday. It's only a 2 hour drive though so I think going at morning nap time and letting Lydia nap in the car, seeing the aquarium and Winterfest and skipping afternoon nap and then coming home with baby asleep again. Life takes so much more planning nowadays.

I made a couple of movies last night when Lydia couldn't sleep due to congestions. Keep an eye out for them on her site which will be updated sometime soon.

Mouse Attack

In the last 36 hours I have caught 5 mice in our kitchen drawer. The first one was very, very ugly and looked more like a little opossum. The others have been smaller and less gross but still, pretty nasty. I am not someone who is grossed out by mice usually, or any other animal that people usually scream about. I play with spiders as a hobby for effsake (Lydia and I had fun with a little bold jumping spider in the bathroom yesterday, the big ones have awesome iridescent green fangs but this one was too small to see them well). I also feel very guilty about falling into the catagory of people who base the worth of an animal by how much it is useful to them. These mice, however, are disgusting and fortunately (for them) Lydia is around or the poison would already be in the garage. I'm afraid to put it anywhere though. I guess I'll just get a bigger trap and keep letting them out in the cornfield.

Shudder. There's one waiting for Brian in a bin on the porch right now.

Mouse in the house!

I opened the drawer where I keep my oven mitts the other day and noticed crumbs of silicon all over the drawer. I told Brian that I think we have a mouse but he didn't believe me. Then on Friday I opened the drawer again and my lovely silicon oven mitt had a hole chewed through the thumb. It's a mouse.

I really don't want to have to kill a mouse so I went out and bought two of these safe traps. I spread peanut butter on a cracker and put on half in each trap and put them in the drawer. The next morning one of the crackers was gone and there was a little smear of peanut butter on the door of the trap where the mouse had obviously pulled it out. The other trap seemed untouched so I decided to give it another night and see what happened. This morning there was half a cracker left in the second trap. Seems like I'm working with the Brain half of Pink and the Brain. Brian is ready to use the poison but I am going to find another safe trap I think. I really don't want to kill a mouse and also I don't like having poison in the house with this little taste testing cruiser roaming around.

I'm thinking if I put the trap at an angle maybe the gravity door would work. I guess I'll try that tonight.

Snow!

It started snowing right when I got off of work tonight, around 5:30. It's really pretty. The little apple tree outside my kitchen door is especially nice. I'll try to take a photo in the morning before it all melts. I was disappointed that the kids I take care of seemed to care less about the snow. When I picked up the little boy at school there were some teeny flakes coming down and he was just sulking and telling me he hated me because I asked him to carry his own jacket outside if he wasn't going to wear it. How DARE me. This is the first snow of the year and they don't even care. I hope Lydia doesn't do that.(Whatever Mom, it's JUST snow) Brian assures me that he was always excited about snow. I will always be excited about the first snow. It means Christmas is coming for christsake, and it's beautiful! I don't even mind driving in the snow or walking in it. I actually miss walking half an hour in the snow to the subway and bus stops in NYC. It was like by the time I got to work at 7 I had already won the amazing race everyday. If it's going to be this cold anyway shouldn't there at least be pretty snow to look at? The drive to Brian's parent's house tomorrow morning should be lovely.

Check out this week's forecast!

Here comes the blizzard!

Lately...

The internet has been down! We needed a new router. Now that we have it my internet works great again (wireless on my ibook) but Brian gets the blue screen of death if the router is even plugged in even though he is not using wireless! Anyone have any clues why?

The house is getting it's shiz together. After a fruitless search for curtains I've decided that the only solution is for me to make them so we will be visiting the fabric store, probably on Friday.

I covered the ugly, old brown oven hood over the nice new white oven with stainless contact paper and it looks AWESOME. I am considering covering the entire refrigerator. Contact paper has been my friend ever since I covered my guitar with pink floral version back in the early 90's.

Lydia's baby mittens don't fit her anymore so I am in the midst of knitting her some new ones. I had one almost done but it was too big and I had to start over and get some new bamboo double points in a smaller size but they are now coming along nicely. I let her try on the thumbless failed attempt and she loved it and just kept clapping her hands. That one will get unraveled and I will make mitten #2 with it's remains. I'll post a photo of her wearing them once they are done. I guess I should do a matching hat as well, eh?

It's freaking cold here now. I got a coat, it's a lovely citron puffer. Not too puffy. I've always hated puffers but this one is a good color and it's WARM. There's feathers in there!

I've been a little depressed about Thanksgiving. I really, really wanted to cook a Thanksgiving dinner and no one has been very co-operative about it at all. It always sucks at Brian's parent's house at Thanksgiving. His dad decided to stop having a whole turkey a few years ago and only buys a turkey breast now. Basically a turkey with the good parts cut off. I like dark meat and I like smoked turkeys, they are my very favorite. He cooks the stuffing in the cavity which you are not supposed to do as it is dangerous because it keeps the bird from getting thoroughly cooked. Last time he made it I was still eating and he started tearing the remaining meat off the bones and referred to it as "cleaning the carcass" which totally grossed me out. They don't have side dishes except mashed potatoes. My family is all about the side dishes. We usually have about 20. Usually we are all squished in their small living room which smells like old dog, because of the old dog. They buy shitty bread and only have Country Crock to spread on it so I pass on that. This year we will be going to my SIL's house so we will actually have chairs to sit in! Though, I am allergic to her upstairs because of her (evil)dogs. Man, all I do is bitch! I am homesick and like GOOD food ok. I hate sucky Turkey days. If I didn't get them they wouldn't even have cranberry sauce. Though it doesn't matter if they do because I won't eat the poison, dry turkey anyway... I will try to get some side dishes together and bring them. Ruth V.C.s lima beans and cheese is one of my favorites. Brian will make some devilled eggs. I think I will bring my own bread and butter. I wish I had time to make some yeast rolls but I work all day Tuesday and Wednesday as the little girl has no school Wednesday.

Ok, venting done. Heh.

I will try to get some side dishes together and bring them so I won't be just eating mashed potatoes. Ruth V.C.s lima beans and cheese is one of my favorites. Brian will make some devilled eggs. I think I will bring my own bread and butter. I wish I had time to make some yeast rolls but I work all day Tuesday and Wednesday as the little girl has no school Wednesday. Maybe I can even throw together a mince pie. MMMMMM!

IN OTHER NEWS... I had to file for an extension on two classes but should be finished with them soon. Still worrisome though as I have tried to go back to school so many times. I am more than halfway done though so WOOT for me.

The job is going ok. There have been a couple of shitty days. The little girl has some vicious mood swings sometimes but I am noticing that most altercations happen when the kids are playing computer games. She is very bossy with the little boy and he gets anxious and she gets mean. I told them that I am considering cutting out all computer time when I am there and she did a bit better. We have bonded over Webkins (I have a reindeer named Anner) so that is nice and she had an early release day on Friday so I took her to eat chinese food. She and Lydia love each other as well so that is really nice. She is always holding Lydia's hands and walking her around and carrying her around.

THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THAT I MIGHT GET MY GOAT SOON! The little boy goes to a new preschool out in the country and they have land surrounding it and are filling it out with animals a little at a time. I'm going to talk to her and see if I can get a dairy goat and keep it there. I've been reading abour making goat products off and on for years now. I'm going to talk to her tomorrow and I am confident she will be receptive. They have one horse and two Llama's already. Neither Brian and I work until afternoon most days so we could feed and milk her then, and Lydia could hang out in the preschool while I take care of her everyday.

This babbling entry has gone on too long. I need to update Lydia's site. Also a name change is in order. She no longer says "Hi" all the time. Check her site soon for the new name/her favorite word.

Anyone looking for a waste of time come play gin or canasta with me and my mom on pogo.com. We love it. We are duckykramp and donnaboyce. We're usually on from 10-11 or some Central US time.