Thanksgiving

I just realized that this was LP's first Thanksgiving. I also just realized that the King and I are terrible parents because we didn't take one picture to remember the day by. Not a freakin' one. I feel bad for second children. They get the shaft. They really do.

Enough With The Mice Already

I've had traps in my car for a few days and haven't caught a single mouse. I'm hoping that's good and they've all left. We usually park in the garage, so yesterday King and I cleaned it out. We took everything out, threw a bunch of stuff away and swept out all the crud. I found a bunch of mouse droppings behind the refrigerator by the motor and King found an actual nest that they made in a bag of old baseball hats. I'm not sure how current the nest was, but it smelled to high heaven, so I just screamed and we threw it in the trash can and I sprayed everything within fifty yards with Lysol. Today we went to Menards and bought those plug-in things that are supposed to scare them away. I'm not sure how well they work, but the lady across the street swears by them. I just hope they're out of my car. I'll find out tomorrow.

We went to get our H1N1 immunizations this afternoon at Lincoln Square. There were a bunch of people there waiting to get vaccinated. The people in charge let us skip to the front of the line because we had small children with us, so we were in and out. I was reluctant to skip the line because I didn't want to start a riot. I kept asking "Are you sure it's OK?" I just have to wait until next month to get LP done and I will rest easier.

Speaking of Lincoln Square, have I ever told you how much I love Art Mart? I could stay in there forever. If I ever hit the lottery I am going to walk in there and buy one of everything. I love those star lights that they have in the window. They're not that much money, I just don't know where I'd put them in my house, so when I go I just stare at them.

Gearing up for Thanksgiving. We're having some friends over. I'm nervous because I've never really cooked for anyone other than my family. I hope I don't burn anything.

I Take Back Everything I Ever Said About Cute Mice

I am officially a mice hater. Forget everything I ever said about how cute they are, how they remind me of my pet hamster I had when I was in the second grade, about how they're helpless and just trying to get by in a mean, cruel world. Everything. I take it all back. PETA, I quit.

Let me explain....no there is too much, let me sum up. I was going to pick up the Prince from school yesterday and my car windows were fogging up from that lovely weather we've been having. I turned on the car's defogger/defroster thing and cranked the fan to high because I'm impatient and I want my windows clear ASAP. The fan started making this horrible grinding noise and the inside of the car was filled with a vomit inducing urine/wet fur kind of smell. Gag! I knew then that something had crawled inside my car and died. Oh God, please don't let it be a cat. So I picked up the Prince, went back home and called the service department at O'Brien Auto Park where we purchased our lovely Kia. "It's probably a possum. Sometimes they sleep on the battery to keep warm." I grab the diaper bag, a bottle, scream at the Prince to get his shoes and coat back on, pack a snack and some things to do for him so I don't kill him in the waiting room and high tail it over there.

They knew who I was when I drove up. I must have had that hysterical ick look on my face. So The Guy In Charge sends this kid who can't be more than 19 out to look under the hood of my car. I'm watching him, he goes out, pops the hood, looks with his flashlight and comes back in and starts whispering to The Guy. I hear "They're still alive" being whispered. EXCUSE ME? THEY'RE STILL ALIVE? So then The Guy says to him, "Take the car around back and blow them out with the air hose." (At this point I'm beside myself.) The Kid says something to him and The Guy says back, "Well no, we don't want to do it in here (meaning inside the service area) because then they'll scatter and we'll have a problem." The Guy must have seen the look on my face because he then turns to me and says, "You have mice in your car. These things happen. It's cold and they're looking for a warm place. We're gonna take your car 'round back and blow them out with the air hose. It'll just be a few minutes." HA! HA-HA! HA-HA-HA! Yeah right!

So, I'm waiting. LP is sleeping, the Prince has eaten his snack, played with his toys and has moved on to the various baby toys they have scattered in the waiting room. I have to pee. A Different Kid comes in from the back and starts whispering to The Guy. (Oh God.) The guy comes over to me and says, "They chewed their way in through the blower filter and made a nest. (Hence the dirty hamster cage smell.) We can't get 'em all, they just scattered when we hit them with the air. The only way to get them is to take your car apart and that can get expensive because we charge by the hour. I'd go home and call an exterminator if I were you. They might be able to help." At this point I am laughing so hard tears are coming out of my eyes. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. I made them show me where they were in the car. They had the passenger side door open and a panel was off the side of the dash and the glove box was open. A few guys were poking around and looking with flash lights. Then they put the car back together and I went home.

The whole way home I'm praying that a mouse doesn't jump down from under the dash into my lap or on my feet because I will FREAK OUT and wreck and I had the kids with me. I parked in the driveway to get the car good and cold and I called the King and starting screaming about exterminators and mouse traps. The King called around for exterminators, all of which said they couldn't help us and then he went to Farm and Fleet for mouse traps. After dinner we baited the traps with peanut butter and crackers and prayed.

This morning, NOTHING!!!! Not a single mouse. I hope to God that they got cold and decided to move out. Of all the things that have happened to me, this is up there.

I officially hate mice.

Blah

I have a serious case of the blahs. I'm blaming it on the weather. All this rain and grey and did I mention rain? I was driving home from County Market before and the sun peeped through the clouds for like a minute and I swore I almost peed my pants.

I feel like I am just going through the motions of life. Sleep deprivation? Maybe. LP has been crying in his sleep, so I'll rush in there to see what is wrong and he's snoring! Talk about frustrating! At least there really isn't anything wrong. That would be worse.

I think part of it is that the holidays are upon us and I really miss my dad. Fucking cancer. Anyway, I really miss him. The firsts are always the hardest and this is the first year without him. I'm going to put on a smiley face anyway for the kiddos and especially for my mom since she is coming here so she won't have to be alone. And my dad wouldn't want us to mope.

But, blah. You know?

One Shot Down, One Booster To Go

I decided to have the Prince vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus. Initially I had some reservations regarding the safety of the vaccine (it seemed to me that they really rushed it out), but our family doctor recommended getting it. Besides, she's the one who went to medical school, not me. I trust her judgement.

Yesterday was vaccination day at the Prince's school. I was told to send him to school in a short sleeved shirt because they didn't know whether they were getting the injection or the nasal mist. I was hoping for the nasal mist because I wasn't sure how the Prince would take to getting an injection.

When I picked him up from school, he walked up to me and proudly showed me his sticker and then he took off his jacket and showed me his band-aid. "I was brave and I didn't cry", he told me as we walked to the car. I guess they got the injection.

Now I have to wait one month and get his booster, and then at the end of next month LP will be old enough to receive the vaccine too. I hope we can stay well until then.

Autumn

One of the things I missed the most when I lived in Florida was the Fall colors. Palm trees don't turn pretty colors, they're just all sharp and pointy and harbor huge insects. I took these pictures two weeks ago when I visited Allerton for the first time. I fell in love with the place and I plan to visit again in the Spring.

Halloween 2009

Halloween at our house was a little chaotic this year. We had a birthday party at the Orpheum Children's Museum for the Prince in the morning. It was fun, but the guest list was quite diminished due to that damn swine flu. The Prince was very occupied playing with all his gifts and by the time trick-or-treat time came along, he was kind of like, eh whatever.

And by the way, who is the genius that decided trick-or-treat should be from 5 to 7 this year? Um, hello, it was still light out at 5. That made it very hard to tell who was giving out candy and who wasn't because no one had their porch lights on yet. Did anyone else have this problem or was it just us?

As you can see, the Prince was Jango Fett and LP was a skunk. LP was a cranky pants and cried the whole time until he fell asleep. I think it was a combination of being really tired and coming down with something. I am sick with a bad cold, right now I have no voice whatsoever and a hacking cough that makes me sound like a sea lion. Fun. Today LP's cheeks look like someone slapped them (no fever yet) and he had a really disgusting diaper before. Double fun.

A man in one of the houses in our neighborhood had this totally awesome Yeti costume. His house was decorated to the hilt. He had this motion sensor skull thing by his doorbell that made the Prince jump and then when the man came to the door in this costume he scared the Prince so bad that he took off running! If only I had a video camera. The King and I were hysterical laughing! I would have sent it in to America's Funniest Home Videos.

Tomorrow I get to take down all the decorations and my house will look incredibly bare. At least until I decorate for Christmas.