December already??

Wow - it's been a long time since I blogged. So now you're all going to be subjected to 3 months worth of random ramblings - oh lucky you!
To opt out of random ramblings and just skip to the good stuff - press A14fG - it's case sensitive.

(waiting)

HA - gotcha - that does nothing, so you have to suffer through all the drivel I type anyway.
Oh where to begin....
When I last left off it was September - Yikes! Kids were just starting out at school, and it was still pretty warm outside. Oh and I was 5 lbs lighter, but we'll just blame that on my cruise and the fact that I'm "preparing" for a cold winter.
September was fairly uneventful I think. Most of the funny little things that happen on a regular basis I incorporate into my Facebook Status - so when you see my status as being "Jennifer is cleaning off the peanut butter from the ceiling" - that should indicate the kind of morning I've had.
October came and went - The kids all went trick or treating and while Matthew gobbled up his incredibly large more-candy-than-any-sane-person-should-have-in-a-year bag within 3 days, the other boys paced themselves. Duncan probably still has a container filled with candy.
November is the exciting month - both good and bad.
Weatherwise it was pretty tame....but Inside the house - Oh there was excitement.
See - I had a friend in another country (let's call it England) who was battling a problem with a particular type of rodent (let's just say a large rat-like 'mouse' for now). We would chat and talk about this awful 'mouse' and how she found out how it was getting in, and how his whole family thought it could take up residence in her house, and so she killed it. She posted pics and told us the nightmare was nearly over, and how awful it had been, and we commiserated with her - because we love her, and that's what friends do, and I thanked my lucky stars that we did not have rodents of unusual size - or any size sneaking into our home.
That night - out of nowhere, I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye.
I shrugged it off as a figment of my imagination, or a reflection of the TV on the shiny wooden floor.

Now before I can tell you the rest of the that story - I have to tell you THIS story.
Back in October - I had gone shopping with another friend of mine at Vaughan Mills Shopping centre - and while there I just happened to pick up a flyer for new windows and doors and brought it home. Our front door has been getting progressively worse with the boys now running in and out of it all summer and slamming it shut. The house is only 5 yrs old but the doorframe is showing considerable wear and tear that only a houseful of boys is able to really do justifiably well. Many a time I would go to call the boys in (since they appear to not 'get' that 'come-in-when-the-streetlights-turn-on' rule -isnt' that a universal standard?) - anyway, I'd go to call them in - and find the door open 6 inches - and not know how long it had been left wide open.
In any case - after careful inspection - the front door appears to have aged about 100 years while the rest of the house is still in relatively good (5 yr )condition. They don't make houses like they used to. My parents still live in the same house they bought back in the mid 60's! The same house that we were born in (ok, we were born in hospitals, but came HOME to THAT house), grew up in, and that I now bring the grandchildren to. It's a great house, and has either been made more solid or my kids are just far more destructive than the average house of wild boars and wildebeest. In any case - we figured it wouldn't be long before the front door frame just disintegrated or exploded and we would be left boarding up the front door like we were expecting armegeddon and forced to use the back slider for all comings and goings. So we ordered a new door.

Now, back to the figment of my imagination.
The following night I was sitting on the couch chatting with my husband about the goings on of life and Karmic irony reigned supreme - Not only were we talking about our friends rodent problem but BOTH of us released similar comments into the thought cloud about how we were glad that at least we didn't have to deal with THAT - and low and behold not an hour later the hubster says "I just saw a mouse in the house!!" - It ran along the wall of the family room straight under a chair. He moved the chair it shot out under another chair and we lost it.
For 4 days I found evidence of a mouse in the house - Not a family of mice - it appeared to be just one - but all the research I did online (*Note, don't research stuff online - it will make you crazy) says that if you see one you have 10. I checked in the basement and there was no evidence that they'd been down there - the only place that was obvious was under the kitchen sink. We knew they could run under the dishwasher and get to the sink that way but how were they getting in the house.
Detective Jenn to the rescue.
Mice are nocturnal - meaning they don't come out to play until the wee hours of the night - I couldn't sleep knowing they were probably playing down there and having a party on my coffee table so first things first - we locked up any speck of food available - cleaned thoroughly so not a crumb was available - Make this house look like the Grinch had visited and left nothing - not even a crumb big enough for a mouse! Then I got my pillow and camped out in the family room. Once the wee hours of the night fell - I discovered the little rodent climb out of the FIREPLACE and make a beeline for under the dishwasher.
I had set out snap traps and poison and the little beastie stole the poison (HA) and the tasty ham out of the trap without tripping it (Grrrrr). After his feast he made a beeline back to the fireplace and crawled back in!!
Day 5 I got mean. I bought 6 glue traps. Figured if there was one there were siblings and they were going down!!
Anyway, I caught the thing on days 6 - a teeny tiny mouse no longer than my finger. The glue trap did it. I kept the other 4 traps for the rest of the clan - but they haven't shown up to this day.
We disinfected the kitchen, and wiped down the cupboard - left the poison pellets in there just in case, and 2 glue traps. Nothing. It's been over a month which is enough time to breed another litter and still no tell tale signs - No droppings, no evidence of nibbling, no evidence of mice anywhere - so I'm confident now in believing it really was JUST. ONE. MOUSE. and that it had somehow lost it's way and gotten into the house through the front door during the many days that the kids had walked out and left the door wide open while they went to play with their friends.
The kids did find a dead mouse outside - so I guess the poison in the garage is doing the trick. I can't really stop them from getting in the garage as the seal around the door is not airtight in the least, but as long as they aren't in the house - I am relieved that that nightmare is over.
Shortly after the mouse incident - Chris and I went on a 6 day cruise in the Caribbean - without the kids. Just a time to relax and be with each other - oh and to have the sunshine and warmth of Jamaica was pretty nice too. My awesome parents looked after the kids - who missed us terribly, so that makes me feel good (Yes, I'm vain and want my kids to miss me!).
A week later I flew out again, on my own this time for a fantastic weekend in Boston - Catching up with friends that I love dearly, and doing a little (ok a lot of) Christmas shopping!
Had a great weekend - but this time I missed my little boys. Spending time with my friends son was a blast - He's such a sweetie and reminded me of my own little sweeties at home, so I got a wonderful reception when I returned and lots of hugs and kisses.
Now I have a wonderful Christmas season to look forward to!