Finally a Tough Mudder

The day before the Tough Mudder, my teammates were listing off the supplies they packed and the many things in their first aid kits. The only thing I had in my bag was a change of clothes, some baby wipes and Confixer*.

Luckily Pete remembered things like towels, insurance cards, a jug of water for cleanup and snacks for the kids. I had all positive thoughts. There was no way I was getting hurt so I wasn't even going to plan for it. I think in the end, my positive (or positively clueless) attitude helped get me through with only minor scrapes and bruises.

The start was a little crazy. The kids were bawling their eyes out. Wynne because she thought I was going to die. Emmett because he wanted to go back to the car to watch movies and eat s’mores. (At the time I thought he was also worried about me. Pete set me straight later.) But that image stuck with me throughout the course. I cannot die or get hurt or the kids will never trust me again. Mommy guilt does not take a vacation.

The first obstacle was the worst. But it taught me an important lesson -- take a minute before attempting each obstacle to see how it is supposed to be done. I followed my brother, Jason, into the arctic enema without thinking about it. This is a pool of ice water. I now understand why so many people die from hypothermia when they fall in an icy lake.

They should call this obstacle panic attack. I got in and it took my breath away. I couldn’t breathe or think.

I moved forward to a wall. I figured we had to go over it, but then noticed that it was topped with barbed wire.

Then Jason disappeared under the water and came up the other side. I got it. I went under and panic set in even more. I was numb and frozen. I almost couldn’t lift myself out of the water but once I did I was fine. We were only in the water about a minute, but I am still haunted by that feeling three days later. I will NOT be attempting a polar plunge anytime soon.


The next several obstacles were fun. We army crawled in underground tunnels that looked really scary on the website, but in reality weren’t so bad. Again, I followed Jason. I figured I could grab on to his ankles and hitch a ride if things got tough. I didn’t need to do that. Once we got out Julie remembered that the trick was to go through on your back and use the 2x4s at the top to move along.

TM had lots of water stations and bananas. The volunteers peeled them for us which was helpful since our hands were full of mud. Still, they were gritty. Sadly, the port-a-potties smelled better than some of the water/mud pits that we had to walk through. I think they trucked in farm waste for some of the obstacles. They made it more fun by adding potholes in the mud/water pits. Again, I followed right behind someone so I could tell where the holes and big rocks were. I’m still not sure if this makes me very smart or a cheater.

The mud mile looked like it was going to be a blast. And it was. Scale up a slippery hill, slide down into water. Sometimes it is waist deep, sometimes ankle deep. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. That one seemed to go on forever. I have never had so much mud in my butt.

Army crawling under barbed wire was also fun – our teammate Jay made the Tough Mudder Facebook photos – he looks so happy there!

We also army crawled under barbed wire with electric shock streamers dangling down. That was less fun. When it was my turn they said the current was off and we should go – “Green light” they yelled. My heart raced and I don’t think anyone has ever crawled that fast in their life. I was able to avoid hitting most of the streamers, but at the end you had to go through them to get out. I was spared but I heard a few people get zapped. One guy described it as “slightly less painful than being tazed.”

There was a lot of running and slogging through mud. Parts of the course were giant fields that were sectioned off so you could see people in other parts of the TM. It was hard to figure out if you had just been there or if you were about to go there. But you didn’t have much time to look around because there were a lot of rocks and roots and I was trying not to trip. There seemed to be endless hills covered in mud from the storm the night before. Still I was thankful we didn’t have the 80+degrees they had on Saturday. 50s with rain was just fine with me.

 They had some great signs along the way. At the 3.2-mile mark there was a banner that said “Congratulations on completing a Warrior Dash – too bad this is the Tough Mudder and you’ve only just begun.” They also had a sign at the walk the plank promising to push you off the edge if you held up the line. They were not kidding. My sister in law questioned her ability to jump and the volunteer shoved her right into the water. When she looked up at him from the water he shouted “You’re welcome”.

I didn’t get shoved but I was terrified. I’m afraid of heights but went for it. I flapped the whole way down but did not fly.

 The boa constrictor looked really scary on the web site. I followed Julie in. (Again – I was not above hitching a ride.) It started raining really hard and the wind was picking up just before we went it. The tunnels were actually nice. No wind and the water felt good on my sore body. And it didn’t smell like crap. But I got lots of muddy water in my mouth so the feeling of euphoria went away quickly.

Big props to Jason for getting all the way across the both the monkey bars and rings. I used the first ring to launch myself into the water Tarzan-like. It was fun. I couldn’t even reach the monkey bars so I just jumped right into the water. Emmett said they should have put fire under the monkey bars. I hope TM never gives him a job.

There were a few obstacles that I just did not do. Scaling a 12-foot wall didn’t seem like it would be impossible (since there is so much help) but I was worried about the drop and the effect it would have on my knees and ankles. The 20-foot half pipe called Mt. Everest had a 30 minute wait to attempt it. We were frozen and a guy cracked his melon attempting it as we were deciding what to do. We went around.

We conquered a haystack climb, a cargo net, a mile-long trek though fallen trees and sticks, lots of muddy hills and more. Running in wet shoes was not as bad as I thought.


The final obstacle was running through the electric shock streamers. I was back and forth all day about doing this. Luckily Julie was by my side and told me we were going through together. She went faster than me, but I made it. I was zapped a few times (I hope to never know how it compares to being tazed) and Julie said I should get an award for not swearing in front of the kids.

It took our group about four hours to finish (my brother, sister-in-law and their crew were an hour faster and hit all the obstacles).

It never got so grueling that I thought about quitting. I was slower than I would have liked, but all along it was fun. Many thanks to Julie – without her I might have skipped a few more obstacles. I’m sure I would never have made the climb up Walk The Plank without her next to me.

 Will I do it again? I think overall the TM was a little too scary for me. I expected to conquer my fear of heights and confined spaces but I ended up with a new fear of falling into a frozen lake. I see other mud runs in my future but probably less tough, more mud. But it was a great day. I met a goal I’ve been working on forever and spend some real quality time with my siblings. And I think my kids are impressed. Or at least glad that I am still alive.

Julie and me at the finish line. Either I'm standing in a hole or she is about to tip over on me.

 *a leave-in conditioner made by Aveda. It smells awesome.

No Phone Zone

I get it now. I’ve been hearing the messages for a while now, I just did not think it was realistic. I NEED to multitask. I don’t have time to just drive to and from work. I need to also be on a conference call, having a chat with someone on my team, venting with one of my peers or talking to my mom without the kids acting crazy.

A little over a year ago we were getting ready to have one of Pete’s former co-workers and her family over for dinner and a play date. I remember Pete sitting on the couch reading an e-mail from Laurie. She had to cancel because her mom was struck by a car and killed. Later we found out her mom was out for a walk and the driver of the car, a teenager, was texting while driving. Laurie’s mom was her best friend and I’ve seen her Facebook posts and read her blog over the last year. It has been heartbreaking to see what she has gone through. I watched that British PSA on You Tube last year about the texting girls and thought that it was a good thing I don’t text and drive (knowing full well that phone conversations are also distracting.)

Laurie has focused her energies on becoming an advocate against distracted driving. What she said made sense. Every time I took a call while driving I thought about her, but did it anyway because that media call could not wait, I was on a long, boring drive to Fargo or, really, because if the phone rings you answer it.

On the Today Show this morning they compared the distracted driving campaign to early efforts for drunk driving and seatbelt laws when it finally clicked. I would never consider driving drunk or without my seat belt but have made countless excuse why I cannot possibly shut the phone off while driving. Ever since I became a mom I have felt this obligation to do everything in my power to stay alive for my kids. I’m committed to regular exercise; I eat healthy foods (on most days) and am determined to get my BMI back to the healthy range. My days of dumb risks are over. I don’t ride on motorcycles and I wear my helmet when I ride my bike. I say a prayer every time I get on an airplane or start on a long car ride that I will get home safely to my kids.

So I’m going to do it. Yes, I feel lame for getting on board with Oprah, but I will make my car a No Phone Zone. It is not going to be easy since old habits are hard to break. It is going to take planning – figuring out directions BEFORE I start on a trip instead of calling someone. Pulling over to use the phone if it is unavoidable. Planning my week so that I don’t have to take calls in the car.

I may be late for some calls or miss some media opportunities but I cannot imagine living with the guilt if I cause someone else’s death because I just have to take a call. And hopefully I increase the chance that I’ll be around for my kids. That is motivation enough.

A Holiday Break Measured in Bodily Fluids

It is official. I am getting old and turning into a mom. When I look back at my holiday break the things that stand out are not the parties, shopping for myself or days I slept in (ha!). The things that stand out (aside from Christmas morning and quality time with the kids) were the many bodily fluids we encountered.

On Christmas Eve we had family over for some food, drinks and games. The kids were off playing while the rest of us chatted. After a while Wynne came to the dining room and I asked if she could check on Emmett. (Not a good sign when you have not heard from a two-year-old in a few minutes.) She came back and said "he pooped in his underwear and is taking a bath".

Pete was the first responder to the scene and shooed me away so I would not get sick. I did catch a glimpse of a naked little boy standing in a dry tub and well as tell-tale skid marks in various locations throughout the bathroom -- on the toilet seat, tub, floor, step stool (?). Poor kid did not want to ask for help. You can understand why we use a lot of bleach in our house.

We also seem to have had a large number of overnight accidents in our house -- we should really get some more sheets for the kids' beds. While I was doing laundry I decided to change the sheets on my bed and Emmett asked me "mom, why you tinkle in your sheets?" I quickly corrected him and said I was just washing them because it was time to change them and he said "no - you tinkle in your sheets. But it's OK." thanks, kid.

Early on New Year's Day (3:30 am) we heard Emmett crying at the top of his stairs. He told Pete that he "spilled". Pete took a look at him, thinking he spilled his water and brought him back up to bed in the dark. As he was tucking Emmett back in the smell hit him -- Emmett had not spilled, he threw up. Poor kid did not know how to describe what happened. I got up at this point and we changed his sheets and PJs and put him back in bed. He threw up again. He seemed like he was better and Wynne was having a coughing fit so Pete gave her medicine while I put Emmett back to bed with new sheets and new jammies. Bad idea. A few minutes later he was at the top of the stairs again, crying (do we not learn?!?!?). I picked him up just in time for him to puke down my back and on the stairs. We learned after that and set him up near our bedroom and gave him a bucket in case he could not make it to the toilet. He used it a few more times and then really took a shine to it. Every time he coughed he used the bucket.

By the next day he was not throwing up and was fascinated with the toilet and his bucket - he kept running to the toilet so he could cough in it.

Wynne kept things interesting by having several bloody noses, usually gushing and in the middle of the night (she insists she is only "scratching" her nose, not picking it. Hmmmm.)

All in all, it was a good break. We had a nice Christmas, I did some organizing, tackled the sewing pile, learned to cross-country ski and did LOTS of laundry. I feel a little bad that I am looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. It is very unlikley that I will be puked on at the office.

To catch a mouse...

We have a mouse problem. Not sure how they are getting in, but we are having a real hard time getting rid of them. These are no ordinary mice. They are some kind of super-intelligent stealth mice. Traps are useless.

The back story:

A few weeks ago we noticed mouse poop. We cleaned out under the sink and set some traps. I showed the kids the traps and the loud noise they made when triggered. Told them DO NOT TOUCH THESE. You guessed it, the next day I was cooking and I hear Emmett say "what is this fo---SNAP". His finger was not caught but the trap did snap him. I asked him if he was going to touch the mouse trap again. In between crying he sniffed out a "yes". Well then I can't help you...

Fast forward a few days. I almost vomited when I saw mouse poop in the SILVERWARE DRAWER. eeeeeeeew. So, another round of bleach. and we set a trap in the drawer.

The next morning Pete mentioned that he saw that I moved the trap. I didn't move the trap. That sneaky little boy has a habit of putting his breakfast spoon back in the drawer (why do we have mice?!?) and he must have noticed the trap and he moved it to the floor. WITHOUT SETTING IT OFF. Crappy trap or crafty kid? not sure.

Then we went to the Dells for almost a week. We set out multiple traps and mouse poison. Got home and nada. We cannot seem to catch these suckers. But no more mouse poop so maybe the mouse problem is gone.

No such luck. A few days later I found mouse poop by my treadmill. Now I am the first to admit I do not use it every day, but by no means is it so unused that a mouse should take up residence.

So the mice are not gone. they are not falling for our traps. There have been two sightings but no captures.

Which leads me to our last-ditch effort. Last weekend Wynne and I decorated gingerbread houses at my cousin's house. Since we probably still have mice I can't leave it out (why feed the intruders). So we let the kids have at it tonight, knowing we are going to toss it. But Pete had a final idea. Let's set a trap right by the house and see if that lures the mouse. This plan has many, many holes but we are at the end of our rope. And there is a good chance we'll catch Emmett. But he's got to learn...




UPDATE: No luck, but no new sings of the critters anywhere. Are we in the clear???

Mommy's helper

I need to keep a better eye on Emmett. I just discovered that he has been putting his dirty clothes in the dryer instead of the hamper. Last week I caught him putting his used cereal spoon back in the sliverware drawer. At least he is trying...

Life with Two Moms

Wynne was telling me about her friend Bennett who has two moms. I asked her what she thought about that. She thought for a second and said "it would be great....if one mom is working you can just play with the other mom...."

Updated Photos

We've passed the inspection and have some new photos!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=a50pu45r.cl8vhkbv&x=0&y=epwlcg&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_album

The Countdown...

Our final inspection is June 1 so the end really is in sight. The carpet will also be installed that day so right now Pete is finishing touch-up paint, installing kitchen cabinet doors and lots of little things to get ready. The furnace inspector was out today and Pete put shelving, etc. in the closets last weekend.

PB & BS

I know I keep saying this, but we are seriously almost done with the house. Pete is going room by room, finishing paint, trim, installing light fixtures, etc. Our carpet should be coming in the next two weeks and all fixtures (sinks, toilets) are set. We still have to install the stove once we finish the cabinets, plug in the fridge (and hook up the water for the ice maker) and install the dryer. We can see the light.

And not a moment too soon. Emmett is hitting the terrible twos so caring for him can be a two man job. The poor kid cries over everything - I'm not even sure if he knows what he wants half the time. But he still is cute. Last week at day care one of the kids had an aunt come to pick him up. Emmett walked up to her and said "me, Emmett". It is pretty cute until you consider that he is introducing himself to strangers...

Wynne is sassy as always. And her BS meter is working. Last weekend my sister and I took the kids up to see my brother. It is a long drive and we were going to be in the car over lunch so I packed PB&J sandwiches. Wynne told me that she did not like peanut butter, wanted only a jelly sandwich. The quick-thinking mom I am I told her that she needs peanut butter. Jelly is junk food -- they both start with J. Peanut butter has protein and they both start with P. So eat your sandwich. I was pretty proud of my made-up reasoning and she quickly said "Mom, that doesn't make any sense." Busted. No fooling this kid.

Losing it

I am losing my mind. I think that all the brain cells that you kill in college and during your crazy single days do not die immediately. Rather, it happens all at once when you turn 36.

I usually remember EVERYTHING. It was kind of a joke and a little scary. Now, not so much. Today for instance:

Left work to take Wynne to her doc appt. We have been to this office many, many times and in fact I lived across the street from this office for 1.5 years.

We were running late to begin with, but I had ten minutes to get five minutes away. Instead, the trip took almost 20 minutes. Her school is right off of I35E, as is the exit for the doc appt. But for some reason I thought it was off of I-694. So we are on 35, I take the exit east for 694. when I hit Maplewood I realized I had gone the wrong way. No prob, I will just get off the exit and back on going west. Only problem is that I am on the WRONG highway. Once I was well past where I thought the exit would be, I realized my mistake and took the next exit. I had an idea of where to go next but decided to use my GPS. That's when Wynne asked if I had any idea where I was going. I lied and told her I knew exactly what I was doing.

We got there, doc still saw us even though we were late, and we headed back to school. After I drove half-way across the parking lot Wynne reminded me that I had not buckled her in!!!!!! I am a menace. Had to look twice when I got home to make sure she was not still in the backseat.

Tiling

We (mostly Pete) have accomplished a lot over the last few days. The biggest project is the kitchen floor. Pete has spent the last few days working on this -- as I write he is finishing the tile in the first floor bathroom. Yea!

He also added some tiles near the front door so people don't muck up the rug. He added a cement board on top of the hardwood so if we ever get enough money to refinish the floors we can just rip up the board -- good thinking on his part.

I took Friday off and helped by putting another coat of paint in the upstairs bedrooms. The color really pops with the second coat and will look even better once Pete does the finish work.

FLUSH!

Wahoo! A new level of civility! We no longer have the flush the toilet with a bucket of water. Pete attached the tank -- a big day at the new house! We also figured out the problem with the cabinet color. Apparently Pete grabbed the wrong sample blue -- when he looked at the chips that we selected he realized he grabbed a blue that was several shades brighter than our original choice. He picked up the original blue/grey and it looks really nice.

Pete is taking Wednesday-Friday off to tile the kitchen floor -- yea! I am going to take off on Friday to do some painting. Things continue to move along!

Cabinets

Luckily we bought sample sizes of the paint. Pete tried the cabinets both ways -- blue frames with cream doors and cream frames with blue doors. Both are just a bit over the top. Pete thinks they look "country". I think they look a little like they belong in a dollhouse. Pete has a good solution. We are going to keep the cream and try a tan or a brown. It will go with the floor tiles and we are thinking of a greenish countertop so that may look really nice. We'll see....

Painting....

The house is painted! Well, mostly. After weeks of priming, Pete and I sat down to pick out colors. I spent last weekend in Kenosha with the kids so that gave Pete the entire weekend to paint. The House looks great. As you can see, we picked a yellow for the walls and hall leading up to the bedrooms. The bedrooms are a wheat color, both bathrooms are light green and the kitchen is grey. We still have the cabinets to paint -- they will be cream frames with blue/grey doors. Pete bought samples of the paint and is putting it on the cabinets/frames so we can try it out. We'll see how it looks.

Pete is spending this weekend still working on trim, priming the doors (cabinet and regular) and cutting in the corners.

We also decided that we really should add a dishwasher. We've been researching similar homes for rent in the area and many have dishwashers. We figure as long as we are making a mess, we might as well do it now. The configuration of the kitchen requires us to put it next to the sink, which will only give us a small kitchen sink, but I know I would trade a small sink for a dishwasher -- hoping others will too.

We still have to tile the kitchen floor, carpet or repair the hardwood and some detail work. And now that the weather is nicer, it is almost time to seed the yard, as there are many patches without grass. We also should add some bushes to the front of the house. The list keeps growing. Some of the outside stuff can wait until we get a renter.

Pete is hoping to get another week off of work soon as he thinks he can knock out a lot of the remaining work if he can plow through for several days straight.

Conversations with Wynne

We were driving home from preschool today. She told me Mrs. Schroeder moved her away from Jake at naptime because he was talking too much. I asked her what he was talking about. There was a pause and she said "Mom -- don't tell Mrs. Schroeder. I was the one who was talking. I just couldn't stop...."

A few weeks ago she woke up in the middle of night and wanted to play. I told her that we both needed to go back to sleep so that she would not be crabby at school and I would not be crabby at work.

Me: I NEED to sleep. What will happen if I am crabby at work
Wynne (in a cheerful voice): You will get FIRED!
Me: that is not good. Then we will have no where to live

Wynne: (with the saddest look of shock on her face) how can they take our house?

(So now I am feeling bad. The kid is going to have nightmares now. I am a jerk.)

Me: Mom and dad need to work so we can pay our bills. We are fine and no one is going to take our house.

So I spent some time backtracking. As I was walking out of her room, in the softest, sweetest voice she says

Wynne: Mom
Me: yea
Wynne: What do turtles eat?

Must be nice to be four. You can go from tragedy to turtles in two minutes.

Back on Track

So I'm back on track. Not that the house was ever off track. But I've obviously been off track with the blog. No way I can catch up from the whole month+ that I have been on hiatus, but here is what I have for now:

I took the day off work to do some painting. Used oil-based primer for the kitchen cabinets and several hours later my head is still a little numb. But the cabinets look great. Will be off tomorrow to paint some trim.

Pete and I hammered out a timeline/to-do list. I felt a lot better having it on paper. If all the stars align, we'll be done late April/early May. Much longer than we originally thought, but still OK.

Will do a separate update of the latest Wynne-isms, but this morning was a doozey. I decided to wear Pete's work jacket so I would not get paint on any of my coats. It is too big and very dirty. I was going to drop Wynne at school before I headed to the house and she asked if I could wear a nice coat when I dropped her off at school. Age 4 and she is already embarrassed of her mother.....

Latest "wynne-ism"

I was picking up a pile of blocks that Wynne and Emmett were playing with. I asked Wynne if she could help me and she said "it looks like you are doing just fine by yourself, mom." Note to self. No more asking. You TELL a four-year-old what to do.

Perfect day, not so perfect muffins

I get it now. There is a reason for freezing, -37 weather. To make you appreciate the regular winter days. I have to say that Saturday was a near perfect day. Let's see:

• Slept through the night (no one crying at 3 am!) and woke up at 8 am - crazy!!!


• Temperature check -- 19 (ABOVE!)


• Got caribou and went grocery shopping by myself - "me time" has been redefined


• Put the kids on the sled and literally dragged them around the neighborhood. Went to our local coffee shop for hot cocoa


• Dragged them by the new house to see the progress Pete has made over the last week


• Found that Phalen Park was having a huge celebration for "Hockey Day". I was not informed about this holiday but it was a blast. Tons of people, live music, pig roast and oh yea, hockey.


• Went home and BOTH kids took a nap at the same time


• Had a fun afternoon playing with the kids.


• Being Saturday it was "steak night" so we put the kids to bed and I grilled up some steaks. Mmmmm. Yes, we are dorks.

Sunday was not as lucky. Wynne and I got up early to make muffins for everyone. There is a recipe in my weight watcher's cookbook that I have been meaning to try for weeks - lemon muffins. I was addicted to Caribou Coffee's lemon bread when I was pregnant with Emmett but have had to ban the dessert upon my discovery that it is 12 points! So I figured these muffins would not be as tasty, but would be lemony, dense and sweet.

I forgot about my disability. (that's what Pete calls it anyway) I am not able to follow recipe directions - even if I am really trying. This is not a real problem when cooking but can be awful when baking. The recipe called for lemon zest (and I don't have a zester - if that is even a real thing) so I was trying out all my kitchen tools to get the zest from the lemon. I was also trying to get the muffins in the oven before Emmett woke up. I could hear him talking in his room so we only had minutes left. When Wynne and I mixed all the final ingredients it looked pretty thick. I added some more of the lemon juice and crossed my fingers. No luck. They were like small yellow rocks. Later in the day I realized that I forgot to add the egg.

I did try the same recipe, but the chocolate muffin version, later in the day (and I double checked all the ingredients) either they are bad muffins or I am the worst baker in the world.

So - the house. We are getting closer. Our trusted friend and contractor "Builder Mike" is mudding and taping. We will be able to paint soon! Pete and I spent MLK day scraping more wallpaper. We are just about done with the main floor. The place is such a mess but things are coming together. Mike also installed a door for the main floor bathroom (I think they were using a shower curtain before) so that is a step in the right direction!

The House, The Mouse, The Kids

Well, it has been quite a while since I've posted. Some updates from the last month:

The House:
Let's see - we've passed the electrical and plumbing inspections - yea! and Pete finished tiling and grouting the floor of the upstairs bathroom. I got pretty excited when I heard that Chad was coming over to set the toilet upstairs now that the tiling was done. If you remember the downstairs toilet requires a bucket of water for flushing. I did not realize that we were not setting the tank (need to wait until the walls and trim are done.) So - still using the bucket. But Chad did hook up a hose so we don't have to run two floors down to the basement to fill the bucket.

The big project this week was hanging drywall. My job was the "getter". I would get the tool belt, get the light or get a pop for Pete. After a while I was promoted to assistant driller. Luckily Pete is pretty smart and knew about a critical tool called a drywall jack (yellow thing in the first picture). I did not realize just how heavy sheets of drywall are. And with 13' ceilings in the dining room, I don't know how we would have done it without the jack.

On Friday I spent a good chunk of the day scraping wallpaper since Pete's dad was helping with drywall in the dining room. We are down to the original plaster in some parts of the hallway - Pete was the first to uncover this cool paint/stenciling detail. We thought for a minute about repeating it when we paint. But we decided against it.

So still more drywall to do. then we will hire someone to mud and tape. The we will be painting 'till the end of time. We also have the kitchen floor to tile, cabinets/doors to sand and paint, doors and trim to sand and paint and figure out if we will refinish the hardwood or carpet the living/dining room. It will probably come down to how much cash we have left. We are hopeful that it can be available for rent on May 1. If we keep things moving along, we might be able to start listing it in early March. We'll see....

The Mouse

Good news here. There was a showdown a few weeks ago. Pete went into the bathroom before bed one night and I heard what I can only describe as a ruckus. Apparently he had the mouse cornered and was able to "exterminate" the little guy with the Clorox wipes container (and then the wipes came in handy for clean up.) So we have not seen another mouse since this incident. So either there was only one (not likely) or word got out about the mouse hunter....

The Kids

Christmas was great at our house. The threat of Santa only bringing toys to good girls was lost on Wynne. She told me that "Santa brings toys to all the PRETTY girls, mom!" Apparently this is line from the Charlie Brown Christmas. Kind of sad - she is only four and has figured out that you don't have to be good, just pretty, and you will still get what you want. We did get her the Play Dough Ice Cream Shop. We broke it out and I was the assistant ice cream maker. I had some questions about what kind of sprinkles to make and Wynne said "less talking, more selling, mom". It is kind of hard to correct sassy behavior when you are trying not to laugh.

Emmett's love for food has expanded. He is now demanding pizza (PEEE-TA!) and has figured out how to climb on the kitchen chairs to swipe food from the table. I expect he will soon climb out of his crib to fix himself some eggs in the morning. That will make things a lot easier on us. Emmett is also very sweet and loving. He is very generous with the open-mouthed, drooly baby kisses and almost never bites you now (before it was hit or miss - sometimes you would get a kiss - sometimes a chunk of your face was gone.) He also loves to give hugs and will hug any baby or dog that he can get his hands on.

CSI: Saint Paul

It is never good to pull up to your house to see a bunch of people standing around, looking quizzically at your garage.

But that is just what happened today.



Someone left a little treat for us -- a dead, gutted deer. Gross.

This is the city. Discovering a dead person "Law and Order" style is one thing. A giant animal in your yard - totally unexpected.

I am very confused as to why someone would go through the trouble of gutting a deer and then dump it. Now you may ask how I know it was gutted -- I did not conduct the crime scene investigation myself. Luckily my neighbor was on site to declare that it had been gutted, share cause of death (arrow) and time of death (two days ago).

The neighbor said he called the police. Not sure what they'll do - maybe release the deer into his custody?

I've sent Pete out to check if the deer is still there. If no one takes it I guess we'll have to get rid of it. Maybe I will tie it to my car and run some errands....Never a dull moment.