The Mouse In My House

     Are you familiar with the Elf on the Shelf Christmas tradition?  If not, then the idea behind it is that an elf from the North Pole hides in different places of your home to report back to Santa each night about who's been naughty and nice.  Well, at my county home Santa sends a mouse to watch and report instead of an elf....so here’s my "There's A Mouse In My House" story.....(be sure to tune in everyday until Christmas!)

Day 1:  12/10/11

            T'was the night before Christmas and all through the house...(tap, tap, tap) What is that tapping on my door?  Why, it is the Christmas mouse, sent from Santa to watch and help determine whether the Waggy's belong on the Naughty or Nice list!

Day 2: 12/11/11

            Little mouse is having a nice dinner of Farmhouse Cheddar cheese and Raspberry wine, may I join you little mouse?

  Day 2: 12/11/11 Update

            Uh Oh!  Little mouse has over indulged in the wine!  Hey!! Did you drink all my wine???? Oh, Little Mouse.....

 Day 2: 12/11/11 Update:

             Little mouse is sleeping off his hangover...he was a soused mouse!!!!

Day 3: 12/12/11:

            Look who was waiting for me this morning.  Would you like some coffee Little Mouse?  Are you feeling better?  No more wine for you!

Day 4: 12/13/11: 
           Little Mouse gives Santa's instructions to the rest of the mice before sending them to other homes to watch other girls and boys.   
   ***A special note to my son Nick, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!  Love, Mom ***       

     
Day 5: 12/14/11:
            Little mouse is enjoying Charlie's Angels on TV....He asks, "What's going on with her makeup??"  I ask that same question myself every time I watch this movie, Little Mouse... 

Day 6: 12/15/11:
             Little Mouse has found a cozy spot to curl up and sleep after a hard day of spying....Shhh!  Little Mouse is sleeping... 

Day 7: 12/16/11:

            Little Mouse has hacked my Facebook account!! What a naughty mouse...what will Santa say?

 
Day 8: 12/17/11:

            Little mouse is reading the Christmas classic, "The Mouse That Made A House in the Christmas Cake" while snacking on a Christmas cookie.

  Day 9: 12/18/11:

          Look at all my cute Christmas ornaments, wait!  Little Mouse!  What are you doing in my tree?

  Day 10: 12/19/11:
            Ooops!  Excuse me!  I guess even little mice must use the little Mouse's room from time to time!

 Day 11: 12/20/11:

           Violence is NOT the answer, Little Mouse!

Day 12: 12/21/11:

            Little mouse startled me!  Oh!!  You are soooo naughty!!

 Day 13: 12/22/11:

            Is Little Mouse playing in the snow....or stalking the snowman???  Be nice, Little Mouse!

Day 14: 12/23/11:

            I think Little Mouse is getting homesick....I found him sitting in Santa's lap today....poor Little Mouse, it will be Christmas soon!

Day 15: 12/24/11:

            Little Mouse acknowledges the Reason for the Season.

 

 Day 16: 12/25/11:

            Little Mouse waits in this stocking for Santa to pick him up and take him home.  See you next year, Little Mouse!

 

A Text Conversation...

A text message conversation I had with a friend a few days ago....

ME:  Did you butt call me today and leave a 3 minute long butt voicemail for me?

FRIEND:  idk....maybe.  Just curious, what did my butt have to say?

ME: not much...

FRIEND: That's good!  I had Mexican food for lunch and my butt has been talking to me all afternoon!  lol

ME:  :(

THE BIG DAY (11/15/11)

 

There are so many days that we can't wait for in our lives...when we were kids it was our birthday, or Christmas or when we got to go visit Grandma's house. 

When we were teens it was when we turned 16 or the last day of school or graduation day. 

As an adult, I remember waiting for 18, then 19 and finally 21 to arrive (I had been legal and illegal so many times with the changing of the legal drinking age, I was really confused!).  

Other big days would be your wedding day, or the day your  children were born.  The first day of school each year, and many other milestones along the way such as Proms, Homecoming dances, Sports and Honor programs, winning International Science Fair, the day they receive their acceptance letter to college and finally graduation day.

Then there is the day they move out of your house and into the college dorm, and then you wait for the BIG DAY to arrive.  This is the day when our kids tell us that they miss us, that nothing compares to home cooked meals, and the simple joy of being in the same room as good ole' mom and dad. 

All the tears I shed while watching my children achieve all of the days listed above didn’t' compare to the tears that welled up in my eyes when I received the following text from my youngest son, now a Freshmen in college.  "For the first time since I left home I woke up this morning and missed you guys"  he said.  Gasp! THE BIG DAY had finally arrived! My boy misses me!!  I could hardly contain my excitement when I quickly texted back, "Oh, I miss you too!  What do you miss the most?"  I was just sure that he was going to say 'You of course mom!' Imagine my chagrine when he wrote back "clean clothes...."  

Maybe I don't miss him as much as I think I do!  LOL

A Spider Saga (10/6/11)

  Several days ago I met a spider.  Not a cute roly poly cartoon spider but a big, black, hairy, (and I am quite sure about this next one) evil spider.  I met him while making my way to the bathroom for my morning shower.  Now this is not quite fair, since I actually sleep walk my way to the bathroom and only really wake up after soaking in the hot steam for at least 10 minutes.  Anyway I am walking in the semi darkness when out of the corner of my eye I spy a shadowy figure skitter across the floor.  I think skitter is a pretty good word here, since I am postitive I actually heard its 8 disgusting feet pitter pattering on the hardwood floor.  I appropriately did my patented "OMG I just saw a spider" hop skip move while at the same time flipping the light switch to ON just in time to see it disappear into a crack between the floor and the baseboard.  For some reason my shower wasn't as enjoyable that day....

Two days later I enter the bathroom, turn on the water to let it warm up and reach for my toothbrush – except something moved near the toothbrush holder.  DagGone! It was that evil spider again! Ooooh this was a brave one for sure!  I could just imagine it walking all over my toothbrush leaving it's toxins all over the place.  This time while performing my "OMG I just saw a spider" move I also managed to knock the shower curtain down.  I am pretty sure that I saw the spiders eyes glow a devilish red as it disappeared behind the mirror...

That night I tell Steve that there is a fire breathing spider that is stalking me and I need it to die right away.  He just looks at me from the corner of his eye and asks. "Fire breathing?  Really?"  I assured him that I only escaped its near perfect aim by a fraction of an inch.  I don't think he believed me...

Three days go by without a spider ambush and I started to let my guard down....a mistake!  I jump into the shower and I am enjoying my sudsy shampoo when I notice that the water jets of the whirlpool tub were dirty.  Ugh, it is time to scrub the tub again I say to myself.  Then I wonder, why is that one water jet soooo much dirtier than the rest?  Just then two long slender legs extend out of the water jet.  As the spider revealed itself in slow motion (afterall, aren't all nightmares in slow motion?) I am positive I saw its fangs and they were dripping deadly poison!  What do I do now?  How much more vulnerable can a person be?  Naked, shampoo dripping in my eyes, trapped in a tub with my arch enemy?  I will tell you exactly what I did, I created a brand new move.  I call it my "Holy Shit I am about to die from this hideous scary spider" move. It pretty much involved a total freakout, tearing down the shower curtain again and completely sopping the bathroom floor with shower water.  I did however manage to rinse my hair for the most part (in the kitchen sink)... 

Over dinner, I retell my sordid tale to Steve who simply rolled his eyes and shook his head.  Why doesn't he ever believe me when I tell him there is man-eating arachnid hiding in the water jet?  I vow to never shower again....

The next day I receive a text from Steve saying that he encountered my water jet spider and that I was right about it being huge, ugly and aggressive.  It ran out of the water jet onto his foot!!!  Thank God that was Steve and not me....I would have probably invented yet another "Spider move" most likely with dire consequences like a broken bone.  He killed it, without fanfare, dramatic music, swordfights or even a small explosion.  He simply washed it down the drain......Steve is my HERO!!

New Year's Resolutions?? Or a To-Do List....?

I Love, Love, Love this greenhouse design and I think it would fit in perfectly on my property....now to convince the husband...

I like the idea behind this multiple rain barrel system, just wish it wasn't so....ugly  :(

I would love my prairie to look like this some day!

Gotta love the prairie look!  and it is good for the environment too!

My husband makes wine and so he needs his own vineyard!  I want to do this for him....

Purple Martins are such lovely birds, live in groups and eat TONS of bugs!

I miss my chickens and other poultry, but I vowed to not start another flock until I had both summer and winter housing for them....I also want to hatch my own eggs - so this is a big project!

For most people Ringing in the New Year is when resolutions are made but for me, I make my resolutions in the summer...I don't know why this is, it just is.  Maybe it is because I am a teacher by trade and so the summers are the time when I plan and dream for me instead of for a classroom of America's future or maybe it is the time that I feel most connected to the land, nature and my family.  But I have to say that my resolution lists always look more like a To Do List...see what you think.

1.  Work towards planting a fruit orchard...fruit trees, raspberry and blackberry canes, grape vines.

2.  Build an outdoor chicken coop, with covered outdoor area and maybe one of those cute chicken tractors I keep seeing in the farming magazines I get.

3.  Start the arduous process of creating an Ohio Native Prairie remnant on my property...this one will show up on my Resolution List for many, many years since this is how long it will take to accomplish this one....a labor of love I suppose.

4.  Build a greenhouse.

5.  Put out several gardens:  one for canning and freezing, one for immediate picking and eating and one just for salads...

6.  Become more self sustaining energy wise....solar panels, wind turbines, anything that will reduce my reliance on 'the man'.

7.  I need a rainbarrel!!  Wait, I need several rainbarrels!!  lol

8.  I want a Purple Martin house!!!

9.  I want my family to eat as close to home as possible – locally grown produce, meats, cheeses etc. are so much healthier and are eco-friendly choices.

10.  (This is a big one this year...)  My husband and I need to find a way to ease into this 'empty nester' business....For the past fantastic 22 years our hobby and focus has been on our kids, but now one is 22 and leaving college and the other is 18 and entering college....sigh...time to turn a new page....

Landscaping 2011

Same area as next picture but after the weeds have been removed...

This is what we started with....who woulda thought that a jungle could exist in the Midwest???

The Final Product

With summer brings To Do Lists longer than I am tall!  This year is worse than normal as we prepare for our youngest son's graduation party.  The planning for this event begins in February with choosing a date (June 11) and the start of planning out changes to be made to the house and property both inside and out.  In March, I painted the kitchen cupboards and walls.  In April, I refinished an antique stand that acts as a sink in my bathroom and in May I began working outside in my landscaping beds. 

Unfortunately Mother Nature also chose this time to dump a record amount of rain on Northwest Ohio.  It rained, and rained, and rained, and...well you get the idea!  I went from window to window looking for a dry land, but alas, none was in sight.  Each day of rain meant a revamping of the 'To Do List' and prioritizing what was left on it.  Finally, when it stopped raining in late, late May, it took about a week for everything to dry out enough to be able to slop through the mud to get to the landscaping.  The lawn couldn't be mowed because the mower kept getting stuck and all my plants that I had nurseried over the winter had to be patient.  But that was only the beginning....pulling weeds when they are growing in mud is more difficult that one might think.  I mean when pulling a weed from wet soil, you get the whole root (which is awesome) but when pulling a weed from mud, you get about 10 pounds of mud along with the weed and the root!  So, I spent a lot of time pulling mud off of the roots of the weeds I was pulling.....it is as exhausting in real life as it sounds in writing!  This really slowed me down and wore me out.  Next, the sun turned up it's wattage and I quickly went from living in a swamp to living in a jungle!  I mean the weeds were now knee high and growing fast!  So I did what any mother would do....I recruited my soon to be graduating son to help.  What this really meant was I did about 2 feet of work and he did about 8 feet of work.  Ah, to be young and strong!  Together, we were able to tame the landscape, put down weed barrier and spread mulch!  But instead of taking about a week, it took a full 2 weeks to pull together!

On top of that, everything we touched broke....let's see there was the power-washer, two weedeaters, tractor, lawn mower, tank sprayer, rototiller and a flat tire on the wheelbarrow!!!  How is a girl supposed to get anything done when everything is broken???

The day before the party, the shrubs and trees that had been waiting patiently to be planted finally made it into the ground and the plants that were already established began to bloom – the yard looked beautiful!

Part of living in the country is Hard Work and Working Hard. The best part though is sitting on the front porch with an iced tea and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment at a job well done!  Oh, and my newly defined biceps are a nice perk too! 

Mother's Day 2011

Me sitting on top of a natural springs that mark the head of a river

Nick, my oldest behind one of the many waterfalls

My husband Steve, looking happy!  He really does smile....just not for cameras!

Dylan and I just before he left for his Senior Prom - so handsome!

Ahhhh, Mother's Day....

This year Mother's Day fell on a very busy weekend.  My youngest son was attending his Senior prom and so this of course meant that mom was up at the butt-crack of dawn to be sure the day went smoothly.  But first my loving hubby took me to one of my fav restaurants for breakfast.  Breakfast is by far my most favorite meal to have someone else make for me, preferably a restaurant where they also clean the kitchen and wash the dishes afterwards as well! 

After breakfast we were off to the store to pick up supplies to prepare the car for the big night out and to purchase Mother's Day gifts.  We then scooted out to my mom's for a short visit and gift giving.  Then a 15 minutes drive to my Mother-in-laws to repeat the process. 

Now it was time to visit the carwash.  After some miscommunications between my husband and I (mostly in regards to whether or not it is acceptable to spray each other with the cold water...) we had a pretty spiffy looking car.  The inside was vacuumed, trash removed and the interior detailed. 

The weather cooperated nicely (for a change) and we took some very nice photos of the group of friends that had paired up for the prom – they all looked soooo nice! Soon they were off for good food, friendship and tons of fun!

The next morning, Dylan was off to work (yes, he had to work the morning after prom....slave-drivers!)  And my husband, Steve announced we were going to see my oldest son, Nick for Mother's day!  I was very excited – I don’t get to see Nick very often.  Nick had the whole day planned, hiking, lunch at a small restaurant he had discovered, shopping, antiquing...it was blissful, no, it was phenomenal (to borrow one of his favorite words)!  After spending most of the day it was time to head home.  When I got there Dylan had a gift for me as well, a CD of one of my favorite music collections....GLEE!!  Yes, that's right, I am a proud Gleek!!! 

It was truly a wonderful weekend spent with those who I love the most – thank you guys for a Mother's Day to remember!