M-I-C-K-E-Y-----M-O-U-S-E (Updated again)

UPDATE AGAIN - 12 now. Gross, smelly, dead rodents. Twelve.
UPDATE - we're up to 7 mice now. SEVEN. Lord give me strength.

We moved into our current house almost 2 years ago. It's probably the house we'll retire in. We love it. It has plenty of room, the schools here are top notch, the neighborhood is great, and our neighbors are fantastic. Seriously couldn't ask for anything better.

Until about 3 weeks ago.

When Mickey Mouse and his large extended family moved in.

His large, dead, smelly family moved in.

Our house has a finished basement that has a media room, Spencer's office, a guest bedroom, and a guest bathroom in it. The garage is also down there. It has a dropped ceiling (you know, one of those ceilings with the ceiling tiles in it). Between the dropped ceiling and the underside of the floor above it is what we are now referring to as the "House of Death" for mice. It is not welcoming. There isn't a Motel 6 slogan saying "We'll leave the light on for ya." There aren't little mice slumber parties happening there. It's all death.

And guess what?

When a mouse dies in your house, it STINKS.

And don't even THINK that they can possibly be accommodating to their human hosts (aka, us) and die in a well ventilated, easy to get to place.

Nooooooo. They have to die in a 4 inch space between a wall where the only way to get to their dead, smelly selves is to cut said wall. And they die in pairs. Which doubles the smellyness. And we haven't had dead mice just once. We've had them TWICE. In a 2 week span. We've had to cut 2 walls. We've had to remove 4 (if you notices the updates at the beginning of this post, you'll see that we're up to 12 mice now. Gross.) dead, smelly, decomposing mice carcasses from our walls. We have used the kitchen tongs to get them because THIS CHICK ISN'T ABOUT TO TOUCH A MOUSE CARCASS WITH HER HANDS.

No ma'am, I'm not.

And we've now thrown 2 pairs of tongs away with the smelly mice carcasses. Because if you think I'm gonna use the same tongs to remove dead mice and to serve a nice salad, you are craaazy, my friend.

And did you catch the part where I said they die in pairs? 2 of them together. Can you imagine that mouse conversation as they've trapped themselves in the place of death? It probably went something like this....

"Craaaaaap, George. I told you that jumping into this hole was a bad idea. Didn't you hear about what happened to Vinny and Louis last week? Those human people threw them away in a ziploc bag after they jumped into a hole just like this one. Mom warned us about dark deep holes and you JUST wouldn't listen, would you? Way to go, George."

The exterminator wants to place those horrific glue traps around to catch them. Have you seen those things? The poor mice run on the glue traps and get stuck. They they lay there for days until they die. Stuck to glue. Isn't there a law against doing stuff like that to animals? Or do mice fall into another "humans can be cruel to them without criminal consequences" category? I HATE those things, so I won't let the exterminator put them out. I just can't handle the thought.

However, if any more mice decide to take their eternal nap in my house, I will pull out the glue traps. I'll get over being sad for them and wanting to protect them from the glue. Yes I will.

Maybe.

To Answer Your Question.....

I TOLD you I like tagging/question/all about me bloggy thingys. Here's another one.

And yes, I copied from Queen B who copied from Lisa who probably copied from someone else. Nothing is original anymore.

Where is your cell phone? sitting right beside me. It's my 5th appendage, sadly enough

Your significant other? In Mobile. Far, far away. Working. Making a living so I can stay home with my girls. Today, however, I'm considering re-entering the work force. The precious little ones are a little moody.

Your hair? In desperate need of Evan to work her magic.

Your mother? Obsessed (in a good way) with my children.

Your father? Makes me laugh all the time. Has the BEST stories.

Your favorite thing? Hearing my kids laugh, watching Mary Emma play softball, watching Spencer coach softball, watching Tait do the "Tait shuffle", too many others to count.

Your dream last night? Something with Carol Burnett, fishing, and riding horses. I know, random.

Your favorite drink? Regular, plain, old fashioned Coke. But I try not to drink it.

Your dream/goal? Dream - play guitar on stage and sing backup with someone famous. Preferably Reba. Goal - well, same as the dream. :)

The room you a€™re in? Den

Your ex? Don't have one. Seriously. Married my first serious boyfriend and have been married for 10 years now.

Your fear? Drowning, something happening to Spencer or the kids

Where do you want to be in 6 years? 6 years older than I am now. With kids who don't need diapers. Thank the dear Lord above.

Where were you last night? Home. What's new?

What you a€™re not? Mean or judgmental.

Muffins? Only fresh, hot ones. Chocolate is a bonus.

One of your wish list items? To spend the night in the Cinderella Suite in the castle at Disney World.

Where you grew up? Sweet Home Alabama

The last thing you did? Made lunch for the Precious Little Ones.

What are you wearing? Skirt & t-shirt

Your TV? Reba - the TV show.

Your pets? None. Sad.

Your computer? Black MacBook. I've been told about the superiority of the Mac forever. I get it now. It is better. No offense to the PC.

Your life? Happy, regular, fulfilled.

Your mood? I'm a pretty happy person. I like making people laugh.

Missing someone? Yep, Adam (brother).

Your car? 2008 Chrysler Town and Country. It's awesome.

Something you a€™re not wearing? Shoes. Or makeup. I put that on in the car.

Favorite store? Williams Sonoma / Pottery Barn / Nordstrom

Your summer? Jam slam packed. And hot. I'm in Alabama.

Like someone? Like a lot of people. Especially Michelle. And Christy. And Erin. Good friends.

Your favorite color? Sky blue.

When is the last time you laughed? Just a minute ago - Reba cracks me up.

Last time you cried? I don't cry much. Probably last week sometime. Can't remember.

Who will repost this? Who knows - my blog is small. Maybe Edub will repost......

URGENT Need of Prayer

Friends,

Your prayer is desperately needed for Katherine Wolf.

Here's the story.

Katherine suffered a stroke on Monday caused by an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM). An AVM is a massive tangle of blood vessels in the brain. It is a congenital condition that can cause massive bleeding because the blood vessels are very weak and very fragile. Katherine's AVM was located near her brain stem. She has undergone a 12 hour operation to stop the bleeding in her brain and is currently in the very beginning, baby stages of waking up. She has blinked a couple of times and has moved her fingers and toes. She has been married to Jay since 2004 and has a 6 month old son, James. Her family is from Athens, GA and Jay's family is from Montgomery, AL. She went to Samford University in Birmingham. She just turned 26 in March.

She was also a recent contestant on "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader." She was the pregnant girl. You might remember her if you watch the show. Here's a link to a clip from the show.

I do not know Katherine well. I have only met her a couple of times. I know Jay and his family and have known them for a looong time. I have always admired Jay and his love for people, so I knew when he married, he would marry someone incredible. What I didn't know was HOW incredible Katherine was. She has an energy that is contagious and a smile that people don't forget. She is a servant for God with every ounce of who she is. She RADIATES Christ. She and Jay moved to Malibu after they married so she could pursue an acting/modeling career. Jay is currently in law school at Pepperdine. People all over the country know Katherine and have joined together and are praying diligently for this amazing young woman.

Now I am asking you to do the same. Jay is asking us to pray Mark 5:41 for her. It says, "He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” )." The Body of Christ is a powerful group. We all know the miraculous powers of Christ, and we are praying for a miracle for her every day. Every hour. Every minute.

Here's what I am asking you to do.
1. Post a link to this blog post anywhere you can. Anywhere people are reading. Let's get people everywhere to pray for her. Turn this into a "chain mail" blog post. Let's see how far it can reach.
2. Visit the sites already created for Katherine. Here's one. Here's one. For those of you who have a Facebook, there are 2 groups dedicated to her. One is called "Pray for Katherine Arnold Wolf" and the other is "Praying for Katherine Wolf." They are open groups, so you can join without being invited. Let people know that you are praying for her.

To my SIESTAS, this is an urgent call to action. We have prayed for each other and lifted each other up more times than I can count. I need you. Today. Now. My blog is small, but I know that many of you have blogs that are read by lots and lots of people. Will you please help me get the word out about Katherine? I know I can count on y'all!

Thank you for your diligence. I'm so excited to watch God work in ways that will shake up everyone who has heard about Katherine's situation. I have faith that many, many people will be changed by not only watching what miracles God does in Katherine's life, but by also watching the Body of Christ come together for her. This will be one of those situations that will make people say, "Wow. I want to know the God that healed her." What an opportunity to give Jesus complete and total credit! Awesome.

I'm IT!

I've been tagged. Gotta GROW With It tagged me. I've been tagged before, but this is a different tag thingy. Because I love being loved and thought about, I'll participate in any sort of tagging bloggy game.
Plus, it'll give me a chance to tag Erin. She is a long time friend of mine who is new to Bloggyville. Y'all take a meandering over there and give her a welcome.

Ok, I'm supposed to tell you 7 random things about myself. I've gotta think of 7 new random things that weren't in my original tagging post. Shouldn't be hard. I'm pretty random.

1. I'm an artist. I paint mostly art for children's rooms, but have dabbled in some "fine art." I really enjoy it and I think I'l pretty decent at it. My new adventure is designing appliques for a clothing line. You can find them here. The owners of the store are dear friends of mine. They also have a foundation to help kids of cancer victims. You can read about it here. Amazing.

2. My brother is an actor in New York City. Yes, I think I'm cooler than I normally would be because of that. I'm VERY proud of him. His name is Adam Hose. Google him.

3. I lived in Tallahassee, FL for 3 years. Spiritually, I was in the biggest PIT of my life during this time. I didn't even realize how deep of a pit I was in until I moved away and saw things through clear eyes. I read Beth Moore's Get Out of That Pit and my eyes were opened. I hate the person that I was while I was there. I thank God every day for the friends that I made while I was there and for their willingness to look past that and see me. I also realize that I drove away some people who could've been great friends. I regret that and wish I could change it. I'm definitely not the person that He wants me to be. However, my passion for Jesus has grown immensely so I'm hopefully becoming the person that He wants me to be. It's a never ending journey.

4. I LOVE music. Any kind. Classical, country, christian, pop, all of it. Well, except for opera. Not my fave. I appreciate it and have the utmost respect for the hard work that goes into it, but don't want to listen to it. I hope that's ok with the opera people.

5. I think a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup or a Hunt's Snack Pack (chocolate) will cure anything. Shout out to Erin.

6. I have the most amazing husband that has ever lived. You might think you do, but you don't. I do. And I don't tell him enough. So now I am telling the whole world.

7. I'm going on a field trip with Mary Emma tomorrow. We're going to the woods somewhere. Not sure where or what we're doing, but I'm excited anyway. All I know is her teacher told us to wear plenty of big spray. Makes me think of Amanda's most recent post. Ugh. However, with 2 other daughters under 3 years old, it's rare that I get to spend some time with just Mary Emma. So I'm looking forward to it.

Ok, now I'm gonna tag:
1. Erin
2.Tracye
3. Lisa
4. Cindy
5. Faith
6. Jody
7. Kim

Meeting Jennie Finch

My daughter, Mary Emma, is a HUGE Jennie Finch fan. For those of you who don't know who she is, Jennie Finch is an Olympic Softball pitcher, a current member of the USA Olympic Softball team, and an overall GREAT person. She is a wife, a mom, an athlete, and a GIRL! She loves Jesus and isn't ashamed of her faith. She lives what she talks - and that's a rarity with celebrities these days. When she signs her name, she puts a Christian Fish next to it. She is an inspiration to each girl who meets her.

Last night, the USA Softball Team played an exhibition game against the University of Alabama's Softball team. The game was at the park in my neighborhood. We have been excited about this game for MONTHS. Yesterday when Mary Emma got home from school, she said, "Mommy, Jennie Finch is in my neighborhood." It was all hitting home for her.

We got to the field REALLY early to get good seats. After a while, the USA team arrived to warm-up and take batting practice. Mary Emma was GLUED to the fence looking for Jennie. Then there she was. We even got pretty close so Mary Emma could say hello - she got so overwhelmed that instead of yelling "Hey Jennie" she just sat on Daddy's shoulders and cried.

After the game, each player lined up on the fence to sign autographs. We were about 20th in Jennie's line (the line had about 500 people in it) and she graciously signed, took pictures, smiled, said thank you, etc. to every person that she could get to in the time they allotted her. Mary Emma got her picture made twice and got a USA ball signed. She was wearing a Jennie Finch jersey and really thought she was a celebrity, herself.

We didn't get home until almost 10:00. Mary Emma was exhausted, but soooo happy. She wore the jersey to school today. She wanted her hair in a ponytail "just like Jennie wears hers." She wants to redecorate her room so the pink walls don't clash with the red, white, and blue Jennie Finch posters, pictures, and autographs.

Here's the part that I'm so grateful to Jennie for. We have been talking to Mary Emma a lot lately about being a good sport, how to act like Jesus wants us to act, humility, gratefulness, basically the whole Fruits of the Spirit bit. There were almost 3000 people at the game last night, most of whom came just to see Jennie Finch. She could've been cocky. She could've hid behind the security guards and flaunted her celebrity status. She could've signed autographs quickly, carelessly, and without giving a thought to the person who was freezing while waiting in line to see her. She could've disregarded the fact that EVERYONE there paid money to see her and probably bought a bunch of her merchandise. But she didn't. She smiled. She laughed. She waved. She even took a ball to each team member to get signed and gave it to a little girl who was hit in the back by a batting practice ball. She had no ego. She exemplified the Fruits of the Spirit. She was living proof of the kind of person that we have been talking to Mary Emma about. Her character radiated Jesus.

I have been a softball fan of hers for a while. I love to watch her play. Now I am a Jennie Finch fan. She's awesome.

Oh, and she and her team are gonna SWEEP UP in Beijing at the Olympics. Go USA!

Par-tay, People!!!

Thank you, Big Mama, for this really fun party in Bloggyville.

Loving it.

But also realizing that my fashion prowess (or lack thereof) is pretty humbling...

Here's what I wear...remember I live in Alabama. Unlike some of you, it doesn't get really cold. No need for true winter clothes. Warm-ish will do.

Summer: ("summer" to me means anything above 60 degrees, which is about 10 months out of the year...)
1. Shorts - "nice" shorts have a button and a zipper. "Junky" shorts do not. Those are my shorts categories.
2. T-shirts - mostly Auburn ones.
3. Flip flops - I LOVE These and live in These.

Winter: aka -cool weather
1. Jeans
2. Said t-shirt from "summer" - I might venture out into the long-sleeved variety....
3. Hoodie zip up jacket
4. Said flip flops.

Flip Flops are NOT seasonal, people.

When I'm getting "cute" - meaning I have to dress for something besides staying home with the kids, Gymboree, or going to the ball park, I like stuff like this skirt or these shoes.

Also, if money were no option, I'd SO have these shoes. That red sole is ah-ma-zing. But I'd definitely look like a poser in really cool shoes, because I'd invent some sort of walk to show off the red sole and let everyone know I was wearing Christian Louboutin shoes. I don't think I could truly pull it off....

Doesn't matter - doubt I'll be paying $760 for a pair of shoes anytime during this lifetime....

Well, that's it. That's me. Plain and simple stay-at-home mama girl. No frills.

In other words,

BORING.

Now off to put on junky shorts, t-shirt, and flip flops and head to the ballpark. Nah, my mom is coming in town - will probably wear "nice" shorts.....

New Friends

I love meeting new people. I love talking to them and finding out all that we have in common. For example, I've been reading Lisa's blog for a while then realized we both live in Alabama. Not too far from each other. I've also been reading BooMama's blog (and laughing hysterically at it) and realized we're practically neighbors.

Here's another It's a Small World story.

I took Mary Emma to a dentist appointment today. It's a pediatric dentist, so the waiting room is usually full of moms waiting for their kids. When I walked in today, there were 3 other moms in the room and they were all laughing at the stories one of them was telling. I sat and listened for a minute before I HAD to join in.

I can't sit quietly in a room full of women for long.

If you knew me, you'd agree. I LOVE hearing stories. And I LOVE telling them, too.

Anyway, I started talking to the funny, story-telling mom and formed an instant friendship. Her name is Dawn, and I swear I've known her all my life even though we just met. She has one daughter, is a nurse, and loves Jesus. We talked about Beth Moore (who we both love) and her Bible Studies. We talked about out faith and our walk with Christ. We talked about things in our lives that have been totally God inspired - like her switching jobs
14 days before the entire company went belly up or us meeting a doctor for Tait who just happens to be one of only 4 in the world with this specific specialty. We talked about our kids and how they are like/unlike ourselves. It was awesome and I'm glad that God put us in the same place today.

Her daughter was through before mine was, so as she left, we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. She is definitely someone I'll keep up with.

Good to meetcha, Dawn.