SURPRISE!!!

I have a visitor, who really needs to leave my house!!

For weeks we've been hearing this scratching noise under our kitchen sink, but we haven't investigated any further than figuring out where the sound came from. Today I was brave, and looked. I found nothing, but proceeded to pull out the boxes and food-stuff that was kept there. We've suspected that we have a mouse, but haven't really seen any mice wandering around. After pulling out the boxes, I showed Steve and we both figured that the mouse was hiding behind the dishwasher (there's a hole under the sink that leads behind the dishwasher...)

So Steve left me to my under-sink rearranging. I decided to find out what exactly was IN this box that was under our sink, and as I pulled out a bag that had napkins in it, a furry, gray mouse JUMPED out and RAN toward my garbage can!!

I ran faster than I've ever run before and while SCREAMING jumped onto our couch. I didn't want to see that mouse again...all I wanted was for him to DIE!!

Unfortunately my screaming woke up baby J, who had *just* settled down for his nap, and I immediately yelled for Steve to come and take care of our pest. He told me to get him a pillowcase. I gave him a look that said, "You want me to sacrifice one of MY pillowcases for this......THING!?" He instructed me to get one that I didn't want anymore, and I hurried as fast as I could, staring at the floor in fear that another mouse would pop out and chase me. After I grabbed the pillowcase, Steve and the mouse had a stare-down. Steve asked me to run to my neighbor's to see if she had mice or knew of anyone who WANTED a mouse. She and I talked for a while, and then her son offered to catch it for us, but by the time he came over, Mr. Mouse was hiding under the stove or fridge. I gathered up the sleeping baby and ran to Walmart to buy sticky traps and mouse poison. (Did I mention I want the mouse DEAD!?)

All day long I've been wondering how quickly I can invent a hover device, but Steve assures me that the mouse will stay hidden, and won't attack me.

Sadly, I had gotten over my fear of the floor and was SITTING on it when Steve, who was in the kitchen, said, "OOH....Where'd it go?!"

I asked him, "What!?"

Him, nonchalantly, "The mouse....."

Me: hyperventilating......

I know this fear of mine came from my mother....

When I was younger, in my teens, we were remodeling our house. We had pulled all of the carpeting out, and that left HUGE gaps underneath the doors, which allowed mice to come and live with us. She put out all sorts of mice poisons, and when a mouse would be dead, foaming at the mouth in the middle of the floor, she'd FREAK out!! She'd yell for us to get it out of her sight. So I was one of the ones to dispose of these ICKY things!!

There was one night I was walking to my bedroom in the basement, and because the light switch was on one side of the basement (the one FARTHEST from my bedroom) I'd turn off the light and make a run for it. On this night, I stepped off the stairs onto something soft and fluffy. Now, you have to realize, our house was MESSY, and stepping on something soft and fluffy usually meant clothes or toys. But I KNEW this one was different, because it SQUEAKED!! I didn't kill it, but I know I scared it, and it scared me too!!

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Update: Two mice were caught on the sticky trap underneath our sink....EWW!! I went to the store again today, and bought 12 more sticky traps and rubber gloves!! All morning long I could hear one of the mice that was stuck on the trap squeaking....I felt safer, until I discovered there were TWO on the trap!!

Oh, and just to satisfy your curiosity, NO, I didn't have to sacrifice my pillowcase....it's still safe! :)

Another Secret Fear

I'm going to let you in on a little secret...I'm afraid of aliens! OKAY!!! Go ahead....laugh...I can handle it (the fact that I can't hear you laughing helps with me being okay about it!) I don't know exactly when it started, but I know it got worse once that show Unsolved Mysteries came out. To this day the sound of Robert Stack's voice or the theme song to that show will send shivers up and down my spine! By that time it was a full blown phobia! Just hearing other accounts of alien abductions convinced me that I was once abducted and experimented upon...I mean, I even had the same shaped scars that they showed people who had been abducted as having. It completely freaked me out!
One night I was sleeping peacefully in my messy bedroom when I woke up for my nightly potty run. Imagine in your mind a room that was so cluttered with clothes, toys, and papers that the piles were the same height as the bed. (Yes, I was a pig! But I'm not that way anymore...I swear!) Anyway, I got up and wandered to the door only to find that the door was not there. Instead I found a wall. Of course I first thought that I had flipped around in my bed, so I wandered in the opposite direction, hoping to find my way out. Instead, I found another wall! That time I was scared! I knew that I had been abducted by aliens, and was now their captive! My over-active mind knew that they had placed me in a holding cell until they could get around to dissecting me.

I collapsed on my bed and began bawling uncontrollably.

I shared a room with my sister and figured that she would be nearby and could hear me. I called out her name...begging her to turn on the light so I knew where I was. After a few minutes of crying, the lights came on, but NOT in the room I was in. I realized I was in the room right next to my room...our family's "pilot" room. (We called it that because that was where we would "pilot (pile)" our junk. It was as messy, or worse than my room had been!) I climbed out of the mess relieved to be in my home! If I remember right, I was so happy that I hugged my sister. I don't know if she even remembers this incident, but I always will remember the time that she was my hero! I still don't know how I ended up in that room...but I always suspected it had been an alien drop off!

Now I'm still a bit afraid when I think of the things that aliens are portrayed in the media to be able to do. It doesn't bother me too much, unless I think a lot about it. I've actually come up with my own theory about aliens. I believe that "aliens" are actually out on other planets, but I don't believe that they have the technology that they are shown to have. I think they're just like us...trying to get their own lives in order, and not necessarily worrying about life on other planets.

I'm not so worried about aliens anymore, but if I ever find unusual scaring, hear Robert Stack's voice or that theme song I will head for the hills! Otherwise, I'll be fine.

Crazy Mother on the Loose

I just realized today that I'm NOT ready for my son to grow up! (For those of you with children over 5...you're probably thinking I'm INSANE for thinking this, but it's true!) When I was younger I lived in a very nice neighborhood...there were tons of kids running around and we pretty much knew everyone who lived around us. My parent's would let us roam the neighborhood and didn't really worry too much, I think. Well, tonight the rowdy neighbor kids came over and asked if Cam could come out and play with them. My first reaction was to scream out "NO WAY!!" and slam the door in their faces, but I held back and told them that I was making dinner and he was going to have to eat soon. Cam then looked up at me with those bright blue eyes as if to say, "Please, mom, you never let me do anything." I'm such a softy...I told the kids to wait for him to put on his shoes and he'd be out for a little while. Cam was so thrilled with that idea that he hurried and had his shoes on and was out the door before I could say, boo!

I cannot convey to you the feeling of panic that overcame me. If I could have I would have shrunk myself down to teeny size and stood outside to keep an eye on him the ENTIRE time while trying not to embarrass the kid, but since I don't have access to that machine I stayed inside making dinner. I stood next to the window the whole time. If I didn't see his body or the kids he was with, my heart would palpitate and I would get light-headed. I was SO worried about him that I almost burned dinner! Our neighborhood is not the same kind of place that I grew up in...it's freakin' scary!! One of my friends who lived here told me once that she looked up the registered sex offenders in our area and noticed that our neighborhood was almost all red with the dots marking where they live. Ever since then I've tried to stay inside of our home and keep the doors locked tight. It's a rare day when our street isn't mentioned in the police log for drugs, domestic violence, or something like that. Even without knowing that this is the breeding ground for those scumbags, I'm a worrier. My husband will be late coming home from work and I'll imagine him in a horrible car accident, dying in the hospital, or losing his memory and not knowing where he lives. I know it's bad, but I can't control these thoughts. So here I am...literally pacing my small kitchen praying that dinner will cook quickly so that I will have an excuse to call Cam in for the night. Every car or truck that passed was, in my mind, a potential murderer or kidnapper. When dinner was finally finished I was relieved to call him back into the safety of our home. He was so mad at me for calling him in, but I knew it would pass. So, during dinner we had one of my famous conversations. During the time he was outside, I realized that I'm way too paranoid and I need to let the kid grow, play, and learn things for himself. So our conversation consisted of the new rules that he must obey if he wants to go outside ever again. As I was getting on in my speech the poor kid covered his ears and said, "I don't wanna talk to you, no more!" I threatened him that if he didn't listen to me then I wouldn't let him leave our house ever again. He, naturally, threw a fit, then he calmed down and listened to the rants of his insane mother.

Am I alone in this crazy paranoia? Please give me hope that I can get through this time in his life. I think this crazy side of me coming out is a HUGE sign that it's time for another child...which I know all too well. Other than getting that other child we've been wanting what can I do?? HELP ME!!

Phonophobia

I finally bit the bullet and went to the drug store and got the medicine that my doctor prescribed for me last month. It took some work, because I knew that we wouldn't be able to afford $100 plus a month it would take to get the meds in the first place and I needed to call the doctor to see what they could do to help me. Well, the thing about me is that I have this very strange affliction when it comes to the phone...I'm afraid of it. I know, I know...how can someone who LOVES to blog be terrified of a stupid machine?

I think part of my phobia came from when I was harassed on the phone as a child. I was called by some very strange people and these creepy guys told me things that most people shouldn't hear. So when I call people now, in the back of my mind I think I am always afraid that the person that I am talking to will hurt me in the same ways that those few people did when I was younger. And you'd think that over the years the fear would have lessened, but, no. I still get that gripping fear that overwhelms me to the point that I get physically sick and if I don't have to call someone, I won't. Like when I have to get ahold of my ladies for visiting teaching, I grab them at church rather than calling them on that dreadful thing.

I knew that I needed this medication if I want to get pregnant again and the only way I could do that was to call the doctor's office. So I debated and fought my natural instinct and called the office. They changed my prescription to something cheaper and I felt RELIEF! It was over...for the moment anyway, until I need to call someone else. Is there anyway to get over my irrational fear? Or will this malady affect me until the day I die? Is there any help for a phonophobe like me?