Of Mice and Men

Well, it is official, our house is going on the market this Sunday!!!! Yikes, I know...I have a ton to do :) Anyway, that is a main reason I have been so bad about blogging recently, so I thought I would push aside the stack of laundry, ignore the water pooling in our basement, turn a blind eye to the dust collecting on the bureaus and BLOG! Don't worry, I will get to the other items later of course.

So today's story goes back to this weekend when we were frantically getting this place ready for the real estate agent to visit on Monday. After A woke up from her nap we packed up her snack, grabbed a sippy cup of juice, and headed for Lowe's. (PS...on a side note, did you know that if you file a change of address form Lowe's and a bunch of other stores will send you coupons! Yes, I recommend you try it)  Okay, so we had just gotten back from Lowe's and hauled our two adorable little tree/bushes out of the car for planting. And when I say we, I really mean my hubby as I corralled our child :) He grabbed the bag of potting soil from the shed, the little garden shovel from the closet, and was all set to go when I heard the first sounds.

"Babe"..."BABE"..."BABE!"

Naturally I came running to see what had happened. Did he lose a finger? Did he hurt our new trees? Was there a rabid dog outside trying to eat him? Isn't the mind a wonderful thing :) But this is what I heard...

"I think there is a mouse in the soil bag"

Okay, it is a little mouse...no big deal. I love animals (like a lot) and so I walked down onto the patio to check it out. As I saw those two little eyes looking back at me, I confirmed his assumption, calmed his fears, and told him to simply (and gently) tip the bag over and let the mouse run out.

Now, here is what I didn't tell him...I was a 4th grade teacher with more hamster class pets that I can count, so when I saw the mouse had pulled in some leaves and other torn pieces of straw I had a pretty good feeling there was some breeding going on. But I didn't think he needed to know that, and I was kinda excited to see his face when about four mice ran out of the bag, not just the one he was counting on.

As we tipped the bag over, slowly we saw the mouse run out....with about 5 babies (and I mean still little blue-ish ones who had just opened their eyes) attached to her, feeding. But the mommy mouse got them all safely around the corner and buried under a little pile of pavers we have. Phew...I was so glad they were all okay. I had my hubby use the little shovel (being careful not to let any part of human sent touch anything) and collect her bedding from in the soil bag and place it by the pavers where she ran under so they could relocate properly. Hey, we are moving too and I would be pretty pissed if I had to leave all my stuff behind :)

But, like I often do, as time passed I started to worry. First, I went out with some oats...it was all I had that was close to food mice would eat...and left it near the pavers. Then it started to rain...and I started to panic. They were probably all going to get sick from the rain and die, and it was all our fault because we just had to buy little tree/bushed to plant in our pots. I felt like a terrible mom...to say the least.

Finally, I devised a plan to create a tunnel, using the pavers, and direct the mouse and her babies into a tuberware with some towels and leaves so they would be safe and dry. I headed out in the rain with a flash light and my supplies and got to work. After I arranged their new "home" and got the tunnel in place, I picked up the pavers...and they were gone. Not only did I actually laugh out loud with relief, but I gave that mommy mouse some props! She managed to get her and her babies to a nice, dry, safe location. Sure, I don't really know this to be true, but that is my story and I am sticking to it!

Here's to moms everywhere keeping their children safe and warm! Oh, and in case you were wondering...the tree/bushes look great!

xoxo

Daily Mom