Guess What Came In The Mail

 

Mice

We live in the country, and our house is apparently not entirely mouse-proof.  Every winter with the cold weather comes the start of a battle between the mice and I.  I use traps and usually can keep them at bay with only a few fatalities.

Anyway, a couple nights ago I woke up with a bad backache during the night.  I staggered into the master bathroom and reached for the Advil bottle in my medicine cabinet.  Alas my coordination is at its worst in the  middle of the night and I felt a pill slip from my hand to the floor.  In my sleepy fog I decided to leave it there and take care of it in the morning.

Several hours later I awoke to a scuffling noise in our bathroom.  Mice!  I lay there wishing they would die of old age or some other natural cause.  Pretty soon I heard another noise.  A nasty grating chewing noise.  What on earth were they doing?  It sounded like they were eating my drywall.  (Noises in the middle of the night are SO LOUD.)

I must have drifted back to sleep, and in the morning I immediately thought about the Advil on my floor.  I searched everywhere for it and couldn't find it.  I even swept the floor, but no Advil.

Did the mice eat my Advil?

I wonder if a mouse can survive 200 milligrams of ibuprofen.

I hope not. :)

This Morning

So far I've.........

changed 2 diapers

washed a load of "wet" bedding

served breakfast

given two baths

started homeschoooling

settled two arguments 

negotiated with a toddler

kissed hubby on his way out the door

and it's not even 9:00am!

Funny

Disclaimer--this is a nitty gritty mommy post--if you have a weak stomach you might want to skip it.




One of the things that I love about homeschooling is the tolerance and patience it builds in both my life and the life of my children.

For example:

Today I was burping Sugar Pea while my 8 year old son recited subtraction facts to me.

Sugar Pea is not a silent diaper filler.

As she grunted away merrily her brother never missed a beat in his recitation.

He simply pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger in anticipation of the smell that would soon follow.

For some reason listening to subtraction facts in a nasal tone amused me.

I didn't want to break his concentration however--so I tried to suppress my humor.

It didn't work--I started to shake with choked back laughter.

After a few seconds of this the scholar turned to me with a pained expression and said "Moooom."

:)

Taco Rice Casserole

More comfort food!

I will admit that this casserole takes a little while to put together--but it is so worth the effort!

I have one child who is not overly fond of cornbread in any shape or form, and yet likes this casserole moderately well.

First Layer:

1 pound hamburger fried

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 medium onion diced

16 ounces tomato juice

1 cup cooked rice

Fry the hamburger with the diced onion and then add the taco seasoning.  Stir in the rice and tomato juice, and spread the mixture in the bottom of a 13 x 9 pan.

Second Layer:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Stir these three together and spread over the hamburger mixture in the 13 x 9 pan.

Third Layer:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1 Tablespoon oil

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

Mix the first four ingredients together in a bowl.  Beat the egg, oil and milk lightly in another bowl and then stir the two mixtures together.  Spoon the cornbread mixture on the top of your 13 x 9 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes.

Seriously?

Do you ever have a day that turns out nothing like you planned?

Every Monday and Friday I leave the house at noon to take Sugar Pea to a town 45 minutes away for her birth parent visits.  

They last two hours and I usually spend the time shopping.

The fact that this occurs right during my 2 and 3 year olds nap time does not make for happy moments in the store, but we cope.

Anyway, this past Monday I loaded up the van with my munchkins and headed south.

We arrived around 1pm and I dropped off Sugar Pea at the agency.

I drove across the street to a shopping plaza and was unloading children when my cell phone rang.

It was the foster agency--apparently the birth parents forgot what day of the week it was and could not come to their visit--their words not mine.

Soooo I loaded everyone back in the van and picked up Sugar Pea and drove 45 minutes home.

Seriously?

They forgot what day of the week it was?

Sigh

Sunday