[spring break '11]

My daughter has a friend who went to London on spring break.  I'm not talking London, Kentucky, either.  London, as in England.  As in home of the queen.  Other friends have traveled to other locales.

We didn't travel over this break.  I have been in my current job for just over 4 months.  My husband has been in his for approximately three weeks.  Even if I have vacation days available I'd rather wait until summer.  

I did make it a goal to spend some extra time with the kids, even if it meant in the evenings or on the two weekends.  So, despite not going to sunny Florida or the Continent (that's mainland Europe, in case you weren't aware), we did have an entertaining time. [at least I'd like to think so]

this is not my dog

I've named spring break '11, {the week of the mouse}.  Since the Chinese give their years animal names, why not name a week?   You might wonder why?  Why mouse?  Because....... we became aware of a mouse in our house on Friday, April 1 [and it wasn't an April Fools].  Despite my childhood love of the book, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, I have no love for mice in my home.  He seemed to favor the laundry room and the kitchen.  He left a nice deposit in our dog's food dish.  Speaking of our dog, she never once let on that another creature had taken up residence in her abode.  Mind you, she's a beagle.  A hunter by nature.  Her nose's ability to smell should be as good as it gets.  Yet, no sniffing in the kitchen.  No barking.  No pointing at the washing machine. 

this is my dog

We purchased some traps.  We placed them where we thought the mouse was frequenting.  Then we came to the conclusion that the mouse really liked gnawing at our kitchen brushes (the type you use for applying butter, etc.).  He began building a small nest in a corner on our counter.  We placed a trap there.  In the early hours of Monday morning, he was caught.    In case you're wondering, CJ the beagle never made a move. 

The downside of catching the mouse is that daughter Allie is an animal lover.  She believes all creatures should live free.  Killing a mouse is out of the question.  During our recent move, we had to treat our back shed for termites.  Allie truly believed we should let them live.  Despite that they'd reek havoc on the shed, and eventually move on to the house, it mattered not to her.  I considered trying to release the mouse (it was one of those sticky traps, not the old fashioned type).  But alas, I couldn't bring myself to come in contact with him.  Plus, rumor has it it's nearly impossible to "unstick" rodents from these devices.  So, RIP little mouse.  


I suppose it's a good thing we didn't leave town for spring break.  Otherwise our mouse friend might have done some real damage.  Sometimes being homebound is a blessing.  As for other spring break activities:  percussion concert at Singletary Center [I ♥ that place], dinner at 5 Guys [their concept of the veggie burger is great], watching the final season of "24", watching the movie "The Tourist" [if you can't visit Europe, why not pretend you can?], shopping with Allie, helping with VCC youth group's Operation Burrito [that's my name for it, not theirs], dinner out with Chip, and coming home from work to find that Jamie's been outside for 2 hours straight, drumming. 

Now it's 8 more weeks of school. . . then SUMMER!