Rodent Infestations and Kitchen Cleaner Cocktails

So the life of the suburban nanny never ceases to excite. I am daily working on overcoming my debillitating fear of mice, as I have spotted 7 in the last week (or possibly the same one who is very mobile and has found a way to appear almost simultaneously on all 4 levels of the house.) Only moments ago I actually had a conversation with one of them as it stood staring me down on the kitchen floor (it was a very one-sided and altogether unfulfilling conversation.) Kate is terrified that one is going to eat her, which has actually turned into a very good way for me to keep her in bed at night, and not roaming all over the house after she has been put down.

In other news, this morning I woke up to find 3 kids in their pajamas and no parents in sight. Apparently Amy had to go into work early this morning and Gary left without waking me up, so the kids were just on their own for about 2 hours. Which is fine, because I was here, just unconscious. Amy forgot that Tyler had a tutoring appointment at the library, which he just rode his bike to by himself (it's over 2 miles away) and that Jared had soccer camp. I got Jared to soccer okay, but in the rush to get him ready on time, left Kate unaccompanied in the kitchen for about 10 minutes, during which time she filled my drink with a potent mixture of various kitchen cleaners. We got back from running Jared to the park, and in my parched state, I downed the entire poisonous cocktail. Of course, I immediately noticed that it tasted funny and so I drank a bunch of salt water to make myself throw up and throw up I did. And then I passed out and started having convulsions. Apparently, I'm allergic to Lysol. Good to know.

Luckily, Amy got home from work about 15 minutes later (Barney was keeping Kate occupado in the meantime) and took me to the ER, where I was waiting patiently as one must do in ERs, until I passed out and they rushed me back to stick me with a million needles and rip my shirt off my body (which I thought was a little unneccessary.) I was released after a few hours, with a confirmation that I had indeed been poisoned and had indeed passed out as a result. Very helpful.

Now I am perched on the kitchen counter with a rather funny-feeling stomach, directing Jared in the catching of a mouse that is hiding under the dishwasher. It's sure to be a great day!