Have you ever wondered what you'd say or do if you were confronted with a mouse? I screamed and jumped like a grown woman – or maybe a little girl. But the thing came directly at me! We had just come home from some errands and ascending the stairs with a snoozing BB, Drew saw the little rodent scurrying around the living room. At first Drew thought he might catch the thing, but then it made a run for it. Down the stairs. Towards me (carrying BB). It's not rational, such a tiny (dirty) being having nearly a foot and a half of clearance between us, yet as I watched it jump those stairs, I was sure it would come much closer. My shrieks most probably diverted its path though. Unfortunately, it's still lurking about the house. We think we have it "cornered" in the laundry room – the laundry will remain undone until I see its dead body –, so Drew set a trap near the gaping hole he spotted (while looking for the mouse) behind the washer. And of course the timing couldn't be worse. I was just getting the girls comfortable with going into the basement – by themselves – after the couple of times we found bugs down there. Over the summer. This mouse certainly caps all: we may never go into the basement again.
Update: The mouse met its end in the night in a trap behind the furnace. The girls were morbidly fascinated: G described it to me in gory detail and then wanted to know why its eyes were wide open like that. Unfortunately, Drew didn't let them witness the actual disposing of the body, so we've had a hard time convincing them that it's no longer in the house. Going into the basement together, G and BB, is no longer an option, an adult must be present at all times.
