Since my last post, we’ve been busy with traveling, the mid-year spring clean (I’m allergic to dust that’s why) and kicking back over two and a half weeks of school holidays. Now I don’t even know where to start.
How about a story?
Well, about a month ago, Pegs caught a rat.
Pegs, our dog. Not another kid you didn’t know we had. Ha!
How did I know? I was still in the throes of heavy slumber just before the break of dawn when Sweet Man shook my shoulder and broke the news in a low whisper.
Forget the front page. This kind of thing makes headlines over here.
Pegs had left it in the middle of our driveway – the mangled body, pretty much intact in most respects. Except for its guts. They had spewed out at the lower section of the body where Pegs had nipped it.
I didn’t bother getting out of bed to see it. No way. I was intent on reclaiming a few minutes of shut eye after having awakened to nurse Roo a few times in the middle of the night.
In any event, I could always rely on detailed descriptions from the kids.
Sweet Man said not to worry about the mess and went to clean up. I’m glad I can always leave guts and gore to him. Give me Roo’s soiled nappies any day.
I stretched in bed with bleary eyes and was about to snuggle back down again with Roo still sleeping next to me when Lamb burst into the room. My little guy doesn’t walk. He runs, leaps, jumps, crawls. He is a tornado, a whirlwind in the house. Floor mats get cast aside in the wake of his path. That is why we need Afternoon Quiet Time and lots of the outdoors.
Mama, Mama, Mama! You’ll never guess what Pegs did! She caught a rat!!!
The exuberance! The breathlessness! A whisper so loud that Roo awoke. Forget more sleep.
Ummmm. I turned on my side and saw dark, shining eyes and clasping hands.
Did you see the rat? Up close?
Oh yes, Mama. Pegs bit its penis! (I think it was this bit that truly woke me up.) Its guts came out like this, spwwshhhhh…..
Boy, I just love those details.
Lamb nestled close to me. I’m so glad I’m not that rat. All chewed up!
With that, he bounced out of bed, out of the room and hurtled down the stairs.
Sweet Man mooted the idea of getting a cat to live indoors.
You can probably guess what I said to that, can’t you?
We’ll just have to continue with the status quo. Sweet Man, the Rat Catcher!
I had his permission for this one, and yes, that IS a fishing net
Whenever there is a hungry, housebound rodent, my job for the most part is to deal with mess and destruction in the mornings. Tis not an easy feat. It gives me white hairs. (I also have four children now, remember?) Thankfully this has happened only three times. Thankfully also, upon discovery all I have to do is stand by, wield a stick behind a makeshift barricade and scream murder at the top of my lungs while Sweet Man does the running and smashing.
A kitchen without a door is nice and fancy, but not quite when there’s a rat in it
Rat traps don’t seem to work. Maybe we haven’t been setting them up right.
I hope we never have to do that again. Not ever.
Certainly not at 2.00am when the job involves moving kitchen cabinets, putting up chairs and I’m halfway nursing Roo. On that occasion (aforementioned) I had to lay her quickly in a basket and grab a stick.
Poor Roo! Barely 1.5mos
She slept through all our whoops and yells!