Monday, September 12, 2005

Of mice and men

We got ourselves an unexpected house guest this weekend. A mouse. Did we just come across him in our home? Nope. Would you believe he actually came in through the front door? Patrice and Bella arrived at our house on Saturday afternoon so that we could make our way to a bridal shower via the subway. When Patrice got here she had quite a tale to relay regarding some mutilated mice that her pets had prominently displayed for her prior to her departure. We collected our respective babies, baby gear and strollers and started to make our way out the door. Mark opened the front door for us and ACK – realized there was a small brown mouse scurrying around between our wooden door and our glass door. We were all in a tizzy – not because we’re afraid of mice, we all agreed they are quite cute - but because when a wild animal is busily scurrying around and you want to shoo it out but obviously have no control it causes a panic. Unfortunately though I meant to open the front door and prompt our fuzzy visitor to exit, he decided instead to make his way into our cozy home. Mark, Patrice and I were baffled and hysterical. Patrice SWORE that her mice at home were white and therefore our guest did not come with her. But the questions remain – where did that mouse come from and how did he get trapped in between the two doors in the first place? We never had any mice before so it seemed entirely too weirdly coincidental that Patrice’s mouse tales were accompanied by a lovely mouse of our very own. I’ve decided Patrice is a pied piper without a pipe. It seems mice from all over are entranced by her beauty and sense of humor and are forced to follow her at a small distance. But then who isn’t?

The bebes and ladies had to hit the road to make the shower on time, so we left Mark to round up Itchy. But not before I let Noah roll out into the street in his stroller. Excellent mothering indeed. Is that what those pesky stroller brakes are for? In my defense I’ll point out that the stroller just rolled off the street curb and sat in the space between my car and Patrice’s and would never have rolled into any possible oncoming traffic (of which there was none) because the middle of the street is higher than the edges. Of course all I could do in the moment was turn beet red and laugh hysterically but still it was awful and I’m disgusted by how ugly an accident it could have hypothetically been. So we’ll return to our friend the mouse. One would have thought that our two cats would have been some help to Mark in his hunt, but no such luck. Mark apparently chased Itchy around the house for 20 minutes before she scurried under the basement door to make a cozy home for herself and her babies among our assorted cardboard boxes and old furniture.

The baby shower was a refined affair, marred only by the fact that two of its guests were ten months old. Other mothers left their babies at home, but that just meant more attention for Noah and Bella. I felt a tad bad about bringing the babies because other folk had thought it best to leave their kids at home, but we did ask permission first and honestly though some may have enjoyed the chance to be baby-free and among adults, I was happy to have Noah as a distraction and source of conversation. Plus Noah enjoyed sampling tiny tea sandwiches and slices of brie. Patrice noted that the Society Hill row home that hosted the shower was the nicest place she has ever been that wasn’t an actual historical site. The décor was stunningly old world and rich, and the walls were festooned with original art by known artists. The French themed shower was held in the lovely outdoor courtyard and the bride opened countless bags from Williams-Sonoma while Noah scuttled about on the floor playing with blocks and trains when he was taking a break from trying to dig in the flower pots. Thank God for him because otherwise I would have been bored out of my mind. Watching people open wedding gifts that they registered for has to be one of the most boring things ever. How many times can you go “Ooooh a spatula,” “Ahhhh a casserole dish,” or “Wow, coffee cups?” Hell I was bored by that part of my own damn shower.

The rest of the weekend was a blur of house cleaning and the slow development of sore throats for everyone in Casa de Eggerts. Probably even that mouse.

10 comments:

Missuz J said...

Oh mousey! If it comes to it, there are now several baby safe, poison free mouse house type mouse traps.

Wedding showers are pretty much a bore for everyone I think. I much prefer baby showers.

hazel said...

oh my god, I just about peed my pants again reliving the stroller thing. I am sure it wasn't the most tactful response, to laugh that hard at noah all happy and laughing riding his un-mommed stroller into the street. but like you said, it was just between our two cars and you did grab it right away. I assure you, that was nothing - I have done way worse, and on purpose.

regarding the mouse. I think I tried to tell you this before but it wasn't between the two doors when I opened the door. I closed it in when I saw it. it ran into that area from behind the door after I opened it.

probably right out of my bag.

lonna said...

Ugh, a mouse. I agree that they are cute, but I admit that it's only if they are on tv or in a cage.

We threw a lingerie wedding shower for my friend in grad school, and we had a blast. But it was only about 8 of us, and we were all really good friends with each other. My friend got some great sleezy stuff and some great classy stuff. Just like her:)

amandak said...

That's wild about the mice. Is it mouse season or something? Hope yours doesn't turn up in as upsetting a condition as Patrice's did.

Kathryn said...

Has the mouse decided to leave yet? I hate any funtion where everyone sits around to watch one person open presents. It makes me uncomfortable to be an attendee and doubly so if I'm the recipient. I say just leave the gift opening for later.

My word verification, mushifuc, sounds like some kind of music my husband would listen to.

Jen said...

I have never understood the whole "shower" thing. I never had a wedding shower at all.

Are you going to let Patrice's mouse stay? Mice are cute; all we ever get are rats. We had a big ol momma rat with six babies in the garage once.

Min Min said...

Hello!
I just saw that you commented one of my posts and I was so happy^^ I was beginning to wonder if anybody will EVER comment one of my posts and somebody did! Thank you!!
Well, I visited some friends in the USA, they live near Philadelphia and so we visited the city, too. In my post I was complaining about the security gate in front of the liberty bell; just because some stupid person once attacked the bell (how crazy must one be to actually attack a BELL?!?!)...I found it kinda funny that you have to go through all this security stuff like at the airport only to look at a bell...
But apart from that, I enjoyed my visit very much. Um, maybe I should write my blog in english, so more people could understand...

Stine said...

You know, the mice are always so cute on the cartoons. The rat was even cute when I was in college training it for a psyche class. You get a little crawly furry running around my apartment though and I turn into a leetle screaming girl.

Glad the stroller incident ended well.

Unknown said...

That's just too funny about the mouse! The kwinky dink.

Yes, I must have to admit with you on the shower thing. Soo true. I always take the kids everywhere! Every now and then it's a plus b/c they may get tired (esc. Joe) and you can use them!! I know it's bad.

Kodi said...

It is definitely a mouse conspiracy. Good luck. We get dead mice stuck in our walls at the Visitor Center every now and then. You can also hear them running across the celing in the winter time when they invade the buildings. Gross.