We caught one more mouse the night before last, for a total of 6, but no more last night. Making good progress at culling the population, I think!
Yesterday was not a great day. Alex woke up for the day at 9:30am. Not a problem. But between then, and when he went to sleep for the night at about 10:00pm, he had three dinky little naps.
One: He fell asleep on the way to the grocery store. Couldn't have been out for more than 5 minutes. Woke back up when I took him out of his carseat.
Two: He fell asleep in my carrier while we were in the grocery store, but not until after about half of the shopping was done. And then he woke back up when we got to the checkout line. So, again, he couldn't have been out more than 10-15 minutes.
Three: He did not fall back asleep on the way back home, like he often does. Though, Jacob did. No, he didn't go back to sleep until we were in the car again on the way to church for an activity last night. And again, slept for no more than 5 minutes or so. Woke up, again, as soon as I took him out of his carseat.
You would have thought that he'd be eager to fall asleep at 9pm. Lately, we've gotten into a really good routine: I read stories and sing songs to Jacob and Melinda, and Jesse takes Alex and bounces him to sleep out in the front room. But I think Alex was just plan ol' overtired at that point, and he wasn't willing to hold still. So he got crankier and crankier till I got him to go to sleep at about 10pm. And of course he fought against the process the entire time. And then, somehow, I got tired enough that I was falling asleep on the couch by 11pm. I can't remember the last time that happened. I know, I know - what am I doing up at 11pm anyway? Who knows. Jesse and I just never switched off of Mountain time, somehow. We've been going to sleep consistently at midnight for the five and a half years we've lived in Maryland. But if we visit our family in Colorado or Washington, we have no problem going to sleep at a normal time. Anyway. I fell asleep on the couch at 11pm. And of course, as soon as I relocated myself to bed, I was wide awake. And I didn't get back to sleep until after Alex had woken up to nurse around midnight or so.
And then he woke up at some crazy zombie hour of 5 or 5:30am. And stayed. awake. Crying. Fussing. Squirming. Playing. I could not get him back to sleep until 7am. And this does not help my mood today by any means. Especially not since Melinda decided to wake up at about 6:30am (probably from all of Alex's crying), and Jacob got out of bed at about 7:30. They usually both stay in bed till closer to 8. Sometimes later. I stayed in bed as long as I could this morning, despite them being up, but they have to come talk to me every few minutes, anyway (despite what I thought were my clear instructions to Jesse that he should warn them not to interrupt my sleep on penalty of death)... so it wasn't restful catch-up sleep.
Thank goodness I've managed to get them all to take a nap right now. I need the quiet.
In the meantime, I resting. Sure, blogging, too. Doesn't that count as resting? I'm also drinking a ton of water. Because the idea is that tonight I'll be donating blood. And this will be the first time I've ever donated blood while breastfeeding, and I just want to be extra sure that my body has enough liquid in it to continue the milk-producing process after I lose all that blood.
And I have to tell you, I'm really looking forward to those few minutes I'll be glued to a cot with a needle sticking in my arm. Because I won't have to be the one dealing with the kids. Mwahahaha! And then I'll get to enjoy cookies and juice afterwards!! But really... I am excited to be donating blood again. It's been a while. I just hope that the Red Cross doesn't start harrassing me with weekly phone calls to donate again like they do my husband.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Rachel's Pasta
After Alex was born, Grandma Newson came to stay with us and help us out for a while. While she was here, she introduced us to Rachel's Pasta. Apparently, Jesse's sister Rachel invented this one all on her own. And while it's a fairly simple recipe, it's also delicious, and we've included it on our regular rotation now. Sometimes we have it as often as once a week! I've been meaning to put it on my blog for a looooong time now, but I keep forgetting. But since I'm sitting down to include it on today's shopping list, I thought I'd take a minute to do it now!
Rachel's Pasta
1lb of italian sausage
1 can of olives, sliced
1 bottle sphagetti sauce (I like to use Bertolli's marinara)
1 can italian stewed tomatoes (I like to use diced tomatoes, cuts out a step)
1/2 to 3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach (I use an entire bag of fresh baby spinach, usually)
1/2 chopped onion
3/4 cup thinly sliced carrots
Pasta (Grandma Newson and Rachel suggest Penne, but we love to use large shell pasta)
Cook pasta according to directions.
Meanwhile, cook carrots and onion in a frying pan with a little water to steam them. Add sausage and crumble fry till cooked. Add tomatoes (cutting stewed tomatoes into smaller pieces), sphagetti sauce, olives, and spinach; simmer on low.
Serve sauce mixture over pasta, or combine and serve. (We always combine it!) Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Rachel's Pasta
1lb of italian sausage
1 can of olives, sliced
1 bottle sphagetti sauce (I like to use Bertolli's marinara)
1 can italian stewed tomatoes (I like to use diced tomatoes, cuts out a step)
1/2 to 3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach (I use an entire bag of fresh baby spinach, usually)
1/2 chopped onion
3/4 cup thinly sliced carrots
Pasta (Grandma Newson and Rachel suggest Penne, but we love to use large shell pasta)
Cook pasta according to directions.
Meanwhile, cook carrots and onion in a frying pan with a little water to steam them. Add sausage and crumble fry till cooked. Add tomatoes (cutting stewed tomatoes into smaller pieces), sphagetti sauce, olives, and spinach; simmer on low.
Serve sauce mixture over pasta, or combine and serve. (We always combine it!) Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Midnight Mouse Massacre
A few weeks ago, after noticing some mouse droppings in the kitchen, we bought some mouse traps. (Side note: I'm really beginning to wonder, at this point, if mouse-free apartment living is even possible.) The first night we set them out, one trap caught a mouse.
Then a few weeks passed, and nothing was getting caught. I took a closer look at the traps, and wouldn't you know it - all the bait had been cleanly removed, but none of the traps had triggered. So we rebaited them. Put them in all the spots I know those mice are going. BUT, it was the same story the next day. Every single trap was clean, not a single mouse caught. Now I was starting to get a bit furious!! How dare those mice outsmart the traps!!! I don't want to feed them free handouts, I want to catch them and get them out of my home!!!
Now, I just have to say, for the record, that I am not a huge fan of live traps. I don't want to have to drive these house-invading mice and drop them off in a field somewhere. I just want them gone. It does make me a bit sad that I'm killing them when they get caught in my traps, and it makes me feel a bit guilty when I see them dead, (because they *do* look so cute and innocent...when they're not actively streaking across my house) but overall, I'm okay with the traps that kill mice.
We bought a different style of trap, since the others obviously weren't cutting it, put bait on the indicated spot, set them up exactly as instructed. Next day, licked clean again.
GRRRRrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
So Jesse tried something else - he put the bait waaaay back in the trap, so they wouldn't be able to reach it from the sides or anything. And then he pushed the trigger plate about halfway down - just before it reached the trigger point. Because, you know, mice are small and lightweight. We had to put more pressure on them ourselves to get them to set off than we thought a mouse would put on it with its entire body.
After they were set and put in place, we went to bed. Not 10 minutes later, we heard a bit of a clatter. We ran off to the kitchen, and there was a dead mouse, caught in the trap. Hooray!!! Success!! We re-set it and went back to bed. A bit later, another clatter. Another dead mouse!
And you know, we caught four mice in the same trap, in the same spot in our kitchen, within 1.5 hours. No more in the morning, though. Maybe that was all of them? Those four plus the one from a few weeks earlier? I'm not holding my breath, though. I know enough about mice reproduction that I don't doubt the possibility of a lot more. Especially with the cold weather outside. And the neighbors upstairs who leave piles of trash out on their porch for weeks at a time. But it's nice to finally see some good results with our traps.
And speaking of cold weather - we got a big snowstorm last night! And actually, it's still snowing right now. Why do we always seem to get the really good storms right before spring starts? When I'm so tired of cold weather and so anxious for spring, and not really feeling up to the idea of venturing outdoors to really enjoy it? But March has definitely come in like a lion. I'm anxioulsy looking forward to seeing it go out like a lamb. We've had a few days recently with mild temperatures and a nice mild, perhaps even warm breeze, and it just feels heavenly. I want more of that! And the blossoming trees, the green grass, the budding flowers! Oh, I can't wait for spring. Going outside without spending half an hour bundling up three kids. Basking in sunshine. Even if I have to wait a few weeks, I was reminded of some fantastic news this week - Daylight Saving Time begins on March 8th!! I can't wait for the lighter evenings, starting just next weekend!!
Then a few weeks passed, and nothing was getting caught. I took a closer look at the traps, and wouldn't you know it - all the bait had been cleanly removed, but none of the traps had triggered. So we rebaited them. Put them in all the spots I know those mice are going. BUT, it was the same story the next day. Every single trap was clean, not a single mouse caught. Now I was starting to get a bit furious!! How dare those mice outsmart the traps!!! I don't want to feed them free handouts, I want to catch them and get them out of my home!!!
Now, I just have to say, for the record, that I am not a huge fan of live traps. I don't want to have to drive these house-invading mice and drop them off in a field somewhere. I just want them gone. It does make me a bit sad that I'm killing them when they get caught in my traps, and it makes me feel a bit guilty when I see them dead, (because they *do* look so cute and innocent...when they're not actively streaking across my house) but overall, I'm okay with the traps that kill mice. We bought a different style of trap, since the others obviously weren't cutting it, put bait on the indicated spot, set them up exactly as instructed. Next day, licked clean again.
GRRRRrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
So Jesse tried something else - he put the bait waaaay back in the trap, so they wouldn't be able to reach it from the sides or anything. And then he pushed the trigger plate about halfway down - just before it reached the trigger point. Because, you know, mice are small and lightweight. We had to put more pressure on them ourselves to get them to set off than we thought a mouse would put on it with its entire body.
After they were set and put in place, we went to bed. Not 10 minutes later, we heard a bit of a clatter. We ran off to the kitchen, and there was a dead mouse, caught in the trap. Hooray!!! Success!! We re-set it and went back to bed. A bit later, another clatter. Another dead mouse!
And you know, we caught four mice in the same trap, in the same spot in our kitchen, within 1.5 hours. No more in the morning, though. Maybe that was all of them? Those four plus the one from a few weeks earlier? I'm not holding my breath, though. I know enough about mice reproduction that I don't doubt the possibility of a lot more. Especially with the cold weather outside. And the neighbors upstairs who leave piles of trash out on their porch for weeks at a time. But it's nice to finally see some good results with our traps.
And speaking of cold weather - we got a big snowstorm last night! And actually, it's still snowing right now. Why do we always seem to get the really good storms right before spring starts? When I'm so tired of cold weather and so anxious for spring, and not really feeling up to the idea of venturing outdoors to really enjoy it? But March has definitely come in like a lion. I'm anxioulsy looking forward to seeing it go out like a lamb. We've had a few days recently with mild temperatures and a nice mild, perhaps even warm breeze, and it just feels heavenly. I want more of that! And the blossoming trees, the green grass, the budding flowers! Oh, I can't wait for spring. Going outside without spending half an hour bundling up three kids. Basking in sunshine. Even if I have to wait a few weeks, I was reminded of some fantastic news this week - Daylight Saving Time begins on March 8th!! I can't wait for the lighter evenings, starting just next weekend!!
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