Tuesday, October 6, 2009

A Mouse and a Marathon

For about a week now Brian and I have been trying to catch (i.e. terminate) the most elusive mouse God ever created.

I first saw the little rodent scurry across the dining room as I was enjoying lunch during nap time. I immediately began to freak out. I lily-padded across the dining room chairs to reach for the phone. I called Brian at work who teased me relentlessly. Then I called my brother who lives five minutes away. I tried to persuade him to come over. No luck.

The kids and I made it through the rest of the day without a single mouse attack.

After dinner I headed over to the local hardware store to pick up supplies. Four standard mouse traps and two so-called childproof traps. We baited them with peanut butter and strategically placed them throughout the house.

I was sure I was going to wake up with my rodent problem gone. But we got nothing.

Friday night Brian and I were watching some television when I swear I saw the little sucker scamper through the dining room once again. Brian went to check it out but found nothing.

Each morning our traps have been empty. And I mean truly empty. As in, the peanut butter is also gone.

How in the world is it possible that the slightest bit of breath will set those traps off on our fingers but a whole mouse can crawl up on the thing and eat peanut butter to his heart's delight and then prance off without so much as a scratch?

And now I'm pretty sure he's told the rest of his mouse friends that there's a free peanut butter buffet at the Nash house so come on and follow me!

Any suggestions?

In other news we went as a family to watch the Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday morning. The last part of the course is just a few blocks from our house. We walked back and forth between mile 22 and 23. They say the Twin Cities Marathon is one of the most beautiful urban marathons in the country and I couldn't agree more.

The temperature was a crisp 50 degrees. But there was no wind and only one stray cloud of mist. They say that's perfect weather to run a marathon. But it was a little chilly for my baby girl.

But it was also a good excuse to bundle her up making her look just as cute as could be. So snugly!

Target sponsored mile 22 which meant free cowbells for all.


William really got into it once that bell was in his hand. My favorite cheer heard from him was: "Lookin' good!"

I'm always a little inspired and very emotional when comes to these types of races. I've wrote about this before when my sister raced in the 10-mile two years ago. It never ceases to amaze me at the vast variety of people that run in a marathon. Young, old, big, small, athletic and not-so-much. And no matter if a racer is sprinting, walking or hobbling along, every single bystanders is sending out positive cheers. What a great lesson to teach your kids.

And here's a little hint for any of you out there thinking of running a race in the near future. Print your name on your shirt or have it scrawled down your arm. I noticed many of the runners did this and that way we could cheer for them personally. What a great trick for a little motivation booster!

On the way home Brian and I discussed if we would rather run a marathon or go through childbirth.

Obviously Brian doesn't have the option of going through childbirth but he's seen me in my rawest form twice before so I think he has a hunch what it's all about.

I chose childbirth. I'm not a huge runner. I like it for its efficiency at getting you a great workout. But the thought of having to run more than a 5K gets me a little uneasy.

They say five hours is a good time for a first-time marathoner and both of my labors have been shorter than that. Plus, let's not forget you get a cute little baby at the end of childbirth. If you're lucky you might get some soon-to-be-forgotten t-shirt at the end of a marathon.

But all rewards aside, I think I'd still pick childbirth.

Brian chose the marathon. He said at least you could quit in the middle if you really hated it that much. But I reminded him you could quit childbirth too if you just asked for an epidural. Sorry if I just offended any of you epidural-takers out there.

What would you choose? Marathon or natural childbirth?

4 comments:

  1. It's a pretty good toss up! If you put the rewards aside, I would pick marathon!

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  2. Childbirth! I have experienced natural childbirth twice so far and it's no contest. An I agree, I don't like to run much more than 5K when I do run.
    Cute photos and I love William's cheer!
    -Maria

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  3. I'll let you know mid-March. ;-)

    Also, as terrible as they are, glue traps work. You could try putting them down at night when the kids are asleep and seeing what you get before they wake up.

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  4. GLUE TRAPS. Trust me Jen. We use them at work too. They are gross but VERY effective.

    ReplyDelete

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