Just call me Cinderella...

7 and counting...

that's right ladies and gentlemen, we have found 7 mice in my house since October. So, I guess these mice didn't get the memo about how mice are supposed to be cute, help you do chores, and sew dresses like in Cinderella.

It all started when I heard scratching in my walls off and on for a few weeks. We had an exterminator come out ($) and all they did was determine that they THOUGHT it was a mouse, where they THOUGHT it came in, and set traps where they THOUGHT would be good to catch them. So, the scratching continued for a while. Then one evening my husband had gone over to my brother's house, my boys were sleeping upstairs, and I was cleaning the living room. I walk over to go down my basement stairs when a gray little ball hops out in front of me {Insert screech here!} The mouse ran under the couch, and I froze. I called my husband and told him he had to get home NOW! I tried to call a neighbor who was closer to come help me, but they didn't answer, and I am pretty sure that neighbor still has my crazy plea for help message on her voicemail! When my husband, brother, and sister-in-law got here, the mouse was gone. We set some traps in the living room and waited. The next night the little critter scares me again while we are watching TV. This time it took the bait and we caught it on a sticky trap. I don't like admitting to killing one of God's creatures, but I didn't want it to slowly die, so my husband took it outside and "took care of it." I wasn't about to let it go and have it come back in my house!

Whew, I thought my problem was gone! Caught the mouse, done, proud of being better than the exterminator, wahoo! And then a couple weeks later, there was scratching again! {insert obscenities here!}

Turns out these mice were smarter than the first, and bigger. We own a small vending business and keep our supplies in the basement. Well these little buggers got into our supplies, and we had to throw everything out ($$) We put everything in bins, and I have never used so much Lysol and Clorox in my life! Then a day later we found they chewed a hole where the pipes come into our kitchen cabinets, and they got into two cabinets and a drawer. Threw everything away ($), Lysol, Clorox, etc. This took my mouse hate to a new level, and we bought what was supposed to be the best mouse bait and had it shipped asap. After we put out the new mouse bait we caught 2 more mice. We thought we were done because we didn't hear anymore scratching. We had our carpets cleaned ($$) and thought we were in the clear.

We had a lovely family trip to Hawaii planned. Thinking we were mouse free, I didn't feel the need to have the house fumigated while we were gone. When we got home we had 2 little baby mice dead on a trap...that's right, all that scratching was nest building and baby making, yup gross. And then the scratching started AGAIN. I am panicking at this point. I am thinking we are like the Disney movie Ratatouille, and our ceiling is full of mice instead of rats. So we decide to get our ducts cleaned, suck all those nests out! We also have them spray anti-bacterial stuff into our vents, and they did what they called a fog that should kill the mice or force them out ($$$).

We decide to set a trap in the basement bathroom vent, because we know the mice traffic that area often. We use a snap trap and put the special mouse bait on it. The next day I can detect a stench, and I am pretty sure we have a mouse. My hubs wasn't home, but luckily my awesome neighbor (who helped my husband set the trap) agreed to come over and check it out. Sure enough, dead mouse. Yay! So he removes the mouse, re-sets the trap, and seriously seconds later I hear a snap! Yup, another mouse!

So far, no more scratching. I am keeping my fingers crossed! We think we have filled in all the holes, and just pray this family didn't have any more babies. 

Last Breath

 This post is a better late than never post. I meant to do it on the 2 year anniversary of what I am about to tell you, but sometimes reliving those emotions on the very day is too much for me. Even now I am tearing up. I hope you can take to heart the message I am about to share. 

Our perfect little batch was going along one day, when I got a phone call on March 3, 2011 that would change our lives forever... 

Mr. Fields sister had been in a terrible accident, an accident her 3 youngest children watched happen. No words can explain the pain of this loss. Mr. Fields sister was one of those women who not only touched the lives around her, but made a deep impression. She was the best mother, wife, sister, and aunt. She welcomed me into the family with open arms. If I had something I wanted to tell someone, I would call her. She gave the best advice. If you needed her there, she was there. Her youngest, at the time of our wedding, had been in the hospital. She still made the 10 hour drive to our wedding, by herself, right after her child was released from the hospital. She was there...always!

She had been driving her 3 youngest, and some neighbor kids home from school in her 15 passenger van that day. She pulled into her driveway, opened the garage, and their dog ran out. She had forgotten he was in the garage, and jumped out of the van to chase after him. The car began to roll down the driveway, and my sister-in-law chased after the car (motherly instincts). She was hit down under the front of the car and the front wheel was stopped right on her chest. A neighbor boy rode past on his bike, and ran home to tell his dad who called 911. The paramedics think my sister-in-law did not have oxygen for 20 minutes. They got her heart started again and raced her to the hospital. My brother-in-law drove up to his house not long after the accident to find police and neighbors at his house. He had no idea what had happened...

The next day we drove the 9 hours to the hospital...we didn't think, we just went. I wanted to be there, I wanted to be at her side. 

My sister-in-law was pronounced brain dead on March 6, 2011. She wasn't coming back. She had 5 children, all 10 and under, and a loving husband left here without her. Many tears were shed, memories shared, heartache felt, and oh the heartache! 

Even though this is one of the hardest things I have had to face in this life, it has also been a huge learning experience. It made me stronger in my faith, it made me want to live life more fully, it made me grateful for my husband and children and the time I have with them. I miss her every day, but her love and memory lives on!

One heavenly gift was the fact that we got to spend a whole week with Mr. Fields sister right before she died. It was heaven sent. God was giving us one last time with her before we would lose her. 

Since that time a lot has happened. I remember all of us being in the hospital and thinking, what is our brother-in-law going to do? How is he going to raise these 5 children alone? Well, I am pleased to say that happiness was found again. A woman my sister-in-law and brother-in-law both knew had recently lost her husband, and was a widow with her twin boys. Her and my brother-in-law began to talk for support. Eventually their relationship grew, and they decided to merge their two families. They are happily married with their 7 children, and have triplet boys on the way! 

There are ways to find joy in every situation. Don't take what you have for granted.

My sister-in-law with our oldest. 

Our Batch

I know what you're thinking, that is one cheesy header. Well, I'm cheesy, so sue me. But in reality, that pretty much sums up our family. Mr. Fields and I are the perfect balance for each other, we help keep each other sane. Our two little "chocolate chips" do bring us a lot of joy. Our oldest is just like me, and our youngest is just like his dad, however they got most of Mr. Fields' genes. We are the perfect batch for us. 

Now the reason behind the name "Mr. Fields" is mostly because my husband works for Mrs. Fields. He runs their national accounts and sells cookies for a living, our oldest enjoys telling people that. My husband is also the baker in the family. I hate cooking, but endure it. I have expanded past the only 7 main meals I used to make when we were first married. I know my way around recipes much better now, but baking is not one of my strengths. Luckily I have Mr. Fields to make the cookies for us!

I'm not totally sure what I hope to accomplish with this blog yet, but for now it will just be my way of speaking to the world I guess, or the 2 of you that end up reading it. I am no amazing writer or storyteller, but I'm a mom. I'm a mom who likes to share things about my family experiences. 

keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing!