Mouse in the House

There is a mouse in our house. This morning I woke up to lovely little mouse droppings all over my new kitchen. My parents had a mouse once. It ate part of a cookie that we were saving for my mom and my brother Colin got accused of eating it (because he was the trouble maker of the bunch). He got sent to his room until he came clean and admitted he stole it. Needless to say he was in there for a very long time.

A field right by our house.

Luckily nothing is missing things are just messy. Unfortunately I am home alone with the mouse--no husband, no brothers, no Dad. I'm getting real sick and tired of being brave. We've got spiders here. Lots and lots of spiders. There was a tarantula/field spider in a garage once and I was the one who came across it. We have Daddy long legs coming out of our ears!

Missy Sissy with Mommas hat.

I've sucked them up with the vacuum, squished them with shoes and sponges, and drowned them with water. Unfortunately I don't think any of those things are going to work with this mouse. WAAAAHHHH!

Delicious homemade low-fat cookies!

Why can't we just have a normal spider/mouse free house? I'm not a tough girl. I'm a run away and hide girl. This terror overtakes me and I'm all jumps, and screams, and shivers.

Worn flat out. 

When I was pregnant I found a spider on my pillow once and I pleaded with Brady to kill it but he is used to strong girls who don't have a spider phobias. He told me that I needed to learn how to kill them myself. I don't know if it was the pregnancy or the fear but I began to cry hysterically.

Avey and Grandma on 4th of July after Daddy and Grandpa finished the firework show.

I eventually walked my pillow (with the spider on it) into the living room and went to bed without it. Life is hard when you grow up with Terminex and marry a guy who doesn't believe in pest control. Hard and terrifying.

I need prayer.

I need an exterminator.

Little Update

What a month it has been! After moving into our duplex we discovered that all of the dsl lines in Blue Ridge were in use so we are having to suffer through a year of slower than a snail satellite internet. Ok. It's not that bad. An hour ago I began uploading 41 pictures for this blog so far we've managed 12. Go satellite internet! You're the best!

7 months.

She crawls now. Well it's not really a crawl-- more of a pushup lunge but she gets around. Tugging on cords, eating random things off the floor, getting into the DVD's-- she is mobile. It's exciting to see her grow. My eyes have been opened to how un-baby-proof my house is. We're trying to house proof the baby. I spanked her hand the other day and she looked at me like I was crazy. I'll let you know how it goes. 

Pushup lunges have become second in worry land to pulling up on furniture. This is a new skill that she has developed over the past few months. She is still not so great at it so I am pulled away from laundry, dishes, vacuuming, decorating, alphabetizing my library, and cooking several times a day. There is a bang and then a terror filled scream that can only be halted with a hug and a nurse. 

She still has little to no interest in baby food. I've begun giving her small little bites off my plate whenever we sit down to eat and she seems to do alright with that but she makes a big show of coughing and gagging anytime we try baby food. I think she may go from nursing to solids. 

After she wakes up she'll sit still and watch an entire episode of Baby Einstein that is when I get the majority of my work accomplished. She is pretty content to play by herself unless she's sleepy and then she wants me to sit next to her. 

At night Brady and I like to watch movies. She sits on the couch with us, in the crook of my arm, and watches too. She is turning into a little person--it's hilarious. 

weight loss. 

In March I weighed a whopping 220.3 lbs. I decided to start the 30 day shred and adopt a couple healthier eating habits. Before I got pregnant with Avey I weighed 204 lbs and at my heaviest weight ever--9 months pregnant and ready to pop I tipped the scales at 258 lbs. 

I remember the last time I was below 200 lbs. It was in 2008. The day after I hauled all my stuff to Colorado Springs to begin attending the New Life School of Worship. I stepped on the scales and was appalled to see that I was 198 lbs. I called a friend and swore that I'd never see the other side of 200. I was on a mission to get my weight under control but no matter what I tried--eating healthy, working out-- I just couldn't seem to lose the weight and when I came home in 2009 I was 212 lbs and it was then that I was told that I had hypothyroid disease-- an autoimmune disorder that can cause significant weight gain.

When we moved to Texas in 2006 I was 125 lbs. 

87 lbs in three years. 

It was horrifying and humiliating. I was 20 years old and I had stretch marks and cellulite. 

I've tried diet plans and gym memberships but nothing ever worked. I'm addicted to food. The other day the power went out and all I could think of was going to In-n-Out to get a burger because I was upset that my plans to decorate that evening had been spoiled. I eat when I'm sad, bored, happy, annoyed--any emotion is a reason to eat.

In March I began to lose. In April we moved and I used that as my excuse to go back to the way I ate before. I told myself that as soon as we moved into our new place I'd go back to the diet. I did not anticipate that our home renovations would take us two months. 

I weighed 209 lbs the day we moved into our new home and I am proud to report that I weighed in at 197 lbs this morning. 12 lbs in three weeks. I'm very proud of myself.

I've lost 23 lbs since March and 61 lbs since I had Avey. I am very very proud of myself. 

The day I saw that I was no longer in the 200's was a life changing day. I cried. I hadn't seen the 100's in three years. 

Today was also a very happy day. When I met Brady I was over 200 lbs. I have weighed more than my husband since I met him. This morning... I weighed less. It made me feel all skinny and womanly.

I would like to get down to at least 185 before we get pregnant again. We'll see...

A tour of our new little home is coming soon!