Caught it!

Okay we caught the mouse! The very next day Terminix came out and set traps & we caught it!!! Hooray! Emily was thrilled, so was I. No more mouse! Yippee! That was so quick & simple!!!! Almost too quick. I was doing laundry this weekend and, as the washer and dryer are in the garage (where the other mouse was caught), I was looking around to see if there were any more mice. YUCK! I found evidence of the uninvited guests on top of the dryer AND in my tote bag that was on top of the washer waiting to be washed...I will say it again YUCK!!!! Now to be honest, I hadn't really searched up there before but I do normally notice stuff like that as soon as it appears. So it looks like there are more. Obviously this is information that we have chosen to keep from Emily. We have trap on the stairs leading into the house (that is how the other one got in, we think). It is an electronic box trap that kills instantly & keeps the mouse in a box so the girls don't have to see it...they do NOT want to see it, they told me that about the other one.

Emily caught something too...strep throat! Let me preface this by saying yes, I know...I am a horrible mother BUT let me explain. When Emily got up last Friday morning she didn't seem well, she had a slight fever (99.something)so I gave her motrin. She was feeling better in about 20 minutes so I let her go to school (this is example one of my horribleness) I was going on the theory that maybe this was like at Thanksgiving where she woke up with a fever, took motrin & the fever didn't return until the next morning (that example number 2 of my horribleness!). SO she came home from school Friday and was not herself, very lethargic...all she wanted to do was snuggle up on my lap. Again, motrin to the rescue! She woke up Saturday morning with a fever of 101.something and, you guessed it, motrin again! She seemed fine for a while and then, around lunchtime, she started scratching her waist and the small of her back. There was a rash right around the waistband of her pants. I put some "itching cream" on her and then proceeded to wash every pair of pants/shorts/folded skirt she had...anything that was in that drawer. I knew it was something in her clothes that had given her this rash...I was wrong! Sunday morning she awoke with no fever but this rash had taken over her entire trunk...we decided to go to church and Sunday school anyway...no fever = school (yes, that is the 3rd example of my horribleness!). Well, Emily fell asleep on the way home, very unusual for her to do this now. When we got home, her fever was back with a vengeance 103,something and the rash had spread to her face!!! I broke the news to Emily that she was probably not going to school Monday...she broke down and sobbed...poor thing! I knew she was staying home but told her we would wait until she got up to decide... I told her if she had a fever she had to stay home. Monday morning she had a 103.something fever & the rash was red everywhere except her face...her face looked like it was covered with powder, odd. Anyway, motrin and no school, she was so sad. I called the doctor as soon as they opened, 9am:

them: may I help you?
me: i need to bring my daughter in, she's sick and
them: (cutting me off) how about 4pm?
me: she's had a fever on & off since Friday, cold/flu like symptoms and now has
a red rash all over her trunk and face.
them: can you be here at 10:20?
me: thank you, yes.

So we got ready and went to the doctor...Emily was convinced that she could go to school after the doctor, so much so that she brought her backpack so I could drop her off at school on my way home. Poor child, she just couldn't bear the thought of missing an entire day of school! Imagine her surprise when, after she was examined and had a throat culture done, they told er not only was she not going in on Monday but that she couldn't go in on Tuesday either. Tears just streamed down her face, no noise, just tears. When I emailed her teacher, the teacher said "Wednesday is a half day, she can stay home then as well, if you think she needs more rest". i told Emily and she said "Tell my teacher that I caught this strep throat but I let it go so I AM coming to school Wednesday!!!" Trust me, I am counting the minutes! (yes, the last example of my horribleness as a mother, I want my child back at school! She is not happy being at home on a school day, she lets you know every minute!)