I've been robbed!! And other news...

Hello again...Long time no talk my fellow bloggy pals. I am willing to take full responsibility for my lack of new content.

Life has been pretty crazy and my poor blog ended up taking the back burner for a while. I had (and still have) lots of ideas and great posts in the works but every time I sat down and tried to pound one out I was interrupted by a whining child or a phone call or some other situation that required my immediate and full attention. I give major props to Mommy bloggers who post new content daily because it is NOT easy!

First of all, my house got broken into. Yeah, you heard me right, someone came into my house and stole my shit. Not just my shit but my son's stuff too. How freakin' low can you go! The person left all my DVD'S, electronics, guns, everything that a normal, reasonable bandit would nab and took...wait for it...My sons god damn model cars. Now this may not sound like that big of a deal but it truly is. You see, my son is five years old and throughout the past few years we have been buying him a new model car for each holiday, etc. These models were all still in the boxes and he had about eight of them. Do you know how hard it is to get a five year old not to open the boxes and actually play with the cars!! They were collectables and they meant a lot to my son. So, this really ticked me off and I was ready to kill to put it mildly. They also took some other things including random tools and a hand saw from our shed. But it is the cars that got me. I mean stealing from me or the hubby is one thing, but stealing from a child, are you fuckin kidding me?!? So we checked the local pawn shops starting with the one at the top of our street. We know the owner pretty well so we went in and asked if someone had brought in model cars and what do we see sitting on the shelf? The saw! Well, the owner gave us some BS story and a fake name until we mentioned that they had stolen from our son. As soon as we said that the owner's girlfriend was like "They stole from your five year old son?!" and I told her about the cars.

Apparently, nobody can be trusted...

Well, she spilled the beans and told us that they had, in fact, bought the models off of someone and told us exactly who it was. Turns out the person(s) who broke in were people we knew VERY well and had actually considered friends. They knew my son, knew the models were his and how much they meant to him and still took them. It is all pretty pathetic on their part, really. After several failed attempts to get the people who did it to get the stuff back it looks like we are going to have to buy it back. Now you may be wondering why we didn't call the police, so let me tell you why. Speaking from past experience, the cops are pretty useless when it comes to your shit being stolen, especially if you do not have receipts to prove you purchased the merchandise in the first place. And I do not have the receipts for the cars so there is basically sweet-f**k-all that can be done on that front. So yeah, looks like getting our stuff back is going to cost us.

In other news, my washing machine is a piece of shit. So when I moved in to my house the washer and dryer was included already. It isn't a brand new, top of the line machine, it is a Maytag top loader, but it gets the job done. So on Sunday I threw a load in and then when I went back in to check if it was done the clothes were sitting in a machine full of water. Huh, I figured I had simply forgotten to turn it on or something so I turned it on and left. Went back to check and the machine was off again. What the eff? I asked my hubs if he shut off the machine and he said no. I knew he wouldn't have anyways because he stays as far away from the washer and dryer as possible. So I turned it back on and stayed there to see what was going on. Well, it worked for like 30 seconds then shut off. WTF!? I turned it on again...same thing. I did eventually get the load done but it took FOREVER because it kept stopping. Then once it got to the spin cycle it seemed to e working fine again so I left it at that.

This is the Maytag machine I have...

Fast forward to the next day. I throw a load in and go about my business. I go back to check and the washer is full of water but will not agitate, spin or drain. So I tried everything i could think of including changing the settings, redistributing the clothes, taking some out, checking the door latch, I even tripped the breaker in case that was the issue but no dice. So now the washer is full of water ad clothes and I can't even drain the damn thing. I am going to have to take the clothes out and ring them out by hand I guess, although the are still dirty so I don't know what I am going to do about that. And of course the load was all of our best clothes because that is just how my life goes. I called and emailed my landlord that day and still haven't heard back so I am more than a little miffed. Not to mention my laundry pile is growing larger by the hour. I am going to have to bring a few loads up to the MIL's house so I can have some clean clothes for my son for school, hubby for work and the baby. I am NOT impressed and it had better be fixed soon.

Speaking of broken things, my toilet is also screwed. I went to flush it the other day and heard a snap and the handle went jiggling and wouldn't flush. I lifted up the lid and saw that the chain had snapped. Not only that but it had been jimmy-rigged with a hair elastic before it broke so I am assuming it has broke before and this was the previous tenants solution. So now i have to take the lid off and stick my hand in the nasty water to flush the toilet because the chain is too short to fix it. On top of all that, my house is STILL infested with mice and it is getting out of control. They are multiplying faster then we can catch them and I hear them EVERYWHERE, all night long scratching and chewing. I am putting my foot down and my landlord is going to have to send in an exterminator because it is growing increasingly obvious that a few traps here and there just ain't gonna cut it.

Okay, maybe he isn't a "slumlord" but there is definitely room for improvement.

I am at my wits end with this place, seriously. I DO like the actual house but lately it has been one thing after another as far as problems. And truthfully, my landlord isn't really on top of the repairs. He is always trying to send the dude upstairs down to fix it or do it himself (Neither of which, by the way, are actual "repair men"). I am guessing this is because he is too stingy to pay to have it done right. Whatever, I am putting my foot down and shit is gonna have to start being done right or I am going to have to move, as much as I don't want to. A few minor things here and there is one thing but a mice infestation and major appliances dying left and right is quite another.

Okay, I am done my rant now. I feel much better after getting that off of my chest. Maybe I should just forward this post to my landlord.  On a lighter note...I have a super cool post coming up next. I am actually going to be posting it later on today, I just didn't want to add it on to this post because it is too good to mix with this rant. So, I am always surfing YouTube checking out new music videos and artists, looking for some new tunes to listen to. I love hip hop and frequently come across young artists who are trying to make a name for themselves in the industry. You know, you have all seen the comments on YouTube that are like "I am an aspiring rapper/singer/actor and I am trying to make a name for myself and reach my dreams. Please thumbs up this comment so more people can see it and help make my dreams come true..." or something along those lines. Most people ignore them, and I usually do to, but I came across a comment along those lines a while back and clicked on it out of curiosity. What I found was a talented young rapper who is trying to get noticed and gain a following on Youtube. I checked out a few of his tracks and was pleasantly surprised. So, to mix things up a bit I am going to do a bit of a feature on this rapper. It will be an interview and if you like hip hop I encourage you to check it out and give the kid a chance. Check back later for the full interview and more.  Lates!

Oh and please bear with me as far as pictures go. My camera is among the missing so I haven't been able to take any new pictures of anything for posts. I am hoping to find it but in the meantime I have to resort to using pictures that are already on my computer. Sorry!

Holy, Mouse Infestation!!

So you know how I moved into a new place a few months ago? Yeah...

Well, I found a place that was not only (seemingly) perfect for my family but also available immediately at a really great price, so of course I snatched it up. Well, for those reasons and because I was staying with hubby's sister and her FOUR children...All boys...while I house shopped and one week into living there I was seriously considering throwing myself out of the third story window. Seriously, I have had my own place since I was 18 and I cannot...I repeat CANNOT..stay with other people. I am weird like that. I don't even like sleeping over at my own mothers house. So anyways, for those reasons I took the place immediately. Of course I went to look at the place first and it seemed perfectly suited for my family and our needs. Let us review the pros and cons.

PROS:
-Three large bedrooms so the kids can each have their own rooms (at our old apartment the baby slept in our room).
-My OWN washer and dryer (It was coin operated at out old place, 2.25$ per load..and trust me with two kids it adds up FAST).
-Large fenced in backyard (The yard at our old place was non-existent).
-Large baby barn for storage
-Very reasonable rent and security deposit

CONS: 
-No garbage bin so raccoons keep ripping the garbage open and throwing it all over my deck. Not fun.
-Infested with mice. Yeah. You heard me.

Apparently the landlord either didn't notice (and I find that hard to believe since the place was empty for a while and I am SURE there would have been droppings when he went in to get it ready for me to move in) or he simply omitted that little piece of information, but as I quickly discovered we were not alone. The very first time I had an encounter with a rodent was while I was home alone with the kiddos, while daddy was at work, about a week or two after moving in. I was sweeping the floor while the kids sat on the couch watching cartoons when I saw something out of the corner of my eye beside the shoe mat. I tiptoed over to inspect further and there. It. Was. A freakin' mouse, just chillin' inside my shoe. In my shoe! Needless, to say I screamed my head off and jumped up onto the couch, scaring the ever-loving shit out of my kids and causing them to both burst into tears. I realised I had to either catch the mouse or it would be roaming my house freely. "Stay on the couch until my Mommy's says, okay?" I ordered the kids. They both nodded their heads, eyes wide with fear. I grabbed a pair of hubby's old work boots and put them on. (When I told hubby about this later he laughed until he cried. "What were you gonna do step on it?" He asked. Uh, no, I just didn't want it to bite my toes, duh. *eye roll*). I looked around for something to trap it with and settled on my sons Lego box since it had a lid I could put on it. This all seemed totally reasonable at the time. Fear makes you do illogical things. Let me paint a picture for you: Me wearing a housecoat and size 11 work boots, trying to tiptoe (not an easy task in steel toes) around the house, with a Lego bin in my hands. The kids must have though I had really gone off the deep end this time. Well, I spent a good hour or two rooting through every closet, piece of clothing, under every bed, inside every cupboard. That little fucker was gone. I don't blame him, I screamed loud enough to wake the dead. After I calmed down a bit and my breathing was regular again I reasoned with myself that it was an old house, it had been empty for a while and it was totally understandable that a mouse would find his way inside out of the cold. I mean it was just one tiny mouse right? WRONG!

After that incident I was on hyper alert for mice. Suddenly the clues were everywhere. How did I not see the signs?! While watching a movie, hubby and I would hear them squeaking and rustling around from what sounded like behind the cupboards. After a few nights of this I was at my limit and made hubby investigate. After listening intently we decided that it definitely sounded like it was coming from behind the fridge. I got hubby to pull the fridge out and sure enough, this is what we found:

This is a mouse hole..

Those are mouse holes in case you were wondering. Like fuckin five of them! I almost died right there. Hubby, being a man, immediately ran for his pellet gun rifle. Like he was actually going to shoot a mouse. He camped out behind the fridge for a good hour with the gun aimed at the holes, trying to coax the little hellions out.Yeah, they never came out.

I emailed the landlord the next day and explained my findings and assumed he would take care of the situation. Well what does he do? Drops of one measly mouse trap. Just one. Ummm, I am no expert exterminator but one would assume that when there are, like, ten mouse holes in the very first place you look, you probably have more then one mouse. Well, we set the trap and snuggled up on the couch to watch a movie later that evening. We weren't even past the previews when SNAP! The friggin trap went off. Well, that was quick! Of course I sent hubby to investigate and sure enough we had bagged our self a huge mouse. It was still alive when we looked and I honestly felt really bad because it was caught right by its little pink nose. Hubby wanted to just leave it to die but I just couldn't bear to watch this little guy suffer so I ordered him to let it go in the field outside. He refused and said that it would just come back inside. Well, I was almost in tears at this point so hubby finally caved and just let it go outside. I am now sure that it ran right back in by whatever little hole it got in by in the first place, laughing all the way.

Gotcha, Sucka!!

 Later that night, your never going to believe this, when I went to bed I put my brand new 60$ purse beside the bed, as usual. Well, when I woke up in the middle of the night to grab my puffer out of my purse and reached down to pick it up I was left holding only the straps, no purse. The little bastards chewed the straps right off my freakin' purse!! Un-fuckin-believable! This kind of bullshit went on for another week or so. Well, fast forward to about seven mice later that we have caught. Lets just say I am not so soft hearted anymore. Now I sit there and giggle,  watching the little fuckers suffer. "Just DIE you little bastard, DIEEEEEEEEE." I called my landlord back to let him know that I didn't think one mouse trap was gonna cut it since I already caught seven with just one trap in like a matter of one week. What does he do next? Call an exterminator? Nope...That makes too much sense (actually I just think he is too cheap). No...He shows up at my door with a bottle of Rat Poisoning. Ummm, yeah, I have small children so I don't exactly feel comfortable scattering poison around my house. Plus, I read online that if you use rat poison they just die in the walls and shit. Not exactly the desired outcome. I was so pissed I called him back and told him to just bring me more traps. Honestly, if you want something done right you really do have to do it yourself.

So that was almost a week ago since the rat poison incident and we have still been averaging at about one mouse per night. We've been catching those fuckers left and right. Just last night while watching TV we saw one run out from behind the entertainment stand. Once again hubby grabs the pellet gun. WTF? Friggin' men. The thing kept poking his little nose out from the drawers of my entertainment stand over and over. I thought hubby was just waiting for a good shot, but when I gestured towards where it was peeking from he was just like "What? *Blank stare*. He didn't even see the fuckin' thing! Once again if you want something done...I snatched the gun from him and got into sniper position. I was NOT fuckin around anymore. Unless these little fuckers were gonna pay rent they gotta beat the feet. I already have enough mouths to feed. Well, I never did catch the mouse we saw that night so I know there is at LEAST one more mouse roaming around. Though there are probably wayyy more. I don't think I have to emphasize exactly how PISSED I am over this shit. I read online that mouse shit releases toxins that can affect your breathing. Well, since we moved in here my asthma's been acting up hella bad and both my kids, who have never really had breathing problems, are prescribed puffers. I initially thought this was because of winter being here and all the flu bugs and such floating around but now I am not so sure.

Anyways, I plan on emailing my landlord back and telling him either he calls an exterminator or I am going to be calling the Board of Health. I pay money to live here, I have small children, I am not a fuckin exterminator. It isn't my job to catch these nasty little creatures. If something doesn't get done I am going to have to move. Seriously, I am on a year lease and I am not putting up with this shit for a whole year. It is, for one, disgusting. Number two, it is a safety hazard. These fuckers obviously chew everything, judging by the wall behind my fridge. Well, if they are living in the walls what stops them from chewing on structural beams or wires? Nothing. How do I know my house isn't going to collapse as a result or burst into flames? I don't. Number three, I have kids and everyone knows that mice are filthy little, disease ridden animals. God forbid one bites my child and catch a disease or something. I would be out for blood . Anyways, I am going to give him until the end of the month to resolve this issue or I'm bringing out the big guns. In the meantime, I will definitely keep you all updated on this shitfest of a situation. So tell me...Have you ever had a problem with mice? How did you get rid of them? Any advice or tips?