Feeding the Mice (Day 65, Year 3)

Earlier this year, my son said he saw a mouse in his room. I pretended he was delusional because as everyone knows I cannot deal with the reality of a mouse. I did this even as our cat, Rosie, was stationed in her "on watch" position outside his door. She eventually left, so I figured maybe he was delusional.

Then I saw the mouse. And then Mike caught the mouse, so I guess there was actually a mouse. 

After catching the mouse, we discovered a mouse hole and also tortilla chips stashed with Nick's Hot Wheels cars and yogurt tubes on his bookcase (and not even in alphabetical order!). Anyway, we discussed and reminded him how food is not an upstairs thing! There is no eating in your room. 

For a while, he was scared of his room. BUT NOT SCARED ENOUGH TO STOP EATING IN IT. HE STILL EATS EVERYTHING MICE LIKE IN HIS ROOM EVEN THOUGH HE HAS NEVER EVER EVER BEEN ALLOWED TO HAVE FOOD IN HIS ROOM EVER. 

(I often wonder if you, my friends and readers, grow tired of all caps. But my children leave me with no choice, I must employ all caps.)

Just tonight, I heard rustling and chewing noises coming from his room. I asked: "What are you eating?" The reply was garbled ("Erm nothing") due to the fact that his mouth was full of dried cranberries. 

Mice love dried fruit and nuts (I found pistachios in his Lego bin two weeks ago) and cereal (rice krispies on the radiator) and popcorn (in his underwear drawer). Tonight when I said, if you eat in your room, you will attract mice who will eat you face off while you sleep (I have nightmares about this!), do you know what he said?

"They won't eat my mice off if they have something to eat, so really by eating up here, I am protecting myself."

I have no idea why he is like this. 

Also, the 120 year old door to my girl's room is hanging on one hinge. Mike and I are waiting for them to mention it to us. It took them several weeks to mention their shower head was broken. They just kept making up reasons to use my shower "Oh Chloe is in the shower," "Oh I need your special scalp shampoo," never, "OH OUR SHOWER IS BROKEN." 

They will never mention the door. They will just go on with it like this. They will mention, however, how they have nothing to wear and how someone moved their dance shoes. 

We live in a nice home; but my children have somehow found a way to break doors and invite in rodents, all while also dressed in "nothing to wear" and hiding each other's dance shoes. 

WHY ARE CHILDREN LIKE THIS?

I have no answers friends. But, I have to go because the girls are not currently fighting, which means, they are each plotting something super mean to say to one another. If I get ahead of it, I can limit the arguing to 10 minutes instead of 30.






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