Mouse in the House

Backstory: We noticed last Spring some signs that we may have a mouse in the house. We bought some traps and sure enough we caught one. Thankfully the hubs was home and was able to dispose of it without my knowledge. We kept traps around and I think we caught one more over the summer. And even though we've seen no signs of the little creatures Paul kept some traps around just in case. The temperatures around here have recently taken a turn for the cold so apparently all the vermin are trying to get indoors to keep from getting cold.

So, this afternoon I turn to get something out of the pantry and I notice it out of the corner of my eye, under the kitchen counter (I am still shuddering, by the way). A mouse trap. That's odd, I think, how did the trap get from the way back corner of the pantry, under the door and now to the corner of the kitchen? Then it hits me. OMG THERE IS A MOUSE IN THE TRAP ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR. And then it hits me again...AND IT'S NOT DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At this point my heart starts beating about a million miles a minute and I start shaking a little bit. What do I do? I contemplate grabbing all the children and heading for the door only to come back in 36 hours when my husband gets home. But I decide against it. I then call my super brave neighbor, hoping her husband is home for help. She wasn't at home but did give me some advice. At this point my 6 year old comes downstairs and is fascinated by it. Until she sees the mouse move and then she screams like, well, a little girl and runs back upstairs. She goes and gets the 3 year old and they both come down to stare at the mouse and to ask me what I'm going to do about it. At this point I try another neighbor who works from home but he's not home either. Crap. I am going to have to deal with this myself. So, I put on my brave face and go search for a big box. I figure I can corner the mouse with the box and sweep it into the box. I find a big diaper box, the only time I've been thrilled Jacob is still in diapers. I try to do this with my eyes closed but it was a little tricky and after a few false starts I finally did it. Got that nasty thing into the box and ran it out to the outside trash.

I'm completely traumatized and still shuddering. I realized that yes, I am such a girl and that I am very thankful that I have a husband who normally takes care of such matters. Also? I will have nightmares for weeks.