Winter Wonderland Date

Good Thursday morning!

The Gallery Pics never happened yesterday... because I had "server problems." I've been notified the problem has been solved, so maybe today will be a better picture day. It couldn't be any worse!

RANDOMNESS #1 - The Christmas Card total has reached 21. I will be calling the following people today... Tonya, Dawn, Debbie, etc., etc. The list goes on and on. I have 79 calls to make, so don't call me... I'll call you!

RANDOMNESS #2 - I finally found some new inflatables to add to the 12 Days of Inflatables. No. 6 has been added to the sidebar today!

RANDOMNESS #3 - The Boy will be leaving for London, England in less than two weeks! Breathe... breathe. We have a lot to do, but I think we can get it all together. He is very, very excited. And once he returns to the good ol' USA, I'm sure I'll be very excited, too!

RANDOMNESS #4 - The Mouse Story - I first shared this particular "woodland creature" story in December of 2008. Since I haven't had a run in with an animal in a while, I thought I'd re-share!

I told you yesterday I had a little mouse story to share. I guess it's my own version of Despereaux... but with a very sad ending.

Last Tuesday night, we had a little visitor. A cute, tiny little mouse was found wandering upstairs in the kids' bedrooms. Mike, Austin, Joshua and Roxie tried to catch, chase, extricate the mouse from the house, but to no avail.

Let me say in the seven years we've lived in this house, we have only had one other tiny visitor. We live next to a wooded lot, and sometimes when the weather changes, they try to come in for warmth or dryness or both. However, we also have several cats in our neighborhood, so there has never been a mouse or chipmunk problem in our home.

Surprisingly, I was not freaked out by our little guest. Mike put one trap in the kitchen, and I planned on going to the store the next day to buy the traps that don't hurt the little creatures, but keep them contained so you can put them back into the woods from whence they came.

All day long, I worked around house, but little Despereaux didn't make an appearance. I even thought he might have ventured outside again.

I wasn't really thinking about little Despereaux. I was making supper, setting the table, getting everything ready for the dinner time rush. I had gathered the household trash earlier and set it by the door. December is Roxie's month to take the trash out, and I called her to finish her chore. Beside the trash bag was a large black trash bag, but instead of trash it held 15 to 20 of Roxie's outfits to be taken to a friend with little girls. Not wanting Roxie to take out BOTH trash bags, I walked over to the door, picked up the clothes bag and moved it to a different area of the house. When I walked over to pick up the clothes bag, I stepped on the corner of the trash bag. I heard a crunch, but because I had been cooking all day, I assumed it was an egg shell in the bottom of the trash bag.

Roxie came and scooped up the bag to take outside to the garbage can... and screamed. There underneath the bag was Despereaux. We both jumped back expecting him to scamper, but he just lay there very still. Austin and Josh came running to see what the commotion was about. Josh was the first to declare him dead. Austin was the first to declare him flatter than a pancake. "He's been crushed," he said.

"How?" Roxie asked. All three of them were eye level with the pancake of a mouse now.

"Was the trash bag heavy?" one of the boys asked Roxie.

"No, it was really light," she replied.

"Well, this doesn't make sense," one of them logically stated.

Unfortunately, I knew exactly what had happened. It was the parking lot bird all over again. Me and my mammoth feet had crushed yet another woodland creature... except this one had not survived. I told the guys what had happened.

"You stomped it to death!" Roxie accused.

"No. Stomping would mean I had done it on purpose," I explained. "I simply stepped on something it was hiding under. It was an accident, pure and simple."

"Well, it sure looks like you stomped it," one of the guys noted as Austin disposed of the little guy.

"How much do you weigh anyway?" was Roxie's next question.

"That's irrelevant. We should just be thankful he died quickly." I wish I could have said painlessly, too, but what are the odds of a fully grown woman crushing you and it not hurting... at least a little bit.

Despereaux continues to be a topic of conversation at our home... and at church... and at family gatherings this Christmas season. I try to act like it doesn't matter, but I've got to tell you it was not one of my finer moments.

Needless to say, we will NOT be reading The Night Before Christmas in our home this season. It is just too painful and fresh... "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." Especially, it would seem, a little mouse named Despereaux Faulkner. The End... (literally).

Blog Linkage - Take a few minutes to breathe and read. You know you need to relax... because someone just posted on Facebook, "ONLY 10 MORE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS." Breathe... breathe.

1. Go to www.kellehampton.com and scroll down to the post entitled "Feeling It" dated December 12. I just like what she has to say and thought you might, too.

2. Click on Confessions of a Pioneer Woman under My Blog List. Read the post entitled "Food From My Frontier" dated December 14. Ree has a new cookbook coming out in the Spring. I have her first cookbook, and I've enjoyed using it very much. I cannot wait for the new one.

3. Click on A Little Bit of Me under My Blog List. Scroll down to the post entitled "the holidays" dated December 13. This reminded me SO much of when Austin and Josh were little guys. Loved it.

4. Click on Nesting Place under My Blog List. The FIRST thing you will see is the post entitled "2011 Christmas Tour of Homes." Click on all the hundreds (maybe thousands by now) of links to see how others decorate their homes for Christmas. So much fun.

This could take awhile. You better get some hot chocolate to sip while you peruse these links.

Winter Wonderland Date

I know I've used McWane Center as a "date" in the past, but this is new... and exciting... and Christmasy. So I'm going to use it one more time!

Snow is in the forecast at McWane Science Center this year with the Winter Wonderland Exhibit. This magical holiday experience gives families a chance to learn about the science of the season together as they play in the snow, go ice fishing and watch toy trains zip around the tracks.

Winter Wonderland offers something for everyone in the family to enjoy together. Inside the snow room, children can make snow angels, build snow castles and more. Children can also catch fish through the ice in the ice fishing area.

Guests can even sled down the giant slide between the third and second floors in the museum or try the zip line.

Families also have a chance to see toy trains of every shape and size zipping around the tracks in the Magic of Model Trains area. This year children will be able to become conductors at one of the new stations, and see several new additions to the train sets.

Also, you can call ahead to get the IMAX movie schedule. They are showing Santa vs. the Snowman in 3D. (I've never seen it, but it sounds pretty good!)

NOTE - I'm not saying we never get snow in Alabama, but we rarely get the white stuff before Christmas... and Christmas is when you want the SNOW!

Spend a little one-on-one time with a daughter OR son, and enjoy the snow, sledding, ice fishing and trains galore.

Have a most wonderful Thursday. I'll be back tomorrow (server willing) with Weekend Happenings, Randomness and a photo or two.

Take care, and I'll talk to you in the morning.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda