Saturday, November 11, 2006

When too much is just enough

Bet you thought I was talking about yarn, huh?

Well, last night I was working on the cupcake cake. I had baked the cakes, then set them to cool and taken Jane and the Unpleasantness (which I heard of through Allison's blog) to the bath for a little reading and relaxation.

When I was dry and dressed, I went to get a cup of hot chocolate -- in the book, everyone is drinking chocolate for breakfast, and it was inspiring -- and as I leaned over to get a pan out of the below-counter cupboard, a wee little mousie ran across the counter about a foot from my eyes. My reaction? I shrieked and decided I didn't need cocoa after all. I did clap my hands to make certain that I wasn't going to get another surprise, and moved the cupcakes. Rustlings from behind the stove still gave me the wobblies.

My spouse said that my reactions were harming my reputation as a big, strong woman. Be that as it may, rodents in the house are something of an Achilles heel for my toughness.

This morning, the cupcakes (blissfully ungnawed) were transformed into the birthday cake of Thing 2's dreams.


There were snake-themed activities:


And snake-themed gifts:


And when it was all over, Queen Cleopatra came home from the vet's.


She's a very vocal Burmese that we got at our local animal shelter, and she had to go to the vet before coming home, to make certain that she had been spayed. She doesn't think much of our other new family member, Puck, a regular old fluffy black kitten:

That said, she may have a point. He's got some manners issues.


So now we have eleven creatures in the house (not counting the mice, whose days are numbered if I have to carpet the place with snap traps) depending on us for food, care, companionship, and housing. The snake is happier with more heat, the parakeets think that the cats are a Very Bad Idea, the dog seems to be resigned to his fate, my spouse (who doesn't like cats too much) has become the favorite lap, and Mr. Sucky the Vacuum and I are going to continue our special relationship. It's okay, I've missed having cats, and these two make me laugh already.

I guess a woman with four children has already demonstrated a commitment to overabundance, huh?

8 comments:

Samantha said...

Cute kitties. :) I love the snake cake and the snake themed birthday. Very original. :) I have mice too. Yuck. We knew there were mice in the house when (a) we saw them and (b) the cats started staring at one spot in the kitchen. That's all they're good for ... staring. They don't catch anything. LOL

bfmomma said...

omg, you're a crazy woman!

I (the declared furry-pet-disliker) actually considered a cat when we were getting a LOT of mice. And C. and I are allergic to them!

At any rate, you are a WAY cooler mama than I am and the party (and all snake-themed activities) looks like a lot of fun!

Lara said...

Fun birthday!

I was going to say you were nuts, but then I realized we're only one down on ya. We have 6 people and 4 cats. Yikes!

Rain said...

Oh my! You are a glutton for punishment.

Looks like Thing 2 had a wonderful birthday.

sewingsuzee said...

Lucky kitties! Unlucky mice!

The cupcakes look great, and the party looks like it was a huge success! And you have another party in the offing, yes?

allisonmariecat said...

The snake cupcake--so cute!

Perhaps the kitties will step up and address your rodent problem? (Although my mother-in-law woke up one morning to a headless mouse in the kitchen and a very proud kitty and might argue that in some ways, the cure is worse than the disease.) The kitties are lovely.

I hope you like the book. I went on a cocoa at breakfast kick while reading it as well. She just made it sound so good.

Charity said...

I'm going to check out that book! Your mouse story made me shudder - having grown up on the Prairies I know too well how it feels. Yuck!

So glad to hear the party went well - I love the cupcakes!

Jacquie said...

Your new kitties are so pretty!
I am sure they will help with the rodent problem, though as has been pointed out they like to bring you their conquests. DS1 occasionally found a dead mouse next to his head on his pillow in the morning.

Love the cup cake snake - and was that "pin the tongue on the snake"? Most ingenious!