1 Little Drawback to Life in Paradise...

A small drawback to life in Hawai'i is our fourth roommate, an uninvited guest. A little mouse who has begun crawling in under our air conditioner and wandering around the kitchen in search of crumbs. At first, it was kinda adorable, such a small little mouse. Then it was OK, but we got some of those non-cruel traps. We spent three days trapping him, throwing him outside, then trapping him again. Once, three times before midnight I heard him in the trap, put him inside, only for him to get caught in the trap minutes later. Now it is not really cute anymore, and I want this little mouse to leave for good. We were considering drastic measures, but neither of us has the heart to do it, so those nasty old traps that snap are just not an option here at our house.

My husband got some cardboard to fill the space under the air conditioner. He chewed through that too. Finally, we resorted to the wonder of all items in the hardware store: duck tape. We sealed all the air conditioners. We walked the perimeter looking for small holes and entry points. We were finally sure it was secure, then we placed the traps again. This time, when we caught the little guy, my husband walked him to the far edge of the property, so hopefully he is gone for good. The thing about paradise is... a lot of other creatures think it is paradise too, and they want to share. Cockroaches, ants, mice, worms, beetles, bugs, these are a part of our daily life now, and keeping them outside is often a challenge, especially with a baby who loves juice pops...