Reason #1 why I love being married:
You’re probably wondering if Hector is my husband, but it’s not.  Hector is the mouse I discovered last night at about 7:30 PM when I went downstairs to swap out the laundry.  He was running around in circles confused by the light turning on.  I screamed loud enough for everyone on our side of the Mississippi to hear me and scared my own dog.  My husband was pretty sure that I had just encountered a murderer in our basement.  I may have overreacted just a little.  So with that scream heard throughout the neighborhood, the war began.  Two battles were fought last night.  The first involved J (my loving husband), Lola (my badass rat terrier – follow her on twitter if you’re interested @lolafromstpaul) and Hector (the tiny little dark colored mouse).  J turned all the lights off and Lola sat on the stairs with him and his light saber and they waited until they saw movement.  I’m pretty sure Lola had no idea what was happening and was bored because she kept trying to sneak upstairs.  I was on the phone with my mom when I heard the light saber turn on (yep, it makes the same noise as in the Star Wars movies) and J yelled some obscene words at Hector and I was sure he had completed his mission.  Wrong.
Hector 1, Justin 0.
Our next move was to find some traps.  We made the 8 block drive to my mom’s to pick up some glue traps they had and we baited them with shredded cheddar cheese and left them in our laundry room and in the theater room.  This morning, he went running downstairs to see if the traps captured Hector and won us the war.  Much to his surprise, the cheese was gone and Hector was no where to be found.
Hector 2, Justin 0.

My husband has spent his day consumed with thoughts on battle number 3 and I believe we will be stopping at Menards on our way home to pick up some weapons.  He has been consulting some of the guys around the office.  The email he sent out was definitely necessary to share:

Subject: Unwelcome Intruder.

Last night we found out that we had an intruder in our home. I heard Steph scream and I was actually about a half-second from loading the Glock. Then, I realized that this unwelcomed intruder, the black bastard, was hiding under furniture. I tried to sniff him out and even released the hounds; they had no effect.
I set two traps for him last night only to find my traps still set this morning with the cheese missing. I could only imagine him sitting in a dark hole somewhere chuckling in victory. Tonight, things get real:
 + a trap
=  My restored happiness
I will keep you all posted on this epic battle.  I can’t even imagine where I would be without my husband.  I know my father would not come over and help me out with something so silly.  Wish me luck as I support my husband as he attempts to take down Hector.
Also, for all you mouse supporters, we are not trying to harm Hector if we don’t have to. We are purchasing “huts” that will trap him and we’ll release him outside.