I Smell a Rat!

It's always an adventure around here. Actually, that's not very true. It's sometimes an adventure around here. We had a nice weekend after returning from our trip, and Dylan was home for all but a few hours on Friday. It's pretty rare for him to be in town for the weekend, but oh so nice. Dinners with family, Jaylen's birthday party, and we each got out of the house on our own adventures. My adventure was going to the gym. Dylan's was kayaking on the Verde with his buddies during a monsoon as nightfall approached, leaving the girls convinced that they were in serious trouble and probably not ok. #guysarestupid

Monday started out like any other. Gavin and I took off for work in Dylan's rat-free vehicle. Ain't no way I'm putting my baby in a car with a rat. And Dylan took rat-car into town to the special Rat and Pest Mart to buy some items that would finally do this thing in for good. In the afternoon he found out he had to fly, and unfortunately he did not have time to make it back home put his new special tricks and gadgets from the Rat and Pest Mart to use. (Luckily he stashes an extra uniform in the airplane.) I find last minute trips, and trips of any flavor actually, to be incredibly annoying, but this time it wasn't a major inconvenience, so oh well.

A regular meal around here.

Jaylen's birthday party at Lifetime

There's the front passenger seat. In the hallway.

Back to his normal shenanigans after a rough evening.

When Gavin and I got home after work he began to cry inconsolably. I was able to get him to calm down with a bottle and some of his favorite YouTube channels for short periods of time, which left me wondering what people did with hysterical babies before YouTube. I guess I could ask one of those people that abide by the no-screen time rule...but I'd rather not. It was a terrible evening. When he was calm, he would try to crawl but couldn't. It was like his legs wouldn't coordinate or he was disoriented. This was terrifying. I figured he was exhausted and put him to bed and decided to re-evaluate in the morning. And then I realized that I hadn't even unloaded my things from the car or eaten in over 8 hours, so I took care of those items and then hit the hay myself, though I couldn't sleep, what with worrying like crazy about the young one.

Fast forward to some time after midnight. Dylan landed back in Scottsdale and got in rat-car only to discover the undeniable smell of rotting flesh. Boom. Ten days (!!) after discovering the evidence of the damn rat that had taken up residence in our vehicle, it had finally died. No special supplies necessary. Dylan was exhausted but knew he couldn't go to bed without finding our elusive enemy. If you've ever smelled dead rat, then you know that it's a situation that demands immediate attention. It took a lot of time and effort, but he finally found it in the dash behind the glove compartment. I was pretty beat from my evening and so did not provide a helping hand in the dead rat hunt. Also, I would have barfed. That would have been less than helpful.

By 3am, the car was in a million pieces, various components from the dash had been sterilized in bleach, the rat was gone, Dylan was in the shower, and nobody had slept a wink. (Except Gavin- he had been sawing logs since 7pm.) I'm no stranger to sleepless nights so I should be okay, though I'll be thankful if I can find time for a nap today. I'll let my other half catch up on some Zzzz's this morning, however. Once Dylan gets an hour to put the car back together, and then the interior is extensively cleaned by a professional, and then the new harness for the Foonf arrives, we should be able to go about business as usual in the Venza. #weirdproblems

And the best news of all is that Gavin woke up acting happy and crawling normally. I have no idea what in the world that was all about, but I am so glad he has his 12-month appointment soon so we can find out. I'm still freaked out about it but also relieved to see him acting normally, too. Happy Tuesday. Let's make it a better day than Monday. I'm loving this rain and also supremely happy that I'm not making my commute in it.