A little story.

I am not fond of bugs or other small creatures.

DISLIKE.

This is why I'm glad we have these:

Sometimes, they kill bugs for me.  Sometimes.  Unless it's a stink bug.  They actually gag when they get near a stink bug.  Me too, guys.  Me too.

Occasionally, a field mouse will get into our house.  K likes to tell me that since we've seen four mice in our three years of living here, there may be more mice hiding in the walls.  I like to ignore him, because I enjoy sleeping at night.

When a mouse gets into our house, our cats enjoy chasing it, but they are typically too well-fed by us to find any incentive to kill them.  Instead, they chase them into the kitchen.  The mouse runs under the stove, and then the cats sit there and stare.  I cry and call everyone in my phone book, while I perch on top of my couch.

Keeping in mind how this routine goes, one evening, I was putting away dishes in my kitchen when I saw my cats in that same position by the stove.  They were pawing at something little and dark.  I FREAKED OUT, which consisted of screaming, swearing, and running all the way upstairs into our computer room and slamming the door shut.

I called K and yelled unintelligible things about a mouse being in the kitchen and "please get home soon so you can take care of it!"  He was still at work, so I sat in that room for about three hours until he got home. 

I heard him open the front door, take off his shoes, and walk towards the kitchen.

Then, I heard...

Laughter.  Laughter like I had never heard from him before.

He came upstairs.  He was literally crying he was laughing so hard.

Me: "WHAT is so funny?!  Did you find the mouse?!  Is it dead???"

K: [between gasps] "You have to be kidding me."

Me: "Kidding you about what?!  Seriously K, is the mouse down there??"

K: "Will you come downstairs, please?"

So, I walked downstairs and into the kitchen.

Oops.

That, my friends, is a rubber, purple toy rhinoceros. 

A PURPLE TOY RHINO.

I HID in a room for THREE HOURS from a rubber TOY.

True story.  So, when I tell you I'm afraid of bugs and little creatures, I'm not exaggerating.

I would ask you guys if you've ever hid in a room from a fake killer mouse, but the answer is probably "no."

Happy Thursday :)