Oh Rats!

     We couldn't wait to get to our LA home to sit on our couch and not be on top of each other, to have the luxury of doing laundry in the house, and to cook in a kitchen that had some elbow room.   Rodger the Rat had other ideas.  This pretentious booger thought he had won the jackpot when he took up residence with our subletters.  Apparently, he went unnoticed by the young men who were kind enough to leave coke cans and candy wrappers under the couch, cookie dough in the sink and pressed into a kitchen drawer, as well as a few open containers of food in the pantry and on the countertop.  How inviting.  We arrived home wondering if a small dog had been in the house, as there was a hole in the couch and the carpet under the couch had huge chunks eaten out of it.  Then, we saw the rat poo...so much rat poo...and it was big poo...from a big rat.  Barf.  I threw in some laundry, as we waited for Pest Control and Animal Trapping Services to come out.  As I walked back to the bedroom, the sound of running water stopped me.  I ran back into the kitchen to see water flooding out from the bottom of the washer.   What? Is Happening?
     Pest Control did a full home inspection and estimated that from browning on cables and the amount of rat poop found under the couch, in cabinets, and in closets...the rat had been a squatter for a few months.  When the renters left, the rat took the opportunity to pee, poop on and eat the couch.  They advised that Sophie sleep with us until we had the issue under control.   We had live traps inside the house and snap traps under the house.  Within a day and half, we caught the sucker.  The trapper said that believe it or not, all this could be done by one rat over a period of 3 months or so.  What is so freaky through...is that I'm just not sure.  We replaced the couch and the rug.  We took everything out of all the kitchen cabinets, cleaned the cabinets and the contents.  Rodger Rat's favorite drawer just so happened to be the drawer filled with Sophie's cups and plates.  We just dumped the whole drawer in the trash, including a plate that had the corner chewed off.  Gross.  Vacuum.  Clean.  Bleach.  Clean.  We spent the first week just cleaning.  Oh, and that washer thing?  It turns out that Rodger found the hose to the washer a delicacy and devoured 4 inch long holes in 3 places.  It's been two weeks and we are still waiting on that special washer hose replacement part (for some reason we need an extra long one).  So we are back to taking our laundry out and boy do we have a ton of it.  With a two year old and returning from traveling to Eric's parents and across the country, our laundry situation is now at a code red.  After a surprise potty attack on Sophie and the discovery that Eric and I were swiftly running out of underwear, I turned to the kitchen sink and 1906 to wash the necessities.
     After a week, the trapping service said they felt confident Rodger Rat was working alone and gave us the go ahead for Soph to sleep in her own bed.  She was excited about her bed, but to be honest I missed her and wasn't altogether sure I could rest.  I watched the monitor through the night like she was giving an Oscar winning performance.  At the slightest crack of the house, I flew into the room, ready to take on Rodger's brother, who had come to avenge his untimely death.  Alas, I have yet to discover anything but a safe, sound, and snug toddler sleeping in her bed.
       I have found myself on high alert all the time.  In the grocery store, I yelled out for Sophie like a woman with turrets only to find her right behind me.  I'm on edge when I'm driving, positive that someone is not going to follow the road rules.  At home, I'm afraid that another rat is lurking and just too smart to get caught by the traps.  I've walked next to a rat in the subway in NY.  I've seen one go under a stroller on the subway platform.  I seen them on the street, but it is unnerving to have one in your home.
    Listen, there are definitely worse things that could happen in life.  With that in perspective, it might take me a few weeks to settle down and not imagine that the ponytail on my shoulder is a rodent trying to whisper secret recipes into my ear alla "Ratatouille."

Where Are They Now?

Goodbye City Life!  L.A., we are theeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!  For the past 5 months, Sophie has slept in the closet of our 1br apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  In our quest to find a 5 month furnished sublet in a safe neighborhood, close to the theatre district, that was somewhere near our budget, here at 86th St. and Riverside is where we found ourselves...in a tiny one bedroom, but with tons of great city stuff around us to explore.  We had an elevator and a doorman, which made up for lost space.

This was our bedroom.  We each had one drawer in a 3-drawer dresser and there is an identical closet to the one Sophie slept in just out of frame (which we shared and stored our suitcases in.)

Yes.  This is the living room and kitchen in one.  We like to call it an open floor plan.  You can see the edge of the love seat to the right.  We got very cozy there.


Two stacks of boxes that we mailed to L.A.  How did all this stuff even fit in that tiny apartment?  Somehow it worked.  We set up a little, very, very, little play space for Soph and used cabinets and on top of cabinets for storage and ledges became bookcases for Sophie's library.   We got creative and having a small space forced us to get out and be a part of the city.  The Natural History Museum, the Children's Museum of Manhattan, Broadway shows, The Rockettes, Central Park, Times Square, Union Square, East Village Arlene's Grocery, Riverside Park, Hippo Playground, River Run Playground, Upper West Side Sunday Brunch, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, Trick-or-Treat on 87th St., Holiday lights and lobby decorations for Christmas...  The excitement comes at the price.    As winter closed in on us, we became increasingly ready to depart for sunny L.A.  As the January cold closed us into the apartment, we were all ready to say goodbye to our 5 month affair with our old flame, New York City.  It's been magical, but it's time to move on.
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