The party was fun. But why wouldn’t it have been!
13 kids, a bouncy house, cheetos, goldfish crackers, the world’s biggest cake from Costco (thank you Costco for making a cake my child wants every time we go there), a treasure hunt, presents, toys, friends, good weather, Greg home from work to help, ice cream, Angie and cousin over to help, balloons, receipts for money (a lot of money) well spent, a little boy loving being 5, water balloons, candy, juice drinks and a mom who forgot about being stressed.
The perfect recipe for a perfect party!
That is until dusk….
I hear: “Jen, um Jennifer!”
“What”
“Come Here!”
“Why”
“What is this thing”
“What thing”
“This thing in our room, I think it is a bat. Why is there a bat in our room?”
“A real one? Or Owen dressed like one?”
“Um, come here”
The last remaining party guests scrambled upstairs to find.. A REAL BAT. Who wants to see a real bat hanging upside down on their screen. NOT ME.
Those remaining party guests I mentioned above, all adults. Or more accurately, adults mostly all afraid of bats.
Angie quickly packed her bags to leave. (Little Evan could not be in the same house as a bat!) Steve temporarily goes insane and is convinced the bat has been living here for days. Who says that? Kati and I cannot stop laughing and starting snapping photos. Mother-in-law Jayne goes in for a close look and begins to profess how cute it was. Hmmm.
Seeing that I have never had to get a bat out of my house before, or the fact that I have never even had a house before, much less a bat in one, we have no idea what to do. Enter Internet: how do I get a bat out of my house.
Stay calm. Don't panic. (too late) Close all doors to corral the bat in one room and keep him from flying around the house. (check, bat is hanging on screen in bedroom, bathroom door closed, main door closed, closet closed) Put your pets in a different room and close the door. (check, poor outdoor pets) Turn on an overhead light. This will disorient the bat for a few moments because he will think it is daytime. (luckily it was still light outside and I am quite sure the bat knew it was daytime, I am also quite sure he was thinking what the hell have I done) Wait for the bat to roost. Bats roost in the daytime. He will fly to the nearest object, often a curtain. He will cling on and hang upside down quietly. (check. bat is roosting on screen. And in fact, in an effort to assure the bat did not leave his roosting position, my brave husband took a flashlight to shine a bright light in the poor bat’s face the entire time. There will be no question of the daylight for this bat. Do not even begin to think it is night.) Get a hand or dish towel and rubber gloves (optional). (first let me say, OPTIONAL? to remove a bat, the rubber gloves are optional? second, thank the heavens above for my mother-in-law. Her son is less than brave when it comes to bats. He carried the flashlight) Enter the room quietly and close the door behind you. (we tried, but watching Greg shine a flashlight two inches away from the poor bat while his mom works to capture the bat in a towel and her doubled up rubber gloves while Owen is sitting there looking at the bat is just too funny for me to be quiet) Carefully place the towel over the bat. Wrap it around his body and pull him gently off from your curtain. (check. Only after a small mishap where he seemed to be trapped in the screen and the window. Ooops) Talk softly to him. He is frightened and will make buzzing noises. This is his echolocation. (check. He was assured it was ok, he was given a name and I laughed my head off, on the verge of peeing my pants) Take him outdoors. (check.) Open the towel and wait for him to fly off. You can just open the towel and put it on the ground, also. (check. We did temporarily lose him in the towel but he was successfully shaken out of the towel. I suppose it wasn’t as gentle as this step implies us to be). The bat will not 'turn on you' or attack in any way. He is just glad to be free. (thank heavens!) (http://www.howtodothings.com/home-garden/how-to-get-a-bat-out-of-your-house)
The bat was gone, the party was fun. It was a good day.
(And I know this for sure, the next time we have a bat: 1) please don’t let Steve be here, and 2) please don’t let me be alone here with Greg.)
4 comments:
So loving the picture of Greg's Mom in her martial arts stance with rubber-glove clad hands. Cracking up right now!
I hope I never get a bat in MY house! Steve will not only think that it has been living here a while, but will probably think that because it has established a home for so long, it shold be allowed to stay! :)
That was a fun night.
After reading the story, I'm positive that the bat came in the house to get away from all the party festivities. It was probably its first time seeing a bouncy house and can you imagine, its 'echolocation' was probably going crazy with all the celebrating going on. And Jayne... she looks like she should have a superhero name and cape!! Way to go! Sounds like one of those days to put on the "remember when" list. LOL
Love you all. Wish I were there.
This may be one of your funniest blogs ever. The party looks like a great success, thanks to two great parents who are willing to do so much for a fun, loving son. Glad you could let all the worries go and enjoy it. And the bat story is wonderful, although I understand the visit was not. But great job getting it outside safely and humorously sharing the story with us! Love you all!
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