a horror in the hall bath.

it came to pass one day last week that a horrible smell began to make itself present in the hall bath.

of course, i immediately blamed billy.

he appeared quite sheepish after the accusation, so i sprayed some room spray and was done with it.

that night the smell still lingered...
i gave billy a wary eye and went to bed.

the next day was really cold and i didn't seem to notice it as much but it was still there.  i sprayed more room spray.

it was bad again that night, and i gave billy another look.
he again appeared sheepish.
i think he thought it was him too?
i was genuinely concerned for his health.

on the third day of the smell it was so cold that the heat had cut on, and the radiator in the bathroom leaked some water.

billy assured me the bad smell was coming from the radiator.

last night it was awful.
you couldn't walk up the stairs before the smell came out and hit you in the face.
i fiddled with the radiator... but the water didn't smell.

today it started to make me crazy.
i looked all around the toilet.
maybe someone "missed" ?
i couldn't find anything.
i began to think the radiator was leaking toxic gases and we were all slowly being poisoned to death.
i cleaned the whole bathroom.
i told billy we needed to put the dehumidifier upstairs tonight... maybe it was mold seeping in the walls and infecting my nostrils. 
my allergies had been at an all time high.

tonight, i became absolutely certain that our good friend dave must have "upper-decked" us during our labor day party.
he's quite the prankster.
(dave- if you're reading this- don't get any ideas!)

i made a mental note to take the toilet apart after finn's bath, and silently swore i would kill dave if my suspicions were right.

then, quite on accident, while billy and i were getting finn dressed for bed, he bumped the fan on the shelf in the nursery, causing an avalanche of sorts.
the blocks, baby booties, fan, books, all went flying.
of course i did like any obsessive compulsive housewife would do, and immediately took the opportunity to wipe off the dusty shelf with one of finn's baby wipes. 

and this is how the case of the horrible hall bath smell was accidentally solved.

i walked into the bathroom to toss out the dusty wipe, and when the trashcan swung open just long enough for me to toss it in... i spotted him.

a very small, and very defeated little house mouse.

he was laying in the bottom of the trashcan looking quite famished.
the poor little fellow.
i have no idea how he got in there... i can honestly say i've never seen traces of mice in the hall bathroom of all places! 
but he certainly couldn't get out.
i can't believe we didn't hear him! 

i am quite relieved that:
1) billy does not have an intestinal disease,
2) we're not being poisoned by toxic radiator fumes, and
3) dave did not, in fact, poop in the tank of our toilet.

i am also quite happy that my hall bath once again boasts the ever-fresh smells of clorox clean up and febreze.  (went a little overboard).

rest in peace, little house mouse.
now the rest of you stay out!