Dracula

So by now I'm sure most of you have heard of the bat fiasco we had at the Barron household the other day. I typically think of myself as a non-squealy girl (except when it comes to bugs...those make me scream every time), but it was surprisingly traumatic to have a bat flying around your house. At first I tried to stay calm...I am an independent woman and can totally handle this bat myself, right? Right. BUT, then he stopped just sitting calmly on the curtain and began flapping all around the living room.

(Disclaimer: I was NOT as close to the bat as this looks. I was using a zoom lens.)

I didnt even notice him at first, chilling on the living room curtains. Merrick says, calmly: "Um, Mom. Theeeeeere is a bat. On the curtains." I started thinking of ways to get him out, but then the middle two kiddos spotted him and LOST it completely. I spent a few minutes trying to calm them down, but that's when the flapping around started. Everyone started screaming. The kids were screaming, I was screaming, if bats can scream I'm sure he was probably screaming too.

I got the kids all out into the mudroom and closed them out there so that 1) they wouldn't get attacked by a potentially rabid bat (ok, he was probably not rabid...but ya never know) and 2) so they would stop screaming and not wake up Amaryllis who was trying to take a nap. Priorities, people. They still screamed in the mudroom, yelling at me to "Call Uncle Cam. Call Uncle Cam right now he will get him out." (Daddy is out of town for several days, and they obviously have faith in Cam's bat removal skills.)

So we did call Uncle Cam. He and my sister came right over, bringing a rake with them. Cam rigged up the most ridiculous looking contraption I've seen in awhile, and proceeded to chase the bat around the living room a little bit, knock a few things over, incite some more screaming from children, and ultimately escort our little friend out the door. He flew away unharmed. We were pretty thankful for Uncle Cam...the kids especially. Who had NO faith in me whatsoever when it comes to bats.

I, of course, managed to take some pictures. It's not everyday a bat flies into your house. I used to think bats were cute, but the way this guy creeped along my curtains with his creepy little bat fingers was, well, creepy. He also kept looking at us. Have you ever stared into the eyes of a bat? I didnt think so. I'm pretty sure he was plotting my doom. (Tirzah hid behind me and sobbed, "Mommy, make him stop looking at me!") I'm glad the bat made it out of this unscathed. But as for the rest of us, I'm pretty sure we need counseling. ;)