Squeaky, we hardly knew ye...

Squeaky 1.0

So, I'm sort of having a week. It's been a while since I've posted (again!) and there has been a lot lot lot going on here. Here's one story, which my sister requested that I blog. :)

We got 2 really awesomely cute dwarf hamsters 2 weeks ago this Thursday. They were promtly named Squeaky and George. George apparently had a murderous streak in him and although I was advised by PetSmart that it was perfectly fine to house 2 male hamsters in one cage, it was certainly NOT. Poor Squeaky was injured by George and we brought George's ass back to PetSmart. I felt so responsible for poor little Squeaky that I took care of him for 2 days until the poor thing died last Sunday night.

Now, we had a family event on Sunday, and of course I had to fill my DSIL's in on the drama. They are brilliant, in my eyes, as they have raised 5 beautiful, responsible upstanding citizens between them, and then there's me freaking out about what to do about the impending death of Squeaky. SIL Sue announced she felt Squeaky should appear to make a "Miraculous recovery" no matter what his fate. Ahhhh....the classic bait and switch. I am all over this. So, this is my plan last Sunday night after little Squeaky died. My plan A was to get Jessie on the school bus Monday morning and basically keep her so busy she'd not have time to ask about Squeaky, clean the cage, bury Squeaky and run to PetSmart for another hamster.

Uhm, yeah... so, 3 pet stores (who knew all the stores would sell out their winter white dwarf hamsters over the weekend??!), one broken cage (Mom, I am SO sorry I started swearing while I was on the phone with you...) 4 phone calls and 1 panic attack later I resigned myself to admitting the bait and switch wasn't going to work.

So, then I called Kelly. Plan B.

Kelly and I figured Jessie would handle being told about the demise of Squeaky very well if there was another hamster in the cage when she got home. Now, I am sure by now, y'all might be wondering, "Well - honestly, Sue - why buy a pet for a child if you can't explain death to her?" Well, because she's SEVEN. And she's JESS. Jessie's reaction to the death of a hamster could range from gut wrenching sobs to "can we go get another one now?"

So, okay. I exchanged the broken cage at PetSmart. They gave me store credit for Squeaky and I upgraded the water bottle and bought a hamster igloo. Yes, they may hamster igloos. Go figure. Then we headed off to the local pet store to buy another dwarf hamster that resembled a mouse more than Squeaky, but, whatever - this one was a female and she was pretty cute.

Cute Hamster is installed in her cage and I had about 30 minutes to spare before the school bus arrived. When Jessie got off the bus, her reaction ended up being sort of a non-reaction...Kelly was right: she was sorry Squeaky had died the night before, she wasn't upset I didn't tell her, and any sadness she had was immediately alleviated by Cute Hamster. So, then I asked her, "So. What do you think you'll name her?" The reply?

"I think I'll call her Squeaky."

So, now we have a new hamster that Chris and I refer to as "Squeaky 2.0"

I'm here!

Okay, so by now, you're all well aware I can be quite a procrastinator. It starts with wanting to put my posts in order, and then spirals down from there. I have a boatload of pictures from San Diego (which was fabulous) as well at St. Louis (which was even MORE fabulous) and I have to say, March really was a wonderful month. San Diego was beautiful, restful and even a little adventurous (me - kayak - bike - all in one day - owie). Having some time alone with Chris was very much appreciated. We talked a lot and slept alot, LOL! (no Anna asking for cereal at 6:30am - there was no time for romantical crap here, folks, we're serious sleepers!!) The trip was just long enough - we were there for 4 days and by the end we were missing the kids. My sister in law Karen and friend Kelly were so great to take care of the girls for us - it was a great treat.

This was the view from our hotel room!

The beginning of the bike and kayak tour.

St. Louis - oh, my goodness. I still get all welled up when I think about this trip. I have belong to an online Mom's group since around January 2004 - right after I had Anneliese. Right around that time, I went through about 2 very intense years - a lot happened in a short amount of time, and this Mom's group was an integral part of me keeping my sanity and sense of humor in check. Well, a group of us got together over a long weekend (right before my birthday, how perfect was that?) and it was amazing. I mean, I knew everyone there was going to be nice, but holy toledo. There were about 18 of us there, and each and every single person was just amazing. I knew who everyone was from their online posts and pictures, and I never would have guessed even half of them knew me. (hee---they *did*) My roommates were the best (greetings to Heather, Cheri and Laura!) and every one - and I mean EVERYONE was super awseomely sweet, funny, intelligent, sassy and hysterically funny. It was a wonderful experince and it brought a dimension to the friendships that really just solidified the whole thing. We laughed, we shared stories about our kids, we drank, we acted like tourists, we cried, we ate, we drank some more, and basically laughed so hard I hurt for days. Plus Cheri gave me her "Popular when drunk" tshirt, although I am not sure I do it justice, LOL.

I have a ton of pictures, but here is one of the group on the last day with Jerry, bus driver extraordinaire.

March flew by with the travel - my goodness. My Dad arrived from NC just last week and we had Easter with my inlaws at Karen and Joe's house. Again, another really nice day. The girls adore - simply ADORE their cousins Julie and Taylor and Jessie and Anna were both really very good for the whole day. Anna was a little tired and sort of clingy, and then fell asleep on the couch. When she woke up I thought she felt a little warm - and my MIL, Jayne thought so too...and turns out we were right. Anna had a rough ride home in the car and our evening ended in the bathtub and a load of laundry. :( Monday she napped with Mom (who is always ready for a nap, lol) and today she seemed back to her normal self. (i.e., regular diet and activity).

Jessie is all ready to start spring soccer - we just got her all squared away with new soccer shoes and shin guards tonight. She is very, VERY excited! (I am, too!) This year her schedule is M/W from 5-6 and Saturdays from 9-10. Brownie days will be a little nuts, but I made sure that she has extra shorts, shirts and socks this year so we'll be prepared even if the laundry fairy slacks off some. Tomorrow is her first practice and she cannot wait.

::yawn:: Tomorrow I am also covering for a co-worker, so I should end the update here. I'm working W-F this week, and I am looking forward to it. I know it sounds corny, but after having done the temp work and hospital based work - I love love LOVE working in an office setting. Nuclear Cardiology is pretty freakin' cool. Talk about brushing the cobwebs out of the old grey matter - there is a lot to think about and keep up with, but I seriously love it.

Okay - someone named Anna is not too happy right now and it sounds like she needs Mom.
Bye!

my trading card

this is my very first digital scrapbooking attempt. I now know more about paintshop than I ever imagined! This was a little tricky, but towards the end I finally got the hang of it. I am proud of myself, so consider this the grown-up equivalent of sticking pretty work on the fridge. :)