Paulie

Christmas has come and gone. It was a fun time to gather with family and friends. This Christmas we celebrated by bringing a new member into our family. My husband and I were really done with pets for a while... but my son was crying out for a pet. Let me explain...

It all started one day when he found a fly in its last hours of life. He decided that this fly would be a great "pet". As disgusting as it was, he began to carry the fly around the house. Daddy arrived home from work and asked his son what he was looking at. My son replied that he had a fly. Daddy said to throw it in the trash at which point my son, eyes filling with tears, says, "But he's my pet."

Early December we went to get a Christmas tree. My husband and I prefer real Christmas trees and once we had our Christmas tree at home, found a ladybug that had been hiding in its branches. We made a little "house" for our ladybug and let my son revel in having a "pet" for a day. The next day my son took the ladybug out to play with it. The ladybug was rather smart and flew as far away as possible. My son, shoulders drooped in disappointed, came into the home and said (again with those doe eyes), "He flew away; my pet flew away!"

Well, Mommy's heart couldn't take too many more of those disappointing moments. My son needed a pet. But what kind of pet should we get? A meeting with my husband quickly ruled out dog (he'd ruin our new landscaping) or cat (he's ruin our new carpet). Mommy ruled out all reptiles. We decided it would have to be something that could be held on a regular basis which ruled out birds and most aquatic life. Mice and hamsters are prone to jail breaks, so we ruled them out. Our decision? A guinea pig, aka cavy.

So we suprised our children on Christmas morning with a cavy. My son was responsible for naming our new pet. At first he wanted to name it Tiny. When we went over to the in-laws for Christmas brunch festivities we told everyone it's name would be Tiny (previously her code name was Fred). At which point my son changed his mind and renamed her Paulie.

So Paulie is the newest addition to our family. The kids love her and she's not too much trouble to look after. Of course her cage needs to be cleaned routinely and I give her a fresh salad daily. We recently built her a new cavy cage using coroplast & cubes (called a C&C cage by www.cavycages.com) for which she is extremely happy. And now my son no longer longs for a pet, although he does talk of getting a crab... hmm, I don't think so.

It's Raining!

My daughter, C, has not had much experience with rain--it has been so dry the last year and a half. So today's rainfall was quite an excitement. Just touching the falling water made her giddy. She would walk just far enough to feel a few sprinkles and then run back under the roof line for safety.

Yesterday I coaxed my son to go outside and enjoy the weather. He had enjoyed himself so much that he spent almost the whole day outside, even into the early evening. Today we were all getting a little cabin fever. I was happy to sit on the loggia and enjoy the rain, but my son was itching to go exploring.

I finally gave the okay and he was off. He looked at the mini rivers running through the property and scoped out all the mud puddles. When he was done he was completely soaked, but content. Sometimes it seems the only way to burn off some of that energy is to be outside.

READ!

My daughter has discovered a four letter word: READ! At first it was absolutely adorable. She would grab a book and run over, saying READ! READ! How could one deny? So we would read and read and read. After the fifth reading she would jump down, find another book, run over and the cycle would repeat itself.

Well, after several hours each day for the last two weeks I have begun to dread the "READ" word. Should I say that I am busy, I would be hit with cries and tears. My poor baby only wants the simple pleasure of reading a book, how can I deny such a simple request?

I think she is gradually realizing that if mommy looks busy, she can't read. But, should mommy sit down for a minute to relax, she pounces with a book and the four letter word. And even though I may complain, I do love reading to my children.

Trick or Treat

A few months ago I bought a mouse costume at a yard sale. Originally I intended to have my daughter, C, wear it for Halloween. Turns out C will not wear any kind of one piece costume that involved a hood. My son, B, thought the costume was great and constantly wanted to wear it around the house. I felt it fitting to have him be the mouse for Halloween. After all, one of his nicknames as a baby was squeaker (when angry and frustrated he would make squeaking noises). He is still quite a squeaker... so it fit.

Since he could no longer play the cat in my cat and mouse idea, I figured C could make a great cat. Even better, in the weeks prior to Halloween my daughter began perfecting her "meow". It has to be one of the cutest meows I've heard. When she really gets into character, she pulls the "w" out long and almost guttural. I love it.

In the high desert the homes are spaced too far apart for any good door to door trick or treat. Instead, we go to our church building for "trunk" or treat, serving candy from the car trunks of those in attendance. There is usually quite a crowd and my children got more candy than they will eat in a year. This year they also had a plethora of Halloween cupcakes. My hubby enjoyed almost all the flavor variations. He asked me why would they provide so many cupcakes and I said they're here for the candy starved parents like him.