A Wild Time

Logan has always loved animals so it seemed only natural to have a wild animals and wild kids at his party.  We hired someone who brought in birds, snacks, lizards, ferrets, bunnies, frogs, chinchillas and more for the kids to interact with.

And, no, Logan, we are not keeping anything!

The birds and the bees and the gerbils...

For several days, Logan has been complaining that one of his gerbils has been getting fat and lazy.  Since we can't even tell three of them apart I just assumed he was imagining things.

This afternoon, Jack came running to me saying there were babies in the cage and I laughed.  We can't have babies.  We have four male gerbils.  We call them "the dudes."  But he seemed serious and rather excited.  And then Logan came in squawking about something about the gerbils so I ran to the boys' room.  I bust into the room so fast that the gerbils all went into hiding and sure enough, I was able to see two little pink squirming beings in the bottom of their nest.  So cute and ugly all at the same time.

After some quick research I learned that the gerbils will mate again within 8 hours of the pups being born.  And though it's best leave papa to help mama raise the kids, separating them is the only way to ensure that mama won't have another litter next month...and the next month...and the next month.  So we pulled out the three "dudes" and put them in a makeshift 2nd home.  Only then did I notice that one of them was anatomically different than the other two.  Ummm...guess we just have two "dudes."

Mama, AKA Lightening Bolt, and her sister, Zuzu, seem to be caring for the babies fairly well.  After a trip to the pet store, Thunder and Storm have a new bachelor pad.

Jack and Logan were very confused as to why the males and females had to be separated.  They didn't realize that it took one of each to make babies  We've had a few interesting discussions today...

Scott just mentioned to me that he may have found an egg sack in the fish tank...heaven help us!

Summer so far...

So far I am surviving summer...but my sanity is on the line every day!

So far, the boys have had one week of half-day soccer camp. All four kids have taken a weeks worth of swim lessons. The boys have weekly karate class and the girls have weekly hair appointments. The whole family (with Nana and Granddad) have had a vacation to a nearby mountain lake. Add in a Fourth of July weekend and a few playdates and you can tell that my plan has simply been to keep everyone busy, busy, busy!

Here are some of the highlights thus far (in photos):

Hair appointments:

New pets:

Karate:


4th of July (the girls' first!):
Soccer camp:


Vacation:

100 Things About Me

In honor of my 100th post, I put together a list of 100, mostly quirky, things about me. In it's original form, it was 10 installments. The final installment was my 100th post, published on April 9, 2009. Here, I have recompiled the list and sorted it into a couple of different categories.

Here you can learn everything you ever wanted to know, didn't want to know and could careless about regarding me.


Regarding my feet:
1. I have ridiculously small feet. In length my feet are a children's size 2 1/2. Honestly, its a miracle I don't fall over.
2. I have ridiculously wide feet.
3. Which is why I ALWAYS wear flip-flops.
4. So it's a good thing I live in sunny Southern California.
75. One of my toes doesn't touch the ground so I only leave a four-toe footprint.


Regarding my mind and the rest of my body:
29. I have a congenital heart defect.
38. I am directionally challenged.
54. I had laser eye surgery several years ago...
55. And can't imagine my life without it.
60. I have a horrible memory.
65. I have asthma.
71. I am a world class procrastinator.
76. I wish I liked to exercise.
78. I inherited my blue eyes from both my grandmothers.
85. I'm all about efficiency (cost efficiency, time efficiency, etc.).


Regarding my husband, Scott:
7. I not so secretly love my husband.
77. I am so thankful that my family eats dinner together every night.
91. My husband and I were best friends...
92. And then roommates...
93. Before we were ever a couple.


Regarding Jack and Logan:
9. I secretly play with my boys' Legos.
16. I think Matchbox cars are one of the best inventions of the 20th century.
21. Nothing makes me happier than my two boys being sweet to each other.
37. I love the smell of sunscreen on the warm shoulders of my nearly-nekked babies.
44. The piece of furniture that I've racked up the most hours in is probably the huge wingback leather rocking chair in my boys' room.
52. I was in labor for 65 hours with Jack.
53. Luckily, Logan's labor was much shorter.
58. I wish I had more time (and more agreeable subjects) to study photography.
61. The only lullaby I sing the boys is Slumber Boat.
81. My sons are 15 months apart to the day.
87. I taught both my boys some sign language when they were little. I still use the sign for "potty" when I don't want to embarrass them (or myself).
90. I "wore" both my boys when they were babies (and I still wear Logan sometimes when he's sick). I plan on being cremated with my sling.


Regarding travel:
10. I've swum with sharks in Belize.
15. I've never giggled as hard as when I zorbed in New Zealand.
25. I thought I lost my eyesight while snorkling in the Cook Islands. (Read the story here.)
40. I've been taken OUT of a Vietnamese hospital by ambulance. (Read the story here.)
45. I love to travel to exotic places because...
46. I love to soak up different sounds, tastes, smells, customs, art.
50. I've slept under the stars on the sands of the Sahara.
51. I have petted a rhino on the Kenyan savanna.
59. I totaled a moped on the island of Naxos and luckily walked away without any major injuries.
66. I lived in Salzburg, Austria for several months.
72. I have hiked the world's most beautiful trek, the Milford Track; 35 miles in New Zealand.
83. In Guatemala, I've climbed Temple IV and the Pyramid of the Lost World at the Tikal ruins.
95. I have chewed on cinnamon bark straight from a tree in Zanzibar.


Regarding sleep:
8. I have to sleep in a bra. (TMI?)
22. I love my bed.
23. I love to sleep.
24. I love pajamas. (Are you sensing a theme?)
30. My husband and I sleep European style (no flat sheet or blanket, just a fitted sheet and a duvet). (TMI?)


Regarding animals:
5. I hate bats.
31. We have a cute mutt named Marley...
32. Whom I wish didn't drive me so insane.
88. I'm not afraid of snakes, spiders or sharks.
89. But I'm terrified of bats because one flew into my hair in the Philippines when I was little.


Regarding books, music, movies and TV:
11. I cry when I hear patriotic music.
12. I wish Gilmore Girls never went off air.
39. Oh, The Places You'll Go is my favorite book.
42. The Goonies might just be my favorite movie of all time.
43. I love to read books.
70. I watch TV every night to unwind.


Regarding food:
18. I am a vegetarian...
19. And have been since I was 8 years old.
20. Chili's makes the best veggie burgers, in my opinion.
26. Coke Zero is my drink of choice.
28. Kiwi makes my lips and tongue go numb.
36. I love potatoes.
56. I don't like the taste of coffee...
57. Or beer.
79. I love, love, love Mexican food.
84. I scream for ice cream.
86. I could eat air-popped popcorn for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
94. I have to have something sweet to eat in the evening.


Regarding my previous life:
33. In a previous life, I worked in advertising.
67. I was a practicing Buddhist for a year...
68. But in typical fashion, I rarely stick with anything.
82. When I was young, I wanted to be a Navy Blue Angel when I grew up.
96. In a previous life, I used to go the movies a lot.
97. I was born in California...
98. And though I grew up living in various places...
99. I always considered myself a California girl.


Regarding everything else:
6. I secretly love my Honda Odyssey minivan.
13. I wear t-shirts...
14. And capri pants everyday.
17. I've been skydiving.
27. My parents are my greatest role models.
34. I had a younger brother...
35. Who I miss very much.
41. I can't stand cleaning my kitchen. If I never saw it again, I'd be perfectly happy.
47. I rarely wear makeup because I usually forget.
48. I never wear perfume because I always forget.
49. I've been know to crochet but can only do blankets and scarves.
62. I hate to admit that I'm not a very good friend.
63. Being a military brat, I prided myself on being able to make friends easily as a kid.
64. But I'm not very good at maintaining the relationships that I form.
69. If I do say so myself, I'm a great party-planner.
73. I'm very organized but...
74. My house is messy.
80. Though she isn't born yet (or even conceived), I think of our daughter everyday.
100. I can't believe that I stuck with blogging long enough to make it to my 100th post.


These were the original 10 installments:
Installment #1
Installment #2
Installment #3
Installment #4
Follow-up to questions from #3 and #4
Installment #5
Installment #6
Installment #7
Installment #8
Installment #9
Installment #10

Two more mouths to feed!

Over the weekend I made the rounds to some kids' birthday parties. First I took Logan to a party at a local kids' gym. He had so much fun just being a little boy; running, jumping, climbing. I can't believe he's already 2 1/2!

Later that afternoon I took Jack to a party at a friend's house. The theme was animals and they had hired a company that brings exotic animals to kids parties. Jack likes animals and watched the presentation for awhile before the lure of a house full of someone else's toys (especially the 7 year old boy's) pulled him away.

I guess in keeping with the theme, the hostess decided that the party favors should be animals. Fish to be exact. Real live fish... When the parents realized what was happening we all looked at each other with these wide eyes and slightly panic stricken expressions. Should we take a fish home? Maybe it would be better to duck out before our kids are aware what's going on? It wasn't so much about whether Jack and Logan are ready to have a 'disposable' pet. It was whether I was ready.

Jack is only 3 so we haven't had too many conversations about death. And Logan is 2 so we haven't had any discussions with him. Since we left the party with two fish (affectionately named Goldie and Fishie by Jack), I have a feeling we'll be have some deep discussions soon.

On the way home from the party, I had a little talk with Jack about the length of a fish's life. The morning after the party he burst out of his bedroom, ran down the hallway and shouted, "Are the fish dead yet?". Nope, not yet. Mama's got two more mouths to feed.