Plans

Can you believe that Baby Bean's second birthday is next week already? Where has the time gone? *sniff* It really does go by in the blink of an eye. I find that I am really making an effort to spend as much good quality time as I can with her lately because she is just growing up so fast. I don't want to miss a minute of it.

Tonight I decided I will host a birthday party for her at daycare next week. It will be Dor.a themed, as she LOVES Dor.a. I kind of feel like a bad mom because I am just over a week away from her birthday and just now realizing it. Last year I had birthday party plans in place by November. This means I will spend the rest of this week and this weekend scrambling to get it all put together.

I plan to provide pizza, chips, drinks, and cupcakes for the kids, along with party bags. I seriously need to get my act together ASAP. The only problem is, I am down with either a really nasty cold or the flu. Not sure which. All I know is I can't remember the last time I was this sick. Anything that touches my skin is irritating, and you know when you dread shaving or putting on deodorant because it is going to be uncomfortable, you are definitely under the weather. Yep, I am one ill woman.

Illness aside, I am totally looking forward to this weekend when we will introduce two new members to our family. Growing up I always wanted a hamster, gerbil, or a mouse. My mother wouldn't hear of it. She loathes rodents and is not a big animal fan, but I am a HUGE animal lover. All animals.

A few months ago Baby Bean and I were looking around the pet store while we were shopping for dog things, and I fell in love with the idea again, but put it to the back of my mind, promising if I still wanted one down the road, I would consider it further. As the months went on, I found I still really wanted one. I loved the idea of holding and petting them along with the enjoyment BB would get out of watching them play in their cage, but even more, the squeals of delight I know that will be accompanied by a gerbil rolling around our house in a ball. I can't get enough of that mental picture!

Last Saturday BB and I went to pick up chewies for the dogs and took our usual detour of pet store, checking out all of the other animals. It was at this time that I got serious about adding a new member to our family. I priced out items to see how much it would cost. I grabbed information on hamsters and gerbils so we could decide which would be the best fit for us, and then went home to research it more.

I have decided a gerbil is the best fit for us.


They are friendlier than hamsters, less likely to startle, rarely bite, are active at all hours of the day (as opposed to nocturnal hamsters), and poop much less than hamsters and only in one area of the cage. Not only that, but they only live 3-5 years, so it isn't a large time investment if we decide we don't like it as much as we thought we would, so we can just stick it out. However, I don't think that is going to be a problem. Especially considering I used to steal the live mice from my cat when she brought them home and tried to keep them as pets. (Bet you didn't know that, did you mom? ;) .)

Hubs' only contingency is that he not smell them. It sounds like with gerbils, that won't be a problem. That man seriously loves me.

The only catch is gerbils do better in pairs. They have been shown to have shortened life spans when the live alone. They like to eat with buddies, sleep with buddies, and play with buddies. Who doesn't? So BB will get one for her birthday, and I will get one for mine! (My birthday is 9 days after BB's.)

Now comes the naming dilemma. I kind of like the name Mordecai for mine, and BB seems to like Jabberwalkie for hers. Yes, she actually wants to name it Jabberwalkie. I was also trying to think of famous male couple names, as our gerbils will both be male, like Frodo and Sam, Merry and Pipin, Turner and Hooch. Does anyone out there have any other great ideas?

I really am excited to bring our new little guys home, but even more to watch BB interact with them. I hope this move is as wonderful as I think it will be.