Today we got a pet chipmunk!!

For about a half an hour. Then, he died.

We've had CRAZY rain & flooding around here, and apparently this weather is no good for chipmunks. We found this little dude in the yard, and even though he was still breathing--he was very weak.



Eric's grandfather is a vet, and he said that there was a slim chance that warming him up would bring him around to his "chipper" (haha--pun intended) self. So we brought him in, Sydney rubbed him dry & said really nice things to him in his little ear...

but...well...but then nothing else, and he died. And we buried him out under a tree.





The end!

Never a dull moment around here.

Look what happened! Sydney somehow turned SIX today. Boo. She's got not one but TWO loose teeth right now. Sigh.

I'm actually thrilled that she's growing up. I'm just bummed that this 10 pounds of baby weight I'm still carrying apparently isn't actually baby weight? It's just...weight? Maybe I can call it "kindergarten weight"? Hmmm...

On Wednesday night, Daddy took Sydney out on a DATE. She thought it was hysterical that one of MY first dates was ALSO with Daddy back in the day!



Today we had some fun girl time together, then a little party here at home.




On Sunday afternoon we will head to Boston to the AMERICAN GIRL PLACE (that's an all-caps kinda place, ya know) with our friends Bridget & Mrs. Shaughnessy. Pictures to come on that one.

So, here's a neat little fact you may not know about my "mom-ness". I ABHOR theme clothes on my kids. I detest and am a very non-fan of theme clothes. You'll never see Colin in a Spiderman shirt, or Sydney rocking Tinkerbell shirts. The only exception to this preference I have is their underwear. They can go crazy on those...and they do. Cars & Bob the Builder on him; Hello Kitty & Disney princesses on her. But I need you to know that even THEN, it is difficult for me to breathe knowing that under those cute Gap clothes are....*gasp*....theme clothes.

Well--all of that changed when we went to Disney in November. OH MY GOSH...the Mouse got to me. The marketing is GENIUS, man, GENIUS. We came home with Disney mugs, Disney pens, Disney picture frames, Disney salt & pepper shakers (yup--you read that correctly!), and Disney SHIRTS. Many Disney shirts.

Which leads me to today. Sigh. Colin chose his own clothes this morning, and here's what he picked...of COURSE.



A Disney shirt. And not just any Disney shirt...my absolute least favorite one. The GOOFY one. Fine, good, great....his choice, right?

And it was all okay until this exchange:

Colin: MOM! Guess what?? I'm Student of the Week this week at school!

Me: Really, buddy?! That's awesome...nicely done!

Colin: Thanks...and guess what?!

Me: What's that?

Colin: I got to go down to the office this morning, and they took my picture, and it's gonna be up in the hallway, and in the newsletter on Friday, and EVERYONE at school gets to see it...for a whole week!!

Me: ...silence...pause...collecting thoughts. Ummm, honey...was the camera reaaallly close up when they took the picture, or did your WHOLE BODY, like you SHIRT specifically, get in the picture?

Colin: Oh--my whole body! And I'm wearing my GOOFY shirt!!

And that just served as a reminder that one does not have children to boost one's ego.

And there's a better than even chance that the Goofy shirt may meet a tragic end in a laundry incident in the near future.

We had a huge storm here last Thursday night. We lost power for 4 days.

The power came back on Sunday night.

Both of the kids' fish...did not.

I think if you aren't a dog around here...I just can't make any guarantees.