Baby hammies - watching them grow . . .

Okay, it's now January, and I haven't had the heart to continue with these posts. Unfortunately, none of the hammies survived. For whatever reason, Teddy moved them to the top of the cage and packed it so tightly with bedding, that my best guest is that they suffocated or that she couldn't nurse them because there wasn't enough room. Either way, I was completely heartbroken and couldn't continue with these posts. But such is nature and we have to move on.

November 25, 2007

The babies are 9 days old. I probably shouldn't have done this (I hear it's bad to disturb the nest and get our scent on the babies), but I just had to clean out the cage. It smelled to high heaven. So Mommy Teddy ran around in her ball and I gently scooped her babies into a pan. We found out that we have only 7 babies, not 8 like we originally thought. They're getting more fur and are moving around a lot more. And as much fun as it was to be able to see them close up, we were heartbroken to find out we had a runt who is missing a back leg and is in very bad shape. I honestly don't think he'll make it to the end of the week, but I put him back in the cage to try to give him a fighting chance.

The runt is the one to the far left. Brian is heartbroken for him and wants to take him to a vet to see if they can help him. That reminds me of when Brandon was about 10 and his hamster developed a growth (the hamster was older when it happend) and he also wanted to take him to the vet. I had to explain that we couldn't spend the $50 (I'm guessing) or more in vet fees on a $7.00 animal (that's what we paid back then) that was nearing the end of his very short life. What can I say? My boys love their pets. We even get upset when a fish goes to visit King Neptune.

Who snuck this picture in?
*******************

November 22, 2007
We haven't seen the babies in a few days. Teddy's been a protective mommy and has been keeping them warm and hidden in her nest. But yesterday, they were 6 days old and she let us take a peek. They're already starting to grow fur and have gone from pink to brown.

**********

November 18, 2007

Day Two - still pink, bald, and blind. But moving much more and

yiping when mommy leaves their sides. **********

November 17, 2007.

Day one - pink, bald, blind and barely moving:

Missions, Presidios, and Pueblos, Rah!

On Friday, November 16th, Mrs. Patterson's and Mrs. Martinez' 4th grade classes presented a play on the California missions, presidios and pueblos. Brian was an "administrator," although I'm not quite sure what that title meant to the indians. He did very well. We could actually, for the first time in all his school plays, hear him singing and he's a pretty good dancer, too.

Freshman Football Awards Banquet

The Golden Valley Freshman Football Awards Banquet was held on Thursday, November 15th. This is Brandon below in the blue shirt receiving his certificate. He found out that if you play all 4 years, you get a jersey with your name on it to keep. He wants that more than he wants the letterman jacket. So I guess I have 3 more years of football to go.

This is Brian in yellow, making new friends while their older brothers are getting their certificates and letters. Love the clip on tie!

Brian always travels with his DS.

Teddy the Hamster

On November 10th, Brian finally got his hamster, which was promised to him for his birthday in January. She is a teddy bear hamster, so he named her Teddy. She is very sweet.

We thought Teddy might be a boy, so you can imagine our surprise when exactly one week from when we brought Teddy home, she had babies. Brian came running out of his room, with true excitment in his voice, saying "Mommy, Teddy had babies and I'm not lying." I hoped he was joking around, but itwas true. Right there in the middle of the cage were 8 pink, blind, naked baby hamsters.

We have about 4 to 6 weeks before they'll be ready to go to new homes. So far, I've lined up homes of 3 of them.

Meet the Kings

Today, the Kings hosted a "Meet the Kings" event at Hollywood Park racetrack, for season seat holders. I was lucky to have been offered tickets to this event from our suite holders at work. Below is a photo from "letsgokings.com." That is Drew's big back of the head in the brown shirt, Brian's head peaking out on the left and mine on the right. Jim, Drew's brother, called us at 9:00 tonight to tell us we were on the internet. I'm just having such a hard time believing that Jim could spot Drew's huge cranium out of such a big crowd.

Brandon took his friend Peter, and they met up with Kevin, another friend. They had a great time getting theirs sticks and jerseys signed. My favorite part was that everything in the concession stands was complimentary.

I'd list the player's names, but I'd have to look them up. Although I was really excited to Rogie Vauchon's signature.

Jim Fox, King's announcer, came through the line and took a picture with Brian.
Brian, Josh and Chad:

Brandon, Peter, Kevin and Lubomir Vishnavski.

End of Football Season

Brandon's frosh football season has finally come to an end. It's been painful. They lost all but one game, with scores usually in the 40 to nothing range. But it's been a learning experience for Brandon. Since the school is relatively new, the kids who have prior football experience choose to go to schools with better track records (I overheard the coach say that only 7 boys have ever played before). So although they lost, Brandon, who had never played before, got to start and was also a punter, which would never have happened at one of the more established schools. I think there's a lot to be said about that subject.

So it's over. He loved it and is planning to continue playing next year.

Coach Fisher is sooooo cute:

Halloween 2007

Nothing exciting going on in our neck of the woods. Here are some Halloween pictures. Brian is a commando (which is also his code word when he sleeps in the buff); Brandon is a Wheaties box, and we have a hot dog, a hippie, and Hannah Montana, but I think she looks more like Brittany Spears.

No more hockey for Brian

No more hockey for Brian - at least for now. I'm a little sad, but as you can see from his expression, he's not very torn up about it. In fact, he's downright excited to be playing baseball. He cannot wait to get his cleats. And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact his big brother is wearing football cleats ;o)

Football? Hockey? What do I do?

Just an update (no pictures for this one). But this weekend was tryouts for the local hockey travel team. I knew Brandon wasn't going to be able to play on this team for several reasons, the first being that it costs $2,400 just to join, not including at least $200 for uniform as well as the travel costs, but also because he's playing freshman football this year and the schedules of these two teams conflict.

Well, I was getting a lot of pressure from the coaches (even one who came to a game to scout three other players, but noticed Brandon) to let him play on the team, so I let him try out and much to my chagrin, he actually made the team (why am I surprised - considering all the attention he was getting?)

Well, he's resigned to the fact that he needs to play on the football team (because mom says so - hey, it'll be good for him socially, which will be a huge part of high school), but . . . when football is over, if there's still a spot on the team, the coach is going to let him play (pro-rated of course). And another friend on the team said they signed one player short - as if to say they held a spot for him. But at least for now, he's just happy to be able to say he made the team - and I'm okay with him blaming me for him not actually signing on.

So with football, hockey, golf and now surfing, I really need to win the lotto!!

Surf Lessons

Today, Brandon and Brian had their first surf lessons in Seal Beach. They loved it! The weather was overcast and there were not a lot of waves, but I thought that it made for perfect conditions to learn in. Brandon's hooked and has already decided he wants to buy a surf board.

And they both got up several times. My zoom doesn't go too far so I wasn't able to get great pictures, but here are a few to share:

Brian's in the red/black wet suit and Brandon's in the blue/black:

The smiles on their faces made getting up at 6:30 am completely worth it.

Brian and Mom at Disneyland

Brandon's 8th grade class trip was at Disneyland, so I took the opportunity to have some "Brian" time. We had such a good time and, surprisingly, we never waited over 20 minutes for a single ride, which was shocking because there were so many 8th graders there! Since we were running from ride to ride, including the canoes, I forgot to take pictures, so only have a few to share. And I have no pix of Brandon - never saw him, and he wouldn't tell me where he was the few times we were in contact with each other. Of course he didn't want his mommy showing up and embarrasing him in front of his friends :o)

On Autopia. He isn't have a good time at all!

On the big ship. He's wearing two hats. I had to buy him one because I forgot to bring sunscreen - okay, I could have bought sunscreen - okay, I did buy sunscreen, but I couldn't resist buying the Star Wars hat for him, too. And then they were handing out free ears, so he's wearing those on top of the Star Wars hat. I just love it when they're still young and don't care how silly something looks, as long as it's fun!

Anaheim Hockey Tournament

It took four tournaments, but the Valencia Storm finally won a championship over Memorial Day Weekend.

Brandon holding his trophy. (This kid needs a haircut!)

Tell me these kids aren't happy!
The Team Photo
Brandon's in white - this kid tried to check him against the boards, but take a look at this series of pictures and tell me who went down. Yes, I am the perfect hockey mom because I love the hits! I can't wait for football!