Hamsters

My mom got the boys Zhu Zhu pets and some of their accessories for Christmas. This was a tough one because Keith had figured out that they are sold on the pink aisle of Target and was worried about giving them girly toys.

Sorry, but you would just have to know Keith and how he grew up with two brothers and a hunter/fisher dad. Keith was president of his club in college and had to deal with Spring Sing his senior year and his parents never even knew that he was involved. He thought his dad would have said, "I'm not paying good money for you to dance around on stage like a fruit."

We'll never know, and I'll get back to the point.

My mom chose well on their gifts and David and Drew love their pet hamsters. Keith and I agree that they are good toys for them. David's rodent has a car to drive. Drew is a sucker for battery operated animals. They're cute.

We've been playing with them lots and a couple of days ago we went to the library and David found this book.

He has never enjoyed a book so much. We read it four times at bedtime the day we got it. The book is about a fat kid who goes away to camp, turns into a hamster and comes home in shape. It's an absolute riot. I keep trying to point out that this boy's problems came from too much pop and candy and I keep explaining that's why Sprite is only for very special occasions. David just wants to get to the part where the boy turns into a hamster.

All of it makes me giggle: The mechanical pets that don't have an "off" switch and make squealy noises. (Keith is convinced that they are made by people overseas who hate us.) The reading over and over of the book with the theme of combating obesity. David shrugging with a funny grin on his face and saying, "I don't know why, but I just love it. Can I have a flashlight to look at the book for awhile longer?"

Come to think of it I have been spending a lot of time laughing. I feel really blessed.

His dream came true.

This is what Drew got for Christmas.


To say he was overjoyed to receive it is the understatment of '09.

On the way home from my parents house, David leaned over, looked at Drew and said, "Well Drew, I guess you got your Christmas wish." Drew quietly replied "Yes," as he stared lovingly into the cow's cartoonish eyes.

David got his wish list answered too. But his Transformers, Hi-Ho Cherry-O game and airplane Geo Trax, couldn't fit in his lap.

While I am on the subject, I can't stand Transformers. David loves them (although he would never, ever watch the cartoons let alone movies) but I can't think of a more annoying toy (and you just saw the video of the cow, so that is saying a lot.) I don't Transform. Period. I don't have the patience to twist them from army tank back to robot. And maybe it's because David has abnormally large hands but he can't seem to get them how he wants them. It seems like every time we are getting ready to leave the house Keith is fooling with these little pieces of plastic. I finally asked Keith if he minded messing with them. He said it was like doing a puzzle. He enjoys it. More and more I feel like I am living in Boy World and my only jobs are to find the missing dart from the gun or to get scrambled eggs on the table in the morning before everyone gets cranky.

And no, I don't want a daughter. I kinda love it.

Feliz Navidad

Every year right before December 20th, I wonder why we chose to get married five days before Christmas. As I was trudging through the mall carrying two very large toys and one teeny striped sack with hot pink tissue paper (yeah, you know which store I am talking about) I couldn't help but wish we had gotten married in the summer. But then I remember that my sister got married the previous July, and I was teaching, so Christmas break seemed like the logical choice back then. After all, Keith and I already had Scout out of wedlock and we were trying to share canine custody, so it made since to not wait until the following summer. Oh, and we were madly in love.
Anyway, our first Christmas together was in Cancun, Mexico. And it felt very, very weird to be so far away from our families. Sure, there were people singing and the sun was shining but it wasn't the same. I remember feeling very guilty because Keith was my new family, but I missed my mom, dad, sister and brother. I wondered if I would feel a little bereft every Christmas, even if I were in Oklahoma.
My worry was unnecessary. Each year we get to see our families, but we have our own traditions. Christmas morning is all ours. We are happy together. When all is said and done, I don't even mind that our anniversary blurs with Christmas and that on our date tonight we may pick up one last toy for Drew since the boys will be at my parents' house.
I adore Keith. I love our life together. Marrying him six years ago was the best decision I ever made.
Yesterday, after watching Christmas Dora, Drew came up and said, "Feliz Navidad." That phrase will always hold special meaning for me. It reminds me of a wonderful honeymoon and Keith. I'm still madly in love with him.