Pet sitting and pictures

Well, it's been a pretty ho-hum week... not much going on. It was spring break, and while those two words as a teacher, used to be music to my ears, now, as a mom, they just mean no Mother's Day Out or Friday Mom's Group/Bible Study.

We had no big plans but spent a lot of time outside and had some fun taking care of my friends cat and fish. If this week of "pet sitting" taught me one thing, it simply confirmed the fact that I truly have the highest maintenance pet in the world.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Ginger and pray she is around for many more years, but she is truly a diva in every sense of the word. When my friend was leaving for vacation and asked me to take care of her cat, Scooter, and her daughter's fish, Henry, I was honored (she adores that cat!!) When I asked her what I needed to do she told me bring Henry home, plug him in and give him 3 pellets of food at bedtime...easy enough. Scooter needed to have his food and water refilled every other day, don't let him outside because he's declawed, and not to worry about cleaning the litter box. She said we probably wouldn't even see Scooter when we were there because he likes to stay under the bed. SERIOUSLY... that's it?

Do you know the list I would have to leave for "maintaining" Ginger for a week?

Dear ______,
Thank you for agreeing to keep my dog while we are on vacation. Go ahead and pack your bags and just live in my house while we are gone... trust me, it will be easier!

1) pet, hold and/or snuggle in lap at LEAST twice a day, preferably while watching TV on the sofa
2) feed a scoop of food only once a day, but snacks are needed on an every other hour basis
3) after eating and snacking, she likes to nap (preferably on our bed, with a pillow under her delicate head and her "baby" beside her)
4) must be let out NO less than 5 times daily for bathroom and yard snooping expeditions
5) upon returning from the yard, check thoroughly for any remnants of dead animal she may have rolled in... if smelly, then proceed with a bath
6) if a thunderstorm and/or fireworks begin, rush home immediately and hold her in your lap until the noises stop
7) make sure all of Trace's diapers are securely placed in the outside garbage can because she can amazingly get them off of counters and out of tied up grocery bags, and will shred and eat their contents (she counts that as one of her many snacks throughout the day)
8) she enjoys daily car rides if possible and is most comfortable laying in the passenger seat so that the air conditioner blows directly on her face... occasionally she will climb onto the drivers side and peer out the window but eventually curls up into a ball in your lap
9) lastly, at night, she likes to sleep in the bed (preferably the middle) with ample room to move around and roll over when needed... she's never been much of a "doggie bed" type of canine

And I wonder why we just take Ginger on vacation with us whenever we go!

I joke about her, but she is the sweetest, most loyal dog I have ever seen. She (and our other Brittany Spaniel Chase, who we had to put to sleep in May) came as a package deal with Jimmy and I can't imagine my life without her! It was kinda like dating a single mom with kids, except he was a single dad with 2 dogs. He told me later that the night I met them, was the biggest test of our relationship... if I didn't like the dogs or they didn't like me, I was out! Glad I passed!

Here's Trace admiring Henry and the different lights his tank makes.

He loved trying to get Scooter out from under the bed, but we only saw the phantom kitty cat once!


Isn't he beautiful? He has huge green eyes and the softest fur! I believe he was probably scared for his life at this point, with Trace calling "c'mon ooter" repeatedly at the side of the bed. Can you tell he's grown up living with 2 toddlers?


Trace has discovered the world of worms. He loves digging in the sand pile in the backyard and with the rain last week, it is good and muddy. Here he is waving bye to the worm as they bury it back in the dirt.
Maybe he'll be a fisherman yet!! He doesn't seem to mind handling the worms on his own. I could never stomach baiting my own hook... yuck!
This morning, Jack came to visit while his mom and dad moved. We had so much fun with him. I love to watch toddlers play together. They play around each other and stop and watch each other but don't interact all that often. I love to watch little budding friendships and I hope these guys will be buddies forever.