Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Stick What, Where?

We have a little guinea pig. Well, hold on...we have five guinea pigs. Let me start again.

One of our many guinea pigs, Flash, is ill. We placed him in the pig pen in the family room to play on Sunday- yes, I said pig pen...you know, like a play pen, for guinea pigs- and he began to run around playfully when he suddenly stopped, squatted, and sprayed blood everywhere. We all looked on, silently mortified.

After a short search, Dr. Google had me convinced that our little piggie had a urinary tract infection. We consulted with our vet who assured us he could provide a guinea pig-safe antibiotic so I took him to the vet today. (As in, I took off work and drove the guinea pig to the vet because the Big Guy cannot bring himself to handle a rodent.)

And that is when the shit hit the proverbial fan.


The vet promptly mixed up seven syringes of diluted antibiotic and taught me how to inject them into the squealing little piggie. 

Um...you want me to stick what where

The vet expects me to inject this...


Into this:


Let me just give you a little perspective here. 


THIS THING IS AS LONG AS THE PIG!!

Seriously, the actual needle is longer than the piggie's ear. I'm supposed to 'pick up' a bit of skin on his backside (have you ever tried to pick up a bit of guinea pig skin?) and slip the needle in parallel to his skin and inject. Just like that. Six more times. Except that I'm afraid he'll get all pissy (because I'm pinching his arse) and wiggle or jump and I'll spear his liver or spleen or something. 

Or maybe myself. 

Pray for us. 

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

The Good Things Jar, a New Year's Tradition

Last January I started a new New Year's tradition- I introduced the Good Things Jar. The concept was simple; write down the good things that occur throughout the year on colorful pieces of paper and slip them into the Good Things Jar. On New Year's Eve, we would sit down as a family and read all of the good things that happened throughout the year and celebrate our joys and successes.


The result was powerful. Everyone contributed to the jar. There were 56 notes in all. The kids praised each other for various accomplishments and took pride in their own successes. It was a beautiful, nostalgic record of 2013. 

"Bubby's Graduation is coming soon."

We remembered a graduation, first job interviews, prom invitations, driving permits, 3rd grade musical performances, orchestra concerts, color guard competition wins, and road trips. The absolute beauty of it is that the kids contributed good things that their siblings did. They said nice things about each other!

The past year certainly harbored its share of challenges for our family, but it brought great joys as well and I'm so glad we took this time to remember and celebrate them. 


 The Good Things Jar is empty, just like the new year, just waiting to be filled with joys and celebrations.

Happy New Year to you and yours!