Sad Pet News

We found out yesterday that our sweet little hedgehog, Hurley, is not going to be with us much longer. He has cancer, probably in several places. The vet sent us home with steroids to help him feel better for a while and then he will either pass on his own or we will have to put him to sleep. We are all very sad because we love our little prickle-puss...


Puffa-puffa, stick-stick, Hurley! XOXOXOXO

A Milestone

This is my 1000th post! Wow! I feel that it should be really memorable or something. I did change the look of things, as I like to do occasionally. You're lucky I don't have more time on my hands or I might change it weekly! I seriously need to take the time to back-up all these old posts. This is better than any baby book and I would be in big trouble if Blogger ever crashed (or something) and ate my archives.

Physically, I am doing much better than I was a few weeks ago. The nausea is minimal and manageable and my allergies haven't been as bad lately either. I think I'm supposed to have more energy now, but I'm still pretty tired. Mentally and emotionally, there's a lot going on inside this wacky old head of mine! Moving to a new house and getting pregnant a month later is a pretty powerful combination!

Baby Peeler 2.0 is doing fine, so far as I know. It should be just over 1.5 inches long, which is roughly the size of a fig. That comparison means nothing to me, however, as I don't think I've ever met a fig. Apparently the baby is almost fully formed and moving now too. He/she even has tooth buds under the gums and the bones are beginning to harden! Crazy, man, crazy...

Doug is feeling the stress of things too. He has been very gracious since we found out that my getting up at all early contributed to feeling ill. He has been allowing me to sleep until 8:30, so he's not getting into work until 9 or 9:30. There have been nights when he had to work more after Lila went to bed because he is behind. I'll be getting up earlier again next week - pray that it goes well!

Lila is as cute and crazy as ever. She has made the transition to sleeping in a Big Girl Bed and it happened more quickly and smoothly than I ever would have hoped! Of course, the past couple of nights, she's been insisting on sleeping in the floor... that's where the 'crazy' part comes in. And she is completely obsessed with the Peanuts Halloween special. She's been talking about it endlessly for days!

Our families are as well as ever, except for Grandad Dorsey. He has begun chemotherapy treatments for lung cancer and somehow managed to get shingles at the same time! He's having a hard time kicking the pain of the shingles, which is making it harder for his system to handle the chemo as well. All around, not a good situation. My mom and aunt are taking it in turns to stay with him.

I haven't seen much of my friends lately. I have been so tired, physically and mentally, that I've been neglecting... pretty much everyone. I will be taking a trip to Fredericksburg this Saturday with a few of my good friends (and some of their sisters/mothers/etc.). That should be fun and, hopefully, refreshing. Meanwhile, everyone we know seems to be cranking out babies!

I recently realized that I've been trying to avoid God (emotionally, if nothing else), roughly since we moved. I'm working on identifying and processing the reasons for that, but just realizing it has made a huge difference. How often I forget that God is the source of my strength! the source of my rest! the source of my joy! the source of my life! I'm so thankful that He never leaves me, even when I run from Him.

Hurley is doing well, now that we've adjusted the a/c-heat settings. Since the nights have gotten cooler, we've discovered that our bedroom is the coolest one in the house. If the heater is set at 72, then our bedroom temperature will be 68. Hurley was really not appreciating the cold and had become rather sluggish. We bumped the thermostat up to 74 a couple of nights ago, which is more to his liking.

The kitties... [sigh] ... where to begin? They are quite well - don't get me wrong. They are just such cats! Charlie is not happy unless I am laying in one place, preferably petting him. Cordy is not happy unless Doug is giving her all of his attention and scratching her belly. Pesky little dictators. It's a good thing we're so crazy about them!

There you go - a long post with lots of photos. That seems memorable enough to celebrate 1000! :)

Odd Couple

Lila and Hurley get along amazingly well. She is much more gentle with him than I would have thought her capable of. And he is much more tolerant of her touching him than I ever expected. He even lets her pick him up and rarely, if ever, gets all huffy and pointy with her. In fact, I think he's more friendly and patient with Lila than he is with Doug or I!

Doug and I were also discussing this evening how Lila does not seem really to understand the meaning of the word 'scary'. She's started saying it, but in odd ways. Like this morning, she was talking about seeing Elmer the puppet at church and she said, with a big grin on her face, "Yeah and he was a little bit scary!" Or this evening, when I put Hurley back in his cage and she was watching him poke around in there, and she said, "He's bein' kinda scary!" Again with a smile on her face.

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

On an unrelated note, I'm happy to report that I resisted the urge to eat my body weight in fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies this evening.

Um Um Um Um Um Um

Hurley has had another bath. For those of you who were concerned last time about Lila getting some kind of strange hedgehog germs from him, you may rest assured - he went in after Lila came out this time. And he hated it just as much as before. In fact, he probably hated it even more because I used soap on him this time! I tried to perk him up afterward by telling him what clean and soft toes and belly he had, but it didn't work. He pouted for two days. Literally. And it's not difficult to tell when a hedgie is pouting.

We kind of saw another hedgehog today. We had to go pick up a new bag of food for Hurley (that's a story in itself) and the pet store had another young hedgie. It was asleep, of course, so we didn't disturb it. Lila did get to hold a snake though. Actually, we both did. We held a couple of small corn snakes... and even wore them like necklaces! Lila was a little nervous at first, but quickly got over it. She loves going to the pet store and I knew this place was pretty good about letting you hold things that you don't intend to buy, so I just asked. I got a couple of photos, but they're on my phone and I don't think I have a cable to transfer them to the computer.

No Swim Class

Today has not gone quite as I expected. This was supposed to be Swim Class Day, but we ended up with our cars trapped in the driveway all morning. We had gotten a notice that they would be putting a protective layer down on our street today, starting at 8 a.m. And... I guess we didn't take it seriously. I mean, I thought they'd start at one end of the street and we'd be able to leave for swim class before they made it to the middle (where we are).

Well, we didn't make it to swim class (Lila was very upset) and Doug had to work from home. I did finally move some cones and escape for a Community Leader Team Lunch at the church. They still had the street barricaded when I got back, but Doug moved the cones again and went to work anyway. That's not as rule-breaking as it sounds though. [justification alert!] There's a road that dead ends across from our house, so we only had to go across the street, not all the way up it. Plus, the stuff would appear to be mostly dry.

This is totally unrelated, but we have discovered a fun new game with Hurley. Apparently, he really likes to tunnel around under the covers while we read in bed. He mostly plays around Doug's legs, probably because I move mine too much. There was one night that he burrowed himself right off the end of the bed! Thankfully, the sheet was tucked under the matress, so he didn't really fall. He just dropped into a sort of hedgie hammock. :)

Where No Hedgie Has Gone Before

I put a hedgehog in the bathtub with my daughter last night. I took Hurley out to clean his cage, and it occured to me that I'd given him a Severely Unappreciated Bath before (he doesn't even like the sound of running water now), but it was not water deep enough to swim in. I wanted to see him swim, so in he went! It was very funny to watch those little legs propelling his round body through the water. He didn't really care for the activity and he smelled rather odd when he got wet, but the rest of us enjoyed it. I think I will wait a couple of weeks and do it again, but use some pet shampoo on his little belly and feet. For those who might be concerned that I am being unkind to my pointy little pet, don't worry - baths are recommended for hedgies. Besides, I've seen the kind of thing that gets stuck between those tiny little toes...!

The photo you see here is of Hurley investigating one of our kitchen windowsills. I plopped him on the kitchen counter while I did something else (don't worry - i clean up the path where the aforementioned dirty little feet tread) and when I turned around he had climbed up onto the sill. I actually got quite a few good pictures of him. He usually refuses to do anything remotely cute and/or hides when I get the camera out, but he was having too much fun this time. I just let him climb around and kept snapping photos until he started showing a bit too much interest in my plant.

I know that the devoted fans of my daughter will be disappointed in this post, but I haven't talked about Hurley in a very long time and I wanted to show off one of my cute pictures!

It's a rough life, being a Hedgie.

Hurley got his first real bath tonight. His cage had gotten really stinky last week and I thought it was his old bed, which definitely had a funk, so I tossed that and he's now sleeping in a tube (like a giant toilet paper roll). However, within a couple of days, his cage was a-stinkin' again. Now I'm guessing it's maybe the hedgie himself. He does (or did, rather) have doodie stuck to his feet and I'm sure his belly wasn't quite sterile.

So, into the sink he went this evening. It was not the highlight of his young life. In fact, he respectfully requested that I not ever do that to him again. Bad news for him is that I'm going to wait a week or so and do it again, but with pet shampoo. He's got very clean feets now, but he still smells kinda funny. That in no way detracts from his unstoppable cuteness though, as you can see in the photo.

Here's the second installment of "What I learned at the Women's Retreat"...

How would you define freedom?
Being able to choose for yourself the path that you take. Having an identity that is not dependant on other people.

List three things/circumstances/relationships/trials you would like to be free from today.
1. depression
2. insecurity/anger
3. money

Retreat! Retreat!

Did you know that hedgehogs like to ride in strollers? Well, I guess I can't speak for all of them, but Hurley likes it! This is actually Lila's toy stroller that he's riding in and it's the funniest thing to see him riding around with his little nose to the (indoor) wind, checking out the scenery.

I was away this weekend at a church Women's Retreat, which meant that Doug was on Hurley duty. They did alright together, but Hurley made it clear that he really prefers me. When I got home and played with him, he seemed happy to see me and let me scratch his belly and chin for a long time. Too cute - I like him so much!

The retreat was every bit as wonderful as I'd hoped it would be. It was nice to just get away from everything, of course, and I loved all the time that I got to spend with the friends who also went. The speaker (Cheryl Fletcher) was wonderful and God really worked through her to teach me and refresh me and build my confidence in Him. I also cherished the time that I got to spend alone and uninterruped, just praying and meditating and reading my current book (Pride and Prejudice).

There is so much that I learned and I'm still processing a lot of it. I think I will share it with all of you in little chunks over the next several days. The simplest way will probably be to post exactly what I wrote in my journal and then expand or clarify as needed. Forgive me if things seem a bit disjointed - it made sense to me at the time. Here are my notes from the first session - on the topic of Love:

Grace is the foundation of what it means to be Christian. Am I fully convinced that "Jesus loves me, this I know?" All of us, at some point, wrestle with this question. Love changes us. Am I waiting for God to convince me He loves me? "If you loved me, you'd give me _____." God is not a wizard. Jesus' love is filled with grace and truth. Only God can take what is ugly and make it beautiful. There is not a thing you can hide from Christ, and He is crazy about you! John 3:16 - "God loved us so much that He gave..." Have you ever had a relationship where you couldn't convince the person that you loved them?

He loves you because you are his. "The disciple whom Jesus loved" [referring to John, the writer of the gospel of John - this was how he referred to himself in his writing] - most important thing about himself - not that he loved Jesus, but that Jesus loved him. John lived with Jesus and saw Him for who He was, and was blown away that this man loved him. If you are not convinced of the love of Christ, then there is no hope of overcoming sin. I am made for more than this world. When we are convinced of the love of Christ, we can love without manipulation. Romans 8:35 - "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?"

Hedgie Birthday to Me!

Okay, I'm back. Just like I promised. :) To clarify, I did not give Hurley a full-on tub bath. What I did was get a bowl of warm water and an old toothbrush and gave him a Dip 'N' Brush bath. He seemed okay with it until I started trying to clean his diry little feet. That he did not appreciate. Afterward, to make sure he stayed warm, I held him for a long time, all wrapped up in a towel.

It's been a bit of a big day for Hurley, actually. He had a follow-up appointment with the Hedgehog Doctor this morning. He did wonderfully (only tried to curl up in a ball once) and they said he's looking good and gaining weight. While we were at the vet's office, the little Silly bit me! It was not an aggressive bite - I think he liked the way my lotion smelled/tasted - but it still broke the skin!

Doug is taking the day off work for my birthday tomorrow, partly because I will be gone for the rest of the weekend. The Gateway Women's Retreat is tomorrow evening through Sunday morning and I'm so excited! I'm heading out tomorrow afternoon with two of my good friends. Doug, Lila and I will have our family fun and celebrate my birthday before that. I do love birthdays...

Hedgehog Grooming

Hurley before having his feet washed and his claws trimmed.


Hurley after having his feet washed and his claws trimmed.

I don't think he enjoyed it.

This adorable little creature also found his way into my pantleg this evening and climbed up to just below my knee before I could do anything about it. I ended up having to lay in the floor and very carefully remove my jeans to get him out. The boy is obsessed with getting inside my clothes! He climbs into my shirt at every given opportunity, but that's not as bad. There are multiple ways into and out of my shirt and most of them don't involve pain.

Charlie's Bad Day

Poor Charlie is so mad at me right now that he won't even look at me. He already has a very difficult life, what with only being fed three times per day and not even getting to drink from the bathroom faucet on some days. And, as you can see from this photo, he suffers great injustice at the hands of Lila the Cruel. I mean, really! Charlie doesn't even look good in red!

Well, tonight's offense tops them all. He finally met Hurley, face to face, and Hurley was not remotely impressed by the cat whose head is larger than his entire body. He sniffed and went on with his exploring. Charlie was intrigued and wanted to give Hurley a little swat, but we wouldn't let him. I tried to explain that it was in the best interest of his little pink paw pads not to do such a thing, but he still thinks we were being mean.

Hurley then made it even worse by touching Charlie! What the--?!? He really didn't appreciate that. And then I let Hurley roam around the bathroom floor for a while. And THEN he wandered out into the hallway. Oh the horrors! And when he ducked behind the bathroom door, it was finally more than Charlie could take and he tried to give him The Paw again. Hehehe... I love animals!

Two Things that are Very Wrong

1. My hedgehog peed down my cleavage this evening.

Hurley has been quite the little cutie for the past couple of nights. He's licked my hand a couple of times, but I don't think that's really affection. However, he did let me scratch/rub his belly a bit last night. And this evening he crawled around my neck and shoulders and rooted around in my hair (which gave me goosebumps), then settled in and snuggled up against my neck. So sweet! But you know what's not sweet? Hurley Pee. It smells like greasy fried chicken.

2. My husband just told me that he'd rather have a back massage than sex.

Now, it's true that he spent most of Friday doing manual labor (including chopping down a tree in our backyard) and has been feeling it ever since then. "He's a lumberjack, and he's real sore!" It's also true that under normal circumstances this would not be his answer. Still, I think I should be offended.

Hurley

Here are some pictures of Hurley, hopefully more satisfying than the photo of his tush. Please observe the completely adorable feetz in the second photo. (and i believe that's a bit of his bedding in my hair) :)




P.S. - This cute hedgehog pooped in my hand this afternoon. Ew.

Hurley's Tush

So far, this is the best photo I have of Hurley. I was forgetting about that whole Nocturnal Thing when I said I'd get pictures of him during the day today. What you are seeing in this photo is his little pink tail and the backs of his hind feet. And yes, that is a little doodie by his tush. I didn't notice that before I took the picture. What can I say? He's a hedgehog, not a cat. :o)~

iii got a hedgehooog! [singsong]

I am now the very proud owner of an extremely cute hedgehog. I don't actually know if it's a boy or a girl, but, for the time being, I'm going to assume it's a boy and call it Hurley. I don't want to traumatize him with a camera flash on his first night in a new place, but I'll try to get some no-flash shots during the day tomorrow. His little snout is too cute to be believed!