Friday, January 27, 2006

The Trio


Breakfast time with Mommy. The babies are already eating hay, nibbling on the pelleted food, and today tasted their first apple.









Pumpkin, Patch, and Pie--they are very cooperative and don't seem upset when I take them from Buttercup. They constantly make little squeaks that are so precious.


















Pie (aka PJ or Pippen Jr.)--the littlest of the bunch, and the fluffiest too. He is too adorable!

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Names!


Okay....drum roll please!

Introducing: Pumpkin, Patch, and Pie.

Pumpkin is the orange and white one and I believe she is a girl.

Patch is the one with an all black head, also believed to be a girl.

Pie is the striped nosed one and I think he is a boy.

That being said--I am only about 25% sure about their genders--probably won't be able to confirm this until 2 or 3 weeks of age. Good thing we picked gender neutral names.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Last But Not Least

This baby was hiding under mommy when I came down after work to check on them, so I saw this one last. It was hard to get a good picture--very squirmy.


Baby Number Two

The second baby I saw--this one is the smallest, but also was the first one to run from one end of the cage to the other all alone.

First Baby

This is the biggest baby--and also the one I saw first!


Babies!


We came home from work today to find that Buttercup had her babies--three of them! They were all dry and clean, so it had been at least a few hours since they were born. We don't know what sex they are yet--don't want to tramatise them too much on their first day. We are thinking of names, and I'll post more pictures tomorrow. They really are the cutest little things ever!!!

Monday, January 23, 2006

March for Life 2006


Today I watched the March for Life from my office window on the Hill in DC. Thousands and thousands of Pro-Life marchers went by for over two hours. Huge crowds of people holding up signs supporting the rights of the unborn children, the Judge Alito nomination, and the overturning of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. There was not a single anti-life demonstrator in sight. They had held their own rally on the steps of the Supreme Court last night, all fifty or so of them. It was in the form of a candlelight vigil. I found this very ironic considering candlelight vigils are typically held for those who have died. Don't pro-abortion advocates claim that abortion is not an act of killing?

I have a lot of respect for the dedication of the members of the Catholic church to the support of the sacredness of life. Judging by the signs that were displayed during the march, the majority of the marchers were with a Catholic Church group or Catholic school. They certainly demonstrated actions that back up their beliefs today.

Some sobering numbers to be reminded of on this anniversary of Roe v. Wade:

Based on accumulative data from the two primary sources of U.S. abortion statistics (Centers for Disease Control and Alan Guttmacher Institute), it's estimated that around one million abortions take place annually and more than 43 million abortions have been performed in the U.S. since 1973. http://www.family.org/cforum/fosi/bioethics/facts/a0027730.cfm

43 million....I have a hard time picturing that. Just to help with numbers perspective: about 6 million died in the Holocaust (according to the Holocaust Museum website).

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Update

Still no babies yet. Buttercup just gets bigger and bigger. I keep saying: it can't be much longer! Poor girl was eating laying down yesterday; I think she is rather uncomfortable.

I get to take off this Friday and next Friday from work. No reason really except to use up my 2005 Vacation time that will expire at the end of the month. It will help me be prepared for the two scary months ahead at work. February and March are always nightmare months.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Some of my current Favorites (just for fun)

Book: Currently re-reading Narnia series

New Movie: Hmm, I am interested in the End of the Spear movie coming out in a week or so. Based on a true missionary story. It is an independent film, so hopefully Hollywood won't mess the story up too much.

Food: Coffee and guacamole (not together!)

T.V. Show: It is a tossup between Lost and Alias

Item of clothing: My J.Crew jeans (if I could wear jeans every day I would!)

Guilty Pleasure: Reading In Style Magazine

Other: Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in Rhubarb.

All right bleaders (that's a blog reader for those who don't know). How about you? What is your current favorite book, movie, food, t.v. show, item of clothing, guilty pleasure?

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

an observation regarding our culture

Have you been noticing a trend lately? As another celebrity couple announces another unwed pregnancy (today it was Brangelina), I see reflected in the news and gossip rags a major cultural shift overtaking America. Can you see it too? Now it is not out of the ordinary for people to decide to have a baby together before marriage or even engagement. Women also are deciding to have a baby on their own or adopt as a single parent. These decisions are praised, congratulated, and thought to be so wonderful.

America's perception of what is inappropriate is shifting so quickly that it is apparent to even a young person such as myself. Another example--Brokeback Mountain--a story of homosexual love (as Hollywood defines love) that is now a critically acclaimed movie in national theaters.

Here's another one (that makes me so frustrated sometimes): Bill and I are so different from everyone else because we were married young and did not live together before we were married. Why are people so shocked? If our wedding date had been June 8, 1952, no one would have thought twice about it. People would have been scandalized if we did live together unwed. Topic for another time: benefits of being young marrieds in our current day and age.

Back to my first observation of the newfound popularity of babies without weddings. There is going to be a whole generation of young people with parents who are not together. Not just because of the unmarried parents, but also because of the excessively high divorce rate.

If I think that Bill and I feel different by being married young, how different will our children be? How many of their peers will have both their biological parents still married? The selfish acts of my generation are going to have a profound impact on these children. People are being blinded by their self serving to the point that they have a disturbing lack of foresight.

Those of us who still believe in the sanctity of marriage and raising children within that marriage need to stand up for what we believe in and impact the culture (and the hurting children) around us as best we can. We will be needed.

Monday, January 09, 2006

Expecting...


Well, I know there has been a lot about guinea pigs on my blog lately, but I am just so excited that Buttercup is pregnant, that I guess I am a little bit obsessed. :) By my best estimate, she is due anywhere from the last week of this month to the first week in February. I took a picture of her growing belly. When I hold her, I can feel the babies moving--yes, plural, I can feel at least two! Princess Buttercup is getting the royal treatment: lots of fresh fruits and veggies, extra vitamin drops in her water, two kinds of hay (mixed together carefully of course), and extra bedding to pad her growing tummy.

I can't wait to see what the babies look like when they are here, and it is fun thinking about names. I already know one of them is hyper (like his/her mommy) and one is more laid back (like his/her daddy).

I'll keep you posted, I can't wait until there are baby pictures to show!

Belated New Year's Party Photos

Here are some happy pictures of our small group friends taken while we were playing games at Hayley and Adam's house on New Year's Eve.


The Guys: Adam, David, and Bill:

The Girls: Hayley, Becky and Mindy:

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Trying not to get too excited

When I was clipping Buttercup's toenails last night and holding her, I think I felt a kick! I had almost lost hope she was pregnant, but she could have a baby as late as the end of February, so there is still a slight possibility. Anyway, the kick was very faint, but I distinctly felt it twice in the same spot. So she either had bad gas or she has a little piggie on the way! I am trying not to get too excited...but it would be so fun to have little piggie babies! Why don't they make pregnancy tests for guinea pigs?! I wish I could know for sure one way or the other. Guinea pigs are the cutest baby animals ever!

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

On to another year

Christmas is over, New Year's is past, and I can't help but feel a little bit down. Excitement built up for weeks, and we did have a really great time. We had a wonderful Christmas with my family in Connecticut--walking around Essex, ice skating on the lake, good food, and great conversation. I think my favorite thing about staying at my parents' house is that I can get up and wander around in my pajamas and Dad will make me coffee. Then we will just sit around and talk and get a slow start to the day. It is so relaxing and comforting.

The week off from work was great too. I got so much cleaning, cooking and organizing done. I was sick the first two days, and did nothing, but then I felt better and got to work! Bill was at work all week and he had to do school, so I got a taste of being a stay at home wife. I definitely could get used to it! Plus I would be able to get a dog... I got to watch almost all of the first season of Lost on DVD. Such a great show, it still boggled my mind the second time around.

New Year's Eve was spent with our friends Adam, Hayley, Dave, and Mindy at Adam and Hayley's house. They had lots of great food, we played games, and welcomed 2006 with much cheer. FYI, I think this is the first New Year's Eve party I have ever been to.

Now it is time to look ahead to 2006. I have always disliked making "resolutions" which just beg to be broken, but it is nice to take some time to think ahead to what is going to happen and you want to accomplish in the year. Most of all I am grateful and excited that I will be spending the year married to the most wonderful husband in the world (yes, I am biased, and sappy to boot) and surrounded with great friends and a supportive family.