Blah, Gastro.

Clara may have a new personal record, she was sick 11 times in one day! Poor girlie. Yes, she kept count.

I've been sick and weak but seem to be on the upswing as I type.

I knew my next post would not be about the kids. I thought it would might be about my leap into Cross Country skiing this new year. Then I made the decision to take a Doula course this Summer and thought I'd blog about my excitement on that front.

But I can't talk about any of that right now.

My heart and all of my thoughts are in Haiti. I can't stop thinking about Jayne and Jim's sweet little Esther in an orphanage in Carrefour - in the dark.

We are waiting to hear something, anything, in terms of information about the orphanage or the well being of the children. The wait is torture and I am not even the parent who's heart is walking around outside of her body.... in Haiti.

Say a prayer, send positive energy to the universe, do whatever you can for little Esther and her fellow Haitians. They need us.

Of course, not much can beat a new baby in the family but Clara and Leo's first pets are a close second in their review of the Christmas holidays.

Since August we've been discussing getting a pet rat. We started out with the assumption we'd get a hamster or a gerbil but after some research it really seemed like rats were the better choice for us. They are quite social, don't bite and like to be played with. Clara and Leo wanted a pet that they could "do stuff with" so after talking to some people at the local pet store and lots of internet research Marc and I decided that we'd get them a pet rat for Christmas. Since we had so many social commitments right after December 25th we promised that we'd go and get our new pet on December 30th, the first full day we had nothing scheduled.

Problem was, on December 30th I started making phone calls and I was having a hard time locating a young female rat to buy! Luckily I called an Animalerie farther down Mount Royal and spoke to an employee who had recently brought her own two female rats to the shop because her cat did not like them (well, duh!). She was very excited that we were interested in adopting one of them. I was excited they were there since I really wanted a female but I also needed to find one that very day! So, off we went to meet two Siamese rat sisters.

I personally could have done without the red eyes but that did not phase the kids, they were thrilled and chose one of the sisters to bring home. After choosing a cage and then realizing how tall it was, Marc and I decided to bring home both sisters. They could keep each other company and then there would be no bickering between brother and sister about who got to hold their furry friend.

So, let me introduce you to Lily and Rosie. They look almost identical but the easiest way to tell them apart is by the tip of their tails. Rosie has more pink on hers!

happy pet owners

Lily and Rosie's new home with a couple of handmade hammocks for their lounging pleasure.

Leo is wearing his "rat sweater", he gets nervous (and ticklish) when he feels their little claws tickling his skin so he likes the protection of the full sleeves and hood!

Ottawa Surprise!

We thought we were going to Ottawa to visit with Malcolm, Uncle Ashley and Auntie Patrica but little baby Farley had other plans! Patricia wrote about how it all went down over at The Little Blue Door. We never expected to be so lucky and get to meet the newest member of our family when he was only 3 hours old!

The big cousins hanging out

Clara holds baby Farley for the first time (we were calling him "Cousin It" back then)

Surrounded by admirers

Leo lovin' on his new cousin