In Which I Become Grammy ZhuZhu...

Ironically, I'm a better Mom when I have actually been away from my children for a bit. My parents gave me a ginormous gift this past weekend. They allowed me to deposit the kiddos with them from Friday evening until Monday. (An event I have come to refer to as: the Dump and Run. Glorious!) Three solid days of Thai food, books and movies with the World's Hottest Husband.
Anyhoooooo, when I picked the girls up yesterday, they were all agog with their new "pets." My folks are completely on-board with our Only Fish rule, so I was curious as to what the Bug and the Pea had up their sleeves. "Mommy, LOOK! Meet Num Nums and Pipsqueak, our new hamsters!" Although experiencing a brief moment of panic, I tried to keep a smile on my face. I gazed up from loading the trunk and saw two little fuzzy toys perched in the palms of my children's hands. (Shew...toys...crisis averted...)
On the drive home I had the privilege of hearing the little ones squeal, squeek, and chirp. (I also heard the Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters...ha)When we arrived home, the children burst through the door and showed me the full range of motion these pets were capable of experiencing. Num Nums and Pipsqueak zoomed across the wooden floor, tried to scurry on the carpet, explored the pantry, bumped into each other, spun circles, squeaking as they went along.
The Bug and the Pea (in classic pet-deprived mode...) had constructed leashes for the hamsters out of curling ribbon and pipecleaners. The kiddos showed me how they took their hamsters "for a walk."
"Look, Pipsqueak can come right to you, Mommy! Watch," said the Pea. "Now, Pipsqueak, I want you to walk to Grammy...that-a-boy, walk to your Grammy..." I was about to remind her that Grandma wasn't here, it was just me...and then I realized that I WAS said Grammy. Good times.
The Bug showed me how she created a home for Num Nums out of a cardboard box, with tissue paper, and a sliding gate attached with a pipecleaner. The outside of the box was decorated with stickers of grass and ladybugs. The Pea was anxious to show me the home she created, as well. Blue "water" and "food" dangled from the roof of the home.
"I wonder if Num Nums and Pipsqueak are worn out from their journey and all of this running around?" I asked.
"Oh Mom, LOOK!" squealed the Bug. "All you have to do is tap his back two times and he drifts off to sleep for as long as you want!"
Now THAT is my kind of pet...