What ever happened to Beanie Babies and Tickle Me Elmo?

I had a "oh crap" moment today when I realized there is less than 2 weeks until Christmas... Time passes too quickly with work, shopping, decorating, wrapping... etc. I forget to stop and appreciate the month leading up to one of my favorite holidays. Next time you're out and about frustrated at Toys R Us because they're all out of Zhu Zhu pets, take a deep breath and remember it's the most wonderful time of the year!

Don't forget to nominate a family by December 24th!

This year's Christmas card- Gigi was not very happy with Mommy for making her wear those silly antlers. But doesn't she look soooo cute!?

Hales | Personal

Rachel, Haley and I made the 2 hour trek to Champaign this morning to drop Hales off at U of I. We were not given a lot of options, and none of them were pretty. We made the decision to have her leg amputated and hopefully give her a few more happy years with the Chatham Chicks. I wanted so badly for the puppers to be able to tell us what she wanted- I think that was the most difficult part- having to make the choice for her.

Surgery is tomorrow and she'll be home by Friday. I know the awesome vets @ U of I are going to take great care of her, spoil her rotten (they mentioned peanut butter to get her to swallow her pills!) and send her home tumor free.

Life's Ruff

We have a menagerie of pets, a zoo if you will. My family has always had a soft spot for animals: rescuing strays and always having a dog in the house. Seriously, as the movie (Disney) Earth ended and the lights came on, the three of us were stifling our sniffles and wiping away tears!

Haley has been a member of the family for 14 years. She's the chowhound, the "sheep herder" and the loudmouth. This has been a difficult week for Hales since a tumor has popped up on her leg. She's been in and out of the vet, poked and prodded and we still don't know what's going on. Through it all, her eyes are still bright and she hasn't lost an ounce of personality. She's dealing with it much better than the rest of us; animals are resilient like that.

Name that Cat!

Alisher brought home a little surprise last weekend-He rescued a kitten that was hiding in the bumper of a car at his work! We're thinking it's a "she" and can't be older than 6 or 7 months. We are in search of the perfect cat name and open to suggestions (she is going to be living in an apartment full of guys so it can't be anything too cutesy!)