Evening Meditation

I went outside to get Grace's guinea pig out from under the rhododendron bush and found Emma meditating on top of the sandbox. 

And before I knew it they were both meditating on the lawn. 

The sun setting in the background, guinea pigs in their laps and chants of "om" made this lovely autumn evening even more divine. 

Clearly, yoga has had a tremendous impact on their lives. 

And for that I am eternally grateful.  

Namaste. 

{This Moment} "Get Well, Parsnip!"

{This Moment} - A Soule Mama Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments section for all to find and see. We wish you a weekend full of lovely moments.  

A Trip To The Vet

Today we noticed that our sweet piggie, Parsnip, was limping.  One of her back legs seemed to be giving her trouble.  Of course, getting a Guinea Pig to walk on demand is like trying to get molasses to pour in the middle of the winter!  After a little bit of watching her we finally decided that a call to the vet was in order.  An appointment was scheduled for this afternoon and off we went. 

Parsnip weighs 830 grams and seems to be OK.  The vet did not find anything broken or fractured, and while he did agree that she is favoring that back leg he said that everything looked good. He did say that if she has not improved by Thursday he would like to see her again and then he would consider x-rays. Here's to hoping that a couple of days of rest (read: less cuddling than usual) will do the trick!

Wordless Wednesday::Guinea Pig Tea Party



Weekending

Baklava Sundae from the Greek Festival.

Grace's latest artwork.

Baklava: It wouldn't be Labor Day weekend without it.





Introducing Sugar and Violet

A few weeks ago a friend of mine from high school posted on her Facebook page that she was in need of a new home for her families two guinea pigs.  They were moving and were not able to take them along on their new adventure.  Having had a couple of guinea pigs as pets when I was a kid I chimed in and said that we would be happy to take them.  Originally she thought that they would be leaving in September but their departure date got moved up and so we hatched a plan that involved her dropping off the piggies at my parents house.  Since I was waiting on a friend of mine/doula client to have her baby we were not able to scoot down to be there when they were being dropped off.  Finally, the baby was born and our schedule was out of its holding pattern that happens when I have a doula client.  After some discussion it was decided that the girls and I would head down to Connecticut (apologies to all the friends and neighbors that we did not see during the brief 24 hours we were there) yesterday to visit and pick up the newest family members.  The girls had no idea that there was a surprise waiting for them.  They were simply over the moon to be heading to Gramma and Grandpa's house for a visit (though the surprise awaiting them would surely be the cherry on top of the sundae)!  We arrived, chatted, had some lunch and then Mom and I brought the girls upstairs to see the surprise she had waiting for them.  From the first moment that Grace and Emma laid eyes on them they were head over heels for Parsnip (renamed Sugar) and Ginger (renamed Violet Ginger after we told the girls about my friend, the piggies and the three kids who previously snuggled them).  Violet and Ginger have barely been put down since we introduced the girls to them.  They seem to be very happy to have some kids to snuggle them again, and they did great on the two hour car ride home today.  Thanks to JoAnna and her family for having us adopt their very sweet piggies.  We are so happy to get to be their new family and will surely keep you updated with lots of pictures and stories!