We've Decided to Adopt

Well, after lots & lots of consideration, we Perkinses have decided to adopt. Once we decided this is what we wanted to do, I spent hours searching out our options. What age? What gender? Where from? What kinds of fees are involved? We discussed it with the kids. We wanted them to understand that they would be required to put in time and effort, just like Chad & I would. Finally, last Saturday, we collected our paperwork and set out to pick up our baby. Eddie, a beautiful four month old little boy, joined our family early Saturday evening.

Did I mention that Eddie is a ferret? Oh. Well, he is. A very cute one at that. And his middle name is "Technology." That's right. Eddie Technology Perkins. He is the most adorable little sable colored ferret. We've only had him a few days, but I am pretty convinced that ferrets are the best pets ever. I had him litter box trained in less than a day. Hello? My kids were in diapers for three years. He sleeps like 14 hours a day, which means if I play with him for an hour or so, he is totally content. And when I don't feel like playing with him, he sits quietly in his cage. No barking. No eating the furniture. No accidents on the carpet. I'm telling you--perfect pet.

Long story a little less long, next time you're over at the Perkins' Abode, be prepared to meet our new little weasel friend.

A Post Only A Grandma Could Love

Sorry folks. This is a post for the grandmas. No witty anecdotes or funny stories here. So unless you're directly related to us, this will be really boring.

For the rest of you--Mikey took & passed another belt test yesterday. Yeah!!!

Happy Mardi Gras

(P.S. That's my homemade king cake. Not nearly as delicious as the real thing, but it'll do in a pinch.)

I Hate Poo Bugs

Yesterday, we went to the zoo with the kids. We hit up the bug house, which we've never done before. It was really cool. They even had one super huge spider in an open display with no glass (because it supposedly never leaves its web). Apparently that was a terrible idea. Natty woke up three times last night between 1am & 3am, crying because she thought there was a dung beetle in her bed. Seriously. We saw tarantulas and king cobras and vampire bats, but Natty had nightmares about the dung beetle. A bug whose most horrifying characteristic is that it eats poo. Which is terrible, don't get me wrong, but not exactly the thing nightmares are made of. And while I'll be the first to admit that my house isn't as clean as I'd like it to be, I don't think there is enough animal feces scattered around Natty's room to support a host of poo eaters. Anyway, so today I'm walking around looking like a cast member from Night of the Living Dead, and Natty is totally afraid of Doodie bugs. Awesome. Aren't we just your modern day Cleavers?

Best Birthday EVER

I turned 29 today. That means this is my last year in my twenties. Then I will hit my thirties. *GASP* I don't feel nearly mature or put together enough to be in my thirties. That sounds so very adult. Despite my reluctance to grow one year closer to thirty, this was seriously my best birthday ever. First, Chad paid for me & a friend to go get pedicures. So, my sister-in-law (Angela) and I went yesterday. It was heavenly. I got to sit in one of those magical massage chairs and the lady used some sort of mystical hot rocks to massage my feet. It felt soooooooo good. And my toes are a delightful pink now. Much prettier than before!

Today, Chad took me to Woodland Park Zoo, which is my favorite place in the world. I love watching the animals. The gorillas are my very favorite & today I got to watch a brand new baby gorilla run around and play right in front of the glass. It was so stinking adorable. We also watched a zoo keeper feed/train the red pandas & a (very brave) zoo keeper move & wash a set of humongous snakes. I loved it. My dream is to go back to school once the kids are all grown and get whatever degree I need to feed animals at the zoo. That would be the best. Also, while we were at the zoo, Chad said I could get a pet turtle. Yay! Look out Pet Co, here I come!For dinner, Chad took me to a brand new restaurant in the international district of Seattle. It was a New Orleans style cafe specializing in crawfish boils. It was super authentic. They brought out a steaming pail of crawfish, corn, sausage & potatoes and dumped it straight on the table. No plates, no forks--just a roll of paper towels and optional bibs. Yummy! It was my first crawfish boil experience. They boil the crawfish whole & then you snap their heads off and peel the tails. The truly brave suck the delicous boil "goo" from the heads. I passed on the head goo, but loved the crawfish tails. And it was pretty fun playing with the whole crawfish before we ate them. Being at the restaurant helped ease the pain of missing Mardi Gras a little too. For dessert, we skipped the traditional cake and opted for delicious frozen yogurt & a fresh custard filled cream puff.

Then, when I got home I found all sorts of treats on my doorstep. There was lotion (in my favorite Bath & Body works flavor) from Christa and an army of the cutest penguin cupcakes ever made from Jessica & Shelly. What a perfect day. Thank you to everyone!!! Maybe being 29 isn't so bad after all...

Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras is a week from today & I am sooooo sad that we won't be there for it! Chad served 9 months of his mission in New Orleans and the rest in surrounding areas. He's taken me back three times. I love it there. It is my second favorite place in the world (right behind Seattle, of course). Seattle and New Orleans actually have a lot in common. They are both green & lush, they are both full of music and art and culture, and they both breed really friendly, passionate people.

Anyway, Mardi Gras gets a totally bad rap. The world thinks it is an opportunity to get drunk and naked. Not even! There is one little street where all that crappy stuff happens & the only people that go there are tourists. New Orleans natives know that Mardi Gras is a family event. The parades are soooo fun! There are tons of really cool floats, people in costumes, great music, and Flambeaux guys. Everyone in the neighborhood comes out to celebrate & the floats throw cute trinkets to the kids. Last time we were there the kids got little footballs, stuffed animals, cups, and of course, beads. Lots and lots of bead necklaces. Not exactly the Mardi Gras you see on tv, right? Seriously though, if New Orleans was really all sin city, do you think Disneyland would have a whole corner of the park dedicated to it? I don't think so. There's no Vegas-land in the park.

Long story short, I miss New Orleans and am throwing a mini fit that I can't be there this year. If you need me next Tuesday, you can find me curled up on my couch eating homemade king cake, covered in piles of plastic beads, listening to Professor Longhair and throwing things at my kids. (like they do from the floats. Not like a child abuser).

It Must Be Primary...

Yesterday, during Mikey's nighttime prayer, he prayed for the "widows and the poor." Please try to tell me that isn't the cutest thing you've ever heard. He is such a sweetheart!