Day 120 - 06/20/2007

Smokey got loose this morning. N accidentally let him out of the guest room when he went to check on him.

We've had him sequestered in the guest room since he left two piles of runny poop in the family room. We think it was due to his eating Butterfly's food during the time we let him roam the house.

A chase ensued and we finally got him cornered in the sitting room. N shut the door to the hallway and I shut the French doors to our bedroom. D was still in bed when she heard a thonk, followed by laughter. Another thonk and more laughter. A third thonk and still more laughter.

What in the world is going on in there? she wondered.

I'll tell you what was going on in there. We were trying to catch Smokey, but he was too fast. N was by the door (on the opposite side of the rocker) and I was near the chest. Smokey was under the chest, trying to seek refuge. When I reached under to pull him out, he ran around the room, saw N standing there and kept going until he saw his chance to escape through the hole in one of the French doors.

There are ten holes in each door.

Thonk. Laughter.

Each hole is filled with glass.

Around the room he went again.

Thonk. Laughter.

And again.

Thonk. Laughter.

By this time, he was a little dazed from running full tilt into the glass panes and I was able to catch him. He hissed at me a couple of times, but to no avail. He was headed back to isolation in the guest room.

M had her birthday party tonight. Although her birthday isn't until Monday (she's the Windows 98 baby as she and Windows 98 were born on the same day), she wanted to celebrate it beforehand (as she's always celebrated it afterwards). Sure, no problem.

The girls started arriving about 5p and were immediately shown to the kitchen table, where a Webkinz® for each girl was waiting, along with a carrying case and shoebox covered with paper for decorating. (The shoe box served as the bed; blankets of felt were also provided.) After decorating their boxes, each girl registered their Webkinz® before pizza was served on the deck. Once the party formalities were done (e.g., cake, ice cream, presents) they went back inside to play some games and then watch Sky High. At 9p the girls' parents picked them up and D and I finished cleaning up and put the kids to bed.

All in all, it was a great party. The girls had a great time, as did N, once he got out of his funk. (During one of the games, he was the first one called out and ran up to his room to pout. We think it was due to all the girls surrounding him and no attention being thrown his way. Ah, the joys of being a younger brother.)

After everyone was in bed, I relaxed by practicing my guitar. I couldn't go full force as I didn't want to keep D up (who wasn't feeling that well), but, as it turned out, did so anyway. I finally called it quits for the night after getting in about an hour of practicing. I'm seeing improvement, which encourages me to keep practicing -- a positive feedback loop at work!