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| What a washout weekend. The rain set in and all the hockey games were cancelled. Adam didn't mind because he orchestrated a sleepover with his friends Evan and Jack. Derek said beforehand that he didn't want a bunch of kids running around, but when the time came he joined right in and had a good time. |
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| Helen and the kids were off for MLK day and they went with a group to the Gwinnett Gladiators hockey game. It wasn't necessarily the way Helen wanted to spend her off day, but that's what the boys wanted to do so she went along. |
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| Derek decided that it had been enough time since George the gerbil died and that he was ready for a new rodent pet, so I took the boys to the pet store. On the way we dropped off some stuff at Goodwill. Recently Derek cleaned out his room and we moved some things into the playroom, which meant some things in the playroom had to to go in order to make room. One of the casualties was this Rescue Hero aircraft carrier that Adam claims he still plays with. Adam likes to keep things even when he rarely uses them anymore. He mentioned something recently about wishing he didn't have to grow up. He's definitely not in any rush to get out in the real world. Helen can't stand to see him cry. I'm unaffected - because I know the crying is not due to any real danger. It's just temporary. When the kids were little and Helen would start to leave they would cry bloody murder. She didn't want to leave but I would tell her it would be fine and when she left they would cry for another minute and then they would move on. But who knows? Maybe I'm laying the groundwork for some extensive counseling when they get older. Derek, on the other hand, has had a foot out the door since he was born. He doesn't seem to have much attachment to most things. When I ask him if there's anything in the playroom he cares about, he says no and that we can throw it all away for all he cares. |
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| It didn't take long before Adam had moved on. Derek originally wanted to get some fancy mice but the pet store nearby didn't have any so we drove to another store. When we got to the other store, there was a very nice lady that helped us and she talked the boys out of the fancy mice and into some dwarf hamsters instead. |
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| The kitchen table rodent centerpiece has returned |
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| Adam has had a stream of friends over to see the girls. This is his friend Jack. |
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| The boys like to put the girls on Helen's neck because they know she doesn't like it and it's fun to watch her reaction. It took a couple days but the boys finally came up with names for the girls - Hammy and Chubb Chubb. |
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| Adam gets his alternate captain letter in a short ceremony before the game |
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| Talk from the coach after a hard fought game and shootout win |
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| Derek's team also has white jerseys. Derek is number 8. |
