Our newest member...

Abby has been saving her money for several months in order to buy a new pet. After doing a lot of research (one of our requirements for a new pet), she decided on a dwarf hamster.

We picked him up on Monday, November 7th and Abby lovingly names him "Hermie."

I told Abby that one of my biggest fears about getting a hamster would be that he would somehow escape into the house. Well my nightmare came true just three days after we got him. Someone, who shall remain nameless but whose name begins with NO and ends with LAN, left the top portion of the hamster cage open while looking in on him on Thursday afternoon. Since Hermie is like a monkey and can climb up and across his wire cage, he managed to somehow get through that opening and was discovered missing that night as Abby was going to bed. I got a text from Jason that night at Book Club telling me that the hamster was missing. I freaked out a bit while Jason and the three older kids scoured their bedrooms looking for Hermie. He was not to be found anywhere. They left out some food and flour marks on the floor to see if he would run by during the night and to track his whereabouts. I came home from book club and spent another little while looking for the little creature to no avail. We spent about 30 minutes the next morning looking for Hermie before school but still he was nowhere to be found and had not left a trace anywhere. I was beginning to think that maybe the dogs had gotten him after all. We got the kids off to school and then I went to check in Maylie's room when she got up. This was the one bedroom that hadn't been searched sine she was already asleep when the discovery was made that Hermie was missing. I scanned under the changing table with a flashlight, and lo and behold, there he was!! Hermie had been found. It took Jason and I another 10 minutes to chase him around the room before we actually caught him, much to Maylie's delight as she spectated from her crib. Here's to hoping that Hermie stays safely in his cage from now on!