Hugs Debbie! I hope you get the insurance figured out and QUICK!
Hugs Holly! What do you think about the cap? Would it work???
I had a bit of a crappy weekend myself! DS had a little accident- long story short he fell and smacked his head and back on concrete. I was so afraid he was seriously hurt, but he is one tough kid. Not even a knot on the back of his head.
And no worries, I was in constant contact with my SIL who is a children's ER nurse at our leading children's hospital.
Then last night we came home from a Christmas party and all of DD's fish were dead. DH feels terrible, it's his responsibility to clean the tank, etc. I am pretty sure something happened with the water. We are thinking a guinea pig- any thoughts??
So the list....I'm not even sure where to begin! AND it's freezing here- this Texan doesn't know how to act when the high is going to be 40.
1- C-O-F-F-E-E
2- make bed
3- check with BIL about pie
4- stamps
5- mail Cmas cards
6-
7- clean bedroom
8- Wal-Mart: gift, laundry detergent
9- Petsmart
10- clean bedroom
11- homework supervisor
12- dinner
I know there is more... just can't think yet.
Number one.... glad to hear DS is okay. It is amazing what their little heads can handle! And good mom for not just giving it a rub and a kiss and forgetting about it!
About the guinea pigs. My daughter has had a pair for several years now. They are cute and sweet and about as much work as you would expect.
Their cage gets cleaned AT LEAST once a week. Probably should be done more often, but it is a struggle to find the time to get it done. Probably every 4-5 days would be better. The very best bedding we have found (as far as controlling odors) is the CareFresh brand (some sort of recycled paper pulp), but it is enormously expensive for something that gets pooped on! We usually combine it with newspaper that we put through the shredder to make it go a bit further. We also line the cage bottom with newspaper before putting the bedding in it. We have tried to use cheaper bedding in the past and have had trouble (once with mites that we think they maybe have gotten from a cheap wood shavings type bedding and with odor from other cheaper beddings). I keep meaning to try to find the CareFresh by the case or something online, but I keep forgetting.
They are enormous eaters. The grain isn't too expensive, but we have been buying our hay by the bag at the pet store and it is SO expensive and they can eat lots. I keep meaning to find a farmer near me to sell me a bale, but I'm afraid it would end up with mice in it in the garage (although the cat would love that!).
They are great at eating what might otherwise get tossed away like apple peelings and cores, celery ends and leaves (their FAVORITE), carrot peelings, and other bits of fruit and veg that might be slightly past their prime for people, but are still okay. Ours have definite preferences.... they don't care at all for cucumber, strawberries, or oranges, but they adore celery leaves, spinach, and any kind of lettuce (the books say not to give them iceberg, but we haven't had any trouble with it). They know the sound of the fridge opening and they start calling in the morning when they want some food! They make kind of a "wheet, wheet" noise. Sort of a whistle... cute. Some GP are known to purr, but I haven't heard anything like that from ours
Our biggest problem with the guinea pig is just two..... the lack of attention they get from their real owner (DD, now 13) and finding someone to care for them when we go away for more than 3-4 days. We have a gravity feeder for grain and a water bottle, plus a hay bin, so we can load then up for a few days, but beyond that I would feel bad leaving them alone. And they eat so much and so fast, any thing you left them (other than grain) would be gone in a day!
We moved the pigs out of DD's room about a year and a half ago and it was a good move. They are in the office now (right off the living room) and they get much more attention because they are seen by everyone.
Anyhow.... they are cute, fairly lovable, and don't take up too much room. We adopted a pair from Petco... we went in to buy "something" and DD couldn't decide what she wanted. One of the employees mentioned that they had two pigs that needed adopting (they will offer to take back pets and adopt them out if you buy them there and decide you don't want them....that was the case with these pigs). Since the pigs were about $35 each to buy and the adoption was free, that decided it for us! Even so, the cage and everything we bought cost about $150. I would DEFINITELY be checking Craigslist and local pennysaver magazines for used equipment. The prices for that stuff at places like Petco is outrageous!!
Anyhow, sorry to go on and on.... just wanted to let you know what our experience with the pigs has been. Feel free to ask any other specific questions........................P
Can that be right? 
Since when does the insurance company know better than my DR how to treat me? I so ANGRY!! 
