Christmas Tree (RIP Tarmund)

I've learned over the years to not try to plan on doing any home projects during Christmas Break because it's such a short break and my husband needs the time to rest and relax.  So I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised when on Christmas day, we spent a couple hours working in the office doing some rearranging and reorganizing, specifically with our desk area.  We are both so happy with the changes we made!  

We still have our Christmas decorations up, but they'll be put away sometime this week.  I had to have the hams pose with one of my favorite ornaments on our Christmas tree.  We have a few of these little white bears on various different red objects.  This one is on a sled.  I think Laurelin is sad that she doesn't fit on the tiny sled.  😁

On Christmas day, I found Tarmund curled up in his nest, never to wake up again.  I think he had passed away the day before in his sleep.  It's been weird working in the office and not hearing him up throughout the day.  He had a little fire in him, and I never quite got comfortable taking him out of his bin without a glove on because he was pretty territorial.  But once he was out of his bin, he was such a sweetheart!  He loved to explore and didn't fear anything, including the cats.  He will always hold a special place in my heart as my first dwarf ham.  If I did my math right, I think he was about 1 year and 7 months old.  I believe he was born in an accidental litter and my cousin took in both him and what was supposed to be his brother in June of 2019.  Unfortunately it was actually his sister and two more accidental litters happened.  😬  So then in August, I took him in to help out my cousin.  I didn't think I'd fall in love with something so small and yet so stubborn.  Haha!  I really miss that little guy!  ❤  I am including some really old pictures that I never posted of him.  I can't believe how black he used to be!

With Tarmund gone, I've decided to separate Fili and Kili so they will each have their own bin on my shelves in the office.  There are two main reasons for this.  First, despite the fact that they do get along fine, I know that they would be happier with their own spaces and frankly, there is always a risk when housing two dwarfs together that they will suddenly not get along and could even fight to the death.  Second, if I don't separate them and therefore have an open bin on my shelves, I know I'll be tempted to get a new hamster.  😁  Fili and Kili are young and I expect to have them both for a while longer.   Laurelin is over 2 years old and I really want to focus on the time I have left with her, and therefore I don't want to take in a new hamster now.  So I'll get some final pictures of the boys together today and then they will be on their own.  😊  Oh and the added bonus to separating Fili and Kili is that I'll figure out who is who and mark it on their bins so I won't be left guessing anymore.  😂

Christmas Nativity Scene

The weeks seem to be flying by!  But the presents are mostly wrapped (we're still waiting on a couple to be delivered), I've started the baking and have a thorough plan of what I'm making and when I'm making it, and I'm cutting back on my work so I can enjoy Christmas break with my husband.  I feel blessed that I can step away from the busyness of life and focus on the things that actually matter.  Nearly all of our Christmas decorations came from my in-laws, including this nativity set.  I miss them so much!

Laurelin was so calm and gentle as she inspected the nativity set.  She probably could pass as the angel.  😇

I'm fairly certain that Tarmund just doesn't sleep.  No matter what time of day it is, he is almost always awake.  I don't know where he gets all that energy!  😂

Fili and Kili are surprisingly still fairly picky eaters.  I offered them a bit of plain cooked chicken the other day and they didn't know what to do with it.  Haha!  Thankfully I know that if I want them to be still, I can give them walnuts.  😁

Christmas Candy Dish

I'm admittedly feeling pretty worn down recently.  There were a few weeks of being very overworked and now that I've gotten back to a more sustainable level of busyness, life seems to be throwing curveballs.  So, despite dealing with car issues, I'm thanking God for His peace to calm my anxious mind.

I probably sound like a broken record by now, but I seriously love photographing Laurelin!  She is so good at making my ideas work with ease.  And she always looks so happy as she does exactly what I want.  😊

Tarmund has a fire in his heart that makes him hard to photograph.  He just loves to be on the move and explore!  😁

It took me longer than I'd like to admit to get these pictures of Fili and Kili.  I figured that since they would be contained in such a small space, that they would be easy to work with, but they spent most of the time looking in opposite directions.  Patience is the key for photographing, well, basically everything (except for Laurelin who is obviously a professional model).  😂

Christmas Village

The last couple weeks have been a blur, but I guess at some point I put up our Christmas decorations.  Joe and I realized this year that we now have the perfect spot to put out the Christmas village.  There were 3 years we didn't get them out, and I wasn't sure if we would ever be able to put them out again because we didn't have space and because we have always hosted at least one Christmas party with little kids in the house.  We now have the space and this year we aren't hosting anything.  Admittedly, I was concerned that our cats would be worse than any kids could be, but surprisingly, they have left everything alone!  So, I'm really glad I held onto these and didn't get rid of them!

Laurelin is the perfect model!  I absolutely love taking pictures of her!  ❤

Tarmund isn't the best at grooming himself anymore.  His right eye was stuck shut, so I used warm water on a cotton ball and gently rubbed his eye until is was clean and open.  He seemed to appreciate the help.  😊

Fili and Kili really enjoyed exploring this little Christmas village.  I'm not sure who that is in the last picture, but I do believe he bit the horse.  😂

Warm Blanket

There's definitely a chill in the air, which seems worse because of how unusually warm it had been.  The fierce wind we've had is making me want to hibernate until spring, but now the yard is covered in sticks.  As Joe and I like to say, "that sounds like a problem for future us to deal with".  😂  It's not that we are lazy procrastinators, it's that we are too busy with other things that we deem more important than yard work, so picking up sticks will have to wait.

Laurelin was the only ham to take the slice of carrot I got for them.  She's always been a bit like a vacuum cleaner.  She almost always pouches whatever is offered.  She's definitely more food motivated that the others.

Tarmund really liked this nice warm blanket and was especially intrigued by the holes.  He squeezed through one and was running around between the layers of the blanket for a while before he emerged from a different hole.  After he was done with his little adventure, he picked up the carrot, ate a bit, and then dropped it and went back to exploring.  I guess he didn't like it enough to pouch the rest for later.

I was unable to get a single picture of these two both looking at me.  They were so excited to be exploring the blanket.  When they started showing interest in squeezing through the holes (like Tarmund had done), I decided I was done taking pictures and that they had done enough exploring, so I snatched both of them up before I lost one.  They look innocent enough, but they can be devious little buggers.  😂

Sunny Days

I still can't believe how warm it is today!  This weather has been weird, but quite lovely, so I'm not complaining.  😁

I would say the hamsters enjoyed the sunshine, but truthfully, they actually prefer the dark.  The only reason they were even awake was because I was cleaning out their cages.  They all seem to have accepted the routine of being woken up on Mondays for a cleaning, treats, and maybe some pictures.  😊

Tarmund's nails were getting stuck on this bed while he was trying to eat his treat.  I made sure to trim them after these pictures.  For all you non hamster owners out there, yes, you gotta trim their nails just like you would for cats and dogs.  I've definitely gotten better at it over the years, but it's still a struggle.  I haven't been able to train any of my hamsters yet the way I have trained my cats.  It is SO easy for me to trim the cats' nails thanks to repetition and treats.  In case you haven't figured it out yet, treats are the key to making ownership of any pet approximately 1 billion times easier.  Take the time to figure out what treats your pet likes!  😊

Fili and Kili are still my pickiest eaters, but they are learning to like more of the treats I offer them.  So far, they both still like walnuts the best.  😊