Spurred on I'm sure, by A's request for a cinnamon roll breakfast, K wanted the same, only she requested the even-more-elusive chocolate-frosted kind.
We'd seen them in a grocery store a couple of weeks ago, and now I'm kicking myself for not just buying them then. It's 10pm on the night before her birthday and I've now been to 5 grocery stores with no luck. The 6th grocery store is the biggest one around, and I figure that if this one doesn't have it, none will and I'm going to have to go to plan B. Sadly, there's no chocolate cinnamon rolls here either, so I go with the plan I've somehow come up with even though I'm completely exhausted - chocolate frosting! I buy a pack of the regular cinnamon rolls and one of the caramel rolls because I can't remember which one the chocolates are more like and I pick up a couple of cans of chocolate frosting as well. I'm hoping she doesn't notice in the morning, but I really did try!
The next morning I manage to make the rolls without her seeing me and I microwave the frosting a bit so I can drizzle it on. I am so relieved that she's too busy playing her DS at the breakfast table (it is her birthday, after all!) to notice the difference in the rolls. C is not fooled, though. She notices there's something not quite right about these rolls ("they taste weird"), but thankfully doesn't make too big of a deal about it.
As far as activities go, K rattles off about a dozen things for her to-do list. Unfortunately, they all involve a guinea pig, which has been her obsession for months now. She wants one so badly, probably almost as much as Mike doesn't want one. K's plan is to go to the pet store and hold a guinea pig, then buy a guinea pig, come home and play with the guinea pig, snuggle the guinea pig, buy supplies for the guinea pig, feed the guinea pig, snuggle it some more, play with it some more, etc., etc., etc. It's literally the only thing she wants to do today. I'm not sure if Mike believes me how bad she wants this thing, so I have her call him on the phone and tell him her schedule for the day. She has literally been asking me every night for the last several weeks if she's going to get one and if I think her room is clean enough to convince Dad.
We've even been visiting the pet store where we got C's snake and holding the baby guinea pigs there for weeks.
Mike finally calls and says he's going to let her get the guinea pig. I break the news to her (being sure to tell her to say a big thank you to Daddy) and she is so happy she actually starts to cry. I give her a snuggly hug while she wipes her eyes and the whole way to the pet store she keeps saying "I can't believe this is actually happening!". But first we head to lunch because we've stalled so much in the morning that it's nearly 1 o'clock already and I'm hungry.
We head to Red Lobster to order the kid's crab legs (something they're only allowed to do on their birthday) and then enjoys her birthday ice cream.
When we finally get to the pet store (they've run in ahead of me), I'm surprised to see them approach the register and ask if they can hold the baby bunnies. Wait, what? I guess when you know you're taking the guinea pig home, you might as well get your time in with the other animals while you're there. These rabbits are incredibly adorable, and they spend a pretty long time playing with them.
I finally tell them it's time to put the bunnies away, so they trade off for the guinea pig, grabbing the same one out of his cage that we've been coming here and holding since late June. We take him up front and pay for him just as casually as if we were buying a dog bowl or a can of cat food. It might seem odd, except for the fact that the people who work here know my kids so well from all the times we've been in here, and I can't help but wonder if maybe they're hoping now that we won't be back for a little while.
On the way home we have a brief scare (freak-out) with a mealworm that has stowed away in the box they gave us, but found its way out onto K's seat and wiggled too close for comfort. Screaming ensued until I pulled over to let her out. Good thing I was there to be a hero and rescue her from the beast. Ugh. I hate mealworms! We left the mealworm on the side of the road and headed home to drop off the guinea pig (who has had so many names - Buster, Peanut Butter, Oreo, Jake, Louie, Blaster, Buddy, Rascal, and probably many others that I can't remember. If one sticks, I'll be sure to use it.), so we could head to another pet store to buy some food and supplies. We've actually been to several pet stores today (and the Humane Society) looking around and pricing supplies. I don't remember anything about taking care of guinea pigs, so we also buy a book to read up on what we should and shouldn't do. If we're lucky, maybe this thing will survive. K tends to love animals so intensely, I'm afraid it might be possible for her to literally love this little guy to death. Although I must say, this guinea pig is so incredibly tame, mellow and patient with her. And he's pretty stinkin' cute, too!
By the time we've finished running all of our errands, it's pretty much time for dinner. It helps that the pet store told us not to hold him much for the next 24 hours to let him get used to his new home because that doesn't make it such a fight to leave now. K picked Chili's for dinner, although I think she might have eaten more cupcakes than dinner while we were there.
Back at home, I gave her 5 minutes more to hold the little guy before bed. Happy Birthday, K! And welcome to your new home, little guinea pig!
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