Hamster shenanigans and a 10 year old’s building plans.

Last night as I was preparing to go to bed, a quick, scurrying movement caught my eye.
Hamster.
On the loose.
Oy.

Grant often takes “Speedy” out of his cage for play time and on occasion does not get his cage properly closed up again.

Handsome Hubby was already asleep, and I did my best not to wake him up, but that damn hamster ran under the bed.  I tried to be as quiet as possible, not only so I could catch the hamster, but so I didn’t wake up HH.  I spent 15 minutes, quietly crawling on my hands and knees, back and forth from one side of the bed to the other.

There is a ton of crap under our bed.  I had no idea how much crap was under there.  Books, empty duffel bags, a scale, and a crap-ton of used fabric softener sheets that somehow got under there.  (Don’t judge.)   I had to start pulling this mess out from under the bed, which of course woke up HH.  Between the two of us we were finally able to catch Speedy and get him back into his cage.  Hamster chasing is not a calming, relaxing pre-bedtime activity.  Just in case you were wondering.

Anyway, I share this story because it made me think of Grant’s latest project.  A hamster swing.

God bless him, Grant has been reading books about hamsters.  Although he apparently skipped the chapter on making sure you keep their cages locked up tight, he loves to read about activities for hamsters and the best way to keep them entertained.  He spotted this photo of a hamster in a swing and decided that Speedy needed one.
Immediately.

Grant studied the photo and figured out what he would need as far as supplies.

Please note that in addition to the drill, saw and spool of wire, this hamster swing is going to require a 3 foot by 5 foot piece of wood.  That is one big swing Grant was planning.  He also wrote out what he thought were the step by step instructions.

Although he seems to be forgetting the “i before e, except after c” guideline, I actually think these instructions made a lot of sense.  He handed them over to Handsome Hubby and wanted to know when they could get started.  We have a pretty strict policy when it comes to using power tools, so he needed dad’s help for sure.

Fortunately, HH was able to help direct the project so I didn’t have a 5′ Hamster Swing in my house.

The finished project is just right.  No word yet on whether or not Speedy likes his new toy.  He had a late night and is sleeping.

By the way, I love Grant’s illustrations and imagination.  One of my most viewed posts is of him sitting in our backyard, trying to draw birds he saw and categorizing them.  They are hilarious!  I’m pretty sure there are some lost species that only Grant knows about.

How about you?  Do your kids keep you constantly entertained?