it's a zoo around here

My parents' house is a bit like a zoo lately, and not just because of my crazy girl running around. My sister Beth has been out of town for work for almost three weeks, so mom has been taking care of an extra dog, named Roxy, and a parrot, named Pickle (you can read a funny story about the last time Beth went to work in New York here). Now that I think about it, it is less like a zoo and more like walking into a little pet shop crammed with animals where the birds are squawking, puppies are barking, and kitties are trying to climb out of their cage. Add a wild two year old who frequently screams and prefers to run (instead of walk) everywhere, and you have the current state of the household - best described as on the edge of chaos.

Roxy has been converted from a child-fearer to a child-tolerater. She didn't really have a choice as Laci has both loved and tortured her nearly constantly since she arrived.

Parrot-sitting can be an interesting experience. You see, Pickle has quite a vocabulary. But he doesn't just speak words, he also mimics Beth's voice and laugh perfectly. For the first few days, I kept thinking Beth was on speaker phone because he says, "Hello?" in Beth's voice every time the phone rings.

His phrases range from cute and endearing:
"Hi Pickle!"
"Pickle, Pickle, Pickle!"
"What you doin'?"
"Roxy, come on."
"Oo oo oo" (like a monkey)
"Hey babe."
"Good boy."

To not so cute and endearing:
"Roxy go potty."
"Go potty!"
"Knock it off!"
"Stop it!"
"Pickle be quiet!"

To just plain obnoxious:
SQUAWK!!!!!
SCREECH!!!!!
EEK!!!!!
AAAAAAH!!!!!

On more than one occasion, I have found myself yelling a conversation with my mom only a few feet from me, only to realize that I'm yelling over a bird, who is in turn yelling over me, which only makes all three of us yell louder. Even for a naturally loud person like myself, this can get to be a little too much noise. At times like this, the only solution is to cover Pickle with a sheet until he calms down.

I can only imagine what phrases he has picked up while staying here. I imagine he might start telling Beth things like "Right now!" (which seems to be a popular phrase lately), or start crying like a baby, but I suppose there are worse things he could have learned.

Beth landed back in California last night and will collect her pets this evening. Laci will miss them, but I'm fairly certain Maverick will enjoy being the only dog again. And maybe my mom will stop feeling like a zookeeper, well, except for the wild two year old running around.