I heard MORE feline screaming last night, and discovered a litter mate to our new kitten down and across the street hiding in the undercarriage of a neighbor's car. She's a lovely calico, and quite happy to see her brother again. More fleas, more ecstatic children, more decisions. Three cats seems quite....excessive. And expensive. And hairy. And....odiferous.
And....there could be MORE!
Shoot me.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Something Fuzzy this way comes...
The fates are laughing at me. Laughing their butts off, actually. I was the kid who brought every animal home with me - dogs, cats, snakes, turtles - you get the idea. I loved animals. Then I grew up and moved out and discovered animals shed hair - everywhere. Hair that would turn into huge dustballs that threatened to take over the domicile. They also.....how to put this nicely....excreted. And something had to be done with this by-product - or the results were....unpleasant. I've never liked animals as much once I realized how much work was involved.
We still have animals, mind you....I just try to limit it...somewhat! We have two small dogs (a rat terrier and a shitz tzu - the small dogs seem to work better for us)and one cat (very important - since we also live in old farm house that attracts mice). The one cat is an adequate mouser, friendly, and very good about using the litter box or going outside. (very important - since when my step-son and his cats lived with us we were NOT so fortunate. Ugh!) The children have been begging for a kitten for over a year. Every time we see one - they want it. Tears, begging, the whole works. Hasn't worked - no matter how cute the critter may be. (John and I have never forgiven ourselves for letting tears talk us into the FORTH cat for said step-son: it was the cat that pushed us over the edge from "manageable" to "cat hell".) We were resolute.....one cat was our limit. Period.
Now we arrive at yesterday morning - a normal morning, by all standards. The usual clutter, chaos and overwhelming "to-do" list. Then we hear "the noise". Thinking the cat is crying to get in, I open the back door and call her, only to find her at my feet - NOT the source of the noise. I shut her in and wander outside - in my pajamas - to find the source. I instantly recognize the noise as "pissed off kitten". Great. It's not too hard to locate, as it's wedged between our house and the non-functioning hottub. We've had kittens in the neighborhood before - small feral things that were terrified of us and raced away the instant they sighted us. I wedged my body into the small space, expecting the kitten to take off and disappear. Nope. It was crying pitifully, and when I picked it up, it nuzzled against me. Great, just great. As I straightened and turned towards the door, daughter #2 spied said kitten - her face broke into a joyous smile, and she ran off to spread the news. I was suddenly surrounded by at least 20 ecstatic children - well, three children who seemed to be multiplying.
The first question, of course, is "Are we keeping it???" I refused to commit myself - but it does seem inevitable when it shows up at your door. My first terror was finding an entire litter - but we were unable to find any more. The tiny thing was no more than 5 or 6 weeks old - but was able to feed himself and use a litter box. Oh yeah - it was MALE. I've had one hard and fast rule since the first time I visited my now husband's apartment -which reeked of cat urine from his male cat - NO MALE ANIMALS!!!!! Yup, it was getting better and better. And, the icing on the cat, the tiny thing was COVERED in fleas (and is too young for chemical treatment). I spent hours bathing the kitten (not too happy, but dealt with it without hurting me) and combing him with the flea comb. I still itch.
His name is now Hobbs, after our village. The children are thrilled, the dogs are curious, and the cat is terrified. She sees the wee one and bolts away and hides. How weird. At least she's not trying to kill it, I suppose. As for us....we're resigned. If it wasn't the kitten, it would be something else. As Robert Fulgham says, "it's always something". (ok, he says it better than that!)
Running, you ask? Yeah, right. Let's just say...I'm Un-running!
We still have animals, mind you....I just try to limit it...somewhat! We have two small dogs (a rat terrier and a shitz tzu - the small dogs seem to work better for us)and one cat (very important - since we also live in old farm house that attracts mice). The one cat is an adequate mouser, friendly, and very good about using the litter box or going outside. (very important - since when my step-son and his cats lived with us we were NOT so fortunate. Ugh!) The children have been begging for a kitten for over a year. Every time we see one - they want it. Tears, begging, the whole works. Hasn't worked - no matter how cute the critter may be. (John and I have never forgiven ourselves for letting tears talk us into the FORTH cat for said step-son: it was the cat that pushed us over the edge from "manageable" to "cat hell".) We were resolute.....one cat was our limit. Period.
Now we arrive at yesterday morning - a normal morning, by all standards. The usual clutter, chaos and overwhelming "to-do" list. Then we hear "the noise". Thinking the cat is crying to get in, I open the back door and call her, only to find her at my feet - NOT the source of the noise. I shut her in and wander outside - in my pajamas - to find the source. I instantly recognize the noise as "pissed off kitten". Great. It's not too hard to locate, as it's wedged between our house and the non-functioning hottub. We've had kittens in the neighborhood before - small feral things that were terrified of us and raced away the instant they sighted us. I wedged my body into the small space, expecting the kitten to take off and disappear. Nope. It was crying pitifully, and when I picked it up, it nuzzled against me. Great, just great. As I straightened and turned towards the door, daughter #2 spied said kitten - her face broke into a joyous smile, and she ran off to spread the news. I was suddenly surrounded by at least 20 ecstatic children - well, three children who seemed to be multiplying.
The first question, of course, is "Are we keeping it???" I refused to commit myself - but it does seem inevitable when it shows up at your door. My first terror was finding an entire litter - but we were unable to find any more. The tiny thing was no more than 5 or 6 weeks old - but was able to feed himself and use a litter box. Oh yeah - it was MALE. I've had one hard and fast rule since the first time I visited my now husband's apartment -which reeked of cat urine from his male cat - NO MALE ANIMALS!!!!! Yup, it was getting better and better. And, the icing on the cat, the tiny thing was COVERED in fleas (and is too young for chemical treatment). I spent hours bathing the kitten (not too happy, but dealt with it without hurting me) and combing him with the flea comb. I still itch.
His name is now Hobbs, after our village. The children are thrilled, the dogs are curious, and the cat is terrified. She sees the wee one and bolts away and hides. How weird. At least she's not trying to kill it, I suppose. As for us....we're resigned. If it wasn't the kitten, it would be something else. As Robert Fulgham says, "it's always something". (ok, he says it better than that!)
Running, you ask? Yeah, right. Let's just say...I'm Un-running!
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Bad Parenting Award #437
I have recently come to accept that I'm a grief monger. Unfortunately, I don't even do that right. The correct way is to use guilt to get your children, your husband, and anyone else in your path to do what YOU want them to do. I missed the memo where guilt was to be used to help me, and instead use it to beat myself about the head for things I SHOULD do. Or should have done. And when I forget to take the blame for something - other folks are always there to point out my shortcomings!
Case in point...I took my eldest daughter (8.75 years old)for an eye exam yesterday. I made the appointment last week, after realizing she was having difficulty reading a word across the room without moving closer. I was pretty sure she needed glasses, and spent the week convincing her it could be "cool". We even went and looked at frames so she could get an idea of what she liked. I knew I was right on when she faced her first wall chart - and couldn't read anything! Turns out her vision is 20/100. A bit worse than I was expecting. The doctor (whom I like and respect) seemed to think this was a tad negligent of me - and urged me to get the younger children tested. Actually, Jesse was just screened at the doctor's last month - and passed with 20/40 vision. The optometrist disagreed with the "pass" and feels that she needs glasses now, too. I'm not sure, especially as we homeschool and she doesn't depend on distance vision for learning.
Have you ever noticed that, as parents, we seem to be continually falling short of other peoples standards??? Even the vision tech yesterday gave me the "unbelieving stare" when I told her that it was Kathryn's choice whether to accept the eye drop dilation. That she was welcome to explain to Kathryn why it was important - but Kathryn was allowed the final choice. She chose to get the eyedrops. And later, she picked out frames she loved - even though they weren't my first choice. (I still think she was stunning in the dark purple plastic frames...ah well.)
It's funny how people differ in their interpretation of our parenting. Some think we're way too strict - because we don't have network or cable television, we don't buy the latest, greatest toys - and most of the stuff we do buy has an educational bent. Others think we let them run wild because they get to make some of their own educational choices (with the exception of grammar and math), they're never forced to sit quietly and pretend they're invisible (although that would be handy, sometimes) and they're always allowed to voice a differing opinion. They don't always - or usually - win - but they're always heard. I'm learning - as they grow and explore their world - more of what I want to be when I finally grow up. :)
Oh yeah, running! Yup, I'll have time today to do some of that! Tune in later!
Case in point...I took my eldest daughter (8.75 years old)for an eye exam yesterday. I made the appointment last week, after realizing she was having difficulty reading a word across the room without moving closer. I was pretty sure she needed glasses, and spent the week convincing her it could be "cool". We even went and looked at frames so she could get an idea of what she liked. I knew I was right on when she faced her first wall chart - and couldn't read anything! Turns out her vision is 20/100. A bit worse than I was expecting. The doctor (whom I like and respect) seemed to think this was a tad negligent of me - and urged me to get the younger children tested. Actually, Jesse was just screened at the doctor's last month - and passed with 20/40 vision. The optometrist disagreed with the "pass" and feels that she needs glasses now, too. I'm not sure, especially as we homeschool and she doesn't depend on distance vision for learning.
Have you ever noticed that, as parents, we seem to be continually falling short of other peoples standards??? Even the vision tech yesterday gave me the "unbelieving stare" when I told her that it was Kathryn's choice whether to accept the eye drop dilation. That she was welcome to explain to Kathryn why it was important - but Kathryn was allowed the final choice. She chose to get the eyedrops. And later, she picked out frames she loved - even though they weren't my first choice. (I still think she was stunning in the dark purple plastic frames...ah well.)
It's funny how people differ in their interpretation of our parenting. Some think we're way too strict - because we don't have network or cable television, we don't buy the latest, greatest toys - and most of the stuff we do buy has an educational bent. Others think we let them run wild because they get to make some of their own educational choices (with the exception of grammar and math), they're never forced to sit quietly and pretend they're invisible (although that would be handy, sometimes) and they're always allowed to voice a differing opinion. They don't always - or usually - win - but they're always heard. I'm learning - as they grow and explore their world - more of what I want to be when I finally grow up. :)
Oh yeah, running! Yup, I'll have time today to do some of that! Tune in later!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
My achey breaky.......everything!
Why do we push our bodies past the point of pain? Voluntarily!!!! I just don't get it. Case in point: I pushed this body almost 10 miles last Saturday - on purpose! I jogged/walked (heavy emphasis on the walked) the looong way into town, around town then back home. I did stop to visit the library's book sale while in town - I'm sure I was lovely - then stashed the books on a friend's porch for later retrieval. Why can't there be a reading marathon??? That I could do at full speed, without needing a chiropractor.
I've discovered my body can go 5-7 miles and maintain that positive, athletic "high". Whereas 3 months ago that "high" disappeared after 5-7 steps. But I've gone beyond 7 miles 3 times now - and every time is painful. Two 8 milers and the 9+... and the pain always starts in my hips then travels down my legs. What is this??? I'm wearing good shoes (i.e. expensive, ugly and fit by a professional). I'm now using the energy gels - which really help. I've slowed down the pace so much I may as well be crawling - and my body still gives out after 7 miles. I even sat in a cold bath (after stretching) because someone told me that would help! Brrrrr!!!
I know I need to do more short runs during the week - I've been having difficulties fitting them in. Yesterday I managed a 20 minute jaunt with my daughter - barely got my heart rate up.
I need to find a way to increase my mileage without pain - or I'm going to have to cut down to completing only a half marathon. I can probably drag myself the 13 miles - but not another 13. I have a few more weeks to decide - so I need answers fast!
On the positive side - after my run we went to Salisbury and walked around the mall (hey - I needed the exercise). My husband talked me into trying the water massage table there. For five minutes water beat down on my back, legs, and the soles of my feet. The first few passes were painful - John was going to turn the water pressure down, but I wouldn't let him. By the time I was done, however, I felt great! I was loose and pain-free - at least until I sat for an hour to eat dinner. By then I could barely move - again.
On the non-running front - or my real life - I seem to be losing neurons at an alarming rate. I've been drinking extra coffee, trying to get the brain and body working again - to no avail. I'm forgetting to do things, even after making a list. I'm forgetting HOW to do things. Can't find anything - even if I just sat it down. Decided yesterday that a hot cup of tea might help - and a hot bath! I put the water on to boil then sat down to work on the computer - and remembered the water an hour later. Poured the water into the tea, started running the tub, and remembered the tea an hour later. It was a tad too strong for my taste by then. Put some pita bread in the AGA to toast while I was re-heating the chili for lunch - and remembered it around dinner time. Can you say, "charcoal triangles"???? The AGA vents outside, so you never smell anything burning.
Had my husband in stitches when I confessed my day's activities. He's always said he's going to marry a stupid woman next time - so he was pretty tickled about my brain's demise. Not sure he was so thrilled this morning - when he was not only without clean socks in his sock drawer - but I was unable to find a matching pair of socks anywhere. I'm telling you - stupid isn't what it's cracked up to being!
Oh well....at least I haven't lost any children....YET!!!
Hope my happenings make you smile - or at least be grateful for YOUR life! Now I just have to remember to actually POST this message.......
I've discovered my body can go 5-7 miles and maintain that positive, athletic "high". Whereas 3 months ago that "high" disappeared after 5-7 steps. But I've gone beyond 7 miles 3 times now - and every time is painful. Two 8 milers and the 9+... and the pain always starts in my hips then travels down my legs. What is this??? I'm wearing good shoes (i.e. expensive, ugly and fit by a professional). I'm now using the energy gels - which really help. I've slowed down the pace so much I may as well be crawling - and my body still gives out after 7 miles. I even sat in a cold bath (after stretching) because someone told me that would help! Brrrrr!!!
I know I need to do more short runs during the week - I've been having difficulties fitting them in. Yesterday I managed a 20 minute jaunt with my daughter - barely got my heart rate up.
I need to find a way to increase my mileage without pain - or I'm going to have to cut down to completing only a half marathon. I can probably drag myself the 13 miles - but not another 13. I have a few more weeks to decide - so I need answers fast!
On the positive side - after my run we went to Salisbury and walked around the mall (hey - I needed the exercise). My husband talked me into trying the water massage table there. For five minutes water beat down on my back, legs, and the soles of my feet. The first few passes were painful - John was going to turn the water pressure down, but I wouldn't let him. By the time I was done, however, I felt great! I was loose and pain-free - at least until I sat for an hour to eat dinner. By then I could barely move - again.
On the non-running front - or my real life - I seem to be losing neurons at an alarming rate. I've been drinking extra coffee, trying to get the brain and body working again - to no avail. I'm forgetting to do things, even after making a list. I'm forgetting HOW to do things. Can't find anything - even if I just sat it down. Decided yesterday that a hot cup of tea might help - and a hot bath! I put the water on to boil then sat down to work on the computer - and remembered the water an hour later. Poured the water into the tea, started running the tub, and remembered the tea an hour later. It was a tad too strong for my taste by then. Put some pita bread in the AGA to toast while I was re-heating the chili for lunch - and remembered it around dinner time. Can you say, "charcoal triangles"???? The AGA vents outside, so you never smell anything burning.
Had my husband in stitches when I confessed my day's activities. He's always said he's going to marry a stupid woman next time - so he was pretty tickled about my brain's demise. Not sure he was so thrilled this morning - when he was not only without clean socks in his sock drawer - but I was unable to find a matching pair of socks anywhere. I'm telling you - stupid isn't what it's cracked up to being!
Oh well....at least I haven't lost any children....YET!!!
Hope my happenings make you smile - or at least be grateful for YOUR life! Now I just have to remember to actually POST this message.......
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