That's It

The damn cat just opened the door to the living room (dog's domain). The door has a wonky latch and it must not have been pulled tightly. I came in to find the cat pinned to the ground with the dog biting his neck.

I'm shaking with adrenaline.

And I'm over it.

No question the cat is in danger.

Maybe this is the sign I needed.

They better have an opening tomorrow!

video update 3/21

Relief

Well, Mr F finally heard back from the Humane Society. They said they wish everyone would handle this the way we are. Phew. Now I don't have to worry about being on their shit list (which I was obsessively worried about) They'll happily take her back whenever we're ready to bring her in and will make sure she gets a better placement next time. They're grateful to be able to have more information to help them facilitate that. I think we'll wait and bring her in on Wednesday so that she will be through their processing and ready for adoption on the weekend with as few days of waiting as possible. We can also chose another dog. I think the rotation of pet loss we've been dealt the past year and half (with Canine, Dasher and now Sweetpea) is enough. We'll stick with the cat, and just be grateful to not have any pet issues to mediate for awhile.

Although, there is a cat named Queen High Muffins waiting for a home ...

Updates

So, some things have been going on in the background here that I may have failed to mention. Like... our new dog keeps trying to kill our cat.

That's been a bit rough & stressful and has meant that I'm pretty much on guard all my waking hours and trying to manage a rotation of pets which leaves everyone getting less than what they deserve. It has been incredibly stressful trying to make sure the kids don't accidentally let the cat into the room with the dog (which they do... every single day). Then manage the dog's destructive chewing when she has to be shut in the living room while the cat gets a few minutes out with the family.

I have tried EVERYTHING I can to slowly introduce them, having on leash meet & greet times everyday... but still... it can go from good to terrifying in a blink of an eye. This situation is just, obviously, not what we wanted. And I'm left spending all my time trying to avert disaster and am left stressed and resentful every evening.

After putting in a good 60+ days I think it's time that we just admit that this isn't working and try and find her a good cat free home to call her own. It has been very sad. She wants nothing more than to be a good companion, and that is what we all wanted, but due to our circumstances she can't be free (or even off leash) in the house most of the time. So I find myself sacrificing my own freedom and spend all my time with her in the shut off living room. A prisoner to the dog's needs. While the cat then goes ignored all day.

So, yesterday I finally had the little pep talk with myself that went something like... "When can I put my needs over anything else's?" "Do I really have to live my life like this for the next 10+ years because I don't want to disappoint the Humane Society?!" And let me be clear that our Humane Society is very nice and not a high kill shelter and that she will most CERTAINLY be adopted immediately because of her size and her good with kids status. She had only been there 4 days before we adopted her.

But, really, am I not allowed to put myself before the animals?

If we don't take her back and she accidentally (or accidentally on purpose) kills our cat... isn't that horrific negligence on our part? Is our cat's actual life worth less than being good adoptive dog parents and committing to her no matter what?

So, now I'm thinking of it in terms of fostering her. We gave her a great loving foster home for 2 months. We can now vouch that she is great with kids and bad with cats so that she can move forward into the right placement for her. She can now sit, lay down, and fetch. And the Humane Society has gotten hundreds of dollars in adoption & relinquishing fees to boot.

P.S. I should note that the Humane Society said they were 100% confident she was good with cats...


So, there's that.

And I've gone off coffee & wheat.

It's day 3.

Kid said to me yesterday... "Mom, please make yourself a cup of coffee!"

The Food Nanny

Seen it?

I have a love/hate relationship going on with it.

Love that it is on at 11 PM when there is nothing else on.

Hate that her voice is like that. (hate might be a strong word)

She's a bit much to take in... but I keep hoping it will inspire me to get back to meal planning.

And... yes... I know it's on BYU television.

What can I say?

I take my interests all the way.

P.S. If you imagine that she is Amy Sedaris doing an act it makes the whole thing a lot more enjoyable. A lot.

There's Just Something About...

little kids with BIG umbrellas.

Aw Yeah

Vomitorium

Enough said.

Right?

Except, unlike everyone else in the world... it seems that this bug came and went and now came back again.

Weird.

Hopefully we're moving past it for good.

Baby is highly anticipating her (very belated and already rescheduled) birthday party tomorrow.

Finger's crossed.



PS Nature's Miracle (that wonder pet stain cleaner) is also the BOMB for cleaning puke stains... and smells... just saying'... it's worth having on hand.

For White Coats

Last night, while lying in bed, Mr F was waxing poetically about his new shampooing technique.

Mr F - "Kid's hair looks gorgeous tonight"

Mr F went on for sometime about how far he put the shampoo and where he applied the conditioner. Mrs F was mostly rolling her eyes. How to handle Kid's knots can be a point of contention between the two of them. Mr F has a tendency to forget that Mrs F has been washing long hair successfully for several decades.

Mr F - "I used that new foaming shampoo"

Mrs F - rolls over and gives Mr F the "what?!" face.

Mr F - "The one that squeezes out of the bottom."

Mrs F - processes this information with a concerned look.

Mr F- face freezes in a look of panic.

Mrs F - "The dog shampoo?!!"

Mr F - panic turns to hysterical laughing.

Mrs F - "You just used that on the dog... like 2 weeks ago."

Mr & Mrs F - more hysterical laughing.

Mr F - "I thought I remembered using it."

Mrs F - "You know what is funny? When the kids came in after their bath, I actually said 'Your hair smells fantastic!'"

Mr & Mrs F - hysterical laughing.

Mrs F - "Well, it is organic. I'm sure it's okay."

Mrs F - gets up to go to the bathroom. checks the shampoo label.

Mrs F - "I don't think it will be a problem. But, it is "Whitening Shampoo", you know, for white coats."

Mr F - crying with laughter

Mr F - "I saw that"

Mrs F - "Well, what did you think that meant?!"

Mr F - "I was like 'What the Fuck?!'"

Mrs F - "But it says "For White Coats' what did you think that meant?"

Mr & Mrs F - both crying

Mr F - "Does it really say that?"

Mrs F - "Yes"

Mr F and Mrs F finally start to calm down.

Mr F - "You know, the problem is that it doesn't look like dog shampoo, it looks like kids shampoo."

Mrs F - "Well, it doesn't have a picture of a dog on it.... but... it is called Paw-ganics"

Mr F - gets up and goes to the bathroom to read the bottle. Uproarious laughter echos off the walls.

Mr & Mrs F - cry themselves to sleep.


I told Kid this morning. "Did he really?!" Kid asks laughing. "He actually said 'This shampoo works great, I'm going to use it over and over again!'"

Do You Believe In Magic?

Several times a week, sometime in the early morning hours, Kid has been sneaking herself into Baby's bed. Which means most mornings I get to lay my eyes on this pile of cuteness. Even better? When they wake up they lay in the bed laughing hysterically and reading and playing for a good hour (sometimes two!) until I make them leave their love den for nourishment. So I guess the "right side of the bed" is in each other's arms.

Prey

9:30 AM


9:40 AM

Homeschool Advantage #1

Tailoring your child's learning to their interests:

update 2/22/11

I'm Alive

I'm home.

Yesterday... well... was one of the worst experiences of my life.

What started as a headache suddenly became severe back of the head & neck pain.

I thought they'd poo poo me at the ER but they in fact take that very seriously.

I have the huge bruise on my back, and what feels like a major hangover, to prove it.

All is clear.

The only thing they think might be to blame is the Imitrex, which I took for the first time 30 minutes before the onset of neck pain.

That's the story.

I feel a bit like I've been put through the wringer (physically & emotionally... since having them tell you you might be in the middle of a life threatening brain bleed... well... that was rough).

I mean really REALLY rough.

At ER waiting for CT
Ruling out bleeding in my freaking brain
Awesome


CT clear
Waiting on spinal tap results

Updates... Of All Kinds

#1 I'm reading Blindness by Jose Saramago. Holy intensity, Batman! I've been up until 3 AM reading it most nights this week. It's hard to describe without revealing too much... but... it's intense and somewhat stressful. He does an excellent job of transferring the chaos and stress and horror... and... well... blindness to the reader.


#2 We've been having this crazy false Spring all week. Our couple of feet of snow is now nothing but muddy dirty grass and huge ice rimmed puddles. It feels so real. It is hard to take in the fact that this is merely a blip and winter will return. That is one thing I miss about Asheville... right about now winter really is winding down there.


#3 I got an Imitrex prescription from the Dr for my migraines. We'll see how that goes. I guess the key with the abortive is taking it in time. If this doesn't work I guess the next step is taking blood pressure medicine as a prophylactic. My Dr claims that is the medication of choice for migraines in women my age. I still would like to get an MRI to be sure, though.


#4 Guess whose Middle East song has come in real handy this past week?... aww yeah... we're feeling pretty high on our horse these days since we already knew exactly where Bahrain and Yemen were. Every time we are in the car and the news is on Baby can be sure to start belting out the song once she hears mention of either place.


#5 In case you were wondering... this is the best season on The Bachelor ever. Good God, it is so good.


#6 Speaking of God, remember when I told you I had a really funny Church story? Well, I have a feeling it's going to be even better by the time I get around to telling it. Yesterday a parishioner showed up at my door with a mug filled with guilt. A real mug. Figurative guilt. So stay tuned for that. It really is one of the funniest places I've ever been and if it weren't for the 9:30AM starting time we'd definitely go if only because we laugh so hard all afternoon after we come home. I may not technically believe in God (in a traditional sense) but I do believe in laughing my ass off and Mr F believes in Coffee Hour. So, I figure we are like 85% of the people there. This church deserves a reality TV show.


#7 Last but not least... I am sucked back into Ancestry.com. If you haven't taken advantage of the free 14 day trial (remember to cancel it in time!) I recommend it. I did that a year or so ago. This time I just bought a one month subscription ($20... which seems like a ripoff doesn't it?). Anyway, it's fun. Even if you have a detailed family tree it is exciting to see all of the census documents. I found out my grandmother's (98) great grandfather owned a hardware store in 1860... and let me say... according to the census documents that was a pretty profitable line of work.

It's Valentine's Day, yo!

"I don't think she understands that you are only supposed to give someone ONE valentine.... not like 23." Kid says.

"I understand, but I like to see your face, and your hair, and your body.... so.... I'm making you 100!" Baby replies.

Slow But Steady

It's been about 6 months since we moved in here. We've been slowly tackling each decorating challenge.
Here are some peeks... sadly... nothing is 100% complete... and we have yet to hang ANYTHING on the walls.
Soon.

Master Bedroom BEFORE:



(Please forgive the state of the room... we had literally just moved in!)

Master Bedroom IN PROGRESS:



Remember when I said I was going to recover my headboard?... Well I did... $12 total.

New sitting area curtesy of Ikea. Those are also Ikea curtains.

Remember this vintage chandelier we scored at the antique market.

Things that still need to happen... hang mirror & pictures, get another bedside table, get another chair, place dresser (this is all along the long wall of the room in line with the door). I kind of also want (and when I say kind of... I mean REALLY) an electric fireplace on that wall as well. It is a really big room (by our standards) and right now it's awkwardly filled. So I'm going for a half cozy sitting room vibe.... eventually.

Hallway color and lights BEFORE:
(Let's be clear... those are not our nicknacks... this is pre-move in)
AFTER:
I'll let you in on a little secret... I don't love that hallway chandelier... it was cheap... but it's not 100% my aesthetic. I'm thinking on it. The more craftsman we take this space (see below) the more likely (and when I say likely... I mean... It is going to happen!) that this will be replaced and hung in the guest bedroom instead. I still love the school house lights, though!

Right now we're tackling the not so small task of replacing our interior doors. This was a pretty big investment, but one we think will take the interior of our 60s ranch from blah to TA-DA! How long do you think it will take Mr F?... 1 year?... 2?

From this:

To this:

One down...
Six to go.
And little things...

Like this:

To this:

And this:

To this:

And, yes, eventually we'll switch the actual switch out for a brown one... that's how hardcore we are, peeps.

Can You Believe It?!!!

Straight Up Awesome