Weekend recap

This weekend was quiet. No birthday parties, no playdates, no house hunting, just us. Our house is never really quiet it seems, but every once in awhile it is really nice to just have a weekend with little planned, especially after the last few weeks.

I wrote this up and then reread it. Paragraphs of work drama that could be summarized here - 50 pages of text comprising 5 proposals submitted, three to the client I SWORE I would never work for again. That's what happens when you make declarative statements like "I will never..." they come back to bite you in the tush.

I had a photo shoot scheduled today for one of my teams. It went well and there was much whining about "man space". It isn't just men who need space. I was very cognizent of being stuffed in between Miss Pink and the post-Masters student working on my project. I eeked my way towards Miss Pink. Why is it that we Americans (since AB says it is a cultural thing) need so much space, but yet all agree that everyone packed in close together makes for better pictures? After we finished the group shot I was snagged to have my picture taken with the former deputy sector manager. It was a huge honor to stand next to him and smile for the camera. Four weeks until he starts his consulting position with my client and he takes his seat across the table from me. I miss him terribly in his former role.

My blogging mojo has taken a back seat. I am just feeling quiet and reflective. I am enjoying catching up with the people I never thought I would ever see again after high school and college. I have to learn to logoff though and not leave Facebook up. A few weeks ago Leif typed a message to Rockergirrl - thankfully she has kids and so his "e-mail" to her made perfect sense. Yesterday I came back to the computer to see a one sided chat with a long lost friend of mine from high school that I was sorry to have missed - and I still have no freaking idea what he was talking about. (Thankfully Leif didn't respond to that one... time to start thinking about internet safety?)

A lot of what is going on here is centered around houses. Our new house, our current house, what needs to be paid for, financing, how to move, when to move, rent or sell, what we need to buy (fridge and potentially washer and dryer), what we want to buy (new barstools that kids can sit on, a new TV, a set of bunk beds, another couch, hot tub... see the list started practical and very quickly plummeted off the deep end), what we want to paint (formal dining room and office), how to decorate a Star Wars room, where our daughter should sleep post-move, how many gates we need and not to mention packing logistics.

So the rest of the world revolving around us? Invisible.

Dog - poor baby. She has become "the dog". She is very happy though that I just finished reading "Call of the Wild" and have remembered that she has feelings too. (Seriously a most awesome - and short - book.) Her evening walks have become less frequent lately. And my advances to swoon her back to my side by snuggling her on the floor next to me, only to trick her with the Furminator in the other hand have not been well received.

Cat - I thought cats were supposed to be all independent like? I have the most dependent cat ever. And huge. Maybe his dependency wouldn't be such a big deal if he wasn't nearly 20 lbs. The kids aren't thrilled when he sits on their laps and his persistent lying on the keyboard while we are trying to type is just annoying. AB is thrilled though that he does tame my nighttime wiggles since he plants himself on my legs and wills me not to move.

Boy child - He is starting to bend to our will. He has a firm understanding of what exactly "talking back" is and picks the most inopportune times to exercise this new found talent. I look forward to the day when bribery doesn't rule. When we don't have to threaten to take away a privilege to get the most basic tasks accomplished. He is fully immersed in the world of the Transformers and Star Wars The Clone Wars. Despite all his annoying four and a half year old boy antics, he still is a mama's boy at heart and offers unsolicited kisses, wants me beside him for every step and is a sweetheart of a brother (most of the time).

Girl child - She is nearing two and her language explosion is a huge relief to all off us. It was quite convenient last night at dinner when she was able to sob out "tummy hurts" instead of just sobbing and screaming. Miss Skadi is karma biting me back. I remember pre-kids being annoyed with those parents whose kids hit, kicked, scratched (I would add bit in there, but we may have nailed the biting) and pulled hair like wild beasts. Why don't those parents do something? "I AM TRYING!!" I am screaming to my former self. 80% of the time she is a sweet little girl who likes dresses and clothes and snuggling with and being just like her brother. Oh and the whole being carried by whoever will carry her. She is an amazing little fish and loves her swimming lessons.

The rest of it - I am still a Top Chef addict even though this season so far seems more soap opera and less fascinating personalities on it. Back to lovin' Big Love. Then much to our surprise last week Burn Notice made a surprising return. Aside from that? AB and I have let so many tv shows go lately, we watch right at about 3 hours a week amazingly enough.

I need to get back on the treadmill in a bad way if I am going to run Bloomsday. Of course this would be made easier if my husband didn't lose the magnetic lock key. It has to be somewhere, right??

The goal for the rest of the week - more focused blog posts. I do have a couple Leif funnies - one about Broccoli Obama being our new president (did you know he can shoot carrots out of his back? Yeah I didn't either.) And another about the things in his throat that make him sick. I will try to hit those tomorrow.

The *thing* in the garbage disposal

AB was bathing the kids as I did the kitchen clean up.

I flipped on the garbage disposal and it started clunking. Pretty badly.

So I waited for it to spin down then reached my hand in and fished around.

I found something and pulled it out.

A grey mass.

What the hell is this? I asked myself examining it a little closer. (Always a bad idea.)

Is that? OMG, its fur! And that's a tail! An eye!

I screamed. I screamed like a little girl. It just came out.

AB is yelling for me, "what's wrong? Are you ok?" he asks paranoid to leave the kids in the back.

I threw it in the sink and felt like throwing up as I went running into the bathroom.

"The sink, it's in the sink," was all I could say as I saw the kids playing in the tub.

He was in there a few minutes. I knew he was looking over the *thing* I pulled out of the disposal. Trying to figure out how it got there? I could tell he was trying to decide what exactly it was.

He came back, "I think it's a cat toy".

I was relieved. I hadn't even thought of a cat toy.

But that one word stood out to me, "you *think*?"

"Well there's no blood and I didn't see any bones," he says shrugging.

He's right I thought to myself. I didn't see any of that either.

Then he thinks for a minute. "I will go throw it away," he states.

I nodded.

I am NEVER buying another realistic looking mouse toy EVER again.

The cat has earned his keep

My husband has finally found worth in our cat.

He isn't a cat person, never has been and probably never will be.

However, our house hasn't been inundated with flies yet.

Only 5 minutes later Lucky was stalking a fly and had it in his black little paws in seconds. Then down the hatch it went.

AB suggested that the lack of bugs has earned Lucky his keep.

The poor abused dog

If it isn't one being...




Then it's the other...

And then there is this thing called "the breaking point"... where no possible good can come to an innocent bystanding dog when two beings approach the cat residing on said dog...

Why I have very few ornaments on my tree anymore...

No not my 9 month old...

Lucky kitty!

Lucky has a home!

We arrived about five minutes late to pick up our kitten and the coworker couldn't throw him/her in the carrier fast enough and get us out the door! I slowed her down a little saying I wanted to make sure that one was the one we wanted. After a few minutes, and knowing I really didn't want the long haired fluffy kitty who had fallen for Leif already, we went with the second kitty showing interest, Lucky.

Leif carried the carrier on his lap on the ride home. Once home I told him we had one rule right now, he had to wait for Lucky to come out of the carrier on his/her own. No reaching in.

After about 10 minutes he got tired of waiting and decided a movie was a better option. About five minutes later Lucky sauntered out of the carrier, jumped up on the couch and walked across it and found a nice place to settle on Leif's blanket next to him.

Awww!

Lucky is a sweet tempered kitty, who so far loves Leif and me. Lucky isn't so sure about Skadi yet, and frankly, I haven't let her get close enough to test. Lucky is probably getting more used to AB after him being home much of today. But this morning he/she was leaving AB's attempts at playing to follow me around.

The one we need to work on is Winny. Winny is over the moon excited and can't wait to chase Lucky around the house, on the walls and around in circles on the ceiling. Lucky, thankfully, is holding his/her ground and not running. But there is a lot of hissing and spitting going on. Though a little less this morning than last night.

Right now the kennel is the safe haven and where Lucky is sleeping routinely.

And the new automatic litterbox? No problems at all with using it!

Wheee!

Leif and other miscellaneous

NM: "AB, who is going to write the Christmas letter this year?"

Leif: "I am mommy!"

All of you will have to just wait for it to arrive in your mailboxes. (And I will post it here later.)

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Singing Leif's current favorite song before bed...

NM: "Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree."

Leif: "Mommy can we say, 'four calling Leif birds' for the rest of the song."

NM: "Umm ok. On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, five gold rings, four calling Leif birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree."

Leif: (Eruption of giggles.) "Four calling Leif birds!!"

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Yesterday I arrived to pick up Leif at school and his main teacher, also the director followed me into class.

Teacher: "I wanted to talk to you about Leif."

NM: (Here we go again, what has he done now. Nothing has been good lately when these words come out of her mouth.) "Ok, what's going on."

Teacher: "Well today he was really interested in the walking sticks,"

NM: (Oh goodness, what did he accidentally do to the walking sticks - because I KNOW Leif would never do anything intentional to them, he loves animals and bugs.)

Teacher: "one of the other older girls was holding one for just a second,"

NM: (Oh no, what did he do to the little girl???)

Teacher: "he wanted to hold one SO badly. He begged and begged and so finally I relented because he is always so fascinated by them. I figured 'well, we will probably end up with two dead walking sticks, oh well', it will be a lesson on the fragile nature of life."

NM: (Does he need to know the fragile nature of life? I didn't say this, instead) "Yes, he loves bugs, insects and all animals so much."

Teacher: "Yes he does. And for over an hour, he walked around holding two walking sticks, taking care of them, talking to them, touching them,"

NM: (Ok, what did one of the OTHER kids do... smash one in his hand?)

Teacher: "He walked around for over an hour and then came back to me and very politely said, 'Ms K, I am ready to put them back now'. And do you know that after all that time they were still alive and he was more gentle than the boys TWICE his age are and for such a LONG time! He just really amazed me with the love in his eyes for the creatures."

NM: (Forcing back the tears!)

I just had to include this because everything lately has been about turkey behavior at daycare. Things that have prompted AB and I to start discussing if we can swing me working 75% time and thereby have a little more time at home with him.

She made my day.

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Kitty plans have been postponed. Just a week. The coworker "miscalculated" how old the kitty's are by a week and they are just 7 weeks and not 8 weeks. So she called (last night at about 9pm, after we had gone to Petsmart and talked with Leif about it finally being "only one sleep till kitties") and told us it would be another week.

I explained to Leif this morning that the kitty's mommy wants to keep it and feed it some more, but we will get one in another week. So far, he has taken it well. Not sure he really understands... but no meltdowns yet.

The girl did call Hans today and apologize and say she realized how hard that could be on a three year old and so if we wanted to pick the kitty up tonight, she does have "kitty formula" that we can administer the kittens.

Yeah no. I don't think so, but thanks. I have one small being to feed every few hours and I don't need two.

And anyways, breast is best.

We will deal and wait for a week.

Gettin' Lucky!

This Friday we are getting Lucky!

The cat. Lucky the cat, as named by Leif.

My coworker finally realized she was going to have to compromise a little if she wanted to get rid of her kittens. We got to go up this evening and check them out.

I had initially shy'd away from her and her kittens because I felt she was just being a flake about it all, not wanting a three year old in her house and such. Just not being very accommodating for us to come see them.

We decided if we wanted a kitty we would go with the Humane Society.

In the meantime my mom also got another cat. Their elderly cat, Kismet, passed away earlier this year peacefully. Kismet was a great cat. A big, huge yellow tabby. And seriously, big huge boy he was. He was a special guy that showed up in my mom's yard when I was in college. He had a raucous meow, and amazingly powerful hind legs that would propel him to the top of the fridge. And a crooked tail that had likely been shut in a door at some point prior to finding himself a new home.

They got a little kitten they named Murphy from the Humane Society in Fort Collins. A week later Murphy turned up with a horrible upper respiratory infection and barely clung to life. He was nursed back to life (after large vet expenses). Hearing about this experience from my mom made me less inclined to want to go to the Humane Society.

About that time my coworker was realizing that her kittens were nearing that 8 week point and would need homes, or they themselves would be taken the Humane Society.

We ventured up there and it didn't take long for them to worm their way into AB's heart. AB being the one I was worried about, I wasn't worried about me or Leif.

There are five kittens, three black, sleek looking shorthairs, one smushy face black fluff ball (medium to long hair - very unique looking kitten that appears to maybe have a little Persian to it) and a black and white. Right off the bat the smushy faced ball of fluff finds a friend with Leif.

The owner tells us that is the kitty they want to keep, but in the names of finding homes, they will take whatever is leftover and if we want him, we can have him.

He was dang cute. But the hair.

I already have one beastly with a long, double coat of thick black hair. And here is where AB and I disagree... he thinks we probably wouldn't notice the additional hair since Winny is a big girl. But the cat will grow and will go places Winny currently doesn't (the couch, the beds...). I am leaning towards one of the shorthairs.

Fairly quickly afterwards two other black kitties venture out to play with Leif and soon he has three black balls of fluff jumping around him.

He couldn't be happier.

We snagged the two other kitties out of hiding, but it was obvious they were not interested in playing.

We coaxed Leif away from the kitties and there were tears on the way home.

"But I want to take a kitty home," he cried.

AB admitted, "I think that is the first time you have yanked on my heart for a kitty unassisted and unprovoked." (He said while eyeing me...)

So this week we need to make a trip to PetSmart to buy all the kitty goodies... a carrier (because I am NOT using that huge old airplane carrier that I used to use with Cal-cat), a bed, a litterbox, dishes, food, litter, and Leif is very excited to pick out toys for the kitty.

We have decided on Lucky as a name.

Lucky is Professor Wiseman's kitten on Curious George. It is also part of the title of Leif's favorite book, "Leif the Lucky". And most importantly, Leif likes it and picked it out. And for me, it isn't Muffy... the second place name which Leif tells us is NOT "Murphy" my mom's cat's name... it is Muffy. I really don't like that. Really don't. We may have pushed for Lucky just a wee bit.

We are getting Lucky on Friday!