Party 'til the cats come home

Yesterday was Dickens' birthday. I don't know if it is his "actual" birthday but right around the correct time frame. We know that he was born last year near the end of January, so we just assigned him the 27th for a date since it is the same date as Spencer's birthday.

Of course we had a little party for our cat! As if we would ever bypass an opportunity to bake and eat a cake!




The kids were a lot more excited than Dickens was about his birthday. They all loved singing "Happy Birthday" to him and then meowing it to him.




And no, I did not buy first birthday hats for a cat party. I found them in the cupboard with other various leftover birthday supplies. They were from Spencer's first birthday party - a mere eight (almost) years ago. I am on a mission of organization in my house right now, but obviously have not gotten to that cabinet yet. Even though, that is where my issue with getting rid of stuff is - if I had organized that cabinet last week, I probably would have thrown those hats away. Look how handy and perfect they were this week. I want to be frugal and re-use and re-purpose things, but I am also WAY over the clutter. OK, back to the point of the post, I could go on about my organization mission for hours and I am sure I will at a later date. I am sure you will all be waiting for that one with bated breath.

Our little Dickens is one year old - even though he hasn't been part of our family for a year until March. (Yes! Another day to eat cake!) We could not have picked out a better cat. He seems to love all of us, he wants to be around us all the time. He likes to be around all people. I laugh that he is more like a dog than a cat. He is not a typical aloof cat, he will come to you when you call him and when he hears our garage door going up, he runs to the door and peeks his head up to the window and waits for us to come in. The kids do not always treat him with "gentle" hands, yet he has never really hurt them and keeps coming back for more. Sure he scratches or nips at them once in a while, but most of those times they really deserve it. He really is the best cat ever.

Happy Birthday Dickie-Boy!

The visitors

We have had these little guys at our house on and off this past week. Trent told me that they needed a cat to play the part of Dinah in Alice in Wonderland. He wondered if I thought Dickens would like to go back to the stage. I told him that he should contact the lady that he got Dickens from and ask her if she had other cats that needed homes and maybe the exposure would get them adopted. He thought the idea was inspired.

I was mentally preparing for the addition of another cat to our family. I thought once the kids and Dickens had a new little kitten in their midst there would be no hope for them. I had been wondering for a while if Dickens would be happy with a friend to hang out with when we are not here. It is a slippery slope though because you go from having a cat to having cats. As I have said many times before - I am not an animal person. I have grown to care for Dickens, and it is a good thing because most of the time I am the only one who seems to care for him - his needs at least.

The two cat family doesn't seem like it is meant to be. At least not at this time. Dickens did not like having Cuddles and Meatballs in his house AT ALL! I have never heard him growl or hiss before, but he was very vocal and angry around those kittens. And by the way, if we did acquire one of those kittens it's name would be changed before I poured it's first bowl of kibble. I realize that we just sort of threw them together with no planning whatsoever. I know that there is a "protocol" that is necessary to introduce an animal into a home where another animal already resides. We didn't really follow the rules because we realized it was most likely not a permanent situation.

As much as Dickens despised those kittens, our kids LOVED them. They got plenty of cuddle and play time with Dickens locked safely away in another room. I hear that they both have potential owners, which is a great thing. Two more little kittens off the street and into good homes. If they were going back to the shelter it would make me feel bad. They were pretty cute. And I have always liked black cats.....

I think I'll go for a walk outside now...

Yesterday the kids and I went to one of the big box pet stores and forty eight dollars later we left with a collar, a harness, a leash and a small bag of kitty treats.  

Do people even put cats on leashes?  I honestly don't think I have ever seen it done. 

We are trying to cover our bases for our first overnight away from home with Dickens.  We are bringing him up to the cabin for a couple of days.  I think I have put the fear of God into the boys with horror stories of what will happen to our poor little kitten if he manages to escape from us at the cabin.  Spencer asked me yesterday if we could just leave him home where he will be safe. 

I wish we could leave him home, but I know that he would go CRAZY!  This little cat that we have is the most people loving cat that I have ever seen in my life!  That is a good thing when you take in account that my kids want to torture him play with him constantly, but it is not so good when you want to go somewhere and leave him ALONE for a couple days.  I am hoping as he grows up he will grow a little more into not minding being left alone. 

Whatever the future holds, the boys sure loved taking him outside and trying to take him for a walk.  I guess that is money well spent.

Purple ears, lame kitties and wrist wraps...

It all started Monday afternoon with a tattle tale from Evan that Spencer was playing "super kitty" (I don't think I even want to know what that is, so I didn't ask) with Dickens and made him hurt his leg again. I use "again" in that sentence because he initially hurt it while we were in Chicago about two hours into my Mom's thirty six hour baby sitting stint. The cat had attempted to jump from the stairs to the couch and missed and immediately started meowing in pain and gimping around on his leg. My Mom was panicked (to say the least) and thought he had broken his leg and that they would surely euthanize him. (They shoot horses don't they?) After my Dad had come to the rescue and taken the cat to the vet for x-rays and kitty Valium it was determined that the leg wasn't broken, only jammed and that he would be alright as long as he kept it "quiet" and rested. OK - he is a kitten. And he lives in a house with three children that maul him all their waking hours. God help him.

He seemed to be fine until Monday and the "super kitty" incident. Even after that, he didn't cry at all just kind of hobbled around again. Needless to say, I was furious at Spencer and he was sent to his room as I threatened to give the cat away to someone who didn't treat him like a toy and play so rough with him. He also had his TV privileges taken away for three days which in actuality is more of a punishment for me than him. Let's face it, one kid sucked into the TV is one less kid to have to deal with. I am kidding...a little.

The kids were all very gentle with him. The threats of them not being ready to have pets had really seemed to sink in. The next morning the cat somehow seemed to hurt his leg worse. I am sure that the kids had nothing to do with it because I was with them almost every minute. I think that he must have forgotten it was hurt again and jumped off of something and jammed it again. He was holding the leg way in the air and meowing a lot more. I called the vet and she said she would prescribe him some anti-inflammatory to help with the pain. And that we should have him keep it "quiet" and rest. Aside from trapping him in his 2x2 square travelling cage...I don't know how that is going to happen.

So all week I have been mothering to my fourth child. Trying to focus extra attention on him and keep the kids away from him. It is an exhausting task.

Isn't he so cute all stretched out in the sunshine? He should be on an inspirational kitty poster with the word "bliss" on it.

Next topic...

While I was getting Hailey dressed on Monday (Monday was just not a good day), I began to comb her hair when I noticed this....

Yeah...no need to adjust your monitors...her ear is purple. The sad part is I don't really know what happened. She was fine on Saturday and I know that because I put her hair in pigtails and I would have noticed this hugely bruised ear. I know that on Sunday she cried two or three times and said that she bumped her head. Apparently one of those times she must have bumped her ear and bumped it mighty hard. Poor little thing. Maybe her loving parents could have brought her an ice pack or something. It doesn't seem to bother her at all. Even if I touch it, she doesn't complain. It just looks totally nasty - I have never seen anything like it. I didn't even realize that you could bruise your ears.

Next....

Last Saturday, Trent and I raked and bagged forty two bags of leaves. It is really not as bad as it seems and it saved us from paying someone a hundred and seventy dollars to do it for us- Cha-ching! In the process of that task I hurt my left wrist. I don't know what I did, but the next day if I bent it a certain way it was very painful. If it is not bent, it doesn't hurt, so I keep forgetting about it until I bend it and it hurts. Follow that? To alleviate the bending, I wrapped it up in the bandage that Spencer used when he dislocated his elbow. For those of you surprised that I still have the bandage that my son wore three years ago, this is my reply. HAVE IT? I was actually surprised that I hadn't put it in his SCRAPBOOK (Spencer's 1st visit to the ER - with festive stickers and children's Tylenol with codeine prescription and a swatch from his Ace bandage) but then I remembered that I am so far behind in my scrapbooks that I am nowhere near the time when it happened. Whew! Tragedy averted. Close call!

Anyway...I know that it hinders on a touch of the drama, but it really helps. I had it off for most of the morning today and my wrist almost feels totally back to normal. So I put it back on so that I wouldn't re-injure it when the kids decide to play "super mommy".

I am hoping for a laid back weekend but by the looks of our calendar, I don't think it is going to happen. In addition, Evan's nose has been running like a faucet today so he either has allergies or is getting a cold. Great. Now if I could only keep him resting and quiet....

Oliver Dickens and Derby Day!

I didn't realize how much that sounded like the title of a book from the fifties.

It has been almost 48 hours since the newest member of our family arrived. When I got home from photography class on Tuesday night I could hear the squeals of joy from the garage as the boys chased the kitty around the house. They informed me that they had changed his name to Dickens since he "runs like the dickens". I realized the next day that Dickens also happens to be the author of Oliver Twist. Charles Dickens - fairly famous. Yeah - next day - it was after nine at night - my brain was pretty much fried. I have been calling him Oliver Dickens. Spencer claims his name is Dickens Milo. He copied the name Milo from his buddy's cat. Evan this morning called him Dickens McNarland. The latter after a boy in his class. Who knows what name the poor little kitty will wind up with.

He has been great so far. Using his litter box. Sleeping in the leopard print diva bed that Spence picked out for him. He is very playful and very social. He LOVES being around people. The boys have been super busy every day and evening since we got him so he seems to have fixated to me. I am not an animal person and for some reason animals sense this and just flock to me. He is sitting on my lap trying to grab my fingers as I type right this minute. He follows me around and meows to be picked up and petted. If I don't pick him up he gets his claws into my pant leg and starts climbing up my body.

He is basically Hailey in kitten form.

Having Dickens in the house sort of reminds me of when we brought Spencer home from the hospital. It took awhile to get used to the new dynamic in the house. I remember feeling like someone had given us this baby to take care of and would be back anytime to take him back. It is the same way with the kitty - minus the overwhelming feelings of love and hormones.

I hope he becomes attached to someone else soon because frankly, I am running out of unconditional love to give. Especially when LOST is on! Though his eyes do remind me a little of Richard Alpert from LOST - they are rimmed with black - he looks like he is wearing guyliner.
======================================

Tonight is the big Cub Scout Pinewood Derby! Spencer was pretty excited to go and race his little car! The picture doesn't really do it justice. I should have turned it around so that you could see the flames he painted. That is what he named it - Flame Thrower. Sounds menacing huh?

At least he did the painting all by himself. That is what they are supposed to do, but so many of the Dad's do it for their kids. Seems like a point is getting missed there somewhere.

Stay tuned for the next chapter...