valentines

Valentine's Day. A day to show your love.

And to show the other kids' mom how awesomely creative you are. Ha!

Let's start with Julie's gift to her classmates....a tiny bottle of bubbles with the sentiment "You blow my mind." Very cute.

Next, Maddie's....two brightly colored band-aids that make her "feel better." Adorable.

And, finally, JP's annual photo valentine. The awesomeness is awesome. His valentines in previous years have been good, but this year's is by far the best. And I had the most fun putting this one together. I geeked out too many times to count.

Not to take too much credit here....every one of these ideas was "borrowed" from Pinterest. That place is amazing.

And, look, ma! No candy! I figured the kidlets would get plenty from their friends and I didn't need to contribute to the sugar rush. Seriously, my kids are sweet enough.

chloe

Most everyone, at some point in their lives, has a love-hate relationship with someone. Sometimes this relationship is hot and fast; other times it's long and smoldering. Usually, though, they end in tears.

When Chris and I were newly engaged oh so many years ago, we adopted a kitten from the local shelter. She was tiny and beautiful and climbed the cage to get our attention. We knew she was our cat. We had been chosen.

Chloe was a mere 5 weeks old when she came home to us. An itsy-bitsy ball of gray and white fur. She loved to attack our fingers and toes while we slept and, in true cat fashion, tried to trip us every chance she got.

Then, we spayed her. And she turned into Catzilla the Fat. That forever-a-girl feline could rip you open in 2.3 seconds flat. You wouldn't even know what hit you.

But I loved her anyway. She was my cat. Even after Roxy and Max came along, Chloe was my baby. But she scared the living crap out of everyone else.

For the past year or so, Chloe hasn't been right. She lost her weight, her fur went from sleek to dull, and she chewed on her skin mercilessly. We treated her with occasional steroid shots and they helped but she always returned to the street cat look.

Yesterday, when we got home from work, I discovered several blood smears throughout the house - by the food bowl, in the bathroom where she slept, and around the litter box. I found Chloe and saw she had gnawed through her skin in several places.

Today, she went to the vet. I initially asked for treatment, but it quickly became clear to me that providing medical care to a nearly 15-year-old cat wasn't a very good use of resources, and it wouldn't improve her quality of life very much.

So a decision was made.

I knew this decision was a strong possibility (OK, the only possibility) and I thought I'd be OK with it. After all, Chloe had been less momma's girl and more annoying-won't-you-please-just-go-away cat for a long time.

But I bawled like a baby anyway.

She was first given a sedative so they could inject the final solution into a vein, and she showed her true colors. She screamed and fought and hissed and acted like the Catzilla I knew and loved. One last hurrah for Chloe.

Once she was completely stoned, the medicine was administered. And then it was administered AGAIN. Damn cat needed TWO doses to die. The vet said he gave her enough for a 60 pound DOG.

Just like Chloe to be so stubborn. Give 'em hell in heaven, girl.

home again

This post was supposed to be published on Thursday, Feb. 2, but I think Maddie had a coughing fit or a cat threw up or something so I got distracted...

Sick day #2. The girls were feverish all night so home they stay today. They aren't super sick, so we ran a couple errands this morning - went to my office for some time-sensitive tasks, went to Kroger for some milk, and met a friend for lunch.

Now we're home. I was hoping they'd nap, but their coughing is keeping them up. So, Maddie is sacked out on the couch watching Yo Gabba Gabba and Julie is quietly applying heart-shaped stickers to the wall.

I have a general feeling of apathy but also a small nagging feeling that I should be "doing something." I should have a project going - organizing a drawer or making some crafty thing or something.

Staying home with the kids isn't easy for me. I'm never sure what to do with them or myself. Today, they aren't well so it makes sense for them to rest on the couch and watch TV....BUT....that's what they do when I'm home and they're NOT sick.

My friends take their kids to the park, the lake, the zoo, the library, on picnics and so on and so forth. Generally speaking, the idea of taking Julie AND Maddie to such things makes me want to pull my eyelashes out one by one.

So, we'll just continue watching TV and thanking the stars that the ladies get to do fun crafty stuff at day care.

wants

JP and I were walking on campus this afternoon when he said out of the blue that he wanted a slushie. I commiserated with him. I mean, who DOESN'T want a slushy on a warm Friday afternoon in February?

His matter-of-fact statement got me thinking.  Why is it that a twerpy little 8 year-old boy can so confidently state what he wants and I, a wise old woman of the world (ha!), cannot even decide what to fix for supper any given night.

So, I thought, why not make a list of the things, both concrete and not, that I want right now?  It would be an exercise in owning my thoughts or, at the very least, in sheer consumerism.  Which is the true American way, after all.

As of this very moment, I want...

1. a new desk chair.  This one is getting old and isn't very supportive anymore.
2. the very slight headache I'm developing to disappear.
3. to run a mile without dying.
4. to fit into my jeans again (grief eating is not good for my wardrobe)
5. to wake consistently early enough to get my exercise in so I don't have to think about it the rest of the day
6. someone else to cook dinner for a whole week.
7. for Nancy's house to magically be cleaned out and sold.
8. a hug from Chris and then another one from the girls....I already got one from JP.
9. to feel content and satisfied with my life.
10.  a slushie.
11.  a dress that doesn't make me feel like a dork. I'd kinda like to wear a dress this spring.
12. to lose 20 pounds and stay that way (don't we all?)
13. to find a craft or handwork that I enjoy and want to do again and again.
14. to read "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" that is sitting at home on Chris's Nook (that sounds weird, doesn't it)
15. to take a nap.
16. everyone to sleep in their own beds tonight all night long with no interruptions.

That about does it for rightthisverysecond.  In 20 minutes, I'll probably want something else.

tubing

The fourth time's the charm, right?

Sunday evening, the runny noses started....a tiny voice in the back of my mind whispered, "Here it comes....get ready."

Monday evening, the coughing began. That tiny voice got a little louder.

Tuesday morning, the coughing worsened. Day care reported that they coughed all day.

Tuesday night, low-grade fevers and very fitful sleeping. That tiny voice was screaming EAR INFECTION!

Today, we went to the doctor. The voice was right.

The right ears of both ladies are mildy infected, so we'll start a round of the usual pink stuff. A little ear infection is no huge deal except when it's the fourth one since October.

So, we'll see the ENT this month to consider ear tubes. I'm less than thrilled about putting both girls under general anesthesia but I'm tickled about the highly-likely reduction in ear infection frequency and severity.

I had a ton o' ear infections as a wee one. Tubes were the best thing to happen to me. I still got infections once in a while, but not as often and certainly not as seriously. Ask my mom. She'll tell you.

And you know what? This is a medical intervention NOT related to their prematurity. This is regular kid stuff. I LOVE regular kid stuff!

Stats: Just 21 days shy of their 3rd birthday, Julie weighed in today at 24.5 pounds; Maddie is a lightweight at 22.5. They're at less than the 3rd percentile for their age (meaning they're pretty much the tiniest nearly-three-year-olds around) but man, are they cute.