On the Mend

Dr. Frazier's team at Northshore Animal Clinic took Kidaca in and cleaned her wound this afternoon. She's on a heavy round of antibiotics for 10 days and has been very cooperative about taking them.

Drat that Cat!

Our home came with an added 'feature' which we didn't learn about until closing...Kidaca.



Don't get me wrong. I love cats. Adore them. And Kidaca is no exception. It's just we weren't expecting her. She just happened upon us.

Mrs. Billy - the kindest, funniest and most generous little old lady ever lived very happily in this home for nearly two decades. And when her children insisted it was time to move, she wasn't happy. Apparently, neither was the cat. Because no matter how often I caught her and carried her to Miss Billy's new home (two blocks away) - she found her way back to our yard.

So I fed her. And I pet her. And the neighbors reveled that Kitty let me even touch her let alone hold her. And I fell in love. It's been 3 years now, and Kidaca waits under our car every morning and evening for her 9-Lives and cuddles, which Ava and I happily give.

But our own kitty - our planned, expected 'pet' - Miss Cleo - isn't having it. I suspect she is guilty of the bite wounds in Kidaca's tail. They've been ugly for about a week and are now starting to ooze.

This is where the guilt sets in. I KNOW she needs medical attention. But we're on a tight budget, she's not technically OURS (oh - isn't the denial disgusting?) and the vets I've consulted will charge anywhere between $30 - $48 to even LOOK at her. She is fixed and has received her rabies booster, but nothing more.

I've struggled for a week over what to do - all the while dabbing her sore with Q-Tip swabs of Neosporin. But the time for action has come. Do we pay a potentially astronomical amount (anything seems outlandish to Jason to spend on this cat) or take her to the Humane Society and comfort ourselves with the theory that she's had a good run?

THANK GOODNESS for my mom. "Take that cat to the vet NOW", she told me. "The check's in the mail." She may have saved my marriage.

Kitty's now at the vet and we've told them what we are willing/able to spend and they say it can be done. Thank you mom! You are the sweetest, kindest, most generous person I know.

Hi, Elmo? It's me, Ava!

This was the beginning of a call Ava placed to Elmo tonight on her 'cell' phone.

If only we could get her to say half as much when we make calls to Grannie and Grandad and Grammie and Papa. She's often hesitant to hold the real phone, much less say anything to either set of grandparents who anxiously chat on the other line, baiting her for information, hoping to hear as much as a syllable.

When she realized I was listening in, she wrapped up the call.

"My mommy's here Elmo. We're going to read books. Ay-YOT of books! See you yater!"

Party Time!

It isn't really a party until someone pees in a bounce house. And given the 7 huge inflatables, turtle-waxed slides and the joy of seeing Mommy and Daddy bouncing too, it was just too much for a toddler to handle. In her excitement, Ava had an accident in a maze at Braden's birthday party, sending several kids scrambling for dry ground.

One Down...a lifetime to go!

I watched my speed as I drove to pick Ava up from her first day of pre-school. 'Not too early', I reminded myself. I actually imagined that she'd run into my arms when she saw me. "Mommy! Mommy!", shrieking with delight - clutching her artwork in a chubby little hand, anxious to share her day with me.

ha!!

Sitting in a sandbox, talking to her teacher, she greeted me with a cold, "Hello, Mommy" and shouted in protest when I said it was time to go.

She cried all the way to the car and 3/4 of the way home, stopping only when I suggested we watch Sesame Street when we arrived home.

I think this means preschool is a success.

Ava's First Day of Preschool

So serious! We tried to get Ava to smile, but she wasn't having it. I find solace in knowing that my sister Corie would never give a natural smile to anyone trying to take her picture as a kid, yet she's one of the happiest people I know!

OK - so we had a cute pink outfit picked out with shorts and a little polo top that had pink stripes to match the sneakers - a requirement of pre-school so she can run and jump and not be hindered or easily hurt. But she wasn't feeling it. No, she insisted on the purple gingham button up which is so girly and irresistable, I can see why. But the shoes. Oh well. It's part of the beauty of being a toddler, don't you think? Who cares what it looks like. I simply LOVE the little ones wearing cowboy boots with shorts or the superman cape to the dr.'s office. It's the beauty of the age.

More to come. Jason said she ran right in to her new school this a.m. and the director gave him the thumbs up! I can't wait to hear the stories! Keep posted!!