The Milk Man

Check out the only goaltender in the world who is possibly cuter than Henrik Lundqvist (a.k.a. new dad).

Photo Per Day #27: Kitten Proofing

This year, with new kittens, we're decorating the tree in all non-breakables. And, unlike prior years where the tree was decorated by little people (i.e., bottom loaded), all of our ornaments are now strategically placed at the top of the tree where they can't be swatted down by furry creatures. It's an equally bizarre lookin' tree only a few short years later.

So what must one do with all of the pretty bulbs? Shove 'em in bowls, I say (and then take a fuzzy picture).

Photo Per Day #7: Kitty Condo

Last night we hosted a bunch of nine year old boys for a sleepover. I think they had heaps o' fun. They played football and baseball outside in the freezing cold. Came in and played video games. Ate pizza and chocolate fondue (big hit). Received gift bags with Lego mini-figures and Brickarms weapons (because what Lego surfer dude is complete without an assault rifle?) Played more video games. Football in the basement. And they tried to stay up all night. 

Yep, the only night of the year when you don't want an extra hour . . .

Today's pic is post-mayhem: the kittens relaxing in their new Japanese style housing complex and looking at each other a la the Brady Bunch.

Time to go to sleep.

Love Cats

The other night our littlest kitten, who is no longer little, was ill. He must have eaten a plant or something when out on the porch all afternoon. He was listless, vomiting, breathing shallowly and his heartbeat was rapid. Pretty scary stuff. And he didn't want to be touched at all. To avoid dehydration, I kept dipping my finger in his bowl and he would lick the water off.

Yesterday morning he was still not well but I got a call later from the hubby that the kitten was regaining strength, had eaten some canned food and was drinking from his water bowl. Phew.

Last night, I walked in the door and he ran over to me, climbed straight up my pant leg and clung to my sweater until I held him. Then he began rubbing his head all over my face and suckling on my lips. Frantic for love.

Loosely translated, he was saying "omgiwassoooosickanddidntknowwhattodoandandandandicouldbarelyliftmyheadorbreatheandiwassoscaredandthenyouleftandicouldntfindyouanywhereyouweregoneforpossiblyyearsandiwassoscaredandnowyourehomeanditfeltlikeyouwerenevercominghomeimissedyousoooomuchandandandandimsogladyourebackthatimnevergoingtoletyougo"

It feels good to be loved. Thank God he's okay.

My Life at a Glance

1) I have three hickeys. Kitten hickeys. Somehow, against all odds, we got another passion kitty like Stinkers. A face licking, lip sucking, up all night snuggling/purring, chest-not-lap cat. And the impassioned evidence is on my neck (for all my clients to wonder about silently).

2) I'm almost at my baby weight. What the . . . ? And I bought three pints of Ben & Jerry's over the weekend. Must stop the nonsense.

3) Recently I went through my closets to get rid of everything that a) doesn't fit and/or b) hasn't been in style for a gazillion years. I then took the newer, more expensive, still looking fresh clothes and shoes to Lu's Back Door, a local consignment shop. As I wandered around looking at a lot of the old clothes they had on their racks, I thought I had segmented my piles too stringently. Some of the stuff I was giving to Goodwill was much nicer than what they were selling. Lo and behold, when I went to leave, I noticed the majority of my clothes were put aside to be picked up. They wouldn't take most of my items! Brand new pants from Saks that are already too small. No thanks? I was astounded and said to the lady, "You don't want any of this?" and pointed to one of my suits saying, "This is an $800 suit." Her response, "No one buys black here." Seriously? But they buy faded sweaters from the Gap and worn out shoes? Go figure.

4) I went with my girlfriends to see a double-feature this past weekend (i.e., two, one-act plays) at the Black Sheep Theatre. The theater only seats 30 people (talk about intimate) so the action takes place right in your lap. Both plays were mystery thrillers which made for a strange intensity in a space that little. Pretty cool.

5) Son #2's class won honorable mention this year for the book they submitted to the Scholastic Kids Are Authors contest. Although his teacher won the Grand Prize last year and he was hoping for a repeat performance, I would say he's pretty proud of himself/his class regardless. It's very impressive and they put a lot of hard work into it. While most of the student-written comments on the board in their classroom say, "I learned that with teamwork, great things are possible," his quote says something pithy like, "I learned that it takes more than a month to write a really good book." True.

That's it.

Staycation

There. I used it. Staycation. Thanks to JetBlue, I never want to leave my yard again. Instead, this spring break, we're hanging out with our two new friends: Tiger and Milky (as clearly named by little boys).

Very sad to "replace" Stinky so soon but everyone, bar none, told us it's the best way for kids to heal. So we're healing and bonding and, hopefully, falling in love.