Yin Yang

 

Yin and Yang have arrived at our house.  Lamar thought it would be a good idea for Shianne to have two rats.  Yes, I said TWO RATS!!!  Shianne is so excited to have them.

I personally find it rather ironic that we have De-Con in the basement and attic, but we have rats for pets.  Go figure!

100 Days of Calum, Day 66

Does this picture make you smile? It makes me. This is just the happy expression I needed this morning after the terrible evening I endured.

I stayed up late watching the last two Season 1 episodes of my favorite new TV series, Sons of Anarchy. I was enjoying the quiet of nobody needing anything from me. I nestled into bed at 11:00 and Calum started to stir. I headed upstairs being grateful that he woke before I fell asleep. I fed him and put him back to bed. I get comfy again and Lamar and Boba begin to snore. GRRR. I finally fall asleep and Calum chimes up again. I get out of bed, head back upstairs and tend to him. This happens two more times then Zara starts to stir. She only does this when she is about to get sick from one of her two ends, usually the result from eating chicken. I wonder how she got her paws on the dreaded food. I could not put Calum down fast enough before I smelled what I was about to see. I now spend the next hour cleaning the carpet. I crawl back into bed and a few minutes later I notice the living room light come on. Nora Beth came downstairs sick. She has a fever of 103.8 and tells me that she is achy and her "brain hurts." Looks like the flu has arrived at our house! I get her back to bed and cuddle with her for a while, then Calum is up again. Feed again, put to sleep, head downstairs to Lamar and Boba snoring. No sooner than I fall asleep, Lamar wakes up to get ready for work, completely oblivious to what has happened all night, this wakes up Calum, then Nora Beth. The day looks just like my night!

Shianne decided to take a hour long shower, which made her late getting ready for school. I had to drive her, thus meaning packing up the other two kids for the drive. This is when Calum gave me the great smiles.

Shianne wins the award for being the only person/animal to not keep me awake/cleaning last night! So what is her reward, a night of staying home with a sick sister and tired brother instead of going to go see Rocky Horror Picture Show like I wanted to do with her. I just hope she does not get sick for her big day of OSU Football tomorrow.

I think she knows something....

I think she knows something is going on. Ever since I found out that I was pregnant, Jibby has been following me around the house and must be by me at all times. When I lay down, she must be by my side, or even better, perched on my stomach.

This is uncharacteristic of Jibby. This is Shianne's cat. I have been happy for the past 6 years to have a non-existent relationship with Jibby. I am not a fan of cats, I much prefer the big dogs. I tolerate Jibby just because Shianne loves her so much.

These days "The Jib" has become my sidekick - literally. I wake up in the middle of the night to find Jibby perched on my stomach. I kick her off the bed, only to find her return within minutes. It is like she is sitting on her own litter. She is protective of my stomach. She knows that there is something going on there. I am sure she is convinced that I am gestating "her baby." It is amazing how perceptive animals can be. I am just happy that I am down to single digits in weeks before this little one makes it's appearance and Jibby can reclaim her throne in Shianne's room.

Happy Birthday Zara

Zara turned two today. Normally I would not celebrate a pet's birthday, but this is Zara, MY PERFECT DOG! She is my princess and must be treated accordingly. She was so cute when we brought her home and has developed into a wonderful family dog. She may have no redeeming qualities of a lab, but that is not important. She can breathe on command and does a great job of making sure the couch does not get away from her. She will also put up with anything that Nora Beth can dish out - she can play an excellent round of princess dress up. Happy Birthday Zara!

For the love of the pets

I may not post about them very often, but our pets are pretty important around this house. They are constant entertainment, always available for some cuddles and great companions for the family. Yes, they do eat a lot, are a hassle when we want to go away for the night and they keep me vacuuming and sweeping daily, but they are worth it.

When one of them gets sick, I go into panic mode. We noticed that Zara was biting and itching on Monday. I DO NOT live with fleas. I actually pride myself that we have not had a flea problem in over 11 years. I immediately bathed all animals and started washing all bedding and soft surfaces in the house. Again, I DO NOT live with fleas. I left the house for a bit on Thursday morning and all was fine. I came home to find Zara had bit so much at her hind quarters that she now had a very large open wound. Panic mode! I called the vet and rushed her in.

While driving, I was thinking of my friend Amy and her recent vet experience. We really like our vet. He believes in a more natural approach and does not charge a fortune, something that is very important to us since we tend to be at the vet more than the doctor for ourselves. Zara was excited to go for a ride, but she knew the building as soon as we pulled up and was now not so happy about this unexpected ride.

The vet checked Zara out and told me that there was NO SIGN OF FLEAS! Huge relief. It looks like she had been bit by something and she is having some sort of reaction to that bite. We were sent home with some antibiotics and some spray to help with itching and healing and told to call back if she was not better by Monday. Disastrous vet bill averted.

We made it home, Zara was dosed up on her meds and enjoyed the evening of being completely pampered by me. I need to find her a LARGE chew bone to keep her busy today.

Holiday Trip, Days 10, 11, & 12

OK - you are going to get the past three days all thrown into one post. It is not that we have been exceptionally busy, but more of me being very lazy and choosing to sleep, knit and read rather than update this blog.

One of the highlights of coming to Iowa is making pancakes with Grandma Helen. The girls rush into the kitchen in the morning proclaiming "I want to help!" This time Nora Beth made it first. I was just excited that she was actually wearing her robe, rather than running through the house naked like she usually does. This child just will not keep her clothes on!

Marie had given Nora Beth a jar of Marachino cherries, knowing that it is one of her favorite food groups. She has insisted on putting them on her pancakes every morning. No butter, no syrup, only cherries on her pancakes. She knows what she likes.

These pancakes are very different to me. I like the fluffy kind, these are more of a sourdough crepe style. Right now, the smell of them makes my stomach turn, but the girls and Lamar enjoy them so much that I am putting up with my discomfort, just to keep them happy (or is it I would have discomfort no matter what was being cooked?)


Mary Ann, Shianne and I went to go see the movie Marley & Me. Shianne just finished reading the book and I told her that as soon as she was done reading it we would go to the movie. So two hours later we were in the theatre. She took that declaration from me literally! It was such a cute movie. We laughed (ALOT!) and cried (big, wet, ugly tears!).

Many of you know that I am a big dog lover and we had a Lab named Anna for many years. I was so in love with that dog. She could do no wrong in my eyes. So many things that Marley did in the book/movie were stunts that Anna had done. Anna was a Lab that did not like water, retrieving or exercise. Her place was laying on the floor watching the birds eat her food. She ate the rose garden (yes, all 20 roses!), the lilac tree (this was no seedling), the living room carpet (she was just letting me know we had hardwood) and a chicken (yes the whole chicken, no taking bites here, the whole thing!). Of course there were numerous other stunts that she pulled, but I am just updating a blog, not writing a novel here. Oh, how we miss Anna.

Lamar and I took the girls over to Lennox to see the light display. This whole town decorates for the holiday. The central park is magical looking. The girls really enjoyed looking at the lights. We told them we would get them ice cream for the trip, but we found out that the local DQ still closes for the winter here. I guess no one around here enjoys ice cream when it is 7 degrees outside (I do, I do, hands waving enthusiastically!!!)

We have no water here in rural Iowa. No joke. The snow melted so fast that it overwhelmed the water processing plant, mixed sewer in with the drinking water and a public health warning was issued - no using the water. This really complicates daily life around here. I do not drink the water here anyways, it has a funny taste to me, but now we cannot even wash dishes and I am questioning showering and laundry - yes, my inner germophobe is coming out here! This warning is supposed to last for several days. Lamar stocked up on bottled water and disposable plates to get us through.

I spoke with Lora last night. She is booking a trip to Las Vegas for us to recover from our holidays. I just love it when friends know exactly what I need!

Lamar and I are heading into Des Moines to enjoy the New Years festivities with some college friends. This should be fun. Of course, I have the title of DD this year due to my current pregnancy status....maybe Lamar planned it this way...hum.....

I will update you more next year. Welcome 2009!

Jasmine, We will miss you

Lamar has had his cat Jasmine for about 15 years. She lived in the TKE house (this explains many of her issues) and has moved around with us over the years. She only likes Lamar. The vet often told us that she would not have any problems if she was able to be alone with Lamar and the rest of us moved out. We did our best to accommodate her over the years. She really did have a great life as the "alpha animal" of the house. She did not have to follow the rules that the other animals had to. Antidepressants also helped.

Jasmines health has been going down hill over the past 2 years, but a drastic decline in the past 3 months. We made an appointment for her to go to the vet before we left on our holiday vacation. On Sunday evening, I noticed a drastic turn in her health. Lamar and I had a discussion and we decided that the most humane thing for us to do was to take her to the emergency vet clinic in town and have her looked at. We both knew that she would not be coming home. We let the girls say goodbye and Lamar left with Jasmine.

Normally this would be an easy drive, but a snow/ice storm had moved in a few hours earlier and the roads were a mess. Lamar passed 4 accidents in the first two miles of the drive. I felt so bad for him driving on the bad roads taking his cat in to the vet. He made it without any incidents, but the vet did not have good news. He found a growth in her abdomen that was taking up half of the space. With Jasmine unable to stand, eat or be comfortable, Lamar officially made the decision to let her go.

It seems unreal for her to not be in the house now, she has been with us so long. We will miss you Jasmine.