Breaking Some Bad News

Today I had to prepare my four-year-old Luke for tomorrow. Ermie, our 17-year-old cat, will go to the doctor. I do not expect her to survive. Luke has understood this day is coming within his limited knowledge.

"Mom, I don't want Ermie to go to the doctor and get a shot."

"I know sweetie. But everything will be okay. Sweetheart, sometimes when kitties are older they start to give us signs that they are failing. Have you ever seen Ermie barf?"

"Yes."

"How many times?"

"Um, a hundred?"

Merry Christmas Fail

El Gatito Nuevo - Aceituna

Olive is growing bigger almost everyday and it's astonishing to see such rapid growth. She plays hard and sleeps hard, all while steering clear of Ermie, who has turned into an grumpy, old, growling lady.

Luke is especially taken with her. He carries her around nonstop and I can tell these two are going to be napping buddies, once she's a little bigger, of course.


As for these two, they have an interesting relationship. He sneaks up on her when she's sleeping and scares her half to death, while she jumps on him around my bedtime and starts attacking his feet. Aidan laughs with sheer delight, but I sure hope these two learn to get along. Even in this picture she's trying to bite our baby!


Her biting really is a problem. It's annoying. It's painful. Thank goodness she's just learned to respond to our emphatic no's. If it weren't for that we really would have followed Jay's suggestion and renamed her "Bug." Man, does she bug.


But we just love her sweet little face.


And her adorable little leopard markings.


And just when she's fooled us into thinking that she's finally growing up and is ready to act like a lazy old cat, she'll go and remind us what she really is.

Shamu Stadium

Olive has arrived and we are in the quarantine stages as described here. I have not heard so much as a growl from Ermie at this point. I figure she can't fathom a worse addition to her life after meeting Luke and Aidan.

Ermie is a little more on edge and I can tell she's picked up Olive's scent. She's not as cuddly with me which makes me sad at times. This whole process is different than I thought it'd be. I thought I'd really enjoy having a little kitten around, but it turns out that a kitten plus a baby and a three-year old is just a lot of work. We were set to receive Olive in two weeks, but the woman taking care of her was forced to move and so off to their new homes went all the little kitties. I'm a little disappointed in that situation because she seems to be only four weeks of age. Regardless, Luke and Jay are enjoying her. We determined from the start that Jay would be her "mother" so as to not tick off Ermie even further, so we're calling it his cat.

The best way to describe our house right now is to say that it's like Shamu stadium. Ermie is held up in my bedroom with Olive in Luke's. They each take turns being in the main living area of the house. When one bedroom door opens, the other closes with brief periods of cat-free moments for the spectators. For now we'll have to see if the cats' tails start flopping over to the side now that they're being held in captivity with one another, just like our orka friends.

Despite all the inconvenience, it has been nice to see that one of my suspicions is correct. Although Ermie can sense the new threat, she has not growled at Luke all week. He has only picked her up one or two times since Olive's arrival and I'm sure she appreciates this. He was carrying her everywhere and I could tell she did not appreciate this. I figured a younger playmate might be a fun source of entertainment and companionship for him.

Perhaps one day our house will be open in peace, but in the meantime we'll be dealing with this tedious period of transition.

It's a Girl!

In three weeks we will be adding a baby girl to our family of five. After attending the SD cat show and seeing crazy stereotype-perpetuating ladies, I caught the kitten bug. It's been something I've been wanting for a long time. I have had our beautiful Ermine since I was 14 years old. She has been amazing, but I want the rest of her life to be good. Luke wakes her up numerous times throughout the day, picks her up, and drags her around the house. The poor thing just wants to sleep! She will be turning 16 in July and is currently the equivalent of 76 years old in human years. I realize that introducing a kitten, a companion that is the equivalent of a 2 year old, is not the best companion for her, but I'm hoping that the new little one will provide distraction that will let the old girl rest.

It's going to be a long process. When I got Ermie back in the day, I had no idea what I was doing. I just put all the cats in the same room and let them hiss it out. I had no knowledge of introducing smells and providing positive experiences for both cats in order for there to be harmony within one multi-feline household. This time it will be different.

I hope.

I plan to make this cat Jay's cat in hopes that Ermie will not reject me. This will be difficult, but Erms is worth it. Besides, all cats loooooove me anyway, so it's just a matter of time.


Here she is. This is the first picture I saw of her and was what helped us decide to pursue her adoption:

She is part Bengal. Bengals are an interesting breed, an extremely exotic looking breed. They are actually bred from Asian Leopard cats. Bengals are the 4th generation cats from this cross. They are supposed to be great with kids and more like a dog. Bengals are known for playing catch, playing in water, being capable of learning to shake hands and walking on a leash and such, and really crave lots of high levels of interaction.

As far as her name, I'm stuck. Here's the growing list. Remember, it must be complementary to or as weird as Ermine (Ermie).
Jadis
Mobius (not very ladylike, I know)
Evangeline Lily (Jay liked "Benjamin Linus Wins")
Olivia
Eden
Olive

I think I REALLY like Olive. Any other suggestions?

Pleeeezzzzzzzzze?!?!

This morning I woke up and decided that I wanted a rabbit.

Look...who wouldn't want this guy? This thing is awesome. I'd love to see it hopping around the house. I'd be scared of vacuuming when he was around, but he sure is cute!

I need to go pet Ermie for a few minutes, then maybe this urge will be gone.


(These are angora rabbits. Look how cute they are when brushed!)

Just for Jason!

He loves chimps and he loves segways, so what's not to love about this video?

Chimpanzee rides Segway @ Yahoo! Video

Hee hee!

I'm the Hippo. Here's the culprit.

On the day before my 29th birthday, I received a text from one of my besties,  Samuel.  "I'm coming down." It said.  "Lemme know what kind of cupcake you want!"  

I was excited beyond belief.  While watching that trashy The Girls Next Door show (which I love, btw), Bridget Marquardt had confessed on camera that she frequently indulged in the overpriced Sprinkles cupcakes, despite having extraordinary pastry chefs at her fingertips while living in the Playboy Mansion.  I was instantly intrigued and after doing a quick google search, I was looking at their cupcake menu and drooling profusely.  Doesn't it look pretty?  It's even color-coded!  Fattening, sugary, and OCD!  It just couldn't get any better!  See?

http://sprinklescupcakes.com/flavors.html

Back to the birthday celebration.  I must admit I did something shameful.  What Sam asked me was what kind of cupcake I wanted.  Did you notice that "cupcake" was singular?  That's right.  ONE.  I ignored that and instead, I asked for every flavor available.  I have no shame.  That's right, I asked for twelve.  TWELVE!!!  Sam, the good friend that he is, did not judge.  What a keeper.  We sat around the Sprinkles box and tasted each cupcake together simultaneously, right after I had equally divided the cupcakes into fourths.  I think all of us were topped off at around the fifth or sixth one, but it was an enjoyable way to end my 28th year of life.

I've never tried drugs or anything of the sort, but trying all those cupcakes that afternoon, sitting across from my husband, Sam, and my three-year old son, surely qualified as substance abuse.

I wish the story ended there.

The next day, my actual birthday, my mom called.  She was planning on driving down that morning with the rest of my semi-local family.

"Anything special I can bring you for your birthday?"

"Um...yeeeahhhh...Well, no, I really shouldn't...but I really want it, but I'm supposed to be doing my whole vegan thing right now, but...oh screw it, it's my birthday.  Would you mind getting me some cupcakes?"

She drove an hour out of her way to Sprinkles, bless her heart. My grandma, who spoils me frequently, bought me TWO DOZEN.  Can you believe that?!?  Sam could not believe what a pig I was when I messaged him later that afternoon.  Goodness me.

I did share six cupcakes with the kids.  Aren't I nice?  

And...Believe it or not, I've lost ten pounds since that day!