Summer & Kitten Updates

Where to begin - we sold the house, we've been swimming a lot, we've painted some pottery, we're still going to the library regularly. Yesterday, we stayed home most of the day. Today, we ran errands all day - made 12 stops and got a lot done.

Tomorrow, we are going to Gatlinburg to hike to Rainbow Falls. It is 5.6 miles roundtrip, and the hike is considered "strenuous." Not sure how well I will do.....

We've sold the house, and I've let the place go to the dogs. I was so tired of cleaning it and keeping it spic and span. But now I'm disgusted with my slobbishness so I tried to tidy it up tonight. But I'm glad I can actually leave my curling iron on the counter in the bathroom and put a magnet on the refrigerator again. It's not easy to live in a house that looks like something out of a magazine. Bleck!

The kittens are growing and getting cuter all the time. I've taken more pictures and will post more soon. I plan to start another blog - a public one - to discuss the fostering experience, and I hope it will help get them adopted. I can't come up with a catchy name for the blog, and I must have a catchy name!

You can definitely tell which kitten is getting the most milk (January) and which kitten is the runt (no name yet).

Miss Dora is so sweet. I think she's getting bored with kitten care 24/7 - I may need to put some toys in there soon. The kittens still sleep a lot, but now they will sleep in a heap together and not necessarily right up against their mom. When Miss Dora hears me coming, she hops out of the box for two reasons - a can of food and to get petted. I think she would like the same amount of attention that the kittens are getting.

Kitten Pictures

2 days old, first day here, this is the blanket and box they came in. I have washed the blanket.

This kitten is the only one this color. We believe it is a girl. She is named January Jones, and she doesn't have a tail.

Paul fixed the box to keep the flap up. He's good at coming up with solutions.

New blanket while other one gets washed. 3 days old. Mom is Miss Dora Jones.

Close up!

Miss Dora is out of the box eating a can of food. I'm feeding her really well, and she is making lots of milk hence the little round tummy on Miss January Jones.

The kittens either sleep or nurse or stagger around looking for their mom when she is out of the box eating.

Close up! Miss January Jones stands out since she is a different color than the rest. Two other kittens are solid black, one is black with white feet, and one is black/white just like mom.

They are starting to open their eyes. 7 days old. As of today, Miss January Jones is the only one who hasn't opened her eyes. She is the fattest kitten with the roundest belly. She is aggressive and knows where to find her meals and will root anyone out of the way.

We are having a very positive experience fostering. The mom is a gem, and the kittens are thriving. I won't go into the details about how the flea treatment went. Everyone was a trooper about it, but I won't be doing that again to such young kittens (despite the assurance I got from the vet's office). As long as they are not infested, I will wait til they are older before I zero in on the fleas.

We have "kitten time" 3 or 4 times a day ----- or more! We want them to get used to people and children, but we try not to stress Miss Dora. Once she eats, we watch them start to nurse then we leave them alone.

4 days old

The kittens are 4 days old today.

They have fleas. I knew the mom had them because the shelter told me, and I knew that the fleas would spread to the kittens. I just hate to see fleas on such a small animal. They aren't infested with fleas - yet, but we've got to get on this problem quick! You can't use many flea meds on nursing cats, but the vet's office did suggest a spray today that will be safe for the mother and the kittens. I will have to spray a towel and wrap it around the mom and try to hold her for 5- 10 minutes; this should poison the fleas. The problem is that she may not let me hold her for that long. The shelter also gave me a syringe of worm medicine for her. They told me she wouldn't like it. I dreaded giving it to her because I didn't want her to be scared of me. But she was a real trooper. To my surprise, she lapped it right up, even the little bit I spilled on her blanket. Maybe she'll do okay with the flea removal process too. I think she's feeling pretty grateful to me because I am the bearer of the canned food.

I will have to spray a wash cloth and wrap it around each kitten. I plan to do this while the mom is eating a can of food, but I'm afraid the kittens will get cold and mew piteously which will stress Miss Dora.

In honor of The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee (I have fixed the link to that website on my blog), I have decided that Miss Dora and her kittens will have a last name too.

Their last name will be Jones. And in honor of my favorite new TV show (Madmen), I will probably name a kitten January Jones. She is not my favorite actress (I don't know much about her), but every time I see her name in the credits on the show, I always like how that name sounds. Cool! And she is also in my favorite movie, Love Actually.

I decided that Abbie will name two kittens, I will name two, and Paul will name one. We just need to wait and find out which are males and females. Paul has already started terrorizing me with his ideas for a name..............

Abbie and I sit with Miss Dora's family several times a day. We like to watch them root for a boob. Since their eyes are not open, they blindly search. Supposedly, they can feel the nipples with their nose and mouth, but sometimes, they completely pass up a boob that is free and clear. Sometimes, after we watch a kitten take 5 minutes to find and get settled on a nipple, Miss Dora will shift a little, and the kitten will lose his hold. Or another kitten will root him off and steal his spot.

When it is time to go, Abbie has to give each kitten one last pat before she will leave.

Foster Kittens

We are SO enjoying our foster kitten experience. We've had them about 24 hours. Paul built an enclosure for them in the workroom of the garage. They have plenty of room, even when they get bigger and start playing.
The garage is so big, and we don't want them to roam the whole area so that they don't get lost or hurt or into something they shouldn't.
The mom, Miss Dora, is so good. The kittens seem to nurse all the time so she just lays there and lets us pet her. I feed her two cans of food a day - nursing makes her really hungry, and the shelter told me to expect that. She's sweet to us too, and lets us pet her as much as we want.
The mom is black and white and she has no tail (a bobtail). One kitten is black and white like her, two are all black, another is black with white feet, and another is a gray striped tabby. Two kittens have no tail. We try not to hold them anymore than we should, but it's hard not to want to snuggle them. Those little triangular ears....the teeny nose and whiskers.....the itty bitty paw pads....
I'm not going to apologize for blogging about them a lot!
I thanked Paul for the awesome place that he built. He thought of everything. I told him there was even enough room for another kitten enclosure and that we could take in another batch of foster kittens. He didn't even blink an eye. That's how I know I'm married to the right man.

Another Milestone For An Older Child & Cats

Abbie can clip her own fingernails.

That is a big deal. I didn't mind doing it, but she complains the whole time I do it so I'm glad she can do it very well on her own.

We should be getting foster kittens tomorrow. A mom and 5 brand new kittens. Eeeeee!

6-18-09

Up late again - past 2 am. Oy!

Abbie and I enjoyed oatmeal and toast for breakfast. Then we prepared for another trip to the pool.

Before going to the pool, we had to research a bug that terrorized Abbie on Tuesday. As we left ballet on Tuesday afternoon, Abbie told me she heard a buzzing sound. In a high pitched squeal that damaged my hearing, she spotted the flying bug. I had to pull over and get in the back seat to deal with it. I thought it flew out of the car so we got back on the road. As I got back into traffic, the squeal happened again along with panic and hysteria (Abbie thought it was a bee). I told her I couldn't pull over again (heavy traffic) so I rolled her window down. When I got to a red light, I looked back and saw the bug crawling up the crotch of her leotard. A full scale flipping out was about to ensue (her not me). I told her it was on her and told her to hold still because 1. I didn't want her to close her legs and possibly get stung down there and 2. I didn't want her to shift her position and possibly cause the bug to crawl inside her leotard (but thank goodness she had on tights). I was watching the red light and looking for something to swat the thing with when she finally said, "It flew out. Ha! Ha! Ha!" Her giggle amazed me. It's funny how a serious situation can turn funny so fast. Please note that I remained calm the whole time.

Abbie has a thing about bees. And shots. Note the similarity? One day, I let her go to the mailbox by herself. When she didn't come back in the time I thought she should, I went looking for her. I found her standing like a statue near the mailbox. When she saw me, she said "Is there a bee on my back?" There wasn't, and there never has been, but I have often found her in a similar position asking the same question. She will literally not move until someone confirms that there is not a bee on her back. She's never been stung there....

Back to the ballet bug - It was not a bee, but it was a flying insect that I've never seen before. It was like a fly but very unusual. She said it had black beady eyes, and I saw stripes on it. It was about the size of a horse fly, but that's not what it was. We found several pictures of fly species on the Internet but never saw anything that completely matched what I saw. Abbie asked me if it could have been an "invasive species from another country." Her words. :)

Despite the forecast of thunderstorms and a muggy, overcast sky, we picked up one of Abbie's friends and went to the pool. We had fun. While there, her friend said, "Do you want to jump off the diving board?" I casually watched Abbie out of the corner of my eye to see what she would say. To my amazement, she said yes. I was so proud. She jumped off the board repeatedly. So, so proud! After 2 hours at the pool, we had to obey our hunger and headed to Sonic. We were safely in the car when the lightning and thunder rolled in.

This evening, Abbie went to Vacation Bible School with another friend while Paul and I went to Evergreen (a garden store), Home Depot, and Mr.K's.

After exploring several aisles, we found what we wanted at Home Depot. We bought one thing for $1.07. Paul had a dollar, and I had zero change. Paul couldn't believe he had to use the debit card for such a small purchase.

We racked up at Mr. K's - a used bookstore. I got one book, and we bought 7 classics for Abbie and a historic book for her. We started The Call of The Wild by Jack London tonight. The 3 of us will read it together - Abbie chose to start with this one. And Paul bought The Caine Mutiny.

I made a loaf of banana bread tonight. I rarely make it - why? it's so easy! I think we'll have it for breakfast.

Today is our 15th anniversary. We already celebrated with our trip, but we exchanged sweet cards. While Abbie was at VBS, we had a nice evening of running errands (listed above), eating leftovers, and discussing politics. It's just nice to have an adult conversation every once in awhile.

6-17-09

Slept late again today. For some reason, Paul and I have been going to bed at 1:00 am. Not sure how it keeps happening. Then, when in bed, I still can't sleep. Usually, around 2 am, I start to get drowsy. Yesterday, I had no caffeine and took no naps and still went to bed at 1 am.

After breakfast, I cleaned house ALL DAY. Ugh! I did laundry too, and I guess that is why it took so long because normally I can clean it all in 2 hours.

Made a big batch of Kool-Aid today. Later when I blew my nose, it was pink!

We have 3 full baths, but we only use 1. I have banned the use of the other 2 because I don't want to clean them every time we have to show the house. Sometimes, after I vacuum, I say, "keep your carpet walking to a minimum." Hee Hee, I just say it to bug them b/c they'll believe me for a little while.

I made Abbie a grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch. That is about the best combo. I think I like it better than pb & j.

When the house was finally clean, Abbie and I went to the library and switched out some books.

Then we met Paul at Yong Asian House for some Thai Pineapple Fried Rice - yum! The house was being shown, otherwise, we would have had leftovers.

To kill more time, Paul wanted to buy ingredients for Caramel Brownies - otherwise known as "Lorrie's awesome recipe for caramel brownies" - otherwise known as "How much more can Paul screw with the recipe for Lorrie's awesome caramel brownies." Here are some candies he and Abbie pondered adding to the recipe: orange slices, laffy taffy, salt water taffy, and other terrible ideas. At one point, he considered making them mint chocolate caramel brownies, and I told him that might be a good combo, but no, that wasn't weird enough! They finally settled on strawberry milkshake whoppers!!!! Can you believe it? Paul says they were terrible. Thank goodness they made me a small section that was "un-messed-around-with." I don't think I'm going to share with them since they won't listen to me. Paul says, "How can we know how awesome these brownies could be if we don't experiment?" Excellent question. I think experimentation is fun and educational. But I said, "What if the brownie recipe already has the perfect combinations? What if they are already the best they can be?" Well, I guess he will need to keep testing his theory in order to reach my conclusion. Paul was going to take half of the brownies to work tomorrow, but they're so terrible, he can't take any now. Hee Hee!

6-16-09

Got up. Late. Abbie was still asleep.

I ate cereal (now that I have real milk again!). Finished my book.

I heard Abbie moaning and thought she was having a bad dream. I went to check, and it turned out that a cat got rambunctious on the bed, and she had a claw hole in her thumb. I looked at it, and she YELLED at me, "Get a bandaid!!!!". I need to teach her the word STAT! Apparently, getting rudely awakened by an injury can make an 8 year old super grumpy. The bandaid made it all better though. I could be a nurse.

It did rain this morning, and I thought our pool trip would be cancelled, but it cleared up quick. It took a million years to get ready, but we finally made it to the pool. I refuse to get more swimming lessons this year because the kid can swim. She just lacks confidence - not in everything, just some things. At the pool, I had her swim across the pool without touching, and I had her jump off the side of the pool in the deep end and swim to the ladder. And I had her practice treading water. She doesn't want to jump off the diving board, but she has, and I'm sure she will soon. I just have to keep working on her. Not pushing, just buoying.

Then she went to her first summer ballet class and some of her pals were there too.

Came home, and I fixed supper. Paul got home sooner than I thought. He had a rough day so he took a nap. I made spaghetti, rolls, and fried squash (cubed and dusted in cornmeal - yum!).

Then I cleaned house. Bleck!

Paul went outside to finish pressure washing the driveway. A big storm came, and he got his raincoat and finished the job. What a trooper!

6-15-09

3 weeks into summer vacation, and just now, I feel like our summer can begin. We went on vacation the first week, spent the second week doing laundry and general clean up and putting stuff away (and looking at the checkbook for the vacation damage).

I think we're going to the pool tomorrow - if it doesn't rain. I honestly don't mind all the rain we've gotten this year. We need it! It has not been very hot so far either.

Milestone for an older child - Abbie's feet almost sit flat on the floor when she sits on the toilet.

Paul and Abbie have re-started work on the fabulous Lego Deathstar. They stopped work after Christmas because we discovered several missing pieces. But Lego was cool about sending all the replacements.

We are going to start fostering kittens (still nursing and too young to be adopted yet). Before we left on vacation, we had many offers but were told to wait until we returned. Now, the shelter is fresh out of kittens. But I made sure we're at the top of the list when a new batch comes in. Can't wait!

We discovered Dogtown on Nat'l Geographic channel. Love it! During our trip to Utah, I discovered a brochure for Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Abbie and I will go there for vacation someday to volunteer.

Abbie is not afraid of frogs (neither am I). Paul is.

We discovered the tiniest frog I've ever seen while we were at the beach. We were playing putt-putt. Maybe they were babies - not sure. Small as a dime. We caught a few and let them go. Later as we were getting in the car, Paul pointed out a teen who was killing something with her putt-putt mallet- really whacking something ruthlessly. He thought maybe it was a frog. I think I went into shock. Planet Earth has little hope with people out there who litter (especially on the beach when there are plenty of garbage cans around), people who ruthlessly kill/abuse animals (even frogs), or people who kill babies. At first, I typed "no hope" but then I amended it.

And yet all is right with the world when a pot of soup beans comes out exactly right.

Abbie spent the night with my mom. For breakfast, she made her scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. Abbie asked my mom if her eggs were as good as mine. My mom said, "Well, I reckon so, Abbie. Your mom grew up eating my eggs so I guess they're good." While Abbie was eating, my mom asked her if her eggs were as good as mine. Abbie simply said, "No."

I can't drink organic milk. I have bought organic milk several times in the past. I'd prefer my milk without added hormones and antibiotics. I've bought several brands, but they have all spoiled before their expiration date. When we got back from the beach, I went shopping at Earthfare and all their milk is organic so I had no choice. I poured it out today (the expiration day was today). The reason I poured it out was because I haven't been drinking it (psychosomatic). I poured a little in a cup just to check. I only smelled it though, and it was gross! I don't know; maybe it's all in my head, but I'm back on Mayfield.

We ate at a Melting Pot while we were at the beach - our first time. We really enjoyed it. Wish we had one close by.

While we were at the beach, we stopped at Krispie Kreme. I asked Paul if he wanted to go through the drive-thru. He said, "No, that would be like going through a strip club drive thru. You have to go in to get the proper amount of temptation." Too true - we left with more than a dozen.

Kid in A Candy Store

Once I get my pictures loaded, I'll post some about our beach trip.

Abbie's been gone for two days - spent the night with my mom one night and the next night with her cousin. I hate her being gone, but she had fun. I asked her if she missed us, and she said no. !!!!!

Before I went to pick her up today, I went to the library (the candy store). Abbie and I both needed more books. While I love, love, love going to the bookstore; I also love going to the library. Since the books are free to borrow, I usually check out more than I can read b/c I can't seem to stop myself. I discovered a new writer (Adriana Trigiani), and I'm trying to finish the series. The library had one of the ones I needed, but I also got another book of hers that is unrelated to the series. And I got a cookbook. While looking for the cookbook, I discovered a college lecture series on DVD. I checked out the science selection since that is currently Abbie's favorite subject. The DVD has about 8-10 lectures on it, and there are 5 DVD's for this subject. I wonder if she will find them boring? Well, if it's just a professor standing there lecturing, I will also find them boring. But if there are lots of pictures, I think we'll enjoy it. There were many other subjects available. It was hard for me to make up my mind.

With the library being downtown, there are usually some interesting characters hanging around. Homeless people come in often to enjoy the heat or air conditioning depending on the season. As long as they are reading the paper, book, or magazine; they can stay as long as they like. I'm glad.

I had to return some books upstairs in the reference section (our library has a cool program for book clubs), and this area is where people go to get on the Internet. Many, many interesting people there too. I like to look at their screens as I walk by just to see what interests them (no, I don't read their stuff, I just look at the website in general). I can remember when we didn't own a computer when we lived in Kentucky, and I had to go to the library to check my email. Glad I don't have to do that anymore. Librarians must have an interesting job, but I'm sure they don't enjoy "babysitting" the public like they sometimes have to.

I remembered some books that I enjoyed in middle school that I thought Abbie might enjoy. I couldn't remember the author or the titles, but I asked a librarian to help me anyway. I gave her a description and she knew the books! Unbelievable!!

I did possibly meet a "disturbed" person as I was walking in today. When I started up the walkway, he got up off the wall and started walking directly in my path (there was lots of room around me). I was afraid I was going to get accosted, but he didn't touch me. Although he did look directly at me and mutter some ugly words as he walked past. Bleh!

The only thing I don't like about the library is that some books that you want are either checked out, or they don't have them. I like immediate gratification.

I got several books for Abbie. We'll probably have to go back to the library this week because she reads fast like me. I can't keep her in books so she sometimes has to re-read her favorites. Thank goodness she has a huge collection already. I'm getting her a new series for her birthday. She just finished the Dear Dumb Diary series. I am on the last one because I like them too. I try to keep up with what she is reading. These books are hilarious, and I don't understand how I man writes so well about a middle school girl. I wish these books had been available when I was Abbie's age.

Today, I asked her what she wanted for her birthday. As usual, she said she didn't know. I have a feeling that I will have to wing it.

P.S. the new Wendy's frosties look scrumptious! We're going tomorrow after church.