Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: my week in photos

Excited to see a flower in the grass since she knows she can pick flowers that are growing in the grass.

Playing rugby, What a big kid!

My brother, Ben dressed up for his Vegas themed Stag & Doe

Miri's nice chalk drawing from her daddy!

Lucy loving a popsicle on a hot day!

Getting ready to run into the splash pad.

Lucy eating her grapes in her most adorable dress!

Sleeping in the car ALWAYS means they are holding hands. *sigh* Cute kids!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Smelly cat

3 cats.  We used to have 3 stinky cats.  First let me explain how we got into that situation to begin with.

We had this cat named Azara for a long time.  She is what I liked to call a bohemian. 


This is Azara's story:  One time she went missing for 5 months. She left at the beginning of August and I put up posters and got calls all the time saying people saw her.  Shortly after Christmas I received a phone call from OSPCA to say they had my cat.  We moved, she was an indoor cat for a couple years, we moved again into a house, and it was impossible to keep her inside. We locked the doors on thanksgiving weekend and came back to a screen partially removed and one missing cat.  The following May she was returned to us by someone who lived just down the street! 7 months!  We thought she was dead!


When we were living in Belleville, someone told me that some kittens were born under her house, mother had left them and she needed to find a home fore them.  I caved, the minute she said "red tabby".  I came home with THE best cat EVER!  


Meshach's story is simple:  He came to us as a wee little kitten.  We love him, he loves us.  He likes to go outdoors but doesn't stray far from home. He cuddles with my husband, let's the kids pull his tail and pick at his ear hair.  Honestly and truly and WONDERFUL cat. But he has always had other cats around and Azara went missing for 7 months and we figured that she had gone somewhere to die. He was lonely.  At the time I was working for a guy who was trying to find a new home for his nephew's cat.  The cat was friendly and cute.  So I said I would take MARLEY!

I have no photos of this cat.  He was a crazy cat.  He was the reason I put a BAN on cats in my house.  I said after the older cats died we could only have ONE cat, because of Marley.

The moment I let him out of the cat carrier he sniffed around and then hid for several hours.  Eric came home, the cat came out, took one look at Eric and attacked him, hissed at him and ran and hid.  We didn't see much of that cat for 3 or 4 months since he lived in his litter box and hissed at Eric while Eric cleaned the litter around the cat.

Now we have 2 cats, Marley and Meshach and low and behold we receive a phone call from a neighbour saying they THINK they have had Azara for 7 months and they have had her long enough and would like to bring her back to us now.  

This is how we came to have 3 cats.  For months Azara kept running away, back to the house that kept her warm through the winter months and for months the elderly lady who lived there would knock on my front door and drop her back off to me. Obviously she didn't want to live with Marley either!

This past winter, both Marley and Azara passed away.  They were both very old cats, marley being 16 and Azara's age was unknown but approximately 12 or 13.

We were left with our one, nice and loveable cat.  But something changed.  He stopped eating and didn't want to play anymore.  I read about animals going into depression when their pet friends die. My ban on cats was lifted and I sat in front of my computer confused about why I was on Kijiji looking for a kitten.

We got little Ira on Mother's day weekend.  He is now 10 weeks old.


Let me tell you something.... this is THE smelliest cat in the whole world.  His farts clear the room! Not only do they clear the room, but they happen frequently, like, more than hourly. He is freaking adorable, but he is a trouble maker.  He eats plants, thinks everyone is playing with him ALL the time and wants to sleep on our bed, but we don't usually wear gas masks to bed in our house.  Out of fear of waking up and gagging, we have had to lock him down stairs every night.  

So we have 2 cats now.  I am ok with this (I think) I have to figure out the cause of his smelliness, and I hope that he outgrows this kitten playfulness quickly.  Mind you, the whole reason for getting a kitten was to be a companion for Meshach, and all Meshach does is hiss at him.  So I don't know if it worked, only time will tell, but he is eating again!

Now you know the story of my smelly cat and can't help but this of Pheobe and wonder if this is how her "smelly cat" smelled and wonder "What am I feeding him?"

Did you ever have a smelly farting pet?

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Life!

This is proof that life can exist in even small spaces.  By fluke, some bird dropped a sunflower seed into the hole in this tree.  Pretty cool, if you ask me!


Monday, May 21, 2012

Under Pressure?

No - this is not about the Queen song "Under Pressure" although when I read it aloud, it immediately comes out sounding like the song.

The members of Queen. If you need to just go listen to the song... UNDER PRESSURE!


I just get this feeling of being under pressure. Pressure to buy my own house, pressure to keep my house spotless, pressure to get a good job (i.e. not staying at home and babysitting), pressure to raise my kids the 'right' way, pressure to have all the newest, latest and greatest gadgets and pressure to remain calm, and in control at all times.

If you remember the beginning of 2012, I said I hated new years resolutions BECAUSE they make you feel guilty all year long.  I stopped feeling guilty about not accomplishing everything and instead I feel pressure.

If I am being real (which I usually like to be) I would say I don't accomplish a heck of a lot on any given day.  I spend most of the day finding ways to entertain and feed children. Once my children are in bed, I give the house a 'tidy' and that's where it stops.  I'm tired, I need a break and I just want to do something mindless for an hour or so.

So here is how I have reduced my workload, and the great weight that used to sit on my shoulders

I'm lucky to have a husband who does the dishes.  Take dishes off my TO-DO list!  (If I actually had a list, it would be oh-so satisfying to scratch dishes off it)

I have given Seth a list of chores, everyday he does one chore. I can honestly say that Seth helping out has made a huge difference.  He cleans the upstairs (most used) bathroom on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In reality, this means that he wipes down the counter and uses an excessive amount of cleaning products to clean the toilet, but I don't care, because I am not cleaning the bathroom.) He washes windows on Tuesdays. He has his own job (newspapers) to do on Thursdays.  Fridays he empties the dishwasher and clears the dinner table and on Saturdays, he vacuums.  I haven't cleaned windows in months!  I only clean the washrooms once a week (which used to be something I did everyday).  And although I have an unhealthy obsession with vacuuming and I really have to fight the urge to vacuum immediately after he has finished, I do not have to use the vacuum on Saturday's.

I have also started meal planning.  This is new to me.  My mother did not make meal plans (as far as I know) and I have never actually seen anyone use this method in action but it has radically changed my life! (I may be a little over the top when I say "Radically" but if you knew how often I stood in front of an open fridge, cupboard or freezer wondering what to make for dinner, you would understand my exaggeration) I am actually excited to get the flyer from Seth on Thursdays to start figuring out what I am going to make with the things that are on sale that week.  I go to the grocery store ONCE, yes, I am trying to go just once a week, but occasionally we have run out of milk and I have needed to make the trip, but I am no longer buying things I did not need or did not intend to use in the near future.  This saves me so much anxiety about meals as well as so much time and money when I run to the store, last minute to get something for dinner and come home with 5 bags of groceries.

I started taking a couple walks a week by myself.   I am not a runner.  I could run to the end of my street, but walking back to my house would involve a whole lot of huffing and puffing, heart pounding and a sudden urge to collapse when I hit my own driveway.  Walking, on the other hand, I could do for hours.  I grab some music, headphones and bop my head as I walk all over the neighbourhood.  Several times I have come back from walking and say to Eric, "That felt so good, I don't know if I'm done yet or not!"

Lastly I have found that enjoying a cup of herbal tea or a glass of wine before bed has helped me to unwind enough to settle into a deep, satisfying slumber.  Now that my children have been sleeping through the night, I am feeling well rested and ready to do it all over again when I wake up.

Just taking a few minutes of cuddle time reminds me what a special gift I have in my children, and feeling less guilt, pressure and anxiety is allowing me to truly enjoy it!

A little cuddle to end the long weekend.


Thanks for reading!


Friday, May 11, 2012

My Mother

Even before I was born, You ALWAYS loved me,
You kissed my boo-boo and bandaged my knee.

You held my hand to cross the street,
And carried me when I couldn't use my feet.

Whether the reason to cry was justified, you always wiped my tears,
You loved my through the good and bad, you loved me all these years

You watched me, letting me make my own mistakes,
Now I know what a challenge that is and how much patience that takes.

Now that I've grown up and I'm a mommy too,
I try to be so many things but mostly a mommy like you.

"The only thing better than having you as a mom, is my kids having you as a grandma"



Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Little Lucy

Watch out!! She's ready to GO!! 
Sweet and Innocent! Looking up at her Daddy!

Wednesday, May 02, 2012