We rented a couple movies from Redbox this weekend and they were both wonderful family movies. The first, Hotel Transylvania...hilarious! We loved this movie. Ashton is dying for us to buy it. The second, Abel's Field, is a little slow. It is a spiritual film that has a great message, but I think is a better slow Sunday afternoon kind of movie.
Ashton and I had some creative time working on the baskets that I showed you on Wednesday. It can be interesting to watch and listen to Ash and I work together...it isn't always smooth. We tend to "bite" at each quite often...I think we expect the other to be able to read our mind and know exactly what we need. But at least we still try to do things together...arguments or not.
Quinn decided he was craving Grilled Cheese sandwiches, so I made him responsible for making our lunch on Sunday. I have to admit, he is a pretty darn good GC maker.
This is my picture of two of rotten girls...the other rotten girl is in the next bullet.
Sookie had an eventful week. Not only did you steal my ice cream...hehehe...but she had to go to the vet as well. Poor girl needed a nail trim and also was having some poopie issues. Since she is a crazy cat, she has to be sedated for any thing they do at the Vet...she looked pretty high when we got her home on Tuesday night. And she was walking a little wonky too...but her poopie issues are hopefully all fixed.
Hopefully, you've kept reading, because this part is pretty exciting. Ashton has been begging us to allow her to have a boyfriend. We've always said that she could next year in junior high. Well, she wore us down...and we remembered that Quinn had a girlfriend in 6th grade...so Ashton now has a boyfriend. And before you jump all over me and say she is too young...this is a school only thing. There is no texting or calling or play dates...just a boyfriend at school. Well, his mom brought lunch to school on Wednesday and they invited Ashton to eat with them. Aren't they too cute? Ashton is absolutely glowing.
I know I owe you guys lots of pictures on the photo challenge, but I have been lazy and not gotten around to taking the pictures I need. So, eventually I will bombard you with a weeks worth of pics.
I thought I would update you on Sookie and how the medicine is doing for her. I posted HERE about her being crazy and attacking Ashton and I daily. Well, she has been on the Prozac for about a month and a half and is doing GREAT!
We see more of this than anything. I'm sure the medicine makes her a little sleepy. We've also found that if we see that "look" in her eyes, we can distract her with a toy. She still goes a little nuts a couple times a week, but it is much better than it was.
It is no surprise that Sookie is a little nuts. I've not hidden that and well...aren't all cats a little crazy? Sookie has never been overly friendly. She isn't shy, but she won't curl up for you to pet her and lay in your lap. Over the last couple of months, things have progressed to a level of craziness that is unbearable and Tony is at the end of his rope.
You see, Sookie has started stalking. She first started stalking Ashton and now it has progressed to me. I don't mean she is hiding behind stuff and jumping out or even just playing rough. She is literally stalking us and trying to intimidate us. And is behaving this way completely unprovoked. In an effort to give the vet a full view of her behavior, Ash got the following video. (I promise you, no cats were hurt in the making of this video...only humans.)
We took her the vet a little over a week and visited with him for a long time. He was very understanding and was wonderful. He listened to everything we had to say. But he was completely honest with us too. We have about a 50/50 shot at being able to correct this. But before he put her on meds, he wanted to talk to his friend that has a cat only clinic.
After that conversation, the treatment is "Kitty Prozac"! Yep, my cat is on the anti-depressant Fluoxetine...and the funny thing is...she and I are on the same meds now(ha!). We have to wait about 30 days before we will know if it is working. And it has to work! Period! This has to help her.
I love this cat. I have cried so many tears over this. Not only upset about being attacked, but upset that Sookie has something wrong. I don't want to give her up. I don't think she would do well in another home. But Tony literally has no more patience for this. Ashton and I are on edge every time she comes near. Things have got to change.
We had Ashton's birthday party on Saturday. It was an all day event, that really turned out great.
We took the kids to Paint'N Station to paint some pottery that morning. We all had a lot of fun, but man, an hour and a half sure goes by fast when you are trying to finish a project.
After, we had cake, ice cream and gifts at the house.
Ashton's friends stayed the rest of the evening for some crafting, movies and a sleepover. I really thought I would regret having the kids at the house for a full 24 hours, but it went a lot better than I would've thought. Instead of them trying to cram tons of fun into a few hours, they had all day to hang out and do the things they wanted to do.
I hope Ashton enjoyed her 11th birthday! I'm still in shock that my baby girl is 11. Wow! I feel old!
Sookie even got in on the party action by hiding behind the tissue and gift bags. I think she really thought we couldn't see her. tee hee hee
Ashton is more and more like me every day. Specifically in two wonderful ways...
1. She can't look at an empty box and just see an empty box. Both us always look for potential craftiness in just about everything we look at.
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2. She thinks of other first. She is constantly wanting to make or buy things for others.
So, when I got a package a few weeks back, Ashton immediately took the box and started crafting it up. The box quickly became a new home for Sookie. Ashton has named it the Cat Dome. It even has bling on it.
It is under one of our end tables and Sookie loves it. Especially if she is feeling picked on. She'll go in there to hide from us so we can't sneak up on her anymore.
And everytime I see her hangin' out in her Cat Dome, I have a sense of pride in my daughter in her warm, loving and creative spirit.
My kids are pretty good at disappearing with my camera. Who are they are usually photographing? Well, the cat of course. hehehehe
I'm not sure what their obsession is with taking pictures of Sookie, but just about every time I go to look at the camera and move photos over to snapfish, most of them are of Sookie.
Yesterday was no exception. At the present, I have 78 pictures on my memory card (yes, I just recently cleaned it out). Of those 78 pictures, 27 were of Sookie. I was so tickled by the randomness of these pics. Especially of the ones where it looks like they are playing peek-a-boo with her under Ashton's bed.
You might remember this pitiful Christmas tree last year...
Sookie had a field day playing in our tree last year and it about put Tony and I in the mad house. You can read last year's post HERE.
So, in an effort to keep her from climbing a 6 foot tree, we cut it in half this year. Yep, we now have a pitiful 3 foot tree. Of course, Sookie is still playing with it and has already broken an ornament, but at least she hasn't tried to climb this one...YET!
You might recall...when we first got Sookie, she was MY girl. We were inseparable. This is how it looked on most evenings...
Then a few months later, our family took a week long vacation and left Sookie under the care of one of our friends. When we returned Sookie gave me the cold shoulder for over a day and would have nothing to do with me.
My heart was broken. Ever since, I have given Sookie her space and let her decide when she was no longer mad at me.
Well...with the yucky weather, I have worked from home yesterday and today. As I was cuddled on the couch with my computer, blanket and pillow yesterday, Sookie came over and laid next to me. She let me pet for a short bit and then she was done. But this is more willing love and cuddles than she has given me since we took our vacation and "abandoned" her.
My baby is growing up. She has learned that she can jump on pretty much anything. In fact, she has made her way to the "tip-top" of the kitchen cabinets. This is where she does a lot of hanging out these days.
It is funny though, she started out walking along the wall and as she has gotten more and more courageous she has ventured to the ledge. Not she lays at the ledge with most of her body hanging off. I'm just waiting for to fall asleep up there and roll of the edge. That should be a sight and I hope I am there to see it. hehehe
Once we recovered from our Christmas Eve trauma...hehehe...the kids were ready to hit the snow drifts. They have had a blast playing in the snow EVERY day since.
We even let Sookie out the front door to check out the snow!
I love my cat...I love my cat...I love my cat...I love my cat...(hold on, before I write this I am trying to convince myself that I really do love my cat)...I love my cat...I love my cat...I love my cat...
Well, as hard as I try that may not work today. Do you remember this sweet precious picture of Sookie sleeping under the tree?
Well, those wonderful sweet moments were short lived. Instead of curiosity killing the cat, it killed my Christmas tree.
Maybe I should change her name to the Grinch since she has pretty much stolen Christmas. My poor tree looks so pitiful now. :(
Tony LOVES ring tones...and I am not exaggerating! In fact, he finds it very funny to irritate me with the different sounds. The most irritating is the rooster crow that he likes to set for our morning alarm.
Well, he was messing around with the tones the other night and quickly found that Sookie likes them about as much as I do. Her most 'favorite' seems to be the frog train.
**Be sure to have your sound on when you watch the video.
Sookie got 'fixed' yesterday and she is doing great. The vet's office refers to her as "The Mean Cat". When we went in for the check-up, they said that after the surgery, I would have to bring her back in 10 days to have the sutures removed. I was hesitant at that thought, considering she hates going to the vet...but they are the professionals and I am just the worrisome momma. So, when I picked her up yesterday, the receptionist went through the post-op instructions and read "Sutures are absorbable and do not need to be removed". She then got a funny look on her face and ask the other reception if that was correct...well, then the other reception gave a huge smile and said "For that cat, YES!". Ha! My cat already has a reputation!!!
Today is my 3rd day of the cleanse...yes, you heard that correctly, I am still doing it! I know! I am just as surprised as you are. In my short time on the cleanse, I have learned some very crucial things... 1.DO NOT sign up to take dessert to church, this only adds to the craving for sugar. 2.Don't go to Wal-Mart the evening of your first day (you only get one kind of fruit on your first day). It is miserable when you are that hungry. 3.Don't make your kids cinnamon toast for breakfast...ugh! It smelled so good!
At Sookie's vet appointment in June, she weighed 4 pounds. In an eight week period, she has grown to 7 pounds....which is a lot for a 6 month old kitten. The culprit of such weight gain???
Ashton and kitty treats!
It's time for Sookie to go on a diet and for Ashton to stop feeding her kitty treats all the time.
Sookie and I haven't had much luck with our vet visits. After my post about our horrible experience, you guys all gave me names of vets that you loved. So, after dragging my feet for several months, I decided to call Boyer Vet Clinic. Our first appointment was Thursday night. It was a meet and greet for the doc to make sure she is healthy enough to be 'fixed'.
Sookie did fine in the waiting, you could tell she was scared, but she didn't cause a fuss. In the room, she explored all the smells and new surroundings. The nurse came in and Sookie was all cool...UNTIL...she tried to pick her up. Sookie was having none of that. The nurse was calm and pleasant and went to get a towel to make a "kitty burrito". She got her wrapped up in the towel with her head sticking out and Sookie thought she was tough, cause she kept hissing at the nurse. It was actually kind of funny. The nurse got her weighed and then brought her back into the room until it was time to meet the doctor.
He came and we talked about Sookie and he told me he needed to listen to her heart and feel around on her. By this point, Sookie was done. When the doctor tried to pick her up, she 'wigged out'. Although her reaction was much like the last time, the reaction of the doctor and the nurse were completely different. They were kind and understanding. They didn't make me feel like I had the worst kid on the block. They reassured me that it was just the temperament of a Calico and she was not a horrible cat.
I feel so much better about this place. So much so...Sookie has her appointment to get 'fixed' tomorrow. We'll drop her off in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon. I'm pretty nervous, but I know they will take good care of her, even if she does try to scratch their eyes out.
It's been awhile since I've updated you on Sookie. She is 6 months old now and is CRAZY! But I still love her to death and wouldn't give her up for anything!
We haven't let Sookie outside...EVER! And, let me tell you, she wants to go out so bad...she is literally climbing the walls. I feel horrible about it, but I just can't have an outside cat in the city...I would worry about her all the time, so she is just gonna have to get used to being a house cat.
So, about the climbing the walls...we have a wall in our house that separates the entry way from the living room. Sookie will get in the hallway between the kids rooms and take a run at the wall. Then she hangs on to the wall and looks at us like, "What? I'm not doing anything!"
These are the scratches on the wall. We will eventually have to repaint it, but there is no point in doing it as long as she finds this activity humoring. So, for the time being, we tolerate it and do our best at getting her to stop.
This is to show you just how high she gets (and this isn't her highest...there are scratch marks above the height of the light switch). And I'm serious when I say that she'll just hang there. I bet her longest hang time is 30 seconds. She is actually quiet talented!
I am married to my best friend and am the mom of two wonderful kids. I have had my ups and downs in regards to health, happiness and weight loss. This blog will tell you about all of those ups and downs and my opinion on the randomness that we call life.
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