Category Archives: cats

Pets and Kids…

It’s been a while since I really mentioned the cats, our fur “babies” (I say that only to make Josh gag), and thought I should give an update since for a while things were not going as well as one would hope. We are still adjusting, but I think we’re all getting along much better now, or maybe it’s just my attitude that has changed since I haven’t been getting quite so irritable lately. For a while Ziggy was continually crapping in places outside of the litter box downstairs – most often after Enzo had been down there with us, playing. We had decided when we moved that we’d keep the cats mostly downstairs, but allow them upstairs during the day, however, that changed for a while when Ziggy pooed in Enzo’s bedroom. Along with that we had Uzi yowling nonstop and constantly getting into trouble, and for a while I strongly considered rehoming them both… I figured they’d be happier if they were getting more attention, and we’d be happier not cleaning up crap.

A few days ago I decided to invite the cats back upstairs – Uzi took me up on the offer (Ziggy was hiding from the kids), and rather than putting them back downstairs before bed, I left the door open. They were both really well behaved and we hung out, especially after Enzo went to bed and the past few days have been going pretty well. We’ve let them sleep upstairs with us a couple of nights, and while Uzi still yowls for a bit when I lock them downstairs (they have a nice basement, don’t pity them), overall I think we’re all happier with each other. Uzi is still naughty and has his frustrating moments like meowing enough to wake a sleeping child, but he hasn’t been chasing Ziggy as often and Ziggy even stayed in the same room as Enzo (hiding under the table counts). I’ve been trying to have Enzo be the main treat-giver as well, and while Ziggy isn’t ready to accept them from him yet, Uzi has been receptive to the idea as long as Enzo doesn’t squeal too much. He almost knocked Enzo over the other day by rubbing up against him, much to Enzo’s delight.

Flashback Friday

I’ve been going through some photos lately and came across some old scanned in photos of the cats from when they were little. Uzi really hasn’t changed much, as you can see.

Just kind of a miniature version of the cat he is now.

Ziggy, however, was the tiniest kitten I’ve ever seen when Becky brought her home. I remember that I had bought her a little kitty toy to give her, only when Ziggy came walking out of the room I realized the toy was pretty much the same size as her… she was absolutely itty bitty – like a big mouse. Apparently she wasn’t to remain a runt, though.

Ah, memories.

Quiet

I’ve been fortunate enough to get to work from home one day a week for a few weeks now, and I’m definitely enjoying it. It’s been fun for Enzo to have his dad take him to day care that day, and also gets him used to when Josh will most likely be doing more drop-off/pick-ups in the near future. Once the two of them rush out of the house, it’s amazing how quiet the house is… granted, I get glimpses of this in the early mornings before the two of them get up, but I’ve gotten so used to my rowdy boys, it’s almost strange how quiet the house is when they aren’t there.

The cats almost immediately come out and stretch and make themselves at home. Generally Ziggy is found downstairs or under the bed when Enzo is home, but during the day she’ll often lounge at the top of the stairs when she isn’t in Josh’s chair.

It’s hard to say how the furballs are going to react to yet another small human. It probably won’t be too bad in the beginning since Baby Girl won’t be able to move – they didn’t really start to avoid Enzo until he was mobile. Still, two small kiddos, one incredibly needy cat, and one neurotic cat will be interesting.

Pinky, are you pondering what I’m pondering?

It’s March and the husband and I have been pondering a lot. The neighbors across the street just sold their town home, and according to our Realtor, now is the time to sell…

Which means we have to make some decisions pretty quickly, and it really hasn’t been easy. We’ve made lists of pros and cons and somehow they still manage to come out kind of even.

Sometimes I think it’s a matter of being afraid of the unknown… it’s so easy to stay where one is comfortable, and even if the situation isn’t perfect, you at least know what to expect for the most part.

I’ve never enjoyed making big decisions. They stress me out and I worry that I’ll make the wrong choice. It also doesn’t help that in this situation, as soon as we get close to deciding something will sway us back to the middle again and leave us second guessing what the right choice is. Like today… my 6 month review in my new position went well, so I get the second part of my raise. I can pretty much guarantee you it’ll take me another 5 years or more to make the same amount if I leave this job. However… it’s not really my ideal job, and I’m not as happy as I’d like to be, so is it worth the money?

It’s questions like this that make my brain want to shut down and not think about anything… procrastination for the win! I know we have to make a choice, though… whether it be to stay or go; or for me to stay at a job that pays well, but isn’t really fulfilling in any other way or to stay at home.

I admit, I’m not good with change and I worry about making huge leaps into the unknown. As for Josh… I think he’s leaning more towards staying, but me… I don’t know. I look at it from a logical standpoint and an emotional one, and I truly don’t know what the right choice is. I want what is best for our family, but I think I need to figure out what that really means. Is financial security more important or one of a handful of other things?

I think it’s Friday night and I’m going to think about it later. I know it’s silly to wait for a sign telling me what to do, but holy crap that would make it so much easier, wouldn’t it?

In the meantime… maybe I’ll go give the cat some attention. He’s been exceptionally needy lately, and I really haven’t been giving him much in the way of affection. Besides, cat purrs are known to reduce stress!

Hypnotism via Football

The wee man is all about scootin’ at the moment. I imagine he’ll be crawling soon, but in the meantime he is still managing to get around and pretty dang fast too. We were hanging out in the office when I turned around and saw him headed out the door where he was sidetracked by our rack of CDs. He’s been fascinated by these things whenever he’s been in his jumper, so he was thrilled when he could get his hands on them finally.

While he enjoys exploring on his own, he loves being able to “chase” after mom and dad and has a much easier time upstairs where there isn’t carpet. We have a gate, we just haven’t put it up yet, and with how fast he’s moving, we’d better get on top of that.

Our weekend was fairly uneventful, though we did get out and run some errands and Enzo got to ride in the shopping cart for the first time sans car seat. He thoroughly enjoyed himself! I’m glad we bought a shopping cart cover as well since he likes to chew on everything and we were able to clip a toy or two onto the cover to help keep him occupied.

No weekend is complete without a little bit of football, even if it’s Josh checking scores quickly. We try not to let Enzo watch a lot of TV, and for the most part he doesn’t even care, but if there are sports on – the kid becomes completely enthralled. I had put him in Josh’s chair for a minute and Josh decided to turn on the TV to see what games were on and Enzo just sat and watched, wide-eyed and not moving – not even when Ziggy jumped up into the chair with him and sat on his feet. Really? The kid loves the cats and is always after them, but he could care less that he had a giant ball of fluff just waiting to be mauled on his lap.

We laughed for a few minutes and then turned off the TV waiting to see what his reaction would be. A few seconds passed, the glaze left his eyes, and he looked at us and adamantly spoke, “Dah Dah Dah!” and looked for the remote control. Oh dear.

Dino and Bunnies

Every day adventures