Where did the litter box go?

This is not a typical question most of us need to ask.  Needless to say, in my family, it is a question that was asked recently.

I'm in the laundry room with Mickey, gathering the load of laundry I put in the dryer before I went to bed last night and realized his behavior was due to the fact that the second litter box (the one they like) was missing...

Yup, that spot next to the box in the picture is where the good, covered litter box usually is sitting. 

I wondered, as Bean has been wanting to keep them in his room at night, if I knew where the missing box went.

Yup, he even has a bowl for food in there to help keep them happy.

This means I can leave them in there and enjoy a night with my door open.  Mr Mickey is not very well behaved at night if I let him come into our bedroom.  I'm a climbing post and should be petting him, even if it's 3am...NOT!

He's offended I'm talking about him.  They do sleep well together, usually on my seat on the couch, as soon as I get up to do anything at night...

Be Happy! Be Healthy! Be sure to not lose your litter box!

The good thing about the weather changing

I much prefer spring and summer.  I like the longer days and the sunshine.  That being said, the best part of fall is having my slow cooker back out and working.  Dinner tonight will be a version of my beef stew, using soup bones with tons of meat on them instead of stew meat.

I have discovered that the color blue and all complimentary colors tend to rule in my house, but my recipe card box definitely is not falling into that color scheme.  I believe I got it forever and a day ago for a shower or wedding gift.

It works and it's familiar (and lives in the cupboard, so I only see it when I need to take it out).

And, since I haven't had a kitty picture in the last few blogs, thought I would share one today.

Be Happy! Be Healthy! Be sure to enjoy the last of the good weather!

Let's hear it for the weekend!

It was quite the week last week and appeared that the weekend was going to fall in the same way...

Wednesday afternoon, Dizzy had to pull out of her first cross country race with more back pain. Same thing happened Thursday after school and so it was off to the doctors Friday morning.  ITB muscles are inflamed and causing her pain.  This means 7-10 days of rest to let them calm down and see how she is doing.  Unfortunately, there is only 10 days left of her season.  Aaaannnnndddd, this mom forgot her camera, so has no pictures of her daughter in her first XC season.  Feeling awful here.

So, in late to work Friday, left early to head north to Bean's XC meet.  It was the Great Falls Invitational, located in Black Eagle on the Anaconda Hills Golf Course...A bit confusing if you don't know the area!  He had another good time, improving from last year and seems to be running well.  His only comment after the game was that he hates that course.  You have to like running hills (and steep hills) to enjoy this meet.  He does not.

We went home and after dealing with some issues with Dizzy and letting us know what she is doing, went over to a friends home to enjoy a bonfire and time with friends. Had a great time and managed to get home earlier that we would have liked, since we had a full Saturday.

Bean had to be at XC practice (yes, on a Saturday) at 8, we had to drop Dizzy off at the gym for a gymnastics clinic (they are learning their routines) and then to the XC family brunch.  It rained. I'm not saying it sprinkled a little while we were there.  It rained steadily, the I should have not bothered doing my hair today rain. Back to pick up Dizzy at 11 and off to Bozeman to enjoy Homecoming at MSU.  

The rotten rain ended before we got there, but we were all wet from brunch and didn't look our best.

Thanks to one of the Boss's coworkers, we managed to score a pair of extra tickets and attended as a family.

The rain quit, the wind started and I was left wishing I had packed winter jackets instead of rain gear.  Oh well, it was a chance to celebrate Homecoming at our old college and enjoy(?) the throwback 1984 uniforms.

The zebras were not the best officiating team I have seen, I spent the game trying to encourage the girls to find less offensive ways to show their displeasure than they were hearing from the crowd. The Bobcats won, so at the end of the day, it was a good day.

Soccer today, Tater was the goalie for a half. Mom was scared to death, but she did great. So very proud.

No goals scored on her watch, she rushed the ball when she had to and has a great team who helped wear out the other goalie.

The rest of today is football, homework and laundry. Hoping for a quieter week next week.  Off to Butte to see my brother and niece (my sister-in-law is up north helping harvest sugar beets) and watch Bean run his favorite course in XC.

Be Happy! Be Healthy! Be sure to take time to smile!

What a week!

The last 7 days have been exhausting, and by the faces of my friends and patrons at work, I wasn't alone in that situation!

Last week we receive an email that Dizzy  needs to order not only a new leotard, but new pants and the money was due by Friday...In case you didn't know, gymnastic leotards are expensive.  Add the pretty bling so they pop while competing and I almost need a second full-time job! We lucked out that her warm-up jacket will work for another year, it's short in the body, but she only raises her arms occasionally and the new leo is dark colored and shouldn't be as obvious as the old ones.

Saturday went something like this...

Drop off Bean at 5:52am at school to catch the bus for a meet out of town.  Gas up car, change audiobook cd, grab a doughnut and soda and hit the road.  7:50am I met my dad for breakfast and we drove through campus to the Golf Course to watch Bean run against 60+ other teams (not runners, teams and he's on a team of nearly 25 and they were not the largest). I escaped after that and had lunch with my mom and inherited some more yarn and pictures from my gramma. Then it was dessert with a friend who is just starting college and I think a bit homesick. Bean called when he was getting on the bus to head home. I headed out, finally found a grocery store to get a soda for the trip home (and some cheddar rice cakes...) and beat the bus back to town by twenty minutes.  Therefore, I decided dinner was pizza, grabbed some and got the the school five minutes before the bus (they arrived at 5:52pm).  The kitties were not impressed by all of us being gone for the day (the Boss and the girls were out of town as well, watching our beloved Bobcats play an amazing game against the #2 team in the nation)

Sunday was church, a meeting after church to vote on calling a new pastor (it's been almost a year, so I'm hopeful), off to the Carnival Classic that the school district coordinates so Dizzy could perform with her teammates in a gymnastics exhibition. She chose to hang out with friends afterwards, so the Boss went grocery shopping and told her to call when she was done.  Bean had an adoption party he wanted to attend for a friends family, so the Boss dropped him off on the way.  I met up with Tater, as she had a sleep-over with a friend, for her soccer game and watched her team play a very evenly matched team.  It was a lot of fun and I was able to visit with some friends.

Sunday night, we were wiped out and the older two and I watched a movie. Watching movies based on books with my middle child (who just finished the book) is not fun.

This week started out slower, Tater was sick Monday, so we missed the Brownie meeting and went to bed early.

Dizzy is progressing very well in gymnastics and has her first cross country meet today.  Bean's meet this week is on Friday, so I'm trying to work out a way to attend the Bobcat game this weekend.

Well, I've squandered my day off recovering from training at work and prepping for the kiddee programs I'm helping with this week.  Time to get out the door and cheer on my HMS Bobcats.

Celebrating routine

Last weekend was Dizzy's 12th birthday.  My little girl, born on a Friday the 13th is almost a teenager.

She chose to spend it with the Boss, her uncle and grandpa at a Bobcat football game. We made her a t-shirt to commemorate the day.

Gramma, Auntie, baby cousin, Tater and I went to Bean's Cross Country meet.  I learned that little nephews do not like it when their auntie yells at their cousin while he's running.  Waiting at the finish line with babies on a blanket is a bad idea as well...

I had photography assistance...

We did cake and presents in the motel after the late afternoon game and dinner.

It was a fun weekend and we all are happy to get back into a routine now that the first couple of weeks of school are behind us.  Bean is doing better this year with homework, Dizzy is settling in a new school and enjoying cross country and doing very well in coming back in gymnastics and Tater is having a blast with a new team in soccer.  She's being pushed by a new team who is much more competitive this year.

No cute kitty pictures this week, but here's an adorable nephew shot, he was waiting for us to finish dinner...

Be Happy! Be Healthy! Be sure to enjoy the sun while its out there!

Mites

And today, I'm not talking about the mini-mites, aka my niece and nephew.  They're welcome in my home anytime (and I'm getting in some auntie time this weekend and can't wait......)

No, took Bitsey to the vet for her vaccinations this week, only to discover she had ear mites.  Aaannnddd, any animal she has been in contact with also will have said nasty creatures hiding in their ears (aka Mickey of the big ears).

The vet nicely treated her ears for me, walking me through the process.

Step #1: Set out the paper towel

Step #2: Open the 2 tubes

Step #3: Immobilize cat (easier said than done--no pictures , things were a bit tricky)  Bean tried to hold down the 4 pound creature.

Step #4: Pour contents of tube down ear canal, massaging each when done. Don't let cat shake head (are you kidding me???)

Step #5: Before letting go of cat's head, hold paper towel over head. (This prevents extra meds (it is a liquid after all) from spraying all over room and into face.

Easy enough?  Not so much.

First of all, 15 year olds get very nervous when said 4 pound kitten begins growling and tend to let go of said small creature.  This gives mom a face full of ear mite meds.

Mom's have the ability to immobilize said small creature with one hand and body and pour meds down ears.  Problem is when said ears are flattened back to the head.  15 year olds feel ears are too close to sharp teeth.  

We survived, I am sufficiently grossed out by the process and hoping never to have to go through it again.  The Boss will be on call to assist in the future, or failing that, leather gloves for nervous teens.

On that disgusting note, have a great weekend!

Be Happy! Be Healthy! Be thankful your cat doesn't have ear mites you have to treat!

Family

This has been a tough week.

Monday, I spent time with my Law Enforcement family, saying good-bye to a great man.  It was a reminder to love and tell those you love that you love them.  The irritations I felt with my family seemed silly after sitting at the funeral.  

It was amazingly powerful, from pulling up to the intersection to see the officer working traffic saluting the family as they entered the fairgrounds (probably the only place large enough to house the number of people who came to pay their respects).  Then to see the two ladder trucks that had hosted the large American flag for everyone to walk or drive underneath.

I knew the Boss was the last car in the group arriving with the family, so I parked and walked up to the building to see the entire side of the building full of people paying their respects and across the street was a line of law enforcement, emergency services, fire fighters, Fish Wildlife and Parks, etc, all standing and saluting.  I later learned some had been there in the sunshine for an hour standing and waiting for the family.

It made me realize life is short and we need to live it to the fullest.

Tuesday was day 2 of a migraine, the kidlets were awful and by the time the Boss was home at 8:30 that night, all three were in bed and I had control of all forms of electronics.  My children have seemed to learn that those gadgets are not just something they should expect to have, but privileges.

Wednesday I met a friend for lunch, did some serious cleaning in our basement and then went to meet the kiddos that I will be teaching in our church education program this year.  My church family is amazing and I look forward to a great week with them.

Hoping today isn't day 4 of the migraine, or I will have to go visit with my doc to get something to kill the sinus infection that is threatening.

Looking forward to the weekend, where I get to spend time with over half of my extended family and get away for a night (and hope the weather warms up a little).

No pictures today, wasn't that kind of a week, but as always...

Be Happy! Be Healthy! Be sure to hug a loved one today!