Anneliese at the dentist

Well, Anneliese had to go to the dentist Monday. Because of her anxiety, we have to get her sedated for any treatment. Otherwise her shrieks and hysteria would be heard in Australia. Fortunately, the sedation they use leaves her memory free of the procedure. When I asked Dr. Emily how long we would be able to continue using sedation, she assured me that there is no age limit as she has high schoolers who still use it.

This particular trip was to get her front four top teeth pulled. The two adult teeth are starting to come in, and each of them is as large as the two teeth below. Anneliese just doesn't seem to lose her baby teeth on her own. Of the 8 teeth she has lost (including these) only two have fallen out on their own.

The size of these two new teeth is concerning. Her upper jaw is fairly "V" shaped due to Soto's, and I just don't see how a set of adult sized teeth will fit there. We are planning a consultation with an orthodontist due to the narrow jaw and high arched palate. Maybe she will require surgery down the road to reconstruct that area. Either way, we want to be prepared.

On to the cuteness! She looks like a tiny little vampire when she smiles, as you can just see her canines. Anneliese had started saying "yes" with a lisp a few weeks ago, instead of her usual "yep." She was adorable. Now, most of her "S" words lisp a little. I couldn't help but think that her theme song this year should be "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth."

And don't worry about not seeing her toothless grin. She starts school the 8th, and picture day is the tenth. So, my little vampire will soon be immortalized.

Baby cat is growing....

Little Man had his 4th shots on Monday. He has just turned 4 months old, and weighed in at 6 pounds. 2 more pounds and he will weigh what Rosie does. Pictures to come...

Best Friends

Not sure if Rosalie is having a surge of motherly love for Little Man, or if she is just putting up with him, but they love to sleep together. Most of these were taken when he was about 9-10 weeks.






Then, at his 12 week shot appointment, he weighed in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces. Rosie is about 8 pounds. Considering the size of his paws, he will be a really big boy. Check it out!

Cute, cute, cute!

Our kitties are getting along great these days! Rosie knocked the attitude out of Bowler the first couple of days he was out of quarantine. Then, she started washing him when he was attacking her. Soon, they were sleeping together and grooming each other. I think my poor Little Man left mama cat too soon. Rosie has taken over that job, so Bowler is in good paws!





This last one was taken one night when I was playing a game on the computer. Bowler saw the cursor, and proceeded to chase it all over the screen. This was taken right before he looked behind the monitor to see where the cursor went. Have I mentioned he is adorable?

New Kitten!

Well, a little over 2 weeks ago we (well I) acquired a kitten. I had stopped at the animal shelter to just take a look, not to get a kitten (you see where this is going, right?). Well, a certain little man told me he wanted to come home with me. I told him my husband didn't want another kitten so soon. He then pointed out that it was his last day at the shelter, because tomorrow was his euthanasia. (Our shelter can only keep kittens 10 days, due to overcrowding). So, I sent David home to get the cat carrier.

Our Little Man came home that day. Cute as a bug, and an even bigger pest. Total kitten pouncing, bouncing and silliness. Although the shelter said he was 7 weeks, I think he was younger, because his tail still stuck straight up like a chubby little stick. I got him to the vet the next day, and found out he had a upper respiratory infection and fleas, so he needed to be quarantined away from Rosalie for 2 weeks. Here he is the day he came home--you can see his watery little eyes. That's part of Sophia's hand you can see. Although the shelter said he was 7 weeks, I think he was younger, because his tail still stuck straight up like a chubby little stick.




So, he has pretty much doubled in size, and was released from his "prison" this week. Poor Rosie. She is totally baffled at the small alien torpedo that attacks from nowhere. Lord Bowler (named by David after a Brisco County Jr character) is a terror, and is still in his cozy hole (the bathroom) for 5 or 6 hours a day. Since he has a plush bed, a kitty condo, a million toys and his food, he has a nicer set up than Rosie.

He has doubled in size since I brought him home. A few pictures: Little Man in a strangely still moment; trying to attack the dragonfly on his scratching toy; a rare one of Little Man not trying to ride Rosie like a Bronco; Plus lovely Rosie.







And, thanks to Bowler's inherent cuteness, I do believe my husband has been won over, and will continue speaking to me.

She did it!!

I am just amazed. Today Anneliese finally made pee in the potty. First time. She is usually so stubborn. After her BM this morning, I refused to give her a new Pull-Up and made her stay bare bottom in the bathroom. Noticing a squirmy little girl after 3-4 minutes, I put her back on. And, voila! Hopefully this is the start of her transition to using the toilet and not a fluke.

Too darn cute!!

Rosie has been home for a couple days now, and her age is not quite a kitten, not yet a cat. All Dr O said was that she would be VERY surprised if Rosie was a year old yet.

Check her out. The first picture is Rosie getting love from Sophia, and the next one is Rosie playing chase the finger.




Lastly, here's my pretty kitty in her regal glory, like we didn't see her being silly 30 seconds before.

Writer Girl contest!

Another reason to check out WG's blog. She is having an awesome contest right now to win some photography DVDs. Click Here





Why are you still here? Get over there! ;-)

Meet Rosie

Well, despite my good intentions in waiting 2-3 months before adopting a new furry friend, plans changed. I spoke to our vet, Dr. O, after Angel died, and she offered to keep a look out for a cat that might suit our family's needs. Today, she called and said that she thought a cat she rescued from Animal Control seemed perfect. Calm but friendly, 10 months old, good with everyone there. This cat was spayed and front declawed yesterday, and had no adoption fee. Dr. O felt that as she places her orphans with families she knows, it is enough that they go to a good home.

I can't begin to describe how happy that call made me. I have been so sad and lonely without Angel during the day, and late at night. No animal will ever replace Angel, but having another furry friend to get to know is a fun prospect. Despite the vet's certainty on this being a perfect cat, I didn't want to get my hopes up too much.

I went with Anneliese, Mom and Aunt Emily to check out both cats the vet mentioned. The 2nd was available also, but Dr. O didn't feel she was as good a fit. So, when we walked into the room, I saw a little black and white tuxedo girl with green eyes. Very calm. The tech brought her to me to hold, and she cuddled right in like she knew me already. When Anneliese went to pet her, all excited, kitty didn't balk at all. I stroked her more, doing the all body stroke--starting at the head, and down the back to the tip of her tail. Then I did just the tail again. She didn't seem to notice. Yay! One of the main requirements I had for a cat was no tail sensitivity, since Lee likes to stroke up the tail.

So, I decided we'd take her. She is lovely in temperament. Her name is going to be Rosie. I decided on that because it is different enough from our other cats' names that it should be easy to remember. Without further ado, meet the newest member of our family. Despite the blurry photo, you can still see her lovely green eyes and markings.

Welcome Rosie, to the squirreliest family in Michigan!!

So sad--she's gone.

I am so incredibly sad tonight. Our wonderful cat, Angel, has died. Angel has been an integral part of our family since the day we adopted her, April 13, 2001. She was three years old. I never expected her to die so soon.

I will miss her so much. So will the girls. We used to say that Angel had no survival instinct--she loved both girls and was always there to be patted and adored. From the time each came home from as newborns, Angel was creeping into a lap next to the baby, cuddling right in. Anneliese was speech delayed, but by 10 months she meowed, sounding eerily like the cat whenever she saw her.

Angel was the stealth napper. Dave and I could be sitting in the living room talking, and one of us would look down: "hey, where'd this cat come from?" And she was shameless--she would lay on your lap, belly up, while you rubbed her belly. When she was really content, Angel would melt into your lap, looking like a kitty blanket.

I knew she was sick. Last month she had lost a pound--was down to 6 pounds. Never a big cat, she had become skin and bones. After a stay at the vet's office for dehydration and a liver test, all seemed well. A week later, she was up to 7 pounds again. For a little while, she seemed her old self. Cuddling with the kids, getting some belly rubbing and melt-a-cat time, playing. But that was all too brief. The past week, Angel was hiding in the closet a lot. Rarely out except when called. This morning she was reluctant to come out at all. I did think it was odd that she came out into the living room this morning to lie with the kids, yet left when I came into the room (she was my cat). I think in her way, she might have been saying goodbye. This evening when I brought her to the kids to say goodbye, she only wanted to hide.

She died peacefully in our bathroom, on a fleece baby blanket that she loved. Angel loved anything fleecey and soft. Sleeping in my PJs was always a favorite activity of hers.













What will we do without her? Angel was an amazing animal--she was a therapy cat for both my daughters, and I don't think I will ever have another cat as friendly. Everyone who would come into our home would be greeted and jumped on within 15 minutes. Angel would wait by the door for us to come home from shopping, and sit in the window to watch when our whole family was in the backyard.

We will miss you friend.

Cuteness at Halloween!

My girls were adorable this Halloween. Despite Anneliese's reluctance to wear a costume, she tolerated the red cape and carried a basket--pseudo Red Riding Hood. And Sophia was the cutest pirate to ever sail the Seven Seas! (watch out, Anne Bonney!)

Back in Action

After a long sabbatical (for lack of a better word) I am back. Long lazy summer, very little picture taking, no scrapping other than a May crop with Andi. Getting my act together and scrap space cleaned up--Larisa and I have a 14 hour Halloween crop coming up. Sad to say, I just need to re-arrange my yet unpacked scrap totes.

And I am back on the weight loss bandwagon. July 11 I went back to Weight Watchers and decided that I need to buckle down and do it. Not only had I gained back the 60 pounds I had previously lost, it brought along a few of its friends--around 45 to be exact. I have lost 20 pounds so far and want to drop another 75 to get to goal. Any weight loss after that is icing on the fat-free cake, you know?

I finally figured out what prompted the regain to a certain extent. Back when I was single in college (the dark ages known as the mid 90's) I got down to my high school weight. I was 5'11" in high school. At 6'1" I was way too thin (although I didn't believe it--I thought I looked great). I played the numbers game--look, my high school weight, and a size 12 for the first time EVER. Well, marriage and 2 kids later by c-section, and my goal was 25 pounds higher than my high school weight, per my doctor. When I lost weight and got to goal, I was in a size 14, loose 16. I was sure I could do better. Ummm, no. I had been pregnant twice with 2 ten pounders, and gained a LOT of weight with both.

Then, life happened--three deaths in the family--two unexpected, one not--and then 2 diagnoses of my girls. Plus, my mental health crisis and diagnosis. Hello comfort food. Forget chicken on a green salad at a restaurant--bring on the chicken fried steak. Hi brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Full fat cheese--it tastes so much better than low fat, and why measure? And we will not begin to talk about the Girl Scout cookies.

So, I have been doing WW again for 2 months. Feeling good. Not wanting to eat sweet sugary or fatty crap anymore. Walking again and liking it. Not snacking just cause I can.

So, one day at a time on this journey. A slip is not a fall off the wagon. I can do it. Life is good.

Scrapping inertia

Well, I am feeling lethargic about scrapping these days. I went to an all day crop last month, and had fun, but only did 3 2 page LOS all day. It was a weird day--Larisa went to the crop too, but had to leave at 3:00pm to fly back to WI because her uncle was dying. Saw old friends, and one a grand prize, the Crop In Style PS3. I have so wanted one for a long time, but it was out of my price range. Besides, it is obscene the number of Scrap Totes I currently possess.

Anyway, I have some cool new papers (both from the crop and otherwise) and need to just dig in. I have a poop-load of photos, and that is part of the problem, I think. I planned a whole load of projects for the crop, so I think I will try one at a time to get them started.

I guess it is all 1 day at a time.

Old friends reconnect

The other day, I decided to do a people search on MySpace. I have an account I created a year ago that I never use--I created it to read an acquaintance's blog. So, I decided to try to find some oild friends, namely Reid. I had received both Christmas and birthday cards and had yet to get in touch.

Well, what do you know? My old friend was there, and we some things remain the same. Time has changed our bodies and circumstances, but friendship remains the same.

As I like to say, Life Is Good.

Happy Birthday to me!

Next week, the big 4-2. Sigh. But this next year is off to a great start. One of my best buds came for the weekend--after a day of bookstore hopping in Ann Arbor and a fab lunch at Smokehouse Blues Memphis BBQ, I am pooped. We also did a movie last night--National Treasure Book of Secrets. Way fun!

On the 8th, another best bud and I are going to an all day crop. Way cool. I think the best gift anyone can get me anymore is some grown-up chick time. It is great to be someone besides "mom" for a few days.

Definitely my daughter!

Let me preface this post by saying that this year I created an Amazon.com wish list for people to see I might like for Christmas. Mostly fun frivolous books or DVDs I probably wouldn't pick up for myself. One of these items is The McCartney Years, a 3 disk collection of performances and music videos spanning the almost 40 years of Paul McCartney's solo career. I have always been a fan, but the last five-6 years (since his wife Linda died) have not produced any new music I thought was worth listening to. That is, until the 2007 Starbucks release Memory Almost Full. Awesome disk--very Wings-like, and it renewed my McCartney interest. Hence my desire for the McCartney Years.

Well, the last week I put disk 1 into my DVD player and began checking it out. Sophia was in the room, and was interested. The first 5-6 videos were very basic--photos and home movies of Paul and Linda and their young family. Sophia began asking who various people were, then went back to playing. When a video for "Mamunia" (a song off 1973's Band on the Run) began, though, she got interested. Merely a rough cartoon, something about it attracted her.

Then, the other night I was watching McCartney live at the Olympia on A&E. Sophia, who was playing her computer game with her back to the TV, asked what I was watching. I told her a singer in concert. "Oh, the 'Mamunia' singer?" I told her yes. After I told Dave about this later, he laughed but wasn't aware of Sophie's new found McCartney love until I put the disk in for Sophia Sunday. She sat to watch "Mamunia" and when Dave saw the big grin on her face he was amazed. Then I went to turn it off, and she asked to watch more of my music. So, we watched the whole DVD.

Very cute to see. I started my McCartney fan-dom at age 12, so she has me beat by a few years. But, at least her first rock n roll music love is not the Sex Pistols, right?

Best Artichoke Spinach dip ever!!!

OK, I hate Mayo (and miracle whip). It's a fact. Nothing grosser than mayo, for me, except HOT mayo. So, I did a search on Recipezaar (where you can search recipes excluding ingredients) and found a hot spinach dip that looked awesome. So, I made it last night, adding some sauteed onion and garlic to the recipe as written. It was divine.

Olive Garden Hot Artichoke Spinach dip
(click link for reviews)

2 8 oz packages light cream cheese, softened
1 8 oz bag grated Parmesan cheese
8 oz sour cream
2 small cand artichoke hearts, chopped fine
1 10 oz box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 tbls olive oil
1 tbls marjoram (I omitted this)
cayenne to taste
garlic salt to taste
( I added 1 tbsp chopped garlic and 1/4 cup onion)

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Combine with all ingredients except cayenne and garlic salt. Once well combined, season to taste with garlic salt and cayenne. REcipe says to put under a broiler, but I put it in a small crockpot till it was hot.

YUMMMY!

Tell me why?

OK, I have a whining, griping, angry post here. Sophia will be 6 soon, is 54 pounds and about 4'3." Also, long waisted. I noticed her Old Navy jeans (size 6) were pretty much sitting at bikini level and getting snug, so I took a look online to see if there were any denim sales. There were. Plus, they now carry a regular rise jean, "the Girlfriend," and a low rise, "the Darling." So, we hop over to Old Navy (45 miles away) to get her 3 pair of the regular rise. There is a huge display along the back of the store with both jean types labeled--probably 30+ feet of denim. Not a single pair of regular rise jeans, other than 3 or 4 slim sized pairs. After a 15 minute hunt for a sales person, I find one who tells me all the jeans they have are on the sales floor. I told her (snidely, I was mad) that maybe Old Navy ought to re-think their purchasing strategy, because if all the jeans left are low rise, then maybe mothers don't want their pre-pubescent daughters showing everything to the world. She blinked obliviously.

I am planning on writing a letter to Old Navy, because it will make me feel better.

And I finally found Sophia some modest, regular rise jeans--Old Glory jeans at Walmart. Stretch jean, adjustable waist tabs, boot cut--$9.84. And they FIT her. Amen.

Another interesting Christmas

Well, we have definitely hit winter. The beginning of December, Anneliese had bronchitis and I had tonsillitis. Fast forward--mid month, Anneliese gets a cold, and we both get the flu. Then, the weekend before Christmas, Sophia runs a fever we can't get below 100.5 even with drugs. Anneliese breaks out in spots. I am getting paranoid--last Christmas day we were all in the ER with strp throat. So, I call the pediatrician Monday (Christmas Eve) morning, tell him about Anneliese's spots, following her flu and low fever, and he tells me rubeola, and she'll be fine. OK. I call back that afternoon, after we realize Sophie's fever is steady. He tells me that she is probably getting the same thing, just give her tylenol.

So, we go to mom's Christmas Eve night, and after meal and gifts, Sophie is exhausted and ready to go home. We wait a while to visit, then leave. She comes home and goes straight to bed. I have a restless night, and seem to be getting a sore throat. I wake up, take liquid Tylenol for my throat and we do Santa gifts. After opening most of her gifts (Sophie was SO not excited--very lethargic) I start feeling nauseous, and proceed to get sick in the bathroom. I sleep 8 or 9 hours all day, and can't stay awake. I run a high fever the same as Sophia. Sophia, meanwhile, is getting a red rash all over her chest and back.

So, the next morning we go to see the doctor. My doctor is on vacation, so I am planning to go to Express Care. After looking at her, Dr. H says he suspects Scarlet Fever, as she appears to have strep, the rash and the fever. After her strep test is positive, he gives us both antibiotics. He did a mandatory peek in my throat to justify the scrip, and wrote mine out. I had told him about my doctor being on vacation, so I was grateful.

Today, we are all healthy again. No temps, no sore throats, and pretty much no problems except a little cabin fever. Let's hope for a healthier new year!

Tell Me How

How can one child be so loud, obnoxious and whiny that she creates an upset stomach in both her parents, and a migraine in her mother?

Ask Sophia--she excels at it.

After a way over-excited day, and her many tantrums, arguments and tears, Sophie finally went to bed. (And the people--her parents--rejoiced!!) I really need a way to gauge what the optimum level of stimulation is for her. Really. Or my number of gray hairs will triple by my birthday in February.

Sigh.