November 28th - Miscellaneous Thoughts

• My scrapbooking weekend (two weekends ago) was great! My Mom, my sisters Becky and Bobbi, my nieces Kelsey, Bree, Courtney and Breanna, my great friend Jenny and Bree's friend Victoria all accompanied me. We got too little sleep but had so much fun. We held 4 or 5 different challenges throughout the weekend (i.e. "use stamps on a page" or "create a pocket on your page" etc.) It was really nice, and the store that hosted us was especially hospitable. I hope we can return there next year!
• I got a call today from the vet reminding me that Sawyer's castration is scheduled for tomorrow. Couldn't they just say "neuter?" Do I really need to think of it that way??
• Speaking of the cat-that-has-moved-in, he has not peed outside of the litter box since "the incident." Woohoo! And it appears that the odor is mostly gone. We have an odor-eliminating product that a friend gave us to try this week. With a little luck, the problem will be a bad memory soon!
  
• Speaking more of that crazy cat, I have learned a lot about owning a cat in the last month.
• This cat is LOUD. He mews about everything. And he sounds just like Abby when he's crying in the middle of the night. We have been fooled many times.
• Cats are night animals (duh). He sleeps and sleeps all day, and then goes ballistic after the kids go to bed. He wakes us up many nights with his crazy running around in our bathroom or the foyer downstairs. The poor dogs.
• Sawyer insists on sitting in my lap when I'm working on the computer. He won't take no for an answer. At least with the dogs, they will just stare at you until you do what they want - they aren't laying in your lap against your will. Oh yeah, they do that too.
• Cats are fussy eaters. The dogs will eat anything. Literally. And they will eat it quickly, no matter what it is. Sawyer has to sniff his food from every angle before deciding if he wants to take a bite of it. He never eats all of the food in the bowl, but meows for more when there are 10 or so pieces left. He won't drink water that's not fresh (but will drink out of the dogs' water bowl, which is much more foul than water that has been sitting out for a few hours).
• Abby has been hit-or-miss on naps since her 3rd birthday. This week has been great for naps. In fact, today (for the second day in a row), she actually tucked herself into bed while I put Ethan down for his nap and just waited for her kiss goodnight. If only it was always that easy!
• Mark and I have been like two ships passing in the night for the last month or so. During our free time, one of us is usually watching the kids while the other is doing some kid-free activity (working on the basement, attending a meeting, etc.) We are in serious need of a weekend away for just the two of us. I am hoping that we can plan a trip to Chicago for January or February. With effective scheduling, my sister's family can watch Abby and Ethan for us. Just imagining time alone to reconnect makes me giddy!
• There are two families of kids that attend our preschool who are in need of help right now, because both moms have just had some very serious and major surgeries. The rest of the families (including us) have come together to provide playdates, meals and house cleaning services. Have I mentioned how happy I am with this preschool, and how proud I am to be part of their community???
• Isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen?