November 2nd - That Darn Cat

We've got an addition to our zoo. The cat we took in last week has not been claimed yet, despite a large effort to find his home. So unless someone calls to claim him, he is here to stay. Or so our enormous vet bill indicates.

We're naming him Sawyer after either the character from Lost or Tom Sawyer, depending on who you prefer (I got to name him because I'm in charge like that). Sawyer is a siamese/calico mix with flamepoint coloring (his ears and tail have a concentration of orange color). He has beautiful blue eyes. Sawyer is about a year old, and will be getting fixed in a month. Snip, snip, kitty!

I've never been a fan of cats. Mark has always loved cats, but my allergies (and distaste for such snooty animals) have kept me away. Sawyer is a very sweet cat. The vet says that his breed mix makes him the perfect cat for households with dogs and kids. That's us! He's basically the golden retriever of the cat world.

The dogs have been adjusting well to a feline companion. Casey is so laid back that it doesn't phase her. Maggie is pretty high strung and is always aware of where Sawyer is and what he's doing. They have a love-hate relationship, though, because they have been seen staring each other down one minute and then sleeping together the next. Good thing the dog breed and cat breed are both friendly to other animals.

The kids love Sawyer, of course. Ethan asks for the kitty the moment he wakes up, and is very gentle with him. Abby is our resident animal lover, and has attached herself to Sawyer like they're siamese twins (haha - siamese!) She has a very hard time being gentle with him because she loves to play with him so much. She really likes to pick him up (a big no-no) and will sometimes try to grab his tail or leg to make him stay near her so she can pet him. Sawyer is extremely tolerant of her behavior, and really loves Abby despite it all. If he wasn't tolerant, there is no way that he could live here. He has passed the test.

Mark is already a cat-lover, and enjoys cuddling with the little furball. He had the fun task of taking him to the vet this week (a tag-along on Casey's appointment), and discovering all of the details about him that we were trying to figure out.

Sawyer has won me over. The biggest shock to Mark is that I actually pushed to keep him instead of finding another home (or worse yet, leaving him with an animal shelter where he might never find a home). He's so very sweet and gentle, and low maintenance. The kids love him so much. And my cat allergies have not been bad at all (apparently 6 years of living with dogs has kicked those allergies right in the butt). Mostly, I am a sucker for an animal in need.

Good thing he's also a great cat.

Ah, the power of peer pressure

Mark is participating in NaBloPoMo, too. Sucker!

But seriously, be sure to check his blog out.

November 1st - TSOG

Ethan is a social butterfly. He makes friends wherever we go, and is always talking about other kids, like "Joey is my buddy" or "baby Tayla is so cute." He thrives on social interaction, loves people of all ages, and is very verbal and talks the ears off of all of his friends.

Abby isn't wired the same way. She would prefer to play by herself most often. She views any child younger than herself (with the exception of Ethan) as a "baby," and treats them like dolls. She's now starting to warm up to other kids her age in her preschool class (but still doesn't play with the kids in Ethan's class - they're too young for her).

The only individual worthy of Abby's time is "The Slightly Older Girl." The girl (and it must be a girl) can be anywhere from 4 to 7 years old, of any size, temperament, race or haircolor. Abby finds TSOG at the playground, and follows her around, mimicking every movement. TSOG at school (a girl in the 4-year-0ld class) was the subject of Abby's admiration at the Halloween party this week, gaining TSOG a follower and a hand-holder to cross the parking lot. Anywhere that there are kids, Abby's homing skills are put to use as she scopes out TSOG.

TSOG's have different reactions to such overtures by our 3-year-old spitfire. There are some varieties of TSOG who view Abby as a pest. Others view Abby as pretty cool to play with. And others just ignore Abby altogether, even if she's talking to them (which breaks her Mom's heart). No matter what the response of TSOG, Abby still admires her.

So in an effort to boost Abby's social life, I am now contemplating putting an ad in the classifieds. What do you think?

Wanted: Playmate between the ages of 4 and 7. Must be well-behaved, providing a good example to a 3-year old girl with admiration in her eyes. Can accompany said child to preschool to demonstrate proper behavior during circle time. Should enjoy princesses, Barbies, animals of all kinds, jumping and some light roughhousing. Must be able to speak preschooler. Girls only need apply.

National Blog Posting Month

Apparently, there is an annual online movement to have people write a novel in 30 days called "NaNoWriMo" (National Novel Writing Month). I have no desire to write a novel, much less write one in 30 days. So instead I am participating in an offshoot movement called "NaBloPoMo" (National Blog Posting Month). I will attempt to write a post every day for the month of November. I think I can handle such a daunting task. ;)

Since my writing lately has been sporatic (at best), this will force me to focus on my blog and get back into the swing of things. I promise you, my readership, posts of more substance than the simple "upload-three-pictures-and-call-it-a-post" post. I will write about the kids. I will write about Mark. I will write about myself. I will write about the animals that inhabit our home. It will be an action-packed adventure, my readership, so be sure to check back daily to see what's next!

Princess Abby and Sheriff Ethan

The beautiful Abigail and tough Ethan (and the silly monkey Gracey who lives next door).

Reverse Trick-Or-Treat

Today, the kids wore their costumes to Daddy's work and passed out candy to the employees there. Reverse Trick-Or-Treating, if you will. In the engineering department, we saw about 20 men and 1 woman, typical for the field.

When we were done, Mark was talking about his coworker Andy who we had given some treats.

"Which one was he?" I asked.

"He was the one who was dressed like a nerd for Halloween."

After thinking for a minute, I started to laugh.

I hadn't noticed that anyone was dressed differently than anyone else. They were all dressed like nerds.

Happy Spook Day

There's nothing scarier than this guy... Happy Halloween!

The Most Magical Season... Autumn

Despite the fact that the trees are barren already (we've had a patch of snow and frost that prompted the trees to drop their leaves early this year), we are in Mark's favorite season, autumn. I have to admit, autumn has really grown on me over the years with him, and I really enjoy the colors and all of the activities that go along with the season. I would enjoy it better if it was 60 degrees all of the time instead of 45 as it has been, but I can still appreciate the beauty of it.

Today was an unseasonable 65 degrees! After dinner, Mark and I took the kids to the park to soak in some outdoor playtime before the weather gets really cold. Here are some fun pictures from our outing.

Ethan was so proud to climb up this tricky ladder. "I brave, Mom!" he kept telling me.

Abby was laughing so hard while we played a game of keep-away.

My annual laying-in-the-leaves shot.

Sometimes I think Abby is destined for a career as a model. Just look at that face!

Ethan is into sitting on fun things, like stumps. And he's also into giving his Mom a cheesy smile.

A Cheating Post

Instead of actually writing something, I will let Mark write it for me, and simply link to it here. Hahaha!

My Amazing Hubby

I have to take a minute to brag about Mark, 'cause I know he won't do it himself.

A few minutes ago, Mark made a presentation at a software conference. "Wow, really, Mark?" you may ask (because if you actually know Mark you would realize that public speaking is not one of his passions... not even anywhere near the top). But Mark has been really trying hard to be more outgoing in his professional life, and when he heard about the conference a few months ago, he asked the company hosting if he could speak on a topic he enjoys (a technical software topic that is completely over my head). They loved his topic, and asked him to present!

Mark had to prepare 40 minutes of presentation, to be followed by 20 minutes Q&A. Earlier this week, he presented it to his work group, and it was about an hour long, so he cut some out for today. True to Mark's personality, he created some one-of-a-kind drawings to illustrate his technical points (the drawings are humorous, of course). I love the picture he drew of himself - I'll try to steal a copy from him tonight to post it. He was told they were estimating more than 100 for his presentation. Wow.

I haven't heard from Mark yet, so I have no idea how the presentation went. What I do know is I am extremely proud of him for stepping so far out of his comfort zone (we're talking different galaxies here, people). He's always trying to improve himself, which is admirable. He's so amazing!

And you'd better step off, ladies. He's MY man. ;)

As promised, my husband the geek :)

Updated by Mark to add:

*whew* weeks of working on slides, doing research, and trying to convince myself that I wasn't crazy for trying this all came to today. This morning, when I arrived at the conference, I was really really nervous. I even had to skip out on the yummy muffins for breakfast, because I wasn't sure I would actually keep them down.

During the keynote, I calmed down a lot. The speaker was awesome! He completely made me excited to be part of this whole event. The keynote was followed by four other presentations (where I skipped from "track" to "track", learning about things that were interesting to me. Most of them were very good... one of them made me think "at least I won't be the worst speaker here... there's *no way* I can look that unprepared."

Finally, it was time for me to do my talk. I went to the room where my presentation was scheduled and booted up my laptop. While it booted, I chatted with the guy who was going to be introducing me and a few early-arrivers. They laughed when I started OpenOffice.org Impress instead of Microsoft PowerPoint (OOo Impress is an open source alternative to MS PowerPoint... my talk was about free and open source in embedded software)... Apparently I was the only speaker at the conference not using PowerPoint, and the organizers (including the guy who was about to introduce me) had made bets as to if I would be using OpenOffice.org based on my presentation subject. Apparently he won.

This helped to drain out the rest of my nervousness. As people trickled in, I continued to just chat. People wanted to know all about my experiences at SGS. As I chatted about it, a sudden realization hit me: I was now looking at a room of fifty-ish people and they were interested in what I was saying.

The rest came easy.

The organizer gave me a little intro, which consisted of a recap of what we had just been talking about instead of what he had prepared (including the fact that he had won the bet). Then it was my turn.

Time flies.

After practicing my presentation in front of some coworkers earlier in the week, I had realized that I had about twice as much material as I needed. Instead of hacking half of it out (my first reaction), I had instead pushed the most important stuff into the front, and then added a slide that listed the other topics. So halfway through my presentation, I came to that slide and I said, "I only have twenty minutes more to talk, and I have experience in these areas. What are you most interested in hearing about?"

I am so glad that I chose to do it this way. It immediately turned the rest of the presentation into a customized interactive presentation. People asked lots of questions, we skipped from topic to topic, getting as detailed as anyone cared to discuss. As the organizer gave me the five minute sign, I realized that I was actually disappointed that it was almost over. I was having fun.

Then it's done. People clap and I pack up my laptop and throw it in my bag. As I stand back up, I am surprised to see about fifteen people around me. I just start to chat. One after another, they ask questions, tell me related stories, request my email. As I'm chatting with the last in line, I realize that I'm already late for the next presentation that I had planned to see. We exchange emails, and I'm off.

How cool is that?

Sleepover

Saturday night, Abby had her first sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house (Mark's parents). It was her special time away, and she loved packing her "packpack" with all of the important things she would need.

Grandma and Grandma took her to the mall to play, and Chuck E. Cheese's. They made brownies at home and played. Abby slept well, although she woke up once in the middle of the night disoriented about where she was and needed to be directed back to bed.

Ethan had his own time with Mom and Dad, decorating the house for Halloween and going to a local playland. He cried a lot when they left (such big tears!), but he had his own fun with us and appreciated the one-on-one.

It's hard to believe our little girl is big enough to have overnights with Grandma and Grandpa! What a little lady! :)

My Spirited Daughter - Part 1

I have said before that I believe Abby is a spirited (previously called strong-willed) child. I have felt alone amongst my other mom friends who aren't parenting spirited children, and who simply can't relate to the struggles I have. I have been wondering if I am creating some of the difficulties I have with Abby, and if I can help make our relationship better. My number one goal as Abby's mom is to help her realize how special and wonderful she is, despite her behavior.

I am reading a book called "Raising Your Spirited Child" by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. I am 80 pages in, and have already found it very insightful.

So far, this book has helped me to identify that my spunky oldest child falls into the category of "spirited." "Spirited" is a temperament, like "cautious" or "easy-going." Spirited is a positive term that encompasses a fairly consistent variety of traits, most of which Abby exhibits. Our temperament is widely believed to be inherent at birth, and is so much a fiber of who we are that changing temperament is like moving a mountain.

I will be blogging about my findings from this book and how they relate to parenting my beautiful Abigail. I'm excited to share with you what makes Abby tick! My hope is that those of us who are close to her can better understand why Abby behaves as she does, and can appreciate her spirited nature.

Heart Melter

Me: Ethan... do you have your hands in your pockets?
Ethan: Yes, Mom. Just like Daddy does it.

Happy Birthday, My Blog

Today is the 1st birthday of another good friend of mine, this blog.

It's hard to believe I've been writing online for a year. Time has flown, that's for certain. And so I would like to provide you with a list of the posts I consider "The Best of Team Meat." I hope you enjoy them as much as I've enjoyed writing them. Thanks for reading!

My First Post

• Joy can be found over grilled cheese sandwiches
  

My Kids

• The first day of Preschool - the funny version
• Abby Turns 3
• Ethan Turns 2
• Abby's first story
• Ethan tells Abby what to do
  
• Abby and Ethan experiment with gender
  

Adoption

• Waiting for Baby #3
• Ethan's Other Sister
• Adopting Abby
• The pain of limiting your choices
• Birthfamilies and blogging
• Adopting Ethan
  
• About not giving birth
• An adoption that didn't go through
  

The Struggles of Motherhood

• The first day of Preschool - the sappy version
• A meltdown over a fruit bar
• Raising a strong-willed child
  

My Black Cloud of Spring 2006

• The first event - Mark takes a new job (which ends up being more lemon than lemonade)
• Deaths
  
• My van is totalled
• My broken arm
  
• Abby's hip infection

About Me

• 100 Things about Me (first half)
  
• 100 Things about Me (continued)
• My Favorite Things
  

My Sense of Humor

• My obsession with Netflix
• Smelly Indian Women
• Mark's new nickname
  

Photos

• Abby and Ethan express themselves
• Washing the kids' "Loveys"
• Summertime fun
• Happy Valentines Day
• Portrait of a Boy
• Portrait of a Girl
• Abby's silly face
  

Happy Birthday, My Friend

My best friend Jennifer turned 35 today - happy, happy day!

Just Call Me TAFKAM*

Today is the 167th** consecutive day of rain. The sky is dreary, the air is humid, the cold weather blues are starting to sink in.

Mark is at work. On a Saturday. Yuck. And I'm home with two small children who would much rather be outside. What to do??

Haircuts, I tell you, haircuts. While they watched "Kiki's Delivery Service" from NetFlix, I plunked them onto the kitchen island and performed my magic.

The boy who's head was starting to resemble Don King's was transformed into a nicely groomed little man. And the girl who's bangs were obstructing her view and causing her to trip over things now has her cute little bob back.

Their hair is now a work of art.

*The Artist Formerly Known as Mommy
**OK, this may be a slight exaggeration

At The Breakfast Table

Abby: Ethan is choking me!
[I snap my head around to see what is going on, only to discover two children who are belted into their booster seats, approximately 10 feet apart]
Me: Ethan is not choking you. He's nowhere near you.
Abby: Ouch! My knee! Ethan pushed me!
Me: What, 3 days ago? [Mommy can be a little snarky before her morning coffee]
Abby: No...
Abby: ...four.

Works for me Wednesday: spackle & sanding

This is my first time posting a tip for Works for Me Wednesday... after being a reader, I'm finally jumping on the bandwagon!

At our house, we are finally at the stage of finishing our basement where I can paint - yeehaw! And so, in preparation for painting, I have been doing a few touchups on the walls with mud ("spackle" for you non-home-improvement types).

My father-in-law gave me a couple of great tips which have worked out really well! First, apply the mud to places that don't need very much with a paintbrush instead of a scraper. It adds a much smaller amount that doesn't require much sanding. And second, instead of using store-bought sandpaper for the really fine detail sanding, use a paper grocery bag instead. It's a much finer grit than what you could buy, and it's free. So next time you're grocery shopping, you have another reason to ask for paper instead of plastic!

Go visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for a whole list of WFMW ideas!

Pillow Talk

Mom: Ethan, you're awake already? You were up coughing last night... I thought you'd sleep in.
Ethan: No, Mom.
Mom: Aren't you sleepy?
Ethan: No, Mom.
Mom (barely able to believe morning could be here yet): Why aren't you still sleeping?
Ethan (exasperated): 'Cause why, Mom. 'Cause WHY.

We're In For It

I've been participating in my church's babysitting co-op for one full year now. And boy, oh boy, do I love it.

Last schoolyear, we had 8 moms with 12 kids participating. The kids were great, got along pretty well, the spats were minimal. Over the summer, 3 of the moms had dropped out. We had 5 moms with 9 kids, an easy load for 2 moms to handle (although we hired babysitters for most of the summer - well worth the cost!) The kids were mostly buddies.

Now, we are recruiting. One of the moms dropped out for this schoolyear, and two new moms have joined. As of right now, there are 6 moms with 11 kids in the co-op.

I had "the pleasure" of working the co-op last week with one of the new moms. It was the most hectic co-op I've ever worked. It wasn't just one kid that was causing commotion, it was a majority of the kids. We would turn our backs for one minute, and two kids would be crying and reporting that the other had pushed/pulled/taken their toy/kicked them/you name it. Ethan was personally in time out 5 times for being a really big stinker. It was crazy. I needed a wine cooler after it was over. Truly.

Over the last few days, I've tried to figure out what is different? Is it because we have four new kids to the co-op right now? Are the kids too close or too far in age to play nicely? What's going on?? And then it struck me.

Testosterone.

Right now, we have two girls and NINE boys. And boy, oh boy, oh boy, does it show. The boys play off each other, are more physical with each other and are just generally louder and messier than our girls. I'm sure there is some mathematical algorithm that would show that a 9:2 ratio of boys to girls approaches insanity.

Wow, are we in for it.