Feline Trouble

This is Jo-Jo. She has been with me for 13 years. She lasted longer than my marriage and I'm very, very attached to her.

She has stopped grooming and won't jump up on anything or climb stairs. Her abdomen has ballooned up.

I took her to the vet yesterday and he called today to tell me that she has diabetes. Her blood sugar is supposed to be 130 or so. It was over 700. I picked her up, got her prescription for insulin filled at the pharmacy and drove her home. The vet said that he thinks there is something else wrong with her because of all the excess fluid in her abdomen. If you look at the photo you can see how big her tummy has gotten. I've got to take her back to the vet next week for a follow-up.

I brought her home and took her to the food bowl. Then I went looking for Yogi. He's been an indoor cat since we've moved into my parent's home due to the divorce.

He's not in the house.

I can't find him. Yogi is GooseyGirl's kitty. She carries him around and keeps little kitty treats in her clothing drawer for him. She absolutely adores this cat.

I can't find him!!!

The kids are with their dad today and when they get back, GooseyGirl is going to be absolutely devastated. She tears up just thinking about life without him.

Life has been so unsteady and hard for these kids the past few months. She has reacted by absorbing every one's emotions and worrying for them. This isn't going to be easy for her.

Please, please hold a vision of him safe and in her arms. I'm hoping he just snuck outside and will be back before she returns from her visit with her dad today.

***********************UPDATE*************************
Seven hours went by and I still couldn't find Yogi. Every hour my mom and I would shake his little kitty treat jar and call for him. We tore apart the house looking for him. We walked around the neighborhood calling for him.

I finally decided that we had to eliminate the possibility that Yogi had died in the house. GooseyGirl simply couldn't be subjected to finding her kitty's body if he had perished somewhere in the house.

My mom and I steeled ourselves as we decided it was time to find the body.

However, we aren't very bendy.

There are lots of crevasses, underbed areas and general low lying pockets of darkness in the house. All of these places needed to be searched. But again, we aren't very bendy.

That's when it occurred to me that the two seven year olds across the street were very, very bendy. I thought that with a well placed flashlight, they could find the body. In fact, I had my hand on the doorknob ready to head out and ask their mom who was in the garden.

Thankfully I shared my plan with my mother.

!!!!!!

"You're going to ask our neighbor to have their kids do WHAT?!?", she exclaimed.

Hmmmm.... maybe that's not such a hot idea. I decided to take my mother's advice and bypass harassing small children that aren't blood related. On the positive side, I saved the neighbor's family from some unwanted mental health bills. That's good, right?

Meanwhile, I turned to begin my gruesome search.

I turned the corner into the hallway and guess who was looking at me?

YOGI!!!

He was standing there in the middle of the hallway, tail in the air, looking at me like, "You rang?"

Sigh... cat catastrophe averted and mental health of neighborhood children are safe.

I think I'm ready for a nap.

*************UPDATE*************
First dose of kitty insulin has gone well. JoJo was walking around and purring while I petted her.

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Final Grade in my Marketing F504 class

I got an A!!!


I would have been unbelievably ashamed if my grade came in lower than that considering marketing is my background!

Now I have to figure out if I want to continue pursuing my MBA. The problem is that once you get an MBA, you actually have to use it.

The types of positions that require an MBA don't mix well with being a single parent of triplets.

What I want is a job that allows me flexibility, insurance and a reasonable work hours. Sounds like a lot to ask, eh?

Divorce brought my homeschooling journey to an abrupt halt. I'm thankful that the kids are excited about attending public school this fall.

Last night they were looking through the school's website and clicking on all the clubs and activities offered. BirdMan wants to join the science club and the chess club. RocketMan is set on the basketball team. GooseyGirl wants all things artsy.

I still haven't processed all the emotions I have about the upcoming changes to their education. I know it is going to be a difficult adjustment for all of us.

One of the things I will miss are the field trips to the zoo during a weekday when we can have the whole place to ourselves.

Here are some photos of an outing this past spring to feed the lorikeets. You may wonder why you can't see GooseyGirl in the photos. It is because she was hiding inside her Grandma's jacket so a bird wouldn't land on her. She is okay with our single conure but flocks of birds scare her to pieces!

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Apollo Speaks!

Our green-cheeked conure has started talking! I never imagined it would be so much fun to converse with a feathered friend. His most active time is at night right after you put on his cage cover.

We call the cover his "invisibility cloak". All the books say that with his cover on he should feel secure and nested. He is supposed to settle down and go to sleep without worrying where his flock is. He hasn't seen this book.

Once his invisibility cloak is on he starts clicking. It sounds like kissing the air. After a few clicks you'll hear, "Hello". Even though we are supposed to ignore him, I can't help responding. I'll repeat it back, "Hello".

Then he'll say, "Apollo" and "Good Bird".

My dad is working on teaching him, "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty."

Once Apollo has that down it should get interesting around here, eh?

MBA and pet photos

I just finished my final exam for my Marketing F504 class which is a prerequisite required for the MBA program. I'm still unsure about pursuing an MBA due to that pesky GMAT thing.
I think I did well on the exam and should know my score in about a week.

Meanwhile, GooseyGirl and BirdMan have been taking pictures with Grandma's digital camera. I don't think they are ready for National Geo- although the picture of our bird, Apollo does capture his essence quite well.

I like the picture GooseyGirl caught of Yogi- it makes him look like he's smiling. CHEESE!!







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Tinkering

Well, can you tell I've been tinkering? The new look is compliant with the new Google Blogger. I'm still working on getting the banner photo on the top.

Meanwhile, I've got to study for my Marketing F504 class. The final is tomorrow. I'm trying to knock out the pre-requisites for an MBA and this class was the first.

Wish me luck!

********UPDATE****************
I got a 96% on the multiple choice part of the exam. Now I've got to complete the two hour essay exam. YIKES!
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Case Study

I took GooseyGirl to a second hand clothing shop on Saturday in hopes of finding a few good deals on shorts. That's when I discovered it.

It has begun.

You know.... the "Mom-you-are-so-uncool-I'm-going-to-roll-my-eyes-at-you-whenever-you pick-up-a-garment-so-that-you-will-know-how-completely-out-of-touch-you-are" look.

I'm a pseudo anthropologist at heart and I couldn't pass up this opportunity to flesh out the budding fashion opinions of my little eight year old. That's when I started experimenting to see how far I could push her.

Case Study #1:
The cute matchy, matchy Hanna Anderson-esque pants combo.
Result? Eyeroll with lip snarl.









Case Study #2:
The Gymboree-esque strawberry smocked dress.
Result? Eyeroll, lip snarl and sharp exhale.







Case Study #3:
The Laura Ashley-esque gingham ribbon bedecked sundress.
Result? GooseyGirl looked at me much the same as one would do to someone fatally injured but they just don't know it yet. She didn't roll her eyes at all. This time she reverted to overt passive aggressive kindness as she said, "Um, Mom, why don't you go help the boys?"

I walked over to BirdMan and RocketMan who were playing with the random baby toys sprinkled throughout the store. Soon enough Miss Opinionated was done and brought her much acclaimed fashion choice over to me for purchase. Guess what she picked out?? Camo!!! Moss green camo!!!

No, I didn't buy it.

Then I got home and found a raging email from my soon-to-be-but-not-soon-enough-for-me-ex-husband. He wrote, "The kids need to have clothes that are not 2 years old, or stop only sending them to me with their worn out clothes if you have bought them new things. You would not be that vindictive to your children."

At least he is good for a giggle every now and then.

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