Kitties and Doggs and Babies

I didn't think it would happen this soon, but Atticus and Scout are actually getting to be buddies.  Not only are they playing and cuddling together more often, but Atticus is actually initiating grooming now too.  Who knew he was so maternal?  Another good sign is that he's getting back to his old self again - doing his evening laps around the house, playing with Hubs and me more, and snuggling with us too.  So it looks like we're probably going to be keeping the little one.  It's gonna be a full house come April!      But I think it will be good for Atticus to have a friend when the baby comes and he becomes second banana.

Hubby and I have been enjoying a particularly lovely weekend together.  Yesterday we got our tree and decorated the house for Christmas, and today we've been super ridiculously lazy.  I watched a terrible Lifetime movie from beginning to end while he played video games.  Tonight we have a hot date though, we're going to a -- wait for it -- Snoop Dogg concert!  LOL  Actually it's pretty cool, my friend's husband's band is opening for him and my other friend's husband works at the theater so we were able to score free tickets.  It should be entertaining.  I'm really excited for my friend, she gets to hang out backstage with Snoop.  I hope she has some awesome stories to tell me next time I see her!

I think I hit a milestone with the pregnancy the other day - I had my first stranger ask me if I'm pregnant.  I was so excited that strangers could actually tell I have a bump and not a beer gut that I overlooked the social faux pas.  (And he really should have known better too because he told me that just last week his brother congratulated a non-pregnant woman in line at the grocery store, and she was none too amused.)  Now, if any strangers attempt to touch my tummy that's going to be an entirely different story.  Just because I'm in a family way doesn't mean anyone not intimately connected with me is allowed to invade my bubble, and I won't hesitate to choke a bitch if need be.

The kid has been pretty active the past couple of days too. I think I have an anterior placenta because of something the ultrasound tech said, but my doctor never mentioned it so I'm just guessing.  It makes sense to me though because I haven't felt the kind of movement my friends describe - like popcorn or flutters - it's been more like an occasional squirming (and usually feels a lot like gas) until the past few days when I could feel some more obvious thumps and bumps.  Anyway I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so I'm going to try to use the absence of movement to my advantage.  I'm going to tell her I'm anxious that I haven't felt very much and that I want another ultrasound to make sure everything's okay, and hopefully get another chance to find out the baby's sex.

And I need to know the sex because my PHENOMENAL friends J and B have offered to throw me a shower!  They're my two oldest friends in life - J I've known since we were a year old, and B since we were five.  I get a little choked up just thinking about how sweet they are to offer, especially since they've been there for me my entire life.  *Sniff*  It is just so awesome.  :)

Okay enough mush.  I have a concert to get ready for, so until next time!

Adventures in feline care

 

What was I thinking???

 

Well, the answer to that question is easy - I wasn't.  I found this adorable little 10 week old kitten (now called Scout) crying pitifully (and loudly) near my house last Thursday, and when I learned she was abandoned all I knew was I couldn't just leave her out in the rain.  So I took her home, got her groomed to take care of the fleas, and promptly didn't think of much else until later. 

 

Stuff I should have thought about sooner includes:

• The cost of the vet bill for deworming, vaccinations, and disease testing, plus deworming for Atticus just in case (because Scout did indeed have worms).  FYI - it was A LOT.  And she still needs to be spayed.
• Atticus's response to Scout having free reign of the house.  I should have kept them separated from day one.  My well-adjusted, happy boy has turned into a surly old man in just a couple of days.  He paces the house, holes up alone, and bops her on the head, hisses, and/or runs away whenever she tries to play with him.
• The amount of effort it takes to keep a baby kitten from destroying my stuff, out of Atticus's litter box and food dishes (and him out of hers), as well as the energy it takes to keep her entertained and happy.  I thought having two cats would be marginally more work than one.  Yeah, not so.  And generally I just feel like if I'm keeping one of them happy then I'm neglecting the other one, and I feel guilty.
• Just feeding them is a pain!  I moved Atticus's dishes from the kitchen because that's where I block Scout off from the rest of the house.  So now he gets confused about where to eat at every meal, and she follows me whenever I have food in my hands, which scares him off from eating, which has totally thrown off his feeding schedule.  (Luckily he needs to lose a little weight anyway.)
• How much space we actually need to accommodate another cat, and how little space we actually have.

Overall it has been a somewhat stressful experience, punctuated by some cute moments and a few big laughs.  Hubs and I have decided to give it a couple of weeks to see how we all adjust before we commit to keeping Scout.  The good thing is she's young and really, really cute, so it shouldn't be any trouble finding her a good home if we can't keep her.  I've already had a couple of friends express interest, though it would be super nice if one of them was able to split the cost of the vet bills with us!  Seriously, I had no idea that it's much cheaper to adopt a kitten through a reputable group than to rescue one yourself.  They must get deep discounts on medical care.

 

So that's been my life for the past 4 days now.  This weekend I hit the halfway point in my pregnancy and things still seem to be fine.  Nothing much else to tell about that.  Well except that I'm finally going to go buy some maternity pants today.  I've been using a belly band with my regular jeans unzipped up until now, and it's starting to get annoying, so I figured it was about time.  I still have people tell me I don't look pregnant, to which I sarcastically respond, "Thanks, I guess that means I just look fat."  Just kidding, I don't really say that.  I just congratulate myself on my good genes and figure they're jealous bitches that I can be this far along and still order a beer without the bartender looking at me funny.  Okay I don't do either of those things either.  Sorry, I think my emotions are on overdrive lately.  I think it's time to get out of the house!

In with the in-crowd

Thanksgiving turned out to be pretty nice.  Dad was civil enough, albeit more quiet than usual, and everyone else was great.  We had dinner with my family at my sister's house and it was DE-LISH.  I ate a nice big plateful of food, followed by a little piece of pumpkin dump cake, and then we were off to my in-laws' for dessert.  They were just putting dinner away so I got myself a second plate (good thing I saved room at my sister's!), and then had myself a sampler platter of desserts to top it all off.  I don't think I've ever eaten that much on Thanksgiving, and it was AWESOME.  Mmm... now I can't wait for Christmas dinner!

So this holiday was my first experience getting a whole lot of attention for doing pretty much nothing (i.e. being knocked up).  As usual, there were a ton of people at my in-laws' house.  Hubs said there were around 35 people but I think it was more like 50, and I couldn't go from one room to another without people stopping me to congratulate me and ask about the pregnancy.  I have to say it was a little awkward!  Nice for sure, but definitely kind of awkward.

It's also been interesting to note the difference in the amount of interest some people take in me - like we finally have something in common they can talk to me about.  Now that I'm pregnant I'm included in more conversations about parenting and family type stuff, and when I voice an opinion about such things those people don't automatically dismiss me.  Do I have any more parenting experience now than I did last year?  Of course not!  But I'm going to be a parent now so I guess that means my opinions somehow hold a little weight.

Looking back on previous family gatherings it's such a noticeable difference that it's almost funny.  Those things people say about parenthood being a kind of exclusive club really are true.  I definitely feel more accepted, people are less awkward around me (even though I feel more awkward) - it's like I've joined the human race.  And that thought makes me really sad about the way anyone who doesn't quite fit in is sometimes treated.  I don't think family members (at least my family members) mean to exclude anyone, but most of them don't try particularly hard to make them feel accepted and included either.  It's just a lot easier when you have that most common of all common bonds - reproduction - working in your favor.  But it makes me want to be the person who puts in the extra effort to make everyone feel included.  I hope I can do that at least once or twice.

Now we enter the mad dash to Christmas, huh?  I've decided to do handmade gifts for the family this year.  I'm not sure I quite realize what I've gotten myself into, but I'm committed!  I have to figure out some ways that Hubs can help me assemble everything because I know it's going to be a lot of work, but at the same time I'm a little bit of a control freak when it comes to creative stuff.  I better figure it out for my own sanity though!

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was fabulous!