It Seems We Have Come To a Compromise...

This is Lily.
She is 'the neighborhood' cat.
Except for she spends neigh a second away from our hood.
It could be that we feed her twice a day.  And rub her behind the ears when no one is looking.
She is an outside cat.
Except for she tries multiple times a day to be an inside cat.
I leave the back door open while the kids play outside.  (much to my husbands frustration: air conditioning the back yard is not wise financially...I agree.  But, I can hear them and they can hear me...gives them a sense of freedom and me a sense of control...it works.)
Well, you can bet Lily will sneak in every chance she gets.
Usually, I just need to say "Liiiiilllllyyyyyy" in a motherly tone and she stops in her tracks.
Other times I have to send the kids to retrieve her and put her back outside. 
Because, I am allergic to her.  She knows this.  I have told her multiple times.
Cats love feline-allergic people...have you noticed that??
So. 
I know that she will try. 
She knows she will not win.
But today we seem to have come to a bit of a compromise.
I caved.
After two attempts to assume her favorite 'off limits' spot of the armchair in the back bedroom, she settled for the door. 
And I did too.

Word to the Wise

Over the past 4 days we have become more acquainted with the necessity and beauty of this:

 It's a mattress cover. 

One of those fancy ones you buy at the mattress store. 

The one that they cut a small portion off of

and rubber band to the top of a jar filled with water to show how water proof it is.

Absolute. Necessity.

Not only are they liquid proof...

they are also chunk proof...

while that may be a little too much information...

it is still true.

So.

If you are not yet a parent...or a parent of a baby...

or have not been 'baptized' by a child's vomit yet...

When you transition to a 'big boy or girl' bed,

Do. Not. Skimp on the mattress cover.

I repeat:

DO. NOT. SKIMP.

You will be tempted to buy the cheaper one...

Buy the expensive one.

You will thank me.

And the mattress cover when the stomach flu visits your house at 11 pm...

and 12:30 am...

and 2:30 am...

and 6:00 am...

and 11 am...

Our only improvement would be to have the water proofness also wrap around the sides of the mattress.

They may offer this as the step up from the expensive mattress cover to the ridiculously expensive mattress cover.  I may be swayed to purchase the latter if I am ever in the market for another one.

Water proof mattress covers you are a sanity saver.

And Kevin...

You win the 'Best Daddy in the World' award.

Seriously brave in the face of projectile vomit and gracious in the cleaning it up.

You barely flinched while it dripped from your hands.

You. Are. A. Rock star.

So blessed that I get to watch you be the best Daddy on the planet.

50 Questions

I am on a random kick…

50 Questions

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? no
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? 4 days ago
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? yes
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? smoked turkey
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 1 daughter, 1 son
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? hope so
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? no, never...
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? done it!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? honey nut cheerios, in memory of my grandpa.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no
12. HOW MANY CAVITIES HAVE YOU HAD? none
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? mint chocolate chip
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? their face
15. RED OR PINK? red
16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my lack of discipline
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? my grandparents
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST? i like to learn random things about people, so yes
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? blue jeans & red tennies
20. CAT OR DOG? dog
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? it is 10:30 pm…silence…ahhh.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? green
23. FAVORITE SMELL? clean laundry, coffee
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Kevin
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? nobody sent it to me, but i do like the person i copied it from :)
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? please don’t make me watch sports
27. HAIR COLOR? brown
28. EYE COLOR? hazel
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? yes
30. FAVORITE FOOD? Mexican food
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? only happy endings
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Slumdog Millionaire (would not recommend it)
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? gray
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer
35. HUGS OR KISSES? kisses from Kevin and the kids…hugs from everyone else
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? chocolate chip cookie dough, cinnamon rolls
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? not sure.
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? again, not sure.
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? breaking dawn
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? none - laptop
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? nothing
42. FAVORITE SOUND(S)? this season of life…silence…or my children playing happily
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? beatles
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? New Zealand
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I know most words to TV theme songs from my childhood..."You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have…"
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? elkhart, indiana
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? I enjoy random facts about most people
48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER? at church
49. CUP HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY? half full
50. IF YOU COULD SIT DOWN TO DINNER WITH FIVE PEOPLE WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE? Jesus, i think that would do it.

Popsicle the Mouse

In the spirit of randomness and the love of a good story, I bring you the TRUE story of,

POPSICLE THE MOUSE.
(as told to Chloe and me at the Interpretive Center of Edisto Island, SC)

It was the sweet lady's first day on the job. Sweet lady LOVED animals and had chosen her job at the interpretive center for this reason and her love for sea life. Never in her wildest dreams would she anticipate that her job description would include feeding Tom the corn snake. Yet, at Tom's cage she finds herself. Eyes wide and tear filled as her boss shows her how to feed Tom. You see, Tom eats, well, Tom eats mice. Sweet Lady felt this was cruel (although natural) and would not be able to feed Tom. So her boss put a tiny white mouse into Tom's cage and watched.

The tiny mouse was actually Popsicle, only he didn't know that was his name just yet. This is where the story truly starts.

So Popsicle is in the cage with Tom. Ten minutes pass. Popsicle is still alive. An hour passes, still living.
Ten hours...Popsicle and Tom pleasantly cohabiting. TEN DAYS pass and Popsicle has set up shop on one side of the cage, Tom keeping to himself on the other side of the cage. Now, ten days is a highly unusual amount of time for a snake to allow it's dinner to live in it's cage, so Sweet Lady and her boss decide that this mouse is MEANT to live! (Chloe's theory is that Tom could tell that Popsicle was a very nice mouse, but maybe he did not smell very good.)

So, Popsicle gets a cage of his own. Complete with a cardboard box house and all the paper towels he could nibble through. Popsicle was living life until one day, the heat was not turned on in Popsicle's room and Sweet Lady feared that he had succumbed to hypothermia. With a sad heart and tear filled eyes, she carried Popsicle out to bury him. As she dug a small hole, she thought she saw his tiny foot twitch. NO, she had to be seeing things. Then it happened again. Sweet Lady began to massage the tiny cold mouse gently to warm him up. She placed him in her coat pocket for added warmth. A few hours later, guess who started peeking out of Sweet Lady's pocket...none other than...POPSICLE!!!

And that was over a year ago. He stays nice and warm now, but because of that chilly day, he will forever be known as Popsicle.