48 inches

With her boots on, she reached the line! Let the fun begin!

Meet Squeegee

One of our cats passed away about a month ago. His name was Pounce. We still have Rascal. I don't talk much about them on this blog simply because they really never interacted much with the children. They were 7 years old by the time Ellie was born, and to be honest, they were kind of anti-social grumps. Pounce was better than Rascal in that regard so it was hard to have him go, but we've always wished that the girls could have that childhood experience of bonding with a cat of their own.

And so we decided to get another cat! I know, it was a shock to me too. With nearly 14 years of dealing with hairballs and lots of shedding, I definitely had no interest in another long haired cat. But a short-haired one? Now let's talk more about it!

The girls originally wanted a kitten. Who can blame them? Kittens are super cute and I even had a hard time not falling in love with the ones we saw. However, what really surprised me was Addie's response to the kittens. She was actually SCARED of them! She did not like their high level of energy and their lack of understanding on how to be gentle when playing with her. There is a fine line between play and biting/scratching and Addie simply didn't understand that the line even exists.

Combine that with the guilt trip we gave Ellie about how kittens find homes easily because everyone wants a kitten, but older cats have a hard time finding a family to love them, and we got Ellie on board with the idea of an older cat. The problem with the older cats, though, was that it was nearly impossible to get a feel for their personalities in such a short timeframe and in the confined space of the shelter's observation room.

After a few failed attempts at finding a perfect fit, we found ourselves at Petco, where they had kitties up for adoption from yet another shelter. And we found her! It was really quite amazing how different our initial meeting with her was compared to the previous kitties. I think it took me all of 2 seconds to love her, the girls all of 20 seconds and Michael... perhaps a minute.

Meet Squeegee. She is crazy social! She talks a lot and loves attention (though she doesn't like to be held). I've never seen a cat warm up to so many people in such short amount of time. She's 9 months old, which is actually not as old as we would have liked, but no doubt she is just the right kitty for the girls.

She's now been home for 2 days and locked in the guest room for most of that time. However, when we do let her out, it's impressive how quickly she has explored the house. I got a kick out of the way the girls just followed her EVERYWHERE. She chirps and meows and purrs and hmmms... I think she likes to talk.

There is still the unknown of how Rascal will behave with the new addition to the family. So far so good with only a couple low-key moans leading to Squeegee leaving the room. I think she's smart to "not go there" with the old grump that we call Rascal.

And Squeegee? You may ask how such a name came to mind? I once had a dog named Sebaca (Russian for Dog). Nana had a black cat named Snowball. Uncle David had a cat named Breakfast. I love naming cats with completely random and unusual yet perfect names. Squeegee has always been on my list of favorites and it even fits her. She loves to drag herself across the floor to get more attention.

Though Twitch would have been a good name for her too because HOLY SMOKES!!! She has an expressive tail!

Wordless Wednesday

Tid-bits

I loved watching Addie be so proud of her present to Ellie. Her body language squealed with delight at how happy she made Ellie.

It was raining.  We were driving home.  The girls had their heads out the windows squealing with delight every time a raindrop hit their faces.  This is the life.

I love love love Addie's imagination. She has always had such a wonderful sense of imagination when she plays and not it's coming out in her story telling. Where Ellie just states the general details, Addie elaborates and gives emotion and conversation and even twist endings. It is so much fun to listen to her go on and on and on telling a story. When we sit around the fire pit, telling stories, she now takes more than her fair share of the story telling time.

I love that even after all this time, if Addie is having a difficult morning and breaks down when she realizes that she's not going to be able to sit and eat breakfast with her sister because Addie's class is leaving to go to their own classroom, Ellie doesn't hesitate to offer to join her just so that they can sit next to each other. Such a good sister.

ELLIE: I want to do Girl Scouts!
MOMMY: Do you even know what Girl Scouts do?
ELLIE: Of course I do. They sell cookies!

I love how songs affect Addie to the core. Intermission of Shrek the Musical followed a sad song about Shrek wishing he could be a real hero. Addie had tears streaking down her face. "Mommy, that song made me really sad. I am trying to be brave and calm down but I am really sad for Shrek!"

I love how my husband sings as though he is performing on Broadway.

New Addie-isms:
"Anything is possible! You just have to imagine-ate and it can come true!"
"Thank you Mama for the good remind-a-me. I almost forgot to do that!"

Oh, and did I mention that I love how Addie sincerely calls me "Mama?"

Married to my best friend

ELLIE:  Some people think that just because I'm a girl it means I should marry a boy. 
MOMMY:  What do you think about that?
ELLIE:  I think that it shouldn't matter just as long as you marry someone you really love.
MOMMY:  I agree completely. 
ELLIE:  I want to marry Brynn because she's always been my best friend and will be my best friend forever.  I want to be married to my best friend like you and Daddy.

Family Photos - Outtakes

I have to say, that if *THESE* are the photos that "didn't make the cut," then DAMN!!! Did I mention that life is JUST. THAT. GOOD.

A sincere thank you to Jenna Dancy Photography. A new friend gained and new memories captured.

Family Photos

LOOK! LOOK! I wasn't sure the blossoms would last through the Mother's Day snow, but they weren't too shabby. Perhaps they were a little less pink, but I'm thrilled with the results! Life is good.

In fact, life could not be any better...

Next Year's Photos

I stumbled across a grove of blossoming crab apple trees. How could I have not noticed them sooner? I pass this grove every day! But alas, it's likely too late to use this stunning grove as the backdrop to our annual springtime family photos. By the time that Daddy gets back into town, these beautiful blossoms will likely be gone. Or covered in snow.

So what's a Niffer to do? Of course, she makes the most of her options. If I can't have family photos, what's the next best thing? Sister photos! The girls LOVED this tiny corner of magic, and as they ran around the grass, I saw blossoms drop to the ground like snow with every giggle from the girls.

My fingers are crossed that the blossoms will hold out until next week when I get a chance to do family photos, but if they don't, you can rest assured that this will be the location of our 2015 spring time photo shoot!

Happy Mommies

The girls designed jewelry for Mother's Day...

Gramma's

Nana's

But mine is the best!

The Bears and the Dragon Race

"The Bears and the Dragon Race" illustrated & written by Addie for Grammie on Mother's Day.

Once there was a race in a deep dark forest and the dragon meeted the bear.  "Hey do you want to go by me when the race is done?" asked the dragon.  

The bear answered "Why yes!"

"But how does the race go?" asked the bear.

"Oh there are yellow boards you follow.  If you fall off then you can get back up because there are crocodiles in the water!"

The bear said "UH!"

"Don't worry," said the dragon, "I will hold your hand so you won't be scared."  

And so the race began!

And then they raced and raced and raced.  They raced as long as they could!  They just kept racing!

Then at the end, the one who got the trophy was the one who made it to the end.  The bear and the dragon won but the dragon raced faster.

And the bear said "Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you for letting me go slower.  I didn't know that the slowest one would win!"

And so they both walked away with trophies.  The bears and dragons were friends forever!

THE END!