The Weeks Just Get Stranger and Stranger...

Jacob's well into his baseball season. Well, baseball practice season. His coach said he and another boy have the most natural talent on the team. Nice. Jacob has reclaimed his love of baseball and all seems to be well. Hannah started soccer and even had her first game last Saturday. Her team lost but her team won as well. Clarification...they split the team into two so the one team becomes two and they play on 1/4 of the field. It gives each girl a ton of playing time. Hannah's told me that she never wants to quit soccer. Finally, a sport I can actually help with! I know the rules, I know how to help. Yay!

After Hannah's game on Saturday, Mike took Jacob to baseball practice while Daniel, Hannah and I headed to the grocery store. While we were there, I noticed they had a sale on these really pretty spring flower bouquets, so I picked one up. We also ran into an old TKD friend while we were there and it was nice to catch up in person instead of the occasional Facebook post.

Anyway...

We get home and put everything away. I put the flowers in a vase on the kitchen table and we all eat lunch. As I was cleaning up, I see Bella munching on some of the flowers. I shoo her off the table but a red flag raises in my head. Hmmm. I decided to Google lily plants and find that they are the number one most toxic thing to cats. Like, 100% of cats that eat them and are left untreated die kind of poisonous. Awesome. I call the vet immediately and they ask me how fast I can get her in there.

30 minutes from when she ate the three ends off the lily plant, we're at the vet and Bella's whisked away as soon as we walk in the door. The vet comes out to tell me that she's hopeful that they've acted in time. They've pumped her stomach, given charcoal and started fluid diuresis. They also did some baseline bloodwork so they know where she's starting. She can't guarantee anything but they're doing what they can to protect the kidneys. Oh, and if she pulls through, she could be looking at a lifetime of dialysis. Also, they close at 4 (it's 2pm) so she'll need to be transferred to the Emergency Vet to continue IV fluids for the next 24 hours. Ummm, okay.

So, I go home and wait for 4pm to come. At about 3, Hannah comes in, crying. She has a massive bruise, already, on her right cheek. Apparently, Jacob's knee and Hannah's face met on the trampoline. Really? Are you kidding me? Fortunately, she was fixed up with an ice pack and some Motrin.

Mike volunteers Hannah to go with me to transfer Bella from our vet to the ER vet, which I wasn't happy about because I had no idea how long it was going to take, but whatever.

Poor baby Bella, she looked so confused when I picked her up. They'd left the catheter in and the vet said that they'd given her a sedative. I'm seriously hating this. At the ER vet, they whisk her away and the new vet explains that it's not 24 hours of fluids, it's, ideally, 72, so we can't pick her up until Monday but we have to do it before 8am. Now, did I want to sign a DNR for Bella? (How stupid is this...I said no. That I wanted them to do kitty CPR. I've become THAT lady)

I was able to talk to the vet several times on Sunday. Each time, he told me that she was doing well but wasn't eating but not to be worried. And don't forget that she needs to be out of there by 8am Monday morning.

I arrived at the ER vet at 6:10 Monday morning. The tech told me that she was more than ornery that morning and that she was requiring the attention of everyone at all times or she'd scream. When the tech brought her out, she was doing crocodile death rolls in the carrier. Bella also decided to rip the catheter out while they were unhooking her. Fantastic.

We get home and she won't stop screaming. Jacob did what he could to console her but it wasn't good enough. She wanted out of that carrier. I didn't want to because I knew I'd never get her back in. *sigh*

So Bella goes back the the regular vet. I tell them what the tech told me and she's still screaming. They take her back and tell me that they probably won't put in another catheter unless her bloodwork comes back wonky. They'll give me a call when they know more.

Two hours pass...

The vet calls and says her bloodwork looks good and I can come get her. I'm out the door before I can even hang up the phone. At the vet, she shows me her results and says the ones that are high and low are completely normal for a kitty that's been stressed and on IV fluids. She told me that Bella's not completely out of the woods and won't say she's completely recovered for a week, but she feels that Bella's well on her way. I'm given a list of things to look for and told that this is the best possible outcome. She also makes sure that I know that had I waited another hour, things might have been very different so, kudos to me for recognizing it when I did.

Bella was completely back to her normal self this morning, tripping me on the stairs and following me from room to room as I woke the kids up for school. Let's hope this is completely over.

On a side note, I went to our school board meeting on Monday night...the one where they're looking to cut $6.2 million from the budget next year. I was concerned because 4th and 5th grade band and strings was on the chopping block. Fortunately, that program is staying (for now) but our fees are increasing 100%. Freaking awesome. Because we don't already pay through the nose.

I wasn't anticipating the TV crews that were there...NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox...I wish I'd thought to do my hair and makeup because two of the channels, Fox and CBS, decided to do long up-close shots of me. Multiple times. ABC tried to get me to do an interview after the meeting (she actually grabbed my hand and pulled me over) but I declined. I lose too many IQ points when you stick a mic in front of my face.

I can't tell you how many texts from friends I got today saying they saw me on TV. LOL!

A Little Bit of Crazy

Wow. Another week has gone by.

My dogs are nuts. Alice is still trying to figure out her place in the pack. Oriana's been letting her go until recently. All it takes is on arm to pin Alice. Alice doesn't like that much, but Oriana's had enough. And considering there's a 60 pound difference between Alice and Oriana, Oriana's probably going to win every time. For the most part, they do look like they're playing and that's been good for Oriana.

Alice has been going to Puppy Preschool on Sunday afternoons. It's been a lot of fun for all of us. The nice thing about Mini Schnauzers is that they're very smart and they learn pretty quickly. She's got "watch me" and "leave it" down and this week we're working on the "loose leash walk" and "sit." The interesting thing is that a lot of this is through hand commands instead of verbal. The trainer says it works better, especially for a family like ours, since a hand signal is always the same but verbal cues can vary (especially for Hannah who still has speech issues). It's fun to see the kids really getting into the training. Of course, when they fight about who gets to go first, that's not so fun.

Mike dropped Bella off at the vet to be spayed this morning. We go pick her up tomorrow. It's strange how a little 4 pound kitty makes such an impact on the house. Of course, you don't realize it until she's not here. I really miss her already.

Last week, we discovered that our hamsters had babies. Ugh. Seven babies to be exact. We've been watching them and yesterday, their little eyes opened. They actually look like itty bitty hamsters. So cute. We also talked to the pet store and they're going to take them for us. Sweet.

Hannah tested for her low brown belt in tae kwon do this Saturday. She did really well and actually broke a 1 inch board on the second try. We were all pretty shocked. She's now just one belt below Daniel. We think he's hit the wall.

Happy Freaking Tuesday

I'm really not in a bad mood...just getting grumpy about the fact that it was in the 40's this morning. I want summer back. I really need to move some place warm. The only good thing is that the soup I'm making for dinner tonight will be really yummy.

Bella decided to go into heat this weekend. Ugh. She's still, very much, in heat today. The vet wanted to spay her earlier this month but she had a skin infection so she couldn't do it. I take her in to the vet later this morning to get her pre-op stuff ready and to get her scheduled for her spaying. I want my sweet kitty back...not the one that wants to hump everything that moves.

Alice went in for her rabies shot this morning. She's, essentially, full grown and weighs a whopping 11.7 pounds. It's surprising because she looks like a little tank. I thought she was a little heavier. Mike thought she was at least 20 pounds. Last we checked, Bella weighed 4 pounds. I'm really curious to see what she weighs now. *UPDATED* Bella weighs 5.7 pounds.

They went to scan Alice's microchip and they couldn't find it. They really thought that it was either malfunctioning or that there wasn't one in there. They took her back for an x-ray and discovered that it had migrated to under her armpit. Go figure. But it does work.

My soccer team had a game last night and I actually agreed to play forward for the last three minutes. Probably not the smartest idea since I've only played forward once in my entire life, but I figured it couldn't be that hard. Those were the longest three minutes of my life but I almost got a goal. If I had kicked the ball about a foot to the left, it would have gone in. Instead, it bounced right off the wall. So close, and yet, so far. Oh well. I'll be going back to my defender position next time. I've had enough of offense. I did manage to slip and fall on my butt. I landed on the ball and had two girls from the other team desperately kicking at me to get the ball. Neither of them touched me but both were very apologetic. All I could do is laugh. And laugh I did. One of my teammates told me that I had a creative way of keeping the ball away. LOL! I'm so enjoying playing.

Making Herself At Home

Little Bella has decided that she loves the stairs. Unfortunately, she likes to go up and down them on the outside of the rail. She also thinks it's a good place for a nap.

Bella's adjusting really well to our crazy zoo. She endured a full day of not just my kids but their friends as well. I really think she enjoyed playing with them all. She's never felt the need to hide and needed to be in the center of everything. I think we got a good one.

Here's little Bella Swan on the stairs. She's going to give me a heart attack!

Not a Replacement

Meet Bella.



We adopted her this evening. I had no intention of getting a kitty today but she just wanted to go home with us so much. So, here we are. She's 13 weeks old (and very big already. I think she's going to be a big girl.) and she's a little love bug. As we speak, she's sitting in my lap purring. In fact, I don't think she's stopped purring since we first picked her up. Oh, and yes, her name is after Bella from Twilight. Jacob's idea and I loved it. I would have preferred Rosalie, but Bella's good. It'll be nice to have a cat with a normal name. I certainly wasn't thinking about that when I named Guillermo. He was unique, though.

So, Bella hates Oriana and has already landed two paws full of claws in her nose. She could care less about Peaches.

I need to get some new batteries for my camera so I can take better pictures since the phone takes really crappy ones. But here she is. Our new girl. I still miss Guillermo.