Monday, December 31, 2007

OK, Christmas

It was pretty awesome.  First, Aunt Ramona and Uncle Jim came all the way from Illinois WITH canine cousins Pete and Charlie!  What troopers!  The kids loved having their dog cousins stay at their house for the holiday.


Second, according to Trevor, Santa Claus really knew what he wanted for Christmas.  In fact, it was a much better Christmas than his last one!  Santa knew that all Trevor wanted for Christmas was dinosaurs and Superheroes.  That was all he got from Santa, mom and dad, and grandma, grandpa, Ramona and Jim. Sure, there were a few other things thrown in there, but the theme was definitely pre-historic and super. 


Devin is still a little too younng to have much of an opinion on his gifts.  I think he likes everything he got just fine. In fact, he was SO EXCITED to see that he got two more Walter the Farting Dog books.  But, other than that, he was just happy to be awake and playing with new toys once the un-wrapping was all done.  We played happily at home with all our new stuff for a couple of hours and then headed on over to the Grandparent's house for mor unwrapping and more food.  Lunch was a selection of soups.  I brought rice that I had made with my new rice cooker, but it didn't really fit it with the rest of the meal.  I ate it, though.  It was my best rice, ever!  There was also some incredibly yummy home made bread.  Grandma makes this Rosemary Garlic bread that is simply sublime.  Have you ever had garlic in a dish where the garlic was so subtle you didn't know it was garlic, you just knew it was delicious?  That is this bread.  Dinner was a feast of lobster, steak, twice baked potatoes, cole slaw and a nice healthy salad.  I think there was more.  I'm not sure.  There was no room in my tummy for anything else.


I was pretty caught up in unwrapping and filling my stomach with things I didn't have to cook to call everyone in my family, but I did talk to my own Mom and Dad.  Dad was home for Christmas, and isn't that good news!?!  Mom had called me the Wednesday before Christmas to let me know Dad would be getting out of the hospital that day.  He'd been there a week with stomach pains.  This is what I get for moving far away.  They don't worry me until the need for worrying has passed.  I suppose it's a blessing since Lord, do I know how to worry!  (But, now there is guilt.  Guilt, Worry, Guilt, Worry...Ah, forget it!)  When I called him the next day, he told me he'd actually gotten out that day.  It was an ulcer.  Chemo and Radiation is bad news.  I'm going to try to avoid it myself if I can.  Dad is cancer free for Christmas, though, and that's the best Christmas present this year!


Well, there are things to do and I need to get to them before the sun goes down.  Will post pictures later when my picture server is back up and running!


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Sunday, December 30, 2007

The Computer Guy is Blogging

The Automated Life

I don't know what he's talking about, except for my company not paying for my phone and things like that, but go read that over there anyway.

I'm sorta not in the mood to blog for a few more days.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Streppy Christmas

Although it's the day after Christmas and I should be blogging about Christmas, I want to share what I know about Strep Throat.

1. The incubation period is 2 to 5 days.

2. If your sore throat comes on suddenly and you don't have other cold symptoms, like a runny nose, cough, etc, you may have Strep throat.

3. Strep throat is caused by a bacteria, not a virus. That means that Antibiotics will help.

4. If Strep throat is not treated, it could turn into Rheumatic Fever or some other disease that causes inflammation of the kidneys. These are both serious.

5. The symptoms of strep throat will go away on their own without treatment, but you are still at risk for the two serious diseases listed above. So, if you suspect Strep, go to the doctor.

6. My doctor told me he didn't think it was strep because I wasn't sick enough. My throat wasn't red enough, nor was it covered with white spots, and I wasn't throwing up. This is a recurring theme with me where doctors don't think I'm ill because I'm not ill enough. I almost didn't get the strep test because he had me convinced it was just a cold. So, if YOU suspect strep, request the test. I've never had rheumatic fever or an inflamed kidney, but I certainly don't want, either, ever.

Despite the strep throat which came on suddenly Sunday night, it was a merry Christmas. I'll post more on that later...

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

McCago, McCago, a wonderful town, a wonderful town

Isn't that how it goes?

Even though I don't live here anymore, McCago is my kind of town. Okay, maybe not my kind of town because my kind of town isn't so huge and full of so many people and traffic and public transportation. It's just my town. And, by McCago, I mean Chicagoland, at least the Far North and Northwest suburbs. Mine. All mine...

I am just so done with business trips that take me anywhere but Chicagoland. It has that local news and roads that I know and places I like to shop. I heart Chicagoland. But, I was wrong about something. In my memory, it was warmer here in the winter. In reality, Chicagoland is colder than our new place, which is more my kind of town without quite being my town, yet. Make sense? Yes? No? Would you believe it's all about the local news? I'm not sure I understand it either. But, I love Chicago Local News, but only while in Chicago. WGN while in another state won't work. It's not the same.

Devin misses me. The computer guy said that he cried for 15 minutes this morning full of missing me. I had a quiet breakfast. But by this afternoon, here's what he said to his daddy. "Do you remember when mom left for Chicago and I was sad and cried?" The computer guy said, "Yeah, are you still sad?" And, Devin said, "No, but do you remember that?" Their missing me felt a little better yesterday than it does today.

Monday, December 17, 2007

McCago

As in, replace the CHI in Chicago with Mc. McCago. Here I am in McCago, and it wasn't a completely unpleasant journey. It took all day because of weather and tower delays, but I made it about 6 hours later than originally planned. I finished 1 novel and started on a second. Nice.

Anyway, I miss my boys and the computer guy and my bed. It's good to see the local news in Chicago, though. That's the other think I'd been missing about Chicago. I'm watching local news right now because I have missed local Chicago news. I hope the Computer Guy remembers to feed Socks in my absence. Cleaning the litter box would be good, too.

Back to McCago....

Yesterday, I was packing my bag for my trip when Devin came in my room to see what I was up to. I had told the boys earlier in the day that I would be gone for a few days, but I don't think it registered. Packing my bag in front of Devin helped it register with him. I miss him, and I'm really going to miss him in about 2 hours which is about the time that he would come and get in bed with me. But, the nice thing about going away is the way he misses me. When he realized I was going away, he stuck out his bottom lip and said in a little voice, "but I'll miss you." Then he packed and repacked a little coin purse he found, and I think he packed a pine cone (Pine-uh cone). Someone unpacked it. Could have been the Computer Guy, though.

When they dropped me at the airport, Trevor told me several times that he didn't want me to go, then cried when I air kissed him good bye.

So, I miss them.

But, I like the way they miss me, and it sorta makes the leaving worth it. But, it's only Monday. It's going to be tougher on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday...

Sunday, December 16, 2007

i am a WUSS

Of course, I didn't go shopping in their bedrooms. It still seems like a good idea, but Trevor is too clever. He would know that the used toys Santa was regifting him were his own, and the jig would be up. I think I convinced him last night that I was given Santa's phone number and email address at the same time I got his birth certificate, so exposing the Santa Myth now would just not work out. Not at all.

So, I went shopping yesterday. I got a lot more books than I normally would. And, some toys, but not so many toys that my head will explode.

I will definitely regift a V-smile we got them last year. I will tell them it is an official regift because it had been forgotten. I may regift a few other things because I love to spend all morning opening presents, and we've only got maybe 30 minutes worth of presents right now. Which is enough. More than enough. I think I can be honest and say they aren't from Santa but Santa wanted me to remind the boys to play with the toys they got. Yeah. It will be a new Santa myth. Of course, there's no time for any of this. I go to Chicago tomorrow and won't be coming home until Friday. Out of the three business trips I've taken in my life, this will be the second that occurs the week before Christmas. Last year, we went to Walt Disney World the week before Christmas. Anyway, I've digressed.

Before I went shopping, I thought that I might just make all the Christmas presents for the boys. So far, I have one sock monkey who needs ears, and another Sock monkey who needs ears, arms, a tail, and eyes. I made sock monkeys (almost)! The computer guy helped! He stuffed one of the Sock Monkeys! Here's what else I've done.









I ADORE the pictures of the boys that were taken moments after they were born. I love the colors and the babies and their beautiful crying faces. I know these little pictures don't give you a chance to explore all that, so here are links to the full size collages to explore at your leisure:

Just Born Trevor
Just Born Devin

Trevor
Devin
Santa Devin
Trevor in Fall and Winter 2003
Devin's First Winter

Trevor's First Summer
Devin's First Summer

Trevor's First Birthday
Devin's First Birthday

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Know what I'm thinking???

I'm thinking that the boys have too many toys and enough clothes and even if they didn't have enough clothes, there's no way I'm getting Trevor any clothes because he has to officially pick them out himself now that he has more fashion sense than anyone I know.

So, I'm thinking of going shopping in their bedrooms and wrapping up toys they haven't played with in awhile. They have plenty of those. PLENTY.

It feels really scrooge-ish. But, buying more toys when we have a toy problem feels wrong-ish.

Well, that's what I'm going to do this afternoon. Work is slow. So, I'm going shopping in their bedrooms as soon as my daily meeting is over.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

GUESS WHAT WE GOT THE BOYS FOR CHRISTMAS?!?

Their own DOMAIN NAMES!

www.trevor-roth.com

www.devin-roth.com

There's no content, and they just point back to this blog, but someday, someday! They will put those domain names on their resumes! Yes, they will! They will have amazing CONTENT! Their content will never contain the word "POO!" NEVER! It will contain their stunning Curriculum vitaes, perhaps witty banter and/or pointed criticism of the current politicians. Maybe, you'll visit Trevor's site to learn more about Sperm Whales and Orca Whales and Cheetahs and Dinosaurs. You'll visit Devin's to read short creative stories about a flatulent cat, mouse, or squirrel! IT'S GOING TO BE FANTASTIC!

BEST GIFT EVER!

But, for now, it's just this blog, so no need to bookmark it. I'll let you know whey they start creating their own content...

DON'T TELL TREVOR AND DEVIN WE GOT THEM THEIR OWN DOMAIN NAMES, OK?? THANKS!

Monday, December 10, 2007

Things I miss about Chicago(land)

Einstein's Brother's Bagels.

Snowplows waking me up in the morning (I don't know...the salt trucks just aren't magical the way that snowplows are...maybe it's too early in the snow season).

Ethnic Diversity. I think there is ethnic diversity here and plenty of it, but I miss the way ethnic diversity manifested itself in Chicago.

The office.

Chicago.

Fogo de Chao.

Trevor getting invited to all the birthday parties in his daycare class. This new school, I think they pick 5 or 6 kids to go to parties, but I'm not sure since Trevor hasn't been invited to any, yet.

I think that's about it for now.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

I make a mean lasagna

It's true. It's so mean, I'm posting the recipe before I forget what went into it:

This is a small lasagna, enough to feed maybe 4 adults and 2 little kids, or maybe just four adults.

Noodles
lasagna noodles, 1/2 box
Boil for 13 minutes in the BIG pot (Don't try using the little one, again, Tricia!)

Sauce
Minced garlic to taste, I use about 1 tablespoon's worth (I use Grandma's famous minced elephant garlic in olive oil that I get from the boys' grandma and which is quite famous with me. You'll be on your own, though, because Grandma's Famous Minced Elephant Garlic is not available in a store near you.)
1/2 small to medium onion, chopped finely
Splash of olive oil
Saute these ingredients until your kitchen smells good, then deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine.
1 small can of tomato paste (optional, I used it this time, and I liked it, I think it made the sauce a little sweeter.)
Garlic Salt and italian seasonings to taste (Basil, Oregano)
1 large can of crushed tomatoes, preferably already seasoned with basil and garlic and onions. (next time, I may go with one regular sized can of crushed tomatoes and one regular sized can of chopped tomatoes because I like the texture of chopped tomatoes)

Add the tomato paste and crushed tomatoes and then simmer the onions and garlic and wine and tomato paste and crushed tomatoes until the noodles are done boiling.

Cheese Filling
15 oz of part skim ricotta cheese
shredded mozzarella cheese (1/2 to 1 cup to taste)
Parmesan cheese (1/4 to 1/2 cup to taste)
1 egg
Salt
Pepper (lots of pepper)
Oregano

Mix these ingredients together while the noodles are boiling and the sauce is simmering.

Construction
Spray the pan of your choice with a pan spray. This is going to be a small lasagna, so use a cake pan or a small-ish casserole pan. I have a nice garlic flavored pan spray that I like to use.

Put some sauce in the bottom of the pan.

Add a layer of noodles.
Add a layer of ricotta cheese mix
Sprinkle some grated mozzarella on top of that
More sauce

noodles
ricotta cheese mix
shredded mozzarella cheese
more sauce

noodles
ricotta cheese mix
sauce
shredded mozzarella cheese

I think that's how I built this last one.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Let the thing sit for about 10 minutes before cutting. It will taste just fine if you don't let it sit, but it will fall apart.

I'm a grrirrrl...

Devin stayed home on Thursday and Friday and amazed me with his quick turn around from puny and pasty to well and energetic. He's staying home on Monday, too, because the school is having an in service day. Oh. My.

Devin had this incredibly cute and delightful moment on Friday.

He came into my bathroom, followed me, you know. And, he picked some chapstick off the bathroom counter. He opened it and started applying to his face. Mostly his lips, but partially his face. He applied it for a couple of minutes and started singing this song:

I'm a grrirrl, I'm a grrirrl, I'm a grrirrl, I'm a grrirrl, I'm a grrirrl, I'm a grrirrl.

He was swaying his hips, and he looked delighted with himself as he swayed his hips and sang his song and did his best impression of a girl.

It was really, really cute.

It almost made up for his 2 sick days. Almost. Not quite.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Opal Gray

Opal Gray by Vikki

Opal Gray and her son Earl pulled up in front of the funeral home. Opal was eager to get out of the car; she had given up driving nearly thirty years ago because cars just moved too fast. She was unfamiliar with her son’s car and was becoming extremely frustrated because she couldn’t find the handle.

“Danged new fangled automobiles, and their hidden handles!” Opal exclaimed as she randomly pushed buttons.

“Mom!” Earl said loudly becoming equally frustrated as his mother readjusted all the settings on the passenger side of the car. “Hold on and I will help you.” Earl slowly pulled himself out of his car and made his way around to the other side. He stopped to get her walker out of the backseat and realized that she was still looking for the door handle. “Mother, be patient. I will help you out of the car as soon as I get your walker,” he said sharply.

“Well for the love of God, hurry yourself up,” she folded her arms and mumbled profanities under her breath. After Earl finally fought the walker open, he was not surprised to find that his mother had locked the door.

“Very funny Mom,” he said with his arms folded and his lips pursed. “I know all your little tricks; I’ve got the keys.” Earl stood with one hand on his hip and the other dangling the keys. Opal turned her head towards her son and slowly lifted her knobby middle finger as she held her other fingers down with her other hand. “Again, very funny Mom.” Earl unlocked the door and opened it quickly. He was hit in the face by a foul odor. “Mother, that is disgusting! Try to control yourself better than that.”

“Oh, shut up,” Opal sneered, “I’m old, I can fart when I want!” Despite the odor, Earl helped Opal out of the car. “Get my purse out of the back,” she said as she gripped the handles of her walker. Earl grabbed the bright red oversized handbag; it felt heavier than it should have.

“I’ll carry it Mom. Whadda’ya got in this thing anyway?”

“Never mind that now,” Opal said rancorously as she started scooting her way to the door. “Now hurry up, we’ve got a funeral to plan.”

The two made their way into the high-end funeral home and was greeted by smiling young woman, “Hello, can I help you?” she said.

“Yes, we’re here to plan Bus Gray’s funeral,” Earl explained.

“Would you like to follow me, please?” The young lady stepped out from behind her desk and led them down a long hall. It was hard not to notice that she had a prosthetic leg; it was clearly visible and it creaked has she walked.

Taking her old lady privilege Opal asked,” What happened to your leg?”

“It was a freak accident actually,” she explained as they were still walking down the hall. “I was walking home from school when a car flung a piece of metal that nearly sheared by leg completely off.” The young lady directed them into the room, “The wound was too severe and they had to take it off.” Opal and Earl took their seats around the large rectangular table. “Would you like some coffee or water?”

“Oh yes please; I’ll have coffee,” Opal smiled showing off the false teeth that she remembered to put in her mouth that morning.

“I’ll have water,” Earl said. He was noticeably embarrassed by his mother’s forward questioning; his face was red and his shoulders were stiff. The young lady stepped out of the room. “Inappropriate, Mom”

“What are you talking about?” Opal shrugged her shoulders.

“You asked that lady about her leg.”

“So, how else was I going to know?”

The young lady returned with their drinks. “Paul is your funeral director, and he will be with you shortly.”

“Well, this place hasn’t changed in twenty years.” Opal took a short pause as she looked around the room, “Same roll-top desk, same hideous wall paper.”

“Why were you here before?” Earl questioned his mother.

“This is the funeral home I used when your aunt Thelma died.”

“Thelma died?” Earl was surprised, not only that his aunt had died and he didn’t know about it, but she died twenty years ago.

“We planted that old bag at Hilltop Cemetery so fast; we just didn’t have time to tell everybody.”

“Oh, that’s right, she dated Dad before you married him.”

“I did not steal your Dad from her,” Opal slammed her hands on the table, “they were broken up when we started dating!” She took a moment to regain her composure, “it is not my fault that she never found somebody else to spend her life with and then died of a broken heart. Not my dadgum fault!”

“Okay Mom, calm down; I think I hear the funeral director coming.” Earl could hear footsteps clomping on the hardwood floor. A corpulent man entered the room.

“Hello, I’m Paul Strang,” he reached his hand out to shake their hands, “you must be Mrs. Opal Gray.”

“That’s me.” She showed him her teeth.

“Well we are in luck; your husband preplanned his funeral about twenty years ago.”

“What?” Opal yelled.

“He…uh planned his funeral all the way down to the cemetery that he will be buried in.” Paul explained calmly to Opal. “However, the casket that he had chosen is no longer being made.” Opal was confused but she thought it best to let the man continue. “All we need to plan is the day and time.”

“Well if it was up to me, I would have it sometime if the afternoon,” Earl threw a wink at the funeral director.

“Well…it is not up to you so I will have it in the morning,” Opal always went against her son and everybody else, for that matter.

With little warning, a low rumbling noise emanated from Opal’s backside. The smell was putrid and absolutely mind-stopping. Paul made a face and held his breath, and Earl turned a deeper and hotter shade of red. Opal sat quietly, a beatific smile resting gently on her lips.

“I have to…uh…crunch some numbers, if you’d like you can look at some caskets.” Paul took the two in the selection room and quickly left.

“Mom, I can’t believe you did that.”

“What?” Opal acted as if she did nothing.

“You polluted the air in that room, Mother! Forget it. Just pick a casket; I like this one.” Earl pointed to a wooden casket with a white crepe interior. He didn’t really care for it, but knowing his mother, she wouldn’t pick a casket that he liked anyway.

“I don’t think your father would care for that one; I like this one.” Opal pointed to a casket that had an off-white interior. “Now were did that funeral director go?”

“Here I am,” Paul popped his head around the corner. “Have you already made your selection?”

“Yes I have; I think my beloved Bus would love this one.”

“Okay, if you will join me back in the conference room we can finalize the plans.” Paul led them back into the conference room that now smelled like fresh rain and sulfur.

Opal slowly sat down in her chair and grunted as she lifted her oversized purse onto the table. “Before we go any further, I have one request,” she opened her purse and pulled out what appeared to be a rolled up hand towel, and she placed it on the table. “I would like this to be buried with my husband.” As she pushed the hand towel towards Paul it came open; inside was a small dead dog.

“Mother,” Earl gasped, “what happened to Poppy?”

“I feed him the last of your father’s pain pills,” Opal tried to look sad. But the truth was, she never liked the dog, “I thought it was best this way.”

“You are something else Mom, I…I…I…just don’t know what to say.” Earl was tired of dealing with his mother.

“Really, its fine…it’s not the first time I buried someone with their dog.” Paul flipped through the paperwork in front of him. Suddenly, he stopped flipping. “Hmmm…this is a little unusual. I see that Paul wants to be buried at Hilltop Cemetery in the plot next to Thelma Bouffant. Is that his mother or daughter?”

Earl’s spine stiffened while Opal’s mouth formed a thin pink line. The color drained from her face, and more sulfur escaped from her old hiney. Paul realized he had not treaded lightly on this potentially touchy subject. The color drained from his face when the old lady’s stink reached his nose.

“You just give me that dadgum dog right back. I will not bury his little Mr. Precious Poppy with his cheating soul!” She reached across the desk and grabbed the gruesome package. Stuffing the dead dog back into her handbag, she left the room in a huff, scratching the gleaming hardwood floors with her walker. “EARL! Take me to the car right now!”

Earl stood awkwardly, and listened for the slamming of the front door indicating his mother was outside. Reaching across the desk, he shook hands with the fat funeral director. “Um, thanks, for, um, everything here. I’m sure it’s going to be a lovely service since Mom won’t be there.”

“I am sorry for my lack of discretion,” Paul said.

“No, no. I’m sure this was Dad’s way of getting himself a peaceful sendoff. A sulfur-free sendoff. Don’t worry.”

An awkward moment passed.

“Well, uh, thanks. I’ll see you at the service.”

Earl turned and left, and Paul stood alone, confused, and wondering if he smelled like an old lady’s ass.


Copyright Reserved for Vikki.

Because Memaw would want to know...

...the kids are sick. Mostly, it's just Devin. He says his mouth and his ear hurt. His teacher tells me they had strep at the school about 10 days ago, and I'm committed to trying to let it run its course. He just saw the doctor on Monday for his annual check-up, and the doctor only saw a tiny little bit of fluid in his right ear. His left ear is draining, so I think whatever infection there was migrated to the other side of his head. He acts pretty puny when he's in pain, but either Tylenol or ibuprofen does an amazing job on his pain. So, when he's not in pain, he's completely normal and happy and oh, so, talkative. Exhaustingly talkative. I had to let the pain medication completely wear off today so that he would take a nap. Of course, the nap was nice for me. I got to take a break. But, mostly, I believe in the recuperative effect of sleep and HE needed the nap for that.

Trevor has something going on. He threw up two days ago for no reason, and then was fine. He did the same thing at Memaw's and Papa's house over Thanksgiving (well, that wasn't one episode and out...it was a few and it lasted a few hours). And, tonight, he threatened to throw up 3 times. THREE TIMES! Then, he coughed and said, "Oh, I just had to cough." Then, he said, "NO, let me try just one more time." I felt afraid, for a moment, that he's in the early stages of bulimia. But, he mentioned later that he still felt a little bad. So, I think he was really just nauseous, and I don't know why. Come, share my worry. The bird flu has stopped scaring me, so I need something to worry about, right? Offer me advice on Trevor's nausea, but don't tell me anything scary.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Home made raisins

That could be so many things, couldn't it? Home made raisins could be a a cute little name for, well, use your imagination...

But, here, it means precisely what it says. A couple of months ago, I set a grape on the counter and day by day it dried itself out and turned itself into a raisin. I was surprised that it never got moldy or gross. I thought a grape needed the sun or some mechanincal process to dry it out quickly enough to make a raisin. But, the fact is, our grape turned into a raisin.

After it was officially a raisin, we started passing it around the family for closer examination, and it somehow got moved from the safe place on the counter to our kitchen table.

That's where it was last night when Devin started examining it. I was busy and not paying too much attention to him. Then, he said, "See, Mommy, it wasn't yucky! it wasn't yucky at all!"

Devin ate the home made raisin. I guess it wasn't yucky.

The computer guy sat out two more grapes last night. Next time, there will be enough to share.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Sleeps with Books



I think he likes to read the book as he falls asleep. The book is "Walter the Farting Dog," a delightful tail (pun intended) on accepting the limitations of those you love. It's recently become his favorite book, and he's well on his way to memorizing it. I've read it to him every night for the last week or so. My reading of the book and his sleep osmosis means that he knows that Walter farts when he eats, when he sleeps, and we he plays, and that Walter gets the blame for everybody else's farts, too.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Extinct

We went to brunch on Sunday, and our waitress scared the crap out of Trevor! She was commenting on his beautiful red hair, and she said that she "heard" or "read" somewhere that red heads will no longer exist in 10 years, that they would be extinct because red heads aren't marrying other red heads. Since I'm not a red head and I married not a red head, I'm not sure what the heck she was talking about, and I admit that I question the veracity of her information.

After she went on and on about Trevor's beauty and explained to us the details of her made up information on the extinction of red heads, she went away.

Trevor whispered to John, "I don't want to be gone in 10 years."

We don't want him to be gone, either. We just want him to keep in mind that he's unique because of his pretty red hair.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Socks, the Cat

Although he loves her and thinks she is soooooooo cute, Trevor is a little scared of Socks, the cat. She's never bitten or scratched him, and she loves to sleep at the foot of his bed when he'll let her. But that doesn't stop him from snatching his hand away from her if she moves her head at all when he gets brave enough to pet her.

Socks loves me more than anyone in our house because I feed her. So, I thought to myself, "How can I give Trevor some responsibility around here and make him less afraid of Socks?" I decided to assign him the chore of feeding the cat her dry cat food.

He seemed distinctly disinterested in feeding her the wet cat food, and that's OK with me. I don't like to clean up cat food messes, so that wasn't part of the bargain.

But, yesterday, feeding her wet cat food was going to be easy because I was just going to have her eat it right out of the can rather than transferring it to the bowl. So, I asked Trevor to do it.

"No!" he tells me.

I explained how easy it would be since all he had to do was set the can on the ground.

"OK."

He took the can from me and took it to the bathroom where we feed her. He came running out, happy as can be.

"I did it! Even though that cat food really stinks!!"