Our cat Face left this world last night. My two oldest kids woke up and found him dead on the floor this morning. He was doing better too. I don’t know what changed. It had been an uphill battle for the last two months though. Now he’s at peace.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….

Author unknown…

My children find great comfort in the idea that Face is now with Jake and Peanut along with his mom and siblings.

FUNNY FACE

April 1991 - February 2007

This is our cat Face. He was given the name Funny Face when he was a tiny kitten because of the long, pointed funny face he had. If you remember he spent Christmas Eve in the kitty hospital but he made a full recovery and was sent home.

Now he’s sick again. My husband and I prepared the children for the worst. The cat is, after all, 15 years old. The 4 year old and the 3 year old don’t seem to completely understand and are accepting of it. The 10 year old and 7 year old are distraught and have been crying since last night.

I made an appointment to bring him to the vet this morning and I’m not optimistic. My husband though asked me to see what they can do for Face to help him get better. He seems to think that another round of antibiotics and steroids should fix the cat right up. The big thing is that he doesn’t want to see the kids so upset. And I understand that. But I have a hard time prolonging the life of a suffering animal so that my kids can be upset tomorrow instead of today.

He’s going to die at some point. It’s going to hard some day. It doesn’t seem fair to drag it out for selfish reasons. It’s a hard lesson for the kids but one they are going to have to learn throughout their lives over and over.

How do you handle the loss of a beloved pet in your family?

I am in a VERY sleepy fog today. I’m sure it’s just a combination of staying up too late and the dark, ominous looking sky in the distance this morning.

I knew I was in trouble when I spent much longer than usual reading the entertainment news. See every morning after Jeff leaves for work, I fire up my laptop so I can get a post written. It’s the best time of day for me as the writing will be uninterrupted. But I’m usually so groggy at first that I start up my IM programs and read the little celebrity news blurbs until I can feel the fluff warming my brain. Then things start to clarify and ideas and words are generated. Not today though people. I know way more about Brittany Spears than I care to - ugh!

So today I’ll just share a little fluff of my own. With pictures! Aren’t you glad you stopped in? The most important thing in our house right now is the cute little baby kitten. He found his purr motor last night and every time you touch him know he starts going. And going. The coolest observation Jeff made about getting Olivia a kitten? “She really feels special since we got her that kitten.” Worth it. Totally. And see the picture below? I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world.

I think she’s pretty happy with us too. Yesterday she brought us home the paper below. Makes me feel like we are so doing things right. Forgive me while I break my arm patting myself on the back. lol

It reads “I love you Mom and Dad xoxoxoxoxox and I will owes (always) love you. and you love me forevre and ever.” I think we done good. No?

The last little bit I will share today happened when I had to run out to the store last night. I had on a necklace and earrings I had made for myself a few weeks back. The clerk that rang up my sale complimented me on them and went on and on about how much she liked them. When I told her I made them she asked if I sold jewelry and I told her I didn’t but I had been thinking of it. She said if I decided to I should come back and see her and show her what I have - she would totally buy stuff from me. Woot!! So I opened an account at www.etsy.com last night and I think I’m going to list some jewelry there today. Nothing to lose right? Here’s what I was wearing last night

Nothing special - just a casual set. With running a daycare I am in jeans and t-shirts most of the time so I wanted some jewelry I could wear regularly that wouldn’t look too dressy for what I was wearing. I made a necklace like mine for my stepdaughter too that has a butterfly charm and red stones. She wears it every time I see her in casual clothes. She wears the Blue & Silver Set when she’s going out.

That’s it for me. I need to get off my butt and get going anyway before my house implodes from neglect. Have a great day!

Yesterday J had to go do some work over at his mom’s house. When he was on his way home he called me and said that it must be O’s lucky day. The surprise we had been talking about for her was ready. He wanted to tell her but I said wait until you get here - let’s save it until the last minute.

30 minutes later J pulled in the driveway, called O over and presented her with this:

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It’s all about the kids today. I usually have an hour or so to myself in the morning after my husband leaves for work. I decided to use this time to blog/journal as it seems to be the only time of day that I have energy and clarity all at the same time.

So imagine my dismay this morning when J announces that L is awake and crying for Mommy. Like the good and dutiful mother that I am I go into our room and find her snuggled under our covers with those sobs coming from her that all parents know - the ones where they can’t catch their breath and it’s almost like a shudder coming out of them. I cuddled up next to her and held her tight and after a few seconds she asks “Mommy, can I watch Spongebob?” Thanks to TiVo I have a bunch of episodes recorded because let me tell you there are no cartoons on at 5am. We picked one out, put it on and she informed me I could go. Thanks L.

The other child awake this morning is the furry one - our 9 month old Samoyed. Rule number one that I learned about dogs? Do not get a puppy when you have young children of your own. Feel overwhelmed by your own toddlers? Adding a puppy in is like having one more. He is stubborn and bratty. He loves to chase the cats and chew everyone and everything he can sink his teeth into. He will lie down on command but if you don’t keep an eye on him he will just get up and walk away or if you’ve used “the voice” with him a few times, he’ll try to belly crawl across the floor until he can get in range of the cats. Just what I need - another two year old.

N will be staying home sick from school today. I don’t know exactly what’s wrong with him but yesterday when I picked him up from school to take him to martial arts he said his stomach hurt and he wanted to go home. I am not one to argue because N is not one to fake these things so I took him home. He disappeared into his room and shut the door. When I went to check on him a bit later he was sound asleep. J and I decided to let him sleep and he didn’t wake up until 7:30pm. He said his stomach felt better but he still was just wiped out and near tears with exhaustion. We fed him some supper and he was back in bed and asleep by 9pm. Something’s brewing so I’m going to keep him close today.

So this will mean that O will have to ride the bus without him and she will not be happy. She loves to ride the bus but she hates it when N doesn’t go too. I cannot believe how fast she is growing up. She is progressing in school by leaps and bounds. She is the top student in her class in reading - she was the very first one to read aloud to her class. She is such a whiz at math that she is always the first one done with her paper so her teacher has asked her to help other students in order to occupy her until everyone is done. Her vocabulary is forever growing. For fun (fun!) she likes to list out all of the words that come to mind that she knows how to spell and write. She fills up the front and back of 4 sheets of legal sized printer paper. And she loves to create too. Yesterday she brought home this cool butterfly they made in school:

When I first saw it I thought that they had drawn the images in chalk on one side and then folded it in half and pressed out the images onto the other side to make them symmetrical but when I looked closer I realized she hadn’t done that at all. She drew every single image on the butterfly, on both sides carefully placing them in the same relative location. She’s 6. The differences from one side to the other are so subtle I could barely see them. Wow! She never ceases to amaze me.

Okay I’m going to cut this post here since it’s getting so long but I do still have 1 more child of my own plus a daycare to talk about. You’ll see that post later today. Have a great one!