20 Minutes Later…

First of all, Brian made it through a whole day of school yesterday. He’s doing much better! He was very tired by bedtime, but had a good day at school. He admitted to playing soccer, even though I’d suggested that he sit out a day and take it easy, but qualified his ‘transgression’ by saying that he hadn’t run around like crazy! He had good energy when he got home, and even did pretty good through piano lessons. He was tired by evening though. He slept well, and didn’t require as much meds. I think he’s managed to beat this thing. 

Today started off normally enough. The morning starts when my 1st alarm rings at 6am. The cats wake up and wander over to cuddle. Fortunately, they don’t bug me. They know I want my 15 minute snooze. Actually, Pixie seems to be quite proud of herself for figuring out my routine. Ever since she was a tiny thing she’s made it her life mission to learn my life and take on the role of guiding me through it. She takes this calling very seriously.

I get up after the snooze, and accompanied by a galloping herd of felines, make my way to the kids’ rooms, turn on lights and radio, and let them know that it’s time to ‘start thinking about’ getting up. Often, Ninja and Pumpkin will each choose a kid to hang out with, then Pixie and I go off and get my shower.

Friends were talking about their toddlers the other day and mentioned that they never get to go to the bathroom alone. I know the feeling. If I should happen to get to the bathroom and close the door before Pixie arrives (rare event), she will bash against the door and bawl me out. How can she supervise me from the WRONG side of the door?

Pixie will not get into the water of the shower, but she will walk along the window sill and try to lick my face as I lather my hair. She’s always believed in keeping everyone clean. At least she no longer feels the need to wash our ears before bed.. apparently that was a lesson her mama kitty taught her well and she was determined to pass on the knowledge to her human family, but our ears must pass inspection now as she no longer insists on additional washing. Also, I’ve learned to never put the lid of my toothpaste down on the counter, or it’s gone, and the q-tip jar now holds nail care items because the swabs must forever be hidden up in the cabinet. She uses too many of them. I have to hide my cosmetics too.

Anyway, after showering, I go back and wake the kids. That’s Ninja’s favorite job. She LOVES to pounce on toes under blankets as the kids start slowly moving. She also likes to ‘catch’ the clothes I toss on the beds. She’ll still run off with socks, but is usually more helpful, than not, when it comes to getting the kids going. As I go off to pack lunches and whatnot, the cats keep the kids entertained/distracted.  It’s good to start the day playing and giggling.

Ninja demonstrates one typical example of how to wake up a kid – kitty karate to the head…

By the time the kids leave, the cats are tired. Pixie will head off for her nap first, Pumpkin will often be in the back room bugging Brad as he gets ready for work, and Ninja will ALWAYS wait for me to come back in the house after seeing the kids off. She’ll greet me at the door as if I’ve been gone for hours. I don’t even need to bend down to pet her as she’ll be up on her hind legs like a meercat, yelling for love and pets. Then, as Brad is pouring his coffee and getting ready to leave, all the cats find their nap spots and shut down for the first nap of the day.

Sometimes, belly rubs are needed for the proper napping experience. Pumpkin appreciates a good belly rub.. how can we resist??  He looks rather chubby here, but he is, as he always has been, mostly fluff not fat. He is a big cat though, as in, tall/big. His paws are almost 2” across (and very furry!). The only danger in rubbing this soft belly is that he’ll grab your arm and hug. You aren’t going to get away until sufficient snuggles have been exchanged.

The cats had an extra distraction this morning, delaying their nap by about 15 minutes. The sun has reached a good angle in the morning for lighting up crystals we have hanging over the sink. We picked up a couple of faceted crystal ornaments in Cairo, possibly seconds from a local factory as it was normal to see them for sale, really cheap, in ‘junk’ bins in stores. The kids liked them for the ‘rainbows’… so do the cats.

 

After the sun moved on, the cats collapsed into flat furry lumps, and slept. They were sleeping when I left to drive Brad to work, innocently and peacefully. They’ll usually stay that way for hours. When I got back, 20 minutes later, they greeted me, stretching and yawning like they’d been sleeping like angels the whole time… yet  somebody had nabbed bread off of the counter and shredded it all over the kitchen, then, perhaps in an effort to clean up the mess, knocked down the paper towel roll, assaulted and filleted it, and spread that evidence all over the place too. And they greeted me at the door all guilt-free and blinky-eyed. Good thing I love them so much…

PS. Just as I was going to hit ‘publish’ Pixie came into the room and gave away one of her secrets. I just wish I’d had the camera. I saw how she opens drawers!! She hooked her front paws on the top, hung on and dangled, and pushed with her back feet until the drawer opened! That sneaky girl! I KNOW I’ve been closing the pen/junk drawer. I KNOW it. And yet she was still managing to get in there and dig out paint brushes and other treasures. Now I know.  ;D