Missing: One fat grey cat

Over the last 24-hours, Elayna starts every conversation with, ‘Parker’s gone.  He ran away.’  It almost always brings a tear to my eye.  I’m not sure Elayna fully grasps what Parker’s disappearance means except that it makes mommy sad.

Late Friday night I let Parker outside to cease his yowling.  It wasn’t until Saturday morning that Aaron and I both realized we never let him back in.  And although we spent most of yesterday searching the neighborhood, we both knew that he probably wasn’t coming back.  Phoenix is a rough town for an overweight, declawed cat.

We are sad – Parker’s been with us for 10 years.  I miss him for a zillion little reasons:

1. Parker used to love to drink from the bathroom sink first thing in the morning. 
2. Similarly, Parker loved to lick my wet hair.  He’d wait (sometimes not very patiently) while I took a shower, then bat me with his paws until I’d dip my head down.
3. Parker used to help us make the bed.  He’d crawl under the sheets, then bat at our hands from under the covers.  We’d laugh and say the bed had a tumor.
4. When Parker was younger and more spry, he loved to put Clancy in his place.  I’m not sure either of them understood the size discrepancy because Parker loved to pick on him and Clancy almost always submitted.  My favorite:  when Parker would dive-bomb off the couch onto Clancy’s back.
5. Parker LOVED Aaron.  In the evenings, he’d crawl immediately onto Aaron’s lap and demand attention while we watched TV.  If Aaron tried to read in bed, Parker would smother his book.
6. As a kitten, Parker liked to suck my earlobes.  Yes, this was weird.
7. With the Christmas tree up, Parker would camp out under the branches.  It was little piece of outdoors and Parker loved it.
8. He was not sociable – he did not immediately like strangers.  I liked this about him – it meant he was our cat and ours alone.
9. There is nothing homier than a dozing cat.  Parker spent a large majority of his days sleeping – sometimes on the same couch or bed.
10. Parker was a champion bug hunter.  Even in his older age, he could leap to swat at bugs on the door or chase them into corners.  He would have been a fearsome hunter if he had claws.

 

The kite

I let Elayna play with random things.  One of her favorites right now is an empty egg-carton filled with the googly-eyes used in crafts.  She’ll shake it singing ‘Shake-your-booty’.  I think its adorable.  And cheap.

Today, I broke out the $6 fish kite purchased while we were in Texas.  This sounds like a great kids toy – except that the package clearly states ‘8+ YEARS’.  And there’s no wind right now.  And I spent far more time assembling it than Elayna spent flying it. Oh well – I had fun anyway.  And I took my fair share of photos:

Elayna’s new school

It’s hard to tell your life story while you’re living it.

Aaron and I recently decided to switch Elayna’s daycare.  She’s enjoyed the current daycare for over 2-years but a combinations of factors (new mediocre teacher, friend at another center, desire for more curriculum, weather patterns on Mars) have made us dissatisfied.  Not rage-against-the-man dissatisfied, just itching-what-if-there’s-something-else dissatisfied.

So in 2 weeks Elayna will begin her preschool career at Goddard Schools.  The facility is smaller and closer to our house.  Her teacher is adorable, the activities are impressive, and she already has 2 friends there.  On her trial day yesterday, she walked right in and had a fabulous day!

But today was the hardest part:  breaking up with Tutor Time.  A painful “It’s not you, it’s me” breakup.  The 2 directors took the news admirably well, asked for my opinions on Goddard, were very caring and professional.  At the end, I felt near to tears and they were comforting me…. how embarrassing.

This all leads me to ponder how I will look back on this decision in retrospect.  It’s hard to tell your life story while you’re living it, and yet that’s the basic premise of this blog.  In 2 years will I look back with disapproval at our current decision?  Will we applaud our courage to make a change?  Or will this be our molehill that’s expanded to gynormous proportions in my worry-filled mind?  I don’t know.  All I know is that Elayna seems happy about the new school and it appears to be the best option.  And I suppose that’s the best parenting we can do.

PF Chang’s Half Marathon

Congratulations to Aaron, Rich, and Laura for running the 1/2 marathon today!!!  Rich and Laura were here from Oklahoma City and (I hope) had a great weekend with us and the recuperative hot-tub.

Return of the Cone of Shame

Poor Clancy.  The dog constantly chews on his paws and makes them raw.  We’ve taken him to the vet before but decided things were worse than normal on Friday when we found an obnoxious sore on his paw.

Several hours, $$, and procedures later, Clancy came home from the vet with a nice bandage, 3 medications, and the cone of shame.  We have to monitor him for the next 7-10 days and make sure the welt goes down.  Although the vet thinks his paw only has a cyst, there is a chance of a tumor and we may have to have a biopsy later on. 

Meanwhile, Clancy is the saddest dog ever.  He hates the cone and needs lots of love and encouragement to get through this….

Elayna’s new presents

E is one spoiled girl…..

First, we finally gave her the BIG Santa present:  a new play kitchen for her playroom.  She loves it so far and makes delicious tea for all of us.  Its very cute.

Grandpa Jerry also surprised us this week with a darling lady-bug sleeping mat personalized with Elayna’s name.  E loves it and frequently crawls in for ‘naps’ and books.

Someone else apparently loves it too….

My Christmas Present

I have an adorable husband.  Although he thoroughly spoiled me over Christmas AND put up with a week of my family, he still blessed me with a spring-cleaning service yesterday.  It may have been the best day of my life.

For 4 hours yesterday, 2 ladies completely took over my house.  They cleaned my fans, made the beds, scoured the floors, even wiped down the inside of my kitchen cabinets.  Our appliances have never been so clean!!

They left at noon.  Since their departure, I’ve began around the clock monitoring for crumbs, lint, garbage.  Aaron is forbidden to use the guest bathroom.  Parker’s box has stayed in the office – the only un-cleaned room.  The house looks amazing – I want to relish it for at least 24 hours!

A bonus:  look at my toilet paper roll!!!

New Years in San Antonio

Following a great Christmas with our Daehne relatives, we packed up the rental van and headed to San Antonio for the remainder of the week.

We stayed in our time share in San Antonio and relished a few days resting and exploring.  We visited the Alamo, ate yummy Mexican food, rode the trolley tour, and spent a day at Sea World.  All-in-all, busy and fun.

On New Years Eve, we started the day with a graduation party for my brother Nathan.  Then we (Aaron, I, Lic, Nate, cousin Michael, and friend David) broke free and spent New Years Eve at the River Walk with a zillion of our closest friends.  The fireworks and party was fun – but probably not something we’ll do again in a lifetime.

A few memories from San Antonio:

 

Christmas in Corpus Christi

Let’s try to get a little caught up…

We, including Alicia, flew Christmas Eve to San Antonio, Texas and met up with my parents and brother Nate.  From there we drove down to Corpus Christi to spend Christmas with my Daehne cousins there. 

We had a great few days in Corpus with my Uncle Allen, Aunt Janet, and cousins Andrew and Michael.  We ate tamales, fried shrimp, and prime rib.  We played on the beach, played games, and enjoyed being together.  It was a great Christmas in Texas and long overdue.