Baby Fever

Babies are sprouting up like little flowers!!! Miss LU gave birth a few weeks ago to a cutie pie Jr. He is adorable. Love his tiny feet and toes. LU sent me a pic of her niece, who is officially the cutest baby ever. PDub is preggers, four women at work have a baby bump, and my brother is talking about spawning. That last item is scary bc he's not even married yet (Dec 28). I'm pretty sure my brother is getting pressure from the futre in-laws because next year is a "good fortune" year to birth a piglet. Year of the Piggy.

Kitty Weekend

This is Angel in her plush pink coat. She doesn't enjoy wearing clothes, but tolerates it. And she looks so cute!!! Yes, I am biased. Davis doesn't know what to make of her in a furry coat. Quite cute how they nose-sniff each other.

We bought the kitties a cat tree yesterday. It was the only Christmas gift on my wish list. QE insists it's the kids' gift and not mine, but the tree was really all I wanted for Christmas. It's quite big (taller than me) but it fit into my little car! And the kids love it. I can't wait for Thanksgiving and sharing turkey with the kitties. Maybe Angel can wear her fancy satin dress. Turkey makes up for the "torture", right?

Plans

Received my roasting pan from Amazon last night. What great service, considering I ordered it just the day before! QE said we should buy our Thanksgiving side dishes so I don't have to stress. Part of me feels like I'm missing out on the stress! :) Now I need to figure which sides to buy and from where. Making my dressing from scratch. Dressing = stuffing that doesn't go in the bird. We're having a happy bird this year--free range, organic, the works.

QE's scarf will be finished tonight. Just a few more rows. GGH Solitaire yarn. Love it. Next project: another picovoli or maybe a sweater for Angel.

Hopefully we will get the kids' cat tree this weekend.

Our real estate property tax bill came. Merry Christmas! Love how the tax man sticks it to ya right before the holidays.

Whirled Peas

Frappie agreed to become the godparents of our current and future kitties should the QE and I meet our untimely deaths. I am relieved to know that our precious allergens will be well cared for. Thanks Frappie!! Yes, it's a bit wacky, but I think we're being responsible by thinking ahead about the care of our animals. I told QE the great news that Frappie (and by default Frappo) agreed to be the godparents to our kids. He goes "we're not having kids" in a what the heck are you talking about tone. So when it comes to real world stuff, I guess we don't have real kids. I AM SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY!!!! :)

We bought Angel another clothing article. It's a plush pink coat with a cream furry collar. She looks divine in it. Davis seemed a bit freaked out by her.

In an uncharacteristic behavior, Princess Pink Coat pooped on the carpet last night. It seemed premeditated and not accidental. Not sure why though. Their boxes were fairly clean. QE thinks it was payback for making her wear the coat. I think it may have been because I was sitting in "her" green chair reading. Unlike her to act out like that though. QE was very mad at her. She hissed when he picked her up. I came to her rescue from Daddy and carried her upstairs. Not like she appreciated my intervention!!!

Butt Picking

Just moved into my new office. FINALLY they realize Queen Goo deserves a window office! :) Actually, I moved closer to the team I support. My office is bigger and indeed has a window. Of an alley and adjoining buildings. But it's still a window. It's also much quieter here than where I was. I need to make sure to remember that my blinds are open and digging for green gold is inappropriate. LOL

My Jollies

So, Frappie has observed my disdain for the holidays for quite some time now. After further pondering, I don't think it has to do with the holidays themselves as much as the stress associated with it. Pile on that the last four months are the worst for us financially, and you can understand why I am a Grumpy Goo. Car insurance, life insurance, car property tax, real estate property tax. Isn't that enough to make anybody just a bit cranky??? And then pile on thinking up thoughtful Christmas gifts only to be told it's not good enough? Ah, well.

So we're doing gift cards this year. Simple enough, right? Not if QE is involved. He complicates things without even trying or knowing. I thought Home Depot/Lowes would make a wonderful gift to the MIL since she's redoing her kitchen. QE said it's not a nice gift. WTF??? So now he can deal with his mother while I enjoy the holidays with my kitty cats.

Anxiously Happy

Thanksgiving will be upon us in mere weeks. WHERE HAS 2006 GONE????? I am quite excited about the holidays this year. We decided gifts this year will be gift cards. What a big stress off our shoulders! After knowing people for 10 years, it gets hard to think up imaginative, thoughtful and cool gifts. Gift cards to their favorite places should hopefully be welcomed by all. And if not, they can stick it up their arse. :)

The kids are getting a big cat tree from Santa Claws this year. We will get it from Pet Sage. They recently added a little girl to their family. And she is adorable. She is about six months old, tiny and very soft. Diva is truly the softest kitty ever. So beautiful. I nested right there in the store.

Finally, we decided we will put up a tree this year. We were living with my folks last year, so our tree was in storage. (Yes, we have a fake tree--why kill a tree for our selfish seasonal need???) And the year before that, we learned that Davis likes fake pine needles. He enjoys chewing and eating them. And then puking it back up. The ever-brilliant QE suggested we put the tree in the library where we can enjoy it through the closed glass doors. The kids will go nuts seeing that tempting tree and not being able to explore it. Davis' obsession is worse (and funnier!) than I thought. I had a wreath for the front door. Davis followed me throughout the house, head tilted up the whole time, eyes transfixed on that delish fake pine. I literally could not go more than one step away from him. I had to lock him in the powder room so I could go outside and hang up the wreath. That's our little Buddy!

The Junkie and The Enabler

Stash is good. Stash is love. Stash is bliss. QE is taking me to the yarn store tomorrow! He said he would wear a gray scarf if I made one for him. So we get to pick out yarn. YAY! There is something addictive about fondling beautiful yarn, carefully selecting glorious fibers and taking it home. A junkie buys yarn without knowing the project. Stash is fun. And can get expensive. As a notorious cheapskate, I experience turmoil at seeing all the glorious yarn and unwilling to part with my Washingtons (I never have cash, so me and Benjamin are strangers). Tomorrow, my goal is to buy yarn for QE's scarf and hopefully some sale yarn that will join my stash. QE is already talking about next year's Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. OH YEAH. First week in May. I am psyched already.

Rangers, Chicks, and Loyalty

QE put the kids in their room last night, thinking the doorbell and strangers at the door would scare them. The doorbell rang twice. Once (before I got home) for two young kids, a Power Ranger and a baby chick. The time it rang while I was home was a woman who was trying to get signatures and donations on a petition. Sneaky and conniving, going door to door on Halloween, knowing people would open their doors.

Good thing we didn't buy a lot of candy. I didn't think we'd get many visitors. We live on a hill and away from the center of the community, so from a kid's perspective (at least the smart ones), our street wouldn't be worth the effort. What really surprised me is that most of the homes on our street were fairly dark and unwelcoming. And they're the ones with kids themselves!

I spent all night doing work. When I let the kids out at 9:00, both loyally hung out in the office and kept me company. I went downstairs once for a drink of water and both trailed right behind me. Going back up to continue working, the kitties followed me back up. QE got jealous of my entourage. :) Those kitties are so darn cute and sweet. We really couldn't ask for better kids. Our four-legged children are a true blessing. In fact, I think Davis was a gift from God. A way for Him to let us know He loves us.

We adopted Davis the week before Thanksgiving 2002. He was sick and skinny. Those of you who have met Buddy know he's a big-framed cat. Long, lanky and lean. He weighed less than 10 pounds when we picked him up from the shelter. Crazy! With much love and nourishment, Davis gained some weight and shared Thanksgiving with us. Our new house felt like home with Davis in the family. Fast forward to Christmas 2005...we're living with my folks waiting for our new house to be built. Davis manages to go outside. We spent hours looking for him to no avail. Crying and heartbroken, I finally gave up after 11:00 p.m. Right before I went to bed, he stood outside crying. My boy was back. The best Christmas present ever. God answered my prayers.