Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Smart Cats and Antiperspirant

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Well, if you've been around The Fold for a while, you'll remember we've had a few "cat incidences." Remember?
We've always joked around here that our house is a Cat Survival of the Fittest laboratory. Only the most advanced felines survive. These are the cats that know to stay away from the road. Evidently, this batch of 4 we currently have are pretty smart. They've been here since July with no unfortunate events.
Anyway, I was impressed this morning with my cats' tactics. It seems they had gotten tired of waiting to be fed early this morning, so dumped out the big bag of cat food. The "smart" part is that they dumped it into an empty plastic cooler. I didn't see one spilled bit of food. (ok, I *know* they probably ate any food that had spilled, just humor me. ;-) Later, the Lambies told me that the bag had earlier been sitting on the tricycle. I was even more impressed. No doubt the cats rolled the bag across the garage floor to that plastic cooler, then deftly emptied the bag into it. Don't you think?
I'm sure you're wondering about the "antiperspirant" part of my title. I'll begin that part by letting you know a keep-your-feet-warm trick I just heard about. Rumor has it that if you apply anti-perspirant to your feet before going out in the cold, it will keep your feet warmer by keeping them from sweating. I haven't tried it yet--let me know if it works for you...
Apparently, Tiny Tot was recently involved in a little anti-perspirant experiment of his own. I noticed a distinctly "peachy" smell right before he rounded the corner in the living room last night. Then, I noticed a distinctly strange expression on his face and a distinctly whitish, chalky substance around his mouth. At that point, my gaze fell to his hand, in which he was grasping a distinctly distinct bottle of (you guessed it) anti-perspirant. Well, at least his breath didn't, uh, *stink.* Now, I don't know if any of you have ever gotten anti-perspirant on you tongue, but *I* have. I don't know how, exactly, that it happened, but I can tell you that it leaves a very unusual sensation in your mouth. And, yes--your tongue is dry in that spot. Weird. (Please don't be alarmed--we really *don't* make a habit of slurping down inedible items. Purely just freak accidents. ;-)
Well, I need to go. The Ram has been working a new job that has us getting up at (yawn) 3:30 a.m. More on that later...
Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Monday, December 19, 2005

Greetings from The Fold

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Well, we're enjoying the Christmas season here this year. Having The Ram home makes it even more special. He and I also had the joy of celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary last Thursday. The GrandRams drove all the way up here to give us the chance the go to our favorite restaurant all alone. We really appreciated it. It was a very nice meal and superb company. :-) I did let The Ram know that we had eaten at that restaurant on our anniversary last year, as well--though the "we" was the children and I. LOL
This Christmas looks very much different than last year's. Last year's, if you'll remember, the Lambs and I were snowed in. I believe we had "M.U.O.'s" (Meals of Unknown Origin) from the freezer, during Christmas week. It was certainly a Christmas to remember--The Ram was 7,000 miles away and we were under ice and snow here.
When The Ram got home last month, a dear gentleman from our church gave him a good slap on the back and "Welcome home!," and then reminded us not to forget the soldiers still Over There. It was good word. Truly, The Ram's deployment seems like a distant dream. I have to remind myself of what life was like here without him. Occasionally, something happens that highlights the fact that "Daddy's home." It will strike out of nowhere and I'll marvel at the blessing of his presence. Last Friday, I didn't even know the whereabouts of the trash dumpster--and it was ok!!! Amazingly, it was parked at the end of the driveway, waiting for the trash man. Ahhh...peace. :-)
And, "Peace to you!" this season. I pray Our Lord grants you a blessed Christmas, one in which the hub bub is subdued and the *true* blessings are treasured and prominent.
Well, gotta run...Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Monday, December 12, 2005

Update

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Well, I was chided yesterday for forgetting to update y'all about Musical's last "hurrah!" Indeed, it *was* just a "mechanical mishap" as it was a one-time deal. ;-) For the time being, all The Flock is hale and hearty.
Thanks for asking! :-)
Warmly,
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: (laughing) "Mama standing in muh shooey chair!!!" T.T. upon seeing me standing on a dining chair to reach something in a cabinet. :-)

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Not for the Faint of Heart (eh, er...)Stomach

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
Well, I'm sitting here a little dazed. My body is exhausted. My mind has been turned to mush. I've yielded to fits of laughter, tears... Never in my life have I seen such a display. Yes, Friends...we're wrapping up Vomit Week here at The Fold. The Discovery Channel once had a series called "Shark Week," but they never had Vomit Week. (Thank goodness--you wouldn't want to see it.) Beginning last Wed., some horrific gastrointestinal microbe wreaked havoc on The Flock. It began with LionessLamb(formerly Carnival ;-). Three a.m. she padded into our bedroom and said, "Mom. I don't feel good." I asked sleepily, "Do you think you're going to vomit?" A sleepy reply, "No." I said, dismissively, "Ok, well, go back to bed then and get some rest." She padded back to bed and I began to relax again. Then, in the darkness...that sound mothers dread and even have nightmares about....
BLECH! (kersplatty)

I was immediately wide awake. I rushed to the bathroom to find L.L. (LionessLamb) bent over the toilet. "Whew," I thought. "Glad she made it to the bathroom." ROTFLOL--I just hadn't seen the bedroom yet. EEK! At that point, no matter how concerned I was or how much compassion I felt...I gagged. I called for The Ram and grabbed my nose and covered my mouth. I left the bathroom and sat on the couch, waiting for the nausea to subside. Strangely, it only got worse. I told The Ram, "I need to go into the other room--this is making me sick." So, while my saintly husband wiped and scrubbed the bathroom, bedroom and hallway, I went back to bed. Eventually, he made it back in there, too. L.L. was safely tucked back into bed. Everyone drifted back to sleep, thinking mean thoughts about the fast food restaurant we'd eaten at that night (assuming their food handling had made L.L. sick.) A while later, L.L. was back in the bathroom, making another deposit. All through the night, this went on--cleaning up L.L., lying back down...drifting off to sleep...then BLECH!!! Finally, about 5 a.m., Musical came into the room. "Mommy. I can't sleep in my bed." I opened one eye..."Why not, Musical?" Exactly what I *didn't* want to hear, "I threw up in it." NO!!! No, no, no!!!!! Not fair!!! I thought, "Does this microbe have no mercy???" Sigh...The Ram and I got up, mopped up Musical as best we could, and made her a pallet in the living room, so we could hear her better if she got sick again. As we were tucking her in...
BLECH!!!! This came from (horror of horrors) MY bedroom, where Tater Tot had (I thought) been sleeping peacefully. The Ram and I rushed into our room and found li'l' T.T. expelling his undigested bedtime snack onto the sheet...directly beneath my pillow. I again felt nauseated.
We cleaned up. We lay down. The next several hours are missing in action. I do remember lying down later in the morning, then yelling for The Ram to bring the Puke Bucket...QUICKLY. I remember him dashing in, like a knight on a white horse, sliding that pan under my head just in time. I don't remember how many times that little scene played out, because by that time, the fever had set in and I was in and out of sleep for the next day. Similarly, L.L., T.T. and Musical were alternately vomiting and sleeping, moaning and groaning for the next full day. The Ram and Lovable were the most selfless, incredible nurses. They lovingly cared for us all with much compassion.
By Friday, L.L., T.T., Musical and I were suffering only lingering effects of the stomach bug. It looked like it was about over with...then...
Lovable states, "Mom. I don't feel very good."
NOOOOOOOO!!!
Yup. We all cared for Lovable as she threw up, moaned and groaned like we had.
I thought it was curious that The Ram had been able to avoid the Terrible Illness. Not to worry, though, that Bug was not through with The Flock yet!!! "But wait, there's more!!!"
Saturday night (or was it later Friday night???) I woke up to find The Ram missing. Hmmm....He came inching into the bedroom later, carrying a Puke Bucket. He was the last to succumb, but succumb he did. At least by that time, most of us were feeling much better, so we could dote on him. Poor fellow--gone a year in service to his country, then BLECH!!!! Welcome home, Honey!! :-)
EPILOGUE: It's now Tues. night, nearly a week since the first volley was fired. Just today did I finish the mountain of Throw Up laundry that accumulated with 6 people emptying their guts for days. Mere moments ago, I snuggled down into bed, looking forward to a long night's sleep, when L.L. called out, "Musical's throwing up!!!!" Fear gripped me. I thought, "No, she must be wrong. It can't be..." I scurried into the girls' bedroom and found....NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Musical covered in supper remains. I had immediate flashbacks from the last week. My blood ran cold. Then, L.L. said, "She was just coughing and coughing, then she threw up..." Whew. Ok. I think that was just the effect of the gag reflex, triggered by a coughing fit, brought on by her sleeping on her back and saliva running into her throat. Right? RIGHT???
Sigh. I'll let you know tomorrow...
The (very tired) Ewe