Newest Member

If you follow me on Twitter, I apologize.
All I have talked about since Saturday is our newest member if the family and.
We have a new kitten.

This is Truman. He is 3.5 months old and born on my birthday.

This…was not planned. We were not under any circumstances considering another kitten.
For years now, Mr. A and I have enjoyed going to pet adoption drives at Petsmart. It’s something we’ve done on Saturdays or Sundays for a long time. When we couldn’t have a pet, this helped fulfill our desire since we got to play with all the animals and ooo and ahhhh over them.
As much as I love soft and cuddly things, and as much as I wanted them, I was logical and went about my business.
So we went to our favorite pet store while home this past weekend. Mr. A went to the restroom so I went to go look at the animals.
I walked past the kitten with a stub tail. Past the boisterous little guy that was reaching his paw through the cage and tapping the kitten next to him to get him to play. Past the all white little girl that was shy but sweet and super pretty.
I walked all the way down the aisle and there was a little black kitten in a cage on the end. He was napping but as soon as I walked up, he lifted his head and was looking me in the eyes.
I reached in to scratch his little head and then asked if I could get him out to hold him. As I picked him up, he immediately snuggled into me and was a purring machine.
I felt an instant connection to the little guy that I didn’t feel with any other animal except Scout. Of course I read the info sheet and saw that he was born in my birthday. He had all his shots and already spayed. He kept snuggling and purring and I just knew he needed to come home with us.
Long story short, after some discussion and thought, we went back and made the little guy ours.

He is a snuggle bunny. He loves to be held and played with and wants to be with us all the time.
Unfortunately Scout isn’t sold on him yet. She isn’t violent to him, but hisses and then runs away and hides. We’ve had a couple small breakthroughs and we’re planning on putting them together a lot more this weekend to make her realize that he isn’t going anywhere.
So for now, if we aren’t home, he stays in the bathroom but he’s allowed out as long as we’re there. We keep him from going upstairs for now so Scout feels like she has a safe space and Truman isn’t just taking over all of a sudden. I sleep on the couch at night and check on him periodically. Our hope is that by this weekend we can leave him out all the time and that he and Scout will be friends.
So any good kitty vibes you want to send, will be much appreciated.

Waiting Room Horrors

Since getting our little fur child, Scout, I’ve been to vet quite a bit. A new kitten needs shots and spaying and all kinds of things. 

We have been INCREDIBLY fortunate that Scout has been healthy. At least until this week. She kept shaking and pawing at her ears, so we decided to take her in to see if she had an ear infection.

(Scout is fine. She has a bacterial infection in both ears, so we have medicine that she hates, but she is already perking up.)

Well, I am glad Mr. A came with me yesterday because the waiting room was awful. I’ve met giant iguanas and 8 week old puppies in the waiting room. It’s kind of interesting to see the different animals, especially the fluffy ones, but yesterday was not a day full of fluffy puppies and kittens.

As soon as we walked in, I noticed a woman sitting there with a dachshund. As I came around the corner, I realized that she had the dog in a shallow box, filled with towels and the dog was wrapped up as well. I then realized that the woman still had her sunglasses on and kept wiping her eyes.

That’s when I realized why she was there. She was having to put her loved dog down.

Seeing her try to calm down her dog whenever s/he tried to move or got scared by a noise just broke my heart for her. Her friend came in to be with her and she just lost it and it was just a painful scene to watch.

I think Mr. A was trying to distract me by talking, but I felt guilty talking about happy things while this woman, 10 feet away from me, was losing something so important to her. I started getting choked up and was have to work hard to not break down and cry for her.

Then, another woman came in with a collie. At first, all I could see was that the collie had a bandage on a front leg. But as she rounded the corner, I saw the full extent of the collies injuries.

She was wrapped in bandages from behind her shoulders, all the way back to her hips. Her entire midsection was wrapped, and as some of the bandages shifted, I could she that she was bald in the midsection and saw quite a few stitches.

As the woman sat next to us, I saw just how happy and friendly the dog was. She was just shaking and so happy to see new people. I let her lick my hand, but Scout hates the smell of dogs, and seeing as she was already anxious for being in the vet’s office, I encouraged her to go back to her owner.

The woman mentioned that the dog had nearly died, so Mr. A asked what had happened to her.

This incredibly sweet dog was viciously attacked by her neighbor’s pitt bull.  They could hardly get the other dog off of hers and the pitt’s owner just stood there. This was apparently the third time the other dog had attacked her and her dog.

Even worse, the collie’s front leg was going to have to be amputated since the attack had destroyed all the nerve endings in it and she no long had full control over its movements.

Now, I know there are nice pitt bulls. I do. But I also have a fear of unknown dogs, and certain breeds I am just never comfortable around.

I hope the dog won’t be put down, but put with people that know how to train and work with dogs that tend to be mean, but since the owner wouldn’t claim it, it will be put up for adoption and I just hope they tell people what happened so it doesn’t end up in a house with a small child or attack someone else’s dog.

I was a ball of emotions by the time we were called back to a room for Scout. I was just upset for all the families involved. I was also upset to see the woman with the dachshund was STILL in the waiting room after we had been called back and seen by the vet. If nothing else, I felt they should have put her in a room to wait in private as she spent her last moments with her dog.

I might just need a xanax the next time I have to take Scout to the vet because I can’t handle another emotional rollercoaster like yesterday.

So Much Fur

As you know, I have a little furbaby named Scout.

If only she was still that small. That was the day after we brought her home when she was just under four months old.

This is her now:

Super annoyed her mom won’t just let her nap in her favorite chair in the sun. As you can see, she has liked sleep her entire life. Or, more likely, when she is sleeping is about the only time I can get a decent picture that isn’t a blurred half picture of her back.

She’s fast and has little patience for pictures. Diva.

Told ya, Diva.

Well for the last two days, I’ve been the guest mom for two cats and a dog. Their mom, K, is out of town, so I had the honor of pet sitting.

I sent this to her today since they miss her very much.

The dog is Diesel and he is such a sweetheart. He has A LOT of energy, so yesterday I took him to campus and we walked/ran roughly 3 miles. Today, I let him run around the pond on her property for over an hour. He was in doggie heaven, playing in the water and mud biting at fish. He inadvertently caught one and then promptly dropped it and kept shaking his head since he had no idea what to do with it.

I then had to give him a bath since he was all muddy. It was fine, but strangely, he didn’t like the hose even though he has just been playing in water for the last hour. I forgot a towel to dry him off, so I ran in side to grab one. In that amount of time, he went and rolled in the dirt, which turned into mud.

So Diesel got two baths today. Poor pup.

Riley, the cat on the top is such a flirt. He will paw at you and nuzzle you until you pet him. The picture doesn’t show, but his snout is rather long for a cat and he has little wisps on top of his ears, so he looks like a lynx. He’s pretty handsome.

Now Sid and I have a special bond. He is the white one on the bottom, obviously. He takes a while to warm up to new people, but since I’ve been over to the house a lot, he finally trusts me. But not only likes me, he REALLY needs attention. I don’t think it’s a dominance, “LOOK AT ME” thing. He seemed sincerely sad to not have his mom and needed someone to show him some love. So I would make sure to treat him to lots of snuggles and ear scratching. He would just crawl into my lap and purr the entire time. I really just want to take him home with me and he’s so sweet that I think he and Scout would get along just perfectly.

I want him, but since I’m fairly certain K is attached to him at this point, so I won’t kitty-nap him. At least not yet.

That being said, I have been in a constant state of covered in fur. Every time I would come home, Scout could obviously smell them, so even after I showered or changed clothes, she would make sure to crawl in my lap and cuddle on my chest for an hour. Pet hair has been my constant.

And since I’m headed to my MIL’s tomorrow, the trend will continue since her two dogs shed a lot as well.

I should invest in 3M since I’m fairly certain with the number of lint rollers I have bought, I might be single handedly keeping them afloat.

Busy Bee

Apparently I should get one a blogging schedule BEFORE the semester starts, not in the middle of it.

So, Orlando was fun. I was sick for a lot of it due to my massive sinus issues prior to the flight, which then made it nearly impossible for my ears to pop like they should so I was just off and blech for most of it.

BUT, I did enjoy myself and learned a lot. It was great to see some presentations before I have to present my own in a week. (YIKES)

This semester has been kicking my booty. Between the insane amounts of work for my own classes and trying not to suck at teaching, I am feeling pretty overwhelmed. To the point that I don’t do anything because I don’t know where to start. It’s a vicious cycle.

However, I have ALL of my paper topics for the remaining 4 papers that I have to write this semester, so that’s a huge load off my shoulders. Sounds goofy, but now that I know what I’m writing about, I think about the topics, work out the arguments in my head and it makes it easier when I sit down and write the damn things. I have a weird writing process. Looks weird to others and probably wouldn’t work for anyone else, but it works for me and has been paying off, at least so far. (Fingers crossed it continues until I can work out a better, less spastic method)

Mr. A is hitting his own rough spot of the semester. Happens every semester, at least has so far. He’s getting a little better at dealing with it, but it is stressful. Unfortunately, unlike the previous three semesters, I’m not able to be the cheery ray of sunshine that I usually was in order to cheer him up. I’m so stressed and frazzled myself, that I haven’t been as helpful as usual. I know he understands, but I do feel bad.

School…is…well, school itself it good. Some social drama has been a bit distracting, but working on moving beyond it and not letting high school drama get in the way of what I need to do. Next week will be a little awkward, but nothing I can’t handle and going to make the best of it.

In other big exciting news, I got one of the few and competitive summer teaching positions. I’m not trying to brag- mostly I feel like God was watching over and knew what was best. SO much off of my shoulders to know I will have a paycheck.

Even better?? Mr. A and I will finally be in the same place for the first summer since we’ve been married. Our first two summers of marriage have been spent in different places and adjusting to new things on our own. It will be nice to both be working and taking a class, in the same city. Lots of trips to go canoeing on the lake and studying at the winery, because that’s what grad students do that don’t want to live in a library. It will be amazing.

Can you all believe that I will be done with my first year of grad school in a month?! Because I can’t.

I remember crying when I got my acceptance letter. I remember  when Mr. A got a raise at his summer job, on a Friday, and he told me I could turn in my two weeks notice at the awful retail store an entire month early. I remember spending hours picking out my outfit for the first day of training for teaching college students. I remember walking into my first grad class and being scared to death that I couldn’t do this. I also have the first grad paper that I got an A on with some of the most supportive commentary I’ve ever received.

And here I am, planning my thesis and graduation and realizing that in a year, we will be moving and finding/starting new jobs. I will have a Master’s hood. You will all have to call me Master NewTeacherWife. Maybe that will be my new blog name when I graduate…

So that’s us right now. Scout is doing great. Ornery as ever, but cute as can be and just so snuggly. Mr. A and I both agree that she has been a major stress reliever for us both. We love coming home to her meeting us at the door and, even though she plays rougher than I would like, she’s a ball of fun and we are absolutely in love with her. So, how doomed are we once we have kids??

I miss you all. BUT, I will have time off before summer school, so lots of catching up. Also, I am running my first 5k at the end of the month, so I will be sure to let you all know how it goes. Mr. A is coming to cheer me on and I will make him take pictures of me before I’m all gross and sweaty!

So…

Scout, in one of her crazy hyper modes, was running and jumping off of things around the apartment.

She must not have been paying much attention, since as she went to jump on Mr. A’s lap, she instead jumped into a giant bowl of chocolate pudding. I saw the whole thing happen and while she was mid-air could only think “Oh…this is going to be a big mess.”

She managed to somersault out of the bowl, and in her panic, bolted up the stairs before Mr. A or I could stop her. Her entire back half was covered in pudding and she left pudding paw prints on about every 5th step. She then cowered behind the bed and Mr. A had to lure her out. At first, he was going to just let her clean herself off, until I reminded him that was chocolate pudding and we decided that self cleaning was not an option.

She was not happy to have a bath. (Side note: Mr. A is NO HELP when it comes to kitten baths. He just feels bad when she meows and can’t hold her. The man power lifts and can’t hold on to an 8lb kitten. Such a softie…)

I wish we would have gotten a picture because it was hysterical. We were able to get the couch and carpet cleaned up pretty quickly and it doesn’t look like anything is going to stain, thankfully.

More adventures for first time kitten owners. She’s so lucky she’s adorable.

And I Introduce to You….

“Hai. I’m Scout. I’m kewt. An fistee”

Okay, I’m terrible at Lolz.

But yes. This is Scout. She is our new little kitten. And we love her. Despite the fact that her new favorite game involves attacking feet and ankles at every opportunity. I’m hoping she grows out of that. Right?

This is the only awake picture I have of her. She is a very active little thing.

But she does eventually tire herself out. And then she’s all snuggly. And makes cute faces while she sleeps.

I guess I should back up to how in the world we ended up with a kitten since not all the long ago I wrote about deciding to wait for a pet.

Well, that obviously didn’t happen.

You see, I was discussing advertisements in class. We were talking about how advertisers appeal to emotions. I used the example of the ASPCA ads with the Sarah McLaughlin song in the background. I made a huge dork out of myself saying that it makes me tear up seeing all those sweet little animals in tiny cages and blah blah blah. Hey, sometimes it helps to make yourself look silly. Kids like it.

So on Friday, one of my students approached me because his friend had a kitten in the dorms, but got caught with it and had to get rid of it.

I was torn. I obviously needed to talk to Mr. A, but figured he would say no, so I told the student no, but if he didn’t find anyone over the weekend to let me know on Monday.

Of course it was all I could think about.

Eventually, I brought it up to Mr. A while we were driving to Mville for the weekend. He was really receptive and I told him that we didn’t even have to keep it, but he and I would be in a better position to find a good home for the kitten than 2 college freshmen who are in a rush to get rid of it. He agreed.

And then he said that really, we would never let the kitten go. Squeeee.

I was so flipping excited.

So I e-mailed the student on Saturday night and then proceeded to check my email every 20 minutes. Like a crazy cat lady person.

Nothing. Nothing Saturday. Or Sunday. Or even Monday morning.

I figured he found someone and just didn’t want to tell me.

I was ready for it.

He came into class and never acted like he knew anything. So when he came up to my desk to ask me a question about the homework, I asked him if they had found someone for the kitten. And wouldn’t you know, they hadn’t!

In the most excited 12 year old girl voice I said, “We’ll take it!!”

Again, dorky me is coming out.

He seemed excited to no longer be hiding a kitten, but also seemed to think we would be a good home for it. He would be done at 11, so we arranged for me to meet him in front of his dorm at 11:30 that day.

That mean that when I got out of teaching class at 10, then I would be the proud owner of a kitten in an hour and a half. Which meant that I had to go buy a few things. And since Mr. A and I have never owned a cat, there was a lot of very quick Googling “first day with a kitten”.

Yes. I actually googled that. Whatever. You would have done the same.

Mr. A and I drove to the dorm and since I didn’t know which of the 27 doors he would be at, I started walking around the building like a creeper. He and his friends walked out with the kitten in a carrier and a box full of her things. I guess they got her from another girl, so they gave me everything they had for her, which was nice because then she would have some things that were familiar in a very new place.

The boys were so sweet. Her actual owner said good bye and looked like he was getting choked up. I felt awful, but I also knew a kitty deserved more than a life of being hidden in a dorm room.

Her first day here went well. She was a little timid, but very quickly got over that. We are keeping her in the bathroom while we aren’t home and while we sleep just because she is so small. And she could very easily hide in very small spaces. Have I mentioned she weighs no more than 2 pounds?! Yeah. Tiny. We’re thinking 8 weeks.

“Mom, I’m napping! The flash is so bright! They can see pictures of me later.”

I shall pause for squeees…

So yeah.

We named her Scout, from To Kill a Mockingbird and the name fits her personality to a T. She’s been very adventurous today and has decided that her new favorite game is to hide under the bed, and while I’m folding and putting clothes away, she will attack my feet and then run back under the bed. She’s a spunky one.

We really don’t know much about raising a kitten, but thanks to some awesome online friends and my new grad school friends with cats, everyone is giving us wonderful advice. Scout says thank you.

Basically, I could just keep writing about her and her cuteness and the funny things she does and the fact that she doesn’t quite have her balance so when she runs down the stairs, she gets too much momentum and ends up tumbling.

I could tell you all of that but I won’t.

For now at least.

But be ready for kitty to make an appearance on the blog via a vlog soon. Maybe she will do her super adorable squeak.

And I have become the stereotypical English woman with a cat.  I just need to quit while I’m ahead.