Mom to the Rescue X 2

So about once a week I give my mom the "I am in over my head with 2 kids, a man cat, and a house full of chaos" call.  It usually involves tears.  No lie.

So Barbara, as I like to call her sometimes, just to get under her skin, is coming to save my ass yet again this weekend (she finally took the hint after the 3rd hysterical call that day).

We have a project that we are going to tackle - and as much as I would love it to be our bathroom - we are still not quite ready for that one - and I think that might have to be left to my man and my dad.

This weekend we are tackling the office/storage room/now sick kitty haven room.

We will be purging all of Bryan's stupid school books ( they are only stupid since I have asked a dozen times for him to sort them out so I could have some type of  storage space).  We will be going through all the junk we keep throwing in there and deciding what stays and goes. 

I love this part.  I love cleaning out clutter- it makes me feel so much more in control of my life when everything else is spiraling. 

I would love to try and tackle the dictionary wallpaper - but that might be slightly aggressive with Emily and Eli needing to be entertained - but that room has got to get going...ideally this is the direction I want it to head...

So hopefully my mother can wrangle up another miracle and help me finish my office/sick kitty haven room and we can knock off the storage room title.  Okay, small goals I would honestly just like to be able to walk into the room without almost killing myself - and not be ashamed enough to have the doors open to the room...

It is the small things in life.

Did I mention that I am going back to work next week as well?!? So yes, I have called in reinforcements to help me prep for more chaos and insanity (thank god no one expects me to cook - I have already squashed all expectations/hope for that - burning a few batches of spaghetti- os will do that).

Wish me luck.

Well Shit.

Todd and I visited the vet today.

Not good news.  He has kitty leukemia. And roundworms.

Emily loves Todd with a double D.  I love Todd with a double D.  But this does not look good.

I brought Todd home with his dewormer, and now have a tough decision on my hands.  If he was going to be an only cat it would be easy.  But we have Thomas the man cat, and kitty leukemia is contagious and killer in cats.

Todd is now locked in my bedroom to separate the two cats (not really necessary since Thomas really wants nothing to do with Todd) but it breaks my heart.

We can see if Todd can beat the virus (retest in 3-6 wks) but the odds are not in our favor and the vet doesn't want to give us false hope.

I don't know what to do.  My animal saving skills are seriously lacking this month.

Bummed to say the least.  Shit.  I don't want to make the smart decision.

Update:

Family Decision - We are making the office/storage room a kitty room!  Bryan and I feel like if Todd with a double D was lucky enough to find a family that didn't mind too much that he had worms and diarrhea up the wazoo (okay he was lucky that Bryan and I didn't kill him) that he could be lucky enough to beat this virus.

(I am about 100% shocked that Bryan was in agreement and there really was no need for a discussion, as much as B grumbles about animals and my need to save anything and everything I can I think he actually finds this an endearing trait of mine - that is what I am going with)

We are going to give him that chance, and if it does go the opposite way we will be ready for it and do the humane thing, but until Todd with a double D gives us that sign we are going to fight this thing.

 My mom has a cat name Dusty - who was on the brink of death from god knows what -  the vet had totally written him off ... but the miracle of deli cut roast beef brought that pisser of a cat back and he is now a behemoth of a cat.  We are going this route with Todd.

So Todd will be getting the royal treatment:

1. Roast Beef Diet (once we get his stomach in order)

2. His own room (to protect Thomas the man cat)

3. Stress free unconditional love

Wish us luck, we know we will need it, but if we are just another statistic at least Todd will have had a family and some love in his short life.

Master Gardner Update

So my front garden/foundation gardens remain mulched but not planted...

I went to Gerten's on Sunday to pick up some shrubs since they were having a sale and I had an idea of what I wanted. Bryan had to work so I went with my can do attitude, a one month old, and a two and a half year old.

If you are currently wondering what I was thinking - I have no idea.  I honestly have no clue what made me think I could load up 4 shrubs on a cart plus a car seat and heard Emily around.  I guess I just really wanted shrubs.

We roamed in between the boxwoods, the dwarf blue spruces, the blue chip juniper, and a few others.  I couldn't make up my mind.  Bryan had set a budget, and I had to decide if I wanted to go with the blue spruces (the ones I really wanted) but the high end of things - I would only be able to get 2 max, or something like the blue chip juniper (which I really am not a fan of - have no clue why- but I could come home with 4).  then I started to look around and more options came into play and I had no one to bounce my ideas off of.

Then a call went out to Grandma Mimi.   She is not a good person to call when trying to stay on budget, but a great person to call when you need someone to say go with what you love...

So, long story short, I chickened out.

I really didn't want to come home and have Bryan hate what I chose, or be angry that I went over budget.  But I did pick up these cuties:

Yeah buy one get one free deal!  So I got 4 and when I got home I of course wanted more - gah.  But there was no way in hell I was going back with my entourage.... no no no learned my lesson there, even though Emily was half way decent :)

And so these little guys made their way into my little garden in the back:

 Now, i know what you are thinking - I stole these images off the internet - but No!!!  The master gardener strikes again!!! That hydrangea tree was a steal last year at the end of season sale... my husband wasn't quite sure if it has survived the winter at the beginning of spring... but it lives and lives well!  Same goes for the hydrangea bush - my $1 bush from the same sale!!! Whoot Whoot!  I am on fire.  That hosta was part of the hosta haul my husband scored in June.  I am just excited to see what it looks like next year once they all have another year to expand and grow - the hostas need a little love since they were attacked by killer slugs (boo).

But I do have to admit,  my Liatris which was suppose to look like this:

 

Actually looks like this:

Bryan is pretty sure that my bulbs are growing to China - since I wasn't sure which way was up or down on the bulbs. Whoops.  Maybe they will self correct next season?! Maybe?

But to make myself feel better here is another growing success:

This is my accidental pumpkin/squash? patch.  Yup.  We threw last years pumpkins in the back - and this is the repercussions... My mom, being the Debbie Downer on the whole situation said the pumpkins might not be ready for this season. Well Mom, that is not looking at the bright side of life is it?  Maybe I will have a great center piece for my non existent kitchen table for Thanksgiving!

Anyways, thought I would catch everyone up on my gardening adventures.

Oh. P.S. We named the cat.  Todd with a double D.
He has a little fox face, and one of our (Bryan and I) favorite movies is Fox and the Hound.  Todd is the name of the fox.  We are just to clever for our own good.
   

I am Soooo Excited (said in Oprah Voice)

Finally a fabulous show to look forward too instead of Bath Crashers, House Crashers, Yard Crashers etc... And this one is on the OWN Network!!! Yay.

Something with fun design and color, cheeky sass, and a pair of dogs = winning combination!



I think it is the dogs that crack me up the most. Okay maybe it is the smart car... Or the glasses.  Okay it is the fact that I secretly want to move to Europe so I can have friends like this... my closest friend like this moved his ass to Chicago and I still am devastated to this day.  He had such a great collection of sweater vests and could pull off a bow tie like no other.  Jeff I miss your jaded bitterness and fashion sense to death.

Do you now see why I love this guy?  How could you not? 

Meow?

My night was spent like this:

Me "Meow?"

Ratty Ass Kitty Found in My Clean Garage "Meow"

Me "Meow?"

RAKFMCG "Meow Meow"

Me "Meow?"

RAKFMCG "Meow"

Repeat times five.

But after a trail of turkey lunch meat leading into our house... The Vargas family has a new member.

Might name him Guillermo.

UPDATE: He has made himself at home....

 

The Gossip

Bah I tell you bah.  So I am about 100% sure I didn't get the position.  How do I know without really knowing?  I am friends with the girl who actually got it.  And as much as I want to hate her,  I just can't cause she is just awesome. 

And deserving of the position. But I am not suppose to know yet.  All I had to do was look at her.  I have these super human powers where I force people to tell me their secrets without even speaking.  I know I am amazing.  It is almost like reading minds.  I should get a cape or maybe a fancy mask and think of a creative super hero name... we shall see what I come up with... Maybe "The Gossip" said with a dramatic voice that probably is only making me laugh.

  So bah.  Where do I get to let out my frustrations?!?! 

Tonight's victim is a bag of Ramen noodles and a bottle of wine.  No judgment please. Oh who am I kidding - go ahead and judge - I would.

Back to the drawing board... but don't worry... I still have a job and won't let this get me down.  I am sure there will be more opportunities around the corner (this is all the positive fluff I am telling myself as I take a big gulp of wine...).

Anywho.... back to the basement.  We totally got the stinky old damp carpet out of the basement (again this is where "we" means Bryan lugged it up the narrow stairs all by himself).  But I did throw away a lot of the knotty pine panels and many many two by fours.  Tight pre- prego ass here I come...

And then I made piles of the insanity down there... I have a dry wall aka. damp dry wall pile, a wood scrap pile and Styrofoam insulation pile and a dust/crap pile.... so at least I have organized insanity.

And yes I do realize I need some more images - coming soon!

Okay Oldies

Aka. Mom & Uncle Robert... I think I may have a font that your old eyes can read - let me know what you think- since you are my main stalkers ;)