Another Lillie Picture

I figured it was time to post a new picture of Lillie.  She is getting fat, which is awesome because she was a skinny little thing when we got her a couple of weeks ago.  She still likes to bite, but she also loves to cuddle.  I had to fix her eyes because the picture gave her red eyes, but in reality, her eyes are the prettiest light blue. The best thing is, I was able to get rid of every single flea on her before my house became infested.

Flea Control

Lillie, our deaf little kitty cat, has become the perfect addition to our family.  She drives me a little crazy at night, but I just think it's because she is lonely and wants to play.  She refuses to lay in bed with me or the kids.  Instead, she hangs out in the living room, meowing as loud as she can, all night long.  Last night, she started around 2, and every fifteen minutes I would get up and spray her with water to make her quiet down.  Obviously it didn't work very well, and I didn't get a very good night's sleep. 

When we got Lillie, she had a few fleas.  I was determined to get rid of them before they became a huge problem, so I went to the store and bought several different flea treatments, and thankfully, we got rid of the fleas fairly quickly.  Now, I am looking for a way to keep them away.  I know there is K9 Advantix
 for dogs, and I've heard good things about it. It repels fleas and ticks for up to one month, but I can not find a cat version.  I like that it is a single application placed between the dogs shoulder blades, and not something that needs to be applied daily.  It's also waterproof.

I am on a mission to find something similar for Lillie.  I don't want to end up with fleas in my carpets. I found some interesting information about fleas and their life cycle. This is a battle I do not want to lose. I'm not sure if guinea pigs can get fleas, but now that we have Callie, I want to protect her, too.

Do you use this type of flea treatment on your pets? If so, do you find them effective, and would you recommend them to other pet owners?  Also, what do you use to help keep your cats flea free? I really do need some advice about this.

I Want A Kitten!

How adorable are they?  I promised the kids that as soon as I can afford the pet deposit, we are going to look for a kitten.  I really want a white fluffy one.  I would love to be able to afford a Persian one, like one of the ones in that picture, but we will probably just go to the animal shelter and hope they have one just as cute.

We used to have a white cat with light gray stripes named Oliver.  Ollie was the best cat.  He would come when you called his name, and he always slept in bed with me and Brandi, usually on one of our pillows.  I was crushed when we had to have him put to sleep due to kidney issues.  I cried for weeks.  I still tear up when I come across pictures of him.  When he died, I got rid of everything that reminded me of him, which means when we get a new kitten, I am going to have to buy all new pet supplies. 

I am going to make sure that this time we get a girl kitten, because I was told that male cats are prone to kidney problems, and I can't go through that again.  I have been trying to come up with a cute girl name, but seem to be drawing a blank.  Any suggestions?

Felix

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of GoViral. All opinions are 100% mine.

You all know that I am a cat person. If I had the money, and the room, I would be one of those crazy cat ladies who has hundreds of cats. No, seriously, I would be. So, when I learned about MyFelix, I just had to try it. See my cat right there? He (or she...I'm not really sure which yet...but I guess I should name it...lets make it a girl named Holly) is so cute! I haven't really had the chance to figure out all that she can do, but so far she has walked around my screen, jumped a few times, sat up nice and pretty, then walked back to the corner and went into her little cat house for a nap. When I have time later I am going to teach her how to do some tricks.

It was really easy to download the program. Three simple steps and there she was. I didn't have to give out any personal information either, which I like. You need to have Windows XP or higher, and it doesn't work on Apple Mac or Linux.

Even if you are a dog lover, you will still think this little kittie is adorable. Just think, there is no litter box to worry about, and no cat hair all over your furniture. Just a sweet little cat to bring a smile to your face whenever you need it.

Getting Rid Of Fleas

Ever since I can remember, we have had cats in our house. When I got married, I brought with me my cat that I had had for years. She lived to be 17, and it broke my heart when we had to put her down. Since then, we have only had one other cat who stole my heart, and unfortunately, he was put to sleep when he was only 2 years old, due to complications with his kidneys. I know it sounds crazy, but I am just not ready to welcome another cat into our home right now.

The one thing I don't miss about having pets are the fleas. My friends uses Promeris for Dogs on her dog, and she says it works well. We had an awful flea infestation, and after several attempts at bombing the house, we finally got rid of them. Since then, I have used Advantage Flea on my cats. I have also used Frontline Plus, and find that it works well, too. I don't miss the days of flea collars. I remember how much our cats hated them when I was growing up.

Not as much as they hated those collars with the bells on them, though, those were really annoying.

One Word ~ Gross

The other morning, I went outside to check on my garden. I was in my pajama pants, tshirt, and flip flops. I got a few feet from my front porch, and felt something cold slapping my foot with every step. I looked down, and it was half a mouse, and the cold slapping my foot was the guts hanging out!

Yeah, I know. I almost threw up!

It seems my cats have started leaving me presents on the front porch, dead mice. Gross, half eaten dead mice.

I can tell you now, I do not step one foot out the door without looking for "gifts".

Ginger

This cat is driving me crazy.

I am thinking about letting him become an outside cat, because that is where he wants to be.

His mother was a stray wild cat who hung around my friend Nicole's house. I took him in because she was taking them all to the shelter.

I just don't think he like being inside.

He runs out every time the door is opened.

He hates the litter box.

He attacks the kids legs as they walk by. I blamed it mostly on being a kitten, but it has gotten ridiculous.

He bites. In the middle of the night, he likes to get in the bed and bite your legs/arms/hands/feet...whatever he can find.

He would rather eat out of the trash than eat cat food, and this is driving me nuts, too.

I really think he would be happier outside with our other cats.

What's your opinion?

Wordless Wednesday ~ 9

We do not have a dog, but we do have a doghouse. It is where my outside cats sleep. The past few nights it has been in the 30s, and the cats have been snuggling up together in the doghouse, which sits right outside my front door. When we headed out to the bus stop this morning, the cats didn't even move. (usually they are underfoot, begging for breakfast) I snapped this picture, and they didn't even flinch. It must have been really warm all snuggled up together! For those who read regularly, ivan never left, so he is officially our kitty now!

To participate, go here.

Another Friday

I can't believe it's friday already. This week has flown by! Hubby is working all weekend, so I have no plans, other than just hanging out with the kiddos. We got this outside game called ladderball, which brandi is addicted to. I play her everyday after school. All you do is throw the balls, which are on ropes, and try to get them to hook around the bars. Each colored bar is a different point value. We found it on clearance at wal-mart for $7, and originally got it for when we go camping. It was the best $7 we've ever spent. This game is so addicting!

My cat, zoe, has gone missing again. Since she no longer has her baby (the kitten that died) she probably wandered off. If you remember, she did this when we first moved, and we found her back at the old house. So we have been going by there every day, trying to find her. So far, no luck. I am itching for an inside cat again, and almost have hubby convinced that we should get the kids one for Christmas. There is nothing like sharing your bed with a pet, and I am NOT a dog person. Besides, since ollie died, boo has been asking for a new kitty for inside.

Well, let me run. I am going to make hubby take me out for breakfast!

What's Going On?

~We lost little gloria, our kitten. I'm not sure why, but when hubby got home last night she had passed away. The kids don't know yet. I'll tell them when they get home from school.

~I am finally starting to feel better. Yay! Whatever I had kicked my butt. Now brandi has the sniffles. I hope she gets over it quicker than me.

~I still have a n/a rank this morning. I hope that changes soon. I started going back to my oldest posts and labeling them all, because I read somewhere that having posts labeled helps with page rank. Anyone know if this is true? I hope so, because this is a total pain in the butt and has already wasted enough of my time.

~Where was everyone yesterday?

~jenn, I hope trevor had an amazing birthday!

~carrie, I hope you had an awesome first day (night) of work!

~Hubby is off today. This usually means I'll get nothing done today, and for some reason I have a ton of laundry to do.

~saturday afternoon, my kitchen flooded. The hot water pipe under the sink broke, and water was shooting everywhere! Thank goodness ryan was home, because he just reached under there and turned off the water. i wouldn't have known what to do. Hubby had to come home from work to fix it. We could have waited and put in a complaint with the rental agency, but I needed hot water, and it only cost about $8 to fix.

~maybe I have so much laundry because I had to use every towel in my house to clean up the flood, and I got behind having to wash them all!

~I need to go rush the kiddos a little. Have a great tuesday!

She's Back

I opened my door this morning, and who is standing there? Claire, the cat I gave away last Saturday. Apparently she found her way back home. I hope the rest don't. I also hope the kid comes back for her.A few nights ago, I couldn't sleep. I decided to watch a movie. I watched Little Miss Sunshine. What a great movie. I laughed my ass off. If you haven't seen it, you need to. I also watched The Prestige. It was okay. Not what I expected. I'm sitting here now waiting for my sisters to caLl and say they are here. I spoke to Tami an hour ago and they were still about 2 1/2 hours away. Hopefully they'll be here by 5, 5:30. I can't wait to see everyone!That's it for now! Tomorrow is our family picnic, so I will definately be adding pictures soon! Until then.....

Just Call Me Produce Girl

My oh my. I thought it was over. I thought I had my summer back. I thought I could spend the day with the kids, relaxing until school starts back. That's what I get for thinking. I thought wrong. Del has decided to re-open the stand. I will spend tomorrow making new signs. I need to be up there between 9 and 10 on Monday. Who knows how long it will last this time. I will definately be off starting next Saturday, and not go back until the following Friday. My sisters are coming down, and I want to spend every day with them. I don't see them nearly as much as I would like to. So every moment they are here is wonderful!!The power company came and fixed my meter today. No more worries about my house burning down. On the way to Del's this morning we had a flat tire, which is always fun. The tire can not be repaired, so we need to get a new one, which sucks. It's been less than a year since we bought those brand new. Oh well, what can you do?I am down to 6 cats. YEAH!!!! I had a kid stop yesterday and ask for more kittens. He was the one who took two of Sally's litter. I asked if his Mom was ok with him bringing home more cats, and he said she didn't care as long as he takes care of them. Turns out I know who his mom is, and will ask next time I see her to make sure he is taking care of them. Anyway, he wanted girls, but I only had one girl kitten. So he asked if he could take mama cats. Sure, he took Sally, Claire, the girl kitten, and a male kitten. I think he took the white one that has been missing, and now the black and white one is missing too. I don't really mind. I was wanting to find them a home anyway, and Junior knows where this kid lives and says he has a barn and stuff. The kid also said he has other cats and kittens, so mine will feel at home. So, that's about it. I did start a new book today. NO, not the new Harry Potter. I swear, I am SSSSOOOOOO tired of hearing about that stupid book!!!! Anyway, the book I'm reading is by Lisa Jackson and it is so good. I haven't read anything else of hers, but will definately check out the library next time I go.Okay, I'm really done this time. To quote the Terminator, "I'll be back!".

What a day! I said this morning that Bear did die. I was worried about how Brandi would react when I told her that he ran away. (His mom is outside, so I was gonna say I put him with her last night to see if she could get him to feel better) Anyway, Kasi and Ryan both asked where he was when they got up. Boo never even asked. She still hasn't. I hope we just move on and forget all about this whole mess.I am just now able to sit down and have a moment to myself. When I got home this evening, I watched Army Wives while folding laundry, then have been cleaning the house since 9. I mean scrubbing the bathroom and kitchen floor cleaning. This morning I put a pork roast and veggies in the crock pot and let it cook all day. The kids LOVED it! Brandi, who normally eats next to nothing, ate two servings. I don't like stew (string meat, right mom?) so I had a lean cuisine. I dread the scale in the morning. I think I might skip the weigh in this week. We'll see how I feel in the morning. I worked for about 6 hours today. We were a little slow until around 5. Then we got busy. I'm going early tomorrow, around 10. Junior will be here to get Faith and bring her to me. I hope to stay til around 7 like I've been doing. Jean made a comment today about me getting my license. I just laughed at her and said that Ryan will probably drive before I do. Not to change the subject, but Brandi just walked in here (yes, she's still up) and asked about Bear. I told her the "story" and she said, "Okay. Ollie's my cat now." Funny how they bounce back, huh? Anyway, I'm beginning to see Jean's sense of humor come out and she's quite funny. She loves to tell stories about her and Del's "early years", and their life in N.J. I can't say enough how glad I am that I have had this opportunity to get to know them, and that my kids love them. They are such good people.I'm guessing that's about all I have to say for tonight. Hopefully I will find some time to write tomorrow. Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don't let the bud bugs bite! (that's really pretty gross, huh

Bear didn't make it through the night. I'm telling the kids he ran away. I can't break Brandi's heart again. I guess I do lie after all.

Happy Thoughts

I need a big favor. Brandi decided she wanted Bear to be her new cat. If you read me regularly, you know Bear was demoted to outside cat a couple of days ago cause he refuses to use the litter box. So Brandi guilted me into bringing him back in the house. She doesn't want him to get hit and die. How can I argue with that? So we bring him in. He's not the same kitten. He just lays around and has no energy. Kinda like he hasn't been eating. So I force some milk in him and he ate a little food. My child asks me if he is going to die. I say that I hope not and I will do everything I can to not let that happen. She says if he does die, she never, ever wants another kitten for the rest of her life. Please people, think happy thoughts, and pray this kittie turns around. I can not deal with another dead cat.On to happy things. I was up at 7:30 this morning cutting the grass. Then we went food shopping. I found some good meat deals. Food Lion marks down their meat on Sunday mornings. We saved a lot of money. Then we went fishing with my mom. The one time I forget my camera Junior catches a 4 pound catfish. It was big. The rest of us didn't catch much. The fish weren't biting. The kids caught a bunch of turtles. Junior caught a pretty big one as well. I mentioned wanting to go to church, and he says he has to think about it. So tonight while you pray for Bear, pray for my husband too. I'm not sure why he is so against going, although I think it would be a good guess to say it is something from his childhood. We all know how happy that was for him. I am sitting here now waiting for the dryer to buzz so I can do another load of laundry. Being at the stand all day I have no time to do housework. I forgot how hard it is to do it all. Junior and Ryan are still at the lake. Mom bought me and the girls home. I hear the dryer so I guess there are other things I need to do besides sitting here. I will work tomorrow after Faith leaves, so I'll write more tomorrow night. Sweet Dreams!

My Broken Heart

I just finished putting Brandi to bed. The poor thing cried and cried because she wants Cake back. I can't find words to describe how I am feeling right now, so I will just tell you the conversation we had. I told Brandi that Cake was in Heaven. It took me by complete surprise when she asked what Heaven was. I assumed she new. I was wrong and it hurts me to realize that she couldn't comprehend any of it. I tried to explain how your spirit goes to Heaven, and she wanted to know what happens if you fall off a cloud. She wanted to know what part of Cake went to Heaven, her fur, her skeleton, her blood. I was at a total loss. She prays every night, I just never questioned if she understood who she was praying to. I grew up in church, and I guess I never realized what my kids are missing by not going. Wait, I know what they are missing, I just didn't grasp how important it is. I don't think I'm saying very well exactly what it is that I am trying to share. I guess it was kind of like an "A-HA" moment, where the light goes off and you see something clearly. Well, I see very clearly the impact God had on me and I want that for my children too. NOw, if I can just convince Junior to take us to church. ( I think you, Terra, will understand most what I am trying to say. ) Funny how it took a cat to make me see the way my life is, and how much I need to change it. Especially for my kids. I need some clarity, I guess is what I want to say. I need to know how to help Brandi understand and how to help her get past this hurt. I need to heal my own broken heart, too.

A Bad Beginning To A Good Day

My day started out pretty crappy. That's even putting it mildly. As I have mentioned before, we have a lot of outside cats. Junior hates them all, except one. Little Cake. If you don't want to be sad, you might want to skip to the next paragraph, cause what I'm gonna tell you sucks big time. Last night, Junior was getting ready for work when Jean called. I had forgotten to give her some medicine for Del when she dropped me off last night. She asked if Junior would drop it off on his way to work. So he rushes to get ready and off he goes. Two minutes later he knocked back on the door. He needed a lighter. He gets it, I shut the door, and off he goes again. This morning I get up and the car is out front but I can't find Junior. I look out the back and he is walking across the yard. When he comes in the front door, I ask what he was doing. Biggest mistake of the day. He breaks down crying and says he was burying Cake. I say, "did she get hit?", to which he replies, "I hit her." I ask how he knew it was him, and he said that last night when he left the second time, he thought he ran over a toy. When he pulled in the yard this morning, he saw that it was Cake. The cats usually run when he starts the car, but because he just ran in the house, he left the car running, and then just toook off without thinking about the cats. My heart is still breaking for him. He loved that kittie. I couldn't cry then because I didn't want him to feel worse than he already did. He also didn't want me to tell the kids. So through the course of the day, while at Del's, I was so worried about him. Junior has a huge heart, and it was broken today for sure. I eventually told the kids. Brandi was very upset because she named Cake and considered her to be hers. So I told her she could name one of Claires kittens and we would keep it. She named it Cupcake (with a little help from me). I did not tell them that Junior hit her. I just said she was hit and killed. So tonight, say a little prayer for my husband that he can forgive himself for what was clearly an accident.Enough sad stuff. I got to work (I'm just gonna call it that from now on cause it's easier) aroung 9 this morning. Del decided to run to Columbia to get fresh stuff, so he lowered all the old stuff to $1 a tray. That's a really good deal. Needless to say, I sold out rather quickly. Tim and Anita were up so Grumpy planned a cookout for this afternoon. I was gonna send Jr. and the kids, but Del got stuck in traffic and called and said he would be at least 5:30, 6:00 before he got back. So I closed up for a while and went with them. I made it back to work 10 minutes after Del got there. He had lots of good looking produce. We should make some money this coming week. The cookout was okay. If you are a member of that side of the family, I need not explain the day. It was typical somebody running their mouth and somebody else getting pissed. I ended up sitting and talking with Bobby. As two people married into the craziness, I think we've both realized it's best to stay out of things. I will help Joyce set things out and clean up, but I refuse to get involved with Grumpy and his bitching. It just pisses me off. I know that if I open my mouth, there will be hurt feelings, cause I would not be nice. Previous entries have given you a glimpse of how he treats my husband. I will not comment on how he treats other people, cause that's not my story to tell. I will say that I hope he changes before its too late. Anyway, it was nice to see my nieces and nephew. Brandon is so cute. I'm happy that at least now he remembers my name! I am almost done with my book. It is really funny in some places. I was sitting at the stand today reading and actually laughed out loud. The kids looked at me like I had lost my mind. The first book about this character was Odd Thomas. It was really, REALLY good. The second. Forever Odd, was okay. I think this one will end up as a really good one too. I'll let you know in a day or two. I guess I'm done for today. Please remember Junior in your prayers, and I'm sure you'll hear from me soon.

Lots To Say Tonight

Today was a super busy day! I had to catch up with the laundry, which is all folded and ready to be put away in the morning. We finally have a roofer coming in the morning and I had to paint all the boards they will be using to fix the back of the house. Doesn't sound too hard, but there were a lot of boards and I had to do both sides. Thanks to Nicole who stayed and kept me company! The kids swam most of the day, I was painting beside the pool. I put sunblock on myself this morning before we went out because I am getting really dark and my face is actually starting to hurt! My lips are sooo dry!As most of you know, I put Sally and her kittens outside a week or two ago. All her babies are now gone, except Bear, who is inside. It has also been a week or so since I have seen Claire's litter. She keeps hiding them. While in the pool with the kids last night, we see Claire come out of the basement. Sure enough, her babies are in there. This morning, they are gone again. The kids find them under their outside toy bins. So while we're in the pool, I see Sally walk by with one of Claires kittens in her mouth! No wonder she was hiding them! Claire chased down Sally and got her baby back, but who knows where they will be tomorrow.I have had a breakthrough moment this past week that I haven't yet mentioned. I took a big, no huge, step on Sunday. This may sound silly to some of you who have never had a weight problem, but it was the first time I have worn a bathing suit in front of my mom and my sister. I guess I have finally accepted the fact that even if I keep it covered, people still know I'm fat. So why not enjoy myself and not be miserable. I would normally sit in the yard and watch the fun in the pool. It was great to be in on the fun with Carson in the pool. I'm not ready to wear my suit in public yet, but maybe I'll get there. I think it's more of a boob thing than a fat everywhere else thing. Who knows.Tomorrow it is back to selling produce. After Faith leaves in the afternoon, I will spend most of the rest of the day up at Del's. I'm almost finished reading my book and have nothing new to read. So, I rejoined a book club and am expecting some new books in the next week or two. I don't have the last two DEan Koontz books, so I ordered them and am very excited to read them. I think I ordered a Stephen King and the new Mary Higgins Clark. I also ordered the 6th James Patterson book. You know, the Woman's Murder Club books. They should keep me reading for a few weeks anyway.I found time today to browse through some blogs that are linked through the ones I read every day, and I was touched by them all. These women are so strong and amazing. I wish I could link you to Carole's, because she is an amazing woman. I am learning so much about CDH. I thank God every day that my children were born healthy. I honestly don't know if I could face what these mothers have. They are inspirational, to say the least! If you want to read Carole's story, click on my link to Terra. Go to her March entries and you can link to Carole through one of them. If you do, have a box of tissues nearby. Trust me, you'll need it!I guess I've written enough for tonight. Sweet dreams to all!

Chilled Kitten, Anyone?

Last night when Junior got back from fishing, he was cleaning the fish they caught. He asked Ryan to fix him a drink. He does. Junior then says he wants to go check out our fishing holes to see if people are catching anything at night. It's around 9:30, so off we go. Both girls were sleeping, and stayed asleep in the car. We stop at a store around 11 to get a drink. Junior and Ryan go in. I should say now that I am in my pajamas. Junior told me to get dressed, but I just through a bra on under my gown. (cause anyone who knows me will understand that these things MUST be contained in public) Okay, so they are in the store, and a guy walks past the car. Look in and stops. Motions for me to roll down my window. I do, but only a crack. He says "you live on Green River and you're Jennifer right?". I say, "yeah" and have no idea who this guy is or how he knows me. He says I used to work with his wife at McDonalds. Jamie. I remember her, sure. He says they bought a house down the block from us and have been living there for a year and a half. He said Jamie said great things about me (who wouldn't), but was timid about stopping and saying hello because it had been so long. She has waved in the past, but didn't think I had recognized her. I hadn't. I gave him my number and told him to tell her to call me or come by. They are expecting a baby girl. it will be fun to catch up! We ended up getting home arond 11:30. I go in the kitchen to get a drink and hear one of the kittens crying. Horribly. Likes it is in pain. I just can't find it. Following the cries, it sounds like it is coming from under the fridge. Junior is still outside, and I need his help to move it, so I went ahead and fixed my drink. I opened the fridge, and out fell the poor little kitty! When Ryan had fixed Junior's drink like 2 hours before, he had shut the kitten in there! Since we left soon after, we didn't hear his cries. The poor little booger was cold as ice! I warmed him up and he seems fine this morning. We will now count kittens before closing the fridge door!

Kitten Rescue

Some days my husband is my hero. Today is one of those days. After the kids got on the bus this morning, I went for a walk and then cut my grass. As I was putting the mower away, I noticed that 3 of Claire's kittens were missing. The only one still on the porch was the white one. Faith and I started looking for the babies. Couldn't find them anywhere. Junior said he saw Claire by the culvert at the end of the driveway. I looked, but it was really dark in the tunnel and I couldn't see anything. As I walked away, Claire came out of it, grabbed the white kitten (aptly named Snowball by Nicole) and took him back into it with her. Junior said she was probably hiding them from the mower. He also said that if it rains as bad as they predict this afternoon, the babies could drown. Soooooooo, even though he hates all my cats, he set out to rescue the babies. He took a long piece of wood and attached a lacrosse stick to the end of it. Using that, he was able to scoop out all the kittens. The way I'm writing this makes it sound like it was an easy task. Not so much. He couldn't see into the tunnel, so he was "feelong around" for each kitten. It took about an hour to get them all out. They are now inside. I don't want Claire moving them again. I let her in to nurse them. I can't wait until they are all realdy to go to good homes. Here are some pictures of the culvert and the rescue!