Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Bingo's story

It was time. Time for a new cat. We have always been a cat family and loved cats wholeheartedly. We spent weeks looking online at places like Craigslist.com and Petfinder.com. There are so many wonderful pets that need a good home. Far too many. After looking online at our local Petco website, I found that there was a pet adoption for Saturday April 24. I told my husband, Anthony about it and he said it was a good idea to go look at the animals there.
For the next few days we talked about what kind of cat we wanted. I just wanted a healthy cat that was already spayed or neutered. Anthony was insistent upon a kitten. I prefer a young adult cat because they are past most of the rambunctious behavior. We said we will just have to wait and see.
Saturday morning came and we were all excited to go and look at the pets that were up for adoption. So excited that we showed up an hour early!! We left to run another errand, but promptly returned at the correct time. Well, maybe a little early. They were still setting up the cages as we arrived. We walked around for a little while and checked out the rodents and birds that were there.
As we returned to the area where the cats were being set up, the FOPAS volunteers were getting the first cat our of the travel crate. What a beautiful cat!! He was brown and black tabby with a little white patch under his chin. He was a short hair cat with a bit of extra meat on him. Not quite chubby, but not skinny. He was adorable.
The next cat out of the crate was a black and white beauty. Still a pretty cat, just not quite like the first one. Then came the kittens!!! The kids went wild. “I want that one, no that one”, they said to us and each other and anyone else who was near. Anthony was still standing there petting the first one.
I took out one of the kittens to hold and it wiggled and squirmed, but still was sweet and oh so cute. I looked back at the first one we saw. He was an adult and after talking with the volunteers I found that he had already been in the shelter for a year. I explained to the kids that the kittens will find a good home, but the beautiful tabby had been looking for a home for a year. So they petted him and agreed they liked him.
This sweet beautiful cat’s name is Bingo. He is so loving and sweet. He loves to give hugs and kisses and loves to be held and “talk” with you. We fell instantly in love with him. He fit right in with our family. He even was out talking to us within hours of coming home. He was PERFECT!
The next day as the evening came to an end the kids, Anthony and I all went to bed. My mom was still out at Bible study. When she came home Bingo snuck out the front door. We didn’t realize until the next morning.
Monday I walked the whole neighborhood calling for Bingo. I looked everywhere in the house, just to double check. He was nowhere to be found. So I called the microchip place and reported him missing. I also called FOPAS to let them know also.
Tuesday morning I posted to Craigslist and KCpetconnect. I ran an errand and hung some signs hoping that someone would find him. By the time I got home I checked the caller ID to see if we had any numbers that weren’t familiar. There was one and I called it. He told me he thought he found my cat but he was downtown. I thought that it couldn’t possibly be because I live way in the northland. As I was talking to him I was checking my email at the same time and his coworker emailed me pictures of the kitty. I looked at the pictures and it was him!!! He had the beautiful brown and black markings with the white around his lips and under his chin just as I remembered. I told the man on the phone that was my kitty and I would love to come get him. He gave me directions and 20 minutes later I was staring into the eyes of my beautiful Bingo. I was shaking I was so happy. The man told me that he found Bingo on the roof of the building (a parking garage at 9th and Baltimore)!! He brought Bingo in and him and his co-worker fed him and gave him water. They looked on craigslist and saw my post and contacted me. I gave him a hug and he helped me and Bingo to the car.
On the way home I stopped to have his microchip scanned and verify it was him. I already knew in my heart it was. The vet office scanned his chip and wrote the number down. It was him!!! Yay!! I brought him home and he was so happy. He was hugging us and layed down for a nap. He knew he was home!!!


Saturday, April 17, 2010

Milestones

So many things have happened in the past week with the children. It is so fun to watch them grow and learn. It is amazing how their little brains work.
Sam is usually such a pleasant child. He has had a bit of an attitude problem lately. I am told it is the age. He is 11. The hormones of puberty are starting to flow and it makes him grumpy. This week he learned that a positive attitude will change a bad day into a good one. This took some talks, some privileges being taken away and even some time in his room. He has definitely improved on the attitude though.
Mia learned her phone number this week. She can recite it almost perfectly. She also learned that if you are nice and share with playmates they will share with you. This one might not stick. She is not good at sharing at all. Whenever she gets something new she says,"I am not sharing that with Allie (her 4 year old cousin)". At least for yesterday she was nice(r)and played well.
Zach learned a lot in the past week. He cut his first tooth last Sunday. It made him a little cranky too. I can't blame him though. I am sure it is painful. Baby Orajel works wonders!!! He learned to clap on Monday and has been proudly doing so ever since. On Tuesday he crawled about three paces and has been trying to crawl ever since then. He can't quite get the hang of doing the crawling thing over and over to get somewhere. HE is learning though.
I have three amazingly beautiful children. I love them always! When throwing fits, sleeping, being lovey to their siblings, eating, playing, fighting and all the other times are precious. They truly are gifts from God.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Shopping with the boys

Today Sam, Zach and I went to the grocery store to get our weekly groceries. Normally I would dread going to the store with the kids. Today was different than other trips to the store with kids. Sam was a big help and Zach sat in the cart and looked around at all the items in the store.
I was able to get all the items I needed and a few extras. Sam loves mint chocolate chip ice cream. He asks for it all the time, but I rarely buy it cause he is the only one who eats it. Today their single serving size ice creams were on sale for a good price so I let him pick out a couple. Of course there was mint chocolate chip. He was so excited to bring it home and taste it. It is so cute seeing the joy in the kids' eyes when they get something they want and really enjoy it.
At the checkout lane Sam was being his silly self and had the cashier laughing out loud. He is so funny sometimes.
We got all the groceries bagged and loaded into the cart and headed out the door. Sam even offered to help me load the food in the trunk. I handled that one on my own but I did have him bring the cart back.
I normally feel stressed after a shopping trip with children in tow, but today I felt relaxed and joy.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Busy times ahead

My sister-in-law is getting married May 1. We are all super excited for her and her fiance. They make a great pair.
There is a lot to do before the wedding.
I still have to get Sam a pair of dress shoes. He is not a fan of uncomfortable shoes so it may be a hard thing to do. Anthony is going to wear his "Chuck Taylors". Sam might fare better with them. Mia is set for her outfit. Anthony and Sam have their tuxes on order and Zach has his suit bought. I have a dress shirt and nice slacks. I still have to find cute shoes that wont kill my feet. So 2 pair of shoes left to buy.
Her bridal shower is this coming Sunday. I have to get a card and cash for her gift. They are wanting to buy a house so money is the preferred gift. I also want to get her something small that is special. Not sure what yet, so suggestions are welcome.
Sunday morning I have to go to help decorate and get food set up for the shower. It wont take too long, but it is better to be early and then wait around than to be late and rushing. I think on that day I will leave all three kids home with daddy since it is a girls' thing.
I also have to think of how to do my hair and Mia's hair. Problem #1 with hair: we have to go there early in the day to help set up things for the wedding, so it either has to be done before we go and say put all day and night, or we have to be able to put it up there with limited time/space. Problem #2: Mia's hair is so fine it constantly falls out of the up dos that I normally do - even with gel. So there is a little conundrum there.
I am sure it will all come together. I have almost a whole month to get it figured out.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Pictures from March

I wanted to share our pictures from the month of March. This is just a few of them.
Zach had so much fun playing in the grass for the first time. He dug all the way down to the mud. Mia loves to play outside and ride on tricycles. The paper airplane in the cat water was found one morning when I woke up. The day before Sam and Mia were making airplanes and flying them all over the house. It was so cute to find that one where it landed.