Poor, sweet kitty

After living 14 years as a fat cat, (the photo below is from healthier days) Maddie is now just eight pounds. She's lost almost half her body weight in the last 18 months. She has a large growth on her side, which is being tested to determine if it's cancer. If it is, the vet has warned, she won't live much longer. Even if it's not, it's clearly affecting her appetite and is causing a rear leg to shake as she walks. We should have results back on Monday.

Meanwhile, she's also developed a urinary track infection, which we're treating with an antibiotic. And if that's not enough, the vet found glucose in her urine, which means she likely has feline diabetes.

If it's possible to have a bright note to this story, it's this: If Maddie is, in fact, on her ninth life, she is making the most of it! All the treats and table scraps we've been denying her for years because of her weight – she is enjoying them now in abundance. She still tends to hide in the basement when the kids are awake. But in the morning before they're awake, she is constantly under my feet, especially when I'm in the kitchen.

Aaahhh... the memories

I hate deadlines. But I have to admit that a lack of a deadline is even worse. Back in July, I convinced a local editor to allow me to write a story about our trip to Mackinaw. There was no set date when the article would run, thus no set due date.

So how quickly do you suppose I got around to writing that article? Luckily, I took good notes last summer about feelings and observations I'd had during the trip. Combine that with the photos from the trip, and it wasn't too hard to get back in my "Mackinaw mind-set".

Enjoying the beach while Daddy played with his metal detector.

Marching with the band during a free outdoor concert. The kids had so much fun, and the setting (sunset, with Lake Huron in the background) was awesome!

Deceptively tolerable

I wouldn't quite use the word "delicious" to describe my rookie effort at hiding vegetables in our supper. But at least it worked.

For supper last night, we had homemade mac and cheese with ham and peas, and a half cup of pureed squash mixed into the sauce. I wasn't wild about the sauce, but I blame that more on the cream that the recipe called for, which was too sweet. I couldn't taste the squash at all.

Sydney avoided the peas on her plate like the plague, but she gobbled up the noodles and sauce, totally unaware that she was getting a serving of veggies in her meal.

This could become an obsession for me. I now have pureed sweet potatoes and two kinds of pureed squashes in my freezer, plus cauliflower and yellow squash waiting to be steamed and pureed.

It's also an easy way to mess with Jeff. As I brought dinner to the table, he stared at me intently as if looking for clues, before finally asking, "so what's in here?"

I'll never tell.

It's a jungle in here

We just can't wait to host the next playdate. We have so many cool new toys to keep the kids busy.

This "Playhut" is temporarily filling a huge portion of our living room. It will hopefully move to its permanent home in the basement later today, once we pick up some more foam flooring tiles to put underneath it. When Grandma Elouise described the dimensions, I knew it was going to be long, but somehow didn't grasp how wide it was.

Sydney pretty much lived in it for about a half hour yesterday. AJ, meanwhile, likes the accompanying golf club best of all. Why? Because it's like a sword, of course.

The morning after

The wrapping paper has mostly been picked up, but that's about it. Our living room, kitchen, dining room and just about everywhere else we normally can walk through, are all now cluttered with something: gifts, packaging, fiberfill from Maggie's now-disemboweled chew toy, you name it.

I don't even know where to start to clean, so instead I'm sitting with my back to it all, at the computer in the office.

How good was Christmas this year? What does this tell you: AJ slept until after 8, and Sydney until almost 9. And the TV remained off until Daddy turned it on at 9:30. The kids are too busy playing with all their new toys.

AJ spent about 45 minutes being an archaelogist like his cousin, Jonathon. Santa left a "dinosaur egg" in his stocking, which AJ needed to chip open to find the baby T-rex inside. Perhaps Santa should have paid better attention to the "for ages 5+" that was printed on the package, because AJ needed help hammering and chiseling. It wasn't too bad until Daddy started making up new lyrics to "If I had a hammer..."

Merry Christmas to all

...and to all a short night.

Despite being up until 10 last night, both kids were awake bright and early this morning. I'm sure it had nothing to do with all the new toys they unwrapped last night.

We celebrated Christmas a night early, rather than haul all the presents to other houses to be opened. (Does that make it Christmas Eve Eve?)

The unwrapping was amazingly orderly, with AJ wanting to stop each time to play with the newest toy. Sydney, meanwhile, seemed a bit overwhelmed by it all. It took a couple of presents before she finally figured out how - with help - to rip the paper. With a flourish, she'd tear a strip and then hold it high in the air, exclaiming, "Ta dah!"

You wouldn't know it from the above photo, but we cleaned the living room right before we pulled out the presents. I love the fact that all the "kids" in the picture, including Maggie, are engrossed in their favorite new toys. AJ is playing with little knights and pirates. Sydney has cups and a doll's bottle. And Maggie is destroying her new squeaky toy. By morning, there was fiberfill everywhere!

Just another day at the office

I love this picture. Sydney pulled her favorite little chair up to the coffee table, then set up her "computer". Someday, if she decides to pursue a career that puts her behind a desk, we'll have to share this photo of her first "office".

A note about her headwear. Sydney has decided she likes cashmere. In particular, she likes Mommy's pink cashmere hat. During a recent venture outdoors, I couldn't find her hat, and so let her wear one of mine. Now she doesn't want to take it off. Even after we found her hat, she still wants this one.

This little girl better hope her desk job is a high-paying one, because she's already developing expensive tastes.