Yesterday we went to my nephew's birthday party, which was a Harry Potter party. The activities were extraordinary -- buying wands and capes on Diagon Alley, attending a sorting ceremony complete with talking sorting hat, taking a potions class, practicing Quiddich, reading tea leaves in devinations class, and having a feast. While buying a wand they got to try out the levitating charm, "Wingardium Leviosa," and a lighting charm, "Lumos." (My brother-in-law rigged up a candle light to a remote and a coke can on a string so the kids could make the charms "work" with the right wand. Cool, huh?)
Later on, after dinner, Sierra went to the bathroom on her own. My sister-in-law went in there a couple of times asking if she needed help, but she said "no." She was standing on the potty stool with her pants down in a puddle of her own pee, repeating over and over, "In gardium mariosa!"
I believe she may have been trying to levitate her pee into the toilet....
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Tenth Good Thing About Nikita
1. Nikita picked me at the animal shelter.
2. She always used the litter box.
3. She played fetch.
4. The tip of her tail had an inch of orange and white stripes with the cutest white tuft at the end.
5. She was so soft and loved to be scratched in the downy fur behind her ears.
6. She was affectionate and snuggley (but not annoyingly so.)
7. She helped me through a very hard time in my life.
8. When I had kids, I thought she would be jealous and spiteful, but instead she was fiercely protective.
9. She was my friend.
10. Nikita is in the ground and she’s helping grow flowers. You know, that’s a pretty nice job for a cat.*
*Taken from “The Tenth Good Thing About Barney” by Judith Viorst.
RIP Nikita. You were loved. I will remember you fondly. You are now at peace.
2. She always used the litter box.
3. She played fetch.
4. The tip of her tail had an inch of orange and white stripes with the cutest white tuft at the end.
5. She was so soft and loved to be scratched in the downy fur behind her ears.
6. She was affectionate and snuggley (but not annoyingly so.)
7. She helped me through a very hard time in my life.
8. When I had kids, I thought she would be jealous and spiteful, but instead she was fiercely protective.
9. She was my friend.
10. Nikita is in the ground and she’s helping grow flowers. You know, that’s a pretty nice job for a cat.*
*Taken from “The Tenth Good Thing About Barney” by Judith Viorst.
RIP Nikita. You were loved. I will remember you fondly. You are now at peace.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Permission to Think About the Unthinkable
I took the cat to the vet today. I took her about a month ago because the vomiting and loose stools seemed to be getting out of control. At that point she was sneezing a bunch, but the vet didn't seem to make much of that. Since then, her sneezing has seemed to turn into some sort of upper respiratory infection, she sneezes all the time, she's lost a tooth, her mouth is irritated, and now suddenly there's a whole bunch of mucus coming out of her mouth and nose. Plus she's not eating (probably because of the mouth irritations) and she lost a pound in a month. The vet says she has a heart murmur.
It's hard to know what this all really means without a lot of expensive testing. But I don't really want to spend a lot of money prolonging the life of a cat that's really lived a good, long, mostly happy life and whose life is really not very high quality any more. I told the vet that I really just want to make sure she's comfortable. At that point he gave me the option of putting her down. (And, of course, waterworks that I am, I started crying.) So anyway, we decided today to give her shot of antibiotic for whatever infection she my have, give her intravenous rehydration, and switch her diet to wet food to see if she'll eat and gain any weight back.
So now, after the vet opened up the discussion of putting her down, I feel like I have permission to think about it and really examine the cat's quality of life and comfort to evaluate when is the right time. The thought of it makes me feel horribly sad, guilty, and, at the same time, a bit relieved.
There's a lot to think about, including how to discuss this with the kids. Steve thinks that we shouldn't let them know that we're ever choosing to end the cat's life, in case they think we might do that to them. Perhaps we might tell them that we're bringing the cat to a place where they care for very old animals until they die. (Kind of a stretch of the truth -- a very long stretch.) It's not that we want to completely avoid the topic of death, just anything that might scare them into thinking they might die in their sleep or that we might choose to get rid of them. Has anyone had experience with explaining such things to their kids?
I have to say, writing this down just now has felt very therapeutic. I hope there's no one reading this that takes offense at how I am caring for my cat. I really just want to do the most humane thing. She has been a dear friend to me for almost 17 years.
It's hard to know what this all really means without a lot of expensive testing. But I don't really want to spend a lot of money prolonging the life of a cat that's really lived a good, long, mostly happy life and whose life is really not very high quality any more. I told the vet that I really just want to make sure she's comfortable. At that point he gave me the option of putting her down. (And, of course, waterworks that I am, I started crying.) So anyway, we decided today to give her shot of antibiotic for whatever infection she my have, give her intravenous rehydration, and switch her diet to wet food to see if she'll eat and gain any weight back.
So now, after the vet opened up the discussion of putting her down, I feel like I have permission to think about it and really examine the cat's quality of life and comfort to evaluate when is the right time. The thought of it makes me feel horribly sad, guilty, and, at the same time, a bit relieved.
There's a lot to think about, including how to discuss this with the kids. Steve thinks that we shouldn't let them know that we're ever choosing to end the cat's life, in case they think we might do that to them. Perhaps we might tell them that we're bringing the cat to a place where they care for very old animals until they die. (Kind of a stretch of the truth -- a very long stretch.) It's not that we want to completely avoid the topic of death, just anything that might scare them into thinking they might die in their sleep or that we might choose to get rid of them. Has anyone had experience with explaining such things to their kids?
I have to say, writing this down just now has felt very therapeutic. I hope there's no one reading this that takes offense at how I am caring for my cat. I really just want to do the most humane thing. She has been a dear friend to me for almost 17 years.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
One More Tutu
I know, I know, this is getting old. But this one turned out really cute! I made my niece a Lavender Flower Fairy Tutu for her 3rd birthday. I wish I could have been there to see if she liked it! (She was the one that got the Snow White cake.)
Here's Sierra modeling it for me:
Here's Sierra modeling it for me:
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Missing the Best Part
I have to say, my favorite part of making a cake is seeing the reaction of the recipient. Last night (late!) I finished making a Snow White cake for my niece. Her party is this weekend, but we will be away. :-(
So, here's my first attempt at a princess doll cake. (I'm sure they'll be more!)
(I'm a little disappointed that the pearl luster dust on the skirt didn't show up very well, but otherwise, I think she turned out well.)
So, here's my first attempt at a princess doll cake. (I'm sure they'll be more!)
(I'm a little disappointed that the pearl luster dust on the skirt didn't show up very well, but otherwise, I think she turned out well.)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
This past weekend I made cupcakes to go with the Dorothy Bear cake at the school's fundraising auction. I wasn't sure if anyone would cut the bear cake, or if it would be too dense to eat, so I wanted to also make something yummy to go with it. Here's how I displayed it:
Everyone seemed to love the cupcakes, so I'm posting the recipe here. I'll start with the recipe as I found it (online somewhere) and then I'll tell you my variations.
Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake
1 box dark chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 medium size zucchini (2 cups grated)
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup white raisins (sultanas)
In a large mixing bowl, add cake mix, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Beat until well blended. Stir in the chopped nuts, grated zucchini, chocolate chips, and raisins.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13x9inch cake pan.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.
Cool the cake, then frost with cream cheese frosting of your choice.
My variations:
I always make this as mini cupcakes. Bake them for a much shorter period of time. I don't remember exactly how long -- just keep checking after about 10 or 15 minutes. (You know, until the toothpick comes out....) (Someday maybe I'll try it as a cake!)
The second time I made these with regular raisins rather than white raisins. I like this much better. The dark raisins you can't see, and they just add a hint of something juicy and sweet in the cupcake.
Next time I might add a little bit more zucchini -- it was not noticeable, and I think you could push the health factor.
Leave out the nuts if you need to, although I like them. I might even add a few more nuts and raisins.
Everyone seemed to love the cupcakes, so I'm posting the recipe here. I'll start with the recipe as I found it (online somewhere) and then I'll tell you my variations.
Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake
1 box dark chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 medium size zucchini (2 cups grated)
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup white raisins (sultanas)
In a large mixing bowl, add cake mix, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Beat until well blended. Stir in the chopped nuts, grated zucchini, chocolate chips, and raisins.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13x9inch cake pan.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.
Cool the cake, then frost with cream cheese frosting of your choice.
My variations:
I always make this as mini cupcakes. Bake them for a much shorter period of time. I don't remember exactly how long -- just keep checking after about 10 or 15 minutes. (You know, until the toothpick comes out....) (Someday maybe I'll try it as a cake!)
The second time I made these with regular raisins rather than white raisins. I like this much better. The dark raisins you can't see, and they just add a hint of something juicy and sweet in the cupcake.
Next time I might add a little bit more zucchini -- it was not noticeable, and I think you could push the health factor.
Leave out the nuts if you need to, although I like them. I might even add a few more nuts and raisins.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
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