A Tail of Three Kitties

 Life certainly isn't boring!  Hubby and I successfully made our way north and were able to look at the place we're going to call home for the next while, our house is officially sold, new house is officially purchased.  The high school put on an amazing musical, and Mother's Day was nice and relaxing.  

Yesterday afternoon, though, we had a curve ball thrown at us.  I was sitting in the office doing my work, when I heard the absolutely loudest  meowing I've ever hear coming from the front porch.  I take a look and I discover an itty bitty black cat that seems desperate to come into the house.  Smarty pops out and takes a look, tries to calm her down.  When he picked her up he thought "uh oh" and called for me.  Turns out she was pregnant.  And not just pregnant but VERY pregnant.  I set out box with towels on the porch thinking "nope, uh uh.  Maybe she'll find her way somewhere else."

Hubby got home.  Talked with the little cat, but when he picked her up he told me to get a bigger box, more towels, we were bringing this momma-to-be inside. 

She was not happy to be confined to the office but I sat with her and she ended up calming down. There were visible contractions and every child wanted to be in with her, to help soothe her but the more is NOT the merrier in this case.  Hubby and I left for a walk (we knew exactly how long the early labour stage can last...) and the girls kept the momma company.

When we returned from our walk we asked Girlie how things were going.  More contractions, more meowing.  When I went into the office I settled right in, massaging the tummy and saying supportive and soothing things.  It made me smile as I reflected on my own labour stories!  Every one is different and each one unique even though the same thing was happening each time.

With encouragement Girlie and I helped Momma deliver 2 healthy little ones.  Girlie was grinning ear to ear.  She has wanted to be a vet since the day she discovered she couldn't grow up to be a cat and this experience, this miracle of life, completely solidified that decision for her.  After me reiterating just how young I thought Momma was Girlie said "Don't support teen pregnancy, support pregnant teens?" such a funny girl.

As the evening went on it appeared that Momma was so young, she didn't really know what to do with her new status of motherhood.  We carefully placed all 3 into the cat carrier we brought out and made sure she got food and water.  Birthing is a lot of work!  Mommas need energy.  But because we were sure if Momma would step up and know what to do, we mentally and emotionally prepared for the thing that sometimes happens in nature - mortality at its most sad.

There were tears, there was processing.  But when Hubby and I got up this morning and looked in on them, what we saw made our hearts smile.

A caring Momma with clean little ones.  Throughout the morning the Littles went in to sit with them and watch, hearts full and happy that everyone survived the first night.  Today we are working on finding where we can place them for fostering and/or adoption.  Right now they are happy enough to be in our office with water, food, and a litter box.  They aren't always happy the door is closed, but this is the best way with the other things in and around the house.

I am refusing all attempts of the Littles to name them, though.  I am absolutely putting my foot down on that one.

Season of Change

 

So, things have been busy at the Macintyre home. For those who might have missed the social media post, we are headed up to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories this summer. Turns out if you raise your hand and say “pick me!” for an adventure like this, the military says “Sure!”

The whole family went through a screening process; we all spoke to a social worker, the doctor signed off on our general health, and orthodontist treatments ought to be completed in time (yay!) and now the house is on the market. In a couple of weeks Hubby and I will be headed north to look at where we'll be living. It's all getting so real!

The three younger children did great during the archery season and we were set to go to Nationals this weekend, but... due to teacher strikes in Saskatchewan (where the tournament was being hosted) the tournament is cancelled. Or maybe postponed. I guess we'll find out.

I facilitated a women's spiritual renewal retreat at the camp we support and attend :) Camp Kuriakos has been an amazing place for us and we've all enjoyed our time there. During the retreat we delved into what renewal and self care looks like; how holistic homeostasis is work and needs constant checking in and revision, and how all aspects of our whole lives overlap with each other. There were friendships made and some pretty good discussions had.

It was fascinating to me to sit back and observe these women, how we all took part in the same activities but approached them in very different ways. There were broad backgrounds and stages of life and everyone brought value to the group with their perspectives and opinions. I was so pleased with how respectful everyone seemed to be of each other and possibly differing points of view, A truly safe space without having to broadcast it.

I'm going to have cards printed. Ones with my name, email address, social media links, and link for the blog. This will make creating and maintaining connections made through events like the retreat easier, I think. Especially with the relocation ahead of us!

With the move I will absolutely be posting here more, keep everyone in the loop with what is going on with us and share thoughts and experiences with the universe/void. At least that's going to be the goal. So fingers are crossed!

Goodbye Tooth Fairy

 It has been an unfortunate amount of time since I last published something.  These last couple of weeks have been full of looking back and cherishing bits and pieces of the past and some traditions we have had that are now at an end. Some of the nostalgia could be from having my 40th birthday approaching, but I think it has more to do with the amazing memories we've already made as a family and some sadness that kids grow up just so fast.

Monkey lost her last tooth this week.  No more baby teeth to be set out for the tooth fairy, no more notes to be exchanged.  See, in this house the tooth fairy takes requests and writes back to the children.

When Smarty was in preschool, way before he lost his first tooth, we received a book by Karma Wilson called "Bear's Loose Tooth."

The Littles in this home loved the story so much, I think every single page is taped back into place from so much reading.  When Smarty lost his first tooth he did what Bear did in the story - put it on a plate and expected blueberries.  The tooth fairy delivered.  And the tooth after that, and the tooth after that.  Then one child, I can't recall which child it was, wondered what would happen if they asked the tooth fairy for something besides blueberries.  So they wrote out a letter and found out that the tooth fairy did what they could to fulfill the request plus also write back and answer questions posed in the letters.  

 It has been learned that the tooth fairy looks different to different people; they appear pink to some, blue to others, to still others green.  The tooth fairy has a pet pacu (look it up if you dare...) and it has been discovered that even the magic of fairies can't make fruit grow out of season sometimes. We've had dragonfruit, kiwi, strawberries, pineapple, cherries, just so many different kinds of fruit. 

 When Monkey discovered her last loose tooth a few months ago she held on to it; she didn't want to be done with being little, she didn't want some of the magic to end.  A trip to the dentist for a routine cleaning made her think differently though.  The tooth needed to come out.  So she set to work and out it came a few days ago.  

What followed was some crying at youth lost, Mom and Dad reminding her that she's still pretty young and there's no rush to grow up, and figuring out what to ask the tooth fairy to bring this last time.  I have to admit, watching her write this last letter made my tear up a bit.  Just so many feels.

It's crazy to think of the amount of fruit, the letters, and excitement that has happened in this home because a story touched a little boy and it grew from there into this significant part of these children's lives.  I am so touched by these curious and caring creatures we're lucky enough to call ours.  

Fun Chaos!

 Well, another All Hallows Eve is in the bag.  We had a few false starts for costumes, a couple were vetoed because despite all the grand faith in their Momma's abilities I definitely am not as good at the crafting things as they think.  

Smarty's group for drama worked out a theme for group costume, so they were Loony Tunes.  He decided Daffy Duck was who it was going to be, so we started thinking of ways to make that work.  Foam for a hat/head, suit for the body.  Thrift stores were our amazing source for supplies and we were lucky to find a suit that was perfect!  I helped only very minimally and the rest was all him, and it turned out wonderfully!

Daffy and our own little "Sylvester"

Sergeant was determined to be Scarlet Spiderman, and that would have been awesome, but I got around to ordering the morph suit too late so we needed a backup.  Another trip to the thrift store turned our boy into Sherlock Holmes, inspiration of Robert Downey Junior's interpretation of the role.

So dapper!

Sanding a walking stick and finishing painting a hat/head were designated outdoor activities.

Now, the girls were far more difficult and time consuming.  They wanted to be "cat-people," there is an actual name for it but I can never remember what it is... so we set out to look for faux fur to turn into tails and ears.  Guess what? No faux fur.  Like, anywhere.  So we started a search for how we could troubleshoot that, and it turns out it can be made with yarn!  So we turned our time and efforts to making millions of tufts of "fur.

After we made so many of these I was going crazy with bits of yarn everywhere, we brushed them out to fluff them up and started gluing them to the fabric that would be the tails.

So.  Much. Fuzz.  But looks so pretty! I was crazy pleased with how these ended up looking, especially after so much time was put into making the individual pieces.

Found some makeup for Girlie, and suitable weather layers for everyone, and we were good to go! Just needed to turn our pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns and we would be good to go.

Not a lot of seeds in this year's gourds, but they were roasted up and devoured within an hour of coming out of the oven.  Girlie carved the mammoth, Monkey the cat silhouette, and I'm not sure what to call what Smarty and Sergeant did... but that's them!

 When all was said and done we had a lovely front porch, ran out of candy to hand out, and everyone had some fun.

There were times I felt overwhelmed with what needed to be done for this past weekend but breathing through it and remembering that there was an end date helped.  I kept calm and helped a few children through their own stress reactions.  There is all the time in the world as long as we don't leave things to the last minute.  Which is hilarious for someone like me to say, because I often feel why do today what can be put off until tomorrow?  But I'm learning.  :)

Costumes and Snow

My memories on social media this week have reminding me that we often have snow by now and that time really does move quickly.  Pictures of our not-so-little-anymore children, stories of shenanigans and parenting woes.  Fall has often meant transitions for us too.  Often Hubby has been away for most, if not all, of the month of October, especially in the last near-decade.  

Social media has also been showing me bits and pieces of past Halloween costumes we've made or bought.  These last couple weekends have been used for supply shopping and material preparing for this year's lineup.  We have already had a few tears over "THIS IS GOING TO TAKE FOREVER!!" but we're getting there with the countdown only a week away.  I really like that I'm making the kids work on their own, with help, instead of the other way around this time.  With work and the solo parenting I just wouldn't have the time before my energy wears out at the end of the day.  Plus this is teaching them to curb expectations to whatever reality is.  So out goes the most involved, super complicated costume ideas and in come ones we can manage.  It'll still take a long time, especially for the girls' ideas, but it's going to look awesome and they'll feel the pride that comes with the work too.

Yesterday evening Monkey had the best thing ever happen.  She has been hoping like crazy for the white stuff to fall from the sky.  Like, since September.  We had rain all day yesterday, mixed with some frozen stuff at times, but before supper it turned white!  She ran outside onto the deck and made a snow ball and just stood with her hand out for a bit.  It isn't going to stay, but it was a nice start to the winter season.  

All in all we've had a pretty alright week.  Food was made, clothes got cleaned, cuddles were had, physical activity happened.  Another week down with laughter and tears, anxiety and tools to deal with it.  Not too many balls got dropped, so I call that a win.  We've video chatted with Hubby, watched a few fun movies, had some junk food along with healthy, and got a few things done for the costumes, that I'm sure will be AMAZING! This week they'll be finished off and take a few pictures so we can share them :)

Cats and Space

 Well, another couple weeks has passed and with them the obvious passage from summer to fall.  There is frost on the ground most mornings now, a definite chill to the air.  Hubby was able to sneak home for a week from working away over Thanksgiving and it was a wonderful week with him here and our hearts full.  We had glorious weather, lots of family time, some friend time, and no one wanted the week to end.  But it did, as all things do, and we are back to plugging away at life until he can come home again.  

A couple weeks ago the Littles and I tackled the basement, finally tucking away the last handful of opened-but-not-unpacked boxes from the move at the end of June.  There really wasn't much work to do, just needed focus to get it done, so we did.  When it was nearly finished the Boys asked if they could rearrange the furniture down there as they had an idea or two to optimize the space.  I totally understood their urge - I was (and sometimes still do) rearrange furniture just because.  I'm sure it drove my parents crazy when I was constantly doing it to my bedroom when I was younger, and I love that Hubby humours me in it as an adult :)

I left them to it, with instructions to ask for help if they needed any, and I went upstairs.  No one was allowed in the basement until they were finished and they did a "big reveal."  They did a terrific job!  Lots of sitting space for movie nights, things organized, and lots of space for play/exercise.  

Last weekend while Hubby was home we introduced the crew to Sherlock Holmes, the one with Jude Law as Watson and Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock.  OMG, there is a new obsession in the house!  Hubby and I have always liked that interpretation of the classic and I am thrilled the Littles do too. 

The kittens (I can't remember if I mentioned we got 2 kittens this summer...) have been growing and going crazy.  The Gremlin (using nicknames here too) is a tuxedo cat, and The Void is black and SO FLUFFY!  They like to play in the sink while water is running, licking tooth brushes, and knocking over their water dish, especially when it is first filled thereby making watery paw-prints all over the house.  There are days I don't see them at all from the time I return from dropping Monkey off at school until the after school chaos starts.  There are days they harass me, sitting on my keyboard, climbing on my shoulders, demand love and attention.  Yesterday was one of the latter ones.  I opened the fridge, the Void jumped into it.  I made a cup of tea, The Void had to sniff and supervise.  I brushed my teeth, The Gremlin was making sure I rinsed the sink.  I put on my makeup and The Void "helped."  I am grateful for these fur balls, though.  They have added to the home and are terrific at helping feels that happen in times of upheaval.

House Keeping

So... it's been a really, REALLY long time since I've written!  It has been busy, ups and downs.  I won't go over every minute detail; it would ramble.

We have bought a house!  Now all the kids have their own rooms and as part of making that space theirs we've undertaken giving everyone a wall to paint their own colour :) A few weeks ago Smarty picked out a colour and he and I did his wall.  The following weekend was Sergeant's turn, and this weekend we did the girls.

It was interesting, the whole project from picking colours to getting it on the walls.  The boys were the fastest to choose- they looked at the choices and made a quick choice.  The girls, however, took a lot longer.  For the longest time Monkey had it narrowed down to her favourite 13 shades.  Girlie was quicker in her decison, though.  I think everyone did well.  And everyone held roller and brush to get it done.

Monkey decided on Sophisticated Lilac.

Smarty chose Platinum

Sergeant chose a colour with the name "100 mph"

Caicos Turquoise for Girlie

Everyone is super pleased with their spaces, and I am so proud of how they did! They learned about taping the wall, using the brush to do the edges, how to not put too much paint on the rollers.  They learned about waiting for the paint to dry before taking the tape off, and how to make sure the coat is even.  

I found it a lot of fun, and I discovered places on my arms and face where the paint ended up that I didn't expect!