I have always called our home "Noah's Ark" because we all come in twos...maybe not right away, but when it came down to it there were two adults, two cats, two dogs and soon to be two babies...but now we are less one in our animal family.
As soon as Sean and I moved into our apartment in May of 2000 I was itching for an animal. I preferred a cat at the time knowing that they were "less work" and independent...but yet loving and protective. So off I went to the pet store one day after work to get a kitten and came home with our Leia.
Sean recalls coming home from work to me standing in the kitchen with a huge smile on my face telling him, "You're a Dad!" He couldn't quite understand why I would be so excited to be 22 years old with no real job and living in an apartment in Asbury Park and HAPPY to be announcing that he's a Dad :) But at that moment a tiny gray tabby kitten came bounding out from under the couch to play with his feet. We were both in love.
Of course we named her Leia because of Sean's Star Wars obsession...fine with me...and hoped to someday get Luke to make the pair complete. Leia was a spunky kitten! She would play...or scratch the crap...out of our feet when they stuck out of the blankets at night, jump on any surface that she could, and most importantly and the main reason why declawing was 100% a necessity with her was her unbelievable ability to run across a room at full speed and UP our legs!!! OUCH!!
I brought her to NY once to the house I grew up in and my mom had long curtains hanging from the windows in the living room. Leia loved all the space to roam around and especially loved to run across the room and UP the curtains! I thought my father was going to have a heart attack...it was awesome! :)
In August of 2000 we decided to get Leia a playmate...a brother preferably to have our Luke...so while Sean was working at a house in Asbury he noticed a litter of kittens on the porch. He asked the woman if he could take one and came home with "Luke" in his pocket. We later found out that "Luke" was actually a girl, so he became Sera...it's apparently hard to tell a boy cat from a girl cat :) She was so small that her bed was a cell phone box and Leia was NOT happy about having this kitten in her house. She would creep up to the box and swat at poor Sera. But very shortly after they fell in love with each other and didn't leave one another's sides. Too sweet for words.
Two years later Luke did come into our lives, but in the form of a pug and two years after that Bella the pug came along too. Leia didn't mind them at all and would lay with them, let them play with her, and because she always acted like a dog anyway, they all fit together nicely. (Sera has always been a different story, a WONDERFUL cat, but HATES the dogs...we'll tell her story when she dies in probably another 15 years...she'll be here forever :)
She's given us a ton of scares in her short life though too. Throughout her first year of life she slowly, very slowly, developed problems with her back legs. She couldn't walk on her paws so she would walk on her "forearms" if you will. She also did a lot of sliding around, but she could run when she wanted (had much trouble stopping :) and could climb stairs with ease. She couldn't really jump onto the couch, so she would paw at us until we picked her up. This condition followed her to her last day...one reason why we knew she wouldn't live as long as regular cats.
One night when we lived in Asbury, Sean was working in Cape May and I was out with some girlfriends for the night. When I came home our window screen was slit and Leia was completely gone. I called the police...frantic...and searched for Leia for hours. I finally found her under a car scared to death and hissing. She's gotten out in every house we've lived in and scared us every single time! Even with a fenced in yard in our current house and bricks along the entire bottom and even up some of the sides hiding all holes, she would always find a way out.
She also had a hematoma of her ear once that filled up SO fast and required surgery. Trying to take care of a poor cat with bad back legs after anesthesia was NOT easy and she had a very hard time with it. After the stitches came out her ear was permanently floppy...gave her character :)
But in the end, the ultimate gift Leia gave us was all the love in the world. Some people HATE cats because they think they're snotty and stand-offish, but not our Leia. She was the sweetest, most loving cat I've ever come across. People who know me will confer that I've always said that some part of my mom was reincarnated into Leia...with her patience, kindness and love. She tolerated more than any cat should and persevered through it all...another cat, dogs, Kiera grabbing her...and she loved us. All she ever wanted was to be held and snuggled with...she was amazing and will never be forgotten. I can't believe that a decade with her has past and she's gone. But, she's in heaven now with my mom able to walk and jump and play with bubbles, happy as can be and we'll just keep her memory alive here.
We love you Leia Legs...March 29, 2000-March 16, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Almost TWO...
Kiera Rita is 23 Months Old today. We've had a rough go at it the past week though, so I'm very happy that it's finally sunny and hopefully going to warm up. Then Kiera will be in much better spirits!
Kiera has had a tough week of sickness. Our babysitter, I believe, has forgotten what it's like to be a mom...or a working mom...so with 100.4 fever, Kiera was promptly sent home. We had her out of Jen's care for 3 days last week...$$$ flushed down the drain...She has a thing with fevers over 100...which for a running about almost 2 year old with a cold is pretty common our Doctor told us...sigh. ANYWAY...her fever fluctuated throughout the week going as high as 102.5 some nights and 97.5 some mornings! It was nuts. We took her to the doctor on Thursday and everything was clear; "Viral" he said. So we waited out the weekend, kept her home again on Friday and took her back on Monday...with the beginnings of an ear infection...so we're on antibiotics...finally! You know, I'm not one to want to over medicate, but wouldn't it be nice to just wipe it out from the get-go sometimes?! She's feeling a little better today, but still has the cough from HELL...poor peanut.
Meanwhile, Sean's mom-mom passed away, he still feels sick, I feel awful, we didn't sleep for several nights with a crying baby, and our basement is completely destroyed by the rain that we got over the weekend. The carpet is now laying on our back lawn ready to be thrown away :( AND we have to put our first animal, Leia to sleep VERY soon because she's miserable and it's breaking our hearts.
But...on Saturday my very favorite people managed to surprise me with a "Sprinkle" for Miss Caitlin! I felt like death and didn't want to get off the couch when Aunt Rae Rae came to "Babysit" (for the third time that week) so Sean and I could "go out on a date to the movies". I had NO idea what was going on and cried and cried from exhaustion and feeling guilty about having Rae Ann have to sit with our sick babe. But, I succumbed and went to see a movie with Sean. When we got back there was nothing to suspect because there was not a car to be found! Inside were my nearest and dearest with a ton of food, diapers and wipes :) Perfect! We had such a nice evening chatting and laughing.
These are certainly the times when I miss my mom the most. She would have been there enjoying every moment with us and loving that fact that I have such thoughtful friends. It hurts so much that only one of my friends who attended even knew her...and knows how much she would have loved to have been there with us to celebrate her second granddaughter! I could just picture her sitting at the dining room table with her bright smile and tongue against her teeth shining like the Grandma star she could have been. Bitter Sweet are these days that come with babies when your mom is gone...Thank goodness Kiera and Cate have such amazing angels on their side up there!
This was supposed to be about our little Miss 23 Month old...nothing too much has changed...she's still Little Miss Personality, full of life and spunk (even when she's sick). She is one of the smartest people I've ever met...that says a lot haha...and seems to grow in her knowledge every single day.
Current Obsessions:
Kiera has had a tough week of sickness. Our babysitter, I believe, has forgotten what it's like to be a mom...or a working mom...so with 100.4 fever, Kiera was promptly sent home. We had her out of Jen's care for 3 days last week...$$$ flushed down the drain...She has a thing with fevers over 100...which for a running about almost 2 year old with a cold is pretty common our Doctor told us...sigh. ANYWAY...her fever fluctuated throughout the week going as high as 102.5 some nights and 97.5 some mornings! It was nuts. We took her to the doctor on Thursday and everything was clear; "Viral" he said. So we waited out the weekend, kept her home again on Friday and took her back on Monday...with the beginnings of an ear infection...so we're on antibiotics...finally! You know, I'm not one to want to over medicate, but wouldn't it be nice to just wipe it out from the get-go sometimes?! She's feeling a little better today, but still has the cough from HELL...poor peanut.
Meanwhile, Sean's mom-mom passed away, he still feels sick, I feel awful, we didn't sleep for several nights with a crying baby, and our basement is completely destroyed by the rain that we got over the weekend. The carpet is now laying on our back lawn ready to be thrown away :( AND we have to put our first animal, Leia to sleep VERY soon because she's miserable and it's breaking our hearts.
But...on Saturday my very favorite people managed to surprise me with a "Sprinkle" for Miss Caitlin! I felt like death and didn't want to get off the couch when Aunt Rae Rae came to "Babysit" (for the third time that week) so Sean and I could "go out on a date to the movies". I had NO idea what was going on and cried and cried from exhaustion and feeling guilty about having Rae Ann have to sit with our sick babe. But, I succumbed and went to see a movie with Sean. When we got back there was nothing to suspect because there was not a car to be found! Inside were my nearest and dearest with a ton of food, diapers and wipes :) Perfect! We had such a nice evening chatting and laughing.
These are certainly the times when I miss my mom the most. She would have been there enjoying every moment with us and loving that fact that I have such thoughtful friends. It hurts so much that only one of my friends who attended even knew her...and knows how much she would have loved to have been there with us to celebrate her second granddaughter! I could just picture her sitting at the dining room table with her bright smile and tongue against her teeth shining like the Grandma star she could have been. Bitter Sweet are these days that come with babies when your mom is gone...Thank goodness Kiera and Cate have such amazing angels on their side up there!
This was supposed to be about our little Miss 23 Month old...nothing too much has changed...she's still Little Miss Personality, full of life and spunk (even when she's sick). She is one of the smartest people I've ever met...that says a lot haha...and seems to grow in her knowledge every single day.
Current Obsessions:
- Elmopalooza has come back into play and keeps her entertained for hours on end.
- Any book about animals is still a fan favorite.
- Sitting in the forts that Daddy has built for her...and forcing us inside too!
- With that being said, pulling us into the playroom closet...I can't really fit anymore.
- She likes to ask for something and when we repeat it back to her she says, "alright" like it was our idea that she's now agreeing to.
- Fave snacks: goldfish, pretzels with peanut butter, chips and salsa, grapes, bananas, cheese, and blueberry muffins.
We cannot wait for the weather to break to get outside! I for one need to get my butt in gear and walk off some of this winter/baby weight that is haunting me like the plague! And we all need some nice fresh air to clear us out...and especially get all the germs out of our house...yuck.
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