R.I.P. Fuzznutz

Last September, our zoo was driving out to Windber in the evening to look at used cars. As we were driving down Rt. 56, I saw this tiny white kitten huddled in the rumble strips along the edge of the road. Much to my Asst. Zookeeper's belief, I basically jumped from a moving vehicle along the highway to run back and try to catch him. It took me two trys, but I got him.

He was scrawny and covered in fleas. His ribs and his backbone were visible every time he breathed. The Asst. Zookeeper's only comment was to say, "I guess the little fuzz nut is staying, isn't he."

And the name stuck and we gained Fuzznutz. I let the ladies at the vet decide how to spell his name.

He definitely wasn't a cat that I would have chosen. He was much too "catish." He didn't like attention, wanted to be left alone. But he was still part of the household.

This evening, I went down to the laundry room and I found him dead in the litter box. He's had multiple trips to the vet and rounds of antibiotics, but he was never healthy. He never really grew much bigger than he was when we found him. But I expected him to last longer than a year.

I'm not sure what to tell the Heathens in the morning. While he wasn't their favorite pet, he was still part of the Zoo. I'll wait and talk to them after they get home from school tomorrow. Not a conversation I'm looking forward to having with them.

R.I.P. Fuzznutz. You'll be missed.

123 Imagine!

Today, Heathen #3 and I went to see 123 Imagine! We had a great time. We also bought overpriced cotton candy, an over priced yucky snow cone because it came in a Sesame Street plastic cup, and a REALLY overpriced spinner toy. And it was worth it!

The show's theme was that you could imagine your self to be any place you wanted to go even if you couldn't really go there yourself. In our imaginations, we visited Mexico for a birthday party with Rosita, sailed on the S.S. Rubber Duckie with Ernie, went to the bottom of the ocean with Bert, went to Africa with Elmo, Hawaii with Samantha and Big Bird, and some other places as well.

The costumes were perfect and the dancing was amazing, considering they were in costume.

It was so much fun to watch Heathen #3's face and listen to him answering the questions along with the rest of the children. He was riveted to his seat the entire time. It was a 10:30 am show, so it was all little kids with parents or grandparents. I am so glad we went!

Calapiders like mashed topadoes!

Ten minutes ago, the back door slammed and I heard a Heathen open the refrigerator door. I called out to see which Heathen it was and #3 answered.

"Momma, where's the mashed topatoes?"
(Translation: mashed potatoes)

Assuming he was hungry, I told him to get an apple for a snack.

He responded, "Calapiders don't eat apples. They like mashed topatoes."
(Translation: Caterpillars like mashed potatoes)

He proceeded to come out of the kitchen holding a plastic sandwich bag. I was presented with a caterpillar in a baggie. And he was convinced that it needed mashed potatoes.

After much discussion, I convinced him that the "cadapider" would much rather have green leaves. Now I just have to figure out how to convince him to take it out of the plastic bag - which he sealed shut very carefully once he had placed the leaves in it.

Maybe a sand bucket.... It could sit on the front porch next to the sand bucket full of dirt and worms.... I may need a bigger front porch.

Better Than Flowers

This morning was the usual hectic morning at our zoo. With the Asst. Zookeeper working nights, the morning routine is my job. Wouldn't be so bad except that two of the three Heathens are NOT happy-morning people.

Heathen #3 decided this morning that he was not going to preschool. Starting at 8:40, he sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. He wanted me to call and cancel him going. He wanted to stay home with Daddy. He wanted me to drop him off at Grandma's. Anything but school.

Once we arrived at school, he basically glued himself to my leg and became hysterical. This is not my normal Heathen! Usually, he waves goodbye as he heads for his friends and I have to beg for a kiss.

After promising to pick him up early, I pried his little paws off my leg and darted for the door. I've no clue why he was acting like that, but when I called to check on him 20 minutes later, he was fine!

Needless to say, I arrived at work both frazzled and feeling like a "crummy mummy." Not the way to start off your morning! Ten minutes later, my cell phone rang - it was the Asst. Zookeeper to let me know he was on his way home from work. When he asked about my morning, I groaned and shared the events of the day so far. He chuckled and said he was SO glad he didn't have morning duty with the Heathens. We hung up and I started into my work day.

About half an hour later, my cell phone rang again. The Asst. Zookeeper was on the other end, and simply instructed me to go to the front door at work. (We keep the doors locked.) When I opened the door, I was greeted by a smiling Asst. Zookeeper holding a cup of my favorite Starbucks coffee.

God, love him. He was exhausted from working all night (9:30 pm - 10 am) and he stopped on his way home to get me coffee and bring it to me at work. I'm so glad he's the assistant zookeeper here. I definitely made the right choice.

Lost a Heathen - Sorta

Yesterday, I "lost" my oldest Heathen for about an hour. And it was all my own fault!

About two weeks ago, the Asst. Zookeeper and I decided that Heathen #1 was old enough to ride the transit bus from the middle school down to the YMCA for swim team practice. We found the schedule and the route and the time schedule and we got him a youth pass.

Heathen #1 was very excited about this. I was not. Although I knew he was capable of doing this, as the Momma I could just imagine all sorts of things going wrong.

I spent yesterday morning quizzing him on exactly what he was supposed to do after school let out. I quizzed him constantly. To the point that he was really getting annoyed with me.

He gets out of school around 3:10. At 3:15, I pulled into the little corner store next to the bus stop and hid in my van with Heathen #3 (who thought this was a HUGE game of spying on his older brother). The bus was supposed to come at 3:40. I watched the buses pull away from the school. No Heathen. I watched kids walk back and forth across the street for snacks. No Heathen.

I watched the bus arrive and depart at 3:40. No Heathen.

Figuring that he got side tracked in the school, I drove over looking for him. No Heathen. Stopped in the school office and checked with the secretary (assuming that he would need to get to a phone to call me and let me know that he missed the bus). No Heathen. I called home. No Heathen. The secretary called the bus company, who then radioed the bus driver. No Heathen.

I started to drive through the various streets between our zoo and the middle school thinking that maybe he started walking home. No Heathen. My cell phone rings and it is the asst. superintendent (the secretary called him). He had various personal checking the halls in the middle school.

He asked me if I had called the Heathen's cell phone to see where he was. At which point, I had to tell him that I wouldn't let my child have a cell phone because I thought he was too young. Talk about feeling stupid.

I finally decided to call the YMCA and see if he was there. I thought he might have caught a ride down with one of the other team members parents. Turns out, he had arrived at the YMCA about the time that I pulled into the corner store to hide!

When I picked him up after practice, I asked how he had gotten to the YMCA. He gave me the confused puppy look (where they wrinkle their brow and tilt their head to one side) and said, "On the bus."

He had gotten out of the middle school so fast (in fear of missing his bus) that he had caught the bus on the loop BEFORE I pulled in. I had to just have missed him.

If I had trusted him to do as I had told him and believed that he was capable of it, I would have avoided the entire situation. I haven't told him that I was hiding and watching for him to get on the bus.

Coffee With An Old Friend

Friday morning of last week, I saw an old friend for the first time in more than 8 years. It's hard to imagine that I use to see her every day and it has been that long since we spent time together.

Kristin was in town from Colorado for a few days. I haven't seen her since she stood with me at my wedding. Not long afterward, she moved to Denver. We've been in touch a few times over the years, maybe one or twice. The Asst. Zookeeper spoke to her father the other day and heard she was coming into town.

God bless Facebook! I messaged her and we found time for coffee together. Our cup of coffee lasted for two hours or more and could have lasted longer. It's strange. I was worried before I met up with her that our conversation would be stilted and difficult because of the years apart. It couldn't have been more opposite. As we talked, I could imagine us sitting in lunch at the high school having the same conversation. She's still Kristin. She's older and more grown up, but she's still the same person at heart.

It was the best two hours I've had in a while. I hadn't realized I missed her and our conversations that much until after I was leaving the coffee shop. She invited the Heathens and I to Colorado next summer. I'll get us there somehow. I can't wait to see her again.

Momma's Taxi Service

Something dawned on me this evening on the way home to the zoo. I've become one of those mothers that spends her evenings and weekends shuttling her Heathens around to multiple activities. How did I reach this point? How did I allow this to happen after I swore when they were little that I wasn't going to do this?

Let's take a look through the schedule for Monday thru Friday. All these events are taking place after school. And between the end of school and going to bed, I require three additional things from my Heathens. 1. They WILL sit at the dinner table with the rest of the family for the evening meal. 2. They WILL take a bath. 3. They WILL do their homework. Keep in mind that bedtime is 8 pm for everyone.

Mondays
4-6 Tristan has swim team or
5:30-7:30 Tristan has football
4:30-6 Gavin has ballet
6:30-8 Tristan has scouts
6:30-7:15 Landon has swimming
7:15-8 Gavin has swimming

Tuesdays
4-6 Tristan has swim team
6:30-7 Tristan has drum lessons

Wednesdays
4-6 Tristan has swim team or
5:30-7:30 Tristan has football
3:30-5:30 Gavin has youth club
4-5 the Asst. Zookeeper and I have dance lessons

Thursdays
4-6 Tristan has swim team
7-8 Gavin has cub scouts

Fridays
4-6 Tristan has swim team or
5:30-7:30 Tristan has football

Now, the weekends...

Saturdays
2-3:30 Gavin has ballet
Tristan has swim meets these days

Sundays
Sunday School & church for all 3 Heathens
Lunch with the Asst. Zookeeper's family
Tristan has football games

I don't think that I've over scheduled the Heathens, despite what it looks like on paper. It is a lot of running here and there, no question about it. But the Heathens have all asked to participate in these things specifically. They only thing we required them to do is take swimming lessons until they are competent swimmers. Heathen #1 chose to add swim team after he finished with lessons.

Maybe I am crazy. But I keep looking at my neighbor's kids who just graduated the last two years. Her children do nothing but play video games and talk on the phone. They were involved with nothing. Their house is/was much calmer than my zoo - I never saw them dash out the door on the way to something. But, in six years of living next to them, I don't ever recall them being excited to do something when you talked to them. They were just "blah."

Oh, well. So I'm crazy for having the Heathens involved in things. I was at their age and so was the Asst. Zookeeper. And we both loved it. The Heathens are happy - in the end, that is all that matters.