Smoochie The Wonder Cat

Up until just before Christmas, we were living in a virtually pet-free zone (fish don't count). I had a dog when I was married, but since that split, I have had no pets. Blake found a friendly little kitty on the back deck on a minus 1 million degree night (I swear it was, honest!). He came into the kitchen to warm his frost-bitten feet and ears. We couldn't just open the door and let him go again. It was just too cold and we had no idea how far he had traveled. I must admit that we didn't look too hard for the owner because once the boys saw him, they wanted to keep him. Sidney happened to be the only child home when we found him, so he picked the name. He said, "Can we name him Smoochie?", and since there were no other suggestions, Smoochie, or Smooch just stuck. Blake wanted to keep him immediately and nursed him back to health with polysporin and gauze

So, you know how it is with names. Sometimes we can shorten or alter just about anything. Blake sometimes calls the kitty Mooch, or Moo-Moo. Now his boy Tyler has caught onto that and won't let it go. He tends to do whatever his daddy does/says. Aww...how very endearing...until it starts filtering through to my 4 year old, who will just do/say everything to DEATH! FOR THE RECORD...THE CAT'S NAME IS NOT MOO-MOO! If I wanted a pet named Moo-Moo, I would have a cow. I know this is a little thing, but it drives me ape-shit...for real! So, with all of that said, I have made a decision. I am going to come up with ridiculous names for everyone in the house, and start calling them those names instead. Yeah, yeah, I am being a bitch...so? Got something to say about it?

The black part of his ear actually fell off on Christmas day. All healed now.

So Long Mr. Snail

There is a 32 gallon fish tank sitting in the corner of my diningroom. I hadn't quite realized how much I would enjoy watching fish, but it really is nice. My favorite is the snail. I like to look for him because he is sometimes crafty and hides. We tried to find the hiding spot for a while and finally discovered he was just able to drag himself...shell and all into the little castle. He also bobs from the bottom to the top of the tank, or you can catch him all stretched out going for a little walk on the rocks.

Sunday morning when we got up, all that was left of Mr. Snail was his hollow shell. To make matters worse, his pad was stuck to the filter. We are not sure if he got sick and died, then got eaten, or if he just got eaten. I was actually a little dismayed, I must admit! Personally, I think it was the big ugly Pleco. I think he just ate him up...the big meanie!

Rest in Peace, Mr. Snail

Little Friends

We have ants...again! I spent several years dealing with them in my old house, and here I am again. Crap. Has to do with the soil around the properties.

I am home with Sidney for the day because he has pink eye...ewwww. Anyhow, we were in the kitchen getting toast when we found some ants on the counter. Sidney likes to squish them between his fingers, or step on them when he has the chance, but this time a little ant crawled onto his hand. He squished it a little first, but it was still truckin along. He let it crawl for a few seconds...giggling at the way it tickled his arm. Then he says "oh, maybe he'll stay with me for a while." ANYTHING for a friend, I suppose. Enjoying the morning with him today. It feels good to spend one on one time with each of them.