Cone head

What do you get when you tear your stitches out after your spay surgery? A cone! And lots of good meds, and a sudden inability to clean yourself, scratch your ears, and fit into covered litter boxes without beating the sides!


Gracie was spayed almost 2 weeks ago, and decided last week that she didn't like those darn stitches, so she managed to get all but 2 out, leaving a gaping hole in her belly. It was a sight to see, especially on a Friday evening after the vet had gone home. Gracie spent our icy evening at the ER vet, getting put back under, cleaned up, restitched, and "coned." I'm not even going to tell you how much this put us back, but this picture, along with watching her walk around here in her adorable cone is worth it. One more week and we will be cone free!

Heaven has arrived

And it came in the form of a King size, euro pillow top bed! YUM! Terry and I are practically salivating waiting for bedtime tonite. We needed a new bed for some time, but didn't want to shell out the bucks, but decided last weekend that it had to be done. Actually, I decided after doing some shopping around and finding a kick ass deal! I was looking for a queen size bed, but Terry talked me into the King. Man, I feel like I'll need binoculars to see him on the other side!

The bed is also very tall! VERY TALL! When I stand next to it, I have to give a little hop up just to get on it. Our older cats are having a hard time getting on it, but we'll figure something out. For now, we are just in heaven with our King pillows, our brand new sheets and our grand new bed! Off to dream land I go........

Under Pressure

Who knew First grade was so tough? Zac came home a few weeks ago with his report card and a certificate for making the Honor Roll! I didn't even know what an Honor Roll was until I was in Jr High. Did you? Are these kids growing up so fast that the pressure starts in First grade? Seriously? He made 2 A's and a B (in language arts, AKA writing/spelling) and therefore made it on the Honor Roll. Wow. I remember the days of "S" for satisfactory, or "E" for excelling or something like that. But real, honest to goodness grades?

I went in for my parent-teacher conference last week and was given a login for the school's grading system. I can check up on Zac anytime I want and see exactly what he's doing in school. So, I thought I'd give it a whirl today, and sure enough there's every grade he's received on there, from the first day of school to now! It even averages them for you and puts that in RED at the top of the page, so you make no mistake where he's at at any given time of the quarter. And, and, and, the grading system is no longer 90-100A, 80-89B etc, it's 93-100A, 85-92B, so that means that a 75 and below is a D! D! That was a middle of the road C in my day, which wasn't that long ago really. Now in our honors classes in High School we used that grading scale, but for everything else the easier one was standard. Why are we pushing our little ones? I realize that they have to learn and all, but why are we forcing things on them that they shouldn't have to worry about? Seriously, if you read with your child, help them with homework and spelling words, and instill in them to do their very best at the ripe ol' age of 7, shouldn't that be enough? Should the school have to stalk them with their rigid grading systems in First grade?

Let me be clear, I'm in no way trying to "coddle" Zacary, which is a term used widely in today's society for the teens and tweens. Trust me, in my job with the Middle School, I see it DAILY, more than I care to. No, I'm not trying to make things easier for him, but trying to keep him young while he still is. Heck, by the time he's in Middle School, where will we be at this rate? Scary to think.......

So, proud Mama I am, we did celebrate his Honor Roll status that weekend, but we didn't start getting his college applications ready just yet! HA!

Tales from the bed

We come to you from our beds, here in Casey land. We are draped over every conceivable "cover" that the house holds while our fevers soar on, and then we get under said covers when those fevers take a small hike. The flu has hit, and it hit Goshen right on target, conquering 3 out of 4 of us so far. The bigger you are, the harder you fall. Mom started the process last Thursday and is still not "right". Waking up and feeding the cats, followed by a few numb hours of TV requires a 2 hour nap. Waking from that nap requires yet another nap on the couch. Don't get me wrong, that is far better than the near death experience I had for the first 2 days of the flu.....now I know why people commit suicide when they feel so bad.

The youngest to get it, was down for 2 days and today, I didn't even have the energy to get her up to the busstop, so she has stayed in her pajamas for a 3rd day, eating Doritos and grape juice, and talking non stop about partying. Hm! To be 5 again!

The middle, Zac, is down today. Laying in Mom and Dad's bed seems to be the only good thing about his day. He is going on his 6th hour of nap as I type. If he isn't napping, he is moaning and crying, literally. His fever is a roller coaster of ups and downs, and the cough, which Mom and Lillie will have til the end of time it seems, has creeped into his poor, wilted body. We await the only well person of the house, everyday, like he's the ice cream man. Daddy comes to the rescue, bringing everyone food, doing the dishes, helping with laundry, and giving us tales from "outside the house." Riveting, yes!