A Trip To Walnut Grove (aka Chani's 8th Birthday Party)

Every February, Bri and I always wonder what party theme my friend Kathy will come up with for her daughter Chani's birthday party. Her parties are always phenomenal - and this year's party didn't disappoint.

We've already experimented in a lab and attended school at Hogwarts. What could be next? Well, this year's theme was a "Little House on the Prairie" - how neat is that?

Bri had received a pioneer bonnet years ago as a gift and we never really found a reason to wear it - until Chani's party that is!

Bri was so excited to dress up and get going that day of the party...

We were greeted by beautiful Laura Ingalls Chani when we got there...

Kathy had once again morphed her house into another place. This time it was Walnut Grove...

She had "stations" all set up...

She sewed all the bonnets and aprons herself...

Kathy had the girls read a book when they got there and waited for all the guests to arrive...

Then it was time for strawberry jam and butter making...

While the girls walked around and shook their butter jars to make butter (they walked all around the house to songs about shaking, like "Shake It Off" - so cute)...

 

...I helped finish heating and jarring the jam (per Kathy's instructions) :D ...

Then it was sewing time...

Kathy gave the girls pennies to spend later at the "mercantile".

Then it was time to sample the jam and butter...

Katie, Bri and Chani ~ friends since they were babies...

Time to sing to the birthday girl!!!

Shopping at the mercantile...

Time for outside activities. Collecting vegetables with aprons...

Seed spitting contest...

Parachute playing...

Scrubbing and hanging washcloths...

And finally a little swinging...

It was a picture perfect day - very lucky for February!

Happy Birthday sweet Chani! Can't wait to see what you and your mom come up with next year. ;)

Life With Mei Mei

She's a handful. That's for sure. She is busy. Very, very busy. Just like my kid. Now I have two very busy things in my house now. I swear she is a furry Briana. How in the world did that happen? ;)

If she isn't in rest mode, she's in "whatcha doing mode?" Wherever I go, she goes. She likes to be with one of us at all times. It is very rare to see her sitting somewhere alone. It's happened - but not too often. I think she has been craving attention for a very long time. Now she's getting it and she likes it.

She climbed on top of my kitchen cabinets the first week she was with us - which almost touch the ceiling. Freaked me out a bit because Asia never, ever did that. She did twice before I blocked her way up there, so she can't get up there now.

The first week, she kept playing the piano. Like several times a day. She would hit the keys trying to figure out what the heck they were. It was pretty funny.

I have to really watch her going in and out of the house. I think if she got out of the house right now, she'd be gone. She is going to be an indoor cat like Asia was. She already scooted by Doug once and ran into our garage - she's really fast. Like a dart.

The first person Mei really started to relax with was Doug. She has spent a lot of time with him in his office while he's been working. She gets so comfy with him in fact, she is now hindering his work (she is totally in lurve with him)...

She's started hanging out with me in my office too. Doug went out of town for a few days on business this past week, so she spent a whole lot of time with me...

 She loves to bring presents. She is definitely a hunter. If she were outside, I wonder what presents she would be bringing - yikes! One day, she brought me all of these items...

She likes chilling out in my bedroom too. She likes to sit in the same spot Asia did. Sometimes, it feels like Asia is back when I glance over at her...

She likes to hang out on my bed...

She's finally comfortable enough to go into her "puffball" position...

She likes to snuggle with me at night in bed, just like Asia used to...

Except Mei Mei will let you touch her belly and she likes to lay on her back...

She's even snuggled a bit with Briana...

Mei Mei is still a bit weary of Briana. Briana is a busy kid. And I think all of her busyness and her jerky movements make Mei a bit nervous. Also Bri is her playmate, so when Bri's around, Mei thinks it is playtime. Bri gets her feelings hurt a little when Mei doesn't want to be petted or runs from her. I explained to her that cats sometimes have to be the leader in the relationship - they aren't like dogs. She needs to take Mei's cues and go from there...

I can't believe I was worried that Mei Mei wouldn't sit on my lap - heh...

We took Mei Mei to the vet to have her examined. The vet believes she might actually be two years old or maybe even three (we were told she was a 1 year old). Her paperwork said she was born in 2013. (I don't really believe that she is three because she still exhibits some kitten like behavior.) And when he examined her, he thought that she felt "post-pubescent" and wasn't sure if she had actually been spayed. He shaved her belly to check for a spay scar and she did indeed have one. He said that maybe she's had kittens or maybe not all of her female organs were removed properly during her spay surgery. He told us to look for signs of her going into heat. She can't have babies, but if there is an ovary, she can still go into heat. We'll find out in the spring I guess. Of course, this is all speculation. We just don't really know.

She has all her claws right now. I am not sure if they will stay or not. I have a leather couch and I'm already seeing claw marks. Ugh.

I don't want to get her front paws declawed now (if I even decide to) and then do a separate spay surgery if she needs it. I will wait to see if she goes into heat or not in the spring. If she does, I can get it all done at the same time if I want to. If she doesn't, then I will decide what to do about the claws. I'm on the fence about it all.

I'm still hoping that Mei Mei calms down a bit more with time. She still seems pretty uptight at times. Like she is wired. I am hoping time and age will curb her constant curiosity. She's really exhausting. Yep - just like Briana.

She may have had a tough life up to this point, but she's living the life now...

There's just something really special about rescue kitties. It's like they are extra appreciative to finally be loved. ❤

Choosing Mei Mei

It has now been almost three weeks since this black and white ball of fur joined our family and turned our lives upside down. Heh.

She's awesome. She's a total mess. She's loving. She's skittish. She's cuddly. She's a jumper. She's super playful. She's exhausting. She's crazy curious. She's like a toddler. She's into EVERYTHING. She's killin' me - LOL!

Months ago, I had it in the back of my mind that January might be good time to bring a new cat into our lives. The thought of bringing a new cat into the house around Christmastime with all my trees and decorations made me break out in a cold sweat. No way that was going to happen. I knew we would be staying at home this year for February winter break. I wanted several months of bonding time before we have to leave her for a few days (which will be for spring break). And it would give us almost an entire year to get used to a new kitty before Christmas came around again.

 I still wasn't sure I was ready for it though.

My intention was to get a cat through the local shelter where we lit the Chinese lantern in memory of Asia. About a week before looking for cats, I went to the shelter website and looked at pictures of several of their available kitties (they didn't have many).

One of the cats that they had listed was 4 year old tortoiseshell named Scarlett. She looked just like sweet Asia. I gravitated to her immediately.

And funny story - when I was 15, my parents got an orange tabby kitten. We were told by the woman we got the kitten from it was a girl. Come to find out a few weeks later, the kitten was actually a boy. We originally had named the kitten "Scarlett," thinking he was a she. No kidding. (We ended up naming him Alex instead.)

I thought that was my "sign." Maybe this shelter kitty was supposed to be my new cat. A tortoiseshell. A cat named Scarlett that I never had. It was a sign!!!

So, my plan was to go look for cats on a Saturday - when Doug and Bri could both go. I checked the site each day leading up to that Saturday (Jan 24) and Scarlett was there every time I looked. It was the first time since Asia passed that I was even interested in looking at kitties. 

That Saturday rolled around and I went to the site again. I saw that Scarlett's picture had been removed. She had been adopted and my heart fell. They only had three cats to look at that day and they were all boys. I just wasn't feeling it. But I had promised Bri that we would go look at cats that Saturday, so I had to keep my promise. I told myself that maybe Scarlett wasn't the cat I was supposed to have. She was just the catalyst to make me realize that I was actually ready for a new cat in my life.

We decided to go to our local PetSmart and look there instead. (I did tell Bri that if we didn't find a kitty that we all agreed on, we may come home that day without one.)

We walked to the cat section of PetSmart and there was a family in the viewing area meeting some of their kitties. There were probably 6 or 7 cats in cages available for adoption. My eyes actually went to Mei Mei right away. She was the one rubbing her head against the glass.

I saw that she was a year old and her name was "May." And then we saw the sign in the window that said "May" was the cat of the week...

I don't know why, but in my mind, I thought "Mei" instead of "May." Pronounced the same - just spelled differently. Mei is a popular name in China. And then I remembered that Mei Mei meant "younger sister" in Mandarin. How perfect is that?

I decided to express that thought to Bri. Out loud. Which in hindsight was a very STUPID idea. Because immediately she grabbed on to that thought and wanted Mei Mei from that second on. Even before meeting her. 

There was a family already in the viewing room and they asked to see Mei (and a couple other cats). They looked at Mei for a little while. But they finally exited the room and decided to think on it. Mei was put back into her cage.

Doug, Bri and I were finally allowed to go into the room - and it was soooo small. And there was a lot of activity going on at the time. A lady was dropping off some new kittens and then another family was allowed to come into the viewing area at the same time as us, so it was a bit chaotic. It was really hard for us to get a good feel for the personalities of the cats. We asked to see "May" first. They had a cat perch in the room and Mei Mei jumped on it. She was rubbing our hands and seemed very sweet. She played a bit too - which is what Bri really wanted (because Asia never really played with her). We asked to see two other kitties that seemed very sweet too, but Bri wasn't feeling them at all. She wanted Mei Mei. And she started getting tears in her eyes when we were looking at the other cats. She wanted Mei and that was that.

I asked some questions to the girl that was working there about "May." I asked how long she had been there. She said a month (but according to the paperwork, Mei had been at a rescue shelter for months before going to PetSmart). Mei Mei had been at PetSmart the longest out of all the cats there. I asked her why. She said "People really want kittens, and there have been a lot of kittens coming through here lately." I didn't want a kitten. I wanted a cat at least a year old. (I'm pretty sure now that is why "May" was the cat of the week.)

So in a matter of minutes, I was filling out the paperwork and taking "May" home. The family that had come in while we were in the room meeting Mei Mei went home with one of the new kittens that had just been brought in. That PetSmart girl was right - people want kittens.

I snapped this pic of Doug right before leaving with Mei Mei...

The one thing we weren't used to was a cat that didn't scream bloody murder the minute we got in the car. Asia hated - I mean HATED - car rides. It was like you were cutting her arms off. Mei was totally fine with the carrier and the car ride. It was a new world for us.

We got her home and stuck her in our guest room to let her out of the carrier. She had been in a cage for a very, very long time and I didn't want to overwhelm her. Her very first medical record was recorded in May of last year. Which is why I think the shelter called her "May." So, she was caged for at least 8 months.

Walking into this new atmosphere, her eyes were like saucers...

I took a couple of things out that I already had for Asia. Mei went to Asia's perch right away...

After a little while, we let her walk around the house a bit. She really liked the stairs...

After walking around for a LONG time, she finally calmed down and was able to rest a bit...

The rest of that first day went pretty well, but she was checking out every~single~little thing. I put her in the guest room for the night because she wasn't close to being ready to roam the house after being enclosed in a cage for so many months (and unfortunately, she's still not ready - she's still a little troublemaker!)

It was the next day that I started to freak out. I watched Mei Mei pace around the house for 3 hours without being able to calm herself down. I didn't know if it was her personality or her fear that was keeping her from calming down. She was getting into everything. Jumping on every surface in the house. She didn't seem like she was going to be a cuddle cat at all. And that was my wish for Briana. A cat that would love and cuddle with Briana and not just tolerate her. I thought - she isn't a match for us at all. This cat is a hyper mess. We made our decision too fast! I want my Asia back!!

I called my mom and told her how unhappy I was. I told Doug and Bri if Mei Mei didn't calm down by the following weekend that we might have to consider re-homing her or giving her back. It broke my heart saying that, but I was feeling desperate. Doug and Bri were very supportive of my feelings and agreed to wait and see.

Doug finally said to me "Just lock her up with me in my (home) office and take a breath. Walk away for a while." Mei finally calmed while with Doug and took a nap. I calmed a bit too.

That first week was kind of rocky. But as the days went by that first week, Mei started getting more loving and cuddly. She began to trust us and started letting her guard down a bit. Even before the week was up, I realized that Mei wasn't going anywhere. She was slowly working her way into my heart.

So that is how we got her and how it all started. In my next post, I will talk about how she is meshing with our family now.

She's come a very long way in three shorts weeks. :)

To be continued...

My Struggle With Change

Before I get into my post about Mei Mei, I need to write a little about my attitude going into bringing a new cat into my home.

I'm a creature of habit.

I don't like change.

I like being in my comfort zone and I dislike when I have to step out of it.

I wish I wasn't like that. I wish I loved change and embracing new things. I just don't. 

When I was so desperate for a child and wanted to be a mom so badly, I was willing to push aside my distaste for change. When Bri finally came home and my life was so different, it truly rocked my world. It took me several months to get into my new groove. I loved Briana, but I was not comfortable at first in my new normal - no matter how much I loved her. Believe me, there were several times I said to myself, "I'm not sure I'm cut out for this." or "I wish I had my old life back for just a few minutes." That is just me.

And I was very sad when I lost Asia. My heart was truly broken. I would say for about six months, I truly wasn't ready for a new furry family member. I didn't want to think about it. I wanted MY cat back and I knew that couldn't happen. 

After those six months, I started feeling comfortable with not having a pet in my house at all. No cat hair on everything. No stinky litter box. No tripping over cat toys. No worrying about the cat getting out of the house.

If I didn't have Briana in my life, I probably wouldn't have Mei Mei now. Bri wanted a cat again so badly, and I know she needed one.

And I am sure you are all laughing at me - saying to yourselves but it's "just a cat - not a person." But cats are mischievous creatures - they will go everywhere. They will be in your face and in your personal space. I was spoiled with Asia because she didn't get into stuff. She couldn't care less about my Christmas tree. She never jumped on my counters or climbed anything. She was so easy (except when we drove in a car - ugh.) As she got older, she loved being with us but she loved her alone time too. She was easy and comfortable.

It took me a year to get to the point that I could even say to Bri "let's look for a cat." That how much anxiety I had about it. It is so ridiculous. But that's how I operate.

Picking out a new cat in a 15 minute span because my daughter had tears in her eyes with the mere thought of walking out the door without "May" was WAAAAAY out of my comfort zone. But I did it.

And the second day Mei Mei was with us - I was in tears because she was into EVERYTHING. It felt so weird having this strange cat in my house. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. It was like having a toddler with claws in my house that could climb things. She paced and paced and paced all over - not able to calm herself down. I wasn't sure if it was nervousness or her personality. I was so close to jumping ship - seriously. Like I would have been ok giving her back that day. That's how uncomfortable I was with this new animal in my home. And her jumping onto the top of my kitchen cabinets on day 4, didn't help her case a whole lot. Heh.

 But we are a week and a half into Mei being home with us now, and she has calmed and I have calmed. I'm still getting used to this new normal.

Mei Mei (sounds like May May) is super sweet and loving. I realize now that she is the cat I prayed for to replace Asia. I wanted a cuddle kitty for Bri and that is what we have now. Thank goodness.

I'm still adjusting - but slowly getting there. Mei Mei isn't going anywhere. She's in our lives for good now.

But I still don't like change. :)