Happy Furry Friend

LATE, LATE, LATE UPDATE...

Last Thursday I decided to peruse the Humane Society website...just to see what was out there and prices. I came upon a sweet little kitten that I just knew Haley would love.

The previous evening, Haley asked to read "The Kitten." After reading the story Haley informed me that when she got a new kitten she wanted it to be orange and white, short haired, and a girl.

The Humane Society had almost the perfect kitten available. The only problem...HE isn't a girl. He's "altered" but still not a girl. We took Haley down to see the kitty's and the second she saw the little orange and white kitten, she fell in love. Boy or not, she's pretty convinced if she just calls it a girl it will be. Needless to say, we adopted the little kitten, put a PINK collar on it (so he's metro...), and took our sweet little Simon home.

Simon's little paws haven't touched the ground all that much, but he doesn't really seem to mind. He's a happy little kitty, and Haley is a happy little girl. Good match!

4 Year Old Grief

The past 4 days have been emotional to say the very least. Saturday afternoon Sean and I were cleaning the patio and playing with the dogs and I realized I hadn't seen Haley's cat Charlotte since the previous morning. It's very unlike her to skip a meal or disappear (she had disfigured paws so movement was somewhat challenging). We went looking for her and discovered her poor little body in the grassy common area a few doors down from our house. Someone purposely took the life of my poor little girls best friend, her kitty Charlotte. It was awful to find. The thought alone makes my stomach sick and my eyes tear up. She may not have been a perfect cat, but she and Haley adored one another, and we all got a kick out of the "prairie dog" looking cat. For all her bad habits, she was a very loving and sweet little cat.

The hardest part of it all was knowing I would have to tell Haley her kitty wouldn't be sleeping with her anymore. Since we adopted the stray little cat Charlotte last July, she has slept in Haley's bed nearly every night. Anytime Haley goes to lay down to rest or to sleep she asks for 3 things: milk, snack, and Char Char. Charlotte knew when it was time for bed. She would hop onto the patio table and meow until I carried her in and put her in bed with her little girl. Together the two snuggled all night.

Telling Haley was devastating. I've never seen her heart break that way. All she could say was that she needed Charlotte and she wanted Charlotte to be alive. In her prayers she asked Heavenly Father to keep Charlotte safe and to make her alive. She walked outside and looked up at the stars and said, "I wish I wish I wish for Charlotte to be alive." Going to bed Sunday night ultimately required me to hold her. Monday morning while I was fixing her hair I looked in the mirror and saw her eyes just well up and the tears just overflowed. She was just so sad and there was nothing I could do but hold her. Monday turned out to be fairly quiet with the sitter, Cindy, so she got the chance to really talk about her feelings and her kitty and try to make it all make sense in her own mind. Cindy's patience, love, understanding, and wisdom was exactly what she needed. Haley colored pictures for Charlotte and we posted one outside above the plant we planted over Charlotte's grave. Bedtime was even more difficult...10 o'clock came around and Haley was still not settled, even after holding her, she still couldn't sleep. Ultimately, I think she whimpered herself to sleep thinking of her best friend.

Tuesday morning was better. She talked a little about Charlotte, but as much as she still wished for Charlotte to be alive, she seemed ok that Heavenly Father had fixed Char's paws and she was happy with the other kitty's in heaven. Tonight was rough, exhaustion from dance class I'm sure didn't help. She finally asked if she could sleep in my bed with Sugar (my cat). I agreed of course. It only took her 15 minutes to fall asleep. I think a new kitten may be in our very near future.

While I know that learning about death is a part of life. Knowing that our cat died in such a vicious way makes having to deal with the process so much harder. Haley doesn't know that she died in such a violent way, I simply told her Charlotte got sick, went to sleep, and didn't wake up. I'm still furious. People are mean and heartless. I know not everyone appreciates cats like I do, but to hard an innocent creature (especially domesticated) without any thought to the people you might affect is unconscionable.

Charlotte's grave...personalized by Haley.

Having a "breathing" friend sleep with you makes all the difference.

More from Dance World

Here are the two latest dance videos...in the first, she REFUSED to dance...total attitude. Second...she could have been more of a ham! Gotta love Cybil!

Oi with the poodles already...

It is currently 3:00 pm Monday afternoon. I have 7 Gatsby Journals, 40 Macbeth essays, 40 Of Mice and Men short response exams, 25 Old Man and the Sea reading journals, 25 1920's research papers, and 45 Senior papers to grade. And all this after spending my weekend grading roughly 100 essays. I feel totally unaccomplished. Not to mention the fact that I also have my Career Ladder review in exactly 48 hours. My to do list is growing far faster than my ability to cross ANYTHING completely off. So here I sit, blogging, avoiding my responsibilities, and dreaming and hoping for the grading/teaching fairy to carry me away.

I like to think of it as organized chaos

After giving the students 7 weeks to write this thing...if I hear one more kid say "Aren't you ever going to get those things graded" after only two weeks...I may have to trip them as they cross the stage the night of graduation. Each envelope contains 20 minutes of semi-tortuous reading.

Oh well...I'll just pack it up to take it home. That is after I hit the 99 cent store...the Easter aisle is calling...can't you hear it???

I've run in and out of the building so much today that I now have the need for 6 eyes...

Happy Monday!

Is she really only 4?!

As you can tell from previous posts Haley has been on a roll lately. Well the fun has yet to stop! The past two weeks of dance have been a blast! The girls are finally getting the hang of their routine and are learning the song they have to sing. During break last week, Haley ran out to me jumping up and down yelling, "I did it Mommy, I did it, I DANCED!" As gratifying as it is when I see the light bulb go off for my students, seeing the light bulb over Haley's head just about made me cry. This week she was even more confident. The parents were invited in to see the kids progress this week, and while they were all more interested in just smiling at their parents, it was SOOOO cute to see them try.

Today has been almost non stop laughter from the time Haley woke up. The morning started with a discussion about what to wear. I was informed she could only be happy if she was wearing yellow, because yellow is the happiest color. We compromised....she got her yellow shirt and I got cute Capri's that matched the yellow shirt. On to hair... "Mom, I want my hair straight and down." "No Haley, you have to have at least one pony so your hair doesn't get in your face." "Ugh, Mom!" "Haley, one or two piggies!?" "FINE! 2...but they have to be high and they have to be yellow to match my shirt." "Works for me Chicky-d." I'll let you decide what the D is for. :-)

After school we went by the new house to measure windows. While we waited for the windows to be measured we cleaned the bathroom counters together. Haley decided the mirrors needed cleaned too. I didn't have Windex, but I decided that regardless of how messy she made them, at least they would be dust free. It was about time to go so I told her we needed to wrap it up and I started to help her wipe down the mirrors. Haley's response, "Mom this is my job...nobody cleans mirrors like me!" True that--how do you argue with that kind of logic? hahahaha

Next stop...Costco. "Mom, I'm absolutely starving, my tummy is rumbling, I really need some pizza" "After shopping we can have pizza." "Ok, but we have to hurry, and we have to have ice cream after pizza, or it just won't be fun." "Ok Haley, we'll see." Shopping went well. My students should be happier with me tomorrow when the Pop Tart and chip supply is back in full swing. This is where things got REALLY entertaining. After shopping, Haley said, "Mom, can we may we please have pepperoni pizza." "Yes, do you want cheese or pepperoni pizza?" "I want pepperoni with cheese pizza, I want pepperoni with cheese pizza!" "Ok, are you sure you want pepperoni?" "Yes." DONE! 2 slices of pepperoni pizza and two drinks. The second we get to the table..."Pepperoni!? Mom, you RUINED my life!? I can't have PEPPERONI!" In my head..."are you freaking kidding me?" Out loud, "Haley, you said this is what you wanted. Eat." "But mom, you ruined my life." I wanted to bust out laughing, but instead just ate my pizza while she sat next to me with her back turned towards me and her arms folded across her chest. Of course she got over herself and ate her pizza. Final words before getting back in the cart..."I don't get ice cream cuz I threw a fit, huh, mom?" "You are correct, but if you are good on the way home, maybe you can have some at home." "That's a good deal." ME OH MY!

After cleaning up the house, taking a bath and eating ice cream, I sent her in to brush her teeth while I vacuumed. While I was getting the vacuum ready, I asked her if she had gotten her bed ready for tuck in...she told me yes...here's what I found..

Looks to me like she's tucked in her bed...blankie and all! :-)

Then I told her it would time to hop in bed just as soon as I finished vacuuming her room. Her response, "Mom if there's anything left on the floor, just pick it up." "Haley, I thought that was your job?" "Nope mom, it's yours. Don't vacuum up any of my stuff, k." SERIOUSLY?! If I hadn't already laughed at her so much today I would have had other words...instead I just vacuumed.

But, as sassy pants as she can be, her sweet little spirit showed up again when we sat down for bed time prayer and she earnestly asked me to pray for her friend Kennedy that her knee would feel better and be able to sleep.

I ADORE THIS KID! I'M SO BLESSED TO HAVE HER.