Tired Mama.com

Tired Mama - Year Seventeen.

Last week I spent some time poking around web sites thinking that maybe I should try and find a new blog title and URL.

My kids are older now so technically I should be getting more sleep as I don't have to get up with babies any longer. 

Then, last night? 

At 2 am I was up elbowing my husband because he was snoring so loud.

Then I was up at about 3:30 am because the cat was pawing and crying at my daughter's closed bedroom door. 

At 4 am the puppy fell off my other daughter's bed where she had been sleeping and boy, did she cry - both the puppy and my younger daughter. *

Finally, my son's alarm was set wrong so it went off at 5 am.

So, just in case you're interested,

Tired Mama? 

It looks like she's going to be here for a while yet.

Sigh.

* The puppy was fine, just freaked out.

It'll grow back...

Sadie is having a hard time today.

You see I took her to get a fur-cut and it went rather badly. 

I guess she liked being a fluffy white ball of fur. But when she started trotting into walls I decided that something needed to be done. She was a little too fluffy.

So, 'cut it short,' I said.

And they did.

But now she's unhappy and she's been hiding behind the couch all morning. I think she feels ugly.  And when I took her for a walk? She was shivering. 

Who knew a fur-cut could make a puppy feel bad. 

Now I feel guilty. 

I mean I know every female has had a bad haircut in their life and has had to suffer through a grow back stage, but I didn't know a dog could feel bad about it too.

Sorry, Sadie. I'll be more careful with my instructions next time.

But honestly? Even though the kids are giving you a really hard time, it isn't really that horrible. 

Honest.

Sigh.

Sometimes I yell the stupidest things...

This past weekend we were puppy sitting. 

It all went well, our ten month old puppy, Sadie got along very well with my niece's six month old puppy. They played, they ran, they ate, and they did all sorts of puppy things together.

Now Dex, my niece's dog is still young and so about 3 am this morning he was crying in his crate that he needed to go outside.

So, I stumbled out of bed and took both puppies outside for a pee.

But while they were both outside, doing their uh, business, Dex started to bark at the light snow that was falling.

In my tired state, I decided it would be a good idea to yell at him to pipe down before he woke up the neighbours.

Except, my tongue got tied, and I started to yell out my dog's name by habit and then, being somewhat awake, I realized half way through that I was calling the wrong dog and changed the name.

So yes, at 3 am on Sunday morning, I was out, in my PJ's, in the snow, standing on my back deck yelling, so all the neighbours could hear...

The S from Sadie and the EX from Dex.

I yelled it several times too.

Lovely.

I wonder what they thought I was doing - celebrating it or searching for some?

Sigh.

Cats like trees

I didn't realize cats could get depressed.

But they can. Right now our cat is slinking around the house, with his tail down, looking like he's just lost his best friend.

You see, my silly silver tabby cat is in a total funk because we took down his Christmas tree. 

Yep, his.

Our damn cat LOVES Christmas trees. He loves climbing them, he loves breaking the ornaments on them, he loves swinging down from their branches to scare the puppy and he loves sleeping under them.

And now that the Christmas tree is out at the curb and he is stuck in the house looking out the window at it? 

He loves wailing at it. 

And he's not being quiet about it either.

Poor baby.

Never a dull (or quiet) moment around here.....

I'm losing my marbles....

I have a problem.

Okay, I have several problems, but the one that's bothering me right now is that I keep calling the kids and the animals in my house the wrong names.

I actually keep calling them each other's names. For some reason I can't seem to get the right name attached to the right person or pet.

I know it's only because I'm tired and trying to do too much but, really?

It's getting embarrassing.

For example, just a minute ago, the puppy was whining and I yelled out for her to hush, but I used my daughter's name instead of the puppy's name when I yelled.

My daughter then responded by turning down the volume on the TV which distracted the dog and actually did stop the whining.

Okay, so maybe that one worked out well, but it's still not right.

I'm NOT that old. I should be able to use the names of my family members correctly. I mean I did NAME most of them.

Hmmm.

Maybe my mistake was that I didn't give them all the same name. That would've solved the whole problem.

Bob would work, or maybe Charlie. 

I might just be on to something here...

What'd ya think?

Grrr. It's Halloween!

It's almost Halloween.

Although I'm not a big fan of this particular holiday, I still put up a few decorations.

My only issue is that my kids want to put up scary things. They want blood and gore but I tend to buy cute and smiley decorations.

It annoys them, but it works for me.

But last night as I was putting out the Halloween things I suddenly heard a strange noise. 

'What's that?' I asked.

'It's Sadie,' my youngest daughter replied.  

'What's she doing?' I asked.

'I thinks she's growling,' she replied.

I didn't recognize the sound because Sadie, who is only six months old, has never growled before. 

But here she was tonight, all seven pounds of her, tail tucked between her legs, head down grumbling out deep woofs and growls. 

At this,

 

I know, terrifying right? It's about two feet tall and made of wood.

So, kids? My decorations are scary.

Mama wins.

Poor Puppy. Stupid Man.

Dear Tired Papa,

Feeding a six pound puppy an ENTIRE cheeseburger is a bad idea.

Unless of course you like cleaning up dog puke.

The paper towels are on the kitchen counter.

Sigh.

Love, 
Tired Mama

Tired Mama, again

Sadie is FINALLY sleeping through the night.

I suppose I was told before we got our puppy that it would take a while for her to get used to sleeping alone but I still wasn’t ready for this cute bundle of fluff to check in every morning at 4 am with us, just to make sure we were still here and hadn't uh, abandoned her or something.

Every single night.

For WEEKS.

Personally? I like to sleep at 4 am.

And now? Sadie likes to sleep at 4 am too.

This is a good thing.

A VERY good thing.

Enjoy your eight hours, everyone.

Now, if only she'd pee outside ALL the time.

She arrived three weeks ago. She was three pounds of soft fluff that trembled when you held her and tried to hide when she met a new person. She didn't bark, she squeaked. 

She was adorable and she stole our hearts.

And now.

She's crazy and bouncy and she can DEFINITELY bark. She climbs all over new people and can't wait to be let outside. She's got a great smile and she still has our hearts.

She's fitting right in.

Welcome to the family, Sadie.

May all your dreams come true.*

'I have two dreams,' my youngest informed me as we drove home from school today.

'Really? What are those?' I inquired.

'Why do you want to know?' she asked suddenly suspicious.

'Well,' I said. 'As your mother I'd like to help make all your dreams come true if I can. I kinda see that as part of my job.'

My daughter thought about this for a bit and then proceeded to tell me what her two dreams are. 

Now, I won't tell you exactly what she said, but I will tell you that I now have to have a long talk with hubby about getting a puppy.

Yep - a dog.

Because I honestly do think it's part of my job to help make my daughter's dreams come true.

And, my youngest?

She knows exactly how to play me to get what she wants. 

Sigh.

 

*Alternate titles considered for this post were: 'Just Shoot Me' and 'Sucker Mama'.

RIP Little Piggy

Sunday morning is my only morning to sleep in.

I love to sleep in.

So, for years my kids have learned to leave Tired Mama alone on Sunday mornings. I have always told them that unless someone has died or the house is burning down to not bug me on Sunday mornings until after nine.

But this past Sunday morning my youngest burst into my room at about seven. Thank goodness I had enough sleepy sense not to berate her for coming in so early because in between her shaking sobs she told me something had actually died.

Her guinea pig.

Oh.

Yep, our beloved little pet had decided, with no warning, to pass on during the night. Our family spent part of this past Sunday holding a burial service in our backyard.

Rest in peace, my little friend. You were a good and loyal pet and you will be missed.

I actually do miss the guinea pig's squeaks for attention already. It was very quiet while I was working today - it made me sad.

But now?

Now, the puppy pleading will begin in earnest. I give Tired Papa six months of big teary hazel eyes from his little girl before we get another guinea pig or a dog, or a bunny or some other new furry creature for ME to look after.

Yeah. ME.

I think I'm gonna miss you for a long time, little piggy.

Sigh.

Cheshire Cat's Sweet Revenge.

My son loves our family cat just a little bit too much.

Every once in a while my son will just hug our cat to smithereens and when our  independent feline meows in protest my son often just holds the cat all the tighter.

After a short protest, the cat will give up squirming and just wait passively in my boy’s arms until I intervene or my boy gets his hug quota and sets the cat free. 

Our cat is truly the most laid-back, patient and well, BEST family pet anyone could ever ask for.

But today, while my son was on the computer typing up his homework, the cat jumped up on the desk and sent a baseball, that was also on the desk, rolling towards the floor. The baseball fell off the desk and landed smack on the PC's power bar's off switch.

Yep, the son lost his homework and had to start typing it all over again.

Yeah.

Hee.

Hee, hee, hee.

And I swear, when I look at our cat right now? He’s smiling.

Done - like dinner.

So.

I just wrote my last paper for this term. I'm happy that it's done but with everything else going on I didn't give it as much time as I would have liked.

Blah.

But it's finished and a whole summer of um, renovating lies ahead of me.

That should be relaxing.

The other good news is that all my children are home from their respective school trips and last night, when I went to check on them, they were all in their own beds fast asleep.

Yes, I did in fact stay up later then my teen last night. I had a paper to finish.

Still, I don't care how old they're getting, I like knowing my trio are all sleeping in their own rooms at night - it makes me feel that they're safe.

Yeah, I know.

It might be time to get a puppy.

Oh Christmas Tree

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree - your ornaments are history.

Why yes, that is in fact our cat's butt backside behind sticking out of our Christmas tree.

Sigh.

It's beginning to look a little like...

It's the first of December.

So far this month?

I've already killed a poinsettia by over watering it. Seriously, it's December 1st, isn't there a law or something that says you can't kill a poinsettia the first week you get it?

Secondly, I forgot to fill the advent calendar before the kids came down this morning. Sorry, guys.

And finally? The cat is eating the Christmas village. It seems our kitten likes the taste of those little green plasticy-woody pretend tree things. All of my little village trees have tiny cat bites out of them now, it's like something out of an old Japanese monster movie. If they could, all the little village ceramic people would be running away and hiding.

Oy.

Can we just skip through to January? I'm not sure I want to continue preparing for Christmas if this is the way things are going to go.

Sigh.

Oh, for gosh sake

Dear Stupid Pet,

If you don't like dirty laundry being thrown on top of you, don't sleep in the laundry hamper.

Yes, I actually put laundry in there and yes, I know the kids in the house don't.

But give me a break, I get enough dirty looks from my children, I don't need them from you too.

Thanks,
Tired Mama

 

 

Do not kill my cat. Please.

In the hierarchy of terrible 'mothering' things to do, one of the things that must at least come close to the top of the list is, killing the family pet.

Yeah, well that was almost my day yesterday.

Our family pet is a silver tabby by the name of Ollie.

To say my kids ADORE this animal would be an understatement. I think it's pretty safe to say that they love this cat even more than they love their parents. I think if the cat was capable of renting video games and driving, dear hubby and I would be gone and the cat would be in charge. Yep, it's that bad.

I also have to say that Ollie is the perfect family pet. He lets the kids fight over him with nary a whimper. He is clean and neat, he takes equal turns sleeping with the kids every night and he is always purring. He is a great family/kid cat.

So yesterday I took this important member of the family to the vet for a check-up. He wasn't sick, I just knew he was due to go in to get checked over and so I made an appointment.

What I didn't know is that Ollie is allergic to whatever is in the shots my vet gives cats.

Less than a minute after the veterinarian had pumped Ollie's rump with the needle, our poor kitty's paws and face were all puffed up and he was breathing like he had a truck stuck down his throat.

Thank goodness we were still in the veterinarian's office so they could pump more drugs into him and put a tube down his throat because I was too busy freaking out to do anything useful.

After an afternoon of close monitoring, I'm glad to say that Ollie is now back at home and seems fine. Thank goodness.

Next year Ollie will be getting a different and more expensive rabies vaccination and my husband will be taking him in to get it done.

Yes, as a matter of fact I am a wimp. I don't ever want to go through that again.

Sigh.

Kittens

For some insane reason I let my kids talk me into looking at the 'Adoption Rescue' kittens that are up for adoption at our local pet store today.

The store had eight tiny little balls of fluff up for adoption. These little guys had been dumped in our local Whole Foods dumpster and are now looking for a better home. Yep, some idiot decided to dump SIXTEEN six to seven week old kittens in a dumpster. Thank goodness someone heard their cries and dug them out.

These kittens are now looking for homes and I must say I'm tempted to get our own eighteen month old cat a buddy.

My resolve to have no more pets (right now) gave way yesterday when we found that one of the kittens was a small male silver tabby  - an almost identical match in looks and, as far as I could tell, personality to our own current loveable cat.

This tiny guy was too cute for words and he was crying out that he needed us.

What stopped us?

The kittens had to be adopted in pairs.

Two cats I could maybe convince my hubby to house.

Three?

That would require serious uh, persuading. I might even have to do something like this. (Yes, I've been wondering how to work this story into my family 'E' rated blog for a while now.)

We came home without a kitten.

I love my husband, but honestly? I don't think I'm up for this type of persuasion technique.

Happy Chirps

 

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

This is Cookie. She is a guinea pig.

My darling ten year old son bought her with his birthday money two years ago and then, after being fascinated with her for about two weeks, lost interest in his new pet.

I have now moved Cookie's cage down into our family room so that she sees more of the family. We tend to live between this room and the kitchen so now all of us pay some attention to her as we go by.

My darling son is still required to clean her cage every weekend but she's now become more of a family pet. Even the cat sleeps on top of the cage in the afternoon and Cookie really doesn't seem to mind.

I noticed today, as I was dumping a bunch of left over salad into her cage, that this little thing is very grateful for my attention. She gurgles and chirps with pleasure whenever I toss a carrot her way or stop to pet her fuzzy nose. She's actually quite a pleasure.

The rest of my family lately? Not such a pleasure.

I only wish all it took to get the rest of the family to chirp happily for me was to throw the odd vegetable their way.

I'd even throw a few desserts at them if I thought it would make them chirp happy. 

Web Kitty

My eldest daughter has just come into my office and suggested that it would be interesting to attach a web cam to our cat's head for the day to see what he does.

Right.

She won't do it. Er, at least I don't think she will.

Sigh.

I'm going to check.

Besides, the darn animal sleeps all day. How interesting can that be?

Fuzzy Face

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

 

Earlier tonight I was writing a letter to send to my son at camp and as I was printing out some family pictures to send along it occurred to me that this face might be the one my son is missing the most.

Have fun at camp buddy, you may not be missing your Mom but I'm counting the days until YOU get back.

 

No puppy for me?

A few days ago I posted about the fact that I'm thinking about getting a dog.

I am. I even thought out my fall schedule and how I could rearrange things so I could be around more, and even be at home every three hours for the first few months while we get her/him trained.

So, last night at dinner I talked to my hubby and kids about it and you know what?

Hubby doesn't want a dog.

Whaaa?

This is something new, up until now it was always ME who said 'no' to a dog.

Now, youngest daughter correctly says that Daddy only gets one vote, and since there's five of us we could out vote him on the whole issue.

Um, sort of.

Since hubby is sort of one of the 'senior members' of the family and the soul uh, 'kibble' winner, I feel have to take his feelings a little more seriously than that.

Sigh.

The problem is I've never HAD a dog. Nope, never and I'm over forty now. And I think I would like to experience having a dog in my life before I'm well, DEAD.

Now I don't know what to do. I'm having to rethink the whole puppy thing.

I was however out on the town reading blogs tonight and I did stumble upon a contest at 5 minutes for Mom where I could win one of the dogs they are giving away from their toy section.

They look cute, but some how I'm not sure it's gonna be the same. Still I'd like to win them, so go over there and put in a good word for me, mmkay?

Happy Birthday Ollie!

Last spring we went to the local animal shelter and adopted a kitten.

He's a pretty silver tabby who the kids named Ollie and he has turned out to be a joy. He's laid back, playful, gentle and he seems to have his 'purr switch' permanently turned on.

My kids fight over who gets to be the first to hold Ollie when they get home from school, and everyone wants him to sleep with them.

He's the perfect family pet.

This Saturday Ollie turns one.  My youngest daughter wants to have a birthday party for him.

Right. Exactly what does one do for a cat's birthday?

I suggested we buy him a can of his favorite food and then we just let him sleep all day in the sun.

That did not go over well with my youngest though. Why do I have the feeling that this poor cat is going to be wearing a paper hat, dressed in a doll tutu and eating out of miniature dishes this Saturday?

Poor thing. He's only turning one and I already suspect his birthday is going to be torture. At least I got to about thirty-five before this started happening to me.

Hmmm. I wonder if he likes wine?

Ollie

Yes, he’s arrived and he’s cute and he’s a total pain in the ‘you know what’ at times. Introducing the newest member of our family: “Ollie”.

He was named by the Humane Society (ASPCA) where we found him cute as a button and slightly frantic in his little cage. Personally Becca and I would have changed his name but Jen and Robs were adamant that we couldn’t, so “Ollie” he stayed.

Now that he’s almost all of six months old we have to get him neutered. I’m hoping it will calm him down a bit, so far this morning I’ve already yelled at him three times and I haven’t even been up for a full hour yet!

My other dilemma is that when I called to get an appointment to get him ‘fixed up’, they asked if I wanted to get him de-clawed at the same time. De-clawed? I thought only cruel and evil people de-clawed cats?

As I think of my house and the new furniture I want to buy after we finish the renovations however I must admit it’s tempting……

Cookie, MY new pet...

So, as many of you know my darling son saved all of his nickels and then took them and bought himself a guinea pig. Not a bad thing and just as we all suspected the care of said guinea pig has fallen to his mother. He does have the best of intentions of looking after the thing but what can I tell you, he's nine. And he's a male. Sigh.

The real problem with "Cookie' is that I've become quite attached to her and now constantly find myself talking to her or sneaking her treats. I've also been thinking that her cage is too small and that maybe we should invest in a big living space for her. Nothing's too good for my newest little friend.

Yesturday, I went to the pet store and priced cages and the next sized cage was over $200. Yikes! So I didn't pick up a new cage, but while I was at the pet store I checked with their guinea pig 'expert' (yes, I know it's a sixteen year old kid) to make sure I'm feeding the little thing correctly. It seems that I am, but while we were talking, I mentioned that the guinea pig loves carrots. The expert then got very serious and tells me that I shouldn't give the pig too many carrots because it'll make her fat. She tells me I should give the pig more lettuce instead.

The only problem with this advice is that my pig doesn't like lettuce, she likes carrots. The lettuce just gets left to rot in the cage.

Besides, eating carrots doesn't seem like it should be fattening, so I'm giving the guinea pig carrots. We can be fat together.