Rebecca's Blog

These are going up today.  We’ve looked all around the neighborhood and at the animal shelter.  She’s been gone since Friday night or Saturday morning.  We miss poor Midnight.

Click on the link below to view.  It’s a word document.

lost-for-blog

Ready for another one of my ten-posts-in-one posts?  Well, ready or not, here it comes!!!  (Don’t worry, there aren’t really 10 things to post about.  There are only 9! ;-P)

February wasn’t one of the most interesting of months, but there are a few things I’d like to document in regards to each of the members of the family.  We’ll go oldest to youngest.

Ryan

Ryan decided that since I was pregnant and not able to help much, it was time to put in a garden.  Maybe he figured my inability to do hard manual labor would keep me from interfering or maybe he just decided he wanted to grow up to be a farmer.  I don’t know, but he decided to go ahead and spend three full Saturdays putting it in.

If you don’t know what it used to look like, see here.

So, here’s Ryan’s work in progress:

#1:  Just starting.

#2:  A big pile of dirt.

#3:  Now we’re getting somewhere.

#4:  See honey, it’s not going to look as bad as you thought it would!!!

The finished product:

I think we should be able to get a fairly good crop in this year!!!

Me

Yeah, nothing really to report here, except, maybe, that I can feel baby 5 really well now.

Elizabeth

This month, Elizabeth spent several weeks working on her Black History Month project.  Her assignment was Madam C. J. Walker.  In case you are as uneducated as I am, Madam C. J. Walker was the first person to formulate and sell hair products for African American women.  Below is a link to a video of part of her presentation, which parents were invited to attend.  It’s not the entire presentation, because was long, but it’s the part she did without her partner – her art medium.

Elizabeth did a power point presentation.  She’s learned to use power point in G.A.T.E.  I have never had to use power point, but Elizabeth is using it in school projects.  She can even post a link to an internet site.  Times, they are a’changin’.

Elizabeth’s Art Medium 2/27/09

Sariah

This month, Sariah’s hair was actually long enough to put in pig tails.  Well, . . . sort of.

We were also informed – as we were filling out her first Valentines Day cards, that Dien (a boy in her kindergarten class) is in love with her.  We found it rather funny that this is starting so young with her.  We haven’t crossed that bridge with her sister who is three years older than her yet.  Anyway, when we asked how she knew this, we were informed that he follows her around wherever she goes and he tries to talk to her, but is too shy, so he just bangs his head on the floor over and over again.  AND, he tries to kiss her, but she turns her head so he can’t. . . .  I think we’re going to be in trouble with this one.

Finally, Sariah has started to learn a new song in primary.  If ya want to hear it, click on the video link. (Ok, ok. So this was on the first day of March. You’re not going to fault me, right?)

How Firm A Foundation 3/1/09

I think we need to work on the words a little.

Benjamin

Benjamin learned his wingspan is too big to let him get through the spaces between the springs on the trampoline.  Unfortunately, he’s not strong enough to lift himself up back out of the hole.   At least it kept him out of trouble for a few minutes… or, maybe this was the trouble…

Joshua

Joshua up and decided he wanted to be like daddy:

Yes, Ryan has a shirt with picture of a dog farting.  The caption underneath says, “Blame it on the dog.”  Thanks Mom!!!

Josh also got in some quality cuddling time with the cat:

I can’t believe she let him do that.  They laid like that for quite a while.

Midnight

Midnight found a new sleeping position. . . lazy kitty!!!

Well, I guess that’s all the news for February.  We’ll try hard to be more interesting this month!!

Experiment:  Who’s will is stronger – a cat’s or a human’s?

Problem:  Midnight keeps waking me up every morning between 4 & 6 am to be petted.

Hypothesis:  If I ignore her, she will go away and leave me alone.

Test:  Last night I went to bed determined to stop this conduct once and for all.  Come early morning, when Midnight came for her daily early morning petting, I ignored her to see if she would get tired of trying and go away.  First she tried her normal tactic – head butting/rubbing me on the forehead with her forehead, then start purring immediately in anticipation of being petted.  I pretended to stay asleep.  Then she came in again and hit me on the mouth.  I still pretended to be asleep.  She tried it one more time for good measure.  I did well ignoring her and she seemed to be retreating.

Unfortunately, Midnight was just heading to my hand.  Her next tactic is always to force her head under my hand, forcing my hand upwards.  Then she stretches her neck up and maneuvers my hand down her back.  This is where I usually give in.  NOT THIS MORNING!!!  This morning my hand just dropped dead to the bed.

This was not the end, however.  Oh, no.  She just regrouped for a minute and came up with a better plan.  Next she came in and tickled my nose with her whiskers.  That I couldn’t ignore quite so easily.  I swatted her away like I would a fly, still pretending to be asleep.

That didn’t stop her, however.  She came back full force with the head butting.  OK, now it was time to get physical.  I started pushing her away, trying to give her the message that I wasn’t interested.  She just came back stronger each time.  I’d push her away and then she’d head butt me to get my attention harder than she had before.  After several minutes of this, I decided it was getting me nowhere fast, so I turned my head and tried to go back to sleep, facing the other direction.  Perhaps that would give her the hint.

Nope.  The next thing I knew she was chewing on my hair.   The grinding sensation this produced in my hair was far more annoying than anything she was doing before.  I yanked my hair away and tried – once again – to go to sleep.

Midnight did not try that again.  She simply walked over me and went to where Ryan was sleeping.  “YES!!!” I thought.  “Now she’ll bug Ryan and leave me alone!!!”

Apparently, she just went to look at him.  She was back head butting me and putting my hand on her head in a matter of seconds.  I gave in.  I petted her for a few minutes.  She curled up and enjoyed it.  I started to fall asleep with my hand on her.  She lightly bit my finger as if to say, “Don’t think I’m finished with you yet!”

Finally I gave her one last pat, rolled over and tried to go to sleep . . . again.  Her petting needs had been satisfied, so she should leave me alone and go to sleep too.

Well, I was right about one thing.  She did finally go to sleep, but not before she walked over me again, stood on my pillow, and curled up with her back in my face.  There was fur from my forehead to my chin.  Having been too tired to do anything about it, that’s how we slept for the rest of the night.

Conclusion 1:  Cats’ wills are far stronger than humans.  In fact, they rule the roost.  They rule the house, and the people and animals inside it.

Conclusion 2:  The more you try to ignore or push a cat away, the more they like you and want your attention.  My advice to those who want to stay the boss of their own home and own a pet they can play with would be to get a hamster!

OK, most of you know that we are first time pet owners.  I never had a pet growing up and Ryan only had a cat.  As such, we are learning new things about our animals all the time.  I’m amazed, sometimes, at the terribly annoying things they do – like Anna chewing up Benjamin’s shoes.

Well, I’ve recently discovered something terribly annoying about our cat, Midnight.  I thought all was well when she finally got over the stage of biting our toes while we tried to sleep at night, but apparently there is still some kitten left in her.  She has now discovered…..

TOILET PAPER!!!

 Now, those of you with cats are probably saying, “DUH!!  She’s a cat,” but remember… FIRST TIME PET OWNER HERE!!!

Anyway, we have always placed our toilet paper on the roll with the loose end hanging toward the toilet, not the wall.  It’s the ONLY right way to hang it, I assure you.  Unfortunately, Midnight discovered that by sitting on the toilet she can easily unroll the toilet paper into a pile on the floor. 

Now, I thought only toddler boys did this, but apparently kittens love this as well.  Now we have THREE possible culprits wasting toilet paper: Joshua, Benjamin and the CAT!  

Being the smart people that we are, we figured that we could eliminate the third culprit by lowering our standards and turning the toilet paper roll around.  Unfortunately, the cat was smarter than we anticipated.  She immediately figured out that by standing under the toilet paper roll and hooking her claws into the toilet paper, she could still unroll the toilet paper onto the floor.  I guess she showed us!  I guess, at least, we can turn out toilet paper roll the right way again.

So, you may ask, “Why would she take the time to unroll a roll of toilet paper in the first place?”

It’s to make a bed, of course!!!

DUMB CAT!!!

Who said dogs and cats weren’t compatible???

Yesterday, our house officially turned into a zoo with the arrival of three new pets. That makes a grand total of SIX!!! Now, I don’t know why or how we have ended up with so many. I NEVER had a pet growing up, with the exception of a cup full of rollie polies I tried to keep in captivity in our garage. Unfortunately, they were dead the next day. Perhaps, I am trying to make up for all the years I went without. Perhaps I’m just insane – who knows. This post is an introduction to the Briggs’ zoo.

2 Zebra Finches

With the exception of a couple of fish that have since passed away, ZEE is our first pet. She has been a mom once and had several illnesses, but still seemed to outlast her perfectly healthy mate.

This is HAWK II. He is the replacement for Zee’s hubby. He has NOT been allowed to father any children yet. Isn’t it totally unfair that the male is so much prettier than the female? Sorry the photo is so bad. I was having a hard time maneuvering the camera around the bars.

1 Dog

ANNA came next. She is 1 1/3 years old and 57 pounds. She is very hyperactive, but super lovin. Anna is a mix between a Chocolate Lab and a German Shorthair Pointer. The hunters we know have coveted her.

1 Cat

MIDNIGHT is our newest addition. She is 8 weeks old and adorable. I’ve never seen a more playful and friendly kitten. She didn’t even go through the scared kitten stage when she came to her new home. Of course, my kids wouldn’t let her, either. We had to make them leave her alone as they just want to hold her all day. Don’t worry, we’ve made a safe haven for her. We’ve put up a gate in the doorway of the laundry room with a 3 inch gap only she can get through. If Midnight is in there, the kids aren’t allowed to touch her.

Petsmart

So, with my sister-in-law doing a rush trip with her five kids to bring us Midnight (long story), we had to make a trip to Petsmart for supplies. Ryan suggested we go ahead and get the pets we promised Elizabeth and Sariah months ago while we were there. These pets are rewards for cleaning their room and keeping it clean. We already had the tanks, so why not???

1 Hermit Crab

This resulted in CRABBY for Elizabeth. Crabby spends most of his (or her – we’re not sure which) time in her cave. I took the opportunity while she was out today to take some pictures. Watch out. He/she pinches!

1 Beta Fish

Sariah decided on SILVER MIST here. Yes, he’s a male, but have you ever heard of a fish with gender confusion? Me neither. Therefore, she can name it whatever she wants. Beta fishes are great because they are about as low maintenance as you can get. They can just sit in a bowl without filtration (though our tank is filtered) and all you have to do is feed it once a day. They rarely need cleaning too!! WHAT A GREAT PET!!

4 Monkeys

Oh, I almost forgot our four monkeys: ELIZABETH, SARIAH, BENJAMIN AND JOSHUA!!! They love their playmates excessively and get into as much trouble as they can. However, they are pretty good cuddlers, so I think we’ll keep them!