Our adventure with Oreo

Oreo is one of our older kittens. She was spayed on Monday and she can't get her stitches wet for at least five days. So, with all the rain she has been inside. Inside because I was worried if the wind blew the rain onto the porch it would get her wet, even though she was inside the kennel.

Day one went great! Of course she was still drugged up so she slept most of the afternoon, evening and night. Day two. Hmm. What to say about day two? She bit, hissed and was just plain mean. All this from one of our sweetest cats. It was a sad day...especially for me who was on the receiving end of her bites. Day three is going better. While she does have her moments of meowing constantly (and loudly) she has been in a much better mood. She is still biting but it is more of a nibble rather than an actual bite.

We are letting her out (within a foot of the kennel) while I change the pee pad because it is so much easier for me. I believe it is helping her to feel better about being inside. My only worry is doing this four more times. While I think most of the kittens are going to be fine, I believe "Momma" is going to tear me up!! She will be last...and I'm going to hope for NO rain for her.

Chloe's new bike...finally!

She loves her new bike! We are hoping the training wheels come off (again) soon.

A good laugh for you...at my expense!

Saturday morning I took my friend Wendy out for an "unbirthday" breakfast. While we were talking, she pointed out the window and asked if that was a friend of ours and her daughter. Wow! It is. She walked in putting her sunglasses on top of her head as she always does and headed down the aisle to the children's section. Well, those of you who REALLY know me, know I have to pick of others (probably because I was always picked on growing up). Anyway. I picked up my cell and called this friend. When she answered I asked, "You going to buy a childrens book?"

"What? Who is this?"

"Its Marsha. You just walked right passed us. You're at Books A Million, right?"

Laughter rang through the phone, "Marsha, I'm in my yard. I'm in Camden..."

Wendy busted out laughing (thanks for the support). Hope was still laughing. So I explained to her what we saw and I was very grateful I didn't get up to go scare her. I would have been arrested or put in the nut house. LOL

I hope you enjoyed your laugh.

A brief update

I have to say I gave up on Cat Black a few days ago. John did not. I let Rosie out early this evening. She sat on the top step of the deck peering out through the rails intently at something. I went to look to see what was up and there she was. A Cat Black staring up at me. As soon as I said Cat Black's name, Rosie bounded down the stairs toward the cat both of them rubbing on each other. One happy dog. One happy, and well looking, cat.

School House Rock!

If you are around the same age as John and myself then that phrase will mean something to you. On Saturday mornings, between cartoon shows, was School House Rock! We learned about nouns, conjunctions, electricity and how bills become laws. Are you humming yet? Now, imagine weaving those songs into a story for a real-live stage performace. That was School House Rock! this morning. The Children's Theater in Columbia did an awesome job of telling a good story that blended in the music perfectly. And as always, the actors did a fabulous job.

Chloe and Jesse are both considering audtioning for a play in January. I'll keep you posted on their decision.

One happy seven-year-old

For those who do not have seven-year-old daughters, today is the day "Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue" came out. Chloe has been counting down all month!! Disney was quite mean on this one and started its advertising campaign one year ago. A year in six year old time is way too long. I took them this morning to buy it and then we watched it during our lunch break. Chloe grinned the entire time. She was so happy to finally be able to see it.

Jesse on the other hand was not so excited. So for her I bought Wendy's for lunch while she "suffered" through the movie. She'll survive I'm sure.

Another cat has been "fixed". MC went today and now he is back in the woods (within our fence) relaxing. I hope he does as well as Phantom did yesterday. Now, we get a break until Friday when Pickles goes. Next week, the girl cats will go.

Sad turn of events

I don't know Valerie Hamilton, but I feel her loss. I don't know how she died or where she went to school. I don't even know how old she was, but I feel that she must have been young. Somehow she was connected to the Concord Police Department. I know this because one of my Facebook friends who I went to high school with either knows her or of her. She is mourning the loss of one of the Concord Police "family" members. I also know that she taught swimming. I know this because she taught a college friend's children how to swim. There have been a lot of nice words said about her so far of both of their pages. So, I feel their loss and hope they all find a way to heal their hearts.

So many things...

Okay, I am going to bounce around on this one; I'm just warning you. :)

We are still looking for Cat Black. I'm still hoping she'll come back. As evil as she is, I miss her.

The girls and I went to JoAnn's yesterday. I'm sure when my Mom comes for a visit she is going to want to check it out. I have never seen so much material in one place in my life. Growing up my Mom would go to Cloth World, or Clothword, but JoAnn's has so much more fabric. It is incredible. I'm thinking about "holiday" aprons, but I'm not so sure about my abilities yet.


I asked Chloe, yesterday, what earrings she was wearing. I was shocked when I looked to find she had put one in backward! Not sure how she did that and not realize it, but it was funny.

I have to say I'm a bit sad. I cannot say much here because my friend has not made the big announcement yet, but I have a friend who is leaving the area. She will be far enough away that we will probably not see her again. I am hoping to keep in contact on Facebook, but I'm not sure. Seems like so many of our friends, who are not military, are leaving here for one reason or another.

Believe it or not we are still getting cucumbers from the garden. The one plant we thought wouldn't do anything and it is the only one still producing!

I still need to post a picture of Chloe with her new bike. I'm hoping to have time today to download pictures. So many things we (I) need to do today. I did finally get waffles made for Chloe; I've been promising her for about a week, but many of our mornings this week we had to leave early. She was very happy to discover me cooking them this morning when she woke up.

GOTCHA!!

We caught Cat Black! She was trapped last night about 7:30 (to 8:00). John heard the trap shut. I heard it, but honestly didn't connect the sound to the trap. I went outside to check on her and she went nuts! She ran back and forth (the cage is only about 2' long and with it closed it's a bit shorter). Then she went across the top of it hanging upside down. HONEST. It was creepy to say the least. We thought she would be loud all night, but luckily she is a smart cat and remained quiet most of the night.
Now, you would think the hard part would be over. Well, you forgot the Human Society was involved in this. I was told last week by Mr. Wayne, we needed to catch the feral cat first then call to make an appointment. So, I called this morning only to be informed I should have made the appointment first then catch the cat; AND they are booked up until October. REALLY??!!! First, she is pregnant and going to have babies in the next week or so from what I'm seeing. Second, she will NEVER get near that trap again.
John said to call all the vets in the area to see if anyone can or will do it. I called our vet first, but they were fifteen minutes from opening. I called another place in Elgin...$250 and she had to check to see if he would do it because it is not his "surgery day", and he was running late and not there. They were going to call back but John said to try somewhere else just in case. I called Camden Vet. They told me to go ahead and bring her. Off we went.
It was easy to find, considering I know very little about Camden. We went into the lobby and waited for the only woman there to finish. John took Cat Black to the corner (where she belongs!). He and I both were reminded of the vet's office in Johnston, which was a nice feeling to have. What really got my goat was Cat Black was so quiet. She meowed an eerie kind of howl once then sat quietly until they came and got her. I told the woman at the counter that she (the cat) was trying to fool them (the staff) because that cat is insane.
Well, they called a few minutes ago to say she was out of surgery and doing well. I asked if they had any problems with her and was told "not many". I told John I felt a great sense of relief (no more kittens!) and he agreed. Just knowing if we didn't get her we could be up to fifteen cats was weighing heavily upon my mind. Starting next week three kittens a week for two weeks go to be "fixed". Momma and the newest kittens will go when they are three months old. Whew!!

Did you know?

For those who do not homeschool you probably do not know that each homeschool has its own name. Whether you are signing up with Books-A-Million or Scholastic for book fairs, most companies want a school name. It was shortly after I started looking into homeschooling that I discovered this fact. Then on a trip to Pigeon Forge we drove by an elementary school in Tennessee. I don't remember the exact name, but it was a "Primary". I told John then if we ever homeschooled our name would be a "Primary". Of course, then I had to explain to him that homeschoolers get to name their school. He thought it was weird and I think he still does, but it is still fun. And that is how we became "Morgan Primary".
Yes, I know in a couple of years we will have to come up with a new name. Most families do use a school name they do not have to change. However, my heart was set. I've been thinking about a new name. I want something that says where we are and where we are going. John wants something absurd because we can. :) I want this name to go through middle and high school. A name both girls will be proud to say.

All is still well

All is well in the Morgan household. School is still going well, though I have quite a few tests and quizzes that need grading. We are now doing all of our subjects for the year, one exception is Jesse's reading on presidents. I forgot to pick up the book at the library, so she'll start it next week.
They are LOVING geography this year. I believe I posted about it a few months ago. We are doing lapbooks, which is a manila folder (2 actually) put together to make a book. The cover they get to go wild on as long as the name of the state is somewhere on it. The first page is a picture of the state we are discovering (this week is SC). The next page will be flip books (or something like that) with things like population, agriculture, etc. They will use three different books to discover the answers and write it behind the flap. Then there will be a cross-word puzzle that I have made (the web is a wonderful thing!) where again they will use the three books to find the answers. Finally, will be a picture of the state's bird. All-in-all geography will be part geography and part art, which is mainly why they have been looking forward to geography this year. I'll post pictures once they have completed one.
My life is different, by that I mean complicated. Master Mike wants me to be a full instructor by January and he is doing everything in his power to make it happen. This session we have two black belt recommendeds (they are relearning all their forms for their black belt testing). MM has volunteered ME to help both of them. I am also to teach three self-defense moves tonight, too bad I can only think of one! Not only do I have to know at least nine forms, I have to know the stance, the move and what direction to go in so well that I can tell the form verbally without doing it. I will also need to create my own white belt form and take a written test. MM is planning an eight-to-ten hour session one Saturday in December. I'm not sure if I will get it all done with all the things I still need to do to prepare for homeschooling, but we'll see.
I have to be honest; the thought of ME in a black jacket scares me to death. Everyone says I'm doing a good job with teaching, but instead I know it could be done so much better. I still stumble on moves and confuse one form with another (some are very similar). I just think the classes would be better if I could take my time preparing to become instructor. However, it is not my class...yet. :)
John said last night he wants to do a staycation. He doesn't know when yet, but I do know he needs a break. He isn't talking much, but I can see it in his eyes that he is overwhelmed. The cats are not helping I know, but it feels to be a bit more than that. So, hopefully soon he can take a couple of days off soon and we can hang in the backyard.

Really, it has been a week already?

I cannot believe it has been over a week since I blogged!

Last Saturday we took the girls to the zoo. There was suppose to be a cold front coming through; however, I don't believe it ever made it here. It got soo hot!! The girls had a great time though. The zoo now has a rock wall and both girls tried their hand at it. They did great considering neither one likes heights!!

Sunday was my family reunion for my Grandpa's side of the family. We had some relatives come that have not been in a few years, which was great. Angela brought some weird balloon that you put air in then let it go and it does circles up in the air while releasing its air. It was cool, but many were lost in the trees. The kids still enjoyed it.

I taught my second TKD class this week. It went well. Even better than the first. I have to admit it was the one class I did not want to teach. The last class before graduation! Oh, well. It went well and graduation was a success. Master Mike mentioned a training/certification class he is going to hold in October or November. I'm not sure if he was saying that is the only time we'll be able to get a black jacket or not. I'm going to have to talk to him more about it.

School is going well here in the Morgan household. The girls are getting into a groove...finally. Jesse just discovered yesterday (I don't know where she's been!) that she'll be doing phyics this year. The book we are using was actually first published in the 50's. You can imagine some of the strange things it uses, that were common then (medicine bottle with a cork!). I'm sure there will be quite a few experiments that we will not be able to do because of it, but it looks fun. And that is coming from someone who doesn't really like science all that much.

Chloe is very excited to be studying the Earth and the solar system this year. She has been talking about it all summer. I will be very happy when she finally starts next week.

John is doing well. He has really enjoyed the new riding mower and I have to say I've enjoyed not having to mow. He told me Monday night he actually felt rested after the weekend. Rather shocking considering all we did.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Labor Day weekend.