A photo post catch up!

What have we been up to since my computer cord died? Well, here are some photos to catch you up. :)

My little Scooter cat (on the right) has had some pretty rough days. She's been having strokes, losing feeling in her legs, falling against walls, throwing up regularly and even went to the bathroom on the middle of the floor. This is so heartbreaking. I've been pretty heartbroken about her and getting to the point where I know I need to make that horrible decision.. but then she'll turn around and have a bunch of really good days - like right now. This is so hard. She is so happy when she's not having a bad moment and honestly doesn't seem to be in any pain at all. Being a furbaby parent is not easy. I've had her for 15 years and I really don't want to say goodbye yet. I adore this picture of her and Mirri (the rather chunky kitty in the photo) because Scooter never lets the other cats cuddle her anymore. She's very bone-y and I assume it isn't terribly comfortable for her at this point. That evening she let Mirri rest her head on her bum and I could have melted. Awww.

We have had a double whammy of sick furbabies in our house. Tiernan's rat, Ratatta, has mycoplasma (very common among rats) which is a lung illness. She had what's called a "mycro flair up" and it had me crying for days. I didn't like seeing her in pain like that. She was wheezing, coughing, sneezing.. and not just gently. The poor little girl was so defenseless. She would have trouble eating because she wasn't able to breathe (but did eat, which is a good sign!), she slept a LOT, and she would look at me with those gentle little eyes asking for help. The worst was when she stuck her little paw down her throat to try and open up her lungs. Heart wrenching! I spent a lot of time holding her while she slept, giving her extra vitamins A & C and little bits of dark chocolate. I'm happy to report that the flair up is over now, and although she's still not "normal" again, she is much, much better!

Aww, look at Rhi's little nose peeking out from a hole in their hammock! Adorable! Poor Rhi felt lost when Ratatta was sick, too. Usually they cuddle together all day, everyday. When Ratatta was sick she made sure to leave her alone when she was sleeping. Ratties are so smart!

While we're on the topic of pets, November 2nd was Mystic's birthday. Mystic was our border collie cross who we had from the time Avery was 8 months old, and who we had to say farewell to back in February of 2009. She was a beautiful dog, full of life and spunk. She was a runner and loved to herd the kids around when they were little. She was a talker, could get a bit grumpy when kids crawled on her (she had back/hip/leg problems from before she was a year), and had the most amazing brown eyes. She was my buddy, my foot warmer and I miss her each and every day. Mystic loved ice cream cones and we took her over to a local burger joint to get her a doggie cone and she would literally dance across the street after she had one. Before we said farewell to her, we took her to DQ for a cone. Every November 2nd is Mystic Day and we have an ice cream in her memory. The sting from her loss is still there, and I am certain it always will be. My Mickey-Tickey, my love. I'm certain that she was the one who brought Tibby into our lives. I still remember talking about her with Kyle while doing the dishes one morning and just bursting into tears. One of us suggested going to the Quinte Humane Society to walk some dogs (something we did from time to time) so we headed out there that Sunday afternoon. We walked a few dogs, and then I saw him. Tibbs was sitting in his kennel, keeping completely quiet and just watching me. I was drawn to him like nothing I'd ever experienced before. We took him out and knew right then and there we couldn't leave without him. I truly believe Mystic was with me that day and helped me find this boy we have now.

I am a firm believer that sometimes we need down time. That goes for my kids, too. Rhianna was feeling really under the weather and was barely eating, so I suggested she stay home for a day to recoup and rest. It was apparently just what the doctor ordered because she felt 100% better by the evening and was back to her normal self - jumping out of bed the next morning with a bounce in her step, ready to take on the day!

Rhianna's birthday is back in July, but it's nearly impossible to organize a birthday party with her friends for summertime. Instead, we wait until the Fall to celebrate. This year we went out to the movies to watch Puss n' Boots with her brothers and six of her friends from dance and school. Unfortunately, one other friend of hers was unable to make it (the poor girl has been super sick.. we're thinking about you, Kayla!). Since the party was at the theatre we decided to make some popcorn cupcakes! Rhianna just loved them!

Even her loot bags were theatre themed! Everything you need to curl up and watch a movie. ;)

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. We had a dance-a-thon for the dance studio the weekend before Halloween and I had a blast dancing around with the kids. :) I sent some snackies into school with the kids (these are the kitty cupcakes I sent with Rhianna), I made some Halloween themed food (but was in such a rush I only took pictures of one thing!), and the kids went out trick-or-treating with friends for the first time ever. I followed Rhianna around with some of my friends (mothers of Rhianna's friends) and admittedly felt a little strange without my boys! Guess I need to get used to this whole independence thing.

Here is the one photo I took - our candy corn pudding dessert. Cute, yes?

Avery dressed up as Charlie Brown's ghost from 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!'... not as the holy ghost as my friend Laura thinks! Haha.

Tiernan went as Link from Legend of Zelda!

And Rhianna went as Pippi Longstocking!

My lovely little crew before everyone dispersed for the night. Kyle dressed as a Wizard that night (I was a witch, as per every single Halloween). Even Tibby dressed up in Mystic's old hippy costume. :D I love them, oh yes I do!

How cute is Tiernan's Jack Skellington? ♥

So that about sums up our lives for the past couple of weeks. Add into this a whole lot of visits to the dance studio, a first visit to Brownies, lots of exciting soccer games for Avery (good grief, this level is intense!), plenty of soccer practices and development training, working for both Kyle and I, a tummy bug that has hit only Kyle and myself... and I think that may be it. Phew! ;)