One year of Dory

July 5th (I think...) marked one year of our Craigslist cat, Dory, entering our home.  She's come a long way from those early days of hiding under the couches :)

I thought I'd flip through some pictures of our cat, and realized I have a ton of her and Ben!  I'll post about Ben on my blog... he post about me on his Twitter.  We're even.

                       

 But lately, somebody got swapped out as "nap buddy"

Sorry, Dory.

we still have a cat

Since April 30th, this blog has been taken over by little Obi. But you haven't forgotten Dory that cat, have you??

She's been adjusting well to Obi. She looks at him funny when he squeaks and prefers not to be in the same room when he cries.  And her newest thing is sitting on the other side of the boppy pillow while Obi is eating.  Silly cat.

Bad cell phone picture that I had to brighten a ton-- but it's the only camera taking thing I had within reach of me!

our cat-baby

I swear our cat is like a baby.  Yes, I might be pregnant and have "baby stuff" on my mind more often. But I think she's trying to prepare us for the real thing.
  Here's some ways how I've noticed that our cat is like a baby...

- She cries.  I can't get to the bathroom in the morning without her crying and rubbing against my ankles because she's soooooo hungry!

- She throws up.  Not that often anymore... but it still happens and I still have to clean it up.  And then I need to figure out what upset her stomach and try and help that.

 - Ben and I will yell to each other to "come here" from the other room to look at the cute position that Dory is in.  I've even heard myself say, "Hold still, I'm going to grab the camera!"

- Sometimes she just needs to be held.  The second you sit down-- she jumps in your arms and snuggles her head by your neck.  It is sometimes seriously hard to get things done around here!  But holding her for a few minutes helps her cry less and forces mom to relax!

- She loves her evening time with daddy!  When he's home, she is in love. And then I'm free to do something else because the above mentioned point.  Somehow, he's just more comfortable to lay on.  I think the baby bump on me has gotten in her way-- and the baby boy has even kicked her a few times!


- She's excited to watch the trash guy come.  She hears the noise and rushes to her perfect viewing spot.  Is that really what we've become already??  Rushing to the window at 10 am on Wednesdays because something interesting is actually going on around here!

- She sleeps. All. the. time. Seriously, right now I'm watching her sitting upright on the carpet and her eyes are closing ever so slowly...  at least lay down!

- She's pathetic, helpless, and adorable.  Sometimes we come home to see a perfect cat body outline imprinted in our comforter and we comment on what a rough day she must have had!  And then we feed her, change her litter, hold her, and admire her.

- She's growing up so fast!  She was a skinny cat when she came to us, and it didn't take that long to get some healthy meat on her bones.  Now I'm wondering if this winter has added a few extra lbs to her-- or if she's just gaining some sympathy weight along with me :)  I'd say she's probably in the 90th percentile.


Now into the start of my third trimester with baby boy Jensen, I can definitely see that my focus has changed from me and my changing body and maternity clothes..... to having an actual baby person who will need my constant care.

Obviously, I realize that our baby will be a little more life changing.  I can't just leave the baby home alone when I go anywhere.  We can't just put an extra bowl of food and drink out and leave for the weekend.  So perhaps everything I've noticed is just how pets are and I'm just trying to compare my life now to my life 4 months from now.  Trying to find SOME way that this child will not completely shock my system and life as I know it is completely over.
I'm getting excited. I supposed I should have put an exclamation point after that word... but I think when I say it, I say it as a statement.  Exclamation point excitement seems to fade or be short lived. Exclamation point excitement is just looking forward to a single moment. Excitement with a period comes with the full knowledge that things may not all be fun and games-- but at the same time it is also perfect.  Baby Jensen... we are excited for you to be here.

life of my cat

She loves him

Got this picture text message yesterday.  He swears his leg was propped up on the arm rest first. She loves her Ben!

That's a snapshot of Ben's Saturday... and when I get motivated, I'll post some snapshots of my Saturday soon!

Dory the cat update

 These are just the few funny poses we find our cat in on an average day.
(don't mind the demon cat-eyes, I figured you'd forgive me for not editing the photos before)

She has made herself quite comfortable in the 2 1/2 months. Lately, she'll come in our room in the morning after she hears the alarm and stomp on us. 

She would much rather sit on a person than on a couch.  It doesn't matter if there's a computer on your lap-- she'll find a way to also join your lap.  I lay on my side-- and she balances on my hip. I have my legs on the ottoman, she'll pick one to straddle.  It's kinda fun to have a cuddly cat!  

Ok- now maybe one of these days I'll blog about something other than my cat! :)

Exploring new frontiers

New house and new city brings opportunities to do/have new things! Get a pet-check! Try the best rated Chinese take out place- last Friday night! Get some clearance outdoor table and chairs- yep! (those chairs were a pain to put together though).

Then there's the not so fun but necessary things- like buy a ladder.  Which I did successfully by myself and got the best deal by utilizing online price matching, coupon finds, and gift card usage.  But we had to buy that ladder to clean out the gutters which was a job for Mike Rowe. Years of heavy leaves/dirt/shingle pieces stuffed those gutters and filled up several 5 gallon buckets. Oh yeah, I had the new necessity/opportunity to buy 5 gallon buckets at garage sales last week.

Anyways...

It's also fun to try and fit into the new culture of your new town.  And that is how I came to recycle. [Haha!! Seriously as I am typing this the recycling guys pulled up in front of our house to get it. That made me laugh out loud.]

I've never been an avid recycler unless it was reused and saved me money in some way.  But I do feel a little better about myself because I recycle :)  The blue recycle box just showed up in our garage when we moved in. So I guess they kinda make you do it-- or at least make it really easy for you to do it.
I keep having to look up what is recycle-able on the city website-- so obviously I'm a newbie.

OH- and it comes with a lid.  Which shouldn't be used to catch the oil dripping from your husband's car. Washing oil off the recycling lid was kinda a funny thing to do. [FYI: oil dripping issue now solved thanks to husband's handy work]



Dory the cat is doing great! And she's just pretty to look at. She LOVES to jump on our laps when we're sitting on the couch.  In fact, she's on my lap right now.  Sit within 4 feet of her and she thinks she might as well be sitting on you.  So here I am with my left arm pinned down by her and she's bouncing whenever I type.

And she still loves Ben!

Dory

Well, we got internet in our new place-- finally!!!  AND we got a CAT!!!

Meet Dory (or at least that's the name I've been trying out on her)

She is about 10 years old.  She's a craigslist cat who needed a new home. She and all her supplies was FREE (plus previous owners bought brand new food and litter AND updated shots/vet visits). That's nice since our bank account has been getting a work out lately.







Since we've had her about 2 days... here is what I've figured out:
- she hangs out under the couch. Less though since she's been adjusted a little more.
- string cheese will get her to come out from under the couch

Notice the bump on the right side-- that's her. 

- she likes to lay on my stomach if I'm laying down.
- she crawls underneath the quilt on the guest bed to sleep
- she hisses when she's annoyed (she's set in her ways)







And here's my favorite one...

- she likes Ben... possibly more than me. But I'm OK with that right now, it helps him adjust.  And ya know what, Ben likes her!  She arrived here in the morning and had a rough day-- hiding from one place to the next. By the evening she came out more often and then I found her like this with Ben! I didn't know I married a cat whisperer...

That's the news from here! We're looking forward to a weekend at our new home/city with not much planned!