Life’s Little Moments

I woke up yesterday morning to exactly what I expected in regard to social media. One side gloating and the other angry. Honestly, if the outcome had been different, it would have been the same way, just the other way around. It was the same here on WordPress, and because of that, I promise that this will be the last mention of politics on my blog for a very long time! Besides, I have other things to write about.

Bagging It Up

This past weekend, the weather was nice. So I decided that it was the perfect day to rearrange the garage. Every Spring and Fall I do this. I make sure that whatever seasonal machine I need is close to the door (snow blower or lawn mower). In the fall, I also put the lawn furniture and barbeque in the garage, so I need to make room for them, too.

I pulled everything out of the garage and began to go through some of the boxes that were in there. I condensed things from one box to another and rearranged them on the shelf. Then I moved some of the other things closer to the wall to make room for everything else. There were some bags of clothes that I was supposed to take to Goodwill and forgot about, and the mice got to them, so I wound up throwing them away.

As someone who likes to keep things, mostly for sentimental reasons, I admit it was nice to throw a bunch of the stuff away. There was so much cardboard in there, I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. I found a place for my toolboxes that will be much easier to access, and hung a bunch of tools up on the walls.

Once this was done (three hours later), I decided to start bagging leaves. I had gone out and bought bags and was finally able to start getting them up. I must have looked like a fool, as I was using my snow shovel as a “dustpan” for the leaves! It fits perfectly in the top of the leaf bags and makes it a little less messier.

15 bags later, my back was screaming at me to stop. I had really hoped that I could get it all done, but I was done. As I counted the bags, I thought, “Well, I have got to have most of it all bagged up!”

Uh, no. The above piles are just two of the 7 that are still around the front and back yards. Maybe this weekend I can finish?

I Was a Lions Fan Before It Was Cool

As a fan of the Detroit Lions, I have to admit that it is nice to have a team worth talking about! We’ve waited so long for this. Dan Campbell has really got our team doing well. When it came time to play the Packers last weekend, there was plenty of talk about how the Lions would lose on the road.

They came out and played some great football. The games are a lot of fun to watch because I never know what they are going to pull out of their helmets! When St. Brown scored a TD last weekend, I saw the “headstand” he did in the end zone and chuckled. Then I saw the photos online and I thought, “THAT is a fantastic picture!”

During the broadcast, they cut to a Lions fan who was wearing a cheese grater hat. For those who don’t know, the Packer fans are often called Cheese Heads and wear Cheese hats. I love this guy for wearing this and going viral on the internet! He had no idea until after the game, obviously, because he posted this:

Kudos Mr. Bodine! Kudos!

The Lions are 7-1 and I am enjoying the season! I am enjoying it so much, I asked AI to make me a Detroit Lion:

HOLY MACKERAL! I look fantastic!! I’m skinny, muscular, and handsome as ever! Put me in, coach! (Whoops, wrong sport.)

Make Yourself at Home

Sunday night, I got the kids to bed early. The school break was over and it was back into our routine Monday morning. Everyone decided to crash in our bed that night. I guess I woke up about midnight and as I changed positions in bed, I had to laugh. Andrew was next to me, Ella was in Sam’s spot and smack dab in the middle of them was our kitten, Bitsy!

She looks like she is very comfortable! No wonder I was falling out of bed!

Hope you are having a great week!

Life’s Little Moments

I’ve been having fun on the blog in the last week or so. However, we’ve experienced our share of rough stuff at home. Hopefully, we’re working our way towards the end of it.

Germs!

It started with Ella about three weeks ago. She went to urgent care with a fever. They said it was an ear infection and sinus infection and to follow up with her primary doc. They confirmed what urgent care said and we did a round of antibiotics. She missed a week of school and went back. She hung on to a deep cough, but she had no fever. The cough continued and we took her back to the doctor who told us it was due to drainage. When she spiked another high fever, we were back at the doc who gave us another antibiotic.

Saturday, she wasn’t really herself. My brother was in town and she was kind of clingy. On Sunday, my brother was supposed to come back over, however, plans changed. Ella woke up with a fever of 105.1. So it was off to the ER.

She was miserable. They swabbed her to check for Covid, Strep, and any other virus. They gave her Motrin and the fever started to break. They took her for x-rays to check for pneumonia, too. We were there from 8:30am until about 2pm. No pneumonia, urinalysis was fine, chest was clear, but she does have a form of Coronavirus that is not Covid. She came home and immediately fell asleep on the couch.

She slept for almost five hours. Sam stayed up with Andrew while I was at the ER. When we got home she laid down to nap, too. My brother didn’t know how long we’d be and figured it was best to let Ella rest. He ended up going home early. So it was just me and Andrew.

We went outside and raked leaves. He was pretty proud of the big pile we made, and he wanted a picture.

Andrew, Sam and me have all had a cough. Sam seems to have gotten what Ella has. Andrew and I are just coughing. I hope this goes away!

Kit Kat Club?

Sam ordered a cat tree for the kitten. She is extremely playful and loves to claw at things. The hope is that she will sharpen her claws on it, and use it to rest. I don’t think that is going to be an issue….

Keith – AI

I was scrolling Facebook this week and something popped up. It was some AI thing that Facebook has. It said to have it “imagine” something and it would create it. You can say, “Imagine pigs flying” and bingo – there is a picture. So I said, “Imagine me as a radio DJ.” Real creative, right?

The first thing it did was took a picture of me from the front, and both sides. It had me upload a picture or two of me to aid it in the creation. Next thing I know….

Not bad, I suppose. Something is obviously wrong with my right hand as it only has three fingers! I’m not sure about the headphone cords … something isn’t right there. On another note, if I was really this thin, I’d be extremely happy!!!

Naturally, I had to try another. That one was too easy. So I said, “Imagine me as Columbo.” I meant, of course, Peter Falk’s iconic character. I never clarified that at all and wanted to see what it came up with. I’m not going to lie, it is kind of impressive.

They got the raincoat and messy hair, although most of it is covered by a hat. I may have to make this my profile picture on Facebook. It’s too good!

Ewe Never Know What You Might Ram Into …

Our town has a Facebook page. It is used to talk about events, traffic issues, and so on. The past week has been a real hoot. It seems that someone’s ram got loose and ran away.

The page began to fill with ram sightings all over town.

This thing was everywhere and they couldn’t seem to catch it.

It became quite humorous as people were creating memes and other photoshopped pictures with it. Those were funny, but I though the real photos were funnier.

I mean, here is this ram just out enjoying the sights and sounds of our town!

I won’t lie, I was actually a bit disappointed when they posted that he was finally caught and returned home.

He was so popular, I may write him in as my candidate for President!

Life’s Little Moments

Good Mood

This week, Andrew woke up in a particularly good mood. He was talkative, silly, and a very joyful boy. My wife, Sam, said to him, “You’re in a really good mood today!” He looked at her and said, “That’s because I didn’t wake up with my mean eyebrows!”

I’m not sure where he gets those from!

The Joy of Reading

Bedtime at our house always seems to be crazy. It got a little crazier this week when I walked into the bedroom with books to read, only to find that Ella was already reading … to our kitten!

She seemed to enjoy it, despite the lack of kittens in the story.

Flip Flopping Around

Speaking of the kitty, Bitsy is making herself right at home. She has no problem standing up to our pup, Daisy. It’s quite humorous to see her swat her itty bitty paw at Daisy’s nose.

Watching her this week has only enforced the phrase, “Playful as a kitten.” She loves to play. We definitely have to get her a few more kitty toys. Until the, I guess she will continue to wrestle with Sam’s Flip Flops.

Special Shopping Trip

This week, Andrew graduated from his speech class. His speech teacher, Miss Christa, has been instrumental in helping us get the right services for him. She has been become more than a teacher to us, she is a friend. We told the kids that they could go to the store to pick out gifts especially for her.

We told each of them that they could pick five things for her. When we walked into the store, they were off. They did a great job. They got her a calendar, new pens, a pumpkin solar light, plastic cups with their favorite things on them (Disney Princesses and Paw Patrol), nail polish, and a couple fall figurines. They also made sure to get her some pretty flowers.

The fall figurines they got her were a fox holding an apple and a squirrel holding an acorn. When she pulled out the squirrel (which was from Andrew) she said, “Oh wow! What a cute squirrel! What should I name it?” Andrew, without hesitation says, “Pickle Nuts!!”

At the end of the day, she sent us photos of where she placed her gifts around the house …

Pickle Nuts looks happy to be there.

Summertime Imagination

Despite the humidity, the kids loved being outside this week. They love to ride their scooters up and down the street and play in the backyard. I usually pull up a lawn chair and grab a spot in the shade and watch them play.

They must have been hot, to, because they were a bit more stationary than usual. They grabbed four of their chairs and put two in front and two in back. Next thing I know, they were “driving” to the store, to the park, and to go get ice cream. Naturally, they had to have their butterfly nets with them…

I love listening to them play together.

Doggin’ Around

Monday was National Dog Day. As much as she drives me crazy, Daisy is a good pup.

Now What?!

As I was walking to my car to go to work today, an Amazon truck slowly passed my driveway. My wife is always ordering things from there, so I never know what is coming. I thought I’d survived another delivery when the truck stopped and started backing into my driveway! All I could think was, “What the heck did she order now!? And why do they have to back in to delivery it!?”

My fears went away as the guy walked out with a simple little package with a shirt or something in it. Whew! I truly was expecting the two back doors to fling open and the driver come out with a huge box on a dolly or something!

You gotta love life’s little moments!

Dressing Up

You may remember a week or so ago that my wife bought a bunch of costumes for the kids to dress up in. Can I tell you that this has been so much fun for them, especially on rainy days.

A few more costumes have been added since the original post, but what I love is that they have found ways to mix and match as they play. The results have been …. humerous.

Edna from the Incredibles was quick to say, “No Capes!” However, the kids seem to be using them as accessories to various costumes. The hospital exam glove on Andrew’s hand is there for no reason in particular. Believe it or not the yellow had Ella is wear is a cowboy hat. How it got mangled into that shape is beyond me. Daisy had a hat on, but it fell as I snapped this photo.

My favorite outfit of the week is the ensemble that Andrew put together to go “scooter riding.”

First, Ninja Turtle pajamas. Next, we have Ella’s T-ball cleat on one hand and his baseball glove on the other. Top top it all off, he has a regular baseball cap on his head and on top of that, the hat from the Paw Patrol Chase costume. I do not have to wonder why people driving down our street slow and stare at him as he happily rides his scooter up and down the driveway.

Bitsy

The thing about our new kitty is that she is so tiny. She hides everywhere. She snuck out when the kids had the side door open this week and didn’t go far. As a matter of fact, she sat in front of the door meowing.

She can get into tight spaces and since she got out once, when we can’t find her, I freak a bit. I could not find her the other day and thought, “Ok, maybe she is sleeping under a chair or in the basement.” So I sat down with a cup of coffee and out of the corner of my eye, I looked at the shoe rack. Sure enough …..

She’s a sneaky one.

“The smallest feline is a masterpiece.” – Leonardo da Vinci.

A Purr-plexing Cat-astrophe?

So a co-worker came in last week and sat down next to me. “Keith, do you want another kitty?” Without any hesitation whatsoever I gave her a firm, “No!” She showed me a picture of four kittens who had been abandoned at a relative’s house and said they were trying to find them homes. I said that was sad, but I couldn’t do another cat.

She posted the photo on Facebook asking for folks who wanted to give these kitties a new home. Within five minutes, I received a video call from my wife and kids. When I answer the phone, Andrew says, “Daddy. Can we please get the tan kitty?”

I forgot that my wife is friends with my coworker on Facebook. I turned and gave her a dirty look. She started laughing and told my wife that she had already asked me. I told her that I had politely declined, but that was not ending the conversation.

When Andrew goes into a meltdown or starts crying, we can usually get him out of it by suggesting he find our cat Maizey. He will find her and hug on her and all is better. So the argument was that the new kitten could be a therapy cat for Andrew. (THERAPY CAT?!?) Then my daughter came on the phone and said she wanted a kitty, too. I told them I would think about it.

My coworker called the lady who was taking care of the kittens to let her know I would be by the next day to pick up this kitten! I didn’t stand a chance …

So we piled into the car on the day before International Cat Day and drove the short distance to pick up the new kitten. Andrew was ecstatic! He went into the house with me and couldn’t wait to hold the kitty. We put her in the cat carrier and he wanted to carry it out to the car. I had to take it from him though, he was so excited he was shaking that poor kitty up on the way to the car!

There were many names tossed around and she was almost named Pickle! Then the kids remembered this cartoon show called Super Kitties that the watch on Disney. There is a cat on there that they like, so they named ours after it – here’s Bitsy.

As much as I was against getting a new kitten, to see the kids loving her makes it worth it.

Maizey isn’t quite sure how to take the kitty yet, but they seem to get a long. Daisy won’t leave the kitten alone! She’s always right by her.

The kitten is becoming a bit more playful and she’s already started swatting at Daisy’s nose. When those claws start to get bigger, the dog is in for a big (and painful) surprise!

Bitsy is already using a litter box and having no trouble making herself at home.

Last night she clawed her way up the blanket on my bed and began attacking my hand. She is obviously going to be very playful.

Of course, after running and playing, eating, and running away from the kids and the dog, she needs to find a place to sleep. Honestly, I’d prefer she lay on a blanket or something, but I suppose this is ok … for now….

Welcome home, Bitsy!