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Oct 26, 2008

My First, Slightly Neglected, Children

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Long before two wild daughters came into my life, I had slightly smaller, furry children. One of the very first things I did when I moved out on my own after college was adopt two kittens from the local shelter. One of those two was a Siamese, and since then, I’ve loved the breed and now have two Siamese cats.

Siamese, if raised properly, are actually very sweet and affectionate cats. They’ve had a lot of bad press thanks to Lady & the Tramp, and while they do like to get into everything, they aren’t mean. They’re like the dogs of the cat world – they love their people, they need to be around people, and if left alone they quickly become depressed and bitter.

Our two cats (we actually have three cats, but the third is like a ghost – we know she’s here, but others often don’t see her) and our two kids are usually friendly with each other. Dante, the older Siamese, has been with us since before Cordy was born. He was a little unsure of her when she first came home from the hospital, but after he got used to her they were always together.

Cordy and Dante, 2004

Kit, our younger cat, didn’t come along until Cordy was just over a year old. Siamese often like to be in pairs, and Dante was a little tired of having to share my attention with Cordy, so we found another Siamese for him. Kit is more high-strung and energetic (psycho kitty is what I often call him), but he’s also just as sweet with the kids. Mira pulls his tail all the time, and he generally doesn’t mind unless she tries to lift him by the tail. Even then, he doesn’t scratch or bite – he only tries to get free.

Cordy and Kit, 2005

Both cats do more than just tolerate the kids – they genuinely enjoy being with them. Some nights Cordy insists that he come into her room with her so she can sleep, and he willingly goes in and lets her shut the door behind him. Hours later, when she’s asleep, he’s meow at the door for me to let him out. When she’s awake in the morning, he’s often the one to let us know by meowing at her door. And Kit will often position himself next to Mira or Cordy in the living room, knowing they might pull his tail, but they might also pet him, too.


They’re attention whores, so they’ll take any attention, even if it’s a one year old pulling a tail.

And when they’re sick of the kids, they retreat to a high perch to cuddle together for warmth.

All together now: aww…

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by Burger King Corp.

Filed Under: Cordy, daily life, Mira ·


Oct 14, 2008

See A Penny, Pick It Up

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It seems that the bad luck that has been an unwanted house guest for oh-so-long is tiring of the scenery and packing its bags. I don’t know if it was lots of positive thinking, searching for four-leaf clover, picking up every penny I saw, or throwing said pennies into fountains and making wishes, but things have turned around in the past few days.

At first I thought we would never escape the dark cloud hanging over our heads. On Friday I received a call from one of my freelance gigs (the one that paid the best) and my producer told me I was no longer needed. That was a huge blow, and while I tried to not take it personally since it seems everyone is cutting back, I still took it personally. I’m trying to look at it as one task off my overfilled plate, and therefore a blessing in disguise.

On Sunday we attended the Walk Now for Autism event. Our team raised over $500. The walk had thousands of people there, and it felt nice to be surrounded by those who understood if Cordy started acting out. There was also a resource fair at the event, and I talked to several service providers who we may be contacting soon to get Cordy signed up for further therapy.

When we were approved for additional therapy funding back in May, I was handed a huge list of providers – hundreds of providers – with no additional information about them. Which approach do they use? What are their specialties? I was told I’d have to call everyone on that list and interview each one if I wanted that kind of information. The autism walk gave me the chance to see some of the providers who specialize in autism treatments in person. It was like a mini-interview session, and I found several that I plan to follow up with.

Waiting in line at the bouncy castle

At the starting line of the walk

And then yesterday morning there was a flurry of phone calls, and by 10am Aaron was employed again. He has a 2-3 month contract with a company in Cincinnati, but he will be working from home for most of the project.

The down side is that it’s only a short-term contract, but if he does well the contracting company will hopefully find another position for him. The pay is enough that we’ll go off of all assistance (woo-hoo!), and it looks like we might have enough to buy COBRA insurance for those 2-3 months. Even if the company can’t find him another project, it still buys us more time for him to look for other jobs.

I’m hoping it’ll also help drive away some of our irritation with each other. It’s not that we’re having actual problems per se, but when you’re around your spouse all the time, and you have to carefully examine each expense and interrogate the other as to why we needed another pair of pants for Mira or a ticket to a horror movie marathon, well, you quickly get tired of each other. We’re in each other’s way all day long.

So now he’ll disappear upstairs to work for a few hours a day, and then I’ll take over the office for a few hours when he’s done. And hopefully that will kill some of our irritation. If that doesn’t work, I’m lobbying to bring back Family Double Dare. Dumping green slime on your spouse could be therapeutic.

Filed Under: Aaron, Autism, big issues, daily life, the J-O-B ·


Oct 13, 2008

I Always Take The Shortcut

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Parent Bloggers is hosting another blog blast this weekend, sponsored by Ore-Ida to get the word out about their new Steam n’ Mash potatoes, with the theme of taking shortcuts. This is something I can really get behind, since I rarely resist taking the shortcut. Just ask my high school math teacher – in calculus I found a shortcut for a proof that she had never considered. If it’ll save me time and effort, I’ll find a way to do it.

I’ve written before about my microwave and what a timesaver it is. Not only do I cook frozen meals in it, but it cooks many fresh foods, too. For ears of corn, I wrap each ear in a wet paper towel and cook for 4 minutes. Potatoes also are great when microwaved in a similar manner. (Although be sure to poke holes in whole potatoes – no one wants to clean up the aftermath of an exploding potato.) Even eggs can be cooked in the microwave. I bought a cheap microwave egg cooker and get perfect hard boiled eggs in less time than it would take to get the water boiling on the stove.

My other big cooking shortcut is pre-cooked chicken. We buy it so we can add it to pasta meals, stir-fry, etc. without having to go through the effort of cutting, marinating, and cooking chicken. When we want to add some protein to a dish, simply cook it and during the last minute or two throw in some chicken so the chicken. Of course, you have to decide if the cost is worth the time saved, but using coupons and buying on sale can help offset that cost.

When Cordy was younger, I used to sort her laundry so that each shirt was paired up with a set of pants and folded together. It took a little bit longer than sorting laundry the traditional way, but it saved a lot of time in the mornings if we needed to hurry out the door. Instead of looking for a top and pants that matched, I could pull out an entire outfit that was ready to go. Socks were also always balled up together so I didn’t have to search for a matched pair. With two kids, I gave up on this shortcut, but I think it may be time to bring it back again to keep our mornings running smoothly.

(Oh, and that whole sorting laundry into colors thing? I don’t do it. Throw it all in together and toss in a Color Catcher sheet. My whites still look white.)

What about you? What shortcuts do you take to make life easier? (And if you want to get in on the blog blast, you have until midnight Pacific time.)

Filed Under: daily life · Tagged:


Oct 5, 2008

Spooky and Kooky Days of the Week

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In four short years, I’ve had to listen to a lot of music designed for kids. Some of it is fun, some of it I’d even call enjoyable, but I find the best songs are the ones that actually teach kids something in the process.

I’m volunteering at Cordy’s preschool one morning a week right now, which has been a great opportunity to see exactly what Cordy’s learning while there. I like to see the teaching methods used so I can copy them at home for some consistency. And I discovered that her teacher has a fun sense of humor when using music to teach.

My first morning there, Cordy’s teacher had them gather for circle time, and she asked them to sing the Days of the Week song. As they started singing, I suddenly realized that I knew the tune. And it wasn’t a tune I was expecting to hear, either. I had to stifle giggles while they sang it.

I learned that day that you can really take any tune at all and put new words to it to make it fun for kids. Since then, we sing it around the house, too, and I’ll share it with all of you:

Days of the Week
(Sung to the Addams Family song – if your kids can’t snap, claps work just fine)

Days of the week *snap**snap*
Days of the week *snap**snap*
Days of the week, days of the week, days of the week *snap**snap*
There’s Sunday and there’s Monday
There’s Tuesday and there’s Wednesday
There’s Thursday and there’s Friday
And then there’s Saturday
Days of the week *snap**snap*
Days of the week *snap**snap*
Days of the week, days of the week, days of the week *snap**snap*

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as an entry for a contest sponsored by Bush’s Beans. They’re giving away two $500 gift cards to Best Buy this weekend – that could wrap up a lot of my holiday shopping this year!

Filed Under: Cordy, daily life, school ·


Oct 2, 2008

For Once, It’s OK To Follow The Herd

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To my US readers:

Are you registered to vote yet? No? The deadline is quickly approaching – for many tomorrow is the last day to register. Here in Ohio, you have until October 6 to register. After that time, you’re out of luck, and no matter what your opinions are on issues at the city, state, and national level, your voice will go unheard.

It’s a close race this year – not just on who will be the next commander-in-chief, but on several other issues, too. Ohio, for instance, has like a billion constitutional amendments proposed, some of which you may not want to see written into state law.

If your excuse is you won’t be able to vote on Election Day, there’s a workaround for that, too: vote absentee. Ohio has already started sending out absentee ballots, or you can vote early in person anytime before November 4, even on weekends. Surely you can spare 15 minutes in the next month, right?

I received my absentee ballot today, and by early next week my vote will be cast. Easy-peasy.

So if you’re not registered, don’t wait any longer. Do it now before it’s too late. And yes, I know that means I’m encouraging people who would vote differently from me, too. You know what? That’s OK. Because while I certainly hope my guy wins the big race, I think everyone should exercise their right to vote, even if they vote differently from me.

And if I can’t convince you to vote, watch this video and let these famous people convince you. After all, celebrities make any argument stronger, right?

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Filed Under: daily life, politics ·