The weekend alarm

It is seven o'clock on a Sunday morning, and the cat just woke me up. He is our weekend alarm. During the week we are up much earlier getting ready for seminary and work, and getting the kids up for school. On weekends though, he is usually up roaming the halls just before seven, calling for someone to get up with him. Summers are even worse, because it gets light so early, that he thinks everyone should be moving with the sun. He is a strange creature, but very patient with the kids. He is a social animal, always needing to be where the action is, but staying apart from it too. He wakes us up in the morning to come and sit in the kitchen while he eats. He DOES NOT like to eat alone. Most days this means I automatically toss him outside. There are time when that is all he needed, for just a couple of minutes. He does not have a little box in the house. We used to, but there have always been little children running around. Once, before a friends visit, we took the littler box outside and never brought it back in. The cat, who has been know by a dozen different name since coming to live with us, almost instantly adapted and has done his business outside ever since. One of the best things about our cat is his ability to adapt.

So now he has eaten, been outside, and is back just sitting on the floor A few feet away. He doesn't often rub up against people, he does keep a little bit of distance, yet he also stays near. Even with tons of kids running around and trying to play with him, he prefers to stay close rather than running off to hide. As much as I sometime complain about him, he is really a pretty good part of the family.

Little love notes

Have you ever had days where all you do is put out fires? No, not real fires, but the little emergencies and problems that you deal with everyday as part of raising kids. That seems to be my day everyday. Someone always needs something, always wants a little bit of time. Most days that is not a problem, but yesterday was one day when it felt like I was needed in too many places as the same time. I was overwhelmed and felt under appreciated.
Last night one of the kids asked Kaylin why she was wearing two shirts. I was only half listening, and therefore the answer didn't make any sense. She said "because mom is allergic to rabbits."

Yes, I am. More than any other animal I have been around. I don't even have to touch them, just being around them is more than enough. My eyes get red and itchy, my chest gets heavy, and it is hard to breath. My kids know that. Connor has to collect from a lady on his paper route that has a bunch of rabbits, and I stay in the car. Just one time I stood at the door with him, not even inside the house. Wen we got in the car my eyes were burning and it hurt to breath. As a kid I spent the night at a friends house who had baby rabbits. We spent a lot of time playing with them, and they were I. The room with us as we slept. In the morning my eyes were swollen shut. That was my first experience with rabbits, and I have learned to stay away.

Now back to Kaylin. Her response only made sense when we saw what was on her bottom shirt. In her innocent little world, her bunny shirt might hurt Mom. She had covered it up to protect me, and once again I am reminded why I do all things I do for them. I love getting love notes from that girl.