Goodbye, My Beautiful Blueberry Bear

In October of 1996, I was volunteering at our local OSPCA as a member of the board of directors.  I couldn't work in the shelter because my heart couldn't take the sadness of the animals and I knew I'd want to take them all home with me.  J. and I were just married a few months at the time and something was missing in our lives.  I had always grown up with pets and knew we needed a little kitty to make our family complete.  Off to the shelter I went, one day, and happened upon two little tabbies huddled side by side in their litter box.  Brother and sister - cats B and C of a litter of three found on the side of a highway.  "A" had already been adopted leaving "B" and "C" left.  When I opened their cage, one immediately scampered under the shelving units and hid, while the other was happy to be picked up and cuddled.  The one who hid was Cheetah and the one who wanted cuddles was Bear.  We adopted them both.  Bear was so sick with a respiratory illness that the staff said we could come and get a new cat if he died. He showed them! He lived for over 15 years.  Cheetah passed away in February of 2007 and Bear passed away this afternoon.  I kissed and cuddled him as he exited this world in the same way I kissed and cuddled him that day in the shelter.  He was always as cuddly.  I loved that little sweetheart and will miss him greatly. He was my first baby and filled my life with joy through many, many difficult years of infertility.  His unconditional love was something I'll never experience again and I'll be forever grateful that I was the lucky recipient of all those years of love and cuddles.

Goodbye, old friend.

Play Room

Years ago, when J. finished the basement, we had visions of someday watching little ones play amid toys and games.  Sometimes, I still can't believe that we are living our fairytale.  It's amazing.

This is what is seen when at the bottom of the stairs looking into the playroom. Poor Bear rarely gets a moment's peace.

We moved Chick's bookshelf that J. built from her room to the basement to accommodate her new double bed.

Our alphabet wall. This is the wall I eventually want to paint using Idea Paint (a whiteboard paint).

Moving into the playroom.

I thought about cleaning the place up a little before taking pictures, but that wouldn't be a realistic portrait of what it looks like on a daily basis.

This little contraption holds all of our wet paint crafts until they're dry.  I love it!

Pea serenading me with a very shrill recorder.

Our circle time calender wall. The kids love running upstairs to see what the weather is like, then run back downstairs to turn the little spinner to the right conditions.

Typical scene.

The other side of the room that isn't getting much use at the moment.  We will be turning this area into a craft/music/learning area.

More play.

On the main support for the house, we track the kids' heights.  We've been doing so since they were just over a year old. This is Pea's side.

 Chick's side.

The kids love playing down here, but seldom do so unless J. or I are with them.  Hopefully, in time, we'll be able to move all of their toys out of the other areas of the house and into their playroom.  Because, let's face it, our entire house is their "playroom" at the moment.

Breakfast Anyone?

If you really know me, you know that I am the farthest from a domestic goddess that you can get. That said, I'm trying (for the sake of my children) to make more of an effort where food is concerned so that the twins get more than cereal, toast and rice.
This morning, I decided to try my hand at making a recipe I found here called Banana Bites.

Gathering Ingredients - Yes, our Canadian milk comes in bags.

An egg shell in the measuring cup.  How'd that get there?

We only had one banana left, so I didn't want to make any more mistakes.

The stress that accompanied watching these little suckers for signs of burning was palpable.

Success!  No burns!

What the babies were doing as I was cooking.

My picky boy was apprehensive.

At least he's honest.

My "Eat Anything" girl.

LOVES IT!!!

Even Bear wanted in on the goods.

When the crying started, Pea was removed from his chair.

He's learning quickly, that I won't make personalized meals. 

So, one out of two liked it. Can I call that a success? I guess I'll wait until J. comes home to see if he likes it (there are TONS of leftovers). Anyone want to come over and have some?

S.O.S.

Three Babies?

This cat has serious issues.

Pretty Good So Far

Today marks day five of being on summer break and I have had a lovely five days thus far.  On Saturday, my very pregnant best friend came for a visit and we had a great time together.  Sadly, she had to leave on Monday to travel back to Ottawa to be with her family.  How cute does she look at 26 weeks?

 

Little Rowan will make his debut sometime in early October.

Yesterday, my good friend Terry and I spent the day shopping and dining.  It was a great way to spend a Tuesday!

Today, K2 has the day off as it is Canada Day!  The weather is promising to be ugly for the better part of the day, so it is difficult to know how to plan.  We were going to tear out the kayaks and head for water, but with a storm brewing, I'm not sure that it's such a good idea.  For now, we are staring at this lump of fur (who is still NOT eating the way we would like him to).  Sigh.  Could he be ANY cuter?

 

He's had a rough morning playing in his tissue paper and with all of his toys.

Hope that my fellow Canadians have a lovely Canada Day today and that my American friends have a great Independence Day on Saturday! 

Spoke Too Soon

About an hour after I posted last night's statement, "We haven't had any lost lunches around here in a week and that is a VERY good thing." Bear lost his lunch in a projectile kind of way.  Sigh...

I picked up some more sensitive tummy food today.  Hope this helps him.

Update

Aside from a very chilly bare bum, the Blueberry Bear is A-Okay.  All of his blood work came back normal and his urinalysis was perfect.  So, we are switching him to a diet that is exclusively for "sensitive tummies" with the hope that he will be able to keep his food down.  We have also been instructed to feed him more, so he's very happy about that.  We haven't had any lost lunches around here in a week and that is a VERY good thing.

Update on my mom will come within the next few weeks.  Keep thinking good thoughts!

P.S.  One more exam to go!!!

Bliss, Bare Bums and Biopsies

K2 and I live in a very small town in the Greater Toronto Area. We have everything we need here, but for the good stuff, we head to the city.  Sushi is one of those things for which we have to travel into the city.  We absolutely don't mind doing it (especially for sushi) but we have often thought about what life would be like with a sushi restaurant just down the road. 

On my way home from work last night and just down the street from our house, my eyes fixated on something I have only ever seen in my dreams:  a SUSHI RESTAURANT!  You have no idea the thrill that ran through me as I drove past, rubbernecking to see if it had opened yet (it has not).  I know it won't be better than "our place", but to have an actual sushi restaurant a minute down the road is going to be VERY dangerous.  I like danger.

On another note, we had to take Bear into the cat hospital this afternooon to have him checked out.  He's been having some tummy issues, so the doctor took some blood, some urine and *gasp* shaved his furry bum (he had some tangles there).  Oh, the humanity.  He has dropped a whole pound and a half since last summer (which is a lot for a kitty) so I'm a little worried.  We'll get results tomorrow.

As if my mom hasn't been through enough.  She found out last week that she may have endometrial cancer.  She had a biopsy this afternoon and will get the results in a couple of weeks.  The good news is that if it comes back positive for cancer, it is known for having the lowest death rate of any of the cancers.  The only concern is that surgery is challenging with her heart/blood issues.  Send good thoughts!

P.S.  ONE more teaching day left until exams!!!

Special Gift

My birthday was back in April and, being the VERY lucky girl that I am, I received some lovely gifts from even lovelier people.  One of the gifts is extraordinarily special to me and I thought I would share it here, since I finally found a home for it today.

Doris and Dan presented this to me when they were down a few weeks ago.  Dan sketched and painted it HIMSELF and from a photo that I had of Bear.  How precious is this?

 

I put the picture in our foyer, so that as soon as someone enters the house, they can see it.

 

Honestly!  Adorable.

Thanks again, D&D!  It is one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received.

Because He's The Cutest

My Blueberry Bear is my little buddy.  It is rare that I can be anywhere in the house without him by my side and it is equally as rare for me to sit anywhere without him on me in some fashion.  Evidence is below:

 

Half on...half off.

  

  Fully ON!

  

  

Nap time with me.

It is very difficult to be stressed when there is a warm and purring mass of fur snuggled up with you.  Honestly, there is nothing like it.

Reminiscing

Two years ago, our very brave and beautiful Cheetah lost her battle with heart disease.  We had adopted her when she was just a few months old and just a few months into our marriage.  It was 1996.  How cute were our babies then?

 

 
 

We miss her so much, still.  I pass by her framed paw print every single day and wish that she were still with us.  She always smelled so good and she always had the cutest little chirpy purr.  She was K2's Baby Girl.   Every day that we have with Bear is a blessing and I smother him with all the love I have all the time. K2 thinks he needs a new friend...a bunny.  Bear would eat that bunny for breakfast.  K2 is naive.  There will be no bunny.  

Yesterday, I stopped by to see my favorite Raspberry Muffin (G-Man) and while I was visiting, he painted several pictures for me and for K2.  Man, for a four year old, I think that these paintings are amazing.  I asked him to print his name on each and he did so quick as lightning.  Smart little Muffin, I tell ya.  I love that boy!

 

A Heart For Valentine's Day

 

Flowers for Auntie K1.  How beautiful are these??

A Red Snowman holding a revolver.  When asked about why his snowman was holding a gun, G-Man said, "He's a Police Snowman."  Phew.

No Bearsicle

When K2 got home from work today, he found a house with power and a warm, fluffy Bear purring away in his box by the window.  My friend Terry made Bear a blanket for Christmas (no judgments, please) and I had carefully laid it in his box before I left today hoping that it would keep him warm.  How cute is he in his blanketed box?  Honestly, people...too cute for words, really.

 

Today was not a good day at work.  I got into a pretty heated confrontation with one of our VPs and was so angry about the exchange that it soaked through me all day.  By end of day, I confronted her in her office and told her just what I thought of her policies and her lack of judgment where a particular student was concerned.  She apologized, but I get the feeling that nothing will change. In my opinion, the rules of the school should apply to ALL kids, regardless of WHO their parents are or how integral the student is on a particular school team.  Sigh....  I've never been good with authority; especially when the authority in question is not treating all students equally.

I'm tired.  Probably should mediate before work tomorrow. 

Not Funny

 

So, not only is it -17 degrees Celsius (1 degree Fahrenheit - not counting windchill) but we are WITHOUT power in our house at the moment.  Sure, I'm at work where it is nice and warm and where there is heat/power, but my poor, poor Bear is freezing cold in our house.  It pained me to leave him this morning and I am worried sick that his little ears are frozen, but what could I do?  I had to come to work.  

Sigh...

Let's hope that the power is restored before long.  It had been out for 45 minutes before I had to leave for work.  Not a great way to start the day.  I'm in a horrible mood.  Ugh. 

Christmas Eve

K2, Blueberry Bear and I would like to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas, a beautiful Hanukkah and a spirited Kwanzaa. To our Muslim friends, we wish you a happy Muharram in January!

K2 is on vacation and will be until January 5th. Lemme say this. He is not a man who can sit still for ANY length of time. As soon as we woke this morning, he took one look at the remnants of the storm that blew threw last night and was out clearing the driveway (and those of our neighbours) in a heartbeat. Currently, he is in the backyard making a tunnel for Bear. I ask you! Don't believe me?

The Starting Point

 Stopping to make a snowman

 

Bear is excited!

Making the tunnel

The Grand Entrance!

 

Happy Bear!

This is why we need children!