What a Week

Our week started out really fun with Sunday at Lake Anna jet skiing and boating. Canon is a speed junkie and Skye loves boating too. For those who may not know, Lake Anna is a man-made lake (dammed river) to cool the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant. The water, as you can imagine, is surprisingly warm and that's not even the "hot" side of the dam. We really like the lake because you can jump in and not be taken away by the tide/currents as we usually experience boating on the Rappahanock River. We basically can life-vest Skye and toss her over.

Now Monday began with a trip to the vet for one of my two cats, Beruse or Moose as we call him (14 yrs old) because I had begun noticing he was drinking a lot of water, peeing buckets and not always making it to the litter box. Nothing more fun than almost busting your a$$ slipping-up on cat piss. Or having to smell the "water" to see if it's a melted ice-cube or what?

While peeking on the Internet to check urinary tract infection symptoms, diabetes popped up as a possible cause for his symptoms. That afternoon at the vet's, the tech took Moose back to get some urine. I told her while she was at it, get some blood, I think he might be diabetic. Mooses sugar was 485... a cat's sugar should be under 100. With a $300 bill and some directions to shoot him 2 times a day with insulin, he was sent home the next day.

Now, my Mom had diabetes and eventually died from losing her kidney function from uncontrolled diabetes and heart disease to put it simply. Mom had to test her sugar several times a day and dose her insulin accordingly. How come my cat gets insulin prescribed like an aspirin? "Take two and call me if ..."

Fortunately, the Internet is an amazing source of information and I have found a website http://yourdiabeticcat.com/ byveterinarian Elizabeth Hodgkins for treating, possibly curing my cat of diabetes with proper dosing of insulin and just as importantly Diet. They are having an 80% success rate. This has me testing Mooose's sugar with a Human Glucometer at least 4 times a day and giving insulin up to 4 times a day based on the numbers.

No Vet has ever told/warned me about dry cat food because they are ignorant about nutrition, paid spokespeople for their "prescription" dry food, and/or simply don't care. Had I known how utterly and completely horrible ANY dry cat food is we might not be in the position we're in now. Dry food will slowly kill your cat because it is so loaded with carbohydrates and low in protein. Cats are truly carnivores and I have been feeding my cats like they were cows. Now they are on the "Catkins Diet". Please read up a little and throw away dry and NEVER buy again. It's just that bad.

Shaken or Stirred, I'll take it

To My Friends and Family who sent me emails and comments about the blog, thanks for the nice words and the updates on what "ya'llve" been doing. You've been on my mind too! I feel like I've been hibernating for the last year...without the sleep part. So recently (a whole two weeks ago) I decided to "get a life" and make time to do fun, not always productive, adult stuff at least once a week. Sam is really supportive and when I'm not around, Skye doesn't have the "need" to nurse because Daddy's dry. Sam sometimes tries to pretend nurse Skye just to see her laugh. Oh yea, Big Hairy Nipple. Yum, Yum!! I must admit, with my 40 year old hormones, I've been getting hair popping up in weird places.

My inspiration came from Kim (thanks again) a friend who loaned me the book, "The Three Martini PlayDate, A Practical Guide to Happy Parenting." It's a light, tongue in cheek read but makes it points. It covers such topics as the Childproof House: How To Know If You've Gone Too Far (I never locked the toilet seat down, thankfully); Screaming: Is It Necessary?; Child Labor: Not Just for the Third World; Karate, Little League, and Ballet: Your Child's Eighty-Hour Work Week; Television: Is Six Hours a Day Too Much? If you are not familiar with the book, it has helpful hints: On Having your Cooking Appreciated; Fiscal Planning and Your Tooth Fairy; Do-It-Yourself After-School Enrichment Program and Recipes: Our Little Tot's First Martini and Lemonade for Grown-ups. All kidding aside she writes: One day, when the kids are grown, you will need friends, a social life, and perhaps a hobby. You will not have these things if you have spent the last seventeen years alienating your friends and neglecting your social life. Do not make your children your only hobby or you might begin collecting porcelain frogs (my mom did) and feeding stray cats (could be me) when they are grown and gone.

So with my wake-up attitude I've been to a Shakespearean play and then a bar, wine tasting with one child in tow (there was a scavenger hunt for kids) at our botanical gardens, and my best friends progressive church on a SATURDAY night http://www.theroc.com/. I'm looking into weekly horseback riding lessons and open to suggestions . Not a lot yet, but the new mindset does improve my mood and the kids might appreciate a happier mom. This week's heat has melted my enthusiasm for fun a bit. When it's 104 degrees and equal humidity, our pool is more like a hot springs. I think I burned my hand on the mailbox.

A Few Photos