T.O.T.E.

Favorite photo of some of my favorite people: Abbie and M.

I am well aware that it’s not Friday. On Friday I was busting my behind, trying to clean the house before Julie, Bob and Jessie arrived.

I failed at the clean house part.

Failed miserably.

But I tried. And that’s what counts, right?

I think everyone needs a distraction (or two, or three, or six) on Monday anyway. Don’t you?

…

>>This man’s version of a Paganini Violin Concerto is either fantastic or disturbing. I’ll let you decide which. (wimp.com)

>> Apparently my verbosity (is that a word?) is the best contributing factor to how well Mo and Lu will learn. Who woulda thought? (Time)

>>If you are a fellow GOT fan waiting patiently for The Winds of Winter, you must watch this video. (paulandstorm.com) –>several swear words, so listen with your ear buds in <–

>>Best. Tree-house. Ever. (EW)

>>May God bless John Franklin Stephens for breaking stereotypes and taking on bullies. (specialolympicsblog.wordpress.com)

>> I love the Pioneer Woman. And I love her list of corny jokes. You know you want to use them. Especially the one about the Jalapeno… (thepioneerwoman)

>>Kristy Mitchell’s photography amazes me. Be sure to read about her inspiration and check out her behind the scenes photos!

>>This is the second Autumn I’ve made these Pumpkin Creme Pies. They are well worth the effort. (tastykitchen)

>>This paper theater art is spectacular. Every time I browse Elly MacKay’s work I want to break out the scissors and try to create something magical. Then I remember my artistic abilities (or lack thereof, rather) and just buy one of her prints. (Etsy)

…

Mo, on the other hand, has mad art skillz…

Introducing….

Well, he doesn’t quite have a name yet.

But he’s made himself quite at home.

Andy blames Abbie. She’s the one who found him, and then introduced us yesterday. However, Andy sent me this picture message while I was in UT:

What was I supposed to assume but that he had gotten me  Mo a kitten? I mean, come on!

Kitty’s story is one of loss and abandonment. Found mewing in the abandoned lot by Abbie’s house, he quickly formed an undeniable attachment to my heart strings. I claimed him for my own.

Actually, the conversation went more like this.

“Cait, you know you want this kitten,” Abbie.

“Yeah. Are you sure you don’t want to keep him?” Me.

“Absolutely! We already have 2 cats, a dog, (6) chickens and (4) ducks,” Abbie (they’ve recently lost 6 chickens to a voracious neighborhood raccoon. Boo!).

“Hmm…I wonder what Andy will say. I should probably ask him…” Me.

“Nah! How bout I bring over the kitten and dinner to your place tonight?” Abbie.

“Deal!”. See how hard I negotiated there, Andy? How laboriously I debated about whether to add another little living being to our family?

Ok. So, I didn’t even think twice. I walked into Abbie’s house, saw the kitten, and immediately thought That kitten’s mine! Even as I politely made sure that Abbie wasn’t particularly attached I was yelling, Please say you don’t want him… I WANT HIM SO BADLY! in my head.

He’s just so stinking cute.

How could anyone say no?

Well, Andy could have easily….In that manly, put-his-foot-down kind of way…

Good thing he loves me.

I’ve spent the last 24 hours going over all the reasons I accepted Kitty:

Mo needs a kitten! 

Lu needs a kitten!

Athena (our other cat) needs a friend.

Kittens are adorable!

It’s getting grey, I need this kitty to get through the depressing winter.

I know that all sounds like rationalizing, and you know what?

Somehow, I don’t care…

So far Mo has called him “Ha” “Bubble” “Bobo” “Baby Ha” “Baby Mo” and “Coco Ha” (‘ha’ meaning cat and ‘coco’ meaning orange, for those of you who don’t speak Mo).

Stay tuned for the big name reveal (once Mo makes up her mind) and for (I’m sorry about this) a lot more kitten photos…

Andy told me yesterday I took more pictures of the kitten than I’ve taken of our daughters in the last month… That may or may not be true.

I’ll let you decide.