The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. - Eleanor Roosevelt

When Mrs. Roosevelt spoke those words, I'm fairly certain that she didn't have me in mind since, you know, I like, wasn't even born then. But darn it if my dreams weren't beautiful, albeit strange last night. I also don't know if nighttime escapes into alterworlds was what she had in mind, but I'll apply it here.

I don't remember all of them, of course, because I don't keep a dream notebook right next to me on my nightstand...first thing I do when I wake is get up to pee, not write (proof that I'm not truly a writer, that I just play one on tv). The parts I remember, however odd, were magnificently beautiful...the kind of beautiful that I can't describe to you through words (hey, I said I'm not a writer!). My family was on a farm somewhere. There were no animals, and I think we were trying to buy the land? Or had just bought it maybe? No one ever said dreams had to be clear. So we were all walking around this huge piece of land, and there were other homes on it as well, that belonged to us, but weren't livable. At least that's what we were being told by the host of our tour of the grounds (Real estate agent? Friend?). We still went inside these dwellings, and in one of them, we found 5 pairs of shoes...enough for our whole family. They were really weird shoes, made of some kind of leathery-looking material, but they were shaped really funny. Everyone put theirs on except me, and one of the kids knew exactly what they were when we were trying to decide what they were made of (and these weren't Nike type shoes, so I don't know how they knew). I had slippers on already, and although I don't remember the rest of my family going barefoot before the great shoe finding, there were no other shoes left on the floor when we left the building, so they must've been.

There were no animals on this farm, and no vegetation that I remember (meaning it wasn't a crop farm either). It had beautiful trees and shrubs and fields. We finally walked to the edge of the property, there was a road, and the town was on the other side of the road...right there. My grandmother lived in a house in town, so we went there. Oh no wait, first we went through a house that was having some sort of estate sale, but it was an old-timey house, and she had things like spools of thread and antique kitchen gadgets. I remember finding a boatload of original Hardy Boys books for BBM, and I tried to call him on my cell phone (I don't know where he'd gone by that time), and I couldn't get through, so I bought them all so no one else would get to them first. Then we went to Oma's house, and we walked in and went to the other side of the house where she was, and it was her kitchen. But her kithen wasn't really part of the house...it was like someone had knocked out a wall, and built another room on, but the walls of the kitchen were made of this fabric/plastic stuff. And no one seemed to mind at all. Oma was also the same age as she is now, but she was moving around like I remember her doing when I was little and she was younger.

I have no idea what any of this dream means. Maybe it doesn't mean anything. Maybe it means I want a new house. Maybe it means my kids need new shoes. Maybe it means that I had too much cheese on my grilled cheese sandwich last night. Nonetheless, I like waking to at least remember that I had a dream...remembering what the dream was about is just a bonus!

My dad arrives from MN today, sometime. He's not much of a scheduler, so we don't really know when he'll be here (original plans had him here late yesterday night). I'm not sure how long he's staying, but the visit will be nice. I think we have plans to do as much little stuff around the house as we can. The Master Bathroom is high on his list, hoping to get at least a working bathroom back in order...I'd much rather have to stomp sleepily into a bathroom attached to our bedroom in the middle of the night instead of tripping over everything to go out into the hallway. Plus once I open the door, Dexter the Attack Cat wants in, and I just can't handle him sleeping on me now...TOO. HOT.

So, until next time, pay attention to your dreams. They allow you to escape into a world where things can "happen"...some may be beautiful, some may be ugly, some may serve no viable purpose at all. Maybe you'll be allowed to sneak a peak into your grandmother's plastic-covered kitchen once in awhile...

28/84

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'm 28 weeks pregnant!! We only have 84 more days until Little Miss Junior Mint makes her arrival! Everything of late has been fairly up in the air, so we've gotten NOTHING done (well, except for the whole growing-of-the-baby part...that's well underway).

As for how everything is going and how I feel...I feel very...pregnant. I can tell I'm older this time around, and in worse shape physically than I was with The Boys. I'm still tired, and my blood levels tell the reason: I'm anemic...woohoo!! So I have to buy some OTC ferrous sulfate supplements tomorrow and take them in addition to my prenatals. Hopefully I'll be able to feel the effects of those rather quickly, as we have so much to do in not a very long time. I am still having Braxton Hicks on top of Braxton Hicks. Way earlier than with the other two, but still "normal" according to my OB. If I have anything over 4 in an hour time frame, I'm to go in for a check. I'm up to 3 so far. I can definitely tell they're not real contrasctions, but they catch my breath just the same. Coworkers are starting to question whether I'll make it to the very end or not, and I'm totally unable to answer that question. I worked right up until D-Day with the boys, so anything other than that is abnormal to me. We shall see how things play out.

I went to the farmers market the other day. I scored on some fresh local fruits and veggies for our bbq yesterday (more on that later). As I was leaving, I passed by a little table full of flowers and plants and other such lovelies. I noticed some really tall plants, and when I took a gander at the sign, it said "Tomato plants - 3 for $1"!!! So I snagged 3 of them, cherry tomatoes, simply because if they don't give me any fruit, I'll only be out a buck. I got them planted in one of the sunniest parts of our yard today, so we'll have to wait and see what comes of them. I also grabbed 3 pepper plants (also 3 for $1), but planting the tomatoes really took it out of me, so I'll wait until tomorrow evening after work to make a spot for those. 3rd find was this flower...I don't know the name of them, but I remember them from my youth, and I love them. I think they'll be better as container plants, so I'll have to find a container to put them in, lol. I'll try to post pics of them in the future, and maybe someone can identify them for me.

Our bbq was a great success yesterday. A few friends, wonderful weather, good food. Heck, someone even brought a bottle of wine that I can't drink! (But I'll be saving that bad boy for after LMJM is born). I had to duck out early, as I had a birthday celebration for a friend that had been planned for ions. And only one couple didn't show up, which was dissapointing since we se them so little to begin with (he's out of town a lot). I can't remember the last time I even saw their girls...they're probably huge by now. But hopefully we'll be able to catch up with them soon.

I will admit to laying around on the couch today. BBM has to work (yup, on Father's Day), and The Boys are in solitary confinement for a heavy infraction. Dexter the Attack Cat and I have been lounging; that's his normal routine, and I'm trying to relax my sciatic nerve before I have to go back to work tomorrow. I still have laundry to do, although BBM has graciously advised me that he can get his done tomorrow on his only day off this week. So I'll have some extra time and energy, I hope, to make him his favorite cookies: chocolate chip without the chocolate chips.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Dad's Day!

How is this possible???

We've been back at home now for a total of 24 hours. I'm as fed up with stuff now as I was before we ever even left!! We had an EXCELLENT time, but sometimes it's just so hard to come home and go back to the way things were...things that will never change. Never.

I'm moody, can ya tell?

That being said, I've found some great blogs since I've been home, and although I've saved most of the trip pictures to my hard drive, I still haven't uploaded them to photobucket to post. I've also taken a picture of my desk (gasp!!!)...it's awful. It's a catch-all, and I hate it...it makes me unable to think when I'm sitting here (ahhh, so that's why her posts are so scatterbrained!). It's my first major project. The second will be the van and truck (and no, I'm not copying you, 50's Housewife, I promise!). An excellent point has been made, that many of our vehicles are, sadly, our second homes. Cluttered homes mean cluttered minds, cluttered minds mean cluttered hearts. And I can't live like that. So, Biblical Womanhood is hosting a Clear Out the Clutter Challenge, and although I'm frightened, I feel the need to participate.

Now...kudos to a great friend, Diana. She's not a blogger so I can't link her, but I work with her at The Greens. She cat-sit Dexter for us while we were away. Not only did she come over daily to feed, water, and pet Dexter, but she Spoiled. Him. Rotten. And I didn't think he could get any more spoiled. We came home to cat toys scattered in all the important places in our home, and one whiney "Where-the-H/E/DoubleHockeySticks-did-you-all-go-and-why-did-you-leave-me-here?" cat...but he was happy. AND. AND this woman did my dishes. I couldn't believe it. I'd had so much stuff to get done before we left, and the dishes ended up being last on the list. She also cleaned my kitchen floor. She's an angel, and I'm proud and lucky to call her friend.

We're having a barbecue this Friday...which seems odd to me, since I have to work, but I guess I'll join in the festivities whenever I get home. This means that we (read: I) will have to put the new barbecue grill together sometime before then. I have no idea when that's going to happen, but I guess tomorrow after work is about my only choice. Not only that, but I'm starting to realize that we don't have a patio, or a back porch, or a patio set, or, I don't know, extra chairs for people to sit in. And we've got 4, 8, 12 people coming, I think? This is wonderful.

Now I am off to bed, since tomorrow is my early day. I'm dead tired, which makes no sense, since I've just had a week off. But my dogs are barking...I got too used to not being on my feet for 8 hours a day. I promise you all that not only will I post trip pictures, but I'll post before and afters of the desk (and maybe, just maybe, the van and truck too...but don't hold me to that). Perhaps my mood will improve dramatically, but Thursdays at work usually bite the big one, so I won't promise that.

Real and fake.

That's what we've had here for the past week...real issues and fake issues. If you're of the praying kind, lift one up for the real issues. The fake ones...not so much.

Let's see...the first thing I remember happening is a real one. A few weeks ago (maybe not that long, I can't remember), Big Boss Man had to break into the house because I was a couple hours away with one set of keys, and the other set was, well, inside the house. So he found a security risk and breached it, knocking over some of my jewelry in the process. I can't remember if it was light or dark at that time, since it was evening, but he picked it up and thought he got most of it.

Fast forward to last week when I'm looking for a necklace that is very, very dear to my heart. It was given to me by my mother the Christmas I was pregnant with Beanpole. So I've had it for over 9 years, and aside from my engagement ring, is the only piece of gold jewelry I'll ever wear. I went to put it on, and it's gone. GONE. I always keep it on top of my jewelry box, as I usually wear it often enough that hanging it up with the mess that is the rest of my necklaces just takes too much time. I looked high and low, near and far, and even went so far as to search outside that window on the ground below it. But it has been raining for what, 3 freakin weaks straight now? So the ground is really muddy and puddly out there, but still, I thought I'd be able to see it if it were out there.

Nothing. I can't find it anywhere.

So if I could get a thought or prayer that I find it, say, in my freezer or something, that would be wonderful. I don't know what I'll do if I can't find it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How about a fake one now? I'm pregnant. I think most of my readers know that either by being related to me in some way, or by all the little gadgets I have hung up all over the blog with babies wrapped in leaves or floating around in non-lifelike-looking uteruses (uteri?). Anywho, it's been awhile since I've been pregnant...like 7 years awhile. And I'll admit to not remembering how it all pans out. Much of it, I do remember, but not all. For example, I don't remember going to the bathroom every 15 minutes this early into the pregnancy. But I do. or at least I feel like I do. And after awhile, I started to wonder if it wasn't something else. So I called my OB, and the nurse I spoke with told me that it almost sounds like the very early stages of a UTI. Urinary tract infection. Anyone that's had one knows that they're nothing to wait on, and they're nothing to screw around with when you're pregnant. So I made the appointment.

Turns out (and I'm sure you're all dying to know this) that my pee is just fine, thankyouverymuch. She said it's probably just that my uterus is getting bigger now, but not big enough to fully spill over my bladder and pubic bone (lovely mental image, I know), making me feel the need to pee all the time. It shall pass. Give thanks for fake issues.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Third and final issue? Dexter, the Attack Cat. This past Monday (?) he got into a fight with one of our neighbor's cats. BBM was home and checked him over for any obvious scratches, wounds, missing tufts of fur, etc. He found nothing. However, this Wednesday when I got off work, I arrived home to children and...no Dexter. I called for him around the house, searched in closets, under beds, even in That Room...no Dexter. I called for him outside, repeatedly, shook his treat bag, repeatedly, called for him again, repeatedly...no Dexter. BBM was out of town, so I emailed him, hoping that having him know what was going on would somehow calm my nerves. Around 10:30pm, I'm sitting in The Bunker, and I see Dexter walk in front of the door, heading from our bedroom in the direction of the living room. I cried, I was so happy to find him, but it was obvious something was wrong. He was moving very slowly, favoring one of his hind legs. By the time I got out to the living room, he'd made it up onto the back of the couch, which made me happy, but he was still not himself. He purred when I petted him though. So I picked him up and carried him back to the bedroom, made him his own little "bowl of blankets" that he could lay in, and he meowed, annoyed, when I supported his hind legs with my hands. I had no idea what was wrong with him.

He slept in that spot all night long, very unlike him, but finally got up the next morning after I got out of bed for work. He ate a little and layed on the floor, still moving too slowly. When I left for work, I layed him back in his blanket bowl, and BBM said he was still there (and remained there) when he got home from his trip.

We finally took him to the vet this evening, and it turns out that he had an abcess on one of his hind legs. The vet said the kind of wound it was usually happens by one cat biting while the other is running away. So our little Dexter got shaved, his wound "extended" (I don't really know, so don't ask), drained, and given a couple of antibiotic injections, along with a 10 days supply of pill antibiotics to be given at home. The poor thing howled the whole way there and the whole way home, but is in good spirits otherwise. Still not moving around much, but I can't imagine that I'd want to either after being through all that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So it's been a full week, and not for good reasons. I'd hoped to get a grand start on my list of things to do. However, sometime today, I lost that list. That was my Master List...it stayed in my smock pocket all day, as I think of things that need done when I can't do them. Have you ever lost your Master List? It's horrifying. Yes, I could start a new list, but how will I ever know for sure that I've remembered everything on the Master List? I won't know for sure, and it will slowly drive me insane...as if my chidren don't do that enough!!

****Author's edit #1: Another happening! Jacob lost another tooth last night! He's got two more that are loose, so if he's not careful, he'll soon have more empty spots than teeth!!****

****Author's edit #2: I've found the Master List!! w00t w00t!!! Now I have things to occupy The Boys with today (aside from the chores they already knew about!).****

Christmas Miracles do happen!

Everyone knows how much we love Dexter here at Whirlwind. Even when he's crabby, we still love him. Right after we got Dexter, he "escaped" from our loving home, and I am almost embarrassed as to how I bawled when we couldn't find him.

Almost.

He's as much a part of this family as Big Boss Man, Monster, Bean Pole, Little Linebacker, or I. He knows this, and he eats up the attention he gets.

That being said, here's a story that gives me hope for all future escapes. Cats are amazing animals, and I wouldn't trade ours for anything.

Where have I been all my life?

Okay, well, at least for the last 5 days?!? Time is flying by, as it does during this time of year, every year. Once Thanksgiving comes along, the days just buzz along whether I'm at work or at home.

So after dealing with some personal stuff that is not to be discussed here yet, I'm back, and raring to go! I've started this weekend with laundry and paint.

Yeah, that's right. Laundry. Typical. I think you've heard this story before. I will get it done. I will get it done. Oddly enough, it's not getting done, because I'm multitasking...and when I multitask, I end up doing way too many things at one time and not really doing any of them. But I still do it. I still try.

And I finally bit the bullet and went to our friendly neighborhood hardware store to buy the fixings to paint. I still haven't picked out colors yet, which tends to be the hardest part for me, but I've at least got the beginning supplies. Since I live with a coupla budding artists, I have to prime. I have to prime everything before I can put a coat or two of paint up. Crayon, permanent marker, these colorful little gel pens that sparkle...it's all gone (okay, so it's all gone on one wall...I can only do one at a time so I don't have to lock the cat in a bedroom for too long at once). But my goodness, does it look about a bajillion times better already, and it's just plain ol' white!

I'd post before and afters, but really. It's that embarassing.

I'd also like to share that we have critters...really large-sounding ones, in our attic again. We've had our share of squirrels, who we've watched as their little squirrel heads peek out of the holes they gnawed just below our overhang. But if these are squirrels, they're some ginormous squirrels! And of course, Big Boss Man is out of town. I refuse to even stick my head up in our attic access, for fear of some psychotic, gigantic rat with a bushy tail taking me out and then running rampant through my home. So it will have to wait until BBM gets home. I wouldn't really even mind them being up there. After all, squirrels need somewhere warm to live in the snow, right? But they're nocturnal! I don't know if all squirrels are nocturnal, but these certainly are. And they live right above the bed in our bedroom. I feel like I'm back to my apartment-living days (except, uhm, there's no sqeaky mattress sounds). So BBM will have to evict these tenants right quick after his return arrival.

Contest alert!

Alright folks, it's that time again. Time for me to inform you of a cool giveaway on some other blog. Now I'm resting assured that you'll either A} Right click on this link and open in a new page, or B} click on this link, but promise to return to my page later. As much as I hate leading you away from my ramblings and carrying on, I do love a good giveaway! So go. Now. Read. Enter. Then return. Now.

Patriot's BEKA, Inc. Giveaway!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Did you know that our cat, Dexter, is hysterical? I think maybe all cats are, but he's hysterical and really cool all rolled into a furry little tabby. He's becoming whiney lately, which Big Boss Man blames on me, and I blame on him. BBM, for the first time in his life, has started sleeping with our bedroom door cracked, all because of Dexter. The cat would come in to sleep with us (or more accurately, sleep in between my knees), but then at around 4am, would decide that he wanted out. To pee? To eat? To chase his tail or a random piece of paper The Boys balled up for him the night before? Dunno. But out, all the same. So one of us would be forced to get out of our nice warm cozy bed to open the door and let him out. Then, just as we were starting to doze back off, he'd decide that being out of the bedroom wasn't all it was cracked up to be inside his wee little Tabby Cat brain, and by God, he wanted back in.

*sigh*

As I'm sitting here enjoying the last few minutes of the day, Dexter is sitting on the floor to the left of my chair. He's not laying there, like cats do. He's not even sitting down, with his front paws curled under him, dozing. He's standing there...almost at attention, looking at me.

At least I think he's looking at me.

No wait. He's not looking at me at all. He's eyeing the phone that's next to me on the desk. You'd think that a cat would have higher standards when it comes to playthings, but not our Dexter. He reaches up, standing on his hind legs, pawing at the phone. He wants the phone. He needs the phone. I'm thinking he may have found a girlfriend on one of his escapades outdoors, and is expecting her to call at any minute.

Now I'm wondering if his little wee-hours-of-the-morning trips were for more than just food or water. If I ever see him show the ability to unlock and open our backdoor, I'll know the truth. We'll have to rename him Dexter Bigolo, Male Gigolo.

Saturday morning ritual

Many Saturdays, I wake up to do the same thing. I go to the library to turn in books and check out ones that I've requested. Then I spend the remainder of the morning at the local pet store, which has an adoption day most Saturdays where a no-kill shelter brings in puppies to find homes. I want a dog so badly I can taste it. Now granted, we are broke as a joke...don't have a pot to pee in...can't even pay attention. So I would never go out and purposely buy a dog we truly couldn't afford. However, if a stray just happened upon our property, there's a fairly good chance that I would take it in (any strays out there reading this post? Here's your chance).

Today I was greeted by two dogs. One, a lab/pit mix named Charlie, and the other, some sort of beagle mix, named Dixie. Oh. My. God. Big Boss Man is a lucky son of a gun that I didn't walk into our home with one of those two pups. Adorable, sweet, playful puppies that needed a home because their shelter is closing. Sigh.

Now, I have an old-fashioned dream...I want to move back to the country. I "grew up" on a farm of sorts. An out in the middle of nowhere, fruit tree orchard, chicken coop-having, 4 acre farm. We had no cattle or horses, but we had chickens, about ten million cats and one alaskan husky. We had a workshop, built by my dad and grandfather, on the back of the garage. We had a barn (well, two actually, but one of them got torn down...the memory of pulling that thing down is still fresh-like-yesterday in my mind). We had a treehouse...a two-level treehouse in our backyard. I fell off that treehouse, backwards, when I was young. The memory of that, unfortunately, is also still fresh-like-yesterday to me. I almost get the wind knocked out of me just thinking about it.

Seeing others tell stories of the day-to-day workings of a real life ranch, such as Ree, the Pioneer Woman, makes me long for this life even more. It's so simple. It's refreshing. It's damn hard work. But what a life. So someday...we'll pack our family up and move to Montana or one of the Dakotas or Wyoming. And we'll have our little ranch. And having a dog is just part of making that dream become a reality...after all...every good ranch has to have at least one dog.

As Every Cat Owner Knows, Nobody Owns A Cat - Ellen Perry Berkeley

We recently "inherited" a pet...a short-haired gray tabby named Dexter. Dexter belonged to my father's roommate for his whole cat life. Then one day, the roommate moved out, and my father, the cat-lover, said, "Dexter, party's over Pal" and made Dexter move outside. Dexter enjoyed his 3 months living in the outdoors...he chased birds (and caught a few), he rolled in the dry New Mexico sand, he came and went as he pleased. Then my father had a change of plans.

Dad got a new job...one that took him from the dry heat of New Mexico to the frigid winters of Minnesota. And again, cat-lover that he is, he decided not to take Dexter along for the ride. There was a no-kill shelter in Albuquerque, so that was his plan. Until the boys and I flew out for a visit about 2 weeks before his move. How could we let this lovable, kid-friendly cat just walk out of our lives? My husband had always wanted a cat. We had fish, but there's just something about having a pet you can actually, well, pet. So the decision was made. Dexter would come home with us.

Now keep in mind, when we fly, my entire family flies standby. This means that you go the to gate, wait for every single person and their brother to board the plane, and then if there are leftover seats, you get to fly. If there aren't seats, then you go to the next gate and try again. It's a perk of working for an airline, and usually works out for the best. That is, until you try getting four people and a cat on a flight from Denver to St. Louis. It just doesn't happen, or at least doesn't happen easily. We'd ended up driving the rental car from New Mexico to Denver, enjoying the scenery and some mighty tasty Beau Jo's pizza. Once we got there, however, the fun really began.

I'll put it this way...we planned on leaving on a flight from Denver to St. Louis on Saturday. We ended up not getting home until late Tuesday night, and the only way we did that was to fly from Denver to Chicago, then take yet another rental and drive home to St. Louis. It was an ordeal, and not one that I'll soon repeat. That's about the most polite thing I can say about that. Four days stuck in an airport, wandering from gate to gate like lost puppies (or kitties, as the case may be), will make anyone lose their mind.

So...we've had Dexter for awhile now. He's a wondrous cat...lazy as hell, friendly as all get out, doesn't play unless you want to play, etc. He's my dream cat. He sleeps in between my knees every single night, and he loves to have his belly rubbed. My favorite thing about Dexter? He has taken to climbing onto the very top of my high-backed office chair and lounging there while I sit at my computer. It's the perfect place for him, like it was made specifically for him, as he lays his head over the edge and his front legs fall on either side. Of course, I had to learn not to lean back with him there, so not to throw him off balance. But this was easily done.

Dexter has fast become a part of our family. The few beginning times that he'd gotten outside (or that I thought he'd gotten out, as he was sleeping on some coats in the living room closet), I was heartbroken. I was bawling as though one of my children were missing. Now he takes regular romps outside, with either Big Boss Man or me watching closely to make sure he stays near (at least for the present). I would have never thought that I could become so closely attached to an animal, but it's happened. He is a true blue family member. He's completely taken over the house, and has earned his rightful place. We don't own a cat...quite the opposite rings true.