So, a month later...

BUSY. It's feast or famine with my jobs, and lately it has been feast--which is terrific because I was terrified of a famine not too long ago, but feast time leaves little time for other fun things.

The cat is gone, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

I got the job! I applied for a part-time HR job with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation and ended up getting a consulting gig out of it. YAY. Not only is the work something I enjoy, but I'm proud to be working for such a great client!

I am also teaching a section at Robert Morris and it looks like I may be teaching two sections next quarter, starting in July.

Meanwhile, if it ever gets hot, we have our water park season tickets to use, a week of preschool camp at church (Around the World in Five Days--doesn't that sound fun?) and another week of VBS.

In more specific Ainslie news, she has her first dance recital coming up, she finished her first year of pre-school (and in case anyone is wondering, she passed to the 4-yr old class for next year,) and my little monkey is turning FOUR! In the middle of all this, she gets to go spend a week with Grammie and Grampie because Craig won an incentive trip to Cancun.

Whew and Whoopie!

Soccer is also going well--the change in all the kids is unbelievable. The first practice was an hilarious mess, the last game, they creamed the other team! (Our pediatrician's son was on the other team, hope this doesn't make shots hurt worse in the future.) Ainslie broke away with the ball twice, and once, she got knocked down and kept kicking! She even told us she likes it when parents cheer for her, but she doesn't always hear because she's concentrating!

Over the summer, she's doing swimming lessons and gymnastics. I really hope she finishes learning to swim this year--I know I'll rest easier knowing she could swim if she had to. She caught on last year, so hopefully this year she'll really take off.

School is out--and I'm a mom with a little schoolkid, sort of. Gearing up for a busy, fun summer. Even if it is 58 degrees today.

Cat

Even Craig has wholeheartedly admitted that Joe is a Bad Cat. Actually, he has some more colorful terms, but this is a family blog.

So. I had full dispensation to get rid of him, as long as I delivered him to another family or a shelter. I listed him on Craiglist and had a new home for him within 24 hours. Took him there yesterday.

He lasted FIVE minutes. The girl I gave him to has had zillions of pets, including, at present, another cat, 3 birds, and a tank full of fish. So, you know, she isn't a pet novice. Joe bit her twice. The first time, she called me (I was 3 blocks away) to ask whether he regularly bit people. I lied and said no. (Thank goodness she didn't ask whether he habitually pees down vents.) She conceded that he was probably just nervous and she'd give him some time.

Two blocks later, she called and asked me to come get him back. He had done a Pounce-and-Bite. Nice. **&%$#(*(&^&&^%^$$%

The worst part, to me (well, other than the obvious--that this horrid creature is still sleeping under our roof) is that Ainslie, despite being sad, handled leaving him SO WELL for an almost-four-year-old who for whatever reason, loves this cat. So now, he's back, and I can break her heart again when I take him to a shelter.

Cats are Vile

If only I'd faked an allergy when Craig and I first started dating.

Apparently

I am the sort of person who can hate a little kitten. I really, really detest Joe the Kitten. Yearning for a pet-free existance...