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.

Being a soccer mom kind of sucks, so far.

I like soccer well enough. Ainslie is having a swell time, although on the way to her game, in the burgeoning deluge, she very sweetly informed us that she was nervous, because she wasn't sure what to do. We assured her that her coaches would be right there on the field helping her, so then she was ok.

The rain was not ok. This wasn't a sprinkle, a mist, or even a shower. This was Rain. Hard. Rain. Given that this was supposed to be the third game of the season and they are out of make-up dates (Week 1 cancelled due to thunderstorms, Week 2, due to high winds--welcome to the Prairie), I knew we'd have to play.

Soaked to the core.

Craig was a hero for bringing along a tailgating tent, but that meant, since the other team was a bunch of tough 5 yr-olds who had obviously been recruited from eastern Europe, that we strained to see our kids do much of anything. If we had known all the action was going to be going into our goal, we'd have set up on the other end of the field.

Mercifully, the game was called after the third (6-minute) quarter. As Craig and the other dads struggled to get the tent put away, Ainslie came dripping over, all smiles. I asked whether she'd had fun.
"I did! Did I win?"

We have so far avoided answering, per se. She has the phrase, "do my best and have fun" down pat. Waiting for the seats of the van to dry out.

Ainslie shorn!

No more fighting over tangled hair! Ainslie was so excited for her haircut, and we are both thrilled with the results--here are the before and after shots:

Catch-up, Bullet-Point style

• Ainslie and Caroline were on the news a couple weeks ago --there was a camera crew covering American Girl day at story time. Ainslie has no clue about American Girl (for now--Yippeee!) but there are nice shots of both girls.

• Soccer is hilarious. The first game was postponed tonight because of soggy fields. All for the best. Despite the excitement, I'm not sure a single kid on the team knows what "game" means, as opposed to what they do in practice. Next week should be warmer anyway.

• I'm teaching next quarter! Two classes! Hooray and Hallelujah!

• Finally got a video camera. Look for lots of obnoxious videos involving soccer tykes.

• Got five inches cut off my hair a few weeks ago. Loving it.

Is this all? I guess I'm not nearly as interesting as I'd like to think!