Sunday, January 30, 2011

Here kitty, kitty!

I cleaned the house today.  I vacuumed every carpeted room, all the wood floor and even swiffered it.  This activity usually keeps the pets busy too running from room to room--away from the vacuum.  It can actually be quite funny.

Wrigley will usually gets curious enough to come check out what it is I'm doing until the evil roaring sucking machine comes towards him--and then he bolts!  Gus, on the other hand, is quickly scared out of whatever room I make my way into.  Sadly for him, I usually end up following him into the next room (not on purpose, I swear!)  However, we have used this trick as a way to get him out of a room that we don't want him in.  Mean, I know.  But he's a cat... he's got like five lives left, at least.

So after vacuuming the main floor today, I headed upstairs.  I tackled the stairs on my way up, cleaned our bedroom, the hallway, and the guest room.  Then it dawned on me--where's the cat?  The last time I had seen him was when he ran scared out of the family room (one of the first rooms I vacuumed).  He wasn't under either of the beds, behind the armoire, in the closet... hmm...

I hollered down to John in his office, "hey, have you seen the cat?"  "The cat?" he echoed back... and we both started searching.  I really don't know how long we looked, but we searched every room, high and low, multiple times each before we stopped and panicked.  Basement? No. Under the couches? Lifted and looked.  No.  Outside?  Wait, did he get outside??? 

Gus is not an outdoor cat.  He got out ONCE, about 5 years ago.  It was up in Arvada (the old house) when John still lived with Walter.  Our stealth little feline tore through the screen of a window that Walter had open during the day (we do not blame Walter for this AT ALL).  Gus was gone for a couple of days before he was discovered in the back yard.  He hadn't run away!!  Walter opened the back door and heard a small mewing from under the pine tree in the corner of the yard.  Poor Gussers never left the yard, and probably hadn't eaten the whole time he was out there.  Needless to say, he was happy to come back inside for some food and TLC--which he got!

However, the outside in this neighborhood is MUCH different than the outside at the last house.  Poor kitty would make friends with bunnies here and probably meet his fate at the jaws of a coyote.  We were devatstated to think that he might be out there on his own.  Yet we still couldn't figure out how he would have gotten out.  We opened a few windows earlier to get some fresh air, but all screens are in tact.  However, we put on our coats and took a walk around the block anyway.  I took a can of wet cat food with me, as he usually comes running when he hears the can tapped.  Hey, it was worth a shot. 

After our walk, and a few tears on my part, we headed back inside with heavy hearts.  I kicked off my shoes, put the canned food on the counter and was ready to collapse on the sofa--I was pooped!  But when I turned the corner into the family room, I was greeted by the cutest little black and white face, and tiny little mew.  My Gusser cat!!!!!!!!  I didn't know where he was hiding, but I chased him to the upstairs calling after him and crying.  I've never been so happy to see my cat!!  I really thought he was gone.  I pulled him out from under the bed and forced a little snuggling on him.  I think he was confused, afterall, he didn't know he was lost!  Although I still didn't know where he had been hiding the whole time.  I guess it just took us leaving the house for him to come out.


John went into the middle bedroom (the soon-to-be nursery) and found the closet open a few inches, just enough for a sneaky kitty to come out.  But wait--I looked in that closet four times!  Well, what we've always claimed was proven right again today: we have a houdini cat.  I swear he can hide anywhere.  When I said we looked high and low, we did.  I would not put it past him to get on top of the fridge, or cabinets... or who knows where. 

But he's safe and found.  He never left the house, and I will do everything I can to make sure he never does.  I would have been so very sad to lose him today.  And he's getting plenty of love (and already devoured the wet food).  I love my kitty.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Things Women Don't Talk About: Part 2

Note to reader: the title of the post is a means of therapy for me. I've found that unless you have sisters, a mom you can talk to about anything, or close girlfriends, women don't usually talk about all the gross details of being a woman (and this particular post is... gross). Later topics to come.


CONSTIPATION (specifically during pregnancy)
 
Look, it happens, but you don't typically acknowledge it--anytime.  And while I heard (from one particular sister) that constipation can occur when you're pregnant, I was not prepared for the pain and discomfort.  Let's face it, there is a certain level of discomfort (and some intermittent pain) that comes with pregnancy anyway.  Don't get me wrong, this is a beautiful experience, but wowza--my body is a-changin', and not without a fight!!  Ligaments stretching??  Owwwww!!!!
 
So back to my backed up bowels... oh dear.  I felt bloated from about the day after I got a positive on the HPT.  But add some minor (ha! MAJOR) blockage to the digestive tract, and any bloating I felt up until this day was a tease.  I had morning sickness like many of my pregnant friends have (not all, you lucky ducks!)  but I honestly think that my sickness lasted as long as it did because I was so constipated!
 
Now, if you must know--though you probably don't care--I've been constipated before.  When I was 12, I got sick frequently, missed school, missed the Phantom of the Opera (that's another post for another day) and went through several tests with my pediatrician before being deemed "severely constipated." Awesome.  She said my bowels were rock hard, and since the food had no where to go, it explained why I vomited so often.  And when the laxatives, diet and enema didn't work, we tried more laxatives.  My mother cried the day I pooped.  Then every day for the next six years or so (I wish I were exaggerating), she asked me if I had pooped.  Sheesh!
 
So this particular "condition" is not so new to me, but being pregnant, I couldn't use all of the previous methods of relief, shall we say, that I had used before.  If you need a quick fix, let me know... there's a magical drink out there that you can down quickly that will prove fast results.  But being pregnant, it's not safe to use.  Stool softeners are okay though, and I took many.  And a suppository.  Too much information?  Sorry!  But I think it's good to be honest about this, and maybe you have no one else to share with.  This is a safe place.
 
Once I found the relief I needed, I was a much happier Prego.  The bloating subsided, I slept better, and I got sick less often.  I really have to pay attention to my bowel movements though still, as I am prone to this condition. 
 
However, I also learned at one of my latest OB appointments that the anti-nausea medication I was on can cause constipation.  Really?!  If I had known that, I wouldn't have taken it!!  I know my body, and I would not do that to myself.
 
So there you have it.  Constipation.  Let's discuss it.  Let's commiserate together.
 
And... have you pooped today?