Saturday, October 27, 2007

A Tail of Two Kitties




When Kelsey joined our family, I was a little concerned about her reaction to our two cats and vice versa.

Cheyenne (the tabby) is now 10...we adopted her from PAWS in Montclair at 6 months old and has been a dream cat ever since. She has always been Daddy's Little Girl...would she share her title with the new sheriff in town?

Montana (Tana- our white cat) was found wandering in a construction site at 6 weeks old. She is now seven and in good health right now. She has bi-colored eyes, and due to the recessive genes, is completely deaf. Unfortunately, she also has FIV, which is similar to HIV in humans, but only spread through saliva and in-utero. FIV is not transferable to humans. Tana started her life with us in Kelsey's room and wasn't thrilled to see the changes. She doesn't give her love easily, but once she does, she is very affectionate and loves to snuggle and be hugged and petted. Tana is very vocal and her purr is very loud! Starting out life as a feral cat, she will occasionally bite if provoked.

Also, would Kelsey be afraid of the cats? They come and go as they please and I didn't want them to frighten her.

Luckily for us, Kelsey adored the cats as soon as she laid eyes on them, which was about 2 hours after coming home from China. Cheyenne is an angel...she allows the petting, the hugging, the tugging of the tail :) I NEVER have to worry about Cheyenne.

As for Tana, we knew she'd be the challenge...and we are training Kelsey to give her a wider berth...Tana won't stand for being cornered and she can't hear Kelsey coming...but the two of them get along fairly well...although there has been a chomp or two (Tana realizes that she has to be more tolerant of Kelsey and she lets her pet her (with either Kurt or myself there) and she will headbutt her and let her share space. The only 2 times she's nipped Kelsey, were completely justified in my mind, so Tana wasn't in trouble...Kelsey was pestering her...and no damage other than a few tears and a small mark that faded quickly on the arm (Tana could really bite hard if necessary - I have personal experience with it!). We won't let Kelsey interact with Tana without one of us being there and Kelsey seems to understand that she shouldn't bother her...a healthy respect for one of God's Creatures is an important lesson to learn.

Kelsey really adores being the big sister of two kitties!

On a side note, I have joined NoBloPoMo, so you can look forward to daily postings by yours truly in Nov. I am already cheating and holding back 2 experiences that we've had this weekend to make the start of this new project fun for me.

Any questions or topics you'd like me to comment on?

Thursday, October 18, 2007

A Day in the Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch

It was a beautiful warm day in Princeton, where we went apple picking and pumpkin picking. We all had a wonderful time and Kelsey really enjoyed the day. The pumpkin part even had beautiful flowers and a greek band playing. We had a great time and now I am looking for apple recipes for the gazillion apples we now have!

Kelsey and Kurt on a tractor
Mama and Kelsey...beautiful girl, but Mama needs a root job!
Daddy! I like this one!
A Daddy, a Girl and her lollypop!
Smelling the sweet flowers
Wow Mommy! That's a lot of Apples!
Daddy in mid-climb
My favorite pickers
Plucking an apple off the tree...Issac Newton, are you listening?
Looking for the Gold(en) among the leaves.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Rising to the Challenge!

Stephanie (Emma Bug's Mommy),
It might sound odd, but thank you for tagging me for your meme. It makes me feel warm and accepted! :)
Here are 8 random (or not) things in my kitchen...

Playdoh for Kelsey


The BEST CEREAL Ever! I know....I'm a terrible example of Mom-dom :(

My shiny sink (a la Flylady), our random booze that we have been given but hardly EVER drink! my kitchen angel and my favorite coconut lime verbena soap


The most desireable kitchen accessory ever! (crumbs and smears included!)

My beloved TV...in a rare moment of off-ness (told you, I'm a terrible example!)

Random books we are reading currently


Our teeny-tiny fridge
My favorite wall shelf that holds by naturewood stuff...it's very country and I love it!
We went apple picking today, the spoils of our labor!

I am going to tag Vicky (Emily's Mom) Colleen (Ashley's Mom) and I-Con (Jadyn's Mom!)

Show us your kitchens ladies! :)









Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Delurk and Share Your Opinions Please!

Hey All!
Miss Kelsey has been saying for a few days that she wants to go "home." However, usually she is in either my bedroom or her bedroom when she says it. I know she can't mean China...but what do you think it means?

When I ask her where home is....she can't tell me. She can say downstairs or kitchen or outside, so I know she's not asking for that...

Thanks in advance for the advice!
JoAnn

Saturday, October 06, 2007

A Meme!

A Panda Sister, Margie, challenged everyone who read her post to this meme. Believe it or not, this is my first one.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Dusty Santa Fe

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Dulce de Leche Oreo

3. YOUR “FLY GIRLl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first 3 letters of last name)
J-Hop

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Red Cat

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Marie Denville

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)Hop-Jo

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Amber Blue Diet Coke

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Vincent Peter

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Amazing Grace Kisses (sweetly stripperish! ;)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
Catherine Gerald

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Altomare Atlanta (had to rack my brain to remember the teacher's name!

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
Fall Iris (very mysterioso!)

3. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)Blueberry Croc-y

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Cheerio Weeping Cherry


15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather + “Tour”)
The Blogging Sunny Tour

Thanks Margie for breaking me in!

What's Up With That?



Okay....my daughter has become a MASTER MANIPULATOR! :)
A few days ago, Kelsey ate something a little dry and began coughing, so I gave her a quick sip of water (ahem...it might have been diet coke with lime).

Now, whenever she wants something I am drinking she comes over to me making dry coughing sounds!

I think:
1) She's a genius!
2) She's manipulating me!
3) This is funny!
4) She's drinking my diet coke!

She also loves coffee with cream and tea with milk....2 going on 30...ugh!

A few weeks ago, I began singing "Tomorrow" from Annie to Kelsey. She loves the song, so stupidly I bought the movie to watch for family night. As soon as it began, I remembered that Annie is an ORPHAN! (Jeesh, JoAnn...your brain is rotting!) but Kelsey really liked the movie (she fell asleep before the scary ending).

We haven't watched it since...however, the other day I was talking to someone and mentioned the song and the movie...Kelsey looked at me and said "Annie?" with the doggie? Now everytime we sing Tomorrow, she says Annie and Doggie.

Our girl is one smart cookie!

Thursday, October 04, 2007

This Post is TWO MONTHS late!



This post is almost 2 months late...but hey, I have a toddler and job hunt in my spare time, so forgive me!

I want to write about an event Kurt, Kelsey and I went to in August. At their wonderful, warm and friendly home. We were also fortunate enough to meet her, her, her and her 2 beautiful children , and them (I love doing that! ;)

We also met some fabulous and fun people that aren't bloggers (not everyone fabulous has a blog...it just feels that way lately!)

Kelsey had a great time with Leah, Chloe and the very very handsome Mr. Mason. Heather's Mom and Sister were fabulous with all the kids!

John and Heather are great people! Just the kind of new friends you want to meet! And if you've never checked out Heather's blog you should...amazingly interesting, funny, talented couple. Heather is a musician, a great writer, a fabulous cook, fellow gardener and home improvement junkie and cat lover. Just the kind of person that when you meet her you feel you know her all your life. And check out her blog to see her brand new "rockin' it like a Porn Star" do! :)

Heather and John put out a spread of delisiousness that made you glad to be a foodie! My favorite was the spare ribs! OMG!!!!! The best I can ever remember having (sorry Mom!) and Heather has the recipe on her website (hunt around...I dare you!) I've made them twice since I had them at her home...so easy and good!

I was very impressed with all the families we met that lovely Saturday. I would be proud to call each and everyone of them my friends :) Hopefully we can meet again soon.

I know the wait for referral is torturously slow right now. I am so very sorry for that...the wait really sucks no matter what. All I can offer is my friendship, a hug and the view of what the other side of the tunnel looks like.

So, thank you again for inviting us to your home, John and Heather. We really enjoyed ourselves and getting to know you. Next time, it's at the Hoppe house!
JoAnn, Kurt and Kelsey

p.s. Heather took all these photos! I claim NOTHING!