Yes you are seeing newborn kittens

As you can see my old vet tech skills are in motion again. I have been throwing around the idea of bringing in another kitty in the house to lighten the load of my poor 13 year old Kuba Cat. Kuba is VERY patient cat and lets the boys carry him around the house and cuddle him sometimes with a look that says "Could you help an old Buddy out over here please". I feel for him and thinks he deserves a nice quiet retired time on the huge cat condo that we brought him and placed in the corner without children clamoring to get to him and play "rescue" the cat from the tree fireman hero's. ")
He is the BEST cat ever. He was raised gentle and grew to a be a gentle cat. After working for a feline only practice for serveral years in Dallas I learned ALOT about cat physiology. I did not grow up with cats only dogs so I was pretty clueless about the whole thing. I learned a big lesson. Cats do not like to be rolled on their backs and rubbed into the carpet. The biting and scratching with thier hind legs is not a game it's a defense. I never let anyone handle my cat like that and never will. Treat them like you would like to be treated and you'll have a good companion pet.
I really feel I must tell the story about how I inquired this great cat.
While working at Lakewood Animal Clinic in Dallas someone left a cardboard box on our back porch. Inside was an adult calico cat. So we took her in and planned on spaying her and find her a good home. That WAS the plan but something change. Early one morning while I was getting ready to treat some animals I heard a faint cry from her cage. When I went to see I found three young kittens rolling around in cat litter. She had been pregnant and gave birth during the night in her litter box. She was not that big bellied so we had no idea that she was preggo's. Well one of those kittens was Kuba. He was a male orange tabby, my favorite. The kittens didn't have a good start and was not very healthy and I'm sad to say the others kittens had to be put down. But I could not give up on my Kuba. I did everything I could with his eye infections, upper resp infections and ringworm. My friend Dr Dixion, a temp vet that would relieve the doctors one day a week was my help. We would rip into the medical books to see what we could do for such a young kitty. She now works in her own practice in Highland Park and is the only Dr that Kuba sees. In time he came out of it all and he never forgot my care and returned it with years of gentle companionship. He is named after the country Cuba with is properly pronounced "Kuba". A sweet man that worked in the kennel name Felix was from Cuba and gave Kuba many "ringworm" bathes so the name just kind of stuck.
Also if your wondering just how Kuba will take to them he is very good with ANY other critter be it dog,cat, chicken or any old thing you happen to have. Again I think it comes from the humble and social beginnings he had.
So now we have two tiny kittens that are in a crate in the school room. They can not be in any contact with Kuba yet until they are tested for FIV and Felv. They were found abandoned in a house. They were born on Easter Sunday. I got them when they were 4 days old. They are not for the faint hearted to care for but it's so worth the investment when you come out with such socialized kittens towards humans! They are bottle fed every 2 to 3 hours. Yes that's around the clock. You also have to wipe their privates when a damp cloth every feeding time because that are unable to go potty without the assistance of mommy cat simulation of her cleaning them. And of course don't forget the heating pad on low. Seems like a lot but it will be over in a few weeks. I first had my eye on the orange tabby but it's seems that the white one is male and the tabby is female. I'm very partial to males in the cat department. Also I've grown very fond of him since he is so willing to let me clean, feed and hold him without a fuss. So we will be finding a home for the female, much to Bubby's argument and tears. They have just opened their eyes today. I have noticed that the white kitten is showing orange ears, maybe I have a flame point cat, like the marks of a Siamese. That would be cool. A few years back I bottle fed a Seal point Siamese kitten and it was cool to see her dark points come out as she aged. They are born white or cream and they points appear as they age. The cause is a mutation of an enzyme that is involved with melanin. The enzyme is heat sensitive and causes the colors to appear on the cooler parts of the body, the feet, tail, ears and mouth. Cool huh? Ok the science portion of this blog is over. ") I've alwasy loved medical stuff!
Anyway welcome my new critters to the house.
Oh I threw in the dry erase marker to see just how little they are. ")

Fishing day for Daddy and Bubby

In the very early hours of this morning my son and his daddy snuck out into the darkness in the Jeep. Their destination? Callendar Lake close to Athens, Texas. Their goal? To catch every Crappie and black Bass in that lake!
Daddy has a friend that he used to work with that has a lake lot out there and a boat to fish from. Happy fishing boys! Bring some home ")
Last time I checked Bubby had a Black Bass and Daddy had none. Poor Daddy "( He's too busy helping untangling and unsnagging fishing line to catch any fish I'm sure.
Well at the end of the day they had a great catch of Crappies and put back the Bass catch back for someone else to hook later. They came home about 9 in the evening. Fished all day long even in the rain and had a day to remember. ") Bubby was a trooper, a real fisherman!

Happy Easter 2009

Well the day for us was very low key. We hung out watching the Mavs play, huh I mean loose and gorged on candy and left overs. We did manage to rise up for a breakfast at Chubby's. It seems to be our new weekend breakfast hangout. We had a great day yesterday for an Easter Egg Hunt and picnic with some new friends at Lookout park in Richardson. Had sandwiches, chicken strips, cup cakes and some wonderful jello surprise thing that M had brought. Yum. We took advantage of the nice weather and let the kids play and hid Easter eggs. Today the weather wasn't too bad but the ground was a muck mess of mud so we hid eggs in the house. Hiding them in the house really was pretty cool. There are a lot of hiding places inside!

Sleeping big boy style

While Daddy and Bubby were out 4 wheeling today it came nap time for T-Bone. I ask if maybe he would like to nap on the couch while mommy watches some TV. He said no and wanted to sleep in bed. I couldn't believe it. Not sleep on the couch? He kept saying the word Bubby to me and pointing at the bedroom where they sleep. He was very excited about it.
When we got into the room he bounced into brother Bubby's big bed. Ohhh I figured it now.
So I gave him his woobie (blanket) and paci and tucked him in. I told him that he couldn't get out and he said ok mommy. He fell right to sleep and never got up until I told him that he could. Wow, sleeping in the big boy bed!
I guess it's time to take the top bunk bed off and put it on the ground next to Bubby. ")
Does that mean that I have to take the crib down now? Now wait a minute that thing hasn't been down since Bubby was in it. I'm having 2nd thoughts. ")

A cold 4 wheeling day!

Well that cold front is here. Yikes it's cold. I reminded of a few years ago when another family and us went to Sea World in mid April in San Antonio. The first day was great the second not so great. During the night a bitter cold front came in leaving us in the cold and wet. We all ran to the closest Walmart like every other tourist in the area snagging up anything that looked cheap, warm and waterproof. It didn't help us out much. After unloading and attempting to walk across the parking lot we gave up on Sea World. Freezing and disappointed we headed to the closest Chuck E Cheese's to not make a waste of the whole day.
We ended up driving back home later that afternoon. While headed home we ran into a hairy snow storm. It was so bad that Daddy was having a really hard time seeing the road. I can remember pulling over to a station standing in the heavy snow fall looking at my friend J in amazement. It was mid April and snowing in Texas! Crazy.
Nothing new.
Daddy and Bubby bundled up with a lunch and headed for a 4 wheeling trip about 1 1/2 hours away. Hope they have a good time and keep warm. T-Bone and I are hanging low today. Just the two of us. Right now he's loving the time with mommy and the toys to himself but later he'll be missing Bubba pretty bad I'm sure. If it wasn't so cold out there we would make a day of it and maybe pay a visit to a museum in Fair Park. But having a warm quiet day at home sounds much better. ")

Better day

Today is much better for me. Thank you Lord.
I slept better and my nose is not bothering me now. So far my pressure is about 113/61 without any discomfort. I hoping and praying that I've found the one that will help me. I'm only using a very small amount (2.5mg) once a day and hope I'll stay there without having to increase the dose. I walked this morning and felt good doing it. Lately it's felt like climbing Mt. Everest going for a brisk 30 minute walk so it was very nice. ")
On another note we are getting ready for a cold front to blow in! I've already planted my herbs, green onions and strawberries. Daddy planted some hot peppers too. Thank goodness we decided to plant in pots so I've moved them into the garage for the next few days. The nights are suppose to bring in the mid 30's! Crazy Texas weather. Isn't it Texans that say "If you don't like the weather, stick around and it will change"!
I had already dewinterized the chicken coop last weekend thinking for sure that the cold spells where gone for the year. Wrong. Nothing that I few trash bags and cardboard couldn't fix! Ha.
Turn on the heat lamp honey I'm coming home to roost! Poor girls.
And Daddy and Bubby had some serious 4 wheeling planned for the last few months this weekend with a co worker of his. Maybe I'll just bundle them up and pack a lunch with hot coco and sent them off anyway. We'll see.

Crying over split milk

Well I've tried to keep a good attitude about all this blood pressure medication but to be honest I'm cracking. I'm on my third medication, Lisinopil. I am taking the lowest dose possible 2.5mg once a day. I'm hating it as much as the others. Yes they all do a great job of lowering my blood pressure but with the cost of terrible side effects that hinder my physical being that in turn hinders my attitude.
My first drug Benicar so far seems to be the best but is a non preferred drug with my insurance. The side effects where feeling sleepy, foggy brained and dizziness, tight chested and short winded.
The second one was Diovan, a similar drug in the same class but cheaper. I did well with light headiness, dizziness for the first week. Then my lower back pain and heel pain became unbearable (Doctor said that she didn't think that this was related to the med). Funny that about 24 hours after getting off of Diovan my pain was going away. Also their are literally hundreds of reviews stating the same problem. Hey what does she know anyway.
My third is in a different class and an ACE inhibitor. I took my first 2.5 of Lisinopil yesterday morning hoping for the best. I did well but for some dizziness and a couple of episodes of a creepy cold feeling running from my shoulders to my back. Later in the evening I started to notice that my nose is starting to swell and I feel all stuffed up. My sister tried two different kinds of ACE inhibitors only to have consent sinus infections. I've had all the sinus problems I want in the this life with 3 sinus surgeries, thank you. I'm going to continue to try it out but not too far if I don't get better with the side effects. I'm trying to eat good and exercise so I hopefully can get off the meds but it's really hard to exercise when I feel so bad. This stinks.
I've tried to check into the more natural herbs to see if anything could help me out. The ones that I 've found are for maintaining a normal blood pressure. I've known too many people that suffered with high blood pressure and then suffered a heart attack so I'm taking this seriously.
Yes this in one of those venting posts.
I was getting the boys some milk to drink with their oatmeal this morning. As I was trying to pour, I kind of had a light headed moment and spilt the milk all over the counter creating a good little waterfall down the cabinet door onto the floor. I just wanted to lay in the milk and have a good cry. Then I remembered the saying of " Don't cry over spilt milk" and gathered myself again. The moment may have passed for now but I can feel it building inside of me. I'm praying that God give me the wisdom and and direction that I need to get this under control and the perseverance to get there. ")