RIP Tabitha Mommy the Baby

Tabitha joined the world on July 30, 1996. She was born in my closet at the house I grew up in, while I was home for the summer. She was born to Tweetie, who was an unbelieveable cat. Millie was her grandmother. Millie was picked up by Roserika and Maggie when we lived on Windsor drive in the ATX in 1995. Tabitha was the only kitten out of the litter that wasn't completely psycho. She was very timid and literally only liked about 5 people her whole life. She could be mean as you know what to other animals. Don't mistake her size for her being easy prey. She would beat up the dogs regularly.
Mommy the baby was David and my first baby together. She traveled from the ATX to Lubbock on several occasions and has lived in many different places with David and I. She used to be pretty adventurous in her younger day. For the past several years she has been solely an inside kitty. She definately earned her way into kitty heaven. She has been through a lot in the past several years. The hurricane was very very difficult on all the pets. They were stressed and displaced. The baby,Elle, was also an adjustment for her. She tolerated Elle and never tried to hurt her but did try to lay low and out of sight. Tabitha had the sweetest meow and purr that you have ever heard from a kitty. You could always win her over with a can of sliced beef fancy feast. She KNEW if it wasn't sliced beef and she would snub it.
A couple of weeks ago we suspected Tabitha got out and was hiding from the dogs. Turns out she was hiding in the guest room and when she did make an appearance it was easy to see that there was a big problem. She could barely walk and refused to eat or drink. She wanted to be close to David and I but was scared. I was at home with a stomach virus and had sent David and Elle to my mom's house to try to keep them from getting them sick. Tabitha and i laid on the bathroom floor together for quite a while that couple of days. She looked into my eyes as if asking for help. Begging and all that i could do was pet her and tell her I am sorry. She was just sweet, still and sad. It tore me up. David took her to the vet and it wasn't a very good prognosis. They did a bunch of blood work and tests and gave her an iv to hydrate her and she still refused to eat. The vet called and there were problems with her liver, kidneys and lots of other problems. She still wouldn't eat. David and i made the very difficult decision to let her go to kitty heaven without suffering anymore. We went to the vet and said our good byes. i promised her she would be out of pain once she got to heaven and free from doggies. We will miss you Mommy the baby. We love you tons.

Update

I am so pleased to announce that Last Thursday we all enjoyed a wonderful night of 8 full hours asleep. I can totally handle waking up to use the little girl's room because a certain Lily Grace is dancing on my bladder; as long as I can go right back to sleep . We had a pretty good weekend of rest as well. Sunday and Monday nights have both been a bit rough and lacking sleep. The night terrors have joined us again. I am not giving up hope on this lucky Tuesday that we will get lots of well needed sleep!

It is not hard to count my blessings!!

I am truly blessed. To be surrounded by such wonderful people is just a wonderful gift that keeps on giving. I couldn't ask for a more supportive, loving and fun family. My mother is the most unbelievable woman alive. I only pray that I can be this strong of a force for my own daughter. My husband truly amazes me. After 16 years I am still madly and deeply in love with him. My daughter is truly amazing. My brothers are pretty awesome. My daughter is so in love with her uncles. My pets make live so much more adventurous (even with floors that have to be cleaned daily). My job, (as challenging as it may be)working with children is the best! They remind you of what life is all about. My wonderful friends who keep me sane and make me laugh. To have your very best friends not in the same town makes things a little difficult. But they are only a phone call away. I feel like we are part of each other's every day life even though they are not here. Wouldn't trade ya for the world. I have already decided what my new years resolution will be. Given that this year has flown by, I want to slow things down and take time to celebrate each day and enjoy it. I also want to be the best mother, wife, daughter, friend and teacher that I can be. Love you guys! francie

sunday snippets

Just a few great things said by the men in my life.

I texted David to pick up a few things from the store. Tortillas from bakery, organic green beans for Elle and baby yogurt. I used details (from bakery and organic) and also said call me if you need to ask. While looking through what he bought, I see.....

DORA yogurt. So the conversation goes like this.

Francie: " Daddy, I told you to buy baby yogurt for Elle."

David:" Francie, I did. I mean I looked all over. I looked in the yogurt section and then I looked in the baby food section (keep in mind this section is non refrigerated). And then I went back to the yogurt section. I mean Dora is for kids right"

Francie: Elle only eats organic whole milk baby yogurt made for babies near the organic milk.

David:"Damn, I tried."

Francie: "KC, will you feed Elle while I make the rice?"

KC :"Aww man I just showered."

I asked him to feed her not bathe in her food.

He did it !

I also got to witness mom try to teach casey how to do some yoga stretching for his back. PRICELESS. Look at Elle thinking WTF!!

Meemom also taught Elle how to wave bye bye today. She learns all her monkey tricks from the Meemom!! Although I didn't capture Elle waving. I did capture Meemom taking a bite out of Elle's arm.

Note: Elle is wearing only a diaper because her daddy insists that it is too hot for the precious outfit her mommy put her in today. I am opposed to the naked white trash baby thing but baby daddy is not!