Oreo Cookie-Puss Stran 4/4/88 - 11/29/06

When I was getting ready to graduate from eighth grade, I tried to convince my parents that a perfect present would be to have a kitten of my own. I had gone to Corner's Pet Shop on Highway 100, where I had fallen in love with a tiny black and white longhaired kitten who immediately started purring when I held her (something she would do every time I picked her up for many, many years). My parents had held firm that one cat was enough for our house, and I was pretty much resigned to the idea-- but when we left for home from brunch after graduation, I realized something was odd when my mother rode home with my grandparents instead of with us. When they pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, I remember thinking, wait-- it couldn't be-- could it?-- as I watched my mom walking slowly up the walk to our front door with a large silver box in her hands. When she got closer, I could see that the box was wiggling. I opened the lid and this tiny black and white fluffball head poked out. I promptly burst into tears-- I was so incredibly happy that this little kitten was mine.

Eighteen and a half years later, I'm crying again, but it's to say goodbye. Oreo was a really big part of my life-- she lived with me in three states. She saw me through high school, college, five apartments, three roommates, and one condo. She was there when I got married. She was always happy to be in my lap or at the foot of my bed-- she was content just to be near me, and she was as affectionate and sweet as any pet I have ever known. She was amazing.

So to celebrate her long and eventful life I wanted to write this post. My pets are the closest thing to children I have and to lose two of them in two months has been incredibly hard for me and for Nate, but we take comfort in the fact that Oreo is at peace and isn't suffering, and has Bear to keep her company.

Here's one more of Oz dressed up as the veteranarian

Photos

Hmmm- Photos didn't come up?

Here they are again

Oskar in his Dog Suit

Halloween Photos

Howdy Peeps-


Here's a photo of Oskar in his Halloween outfit. He was a dog. We had 18 babies and toddlers at our house for a Halloween party which went surprisingly well. We brought our water table in from outside and has it full of Halloween ducks for the kids to play with- and that's what Oskar is standing in front of. The reason we had to bring it inside- was 15 minutes prior to the party- our dog Tyler got bit by a rattlesnake in our yard. As horrible as this was- it could have been so much worse- with 18 babies painting pumpkins in a yard with a loose rattlesnake. So our good dog once again saved the day and took the bite instead of little human niblet. Tyler the dog is doing fine now- after anti-venom- emergency hospital stay and a vet bill encroaching $1500- but what do you do when he's been your best pal for 12 years and your "first child".

Other exciting news- I am pregnant again- about 14 weeks. Keep us in your prayers- a lot can happen but I am confident it will all go well. Cautiously optimistic. Babies will be about 2 years about- which is a little closer then I had thought- if anyone ever tells you you can't get pregnant while still nursing THEY ARE WRONG! :-). But it may be perfect timing. So we are off again.

Oskar is 19 months and talking up a storm. Saying super funny things every day. His favorite words are "fork" and "frog" which both sound like "F * CK" and of course ran around at our Mennonite Church potluck enthusiastically yelling "Fork" "Fork" when finding a plastic fork. I had to follow close behind telling everyone "he's saying, fork...." Also the baby sitter says "sweet" a lot as an exclaimation- so that's another one- when Thomas the Train rolls off the track and into the mud- Oskar yells- "SWEET!". So much fun.

Okay- it's late here so I'll get this photos up and write more later. Good to check in with all of you and read your updates- sorry I haven't posted so awhile- but pregnant mom- I have been chasing a toddler and barfing so not my computer time lately.

Carolyn

Halloween

Another Halloween gone by - fun, fun! Yes, my 2 goofballs were Minnie & Mickey Mouse. Quite a drama deciding on costumes, though. For the longest time, Tyler wanted to be a carrot - yes, a carrot! This is the guy who won't eat a veggie without a 45 minute standoff, and he insisted for the longest time on a CARROT! They don't sell child carrot costumes, not even on eBay. And the Veggie Tales FEMALE one wasn't an option. So after 6 weeks of trying to convince him to be ANYTHING else, with no luck, Emma says, "Tyler, don't you want to match me & be Mickey Mouse?" Ahhhh.. sibling peer pressure at its best. So that's how we got Mickey & Minnie Mouse!

In other fun news, I'm a aunt for the first time, today. Little Kade Peter Bishop was born early this morning. Can't wait to see him next weekend!

I miss you all - I posted Halloween pix - I expect to see more soon! :)

Remember me?

I apologize for being gone for so long-- thanks for that post, Andy, and the picture too, but did you know that they actually make kiddie pools and bathtubs and that you don't need to squeeze your kids into a beer cooler to stave off the summer heat? I know I'm not a parent, but I'm fairly confident that I'm correct.

So I have been so damn preoccupied with the theater that it's bordering on ridiculous, but it's definitely where I want to be, and I don't miss my old day job at the Art League, although I do kind of miss the structure. It's a slippery slope when you don't have to get up to an alarm, and I never realized how many pairs of lounge pants I owned until I started wearing them every day. But the theater is coming along, slowly but surely! We're getting ready to launch our first Christmas mainstage show as well as a Christmas-themed kids' show, called "Rough Night At The North Pole", and Nate's playing Santa-- so you guys should bring your rugrats to come see it!

I hope you guys had a good Halloween and please please post some pictures of your kids in their costumes! I happened to be walking around Evanston during the hours when all the kids were out trick-or-treating and it was sooo adorable. I gotta say that's one thing I am really looking forward to once we have kids (which we are still working on, don't worry, I'll let you know when there's any news)...

Although we don't have any kids yet, we have some new additions to the family, believe it or not! We had to put Bear, one of our cats, to sleep on September 28th, and Nate and I were both devastated. We knew we wanted to get another cat and we ended up getting two (yes, it was me who insisted)-- a pair of 3-month-old kittens, brother and sister, who we named Linus and Lucy. So that brings the tally (for those of you keeping track) up to eight, and although we still miss Bear every day, the new babies are awesome! Lucy likes to be zipped up in my sweatshirt and carried around like a baby kangaroo. She rules.

I apologize for the super-newsy tone of this post but I just recently regained regular Internet access (I just got a MacBook) and I am trying to make up for lost time. I really am dying for some new pics of Oskar, Emma, Tyler, Brett and AJ, stat! So get on that, people!