In The Cat Cave

Saturday. It was a gorgeous day. But we were inside all day.

As my 5 year old daughter Jane said "It's a beautiful day to be sick Mommy."
The glass is half full, right?

My album is coming together - each new day has a title page. This day has two 8.5x11" pages back to back and two 6x8.5" pages.


"Saturday morning arrived sooner than I wanted it to.  Jane (5) and I slept together but sleep wasn’t a great luxury we had. She was sick too many times to count.  I would hear her and scoop her head to the side of the bed. She would continue for the rest of the day like that with exception to about 20 minutes when she rose off the couch to try on her dance costume and pose for a picture.  Jane is a trooper.  Not that a person can be good at being sick.. but if you could, she would be.

The sun was shining, which was great since I was washing every quilt and linen in the house. I love seeing the colourful quilts on the line.  The fresh smell. Yes. I love that too. Ryan was coaching and playing soccer for most of the day today so it was me and Jack (3)  against the germs.  Determined to win, I practically bathed in hand sanitizer and ran around with  containers of Lysol wipes.

Since my Saturday plans changed, I thought it would be a good idea to make a large pot of soup.  All day I threw different things in.  I think I had 4 bowls of soup.  I will admit that at 8:30 I sat down with a McDonalds big Mac and enjoyed every moment. So there.

Jack and I played with sand, play doh, a memory game, the Guess Who game, and the list goes on.   Soon it was night time and I was glad to have my husband back before I fell asleep.

Good night Saturday."


"This water bottle.  I bought it years ago.  It’s glass and dishwasher safe. It has a wide mouth for big gulps. It makes me happy because I know that its clean unlike many of those plastic containers.  And I don’t have to slurp to get water out.  I remember buying it at an atrocious price but it was calling my name.  So. Worth. It."

"Let me just add that this photo is incredibly imperfect.  My nails. Oh. My. Nails.  But that’s me.  And it’s real life.  I get my nails done and 2 hours later they are a mess.  A hot mess. Like me.  Perfectly imperfect. I don’t really strive to be perfect. It makes me tired just thinking about it.  But I do try to be happy - I make a point of it actually.  I want to be happy.  So I craft.  So I plan.  So I buy overpriced waterbottles that bring me joy.  These nails are beautifully imperfect painted by my mother in law on Mother's Day - I wouldn’t want to be any other way."

Friday came with a vengeance.  A day that we dreaded as Jane was off to the children’s hospital to have some fillings taken care of.  Little did we know that before Jack was even up, she had one tooth extracted and another filled along with another appointment to come again soon.

I decided to take the morning easy and sat down with my "The 52 Lists Project" journal. I love using these prompts to reflect in the quiet of the morning. It's a great way to start the day.  Not without coffee though - usually from my Keurig these days.

Rooney still wasn't up when Jack and I were ready to go. That dog plops herself anywhere and assumes we will walk over her.  Problem is, we do.  Whe's 8 years young now so we won't be able to change much of her habits.

This morning wasn't as chaotic as usual because I only needed to pack one lunch and get one child ready.  I had my work items packed in the car in advance.  By the time I got Jack seated in his car seat, I couldn't find the keys.  I mean, I know its hard to believe but every single morning I lose those keys.  I knew I had them to unlock the vehicle but backtracking my steps was proving unsuccessful. I was calling my brother to bring over the second set when I found the darn things in the snow.. of course.

Jack arrives at the Gingerbread House daycare in good spirits.  Quite pleased with the snow patches around so that he can jump in them.  He always likes to take the long way into the building on the ramp rather then up the stairs.  I don't think he's the only kid that does this.

It was a regular working day with a short shopping trip in search of finding an adult skating helmet for a birthday partythe next day as well as a tooth fair pillow.  Jane's first visit from the tooth fairy.  Still growing up, I see.

When I arrived home, Jane was excited to show me her lost tooth and took off for dance.  I enjoyed a little quiet time while Ryan dropped the kids to his mother's as he was coaching.  The hallway was littered with shoes, coats and packages but I turned a blind eye. 

The quiet was short lived as I left to go to my sister's Spring choir concert. It was gorgeous.  The little church is located on the ocean so through the windows you can see a little graveyard and then the crashing waves. The roof was made of wooden planks and you can see the gold capped nails perfectly lined up. Love it.  I have to remember to sit back, relax and take in all the sights and sounds more often.

When I arrived home I helped clean and started my Week in the Life but there was an abrupt end when Jane woke up in vomit. This would continue all night. At first I worried about the tooth extraction but soon realized it was stomach flu.  That's a bummer. 

Another amazing day despite the stomach bug taking over our house. See you tomorrow to show you Saturday stories!

Cathy