I really, really hate my cats.

So, at what point is it acceptable to give these demons from Hell back to the Humane Society?

I am so sick of the destruction. Nothing is safe from them. Want to have tissues? Screw that, they'll rip them to shreds and leave it for you to clean up. Shoes? They'll rip those up, too. (Thought that was just dogs, right? Wrong.) Books, houseplants, electrical cords, a doll from Korea that someone brought me, the trashcan in the bathroom, are all fair game in their eyes. No matter how high of a shelf I put something on, they'll get it if they want it.

Today was the final straw. I am honestly thinking about relinquishing ownership because of this. (And I know that's awful, because pets are supposed to be a lifetime commitment, but what else can I do when they're literally destroying our belongings?) I have a record player that was FIL's back in the day. I have to keep the cords piled up on top of it and covered with a box, because I know the cats have a tendency to shred anything they can get their paws on. But today, I was in the kitchen doing dishes, and I wanted to listen to the "Thriller" album. So I set up the record player, and cleaned the kitchen. Within about 10 minutes, they had gotten a hold of one of the cords on the turntable, stripped it, and ripped it into three separate pieces. It's beyond repair. This record player has a lot of sentimental value to me because I'm very close with my FIL, and I am in tears, I'm so furious. It's only 11:50 and it's already been a sucky day, and this just makes it even worse.

I just don't know what else to do at this point. We have tried spray bottles of water as a deterrent to bad behavior, and they don't care. We've tried vinegar in the spray bottles. They don't care. We've tried spanking. They don't care. We've tried everything we can think of, but they still just do their own thing and destroy our stuff, no matter how hard we try to give them second and third and fortieth chances. I'm so frustrated that I could just pull my hair out.

Can anyone offer ANY solutions? Is there anything left that I can do to keep them from being so destructive so that I don't feel like my only option is to get rid of them? I know we could try the claw cap things, but honestly, the problem is their teeth, not their claws. They're good about only scratching the scratching post and their climbing tower, but if it can fit in their mouth, they'll chew it to pieces before you even realize they've got it. (My record player parts, for example...) We can't afford cat behavioralists or any crap like that...we're having a very hard time financially and that alone has made me consider getting rid of them, so the cost of care (with a strained budget) and their bad behavior is not making them very secure in their living arrangements. I don't want to get rid of them, I really don't. But I also cannot deal with the anxiety of waking up every morning and literally going to check and see what they've done during the night. Can you crate train cats? Shock collars? Anything?

Between our finances, waiting for test results to see if our little boy has Down's Syndrome, and badly behaved pets, I am feeling incredibly worn out and stressed. I just want to crawl in bed and sleep until everything magically resolves itself and I don't have to deal with a bunch of junk.

ETA: Now that I've calmed down, I'm probably not going to get rid of the little beasts. (I think.) They get all pathetic and apologetic and I just feel too guilty. But still, if anyone has any advice at all, I'd love to hear it. If they tear up more stuff I might change my mind again.

Can you train a cat?

I'm starting to think that I'm going to have to just empty a room in my house and lock the cats in it. They are so destructive and to be honest, just stupid. I am so tired of being woken up at 4 in the morning by someone crying at the bedroom door. And it's not that they want to come in...they run away as soon as they hear me moving towards the door. They do it just because. I cannot keep my scrapbooking desk looking nice, because as soon as I tidy it up, someone gets on it in the night and tears it to pieces. Houseplants? Forget that. If it's green, it must be meant there for them to shred.

She looks so innocent...

I'm at my wits' end. One of the cats, I don't really like, but the other one is sweet when she's not being destructive and I would never get rid of her. I'm wondering how effective it would be to buy some cat treats and a clicker and try to train them. I've tried spritzing them with a spray bottle when they do "forbidden" things...doesn't phase them. I even tried mixing a little vinegar in the water so they'd be turned off...and they actually liked the vinegar. Something's got to give. I can't keep dealing with finding items on my desk in the floor when I wake up, or plant leaves ripped to shreds, or paper towel rolls from the kitchen counter ripped to bits.

And since I can't make a post without talking about my pregnancy, I'll slip that in here. I'm 17w1d pregnant, and we're now 19 days away from (hopefully) finding out the sex of the baby. I'm officially making the switch to maternity clothes. I stayed in my regular pants as long as I could, but it was really starting to put too much pressure on my belly. Maternity clothes are bliss. BLISS. It took me all of 3 seconds to fall in love with my full-panel jeans when I put them on last night. I may never go back.

Here's a 17 week bump pic. (It's really bump now! Not bloat!) And yes, my mirror is all spotty. I am not ashamed.

Thanks, Brianna!

Ok, it looks like I've finally got my blog issues worked out, thanks to a little help from the lovely Brianna over at Counting Blessings! I know I'll have to change it again in a few weeks after the Christmas season is over, but for now, I am absolutely crazy about the little reindeer and the fun pink stuff! (I. Love. Pink.)

It looks like the cats have rediscovered their love for the bottom limbs of my Christmas tree and the ornaments housed therein. Am I happy about it? Nope. Was there some kitty time-out in their crates today? Yep. So help me, they will learn to leave my tree alone. Or else.

I think we've got all but a couple Christmas gifts done/purchased/in progress. I need to finish my mom's gift and the one I'm making for Jesse's mammaw. Both are going well, but I've hit some snags with the scarf I'm crocheting for Mammaw. (Literally and figuratively.) I need to just force myself to get it finished and then make a solemn vow to never, never use that type of yarn again.

I'm incredibly hungry, and ready for DH to get home so I can make dinner. (He's picking up one of my ingredients that I need before he comes home.) Tonight is going to be sausage, pasta, and spinach with a little butter sauce. Yum.

My cats are killing me with grossness.

Let me preface this by saying that I love my cats. Really, I do. Most of the time. They can be so sweet and cuddly, and really funny with their crazy cat antics. But I think they want to kill me.

This pregnancy has been pretty low-key so far. Not experiencing terrible symptoms. However, the nausea has been increasing the last few days. Still manageable, but definitely more present. My cats seem to sense this, and are being as gentle and sensitive to my tummy as they can be. Right? Wrong.

I decided that since I have work this afternoon, I should probably wash my khakis. (They were covered in hair because I wore them while I cut DH's hair the other night.) I loaded up my little laundry basket, walked out to the washer...and froze in abject horror.

Poop. Everywhere.

The best I can figure it out, it went down like this. Someone (probably Suki) crawled in the litter box and did their business. Our cats are both terribly stupid and don't understand that they're supposed to kick the litter back over their completed business. They just leave it sitting on top. So, in her post-doody litter box romp, Suki stepped in her pile o' poo. She then jumped out of the litter box, and vigorously shook her poo-covered feet, creating dookie carnage the likes of which I have never before seen.

I mopped the main part of the mess, and used antibacterial wipes to scrub off the front of the washer. A Magic Eraser was needed to remove the excrement from the walls and doors. (Yep, I said doors. Plural.) There needs to be more mopping done, but my stomach cannot handle that at the moment. I texted DH and told him that I left the rest for him. He texted back to inform me that I could've left ALL of it for him...if only I had known that before I cleaned. (Actually, I think it would have bothered me more to leave all that poop everywhere.)

I also just got another text from DH informing me that the reason my car has been leaving a big, wet stain on the driveway is because there's apparently a leak in the oil pan. Which can't be repaired. They would have to replace the whole thing. Which will cost, according to this one shop, $450. We're going to get estimates from other places who will hopefully do it much cheaper, but I'm feeling rather sorry for myself. We are dealing with a lot of start-up fees from the midwife and other medical goings-on, and $450 is a lot to us right now. Sigh. Life goes on.

Ants in my pants

Tomorrow is our first midwife appointment and I'm so excited I can barely sit still. I have no idea why I'm so pumped...we're not going to see the heartbeat or do an ultrasound or anything. I think it's just that, in my mind, if I'm seeing a medical professional about my pregnancy, it must be real! (As if the massive aching boob pain didn't clue me in. And also the 5 positive pregnancy tests.) I think DH is excited, too, because he has already told his entire office and a few random strangers. We're taking my niece's old crib instead of shelling out for a new one, and DH wants to go ahead and bring it back to our place this weekend. That one really surprised me...I expected him, with all his careful planning, to wait to wait a while for things like that. I think both of us are just a little on the giddy side right now.

I took our oldest fur child, Pippa, to the vet today. (Well, the vet at the Humane Society where we got her.) She's been kind of congested since the day we brought her home, and it just never cleared up. They told us that it was just the last little bit of an upper respiratory infection she had, and that it would go away on its own. She sounded so pathetic the last couple days that I felt like I needed to do something. So, for $6.75, they gave me three different meds to try and clear everything up. Excellent price? Why yes, yes it was. It'll be fun trying to squirt meds down her throat with the syringe, but if it makes her stop sneezing snot marks all over the wall, it'll be worth the effort.

I need to make dinner plans for tonight. I have frozen chicken, brown rice, and an avocado. Think I can make something interesting out of that? Hah. I think that takes more cooking talent than I possess, but we'll figure something out.

I think I did, I think I did...

I've started looking for a part-time job here recently, just to supplement our household income a little bit. I applied at Rite-Aid and it looks like I've got the job! (All within a matter of a few days. Nice.) They're waiting for the background check to run, and assuming I pass it, I'm good to go. I may have made a mistake on the paperwork that is making me ULTRA paranoid, but even that would just be listing an address that they didn't need. My criminal record is totally clean. I don't even have a speeding ticket, for crying out loud. So hopefully, I'll hear back from them soon. God is very good. :)

Jane Austen festival this weekend. Yes, I'm excited. Yes, I'm planning to dress up. Yes, I am a total nerd. No, I don't care.

I have a warm, purring kitten asleep on my stomach. It's incredibly cute. I'm so thankful that we have these little furballs in our life. They're good little companions, even if they do stink up the litter box something fierce, and they occasionally fart on me. Life is good. Life is blessed.

My relationship with God is growing so much lately. I'm just struck by how many second (and third and hundredth) chances I've been given, and I'm tired of taking that for granted.

"Nearer, still nearer, while life shall last
'Til safe in glory my anchor is cast
Through endless ages, ever to be
Nearer, my Savior, still nearer to Thee."

Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday!

Well, cycle 4 was a bust. AF arrived on Thursday, rather unexpectedly. My temps were all over the place this cycle, so I didn't know quite when that would happen. Oh, well. It was really disappointing, but maybe cycle 5 will be our lucky cycle. I'm still struggling with the disillusionment that goes along with not getting pregnant quickly, but I'm getting resigned to it.

DH and I are headed to Louisville this weekend to visit his parents. On Saturday, I'm meeting up with some of my Bump ladies for a get-together. I got to meet a few at a TN gtg, so I'm expanding my group. :) I'm really excited, but also totally over-analyzing. What am I going to wear? What if they don't like me? What if they think I'm ugly? Sometimes, I think I'm still 14 years old inside.

This will be the first time we've left the cats alone for more than a few hours. It should be really interesting. I'm hoping they don't freak out and tear things up, or stand at the door meowing for hours. Suki is particularly bad about that...if we go into the bedroom and shut the door, she sometimes will come and cry for several minutes until we either let her in, or she gets tired. She hasn't been as bad about it for the last few days, so I'm hoping she's getting desensitized. We might leave the TV on or something so that there's noise to keep them company. Eek.

I'm excited for dinner tonight. We have leftovers of what I cooked last night. It was originally a stuffed bell pepper recipe, but this time, I just cut up some bell pepper and added it to the stuffing. We ate it wrapped up in tortillas. So delicious. It's ground beef, onion, rice, garlic, cumin, and chili powder. (And for me, red bell pepper.) I was excited that DH liked it so much...proof that I can sneak veggies into his food somehow. Well, it wasn't really sneaking. He knew it was in there and liked it anyhow. Good stuff. :)

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend.

Photo update of my fur children!

I figured it was time for a photo update. Here's the fur kiddos...grey is Pippa, multi-colored is Suki. (Nerd points to whoever can name the animated series that the name Suki came from.)

They have really been a lot of fun so far, although definitely more work than I expected them to be. Suki will sit at the bedroom door and cry for several minutes if you don't let her in, which takes some serious tolerance. But I love them to bits, and I'm so glad we got them. They're good company.

New washer and dryer get here tomorrow.
Tomorrow is also the Summer Solstice. The sun will be at its highest point at 12:16pm. (Central time.)
Tomorrow is also my 22nd birthday. Happy birthday to me.

Grumpty grump.

So yesterday was my 2-year anniversary with DH. We had a fantastic day. He took me rock climbing in Nashville, which was tons of fun even though it was my first time. I'm not even really sore today, which makes me feel kinda boss. (Ok, my hands and fore-arms are kind of sore. But not much.) After rock climbing, we went to good ol' Cracker Barrel for lunch, and then back to BG. We did the final walkthrough at our old apartment, and finally closed our lease. We're officially outta there! And then, we went to the Humane Society to pick up our two new furbabies.

They are turning out to be a lot more to deal with than I expected. I grew up with cats, and I don't remember it being this big of a deal. Maybe I'm just looking at the past through rose colored glasses. Anyhow, the cats have this knack for being spazzed out at all the worst times. When we went to bed last night, they meekly curled up with us. Slept great for a few hours, but around 4a.m., they decided it was playtime. And by playtime, I mean freak-the-heck-out time. They were jumping all over our bed and tearing around the room, so we put them in the hall and shut our bedroom door. This lead to yowling and crying from both of them. We did not get much sleep. My temps were thrown off from having to get up. So now, FF moved my O date to CD28. I'm beyond frustrated today, not to mention tired from lack of sleep.

This cycle is already feeling like a bust, and I might only be like, 3dpo. I either want my BFP or I want it to be over so we can move on. On top of all of this, DH informed me today that I need to start looking for a job. Student loans are hitting and they're taking a lot of money. I know I shouldn't be so bitter about trying to find a job, but I hate people and I hate standing for a long time. I have crappy knees and hips, and it gets so painful. Sigh. Today is my grump day, I guess.

This too shall pass.