Happiness is A Warm Furball

Today my partner and I ventured down to The Beach (or Beaches) – a gorgeous, popular strip of boardwalk, beachfront and shops along Lake Ontario.

The weather was perfect for people-watching, “froyo”, listening to music, walking the long stretch of boardwalk and petting the myriad dogs who accompanied their owners on this beautiful sunny day.

Canines of all kinds were in abundance – dachshunds, German Shepherds, dalmatian puppies, golden retrievers – you name it, we saw ’em. As much as I’d love to get a dog and one day I will – I’ve already promised my kids – we currently have a fantastic, clever cat whom everyone adores.

Not only are pets fun and playful (and a lot of work of course), studies show they’re good for both children’s and adults’ mental health.

Image from Animal Planet

While it seems counter-intuitive,  the dander and bacteria from pets can actually help babies develop their immune systems.

By exposing children to various pet allergens, some allergies and diseases like asthma can be avoided.

Owning a pet also breeds empathy, compassion, love, friendship and  key social skills.

What does the special furball, fish or ferrat in your life do for your family? Can you imagine life without Fido?

Speaking of Mental Health… Lemme Tell You About My Morning!

Don't forget to rinse!

The idea for this post stems from my comment on Mamalog a really attractive and witty blog that I discovered via Twitter. (See yesterday’s post for more info on the wonders of that social media site).

Mornings are rough around here as I’m sure they are for many people with kids (or lives, or jobs or pets…)  I’m over the morning rush now (and it only took me several hours and a few chocolate chip cookies…)

Here’s an overview of my day from 6:45 am (when my sweet daughter woke me up) until about 8:45 am:

• Stumble downstairs while trying not to slip on the LEGO strewn about the stairs
• Attempt to keep our cat, Dragon, quiet as he welcomes us with loud mewing and meowing and over-zealous calls for breakfast
• Greet our messy, dish-filled kitchen and start emptying the dishwasher
• Feed cat and ignore the ants that are crawling near baseboards
• Ask my daughter what she’s like for breakfast. Answer? Cheerios and Rice Krispies mixed together with white AND chocolate milk.
• Greet son as he comes downstairs warm, sleepy and spikey-haired
• Make school lunches and wonder, for the 9,643th time, where all the matching Tupperware containers are hiding
• Bring clothes and tooth brushes downstairs and ask the kids to get dressed
• Daughter starts getting dressed and son begins playing basketball – in the house
• Finish making school lunches and packing backpacks and ask son to get dressed again
• Husband comes downstairs (tired and sore from tooth pain) and tries to help rally the troops
• Continue to clean up kitchen, prevent children from injuring each other with foam swords and ask son to get dressed again
• Breathe deeply
• Make note of the time, ask son to get dressed as it’s getting late
• Son is finally dressed, chase kids around attempting to brush their hair and get them to brush teeth
• Put on rain gear, back packs and shoes and offer hugs and kisses to all.
• Close door. Lock door. Sit down at computer. Sigh.

Does that sound at all like your morning? Is it better or worse? Do rough morning affect the rest of your day?

He May Not Be Man’s Best Friend But We “Heart” Him Anyway

Our “indoor” cat – a one-year-old tabby – runs outside every day. Normally he runs into our neighbour’s backyard and hides under their deck until we find him and convince him to come out but, lately, he’s getting more and more daring with his escapades.

Ray of Sun

Today he’s run outside twice. It’s probably a factor of the gorgeous weather we’re enjoying today. None-the-less it’s aggravating and time-consuming wrangling our kitty each time he escapes. Some may argue that we should let the cat out but we’re concerned that he’ll get hit by a car or be on the losing end of a raccoon battle.

So, the first time today, my son tried to snatch him from the garden but in the process bumped his leg REALLY hard on a rock and it left a large swollen bruise. My husband ended up getting the cat from under our neighbour’s car. The second time both kids worked as a team to lure the cat back into our yard and then carefully snatched him up and brought him inside.

The cat’s napping right now and the kids are pleased that he’s back. I’m sure the  kitty’s dreaming of bumble bees and squirrels.