Babies Born June 2006 #25

[Smoke Jaguar]

Back online, yay! Not for long, though. I've got to see if I can squeeze in visiting my GF with Christmas presents and then the Daylesford Club at 8.
Car has been serviced (need new tyres, but I knew that, and the radiator needs a good flush - either DP or I can do that), XXX done (whilst holding Oscar, who refused to sleep until we pulled up in the driveway just now), nappies folded, more washed, now I need to drink some more water, and see about hooking up the VCR so that I can dub old stuff onto tapes from the camcorder and free up tapes for Oscar filming. Somehow I don't think I'll achieve all of this in one day.
Simone - meant to call you today, but the time just didn't materialise! Might try again for tomorrow morning... As for the kittens, you could surrender the kittens to a shelter when they are old enough, kittens usually find homes quicker than older cats. You could always terminate the pregnancy, too, and get her spayed while you're at it. It would be cheaper than feeding who-knows-how-many kittens for who-knows-how-long, and would be kinder on them if you can't find homes for them. If you want her to have them, then advertise them now at vet clinics in your area (avoid the Free To Good home advert in the paper scenario, cos you're probably better off aborting them, as you can never know what kind of sicko they could end up with, or just careless people who would think that keeping a kitten is as easy as getting one for free IYKWIM). I would maybe offer them for a nominal fee of about $20 in the paper (if you go the paper route, but I'd advise against that, too; however, putting a price on them will give the prospective owners some kind of sense of value of the kitten), or FTGH at the vet. But my biggest advice would be to surrender them to a shelter. You get charged a surrender fee at some places, but it's only fair, as they will have to foot the bill completely, otherwise, to feed them until they are homed (adoption fees are never indicative of how much shelters spend on each animal). If you're wondering about the detail I've gone into here, well, I volunteer for the Vic Animal Aid and I have heard too many stories of poorly homed FTGH animals. It really is kinder to destroy these animals early to save them the trauma. Also, I'd spay your cat after she's had the litter - kinder to her, too. It's a simple op and they recover SO quickly from it these days (I did work experience at a vet clinic when I was 15, and was volunteering at the shelter vet clinic last year - pre-pregnancy - and the difference in recovery times, and also the procedure itself, is remarkable!). I'm not a cat person, as such, but I am a bit passionate about responsible pet ownership! Hence the volunteering, I'm hopeless!
Oh, and your situation is only a 'trap' if you want it to be. You do have a choice. And this does not mean that one of those choices is easy. It means that one of those choices is better for you and the kids and WILL get easier. I've got a saying (here we go ) : "When you make a choice, you choose a set of consequences". You choose to stay, you choose to remain in misery and 'under control'. You choose to leave, you choose a better life with more positive influences on yourself and the kids, and possibly a longer life span. You HAVE a choice - you just need to see it
Mel - can you finish the shopping online LOL? Sounds like you're having a lovely afternoon! I need to find a couple of hours this week to watch Neverending Story...that Oscar (read: me, so my GF says) got yesterday for Christmas!
Amanda - I thought I might have clicked over to TeenRager at 650 posts. Could well be wrong, but keep posting and we'll see! Poor little pumpkin, Cody I really hope he improves in the next 24 hrs.
Bath - GREAT avatar! I noticed it this morning, but didn't get a chance to post.
DP is still away and not sure when he gets back - tonight or tomorrow. I think his picture is in the paper, doing a backburn. He texted me to buy The Age today and I looked through it to see why. On page 5 there are two stories. One of them has a pic of Lex Wade, who will transfer to my brigade soon (he's a funny little garden gnome man who is a guru of wildfire firefighting!), but I don't think DP would get me to buy the paper just cos Lex is in it. SO, this leads me to believe that the tall guy doing a backburn in Gippsland is DP. Especially as this is what he is doing and where he is doing it...I'll find out when he gets back. It's hard to pick someone out when they are on their side, wearing a helmet, goggles and you can't see their name on the back of the hat...
Anyway, I"m going to try to wax the rest of me...dont' know how long this boy will sleep for...so not going to have time to do the camcorder thing...
ETA: everyone posted while I was typing! Mel, all this Maccas talk has given me a craving for Hungry Jacks...I hardly every get them! But my belly has actually been a bit achey, and I've been a bit gassy (well, I normally am LOL, but this time it's uncomfortable) and I dont' think I should chance it to put that sort of thing in my belly...pity, I could really go a whopper!