May Update

I've been working on a blog post for a long time. Today, after I finished it, I realized that I didn't even want to skim it to proof read before posting. Which made me realize that if it's that boring, I probably shouldn't post it. So I scrapped it and decided to write a general update instead :)

The Franzen household has been a busy one lately!

About two weeks ago, we adopted this adorable little guy, Hiccup.

After much deliberation, I decided to look for a new home for Luna, who, out of anxiety, had begun peeing and pooping on the floor daily.  That very same day, I found a young woman who had recently moved out on her own that was looking for a cat. It was bittersweet to drop Luna off with her, but I think it was best for everyone involved. I'm happy to no longer be cleaning up messes every day, Luna is happy to not be terrorized by Arya and the children, and Tim is happy to have a new kitty who loves him rather than being terrified of him like Luna was.

Arya and Hiccup play with each other all the time. Arya often tried to attack Luna and Luna would hiss at her or run away. If Arya jumps on Hiccup, he rolls around with her. He'll chase her tail and she'll lick his head. I haven't heard a single hiss from the two of them, which the vet said indicates angry fighting. They rough house constantly but seem to be enjoying it. I'm crossing my fingers that one day they may snuggle with me simultaneously. It's the crazy cat lady's dream.

The girls and I have wrapped up school for a while. Our enrichment center had its official last day yesterday with a fun field day and celebration. We've had a blast being a part of that community this year! I am going to enjoy taking a break from planning for a bit to recharge, but Lexi has already told me she's bored and wants to do school again. Sigh. We're working on some summer reading lists and we'll see what else we end up doing. I have some lofty goals but it's going to be a busy summer so if we just end up playing, swimming and reading a bunch, I'll be cool with that.

Lexi and I earned our blue belts in karate this week. I never thought signing Lexi up for this class would lead me to loving martial arts, but that's where we are at! We've both learned a lot, gotten some great exercise, and had a blast doing it. We plan to take the summer off and get back into it this fall.

The biggest news is that we're looking into selling our house and moving! Tim has been looking forward to "upgrading" for a while and when I sat down to crunch numbers, I realized that all his hard work at PHLY has paid off and we're in the position to do it! This is an exciting and scary endeavor. I love our house and beautiful yard to pieces but looking at houses is a lot of fun and I feel like the time is right for a move. We're going to work hard making some updates, packing, and cleaning and we're hoping to have our place on the market by the end of June. Of course, if you're looking for a great place in Overland Park with 3 bedrooms, 1.1 baths, a 2 car garage and a great yard...you know where to find me ;)

Overall, I'm excited to see where this summer takes us!

27 Helpful Things Cats Do

I'm not gonna lie, this post started out as me just playing around with my photo editing software, practicing adding text to pictures. But as I worked on the picture, I quickly realized that it was definitely something I could write. 

Arya is all black and Luna is black, white and terrified of everything. 

In the past 20 months, we have acquired two cats, Luna and Arya. I love them both. They are patient with my children. They are snuggly. They are sweethearts. Usually. Sometimes they are a gigantic pain. There are so many "helpful" things they've done in the short time they've been with us.

That's just rude.

Every single thing on the list is something that my cats have done at one point or another. 

I present to you 27 Helpful Things Cats Do. 

1. Knock over full glasses of water. Intentionally.

2. Stick their faces in our drinks.

3. Poop in random places, repeatedly, for reasons I cannot understand.

4. Eat strings.

5. Eat so many strings that they require expensive surgery. (True story)

Want to guess how much I paid to have this removed from Arya's small intestines?

6. Climb between me and a book I am trying to read so that I can no longer see said book.

7. Throw up on the carpet. Only the carpet, never the laminate.

8. Sit upon papers we are working on.

Let me help you with that school work!

9. Sit between me and the screen of my phone or laptop.

10. Attempt to eat food off my plate when I get up to refill my drink.

11. Lick their fur until it falls out.

Is this book any good? Can you see my entire butt hole? Pretty soon I won't have ANY fur left!

12. Escape and head toward a busy intersection when I open the door to get the mail.

13. Sneak into a child's dark bedroom and get shut there overnight.

14. Wake me/my child up at 4 am with loud purring and kneading to the face.

15. Stare at me while I am using the toilet.

16. Eat the erasers off of pencils.

These look delicious!

17. Chew on Christmas lights. 

18. Climb the Christmas tree until it falls over and breaks.

19. Get overly excited while hunting a bird outside the window and knock over (and break) our brand new lamp.

20. Attempt to eat straight pins out of my pin cushion, then poop on my sewing project out of spite when I remove them from the premises. 

True story.

21. Sharpen their (nonexistent) claws on the back of the flat screen TV.

22. Chew the leaves off of the sweet potato plant my kids are growing.

23. Climb into and proceed to the very back of the corner cabinet while I attempt to reach my 9 x 13 pan, then refuse to come out.

Can we help you with something?

24. Spit their medicine out onto the carpet even when I disguise it inside an expensive treat specifically designed for concealing medicine.

25. Meow pathetically at me each time you walk by their food bowl, as though I did not just feed them 30 minutes prior. 

26. Find the one allergic person at our party and rub up against them repeatedly.

27. Get into dangerous predicaments. 

Both the cat and the box fell down the stairs. Neither was harmed. 

Don't get me wrong, I love them dearly. They certainly keep me entertained. 

Arya knows how to throw some serious shade.

But she also gives the best hugs. 

I could probably list 127 "helpful" things my cats do. Am I the only one? Are my cats especially ridiculous or are all cats this way? 

Please weigh in on this in the comments.  

Dog owners, I want to hear your take on this too!

This post is part of the 30 Day Challenge.