random ramblings

So, we took the imp up to his grandparents for a two-night stay.  He took his bike because they spoil him by moving the cars out of the two-car garage, and putting a heater in there so he can ride comfortably. 

The pixie was very quiet, yesterday.  Didn't wake us up.  We finally woke up at around 9:30, and found her playing in her brother's room, building a castle with blocks.  I begin to think we need to get her her own set...

Monday starts the next semester for the kids.  I'm hoping to see the same improvement out of the imp as we've seen between first and second quarter between second and third.  He went from a low C average to a high C average.  I'm hoping to see that nudge upwards a bit more.  I'm really hoping his teacher will deem him ready for first grade. 

The pixie is just missing her friends and teachers something fierce.  I dread what summer will be like.  For both kids, honestly.

My mom got the pixie a huge, wide-brimmed, semi-floppy hat with feathers all over the brim for Christmas.  There are pink feathers scattered through the house, and the pixie is in a constant fight with Shadow about whose the hat really is.  It's sort of comical to see a slightly pudgy black cat trying to make off with a hat that's three times her size, and to see the pixie running after her to take it back.  Maybe it'll teach the pixie to keep her toys put up, and her bedroom door closed...

We've had to change the cats' food, recently.  The healthy metabolism that we'd been feeding the cats (which got Shadow playing right after eating, but didn't keep the weight off despite her not eating but a third of what Cricket--who's never totally still--ate) vanished from the stores.  We switched to an indoor formula Purina One, which claims to include the greens that the cats would be eating were they outdoor cats...and Shadow's been a little more active, her fur is silkier and healthier, and Cricket has calmed down just a little.  Hairballs have been going down rather than coming up, too, for both cats. 

Semester for Odysseus and me starts on the 12th.  We have a week where the kids will be in school, and we aren't, so I'll have three half-days where I don't have a pixie underfoot, and we can get some more furniture-moving and some Insect Growth Inhibitor put down.  So far, Odysseus says he's got Tuesday/Thursday free.  I do, too--I teach at 8:00 and 9:00 on MWF, and plan to hold office hours until 11:30 on Monday and Wednesday, and until noon on Friday when I'm not needed to pick the pixie up from preschool.  He says he's planning to try to keep TTh free for a once or twice a month jaunt to the local shooting range. 

I think I have an idea for writing that stubborn book that's not wanting to come, despite not letting anything else out, either: since the Rolling Stones album I want is out of stock on Amazon, I'll look for a used copy at the local music stores.  Failing that, I'll get the memory upgrade on my laptop done so I can find a playlist on Amazon.  Or at least listen to the music I have on Amazon Prime, which the laptop won't play without an updated Adobe Flash (which is what was crashing everything).

So, at least I now have a plan...