Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride and Other Stories about Diarrhea and Stuff...

So, you know the saying "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride"? Well, I think it would be safe to say after 4 nephews and 2 nieces "Always the aunt, never the mother". I don't say this out of jealousy of mothers or even out of pure desire for my own children, I say this simply for the fact that it's true. My brother and sister each have three children and I have 2 cats and 1 dog which count for something in my mind. Ben and I are just not ready for children at this time and I have a serious issue when it comes to kids. Ok, I know this is going to sound crazy but bear with me and then put yourself in my shoes. When I worked for Child Protective Services, I became (and still am) hyper-sensitive when it came to being around children. My life was consumed, due to my work, with kids making allegations (true and untrue) so I became very aware of not being alone with kids and making sure others were around when I changed a diaper or helped a nephew go to the bathroom. I never thought my nephews would ever say anything that was not true about me but when you deal with that type of thing all day every day you start to get paranoid. Now that I work with individuals with mental disabilities I have serious concerns about having a child with a disability. I mean, scared to the point I sometimes think having children is not even worth the risk. I know, I know what you are going to say; "Put this in God's hands" and I do. Really, I do. I know that He will do what is best for me and my family and that He has a purpose for everything but when you see the issues and all that goes into caring for someone with disabilities, it gets you thinking. I sound obsessive now but really I'm not. I just think about things and try to put myself in the position of others and I don't want a kid with a disability. That's what this rant is really all about. I don't want a kid with a disability... or one that will make false accusations about me. There. I said it. You all now know how crazy I really am and you know what, I can deal with that...Isn't that what a blog is really intended for? To put out there all your crazy thoughts and paranoias about life in general for all to see? No? Well, I already typed too much to delete so I guess I'll just leave it.

On to better topics. That cute little boy posted above is my new 2 day old nephew. William Gray Tidmore was born on September 17, 2008 to my sister Heather and my brother-in-law Taylor. I wish I could be there to welcome the little nugget but alas, I am 16 hours away and can only enjoy him through pictures. Welcome to the world Will and don't get too big until your favorite aunt and uncle see you!

Ben and I are right in the middle of boot camp. It feels good limping around the house due to getting my butt worked out to the point of pure exhaustion. We will be running the 5K Susan G. Komen race for the cure in October with our trainer. Cancer research of any kind is very close to my heart since my mother is an ovarian cancer survivor. Seeing her go through cancer treatment was a real life nightmare, one that turned my life upside down. Even though this is a run for breast cancer, I will be running for her. I just hope I don't come in last in the race by crawling across the finish line, or by getting piggy backed by some 60 year-old breast cancer survivor.


From Saturday to Wednesday, that's right, for 5 days straight Penelope has been diarrhea-ing (that's a mouthful) ALL OVER our house. The diarrhea is apparently jumping out and scaring her since she feels the need to run from it. And when I say run, I mean run from room to room to room... Literally. Penelope, while diarrhea-ing (seriously, a mouthful) runs through the house getting poop on the walls and carpet. She got poop on my nice dresser and the new runner my mother brought me back from St. Thomas a few weeks ago. We went through 2 1/2 bottles of Spot Shot trying to clean the carpet. I stepped in it a good 4 times and scrubbed the same wall about 3 times. One time I caught her running through the office where we were sitting and was able to grab her and hold her while she went all over the board under my desk. We then had to throw away our nice rug that was under our kitchen table because the diarrhea had seaped into the fabric and the little holes in the rug. She would go 2 to 3 times a day and even ran inside from the outside in order to diarrea on our carpet and walls. She went to the vet and he said this is actually pretty normal in kittens and gave her medication and food that is easy on the intestines and luckily for us (and her) she is no longer having diarrhea. I haven't had to clean the litter box in a couple of days and wondered if she was now constipated. Ben solved this mystery when he told me this morning that Penelope is indeed pooping because he just found a steaming pile of it in the corner by the kitchen...She's such a good addition to our family (seriously though, we do love her).

Penelope and Fitz playing on the bed. Penelope is about to get body slammed by Fitz and she totally deserves it. Penelope watching Eleanor eating dinner (that's the now defunct rug in the corner of the picture) Penelope sleeping. We have had to cover our nice leather chair because she has poked little holes in it. Do you see the Strawberry Shortcake sheets!?