What a Day!

Wow! It's been a doozy today, and I've been really wanting to tell about it! It started with a lazy, daisy sleeping in kind of morning... lots of sunshine, kids quietly snoozing, except for the Prairie Princess who decided to take a morning bike ride and feed the chicks early. Daddy made breakfast while the Princess and I got ready for a tea party in Culpeper with Mimi Cheri and M. We dressed up for the occasion. I even wore my fancy, schmancy earrings! We had a great time at Tea, Lace, and Roses. They have a dress up room with hats, gloves, costume jewelry, etc. Even I, surprisingly, put on a cute black hat and enjoyed myself thoroughly! I bought some fun little goodies at the antique store, and then we went to this cute art, fabric, yarn shop called 145 Art and Design Studio Their yarn selection was minimal, but beautiful, and they had Bernina sewing machines, Moda and Amy Butler fabrics (plus lots more), and some cool art supplies. I bought little watercolor postcard tablets for the children to create on and then send to grandparents and aunts and these little miniature watercolor sets that one can hang on a key chain for creating on the go... big hit... Then I hit a very, very cute shop called lula blu. OH MY GOSH! Lots of handmade girl's and baby's stuff, which I LOVE, of course, but also a clothing line called Neesh, which I wanted to have all of. It was uber-feminine, without being fancy, only with these beautiful little details that make you want to squeal a bit... I bought two skirts at 75% off (that made me squeal a bit, and the Prairie Princess, too). I will definitely have to post some pictures of the loot I picked up later.

Then after only a couple more stops and Prairie Princess' first ICEE (Cherry), we came home. We'd picked up stuff for everyone except Dad, so we were going to wash his car for him. I pulled out the trusty aqua blue wash bucket, filled it with eco friendly detergent and water, threw in a couple of rags, and then.... Piper caught my attention.

She was mewing kind of pitifully, and looking at me for help, obviously. I know I hadn't mentioned it before, but Piper (remember, the one who got rid of all of Hamelin's rats?!) has been a bit of a hussy(or so my Mom would say)... she came home knocked up... which is the natural thing for a young, beautiful, healthy cat to do when she's a year old, especially when her deadbeat family didn't get her spayed(that's me)... Anyway, she's been sort of waddling around the house lately. Actually, she was enormous... her belly was so ponderous she had to turn out her legs to walk. And yes, folks, after all the fun of this day, the beautiful weather, wonderful company, and fun shopping with my daughter, my cat had, as of right now...

I'm pausing to check...

SEVEN kittens!

SEVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She had four before dinner, and I thought she was done, so Dad went out to start a bonfire, and I joined them, checking on Piper occasionally. We had s'mores with dark chocolate... mmmmmmm! Then I go check on the cat, five kittens. I put the baby to bed, and kiss the girls goodnight. My husband informs me there are six kittens. I sit down to start to blog about today, and HOLY HAMSTERS, she has SEVEN! She definitely seems overwhelmed, though she did her duty to wash them all and eat all the flotsam and jetsam (BLECH!) she only did it sort of halfheartedly for the last two. She's just napping now, belly up, while seven squirming kittens try to grab a nipple. She's got eight, who'd have thunk there'd be a shortage! I'm a little nervous about her ability to take care of that many kittens, though she was the kitten of a very capable Queen Mother. Her early cat education must be the reason she's such a good cat. I mean, Piper got rid of a nest of baby mice under the radiator in our dining room when she was only seven weeks old. She's awesome to behold.