Yesterday I had my semi-annual dental appointment wherein they glare at my teeth, tell me to stop drinking soda, inform me that I’m a teeth-grinding motherfucker, and then poke at my gums with sharp and shiny instruments.
After my appointment last Fall, I decided it was time to get the hell serious about this brushing and flossing thing, and made a concerted effort to brush my teeth twice a day and floss every morning. It didn’t happen every single day, the flossing thing, but it happened more often than it had been. I was sure I’d go into the dentist’s office, the hygienist would get the pretty bib on me, take a look at my teeth and gasp in admiration.
Yeah, not so much. She did allow that the area of my gums (front left, as I do not know any dental location terms) was slightly less red, but that I needed to try to floss more often (apparently I am not the best flosser on earth, what a shock), stop drinking soda, and wear my bite splint every night.
I’m such a grinder of teeth in my sleep that the pointy parts of my back teeth (molars?) have worn down and may eventually need fillings.
I don’t actually think that I grind my teeth in my sleep anymore, though – Fred hasn’t heard the squeaking sound in ages. He also doesn’t have to come into my room to get to the bathroom the way he did at the previous house though, so it’s entirely likely that I’m grinding away every night and he just isn’t hearing it.
My next appointment is at the end of September. Now pardon me while I go floss.
I have a freakin’ cold. It started off last Thursday – I felt fuzzy-headed and sleepy all day long. I also had the beginnings of a sore throat. Friday the sore throat got worse to the point where I was slightly concerned that I might have strep throat.
Instead of going to the doctor, I just decided to wait and see. “Wait and see” is my favorite move when it comes to feeling poorly. I highly suspect that when I shuffle off this mortal coil, it’ll be because I had a blinding headache and decided to wait and see if Tylenol would help an aneurysm go away.
Over the weekend I was fuzzy-headed and sleepy, then yesterday the fucking cold moved into my chest. I’m not coughing much at the moment, but when I take a deep breath, I can feel all the crap in there waiting to come out. Also, I’m a snotty motherfucker and have been blowing my nose like crazy.
At least the fuzzy-headed feeling is gone.
The only thing that would make me feel better is if the damn sun would come out.
That, or kittens.
I decided yesterday to name the new Momma kitty Maura. I think it fits her nicely – I thought about adding an Irish-sounding last name, but couldn’t decide on one. I liked the sound of Maura Ryan or Maura Murphy or Maura O’Reilly or Maura McGillicuddy – really, the problem is that I couldn’t decide which one I liked, so I just went with Maura. I have a nice list of Irish names for both girls and boys, so I think we’ll be okay when the kittens come.
Of course, I don’t know how I’ll refer to the litter as a whole – I thought of calling them The Micks, but thought that might be offensive, since according to Urban Dictionary, it’s a derogative term. (Really, spell check? You’re putting the red line under “derogative”, but can only offer “derogation” as an alternative?) I myself have some Irish blood in me and find it an affectionate term rather than a derogative one – but how ’bout it, y’all? Any Irish readers out there who find it offensive?
Every time I go into the kitten room, Maura meows at me once or twice, and I say “Give me those babies!” She seems intent on holding on to them for the time being, though. Yesterday she rolled around on her back for a few moments and allowed me to gently touch her belly. I felt what very well could have been the head of a kitten. Last night, Fred said he thought he felt a kitten head in a different location. Who knows, though? We’re certainly not experienced with the pregnant cats. Kara gave birth the day after we got her, and she was very restless, so I didn’t get much time to examine her underside before she popped out her babies.
“Them wasn’t baby heads. Them was my liver and kidneys, STUPIDS.”
She certainly is happy to see me when I go into the room. She meows at me and then waits for me to sit down, and then she walks back and forth, rubbing against me, purring like crazy. Sometimes she settles down against me briefly before she gets up and starts pacing again.
“Why do you keep feeling my liver, lady?”
She really seemed to like the purple velour pants I was wearing yesterday (don’t judge! You know you covet them.) and kept kneading on my leg. At one point she even sat in my lap, but again that was just for a brief moment in time before she had to get up and get moving.
Amy asked yesterday, if you can’t feel the babies, and don’t see them moving, how do you know that she is pregnant?
I only know because people who are more experienced than I told me that she is. Otherwise, I’d likely just think that she’s kind of porky. Lisa asked if her nipples were prominent and dark pink yet (um, Maura’s nipples, that is. I suspect Lisa would know the state of her own nipples. HEE.), and they don’t appear to be, but we can feel the milk sacs forming. Maybe Maura will allow me to take a closer look at her underside today, and I’ll know better the state of her nipples then!
Meg asked, Okay, I guess I’ll be the one to ask: Your shelter doesn’t spay pregnant cats? I don’t do rescue anymore, but we used to spay everyone, regardless of pregnancy. It’s difficult and heartwrenching. We just had so little resources, not enough foster homes, not enough money, and basically not enough good homes. As far as I know, as long as the mother is healthy and a foster home can be provided for she and her babies, the shelter doesn’t spay pregnant cats. I can’t imagine having to know that a healthy pregnant cat was going to be spayed, I think that would break my heart. 🙁
Speaking of pregnant cats and spaying, here’s one last story for you (I can go on and on when I’m talking about cats, obviously). When we bought this house three and a half years ago, Maxi showed up in our back yard one day. She had clearly given birth and was a nursing mother, but we didn’t know where her babies were, or if she belonged to anyone. She came around more and more often (lured, I am sure, by the food bowl on the front porch), then Newt began to join her. (We originally called Newt “Daddy”, because we assumed he was the father of her litter, but when they both went to the vet for spaying and neutering at a later date, the vet said she thought he could be from an earlier litter of hers – therefore, her son rather than the father of her babies. Obviously, we don’t know for sure, though.)
It was probably a month after she first showed up that I was working on something inside the house, and Fred told me to follow him. We walked out on the porch, and there were Maxi, Newt, and four kittens.
Please note Fred standing there, trying to get his hands on those kittens.
When we finally determined that Maxi, Newt, and the kittens didn’t actually belong to anyone in the neighborhood, we snatched them all up, brought them into the house, had the kittens spayed and neutered, and adopted them out through Challenger’s House. (We named them Fezzik, Westley, Inigo, and Princess Buttercup.) They were adopted out pretty quickly (despite their initial skittishness, they warmed up pretty quickly), and then we needed to have Maxi and Newt spayed and neutered so there’d be no more babies. I made the appointment, and then the night before they were to go, Fred said as he was feeling Maxi’s belly, “Oh no. I think I feel a kitten head. I think she’s pregnant!”
We were positive we were going to end up with another litter of kittens to foster, but when the vet examined Maxi it turned out that she wasn’t pregnant.
Obviously Fred was feeling some internal organ and mistook it for a kitten.
We should totally name a litter of kittens after organs, don’t you think? Surely someone would want to adopt sweet little Kidney! Ha.
Sugarbutt does NOT approve of this “kitten” nonsense.
Previously
2009: In an alternate reality I was bellowing “Well NO ONE INVITED YOU TO DINNER, PRINCESS!” and smacking her upside the head.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: It’s like I’ve never met myself before or something. “Yeah, I’ll let the spud take the car to school, and I’ll be stuck at home, thus NATURALLY I will feel compelled to do housework!”
2005: Old pictures.
2004: (Bwahaha! That’d be the shortest study in the history of mankind, eh?)
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: Takes all kinds, I guess.
2000: A life of excitement, thrills and chills, lemme tell ya!
I have a bit of trouble with my gums and that whole flossing thing too. I have gotten so much better at it, but I still have pockets.
My hygentist recommended a Waterpik and I LOVE it! I put a little bit of Listerine in it and Waterpik away and my mouth has never been healthier. Plus – morning breath is vastly improved (despite previous brushing and flossing before bed). Who knew?!?!?! But that Waterpik gets all the gunk out. Highly recommend.
I’ve been thinking about buying one (well, I WAS thinking about buying one, then I forgot!), which one do you have, Gina?
I got a combo pack from Costco that has the WP100 and a travel one. I paid $69.99, though it is more expensive thru their website.
I just checked Amazon, and just the WP100 is about $50 with free shipping!
I totally forgot about Maxi’s kittens! I remembered the rest of the story, but not that part. And those kittens were so CUTE, I’m not surprised they were adopted quickly. It would be cool to see what they look like as adults.
Ooooh, I love “Maura!” Perfect.
I remember that you quit drinking soft drinks after having weight loss surgery. I thought that meant giving them up for life but it sounds like you’re drinking them again. How long did you go without diet coke (nectah of the gods!)before drinking them again?
I’m going to save this for Friday’s entry, Lynne. I hope you can stand the suspense. 😀
I was wondering the same thing.
Oh I can’t wait to hear. Because after my WLS on February 3, I would cut a bitch for a diet Coke. But I haven’t tried it yet.
Ohh, I like naming kittens after body organs but then I really like it when kittties have people names. I did like the Cookies though. Can’t wait for kittens!!!!!
One word for you my dear ” Plackers”. It is the only way I improved my flossing and am now lost with out them. I keep baggies of them in my purse, in the vehicles and in the desk at my job. Must have the plackers!
I’ll have to check that out! Thanks for the tip, Shannon. 🙂
Plackers are awesome!
And dental hygenists need to frig off with the glaring and the judgement.
I have the same kind of cold this past few days, but so far, it hasn’t settled in my chest. Mostly I’m over the worst symptoms, just lack much energy. Must be some kind of crud going around, since I don’t live that terribly far from you and several folks around here seem to have it too.
I’ve had several pregnant cats, and have found they are very, very, verrrrry lovable. A couple of strays I took in were pregnant at the time, and so very sweet, lovable. Unfortunately, after the kittens were gone, the moms were nothing like their sweet special phase of pregnancy! 🙂
My favorite story regarding that is the stray I had befriended, though she was an outdoor cat. I fed her, prepared a bed in my garage for her to have the kittens. The morning she went into delivery, I had stepped out on the porch and she came hurrying up to me, heading back toward the garage, then stopping, looking at me. I followed her, and sure enough, she had already had one teensy kitten! It was as if she wanted to show me what was going on! Of course, I found all SEVEN kittens homes and kept Ms. Kitty, had her spayed.
Oh boy – SEVEN kittens! My fear is that Maura will have that many kittens, ALL of them black, and I won’t be able to tell them apart! 🙂
How about calling Ms. Maura’s kittens “The Shamrocks”?
I’ve also had several pregnant mommas as well. I just love the wee little kittens!
I love that idea, Diane – thanks!
Or the Luckies 🙂
You could also call them the ‘Clovers” Robyn!
Oh, I like that one too!
Robyn, I use a Hummingbird flosser. It’s much easier and I get better results, according to my dentist.I get mine at the base exchange, but I guess you can get them at Walgreen’s, too. It’s not carried anywhere. The link below is just for the picture.
PS, I never use the vibrator part.
http://www.amazon.com/Oral-Hummingbird-Flosser-Starter-Assorted/dp/B0001HYMFG
Thanks for the tip, I’ll check it out! 🙂
The Leprechauns!
The Lucky Charms!
My husband’s from an Irish family and his nickname is “Mick”. I’d vote for not offensive, but I’m biased. I can see where it’d piss some people off though. 🙂
Well as long as the ‘offensive’ can of worms has been opened …
My cousin is Irish. She married an Italian. They put ‘guinea’ and “mick’ together and they call their kids The Gimmicks.
Micks is probably an iffy idea, even if it doesn’t offend me personally, (I’m very Irish) lol. I think if you spelled it “Mck” and named them all “Mck-something” it would work.
BUT I TOTALLY think you should name them after organs/tissues in honor of April, which is Donate Life Month. I will give you some ideas:
Left Kidney
Right Kidney
Enbloc Kidneys (both Kidneys together! Name kitten twins after each kidney and refer to them as the “enbloc kidneys”)
Liver (can differentiate between Lobe 1 and Lobe 2!!!)
Right Lung
Left Lung
Bilateral Lungs (same idea as the kidneys)
Pancreas (these are difficult to transplant, could be a difficult kitten)
Intestines (REALLY difficult to find decent ones to transplant)
Heart (this is usually the organ with the most emotional significance for donor families)
Cornea (this kitten SEES ALL and KNOWS ALL)
Skin
Long Bone
Tendon
Nerve
and then tell everyone to sign up on the donor registry.
Love,
The chick who works in organ ~*procurement*~
I like the Spuds or the Taters. You know, after the Irish and their potatoes.
I like the name Maura too. I have a fascination with the Irish. I am 1/8 Irish but my Mom hated her mean Irish grandmother so I don’t know enough about that part of my heritage to be insulted. I love Irish folk music and it really annoys my Polish dad-I guess he thinks I should only like polkas. I like both. The shamrocks and the other suggestions are very cute. I like Newt’s litter and I would have chosen the buff boy to keep too.
I have the hummingbird-it is uncomfortable on vibrate. I have plackers too. They all work well when I use them and don’t fall asleep with diet soda on my teeth. I know better but I get lazy sometimes.
When I had a tiny pregnant cat many many years ago, first you just saw her get sort of wide across the middle (especially looking down from above). Only really close to the end did it get kind of terrifying – she would lay on her back in my lap and you could see and feel feet poking and heads butting. She was never a terribly affectionate cat and laying in my lap wasn’t the sort of thing she would normally do, but she must have been absolutely miserable.
If you do decide on a surname for Maura, perhaps O’Malley, M*O*M for short.
Now, WHY did I never think of that? That’s a perfect last name! I’m going to think about it more, but I REALLY like that. 🙂
McLiver, McKidney, McHeart, McSpleen….
Darn, I liked “Floozy”.
My dad is from Ireland and he used to always refer us as ‘Tinkers” whenever he thought we were being too wild or uncouth. It is my understanding that tinkers are Irish gypsies.
I also like the Hooligan’s 🙂
After she died, I went through my grandmother’s things to decide what to keep and what to pitch. Sadly, I couldn’t keep everything…but I found a collection of ‘love notes’ my grandfather had left for her! Now my grandmother’s parents were both from Ireland (and her father moved back to Ireland after the mother’s death) so my grandfather addressed the notes to “Mick.”
My grandfather never claimed his lineage, but I think he was English/Irish/Welsh or some other combination, but one of the notes he left was signed, “The Sheikh.” Ha!
The Irish names in our family include Ryan and Brady.
I agree on the plackers. I suck as a flosser.
My maiden name was McKinnon , when the old folks came to America they shortened it to that, from MacKinnon. I see no insult there. I even like the Macs.
The little mama is gorgeous. We had a very young cat get pregnant, unbeknownst to us,we didn’t know she was pregnant until she started having kittens.She had never been in heat yet (that we could tell)
When dealing with a small ,young mama you may not feel the usual kitten movements. They don’t have much room to move.
I think potatoe names would be good ! (I didn’t know there were THIS many)
# Anya
# Belle de Fontenay
# Cara
# Carlingford
# Charlotte
# Desiree
# Duke of York
# Dundrod
# Estima
# Fianna
# Golden Wonder
# Harmony
# Kerr’s Pink
# King Edward
# Marfona
# Maris Bard
# Maris Peer
# Maris Piper
# Nadine
# Nicola
# Osprey
# Pentland Javelin
# Pink Fir Apple
# Premiere
# Rocket
# Romano
# Rooster
# Sante
# Saxon
# Wilja
Sorry 🙂
I also forgot about Maxi’s kittens. I love them all, just can’t remember shit.
Totally coveting those purple pants too.
Hope ya feel better soon!
Is derogative a word? It sounds like a marriage between “derogatory” and “pejorative.” Anyway. I am in the Lucky Charms camp with the names Heart, Moon (!), Star, Clover, and DJ MAGICALLY DELICIOUS for the one of the group who has the most personality.
Also I am a mad good flosser. I floss like 3 times a day.
Forget the flossing and use a Soniccare brush and Waterpik. I haven’t had to stick my fingers in my mouth in years and my gums are in fantastic shape.
I totally think you should name kittens after internal organs or how about classic cars? A little GTO or Corvette would be so cute.
New babies to snuggle. Yay. Naughty girly getting preggers at 8 months – you could go with the ‘floozy’ and name them after ‘bad’ young people – Sid, Nancy, Courtney, Kurt, Brittany etc
Our Momma cat was pregnant at about the same age – didn’t go into heat, so didn’t know until she got fat – she only had 2 kittens thank goodness as she was/is tiny too – so maybe you wont have another house full. We have the eldest daughter and my mum has the other.
Here in UK, calling an Irish person ‘Paddy’ or ‘Mick’ is akin to calling a scot ‘Jock’ or an American ‘Yank’ – depends on the person if they find it offensive – its one of those words that can be used as an endearment or insult, depends on the audience and the context.
The irishman is riduculed as ‘da thick Mick’ and is the butt of the joke, so kinda not cool
Love the o’Malley idea, I really like the name – just sounds a bit ‘Disney’ after the Aristocats (see if you said ‘it Disney’ to a Scot, they ask you ‘disney whit’? (it doesn’t do what)
You could just use irish words – gaelic – theres loads of sites that will translate english to gaelic.
The pronunciationcan be an issue – can anyone help?? I can’t speak Irish gaelic, but Scots gaelic isn’t disimilar and there’s phrases etc you can use
My fav is Pog (accent over the o) the o is prounouced long and ‘Pog mo thoin’ is gaelic for ‘kiss me arse’ – lush 🙂
Eirinn is Ireland
Milis – (pronounced meleash in Scots – prob same ???) is sweet
Padraig – Patrick
beag – little
cu – dog
a chu – his dog (not joking, the word changes, found this stupidly funny as its pronouced as it reads I think)
mac – which means son and explains all the surnames – mac and mic and Mc all mean ‘son of’.
Seumas – James
Mairi – Mary
Tormod – Norman
etcetera……
Mmmmmm purple velour… you know we all want them.
Robyn, add me to the “Lucky Charms” camp. 😀
My grandmother was Irish and I don’t find “Mick” offensive at all. (And yes, I loves me some potatoes!)
Try Sensodyne Pronamel toothpaste. It hardens enamel and helps protect against acid erosion. I’m a Diet Pepsi junkie, and I can’t give it up; so my dentist recommended it to me. I think it works.
I vote for The Hooligans! All kittens are hooligans!
I thought maybe you could name them The McMaos. And Maura McMao is an awesome name (in my opinion)
I thought of Maura O’Malley right off the bat! MOM
I like the Shamrocks, the Leprechauns, and the Hooligans.
Or the Spuds, Taters, Lucky Charms.
My grandfather was known as Mickey because when he was introduced to my grandmother as “some dumb Mick” she thought his name was “Mick.” He was too smitten to correct her for weeks! It worked out that he had a new nickname though, as they were both named Francis/Frances, so they kept the new name and of course, loved it.
I know that the name for the new sweeties will be McMao (I keep saying ‘MC!Maaaaaaaoooooooowwww!’ to myself, too cute) just wanted to share 🙂 I am stoopidly excited to get the story on Maura’s labor&delivery! I remember Kara’s! Thank you for your site and your critter care. Youse guys RAWK! (sorry, I am under the influence Advil PM — I have the feeling this is all gibberish.)
I’m Irish.. our last name is McSpadden.. we call ourselves “Micks” all the time, but like was mentioned above, I’d imagine it depends on the person & their experience with the word. I think “derogatory” is the word you were looking for, though.