We were so spoiled living with Lily and Molly. They were two totally devoted fur babies that required nothing more than love, shelter, food, water and a place to get rid of the food and water.

Living with Millie is like living with a toddler in the terrible twos. I feel like I am constantly saying “Put that down.”  “Don’t chew on that.” “Don’t bite me.” “Don’t jump.” “What’s in your mouth?” “Stop that.” “Where did you get that?” “Don’t potty in my house. ” “Leave the cats alone.” And on and on.  Thank goodness she also has an overload of cuteness, but, by the end of the day, I’m very ready for her to go to bed and have some peace, at least until about 5:00 A.M., when the cats want to eat.

The Great Hunter had wanted to go turkey hunting the weekend of Mother’s Day and when I objected to being left alone with a new puppy all weekend, he told me I could handle it. My response was “but I don’t want to!”  She is a total 24-hour a day job unless she’s sleeping. And just like a toddler, she looks angelic crashed wherever she landed, which may be in the closet, or under the bed (at least for another week or so), in the bathroom or behind the couch. She’s growing like a weed too. She just turned three months old and she already weighs thirty pounds.

It’s a good thing the Hunter decided not to go turkey hunting. Turned out, my son who lives in Virginia ended up coming to St. Charles Mother’s Day weekend to pick up a motorcycle he bought and trailer it back to Virginia. He arrived on Saturday with his wife, their two dogs and two cats. Yikes. A total zoo. But who am I kidding? I love the zoo when it includes our kids and grandkids.

My Mother’s Day gathering was a little smaller this year. My daughter was working, my grandson is in boot camp and one of my daughters-in-law was home with a grandson who wasn’t feeling well.  But we still ended up having twelve people, three dogs and four cats in our house.

We’ve always had a cat and a dog or two. I don’t think I’ve ever been animal-less (is that a word?)  After I got my cats back in October, one of my sons told me he was allergic to cats. When he told me that he said:

Son: “Mom, you know I’m allergic to cats, don’t you?”

Me: “What? You were raised with cats, how’d that happen?”

Son: “I don’t know, but I am.”

Me: “Okay, just don’t sit on the sofa…or the recliner.”

An excellent example of motherly love.

**An update on my V2E21post** The biopsy on my nose was negative for cancer and it’s only the actinic keratosis. So, in a couple weeks, I go in to have it frozen. I will look like Rudulph ran into a tree.