moosh in indy.

If we’ve made it this far into parenting we’ve all had other peoples’ kids at our house. And chances are those kids have done something out of the ordinary, gross or strange. I know my kid is guilty of several things under the watchful eyes of another, including losing a tooth and getting pinkeye. But my question is mostly about kids of another gender, in my case boys. I don’t have boys. I didn’t grow up with boys. I don’t get boys.

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Vivi came from me and into our lives six months ago today. I don’t really have anything eloquent to say about the subject since I feel as though I’m still that poor girl who so desperately wants to be pregnant. Not only did I get pregnant, I had a baby…and that baby is suddenly 6 months old and spitting peas all over my face at the dinner table. (Literally, my husband had to wipe them off my face in front of company.)

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Also at baby babble...feeling a little smug about making your own baby food? You're not alone, smug it up.

It has come to my attention that several of you are creeped out by one of my cats.

Specifically Wink.

It also has come to my attention that I may very well be a crazy cat lady in a normal lady body because I am thoroughly convinced that not only are my cats perfect, they are pretty much the coolest cats to ever walk this delightful planet we all share. It is also fairly obvious that I am tipping the crazy cat lady scales with the sheer number of photos I’ve taken of these two cats in less than a week.

But back to my cat making you uncomfortable.

A third of you are bothered by his one eye, another third is bothered by his extra toes and the other third of you are equally squicked by both. For those of you who are on the fence about which one is stranger? I took him to the vet today only to discover that he has extra toes in the back too. The vet called them nubbin toes. As if 18 toes could ever be enough for my cat, he had to go and grow 5 or 6 extra.

To be fair Cody thought the one eye thing was a bit much in the beginning, especially when Wink rubbed his eye hole on Cody’s hand his first day home.

You know what I think is creepy?

My face.

But no one ever tells me how creepy my face is because I am a human with feelings who can read and most of you are kind human beings who understand how hard it would be to have a giant crazy rash on your face so you don’t say anything about how weird it looks. I thank you for that, but I assure you, I’m well aware of how strange I look.

Wink was born with two eyes. He developed something called an entropion, which basically means his eyelid curled in instead of out. There was an attempt to repair his entropion and it went wrong leaving him with dramatic scarring and the need for another surgery. Maybe his previous owners got rid of him when they realized he was going to need another surgery or that he was going to be funny looking for the rest of his life, I’ll never know. But I do know that on his chart from the humane society it says “another surgery is advised as scarring from previous entropion repair is unsightly and may be unappealing to potential adopters.”

This cat had to have surgery again because it was believed that no one could look past his scarred eye, because he would be seen as ugly.

He spent four months at the shelter. When I went in to see him the first time he said hello and then walked away. I can only assume he was used to being looked over and ignored.

To all of you who ignored him? You missed out on one of the greatest cats ever created. This cat wouldn’t have been at the shelter more than a few weeks had he had both eyes. He is the sweetest, kindest most chill cat there is. Your loss.

Maybe it’s because I know his story that I have such a soft spot for him, which is why I ask everyone to give everyone else around them the benefit of the doubt.

Yes, my cat looks different and some people have had no problem saying unkind things about his appearance because he is a cat and some people believe cats don’t have feelings.

When I told Addie about him and how he only had one eye she looked at his picture, gasped with excitement and said “So it’s going to be our job to love him because nobody else will?”

Yep, and it’s pretty much the best job there ever was.

This post is sponsored by Tempur-Pedic, the brand millions of owners trust to deliver their best night’s sleep every night. Enjoy our Buy 2, get 1 free pillow offer now and give the gift of custom comfort to someone you love.

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I just happened to take part in that little pillow sale last year to compliment my own Temur-Pedic bed that I won with this video. Cody and I got in an enormous fight the first night the new bed was in the house (disclaimer: while I don’t remember what the fight was about, I do remember being hopped up on pregnancy crazy and take full blame for the argument) and both of us refused to sleep in the new bed when we both wanted to gnaw each others faces off. I tried to sleep on our old couch but my very pregnant body wasn’t having ANY OF THAT.

I snuck into the new bed with the new sheets.

I distinctly remember A) feeling as though I was cheating on Cody with the new bed as he slept on the couch and B) HOLY SWEAR WORD THEY AREN’T KIDDING THIS BED IS AMAZING.

I dare say that those several months of pregnant sleep I got with that new bed were the best nights of sleep I have ever had, pregnant or not.

Here’s the thing, this is supposed to be a post sponsored by Tempur-Pedic talking about holiday comforts. Like the pile of insanely soft blankets and quilts I have curated over there in the corner. The fireplace that we light up most nights in the winter. Hot chocolate. Footie pajamas. All very comfortable holiday enjoyments. It is not supposed to be a post sponsored by Tempur-Pedic wherein I talk about my Tempur-Pedic bed.

But you guys, every night I get to sleep in a bed that was crafted by angels and pieced together with fluffy clouds.

And in the morning I get to wake up to a whole load of love in my bed. In early summer it was waking up to my big kid snuggling with her tiny baby sister. Throughout the summer it was Cody playing with the ever growing baby next to me and lately I get to bring my squashy warm baby into bed with me when everyone else is gone and we read in front of the SAD light. Even though I love the holidays…I don’t love having to wake up in the dark, so every morning Vivi and I park it in front of the glowing bulbs of my SAD lamp and hang out for a half an hour. I’ve never found a better way to start my days.

Forget the busyness and the stress of the holidays, let’s talk about those late mornings sleeping and snuggling in.

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Comfort is the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday gift list, so be sure to take advantage of Tempur-Pedic’s Buy 2, get 1 free pillow offer! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

I was once accused of doing “it” wrong by a nurse while I was inpatient at a Utah hospital.

“It” being my recovery.

She came in after one of my group therapy sessions and asked what I had been working on.

I told her that during the group session I realized just how much I had to go back to. A good husband, good friends, a decent job, a stable family and few other things that I had a new found appreciation for.

She scolded me and told me I wasn’t doing it right and that I was wrong.

People who land themselves in *that* wing of the hospital aren’t supposed to be so happy and grateful for their own life so fast apparently.

Whoops.

I hated that nurse. I had her for over 24 hours of my 72 hour stay.

She had a nervous tick that I had forgotten about until I saw her at a wedding. She came up to me insistent that I looked familiar, I didn’t recognize her, that is until she ticked.

I was reminded of being scolded for having the audacity to find hope during one of the worst seasons of my life.

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I am so good right now.

So strong.

So happy.

And because of her I sometimes wonder if I’m doing it wrong. Maybe this isn’t really happiness. Maybe this is mania…depression masquerading as happiness.

But I’ve been through mania, and this? Isn’t mania.

I think this is just plain old happy and content and I still blame this baby for most of it.

Nothing special is going on. Nothing fancy has happened.

Well, except for this cat.

How fancy is he?

I feel the way sweet tastes.

To anyone who may be out there fighting to come back? Keep fighting. Oh my, please keep fighting. Because this feeling of sweetness? To be able to appreciate a simple life the way those who have not suffered are not able to?

It is worth every tear, heartache and pain to know this kind of delicious. Even if it won’t last forever, it makes the time spent here better.

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Being able to wake up every morning for the last several weeks and feel hopeful about what each new day truly has been a special occasion, since it has never really happened before. I’m grateful to be participating in this project with Hallmark to share my experience and the beauty of the extraordinary ordinary.