Poor Baby

Poor Mr. Socks had another ingrown claw. The same claw grew into his paw back in March and we had it clipped back at the time, for $170. Yesterday I took him to a real vet (not the one at the Pet Store) and they clipped it back again. For $170. Socks, you're killing me! The main problem is that the claw grows back around, piercing his pad in two places as it grows in and comes back through. He had to be sedated and then get antibiotics, so that is the expensive part. Nail clipping is only $5. I know, you're wondering why we don't just take him to trim his nails each week. I don't know why.

At the end of June, Socks will be returning to the vet to have that one claw removed. Hopefully that takes care of the problem. Unfortunately, the vet said that when older cats (he's 9) start having problems with their claws it usually means there is something wrong on the inside of them. Like their thyroid or cancer. On top of the claw, she tried to remove a "cyst" from his lip. It turned out to not be a cyst, but could either be a tumor or some dental problem. It sounds like a tumor would be the best thing for it to be, so it could just be snipped off.

While we were at the vet, Mr. Socks established himself as legendary simply by being as big as he is. Yesterday he weighed 17.9 pounds, and not an ounce of fat on him. The vet commented on the size of his paws, that she'd never seen such large paws on a cat. He has massive paws. We like to say he's part tiger. Our big, baby tiger.

Graduation

Well, we've had our second high school graduation. M's was much better than the one we had two years ago in AL. Lots of family came and stayed the weekend. If you couldn't make it to the actual event, then here are a few of the highlights.

Jump on the Jane train. Either you get this inside joke or not. Hint: M is named after her great-aunt and great-great grandmother.

With the proud parents.

Getting the empty diploma case. The actual diplomas were passed out later.

Yippee! M is looking right at the camera in this shot. We were up in the nosebleeds. M never did throw her hat. She told me later she didn't want to reveal her "hat hair".

In full regalia. I can't remember what all the cords are for. National Honor Society, etc.

When I think about it, I'm emotional but mostly we're just living day to day. M is preparing for Nationals in a couple of weeks. We had company this weekend again. I just finished up the school year and have time to breathe. Life is busy right now. The hard part will be in August when M leaves for school. That's gonna be tough.

Best Quote Ever

The students at our school can earn Tiger Bucks for good behavior throughout the year. Those who earned 50 were rewarded with a trip to Rock City this week. Those who didn't, stayed at school.

The field trip was amazing! There was not one incident of tattling, pushing, cussing, or any of the other myriad of issues I deal with on a daily basis. I hadn't realized how wonderful most of my students are until I got them on their own, away from the few "squeaky wheels".

I have never been to Rock City, so I was excited to see the hoopla those red barns are all raving about. It's hard to describe Rock City if you haven't seen it for yourself. There are incredible natural formations mixed in with beautiful man-made stone structures, and a smattering of cheesy fairytale/ gnome decorations. It was perfect for my little urban dwellers. Along the trail were signs with quotes from famous people, like "The world laughs in flowers--Ralph Waldo Emerson." However, I have to say that the best quote of the day came from one of my girls. Walking along admiring the flowers and the large rock outcroppings, she exclaimed, "Nature is awesome!" Awesome indeed.

Please, please, please

...let this be it! Hubby texted me at work today that the realtor called and may have an offer on our AL house. So now I am in a state of suspended euphoria. If you're the praying type, say one for this mountain to get moved. Hopefully I'll be posting good news soon.

Mother's Day

Look at us playing with Mom's camera and leaving the evidence on the card

This is the only weekend in May that S is not coming home. Go figure. And M is working until 11:00 tonight. And the grocery shopping had to be done. And none of the kids remembered to get a card.
I got a card from S in the mail Monday. And it was sparkly, and had a bow, and a hand-written note. Guess who "the good one" is now?

But with all that said, I've had a pretty great day. Yesterday I planted some flowers. Today we went for an ice cream cone. I'm putting off doing any school work and just relaxing.

Join the Celebration

Wish you could have been there. You can feel some of the excitement from these photos. Too wet to take the camera out at all today so these are from cell phones (not the smart kind).

3rd place, this is about 200 meters from the finish

With Mom

So happy, going to Nationals!

Cold, wet, muddy, and ecstatic

Tears of joy. I'm so proud of you!

One More To Go

...and then Nationals! M's crew finished 3rd in their heat so they qualified for the finals on Sunday. If they finish in the top three in the finals, then they get to go to Nationals in June. Woohoo! If they do go to Nationals, you can watch it on US Rowing's YouTube channel.

At 1500 meters there was a very close race between the teams in 3rd, 4th, and 5th. M's boat is the green one, closest to the camera. By the end, at 2000 meters, they pulled ahead to claim 3rd place by .5 second. Yay!
So we'll be driving back to Oak Ridge in the morning.
Oh, yeah. You can probably tell from the photos that we are in the middle of some kind of monsoon or something.