Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Life Is Just A Bowl of Jelly - Or How I Became An Animal Hoarder...




This time, it wasn't my fault. Nope. Can't blame me. Mr. A is trying...but he can't pin this one on me.


Apparently, I ALLEGEDLY adopt a new animal every time he's deployed. This, of course, isn't true. But he likes to tell that "story" every time he's around someone new. One time, ONE TIME, we adopted a maltipoo when he was in Iraq. That means EVERY TIME, I do that.


So here's the real story...


The kids have been wanting a kitten. I've been telling them (because Mr. A tells everyone I'm responsible for our dearth of pets) that it's up to Daddy. After all, Daddy is allergic to cats and, as he says, the only voice of reason when it comes to acquiring pets. I KNEW Mr. A would say "no."


This weekend, we're driving and he says aloud, "Look! The neighbor has a sign out offering a free kitten." This sends the kids into a kitten-begging frenzy not seen since the great kitten giveaway in 1954. They beg, whine, and actually bat their eyelashes as we go for groceries, to Borders and Super Target.


But Mr. A is the self-described VOICE OF REASON! Which is why I'm so suprised when he says, "Hey, why don't you run next door and see if you can borrow the kitten to see how she is?"


I've never seen two children move faster.


We had the kitten on the back porch exactly 2 minutes before he said, "Well, what shall we name her?"


Which is how we came to have a 9 week old, runt of the litter, kitten named Jelly.


The next night, we are hanging with friends, and he proceeds to tell everyone how I manipulated him into getting Jelly. He claims he "had to do it" so I wouldn't adopt another pet while he's in Afghanistan.


Our friends believed him, and promptly named ME an animal hoarder. Sigh.


The Assassin

10 comments:

Zita said...

But look how cute! Besides, you have broad shoulders, you can take it! And think how you can write it into a story and then turn the tables on him when you get your revenge by buying a dog breeding farm and kennel, complete with horses and llamas. And maybe a donkey. So when he comes home from overseas you'll have moved and there will just be a note on the door with directions to the new homestead.

Christie Craig said...

There are worse names to be called!!

He's a cutie.

CC

Leslie Langtry said...

LOL! Zita - you just might be onto something! I've always wanted a llama (for knitting). I just wish they came in teacup size.

And Christie - you're absolutely right!

Brandy said...

Aww, Jelly is adorable. We have our own menagerie and it's a family effort. We can't seem to say no to those who need love.

Leslie Langtry said...

Brandy - your cat looks like Jelly! It's good to know there are others like me out there! Jana told me yesterday she also has three cats and three dogs. Of course, I also have two guinea pigs...but they don't really count, right?

catslady said...

That's hysterical. I get blamed too but never once have I let an animal into our house without him saying to do it first lol. I take care of ferals/strays and at one time at 7 and am down to 4 inside and 2 to 5 outside (the males come and go but I fix all the females lol). We use to have a joke in our family that every time I had a baby, my sister got a cat but since I only had two kids she couldn't use that excuse any more lol.

Terri Osburn said...

I don't have a spouse to blame so the two cats are my fault. At one point we had a parakeet, a hamster, and a cat, but the cat killed the parakeet (I'm still traumatized!) and the poor hamster got a tumor.

Now we have 2 cats and everytime I'm at PetSmart I go by the adoption window and WANT but the voice in my head says the two magic words. Litter. Box.

And the kitties stay at the store. But your little baby is adorable. We'll be expecting more pictures in future. And you need to tell Mr. A that it could be worse. You could have more KIDS when he returns from these deployments.

Leslie Langtry said...

Considering he's gone for a year at a time, it would be tough to explain a baby...

Robin Kaye said...

Aww Jelly is adorable. DH says no more carbon based life forms. I'm definitely the animal hoarder in my house but I've given up. Both my dog and cat are better off without more competition, I'll have to wait until they go to the great cat and dog park in the sky before adopting any more.

Linda McDonald said...

Ah, that is a sweet story. I'm allergic to cats too, but I would love to get my dog a cat. She loves cats. Unfortunately I wheeze, sneeze, and have to rub my eyes every second once I am around cats for a while.