A Lily Adventure: It's all about the TP

I know, it's been ages. Really I've been waiting for Abby to have an adventure but I think she feels she is too mature and sophisticated for such things. So, this truly might become a Lily-blog.

Speaking of Lily... she's in East Texas (fondly known as "E.T.") staying with Grammy & Grampy. She needed a "tummy tuck" & you wouldn't believe how expensive that is in Austin! So, we went home last weekend for a triathlon for Mom and an extended stay with the grandparents for Lily. What's funny is I thought, "I love my kitten but she's crazy. This will give me and Abby some much needed bonding time." 48 hours after returning to Austin sans-Lily I realized, "Wow... it's really quiet & calm around here... I kind of don't like it..."

Needless to say, though Abby has probably thoroughly enjoyed not having her little sis around, I have missed Lily incredibly. I was so upset yesterday when I realized she would have to stay until next weekend for a check up appointment I was on the verge of driving home (4.5 hours) for the weekend just so I could see her & then driving back again the following weekend. That would have been 3 weekends in a row! (I went for a run last night with my sister and came to my senses. I nixed that idea and have opted to wait until next weekend. I'm officially a mom even if it is only to cats because that was definitely a crazy parent decision I almost went with.)

Anyway, I thought tonight I would discuss Lily's extreme fondness of the toilet. I'm not entirely sure why she's soooooo enamored with the toilet but she is. She loooooves to put stuff in the toilet. Her toys. Peppermints (that's a story all in itself). My phone... oh yeah, you already know that one. ;-)

One night I was brushing my teeth before bed and Lily was playing with one of her toys. Actually, I'm pretty sure it was originally Abby's but like everything else in the apartment it now belongs to Lily. Anyway, she's playing, playing, playing and all of a sudden I hear, "Kerplunk." I stop brushing and say, "You did not just... Lily!" And what do you know, she's got her cute little front paws on the edge of the toilet seat and her little head stuck over in the toilet... watching her toy bob up-and-down in the water. "Really, Lily? Did your toy really need to go in there???" If only I had a quarter for every time I've said that phrase... "Really, Lily? Did your blah-blah-blah really need to go in the toilet???" However, I laugh pretty hard every time it happens. I can't seem to get a picture of her with her little head over in the toilet but that's the really funny part. She's totally fascinated by the bobbing whatever it is she's just put in the water. And if I let her, she'll continue to play with whatever she's put in there. Sometimes she'll retrieve it and sometimes, the next morning, I'll find cat toys in the toilet. Once again, another reason I need to keep the lid closed...

There's also something about toilet paper that is fascinating. I would say she just likes to spin the roll on the roller but it's more than that. It's the TP itself. I can't let her "play" in the linen closet where I keep the TP or she will eat it. No, seriously... she'll eat it. And if she gets bored during the day, not only will she unroll the TP but she'll chew up the roll first and THEN unroll it. How do I know she eats it first? Because if you stretched the TP out in a straight line you would see that evenly spaced are sections missing... like so...

She does enjoy just spinning the TP on the roller, though. It's great fun, especially when I forget to turn the roll around so it won't unroll. I kid you not, she unrolled an entire brand new roll of TP once.

She's always very proud of these unrolling achievements. So proud, she shows them to me...

I tried taking the extra litter box out but by this time she had figured out that the bathroom was a playroom and it was too late. I flipped the roll but she does occasionally make her own fun out of eating the TP when it won't unroll for her. "I punish you.... I will eat you!"

She's an odd duck but I'll tell ya what... I love her to pieces. I miss her like crazy right now. I know she's in good, loving hands but that doesn't make it any easier to be without her.

She's my Lilypad! My Lil'Bit. My Punkin. My CrazyLady. My "What are you doing?!?!?"

Lily... Mom really misses you.

A Lily Adventure - Mom needs a *new* phone

Apparently, Lily didn't like my phone.

About three weeks ago I got out of bed, walked into the bathroom, stopped at the sink, and set my phone down on the ledge between the vanity and the toilet. Abby was requesting the faucet be turned on and Lily decided it was time for a romp around the apartment. Lily comes streaking into the bathroom, rounds the corner, jumps on the toilet (seat up... it's a wonder she didn't fall immediately into the toilet), and tries to make another jump straight up to the ledge.

Now, either she lost her footing on the way to the ledge or she misjudged the distance in her magic calculator of a brain because she didn't quite make the jump. I see out of the corner of my eye that she's slipping so I go to grab her just in time to see her little paw land directly on top of my phone and catapult it across the bathroom.

Straight.

Into.

The Toilet.

I'm already headed in that direction with my hands to catch Lily but when I see the phone my hands keep reaching past my furry friend and I dive...

Straight.

Into.

The Toilet.

Both hands. Zero hesitation. I went right in after it.

Several lessons were learned here:
a) It is best to keep the toilet lid closed.
b) Phones do NOT go on the ledge.
c) Lily has decided the proper route to the bathroom sink is toilet seat/lid, back of toilet, then ledge.



Phones do not go here...



This is why...

Welcome to the House of Von Cotton!

We are a small but proud house.

It consists of me
(mom, lady, couch, the food getter, jungle jenn, play toy)...

Abigail Von Cotton
(aka Abby, Monkey, BigBit)...

& Lillian Von Cotton
(aka Lily, Lilypad, Punkin', LilBit).

Here in the House of Von Cotton we lead very interesting lives. We go to work (library), go to school (culinary), we enjoy a good game of fetch, we like to pester our older sister, we enjoy the peace & quiet of the balcony, we find the toilet and trash can fascinating, we lurve Deadliest Catch, and we especially like to cuddle.

Though I would love to introduce the girls first it seems only fitting to start from the beginning. I am Jenn. I'm a Librarian by day and Culinary Student by night. I love to bake, I Hula dance (Hawaiian dance... not the round plastic thing you play with), I am a triathlete, I love my family and my cats. I wish I had more time to read and play and enjoy the world but right now I'm all about learning to bake and own a business which means working hard.

However, this blog isn't really about me... it's about my girls! Meet Abby...

Abby was given to me by a cousin in East Texas. My aunt actually thrust her into my arms and said, "She's a Calico! You HAVE to take her!" I wanted a kitten but I wasn't all that sure. I had two months left in my final semester as a Sophomore in college and I knew that a kitten was a big responsibility... but how do you say no to sweet little ball of fur? So home with me she went. I took her back to college with me and for two months she was "socialized to college life". Poor thing... I had 3 roommates but it might as well have been 7. We lived across from 4 guys who were like brothers to us. Needless to say, we were either always at their apt or they were always at ours. Which also meant Abby hung out with a lot of people. The guys loved her and the girls loved her and she usually traveled between the apts with us. I would come home after class and no one would be found in the apt. Go next door and there is my cat in the middle of the coffee table entertaining an apt full of people.

She traveled well in cars up until shortly after her 1st birthday. She likes visiting my parents in East Texas but hates the ride to get there. Right now she's a little pissy about the newest addition to the family. We are getting there, though. I caught her bathing Lily the other day so I know Lily is growing on her. Abby loves to cuddle, she loves the balcony and would probably prefer to have her own screened in porch. She's fond of ribs and hamburgers and somehow learned to play fetch from my step-father. Corners of the room and boxes are her favorite places for naps and she prefers to drink water from the sink. My best friend named her Abby. I expanded it to Abigail after she proved to love mischief as a kitten. My sister named her Von Cotton because her paws are super white and she tends to have a snooty side to her. She is the original Von Cotton.

Meet Lily. She joined the House of Von Cotton on Tuesday, May 5th, 2009. She came from a large litter of 7 kittens in South Texas. She rode 6 hours from Port Isabel to Austin and was such a trooper about it. That road trip was when I knew I had a "mama's girl" through and through. She slept the whole way back in my arms or on my chest and I was in heaven. Again, I wanted a kitten but was totally unsure of this adventure. Again, it's a big responsibility but when I was emailed a picture of her adorable face I couldn't resist. The moment I was able to drive down to get her I did. It's been non-stop entertainment since!

Lily has a lot of favorites right now. Since day 1 her #1 priority every day is pestering her unsuspecting big sister. She's fascinated with the toilet, toilet paper, and running water. Everything is a toy... cotton balls, bottle lids, peppermint candies in their wrappers, pens, textured spots on the wall only she can see, and the spinning trash can lid. She enjoys playing Wii and watching Deadliest Catch with Mom. She also finds NASCAR and Formula 1 racing mesmerizing. She's prone to mischief and accidents. She's frequently knocking things over or pulling it onto the floor with her. Her tail is always the coolest toy she has. She is by far the best cuddler I know. She was named Lily by my best friend, again. I expanded that to Lillian and because she also has bright white feet she is by default a Von Cotton.

We like boxes, drinking from faucets, and cuddling.
We know what it means to love and be loved.
We are the House of Von Cotton.