“I tried really hard, but now, I’m done.”

The house is now officially cat-free—almost. 
And I miss my furry friends, but enough is enough.
Kazumi is still strictly inside, but I’m trying to train her to live in the laundry room only.
It would help if I had doors to shut, but only the bedrooms and bathroom have doors in this place.
I feel horrible that it’s getting cold, and they’ve been tossed outside after spending their whole lives inside—but again, enough is enough.
I went into my closet, and the only door it has is one of those folding ones. 
The animals can slither it open just enough to crawl in.
Well, I went to grab a cooler shirt to put on, and the ammonia smell nearly knocked me out.
One of the cats had gone in and peed in my shirt box.
I mean, everything was soaked.My clothes are in storage boxes because Cowboy hogs the racks.
I’ve been washing all day and evening.
I had to interrupt Raven’s date to get him to come home and pick up more detergent and white vinegar.
I swear by white vinegar for removing that ammonia stink.
Goober, on Sunday, climbed onto our dining room table and peed in Badger’s crayon box.
We caught him this morning on the table trying to poop.

Yesterday, Badger sat in the recliner and started screeching—one of the beasts had peed the chair full.
So you know, I feel bad for the cats, but when they start destroying things, it’s time to evict them.
Now I’m faced with having to find a recliner, a couch, and a love seat.
I’m keeping an eye on Craigslist.
Occasionally, you get lucky and someone will have good furniture completely free—which totally fits my budget.
I’m not the persnickety type that has to have everything perfectly matched.
If it’s clean and able to be sat in, then it’s perfect.

I tell you, last night I thought I was going to have to go to the ER.
I’m blaming Finis’s onions.
My chest felt like someone was squeezing the dickens out of it—all the way around to my back.
I thought heartburn was supposed to burn, not squeeze.
I finally dozed off around 4 a.m. when it eased off.
Cowboy said I need to start keeping Tums in the house.
I’m about ready to take him up on that offer.
That was something else, I tell ya.

Um, let’s see.
Caseworker.
Yeah, she popped up again.
Apologized for disappearing.
Said that with school starting back up, she was swamped.
Actually, I can understand that.
Apparently, we were supposed to meet up with her the last time we saw Dr. K, but there was miscommunication between the staff and her. 
They didn’t tell us—or her—that we were there to see Dr. K.
She’s now set up Wednesdays as Badger’s day to be seen each week.
Ugh.

She was here for about an hour.
She said she’s going to the school on Friday to see why Badger’s 504 plan isn’t being implemented.
They’ve had over a month, and as far as we can tell, they haven’t done a thing with it.
I’ve made repeated requests for the teacher to send me a small note each week to let me know how Badger is doing—because she has her more than I do during the week. 
I don’t know if she’s talking, if she’s stopped talking, if she’s interacting with her classmates, if the medicine is making her bonkers—you know, I don’t know what’s going on with her unless someone tells me.
I made the mistake of mentioning that, as it stood at the time, Raven was getting married Saturday and moving in here. 
That meant we had to shuffle the kids around, and Badger would end up back in our bedroom.
She did not like that.

Big mistake saying that right there.
Stupid, stupid me.
I also said that Badger starts the night out in her bed but ends up in ours more often than not.
That, she could understand—she was more sympathetic about Badger’s anxiety.
She also wanted to know Cowboy’s shift, and she didn’t seem too pleased that Badger (and the other kids, for that matter) rarely get to see him.
He’s asleep when she goes to school and gone when she comes home.
We can’t do anything about that.
He’s worked like this since Peacock was born, and we don’t see a change anytime soon.
She said she was going to talk to Upward Bound about getting Badger a scholarship to play basketball this year. 
That’s part of their ministry to help poor kids play sports—she didn’t say that, but that’s what she implied.
So yeah, it was an informative hour.

And I guess the good news is that Raven and C are getting married in December.
Apparently, the housing projects will have an apartment available for them then, so Badger will keep her room.
Actually, if Raven moves out, I’ll see if Heron wants the tiny room, and I’ll move Badger into the bigger one.
I’ll try to put a dollar or so back when I can to get some linoleum in there.
Right now it’s bare plywood—because we ran out of money, and then the boys trashed the new walls.
Cowboy said he wasn’t doing a dang thing else in there until they grew up some.

Heron is over at Big J’s.
I think he takes advantage of the boy, but what can you do?
Big J got a new game, so yeah—Heron went to spend the night.
We don’t have the game systems and all that modern fancy electronic crap, and Big J seriously has every single gaming system that’s ever come out.
His parents upgrade him regularly.
Both his parents work, and it’s just him and a big brother, so they tend to spoil him—whatever he asks for, he gets.
We simply can’t afford to do that.
Oddly enough, Big J loves it over here because Cowboy and I are such easygoing parents.
His parents won’t even let him leave the yard—and the boy is 17.
As long as they answer my texts when I send them, I have no problem with the kids walking around our town.
It’s not like it’s a huge, giant city.
I can go stand in Mrs. B’s yard and see the whole dang town.
I’ve got no problem with them being on the computer or Internet. I’d rather they explore in the safety of their own home than out in the real world.
I’ve got no problem with any music. I may not like it or approve of it, but kids need to be able to explore in order to learn.
If it’s not forbidden, it loses its appeal fairly fast.
If Mom decides she likes it & asks that it be played, then it really looses its appeal fast.
So Big J likes our kid's freedom and Heron likes Big J's toys.
I guess maybe it works out.

I think we’re in the middle of Indian Summer.
The mornings are so cold you need heat and have to bundle up, but the afternoons are glorious.
I’ve been opening the doors to let the house air out.
I’m too lazy to fool with popping up the storm windows again—they’re shut for the winter, and shut they’re going to stay.
But the doors let in enough air.
Halloween is Monday, and usually that’s when it turns cold and stays cold.
I’m really not looking forward to that.