Poor Sam freaked out when my 3 year-old niece came over to visit the cats (plus the rest of the human family). He is generally scared of visitors in the house but this time, I forgot that the door exiting the living room was closed.

He remained hidden for the longest time while Tux tried to be hospitable to a little girl who kept calling him Cat. Boy did some PR as well but then got bored and went to nap. Buffy, oddly enough got daunted by the commotion and stayed away.

We did our best to teach Kaitlyn how to let the cats smell her fingers first, then gently pet them. I thought it was a great opportunity to let her enjoy the joys of living with cats and also prepare the cats for the addition of a new human child in the family. There must have been too many people in the living room as even the most sociable cats seemed to shy away.

Out of nowhere Sam suddenly appeared, darted around the room several times and ran into the glass door (no breakage of glass thankfully for him) twice with loud thuds. His Dad opened the study door and he sped out.

We hunted him down after the visitors left and found that he had some random light bleeding around where the circumference of where the bridge of his nose is. It stopped fairly quickly but I worry about internal damage.

Other than being rather shaken, he seems fine now. I'll continue to monitor him.

I've been spotting for the past 2 days and although the hub says I should be fine, nothing is conclusive till my check-up on Monday. Good news is that work has been crazy busy but we're doing well. It's been a stressful week. Winding up a campaign and setting up a new one with no break in between is a challenge.

Sleep has been an absent friend. I've been having weird but vivid dreams and then waking up. Feels like I haven't slept for days. My legs and bum gets numb when I sit/sleep too long on them, and BB kicks violently almost all day and definitely all night. He must take after his mother.

The cats have been re-sorting out their territory. I guess their Dad was right about me messing up their territorial differences when I brought Boy into the bedroom to sleep with us. Although Tux, Buffy, and Sam jumped into the foray, they seem to be a little balanced with Boy since he hasn't had 'bedroom privileges' for over a week. He simply hasn't been interested to come in.

Buffy and Sam are now battling it out. Sam just howled for a whole 5 minutes while batting his sister. I've noticed them swatting at each other. Minor skirmishes between Tux and Boy, Buffy chasing Boy, and Sam trying to keep Boy out of the kitchen still happen, but less so now.

I've noticed Sam finding more refuge in Kaku lately. Sam and Kaku on top of the fridge (once Tux and Kaku, which was real cute), Sam and Kaku on the dryer, Sam and Kaku lying side by side as they did when they were kittens and watching TV from the rug next to my easel. Sam and Kaku (and Tux) lying on the bed during the day.

Although Sam and Tux still have that special relationship, I think Sam is still finding himself. He's still really young at 2 years old and I expect the skirmishes will die down when he hits 3.

Boy seems more at peace these few days, quite content (and undisturbed) lying on his couch head.

Kaku, more confident, joins us in the living room to watch TV and play with her sibs. She even asks for more hugs and pets when she sees me. :)

All five cats come in to look at me curiously once in a while while I prop myself up to read or lie in bed nursing my aching legs and back. Then they do their cat thing and just hang out with me. It is comforting.

Boy's been pretty stressed lately. Buffy, Sam, and even Tux have been taking swipes at him. Their Dad says it is because he has been given the "privilege" of sleeping at night with us and the three are jealous. These days he only comes out to lie on his couch when I am around. :( I hope this resolves soon...

On an funny note, I have caught Boy and Tux on separate occasions staring at my huge tummy, as if wondering why their Mom has gotten so fat. Hehe!

Tonight, the Five Cats' Dad bought a small pack of durians for his personal consumption but the moment Boy smelt it, he hounded his poor Dad till he relented and gave him some. Buffy and Tux joined the foray and soon the packets with the eaten seeds were placed on the floor and Boy ousted the rest to lick up the rest. Sam attempted to have some but failed. Kaku must have been at the back as she missed all the excitement. Anyway, there wasn't enough to go round this time. :(

You see, Boy has a long history with durians. Since he was a kitten, he loved sitting beside his Mom eating durian while they still lived with his Grandparents. Boy's Granddad would cut open the durians and distribute it to all the human family members while Boy, the human cat (that's what he thought of himself) would get small pieces from his Mom's hand and got to lick the remaining bits from her fingers when she was done. For the first time, Boy's Grandma didn't complain about feeding Boy human food as she was quite impressed a cat would actually like durians!

Many years later, with his Mom and Dad and new siblings around the familiar durian pile on newspaper spread out all over the floor, he didn't hesitate. The other Four Cats were perplexed at this pungent smelly fruit. But slowly one by one they sniffed and licked and wow... the smelly fruit was nice... Since that day, whenever their Dad buys a few durians back and lays out the newspaper on the ground, all the Five Cats will sit around and wait for their Mom and Dad to finish eating their share and then pass some around for all the cats to enjoy. :D

I have decided to journal my adventures in Ancaria.

Currently in Silver and travelling with my immortal companions, my faithful steed Spotty and my friend Wilbur, we journeyed from Crow's Rock Castle to Wolfdale, which is en route to Icecreek Dale, our next destination.

After we saved the tax money for the Mayor, retrieved a ring for a little girl, helped a ghost, and found the remains of a poor woman's husband, the kind Mayor gave us a nice discount at the local store. I bought Spotty some cool new togs. Doesn't he look grand?

Me and Spotty with his new togs



My friend Wilbur



My current stats


We will take a short rest before heading up north to the frosty region of Icecreek Dale.

According to BabyCenter:

"A side effect of your growing belly may be low back pain and possibly some pain in your buttocks and thighs. Be sure to tell your caregiver if the pain is severe or you feel numbness or tingling in your legs."

Yiii! It is normal. OMG. I am getting all of the above. Plus BB is kicking like crazy...

My left hip has decided to take a break and LEFT for vacation while leaving the nerves exposed. Today I took a small tumble down the stairs after my shower but I guess my bum is padded enough so it just stung for a while. Much less than that tumble down a carpeted flight of stairs back in Toronto.

The kids' Dad was out having beer with Uncle Alan and friend, but luckily Tuxie was home (duh!) and he came by to sit with me till I struggled to get up again. The other kids came by to look at poor wet Mommy sitting on the floor. Even Kaku who meowed at me with a rather concerned look on her face.

It hurts whenever I walk now so luckily I'd set up my laptop and Internet connection in bed so I can work from bed! :D Now am testing out my new $12 Genius speakers. There is nothing like a new tech toy to cheer one up.

***Your Brain's Pattern***

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy.

You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts.

People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused.

But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

BB has decided he will be a footballer. Now that his head has turned toward the ground, he's been practicing playing for the English Premier League everyday, primarily at night and occasionally after meals. His Mom has adopted a perfect posture to avoid internal damages. Despite rumours that he might escape due to persistent kicking before his due date, no noticable holes have been found around his Mom's tummy.