Okay so, our kitties.....they're so adorable, I know. But let me tell you, they are driving us mad. Mad, I tell ya, mad! Why? Because they are so cute, that's why. Cute, but a handful!

First of all, we have Shadow, the paper towel roll attacking kitty who we are affectionately starting to call Mr. Claws (and only because the holidays are soon upon us. After Dec 25, he'll don the name FREDDY!). And then there's Tabby, who's been Mr. Shoes for a long time now because of his love of laying at our feet when we try to walk. And Boots, who is a wrestler at heart, taking on the nearest kitty in an all-out ubber-playful brawl. And then we have….SHADE, the Mistress of Gas!

We call is SPECIAL! And it floats through the air several times a day...usually when one of us is holding her? You should see my hubby's face twist and turn when....

Add to that, each day, I've taken to bringing all four little ones in while Minxie the mom struts her stuff around the neighborhood. Call it being a bit over protective of us, but hey, they're so little. And, after what we just went through with losing, and happily finding Shade, I'm worried about something happening to them, especially since they've taken to hanging under the cars in the front of our house.

And so, they've gotten used to me opening the front door each morning, at which time, they stroll in as casually as if saying in kitty-talk, "Top of the morn, Mom."

We have a fountain in front of our house, just outside our living room window, and Boots and Tabby have picked up the adorable habit of laying in the top tier until I open the front door, and then they jump down and waltz right in, which I welcome.

But now, things are starting to get a bit out of control. See, when we found Shade, we bought her a litter box since we're keeping her inside now. And it seems like now they know it's there and they know how to use it, they're determined to at any and all stinky cost!

Before that fateful purchase, everyday we had already been bringing in Boots, and most times Tabby as well, and just letting them out at around 5pm. Shadow, however, only came inside about three times a week at most because he loves to venture out into the neighborhood, usually with Minxie. But now, he's gotten used to coming inside also. And at no point, did they make mention that they needed to "go." But now they don't ever seem to stop "going."

This morning, I didn't see any of the cats out back at feeding time, so I checked the front, and still they weren't there. I figured they had all decided to go off together. BOy was I wrong! An hour later, I opened the front door again to check if they were there, and the instant I did, Tabby ran into the house and proceeded to rub against my leg. Boots was still on the fountain but he climbed down and laid on the front porch. And as I whistled for him to come to me, Shadow jumped down out of the tree at the edge of our sidewalk where our mailbox sits. He almost came running inside, but not quite.

So there I am, wobbling on my feet, half asleep, my hair unable to decide which way it wanted to fall, my eyes still feeling the need for closure and my head still needing that trip to the Sandman's night club. Meanwhile, Shadow's running under the cars, back and forth, happy as a hummingbird tasting it's first flower, and Boots is laying in the porch watching him. And as I approach to pick Boots up, he runs after Shadow not knowing that Shadow had taken to the underside of a different car. And, again, still in the land of those in desperate need of some deep and powerful REM cycles, I went out to get them. I grabbed Shadow right away, and then Boots came to me.

Then, I took them to my bedroom, which they love because they have a king-sized bed to dominate. And my hubby goes to get their food. And I swear, they attacked that plate like it was their last meal, and when it was over, the poop assembly line began!

Yes folks, what do you get when you bring together four cats that seem to have a direct line that goes from their mouth to their other exit point? A LOT OF FREAKIN' POOPIN'!

I'm telling you, I just watched them in awe! Amazed at how organized they were! One went in, the next sat in waiting, then the second went in only to have number three watch and wait, and so and so.....And I say and so on because they minute they're devoid of the stench from hell, they head back to their plate to load up again and back to the litter box!

Okay so, last night, my hubby and I were playing BioShock (awesome game once you get into it...thank god!) and we were having a blast! It was around 8:15pm, and we had decided to go see the fireworks display at Milander Park, which is a must-see in these otherwise ubber dull parts.

And then 8:25 rolled around, and I turned to my hubby and said, with a longing in my eyes to stay in, "If you want to go, we have to start getting ready."

And he looked at me with a disappointed flick of his eyes. "You don't want to go, do you?"

How could I say no? We used to go every year when we lived in our last house, but that was ten years ago. Now, we live A LOT further from that park, so for the last several years, we've been hanging in our front yard, eyes to the sky, taking in the massive fireworks display going on around the neighborhood, which really does it up, and YAY for that!

But I didn't want to let my hubby down because earlier yesterday morning, I heard him say in that soft way he has when he wants something but doesn't want to ask so as not to appear as though he's asking, so when I do it it's actually my idea he can say, "Great idea, Babe, let's do it!"

And so we went, and OMG am I glad we did! We got near the park at about 8:55, but as every time in the past, we refuse to go in because I could care less about the hard bleachers, the target that is our heads as seen by the "fabulous" weather that Miami tends to bring about, and the impatience I know I'll feel in waiting for the singers to go home so we can see some colorful explosions over our heads.

So we drive around the neighborhood behind the park, and let me tell you, it seems all of Miami had the same idea because traffic was at a standstill. I mean, there were cops, people hanging around in the front yards of the homeowners in the area who, no doubt, wonder every year why they bought a house there, and there were people walking around, and even a freakin' ice cream truck that was playing "It's a Small World After All, a song I was sure I was going to have stuck in my head all night later. It didn't, but I'll get to that in a minute.

So, in an effort to avoid the traffic, I pulled into the parking lot of and behind the JFK Library and got out of the car to lean against it. And we wait and wait until I decide to get back into the car on the passenger side to wait some more in the comfort of our leather seats as I leaned out the window, and we wait some more and finally, waaaaaaaaay off in the distance (about 20 min later) we caught a glimpse of a lazar light show, and my hubby's face wilted. "Great! The show's gonna be so far away," he said in his disappointed little boy voice, which broke my heart. "Don't worry, Sweety, we have a clear view of the sky from here. I'm sure we'll see it fine."

HA! Not a minute later, an explosion rocked our car not twenty feet from where we were.

Turns out, the fireworks were going to be launched from the field that lay on the other side of the fifteen foot high fence we parked next to; us and some other cars that the owners had parked and left behind for our audible pleasure. Thanks you Butt Muches! As soon as the first BOOM hit the sky, the alarm on one of the cars, the one right next to ours as the not-so-funny lady luck would have it, went off. Yup, with every explosive POP and Thunderous BANG that hit the sky, that damnable alarm, it seemed, was intent on providing all of Miami with an annoyingly LOUD string on neverending shrill wailing sound effects that eventually had one word prancing through my head in sync with the frickin' alarm, "KILL! KILL! KILL! kiiiiiiiiiiiillll kiiiiiiiiiiiiil KILL KILL KILL!"

And my hubby and I laughed in between my rants about the idiot who thought to arm his alarm right under a fireworks display and walk away so he could enjoy his night.

I can't tell you how many times we laughed between my curses, until finally, I think that sound just became part of the show.

Now, annoying car alarms and idiots who thought they were a good idea aside, the show was incredible! OMG! It was so loud and powerful it shook our car, and dotted it with fragments of the fireworks; one was even so powerful and large that when it exploded at near-ground level, it blew a still-burning ember over the fence five feet from us and almost landed on the head of a woman who leaped back just in time to see today. I mean, the damn thing was still burning on the ground in front of us, we were that close to the action.

"OMG!" we shouted together, and we laughed, and the show took off so high above our heads we were forced to spend the next half hour looking straight up. And then the finale! OMG! OMG! OMG! My heart was pounding with every explosion.

"I'm so glad we came. That was incredible!" I said to my hubby as we drove away. And I meant it. You know, it's little moments like last night that make us stop and bask in the fact that we're alive. We're not here just to work. There has to be playtime. There has to exist those times when life becomes about just having fun and being with someone you love. It's moments like last night that I will cherish and one day look back on with a ginormous smile.

So I say this: "Go out and have fun. Make a mess. Throw a party. Be a kid again and enjoy the moments you have, because one day, you may find yourself wishing you could go back and experience them again. And do it when there are no car alarms around that make you say to your significant other in a voice that speaks only truth and longing, "See, if this was Grand Theft Auto 4, I'd blow that car up already!"

Hugs and Explosive Smiles:)
Me