08.13.11

 Last night I got about an hour of sleep because Madeline coughed all... night... long. She had been hanging on to a cough at night since her cold in New York, and it looks like it came back. So today we are tired. Thankfully we don't have any appointments or plans so we can take it easy.

I was going to give Madeline rest from potty training because she is sick, but the first thing she wanted to do this morning was go pee pee in her potty downstairs. I was so ecstatic! Just two days of serious potty training and she is already catching on.



 The day went on... we made some homemade peach/raspberry popscicles with my new popscicle molds, which are AWESOME. They were scrumptious.

We've had Madeline's potty in the living room since we started serious potty training so it is close if she has to go really quick.  Madeline disappeared for a minute while I was in the kitchen and all the sudden I smelled poop.  At first I thought maybe she went in her pants.  I have been telling her that if she needs to go poop to tell me and I will put a diaper on her - this is something a good friend of mine does with her child because pooping is rather scary to some little kids. 

When I first started potty training Madeline in my unaffective, laid back way this past year, she had to poop once and I ecouragingly and excitedly plopped her on the potty. When she looked down and saw it coming out? She lost it. She was so scared.  I had to calm her down and wipe her up and let her finish behind the curtain in her diaper.  My thoughts are that some kids are scared to see a part of themselves leaving thier body. So, I didn't pressure pooping. 

So I started calling for Madeline asking if she had pooped in her panties... no answer.  I come around the corner and she is SITTING ON HER POTTY watching her show and pooping!  She looks at me and says,
"I'm poopin' Mom! I'm poopin'!"

I just lost it. I was so excited and happy I started jumping and screaming "yay! yay!" over and over.  She smiled and said,
"Come wipe my bum mom!" So I did. 
As a reward for going pee Madeline has been receiving one stamp - I bought a collection of stamp designs and stamp pads while in the States. For a poop?  She gets TWO stamps and a piece of gum.  She always asks for gum and normally I say "not right now" or "gum is for special occassions" and she frowns and moves on, but THIS is a special occassion.

She pooped again in the evening when Paul got home from work so he got to see her being a big girl too! The pride inside was hard to hide. And THAT is probably enough about poop. It was just the highlight of my day. 

When Paul got home I made some dinner, my own little creation of chicken and vegetables with some fried spaghetti noodles.  Paul actually likes it quite a bit so I make it every once in a while. Not too much. When you live with a picky eater it's nice when you find something they like to eat.  It's even better when they really like it.  So sometimes when we like something we have it over and over and over and we kill the delicious excitement of it all.  So I am trying not to do this anymore. 

After dinner we decided to move Abigail's bedroom furniture into Madeline's room. Now the girls share a room. I still have some organizing to do and I need to decide how I want the room to look. We will probably get some shelving of some sort.  Now we also need to decide what to do with the extra room! It's a small room. We will probably make it an office and put my sewing machine up there. 

We won't make too many major changes because we do eventually plan on moving up to a bigger house here on camp when we have another kid or two.

Notes to remember: Madeline is now using her special sponge bob square pants toothbrush with vibrating head.  She wants to brush her teeth 10 times a day, she loves it so much. 

08.12.11

 Today was what a Friday (Sunday in the States) should be like... very laid back and relaxed.  We woke up at a good and early time. When everyone was downstairs I made some pancakes.  Abigail got peas... her first peas and she HATED them.  She literally gagged them up.  I will try to give them to her again because they say persistence is the only way to succeed at this feeding thing, but she will not be happy about it.  She enjoyed playing with the peas though. 

 I sorted all our vitamins into our weekly pill holders and Madeline had a good time playing with that.  I forgot to mention yesterday that we are now attempting major SERIOUS potty training with Madeline.  Before she sort of had control. She would have her great days when she would go pee pee every time in the potty, and those days when she wouldn't go at all.  But now I am putting her ONLY in panties during the day.  At first it irritated her and she would cry that her "diaper has a hole in it!!" but then I explained to her that she is officially in BIG GIRL PANTIES now and they don't absorb the pee pee.  She's doing really well. She's had a couple accidents, and she is really embarassed and ashamed when she does. I try to let her know it's okay, and that she is learning.  I'm also trying really hard to make sure my house doesn't smell like urine.  Today we put the potty right in the front room so she would have direct access to it at all times. 

Madeline loves to pick out her own outfits now and likes to tell me how to do her hair.  This was today's choice, but minutes later she had her first and only accident of the day and she had to take it off.

We watched several movies today also, but inbetween it all the girls and I made some new playdough.  The old stuff was all dried up. Madeline loves to help in the kitchen so she added the food coloring to the pan while I stirred and before long we had a lovely gob of gray playdough.  We usually start with lots of colors and end with brown or gray... why wait right? We made cars, dinosaurs, cats, we did patterns with all of our strange kitchen untensils... it was a good time. 

 This evening I made my own concoction of spaghetti sauce with meat in it.  Usually Paul is the spaghetti maker in this house because of his mom's yummy recipe, but I decided to do a smaller portion in a frying pan.  I cooked the ground beef with some garlic... added some regularly used Italian spices, some sugar, tomato sauce, paste, pepper, salt... it was DELICIOUS!  I need to write that one down.  Paul liked it too. I really think he genuinly liked it!  So that made me giddy.

Today there was a lot of sitting and laying around.  I had high hopes for change... we are thinking of moving Abigail's crib into Madeline's room and having the girls share a room.  I am starting to wonder if it might be a good way to encourange Madeline to sleep in her own bed (along with giving us an extra room for whatever). Maybe she will like it more if Abs is in there with her?

 We are also planning on moving our TV that is currently on our wall in our bedroom, downstairs into the playroom.  Once Paul gets his computer built, we will probably have it in there too and the TV will be a monitor.
Eventually we will get it all done.  It was nice for Paul to be able to rest a bit today. 

We also watched Food Inc. Today.  I had heard about it from several friends before and never watched it.  It really does make you want to move out in the middle of nowhere and raise your own cows, chickens etc. and grow your own food. It is so scary what is happening in the U.S.

Then we realized something... we live in Saudi Arabia.  A lot of the food we currently eat - fruits, vegetables, meats, etc. are grown here, locally.  Another blessing in disguise? Maybe?

Notes to remember: Abigail loves to pull blankets, clothes, whatever she can grab over her face and she just sits there and giggles and waits for us to pull them off and act surprised to see her.  All four limbs just shoot out stiff with excitement.  She also tried to scare me today.  I was nibbling and kissing on her and making her laugh and all the sudden she just jumped at me and made the cutest little noise. She did it twice.  I tell you, I feel, over and over again with her, that she is an old soul trapped in a tiny, chubby baby body.  You look at her and she just looks like she knows something you don't know.  It's awesome and creepy all at the same time. She says, "dadadada" and now, just these past two days, "Mum Mum Mum". She reaches for ME when she says it too.  I love it. 

Special moment today... held both my girls in my arms for over 30 minutes while we watched a movie. I LOVE those moments. 

I Can't Believe I'm Not Better.

You totally thought "I can't believe it's not butter" when you read that title, didn't you?

I have officially joined the "has a blog but never writes in it" club and I am ashamed of myself.  So much has happened in our lives in the last year and I have not been very good about writing anything down.  All I can do is start anew, SO! I plan on posting something every day.  This blog may become more of a journal.  But like exercise, it's time to make it a priority.  How many times have I said this? How many times have I made this promise to myself?  Who cares! Today is a new day with a new goal.
Through pictures, I am going to try to remember what we did on our repat vacation and back track a little.  While doing that, I'm going to write about our current days.  Should be exciting, entertaining? Maybe. Maybe not.  I do this for me, my girls, my family, and my friends.

08.11.11

 Today is our Saturday. We started the morning with some oatmeal and fruit.  Paul got back from the gym and was ready to eat right as I was putting the food in the bowls... like a 50's TV show, I was totally the perfect wife.  Madeline loves oatmeal. Ever since I started giving it to her she likes to put sprinkles on it.  She has come a long way from pouring the whole container in the bowl to doing three sprinkles of each of the 6 colors.  So proud of my girl.  This morning Abigail had some apple sauce mixed with milk (mine) and some whole grain rice cereal. She is doing really well with eating so far.  Hasn't liked much of what I've given her, but still tries it and hasn't locked her jaw shut completely yet. 

 After breakfast I got the girls ready and got a shopping list together. Paul does all our grocery shopping on Thursday mornings for a couple of reasons: 1. I don't really trust the girls with a baby sitter just yet so getting a driver and going myself during the week would be quite an adventure.  It's hot. I don't trust people I don't know. 2. Paul thinks it's just faster for him to go early Thursday morning without me or the girls - for the very same reason.  As long as I write a good grocery list he does a pretty good job.  I try not to pick and complain when he gets home. It has been hard for me to let him do the shopping.  Sometimes he doesn't understand what I mean so the grocery list is quite hilarious with things written on it such as, "cheese - not velveeta or kraft, the real, natural block of cheddar" or "6 bananas - slightly green/yellow with as little bruises as possible."  It's more like writing a novel than writing a grocery list, but it helps. I am thankful for such a loving, helpful husband. He really does a lot and takes great care of us. 

While Paul did the shopping, I got the girls ready and cleaned up the house a bit.  I don't have cleaning help on the weekends (poor me) so I do the cleaning.  It's nice actually. I don't mind it.  It keeps me humble.  Also, for some reason I really like vacuuming our one rug and I love the look of freshly cleaned glass.  I know, I'm nuts. 
When Paul got home, his last package from Aramex had arrived with computer parts, so he started to put together his computer.  He built our other computer - he's really good at stuff like that.  Madeline was really interested in helping him, so he tried to show her a few things and let her help him sort stuff.  Then he realized he was missing a part of the mother board (possible left in NY or sent back with a previous case that was too small, so he returned it).  That, along with all the tiny screws and Madeline all over the place sort of contributed to as loss of patience.  He ended up having to call and order a new part so computer building is on hiatus for now. 

Madeline and I did a glitter craft with glue and colored a bit.  We played in her play room a while.  Abigail did some playing and some sleeping during the day.  She is doing really well with sitting up now.  She loves attention and gets upset when we leave her alone.  I am trying to get her to crawl, but she ends up just rolling all over the house.  I find her in the funniest places if I leave her for a minute.  So, she's not crawling, but she is moving!

It was a pretty laid back day.  Paul was feeling ill so he napped a little. We watched some movies. We danced to some music.  We ended the evening with some steak, rice, and salad and then watched a movie documentary called Babies. It was interesting.  The girls are still sleeping with us. It's crowded in our huge (TINY) king-sized bed.  Madeline is still coughing at night and wakes up asking for water. She is holding on to some snot and spit from her cold a few weeks ago.  I am teaching her to spit out the "ickys," so I find gobs of spit in fun places. 

I ended the evening staying up too late reading.  I am currently reading "The Help" by Katheryn Stockett - a popular movie out in theatres right now.  It's a great book.  I look forward to eventually seeing the movie.

08.10.11

 

Today was a really fun day.  The girls and I woke up at a pretty reasonable time. I woke up earlier to prepare some things for this evening - we had some friends over for dinner. I felt pretty cool marinating fruit and candying my own almonds for a salad. When it comes to cooking I have loooooooooong way to go.  I used to think I was a great cook, but it turns out it was my mom.  My mom made it look so simple when I was growing up.  It's not simple.  But with the gift of opportunity here in Saudi (to be a mother and wife) cooking has become a new wishful hobby of mine.

Today was the first time we actually got out of the house and saw some friends since we returned from repat vacation. We went to an art playgroup at our next door neighbor's house.  We've lived here over a year now and I really haven't spent a lot of time with our neighbor.  She has two little kids near Madeline's age, a boy and a girl, and they are very kind and friendly.  After today, I am going to make it a point to be in better communication with her. 

It turned out really nice. Only two other moms, besides myself, showed up. We had a good time talking while the kids played, ate, and made a glittler craft.  Madeline is a glitter/glue pro and it is our new favorite craft.

After the craft the girls and I came home for lunch. We did some dancing and listened to some music while I made lunch and then after we ate, we watched a movie and played with some toys.  I didn't take any pictures today, which really erks me! It would have been a great picture day.

I spent the rest of the afternoon, inbetween playing with and taking care of the girls, getting ready for our friends to come over for dinner.  I planned to make a breaded baked chicken, red potatoes, garlic bread, and a strawberry/pear/almond/celery/green onion... etc. etc. salad.  It turned out okay.  The chicken didn't crisp because I was distracted when I put it in, but Paul said it was cooked right (not too dry like I usually do it out of fear of bloody veins and e. coli.

Paul got home around his usual time and played with the girls while I continued getting things ready.  Our friends started arriving around 5:45 pm.  We have some really good friends here in Saudi.  People who are laid back, friendly, genuine, and fun.  Part of my goal for this year is to be more social.  I am not what you would call a anti-social, but we aren't anxious to party every weekend.  We enjoy our friends and family, but the every day's of life with the girls keep us pretty busy.  That and being in the nursing stage with Abigail pretty much limits what we can and cannot do.  I don't feel too great about leaving the girls with anyone anyway unless I really know and trust them.  Eventually we will look into the baby sitter thing so Paul and I can do a date night or something.  ANYWAY, there are some great people here to hang out with including our friends Fiona and Jeff, their son Benjy, and another friend Travis - whose cute little family is out of town right now. 

Dinner was nice. The conversation was good.  I love feeling at ease and comfortable.  Little Benjy brought me some very pretty flowers as a gift.  We stayed at the table pretty much all night talking and eating.  We're all planning on going on a trip together this fall so we had a little pow wow about that.  Madeline was so excited to see Benjy.  They've been friends a while now and she has missed him this summer, being away on repat.  She includes him in her list of names whenever she talks about cousins.  I think she overwhelmed him a little. There were several times he ran quickly to his chair between his parents to get away from her. He also kept telling he needed some space. 

It was a good time with great friends. 

Sweet Slumber



A lovely, peaceful, sweet moment.

 Both of my girls are acrobatic sleepers. They cannot be comfortable if they are not horizontal to the natural design of the bed. Also, it really helps them if they have a back they can kick their feet into. 

But... there are those moments - lovely, peaceful, sweet moments.

The Purpose of Life

"I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace.”


- Dalai Lama

My Fascinating Fascinator

A couple of the lovely ladies I have become friends with here in Saudi decided to throw a royal wedding tea party this past Friday to watch the wedding of Prince William to the lovely Kate Middleton.

It was so much fun to sit with all of those fun people while snacking on delicious treats and drinking tea to watch the wedding. We also had a great time talking about our own weddings and spouses.

For the engagement we were all asked to arrive in "regal attire."  I was going to just wear one of Madeline's princess crowns, but I did a little research online and saw a ton of pictures of women with those funny hats on their heads. Apparently these are known as "fascinators." So, I decided to throw together my very own fascinator with some tissue paper and some beads and wire. I just attached it to a headband I had and voila! A fascinator fit for royalty.

Of course, mine was nothing compared to Princess Beatrices fascinator.  I guess I know what to shoot for when Prince Harry finally ties the knot!

Uno! Dos! Tres! Cuatro!

Our little Abigail is 4 months old already!

She is such a good baby - so mellow, laid back, and happy. She loves to be held, loves hugs and kisses (especially from her sister), and smiles at almost anyone who smiles at her.  She is very aware of her surroundings and interested in whatever is going on. She loves to chew on everything and has been grabbing at everything she can get her hands on for several weeks now. She holds her head up well now and rolls all over the place. She is even starting to try to crawl, but her arms aren't quite strong enough. Abigail loves music, and loves to be sung to. She laughs at peek-a-boo and when we make funny noises. She recognizes her daddy's voice and gets excited when he comes home from work.  Her most favorite person is her sister. She loves to watch Madeline dance and play and she coos and giggles whenever Madeline talks to her or plays with her.  She is a perfect fit to our family and we love her SO much!

Necktarines

Ever since Madeline was a wee little babe, I have been nibbling and kissing on her.  As a parent of beautiful and healthy chubby babies, I have truly enjoyed their deliciousness.  I love how their little arms and legs look like they have rubber bands on them... and lets face it: chubby knees! Hello! How can a person resist chubby knees on a baby? And those toes! Those toes that look like they aren't really a part of the foot and as if you could just pluck them off like a grape. 

For fun, and as a way to make my girls giggle in anticipation of being nibbled and ticked on, I gave each scrumptious little part a name; a name that referred to a food.

Food = Delicious = My little babies... you get it. 

Necktarines = That little neck - the one that seems to go deeper than a mine.  The one that is almost impossible to get completely clean. I think I found a boot in Abigails neck the other day.

Corn on the cob = the arm.  I like to nibble up and down the arm as if I am eating some corn on the cob. I say, "Can mommy have some corn on the cob?" and they giggle and giggle.

Peach cobbler = peach pit = armpit (it's a stretch but you get it).

Orange slice = naval (naval oranges)

Turkey leg = the upper leg or thigh area = chub central! I love it!

Cherry toe-ma-toes = toes. The word "toe" is (sort of) in their twice people. It just made sense.

Anyway, so the other day I asked Madeline if I could have some corn on the cob, and I grabbed her arm and began to chomp - our normal routine.  And instead of giggles and squirming with excitement she pulled her arm away and she said,

"I'm NOT food mom!"

I was stunned. shocked.  startled... and then? Sad.  My little girl is growing up. 

Thank God for Abigail.  And then when she grows up?
Well, I guess I will just have to keep having babies forever and ever. Or maybe that's what GRANDbabies are for. 

Wait.  I just realized something.
I am raising my children in a different country than the one I grew up in.  They are being exposed to the WORLD and all kinds of people. As we begin travelling more they are being exposed to all kinds of places.  A smart person can only deduce from this that the likelihood of my children living close enough to me for me to have regular access to their children to nibble on is UNlikely or a very low percentage.  Do you realize what this means???!!! We need to buy a jet.

Update On Our Dear Abby

May 1st Abigail will already be 4 months old.  The time has gone by so ridiculously fast, and as it was with Madeline, it feels like Abigail has always been here with us. She totally belongs here and fits in so well with our little family. 
Abs currently wears anywhere from a size 6 month to a size 12 month in clothing - depending on the brand - and most people are quite surprised at her age when I tell them.  They always assume she is older.  Both of my babies were healthy, chubby babies and both of them have been very good at nursing. This is a true blessing in my life!  I know some mothers have a difficult time nursing and it has always been so easy and wonderful for me and my girls. 

Abigail can hold her head up very well now.  She absolutely LOVES tummy time.  Madeline never liked tummy time and would not spend more than a second or two on her tummy before screaming like I was torturing her.  Abigail on the other hand wants to do it all day long.  She has been working at holding her head up for several weeks now. She grunts and moans and arches her little back... she wants to move SO badly. She squiggles and wiggles so much that she often scoots herself down her chair and he legs will hang off. I will be really surprised if she isn't walking at around 9-10 months. 

Abigail can roll all over the place and if I happen to leave her on her blanket during tummy time, for just a second or two, I will sometimes find her on the other side of the room.

She is also already trying to push her little bum up in the air and move her legs and crawl.  She just needs to work on her arm strength now.

Because of all the moving, Abs is on 24-hour surveillance. Someone is always watching her to make sure she isn't on her face or rolling out the door.
Abigail loves music.  Whenever we sing to her she gets the biggest smile on her face and she begins moaning along with us.  When she is sad her sister sings the ABCs or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to her and she immediately stops crying.

From birth, Abigail has been very vocal.  We have anywhere from 5 to 20 minute conversations sometimes. She just makes goo goo ga ga coo noises over and over.  Sometimes Abs will sing with Madeline or me when we sing to her.  She has a beautifully clear voice and good pitch.

Tubby time is so much fun! She kicks her little legs like crazy. The other night she was kicking so fast some water splashed in her face. At first she was startled and almost cried, but then she started giggling.

Abigail wiggled down her chair with legs hanging off.

She loves peek-a-boo and when we pull faces at her and surprise her.  She also loves to be held and will get very upset if we don't let her sit up on our lap or give her hugs and kisses.

Her sad face is the saddest face that has ever existed.  It makes me want to cry.  So we try to keep her happy!!

Abigail has recently discovered her hands and loves looking at them. She also loves playing with her little chew cow and her sheep. 

From the beginning I have felt a very close bond with Abigail Lily.  Her soul is a mature soul, and at times I feel like she totally understands what is happening around her. She always has this look on her face like she knows something I don't know.  Sometimes it freaks me out, but most of the time I just feel a sense of awesomeness for being chosen to be her mother.

I love how different my girls are and that I can still love them both so unconditionally... being a Mother to these two girls has been the biggest, most important calling and blessing in my life!

Madelinisms

Paul is sitting on a chair in our dining room holding Abigail, Madeline is standing next to him, and I am in the kitchen cleaning up dinner.  Abigail begins to cry:

Madeline - "Ohh Abigail, it's okay. Mommy is right there (pointing to me).  Yook at your mommy. She's right there. Isn't she beautiful Abigail?"
------------------------------
Every morning Madeline asks me for her gummy vitamins like this:

Madeline - "May I have some gummy vitamins please yes you may thank you!"

She just has the whole conversation herself so there is no confusion as to what should happen.
-------------------------------
Tonight at dinner:

Madeline - "Ohh, I'm hungry Mom, so you fix me dinner, yeah, thank you!"
--------------------------------
When being put in time out:

Madeline - (screaming and crying) "I'm SO FYUSTRATED MOM!!"
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While opening a box full of candy and toys from her Grandma:

Madeline - "Ohhhhh, Holy cow! I yuuuuvvv candy! Yook Mom!! YOOK!!"

Happy Easter

Each of the holidays we have spent here have turned out to be pleasantly fun and meaningful.  I think people go above and beyond here when it comes to holidays in the compound because certain ones are forbidden by law from being celebrated for religious reasons.  Being forbidden to do or say something only makes one want to do it even more... strange how that works. 

So this was our first Easter here in Saudi. The entire weekend has been very fun and exciting with friends and egg hunts and craft activities and lots and lots of candy and running around until we were dead tired. It has been really wonderful.

We've also done a few things for ourselves, for our own little family. Now that Madeline is a little bit older and can understand a little bit more, the holidays have been really exciting for her.  I've tried to teach her the meaning of these religious holidays - what they are really all about - but I think this is more of an endeavor I will attempt next year because I get two seconds into an explaination and she is too busy making her toes talk to each other.

I remember in elementary school, on St. Patrick's Day, a teacher of mine once put little green footprints all over the walls and desks to make it look like a leprechaun had visited while we were away to lunch or recess.  So I took that idea and painted little rabbit paws all over our floor. 

Madeline was totally blown away, slightly concerned (that a rabbit could get in our house from the back door), and genuinely impressed with the display.

She spent a good amount of time trying to rub the footprints off the floor and seeing if she could hop in the same exact place as the bunny did. 

Mr. E. Rabbit left her some lovely Eastery shakers, some candy, and some lovely new jewelry.  He also decided to take a little taste of Kitty's food apparently. 

And then, rumor has it, he just POOF! Disappeared to go back to the forest and prepare for next year(because mommy was sick of painting feet at that point).

We actually celebrated Easter on Friday morning because that is our "Sunday" here in Saudi Arabia.  It crept up kind of fast on us.  On the real Easter, a work day for Paul and a school day for Mads, we basically had a regular day.  But every day with my cute little family is a holiday, and every day we remember those who have sacrificed so we can have a better life. Happy Easter!

 

Momma's B-Day

Today is my Momma's birthday.  How do I write what I feel about this woman?  I just don't believe there are words that can properly express the love and admiration I have for her. She is my best friend and loves me unconditionally - like a mom should love her children.  She gives the best hugs.  She always, ALWAYS knows what to say.  She is an amazing cook! She has a talent and a gift to heal others.  She is the mother of all mothers!

Happy Birthday to you Momma!  I love you forever!

Precious Rap

Whatever happened to that cat we used to have?  Oh you mean, Precious Kitty?

We still have her!

Kitty took a backseat when Madeline was born, and now that Abigail is here? Let's just say I feel awful on a regular basis for the neglect of this poor little cat.  In spite of it all, Kitty keeps active - attacking chair legs; running really fast on the wood floor in the middle of the night; hiding outside a door so she can jump out and scare the crap out of us when we leave a room; attacking toys Mads may have left out; Meowing an opera downstairs at least once a week around 3 in the morning; puking on all my rugs; hangin' in the garage on the car; hangin' in the backyard meowing at birds... she's a good kitty, and I make it a point to give her a nice scratch and a pet each night.  She always comes and sits by me whenever we are relaxing or watching a movie.  She brings a smile to our faces on a regular basis... wait. Did you just read that? 

"She brings a smile to our faces on a regular basis."  - that TOTALLY rhymes and would be awesome in a rap song. Lemme see what I can come up with off the top of my head:

K. I. T. T. uh T. T. Y.,
Kitty sits and whines at birds who fly in da sky.
She's a maniac at night when she chases her tail
Betta watch urself girl, when you jump o'er that rail. (Mee-yow!)
Don't worry 'bout dat feline, she will land on all fours
But if she don't! watch herself! she can run into doors! (Hay-ohhhh!!)
She eats like a horse, we're alwayz fillin' her bowl...
S'okay, with nine lives, livin' long is da goal!
She's hangin' like a dog, waitin' for some dropped dinner
in a race down the hall, she is always the winner
She twitches in her sleep, and makes a lot of weird noises,
Must be dreamin' 'bout the times little Mads takes her toyses.
She brings a smile to our faces
on a regula-lar basis
oh yeah we love our Kitty, Kitty, Kitty Kitty - Mee-YOW
I said, we love our kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty - Mee-yow!
K. I. T. T. uh T. T. Y.,
I said uh
K. I. T. T. uh T. T. Y.,
Hollaaaaaaa
K. I. T. T. uh T. T. Y.,
Preciousssssss (in a whisper)
Peace (Spoken while holding up the peace sign and a kitty toy).

I would totally buy that on iTunes.