My Quirks as a Parent

(Besides being ok with cat butt in my face?)

I will admit to having some "quirks" as a parent.  Some of this is a product of worry, some of it is born of necessity, and some of it, well, it's because I'm weird. 

Because I do the same thing multiple times a day, every single day, I have to have things a certain way.  For example, when I prepare a meal for my pets, I am feeding 6 creatures at a time.  Their bowls must go in a certain place on the counter, and each animal's bowl has to be in the exact same place every time.  This is partly so I can keep track of whose food is whose (all six of my animals get different medicines/supplements), but it's also because I'm OCD about it.  For instance, it makes my brain explode when Jim feeds the animals and puts the bowls in different places.  It's ok that he does it, I just can't be around to see it.

Another weird quirk:  I am picky about raw food textures.  I like the food to be soft, wet, and easy to break apart.  Isis will eat absolutely anything (she's my only raw-eater right now), so I know she doesn't care about "texture."  In fact, she eats so fast, I know she doesn't even think about texture.  Yet, I will avoid certain brands and/or meats because of the texture.

I also can't stand eye boogers.  Every pet owner knows that all pets get them, and I am constantly picking them off of my pets.  Mr. Squiggles, because he has a cataract in one eye, has a constantly weeping eye, which means a constant supply of eye boogers growing on his face that I am forever picking off, leading to a frequently annoyed cat.

I never play loud music in the house (or car when the pets are with me), because I worry that it agitates the animals. 

I always tell the animals (especially Indiana) when I am leaving; I tell them where I am going, and when I will be back.  Every single time.

Likewise, when we put the animals in the car, we tell them where we are going.

I talk to Indiana like she's people, reasoning (and even begging) with her. 

We sometimes pronounce Q*bert as Cue-bear and speak to him in French.

Each of our animals has a nick-name that is so bastardized that we often don't remember how we arrived at it.  What we most often call each pet (right now--this changes too):

     Indiana: Bear

     Isis: Noodle

     Mr. Squiggles:  Butt

     Gus: PJ

     Samson: Turd

     Q*bert: the aforementioned Cue-bear

We have a pile of dog toys literally two feet high and three feet wide, even though neither dog plays with toys anymore.

Our house is covered with cat playthings, the bigger the better.  We have the Great Wall of China, a tank, and a huge pile of cardboard bricks with which we build a different fort a few times a week.

I think I'm going to end this post before you all think I've totally lost my mind.