Goodbye to my Beautiful Guy

Tucker, Tucks, Tuckies, Biggie Smalls, Bigs, Fatty, Big Man, Big Boy… just to name a few of our many names for the greatest cat on earth! Last week I said goodbye to my 16 year old companion, my first baby, my love, my Tucker.

To say that I am heartbroken is an understatement. I have never grieved like this before and it is almost too much to bear. I was so confused and surprised by my pain that I Googled it, thinking I must be crazy. It is clear I am not. Some people grieve for their animals more than some relatives or friends. Now I know why… Tucker knew me in the most intimate ways, he loved me unconditionally like only a pet can, I shared my dreams, fears, sorrows and deepest secrets with him, he was in my presence almost every day, every moment, for the past 16 years. Before Margo was born, I must have pet him at least two hours a day, if not more… talk about bonding.

My mom reminded me that it was “love at first sight” with Tucker and I. In my senior year of high school, she brought him home after another traumatic death of a precious kitten we had, Rosco. To say that Tucker was the sweetest, cutest ball of fur was an understatement. He clearly missed his mama, but I quickly took her place as he buried his little face in my hair, just like he would his mama’s fur, and began to purr away. This quickly became ritual and we never stopped sharing in our love in this beautiful way… up until his very final moments in this world. His place was on my chest, head buried in my hair, and I am hoping this was his favorite place on earth and gave him peace and comfort in his final moments. I certainly could not have asked for a more special, parting memory.

Tucker was from a trailer park, but you would have never known it. After a few years of attacking feet and biting ankles, chasing balls and playing the day away, he matured into quite the sophisticate! Think cat on Fancy Feast commercial… think Tucker! He loved to sit like a royal subject, cross pawed, demanding ice in his water, kitty massages and only the finest treatment. For as much as he expected, he gave even more in return. So many cats are aloof and unfriendly and this often gives them a bad reputation. Not Tucker, he loved us so much that he wanted to be with us all of the time. His favorite place was on our laps and in our presence. He purred non-stop and was just an amazing, wonderful, beautiful cat!

As Tucker grew fatter and more sedentary, maxing out at 22 lbs, he didn’t like to play much. He did, however, love to chase a foil ball and would come running at the sound of crinkling foil. He loved to watch the birds and would chirp back at them in the cutest way that sounded like a mix between chirping and meowing. He loved to lay in the sun or anywhere warm and cozy. Cary and I often joked that Tucker always knew how to find the most comfortable spot in the house. A unique trait about Tucker is that he came when you whistled. He was so personable and loyal, he really had more of a personality of a dog!

Tucker is truly a part of my identity. He followed me to college, through marriage, four moves and now was here for the birth of our precious Margo. He was curious about her, never ever mean despite her repeated hair pulling and you could tell he wanted to protect her. He would come running in the room where she was crying and get upset himself. No cat or animal in the world could ever replace him and I know I am going to have an empty spot in my heart for a long long time.

I have to give a shout out to West Alabama Animal Clinic. They have always provided Tucker with the most wonderful care. He HATED the vet to say the least, but I could tell they always made him feel really comfortable and helped him stay as calm as possible. They were so great in his final days and beyond, coming to our home to put him down, providing a hair clipping, paw print and a beautiful card. Cary’s cousin, Kim, works there and we may have received a tiny bit of special treatment, but I know they do these things for all of their clients and I highly recommend them to anyone. I could not have picked a better vet to help us send our boy to heaven and I am so grateful to all of our family and friends for the wonderful support during this difficult time.

Hug your animals a little tighter tonight and don’t take them for granted. Remember that our pets are extra special and love us in ways that humans cannot. I will never ever forget my Tucker and I thank God for the blessing of my 16 years with him each and every day.

Skinny Chicken Enchiladas

As many of you know, Cary and I have been on a diet for about three months now. He has lost 25 lbs—woo hoo! I have lost 9 lbs and think I am stuck at this weight, happily maintaining. We are still working on keeping it off and losing a pound or two here and there. I found this AWESOME website and just tried my first dish.

The Skinny Chicken Enchiladas were amazing! I am a foodie, I am picky especially about Mexican food and these were truly fantastic! One of the chilies I used had a lot of seeds (I diced them up). I used 2 T.+ because I like spice, but they were a little too spicy. If you have kids, I would use 1 T. or less. I used regular chili powder and may use corn tortillas in the future because I prefer them for enchiladas. Overall though, I give this an A+! To keep it on the healthy side, I paired this with a favorite stand-by in our house… This yummy Black Bean Salad—it is so fresh and flavorful! Enjoy!

Black Bean Salad

15 oz. can black beans 1 c. quartered cheery tomatoes
½ c. chopped red onion ¼ c. chopped celery
2 T. fresh lime juice 2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 T. olive oil Salt & pepper to taste

Drain and rinse black beans. Combine with remaining ingredients and refrigerate at least two hours before serving.

I Could do Month Ten Again and Again‏

Margo has been so much fun this month! She is changing by leaps and bounds everyday and experiencing this with her has been incredible!

This month, Margo moved to two naps a day! She is still a ridiculously early riser (5:30 am), but I wouldn’t ever trade that for sleeping through the night! I love the two naps because we can do more in between since she goes about three hours and we have a larger window of awake time in the evening before bed. We have actually started to go to lunch and dinner more frequently and Margo loves to get out and see the world, run errands, etc…

The biggest blessing of the month is that Margo is reflux-free! I cannot tell you how relieved this makes us. No more meds, no more bibs and burp cloths 24-7, no more changing sheets every other day, etc… Most of all, it means relief and less discomfort for my sweet girl! She is eating like crazy as mentioned in my last post and loves her food. She loves to drink water (I am staying away from juice as long as possible) and can drink from a sippy cup on her own. She can also feed herself a bottle for a period of time, but still likes to be cuddled and fed by someone else. I will keep feeding her her bottle, or sippy cup when we switch, for as long as she lets me. Feeding time is my favorite because she is usually calm, quiet and affectionate.

The rest of the time, Margo is on the move non-stop. We are told by our moms that she has more energy than we ever did—oh’ no! It is clear we have our hands full, but she is sweet and pleasant, understands and usually obeys “no”, etc… She just loves exploring her world and having the freedom to be mobile! She loves to look out all the windows and if it wasn’t so darn hot, I am sure we would spend most of our time outside. She has been able to push her walker for most of the month and gets stronger and stronger every day. I have to hide it because I am afraid to let her play on it without my supervision and it is her favorite thing to do. She also loves the old school style walker you sit in and practically runs in it, banging into furniture and walls. It’s funny!



In month 10, she started waving and clapping. She doesn’t do it a lot and I am not sure she associates it with anything, but I am working with her. She is becoming more and more verbal everyday and saying so many new consonants. Most exciting is dada… I love to hear her say it and cannot wait for the day she finally says mama. She has begun to babble and talk jibberish all day long. It is hilarious and I just wish I could get into her head to find out what she is trying to say! She got her second tooth this month and I think the new object in her mouth drives her crazy. She is sticking out her tongue all the time!



Every day is a new adventure with my sweet girl. This has been my favorite month yet, discovering new things with her, sharing in hysterical laughter and bonding closer every day. Margo makes my world go round in ways I could have never imagined. The fun continues and I am eternally blessed by her beautiful little spirit!

I Conclude, Margo LOVES Food!

Since I started Margo on solids, I have been so grateful that it has been so easy and she has liked so much of the food I offer her. I have been making all of her baby food, 100% organic, and have truly enjoyed feeding her such a healthful diet. I was a very picky child, to say the least, and Margo is quite the opposite.

Some of the cool combinations she has really enjoyed are peas, edamame and apples, carrot and ginger, apples or pears with pomegranate, peach and apricot and so many more! I even made her French lentils.

In the past 2-3 weeks, I have been giving her more and more finger foods. She only has about two purees a day as an addition to her finger food meal. Now that she can feed herself (sort of—I help a lot), I think she is enjoying food even more, although sometimes the textures throw her off. Watermelon was not a hit, but we will try it again and fresh green beans were too tough, but the canned ones were gross and salty to her.

Here is what Margo ate today:

Breakfast: Teething biscuit, kiwi and cinnamon apples with oatmeal


Lunch: Puffs, chicken, a few French fries from mommy’s lunch, edamame and blueberries


Dinner: Whole wheat pasta, chicken, sweet potato fries, asparagus and peaches

Usually, she eats every last bite and LOVES it! Feeding time in our house is a fun time. We play music, act silly and laugh a lot! It is my time to sit in front of Margo and interact with her when she is not distracted by her toys and other things which I love… but hate the clean-up! On a side note, Margo does not like to drink her bottle. These days, we are doing great if she eats 18 ounces a day, which is the equivalent of three 6 oz. bottles. Hopefully she is getting the extra nutrients she needs in her food.

I find that feeding her only finger foods is a bit harder because I can’t exactly feed her off of my plate yet. Once we can introduce dairy and eggs, it will be easier. Margo still loves her purees, so the dilemma is… do I keep making the purees and feed them in addition to finger foods or move on and switch exclusively to finger foods. Moms, what did you do?

Lemony Herb Grilled Jumbo Shrimp

I pulled out a favorite this weekend and made it last night for Cary and I… oh’ so yummy and the perfect summer grilling recipe. Served along a side of grilled vegetable, we surely stayed within our daily allowable calories. This would be great for an appetizer too and you can make the marinade ahead. I don’t even measure or chop the herbs, garlic and ginger… just throw it all in the food processor, marinate and enjoy!

16 jumbo shrimp, peeled & deveined
¾“ piece fresh ginger, peeled & grated
1 T. chopped oregano
1 T. chopped sage
1 T. chopped cilantro
1 t. crushed red pepper
1 lemon, zest finely grated & cut in half
1 t. kosher salt
½ c. EVOO

In food processor, combine ginger & next 5 ingredients w/ lemon zest & salt until a paste forms. Stir in the olive oil & pour the mixture over the shrimp, tossing well to coat. Let stand at room temp for one hour. Grill the shrimp over med-high heat for 2 minutes on each side until white throughout. Transfer to a platter, squeeze lemon halves over the shrimp, drizzle w/ olive oil & season lightly w/ salt & pepper.

My Sunshine in Month Nine

Three weeks of Margo’s ninth month were consumed by the virus from hell! Poor Margo’s little intestinal system needed a lot of time and TLC to heal. Apparently, it is somewhat common for a baby’s first stomach virus to be severe because after the virus works out of the system, the intestines have to rebuild their lining. Until the lining is back to normal, symptoms continue. Needless to say, we endured three long weeks of terrible diarrhea, diaper rash and more. It is over now and we are grateful for a happy and healthy little girl.

So… month nine was pretty uneventful. Margo went backwards on her diet and sleep. She was only allowed apples, rice cereal and bananas. She drank special formula that smelled awful. She awoke several times in the night needing diaper changes and her schedule was a mess. Through it all though, you would have never really known. She didn’t act tired or sick or hungry for something different. As always, my little sunshine went along happily being the trooper she is!

In month nine, she did perfect her crawling and followed mama everywhere. She cannot stand to be out of my sight and has become very attached. I am hoping this phase turns into a more independent one soon! She is pulling up on EVERYTHING and desperately wants to walk. She also got her 1st tooth which was huge for us!! I started to worry it was never going to come. She barely fussed and the teething didn’t seem to bother her any more than normal.

She truly is my sunshine and the light of my life. Her 1st birthday party will appropriately be a “You are my Sunshine” theme. Her sweet and beautiful little demeanor seems to spread light to everyone around her. Many new fun and exciting developments in Margo’s world coming to you in month ten!!!

Margo did not need prunes in June, but Cary still makes me swoon!

This month I watched my sweet Margo suffer her first illness with the most horrible stomach virus I have ever witnessed. Poor baby managed to catch a nasty bug at her nine month check-up. Since she is not in daycare, she is not exposed to anything and I am guessing that whatever she was licking off of the mirror in the exam room infected her with a vengeance. I know, as a mother, I should not have let her lick that mirror, but we had been waiting for at least 45 minutes and I just could not contain her anymore. I have been trying to be a little less sanitary, so Margo is exposed to a few germs and hoped that the mirror was sanitized after each visit. Clearly, the physician’s office is not as clean as it should be.

Margo’s bottle, food and everything in between went straight through her at least 15 times a day. We are now on day seven and she is still ill, but improving everyday and went the whole night without a dirty diaper or waking. You would not have known she was sick though, watching her laugh, play and eat as usual, except when it was time to change her diaper. Margo never cries, much less screams, and to endure daily screaming episodes up to 15 times a day was torture on my heart. She would shake in pain it hurt her little bottom so badly. We eventually started washing her in the sink each time which helped and thanks to Michelle, we were given the miracle cream, Resinol. If you are a mom with a child in diapers, buy this now to keep on hand. It is hard to find, so you must order it online in advance, but it has been a true Godsend. It is better than Margo’s prescription, better than Triple Paste, better than Dr. Smith’s, better than anything I have tried.

Sick, but happily playing under a chair.

So… back to that nine month appointment. Here are Margo’s stats:

Weight: 20 lbs. 6 oz. (75.57%)

Height: 27 1/4" (37%)

Head: 17.13" (34.17%)

She is clearly short and chunky… all you have to do is look at her adorable rolls to figure that out! The appointment went well and although Margo is still refluxing a lot, we have quit her meds. The MD just doesn’t think it will make a difference at this point, so why unnecessarily medicate? I desperately hope that by the time she is a year old, it will be gone. We were also referred to a pediatric dermatologist to look at the beauty mark on Margo’s face. It is tiny and I do think it is truly beautiful, but I just want to make sure the MD thinks it is ok, given I have a history of melanoma in my family. Otherwise, Margo is right on track and I am going to be introducing meats and other finger foods after her body is a bit more recovered.

Poor Cary spent his first Father’s Day helping me tend to Margo since it was a two-man job. He has proven over and over what a great dad he is, but during this extremely stressful time with Margo he was truly amazing! He was so loving, comforting and patient to both Margo and I. He woke-up without complaint, tended to her with perfect care and was a great support system for me. I must say, when the going gets tough, Cary and I are a great team! Margo is so lucky to have such an attentive, wonderful father.

The best daddy ever!

I too, am so blessed and lucky to have such an awesome husband in Cary. Today, Cary and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary! I cannot believe it has been a decade and what fun it has been! It is amazing how solid and bonded a relationship becomes after 10 years. Cary and I have experienced so much joy, pain, adventure, loss, triumph and struggles throughout the past decade, but one thing has always remained steady… our incredible love for one another. I would be lost without Cary and he truly makes my world go round. Cary loves me unconditionally because goodness knows, I have lots of “conditions”—ha ha! If I could write a definition of Cary, it would include kind, genuine, loyal, honest, funny, sentimental, determined and so many other awesome traits. Who wouldn’t still be madly in love with a man like that after 10 years? Becoming a parent with him this past year has taken our relationship to new heights and there is just about nothing more special that watching him be a father to Margo. I cannot wait to share in many more decades with the man of my dreams!

The day Margo was born, a great memory for our 9th year together!