In all my jabbering about not acquiring another dog, I forgot to mention that we did happen to acquire another cat.

A few months ago when one of my sisters called, I innocently thought it was just to chat. Soon, however, the conversation took a turn... To kittens. It seemed that one of her cats had given birth underneath the settee in their house, and there were now six little furballs looking for a home.

After we hung up I gave it some thought for about three seconds, then made up my mind that a kitten was not what we needed in our lives at the moment. No sirree, I maturely made the decision that we would not be taking in any kittens. Everyone in my family knows I inherited the 'animal acquisition gene' from our dad, so I was quite proud of myself for not being swayed.

Then one weekend we happened to stop by and I innocently thought it would fun to at least see the kittens. You know, for the kids. Not for me. Not for Mr. Blue Eyes. Fun for the kids. I was still 100% resolved that kitten ownership was not in our immediate future.

But who are we kidding, people?

Whenever we go shopping and we say it's just to look, it really isn't. It's to buy. Whether we consciously know it (which I didn't) or not. It's to buy. Or in this case, to hijack a free kitten.

The whole incident was Mr. Blue Eyes' fault. Firm as he may have been about the puppy situation, he shoved me on top of the landmine when it came to this cat. Do you know what he said? I'll tell you what he said. He said, "Maybe Paula Deen needs a friend."

Next thing I know we're driving away and I've got a kitten in my lap. The whole situation got out of hand quite quickly.

To her credit, the kids thoroughly enjoy her and Paula Deen does seem to love her like her own kitten, so she has lived up to our expectations.

And she's fun to have around.

You know, for the kids.