How did Rosie and mom do?

[Mare]

Hey Kendra! Welcome home! You may have posted somewhere else about how things went at home, while you were on vacation but I didn't see it? How'd it go? :)

[Debra]

Yes, inquiring minds want to know!

[Honesty]

We are all waiting in anticipation and are also eager to see your pics from your holiday :)

[kendrafitz]

Thank you for checking!

Rosie did well, but she will not allow me out of her sight today. :) We got home around 11:00 last night and I was worried that she would yell, but once I checked in with her she went back to sleep. I was so happy to see my girl and puppies. They all seem no worse for the wear and happy to have their crazy family back home. Rosie was loaded with pin feathers so we spent the morning preening. I keep waiting for her to realize she is mad that I was away and give me a good chomp, but nothing yet...

Rosie did fly when my neighbor was bringing her from her cage to her stand when my mother in law was here. Fortunately, she landed on the top of our tv and not on the floor and all was ok. Except my mil said it scared her to death. Fortunately, my mil was only here Friday - Monday morning so it was all good. My mom came Monday and took care of her the rest of the week. My mom didn't head my advice about how to put Rosie to bed (turn off all the lights so she wants to get in her cage for security). She and Rosie apparently had a few war of wills about bed time due to this and she got chomped a few times. No bloodshed, but enough to make me feel badly.

We had a great time on our vacation. We did two short cruises on the same ship, for a total of 7 nights. The kids and I LOVED every minute of it. Jef started to feel claustrophobic and was ready to leave after the 5th night. Not unusual for him, he always wants to come home before vacation ends and I always want to stay forever. We sailed to Nassau and Castaway Cay, in the Bahamas. Not my first choice of destinations, but the kids just wanted to see the pretty blue water. My son turned 12 on the ship so he had a great time celebrating. We went to the Blue Lagoon island on his actual birthday in the Bahamas. It is the island where the movie Blue Lagoon with Brooke Shields was filmed for anyone who is old enough to remember. It was beautiful and he said it was the best birthday he has ever had. Which of course made me happy. If anyone is considering doing a Disney Cruise, I highly recommend it. Not too Disneyish and all the awesome service and details that I expect from Disney. There are characters if you look for them, but not in your face. Kids clubs were great and Jef and I did some mixology, martini, wine classes, which was fun and a great way to chat with other grown ups.

I am having trouble uploading pics to the server, but I will try again later.

[kendrafitz]

2099
Ashie & CW at Castaway Cay

[kendrafitz]

2100

2101

[plax]

Welcome back, Kendra! I happy to hear that you and your family had an enjoyable vacation experience :). And it's great that your son was pleased with his birthday celebration... and btw, the attached photo of you and your daughter is beautiful and really reflects your enjoyment :D

So, Kendra, something has occurred to me that may, or may not be a relevant correlation. That is, I've taken the impression that both your mother-in-law and your husband aren't that enthused with Rosie; whereas your own mother sounds to be quite comfortable around her. I'm wondering... might this be evidence of a genetic predisposition on either or both sides of your family? From your descriptions, it seems that your side of the family may be more impressed with, more appreciative of, and more tolerant of large parrots than your husband and his mother seem to be. Could there be something to this? Or do I have it all wrong? Albeit a relatively unimportant one, it's a question that just popped into my head ;)

Thanks for the update :)


EDIT: Wow! More photos of the fun :D. It's so nice to see you all expressing such happiness :th_biggrin:

[kendrafitz]

Thanks Tony!

Interesting question. My husband and his mom are very "Irish" - 100%. I am not sure how everyone thinks of Irish, but we would describe them as fun, funny, and not affectionate, but great hearts. So I think it is a nature and nurture thing. The Irish part that I think of, not affectionate, would affect his outlook. He has no desire to really touch her so it is difficult for them to bond. Also, he grew up with dogs, but that is it. So for Jef, I think it is like having a noisy, messy alien who demands most of my attention in the house. His mom witnessed a friend of hers get badly bitten by a parrot she was pet sitting when she was young. So she has had a fear of parrots since her early 20s. I have to say, she is a great sport and isn't dismissive or rude to Rosie. She goes over and chats with her and enjoys that interaction. But that is it, she doesn't want to touch Rosie. Once she touched her beak and I almost fell over from shock. So for my mil it is probably both nature and nurture due to her experience. For Jef it is probably both as well. He probably got an impression of parrots from his mom when young and now Rosie annoys him so there you go. Although as time goes on he does try to interact with her more. Also, I have heard him talking about her so he is slowly warming up.

Funny enough, his boss LOVES that Jef is tortured by Rosie. Every so often they hear her screaming when doing conference calls, which leads to Jef lamenting. His boss loves to get Jef all wound up and tell his ridiculous "life with a crazy red parrot" stories. The management team travels together fairly often and his boss always has a parrot related item on hand. Last team building meeting, they all had to wear a green or an orange Margaritaville shirt that had parrots all over them. So poor Jef can't get away from Rosie, even when he's away. ;)

[Honesty]

Lovely photo's Kendra. You ll look so happy together and it also looks like you had a fantastic time :)

[plax]

Interesting question. My husband and his mom are very "Irish" - 100%. I am not sure how everyone thinks of Irish, but we would describe them as fun, funny, and not affectionate, but great hearts. So I think it is a nature and nurture thing. The Irish part that I think of, not affectionate, would affect his outlook. He has no desire to really touch her so it is difficult for them to bond. Also, he grew up with dogs, but that is it. So for Jef, I think it is like having a noisy, messy alien who demands most of my attention in the house. His mom witnessed a friend of hers get badly bitten by a parrot she was pet sitting when she was young. So she has had a fear of parrots since her early 20s. I have to say, she is a great sport and isn't dismissive or rude to Rosie. She goes over and chats with her and enjoys that interaction. But that is it, she doesn't want to touch Rosie. Once she touched her beak and I almost fell over from shock. So for my mil it is probably both nature and nurture due to her experience. For Jef it is probably both as well. He probably got an impression of parrots from his mom when young and now Rosie annoys him so there you go. Although as time goes on he does try to interact with her more. Also, I have heard him talking about her so he is slowly warming up.You're probably right... there are likely multiple variables at play. The conditioning factor (ie, "nurture"), stemming from one's personal experiences could be a big one. Then perhaps that's working in concert with some inborn traits or tendencies (ie, "nature"). I am unsure, however, whether the Irish element you've mentioned would exert much influence in this regard. While I suppose it could be somewhat of a factor in general, there's some Irish in my ancestry as well. As you have probably gathered, I adore large parrots :D... so at the very least, someone being of Irish lineage in itself wouldn't necessarily seem to predispose them to an avoidance of big colorful birds who have an attitude ;). Again, though, it may be one mere element of a combination of things. And I suppose it also could be that I'm simply an exception to the rule. It's hard to say :th_hmmm:


Funny enough, his boss LOVES that Jef is tortured by Rosie. Every so often they hear her screaming when doing conference calls, which leads to Jef lamenting. His boss loves to get Jef all wound up and tell his ridiculous "life with a crazy red parrot" stories. The management team travels together fairly often and his boss always has a parrot related item on hand. Last team building meeting, they all had to wear a green or an orange Margaritaville shirt that had parrots all over them. So poor Jef can't get away from Rosie, even when he's away. ;)HAHA! Poor Jef ;). But it's funny :)

[kendrafitz]

Thanks Wendy!

[kendrafitz]

Tony - It is funny, isn't it? Poor guy. Thank goodness he has a great sense of humor!

I'm sorry. I certainly didn't mean that all Irish people would not like parrots. I just meant that his hands off tendency that is a familial trait which is Irish contributes. But of course that is not the rule. The no PDA thing is a joke with our Irish friends. However not everything translates well in writing or with groups. I apologize if I offended anyone. Since my last name is Fitz I hope you know there was no harm meant. :(

[Honesty]

Was Jeff born in Ireland Kendra? My Dad was Irish too so obviously I have Irish in my blood :)

[kendrafitz]

No, he is American born. :) His mom is first generation American. Grew up in Manhattan. Not sure about his father, but guessing first generation as well. :)

Jef is an acronym and not a misspelling by the way. ;) First letter of each name, first, middle & last.

[Honesty]

No, he is American born. :) His mom is first generation American. Grew up in Manhattan. Not sure about his father, but guessing first generation as well. :)Ah okay :) I was just trying to picture how an Irish American accent would sound. lol.


Jef is an acronym and not a misspelling by the way. ;) First letter of each name, first, middle & last.LOL. I was just thinking you spelled it differently to we do in the UK. So many words and names are different :)

[kendrafitz]

Lol, no brogue here. Although I love hearing it when we meet someone who has one. Jef's accent is just plain central NJ. Mine was what you hear if you watch the Sopranos. I grew up in North Jersey about 20 min from Manhattan. But since I moved here 15 years ago it has toned down considerably. It usually only comes out when I'm angry or say words like "coffee" or "dog".

Very true, but his name is just different. I laugh when someone calls him James or worse Jim. I can always tell if a caller knows him or is a telemarketer. ;)

[Honesty]

Lol, no brogue here. Although I love hearing it when we meet someone who has one.I love the irish brogue, especially Southern Ireland :)


Very true, but his name is just different. I laugh when someone calls him James or worse Jim. I can always tell if a caller knows him or is a telemarketer. ;):th_LOL:

[plax]

I'm sorry. I certainly didn't mean that all Irish people would not like parrots. I just meant that his hands off tendency that is a familial trait which is Irish contributes. But of course that is not the rule. The no PDA thing is a joke with our Irish friends. However not everything translates well in writing or with groups. I apologize if I offended anyone. Since my last name is Fitz I hope you know there was no harm meant. :(I'm sure you didn't offend anyone, Kendra. Certainly not me. You shouldn't worry so much :)

[Mare]

I'm Irish/Native American Indian PLUS! My hubs who is mostly German, loves the fact that his kids have this mixed blood. I love the Irish! A very strong people!

[Turquoise]

Another mix breed here as well with a little Irish and Scots blended with a few other ethnic cultures. I am a true "Mutt"! Oh wait, nowadays they are called "Designer Dogs" and command a ridiculous high price, sometimes more than their pedigree parentage does! So I am 'Special & valuable'. LOL

Kendra you did not offend me in any way. I don't really know what full blood Irish folks are like. Not sure if I've ever met one in person.

You do look like you and your family had a super wonderful time. Glad Rosie behaved and both your Mom & MIL had a nice time watching 'The Diva'. :)

[kendrafitz]

Thanks! I actually forgot to mention how impressed with my mom I was. She took not one, but two showers with Rosie. Now that is brave and a good grandparent in my opinion!

[Honesty]

Wow, that was indeed very brave of your Mum :)