As I constantly seek ways to make my life easier, I think I want a parrot for my birthday.  I am not anti-bird, after all—I love all animals.  The parrot would be safe--he’d be either encaged or big and mean enough that at least three of the four cats would not bother him. (And it’s almost spring so we never see the fourth cat anyway.)  Sure, birds can be a little loud and messy—but, hey, I have 3 kids, 4 cats, an indoor foxhound, and a husband—could it be any worse? …