These kitties are so much fun

The first couple of days with the kittens Jamie behaved very badly...a bit like a (need I say it?) B R A T (Now we are the only ones to be able to call her that. I don't believe in calling her that to her face. She is not a brat, she just acts tht way sometimes). She was clearly a bit upset at the change in dynamics in our household. When we realized that, we changed our behavior. When I got home at night I would ignore the kittens (which was hard) and focus on Jamie. Her behavior has improved and she also seems more amused by them lately. Its hard not to be - they are constantly wrestling under foot, tumbling, skidding and mewing away. We of course are in love with all 3 and they won't be up for adoption by anyone else. We have always been a three cat family, so we will continue in that vein. The dilute calico - Spicy is a hoot, she can growl and mew so fiercely when they are play fighting, but she also purrs the loudest and will come often for cuddles. Truman - the siamese, is also very affectionate and seems to tolerate Jamie the best. Minnie is a bit more aloof which is typical of a calico, but she has her affectionate moments as well. She is alot quieter than the others but seems a bit more laid back. We shall see...

Boy! Am I hungry!

Since I really haven't contributed to the family blog as of yet I decided it was time to do so for a couple of reasons. As my girth has now reached the "beached whale" phase of by being now is the time to contemplate the old diet and exercise regime. Now that we have Jamie, I want to make sure I'm around to see her thrive and grow into adulthood along with my beautiful wife. There simply are not words one could utter to express the sheer joy my wife and I have felt ever since we have been fortunate enough to have Jamie come into our lives. Now though, it's time to get the health issues in line and go for the "fighting weight" I need to get down to in order to start feeling better and give me a chance to keep up with our daughter.

Though I wasn't really into the prospect of taking on three new additions to the household in the form of three kittens I have to how wonderful it has been to have them around. I just wasn't sure I was ready to handle three of them Pancho's loss still so fresh in our minds. I still can't believe we lost our other three cats so quickly. It's like I turned around and they were just "gone." The emotional price is always greater than you realize when it does eventually happen.

Jamie's reaction to them have been interesting to say the least. She seems to like them well enough but her behavior had taken on a noticable change since we've gotten them. There is no doubt in her mind there is a competition for attention now with our three new additions. Martha and I have even, as late as last night, taken to not discussing the kittens when we need to focus on here. I think later she'll be o.k. and fall in love with them as we already have.

Now, back to the fact I'm sitting here at school where class just ended and I'm so hungry. Martha and I have planned to take out as much carbs in my diet as possible. Bread, pasta, rice, or anything related to spuds is now out. Since Monday morning I have been pretty good about holding to it. How's that for bragging about 24 hrs. of will power. One thing though, last night in a fit of determination checked to see how much carbs are in raisons and my jaw dropped when I looked closer: 33grams per serving. Aaarrrrgggghhhh. No more raisons in salads for me. The last time Martha and I struck out on this journey towards slimsville we did pretty well. This time though, I hope to get within the neighborhool of my target weight: 215 to 220 lbs. In the next day or two I'll do a weigh in to start tracking my progress. Jeez, actually weighing myself to see my true weight is not something I'm looking forward to. I imagine I'll put it off as long as possible to keep the denial train in full throttle but I know it has to be done for a point of reference goal wise..

Hopefully blogging about it will give me the incentive and a good way to track my progress. Hmmmm...should I do a before and after photo? The answer is yes, but I won't post it until I've dropped at least 20 lbs.

kittens are us

Minnie, Truman and Spicy (names so far, not etched in stone!)

Jamie holding the boy kitten (Truman?) on the way home from the shelter. Isn't she a serious kitty mommy?

Here they are and have they ever settled in to our home! We are fostering these three and I had told Mike we didn't necessarily have to keep all of them but I think they have all found their way into our heart. And as there are no birth parents to get them back I think we are pretty much assured that they will be here forever. I didn't realized how big Truman was until I downloaded these pictures, but the dominent one seems to be the 'Dilute Calico' who we have nicknamed Spice or Spicy as she bulls her way t whatever food or comfie spot there is in sight. They are very sociallized, the litter had been found by someone how nursed them for a couple weeks, and then relinguished these three to the shelter. So they have been handled and socialized which is extremely important for kittens btn 5 and 8 weeks. If they don't get that human interaction they will often be skittish and not very affectionate with humans their entire life.

The city animal shelter is a wonderful place to adopt. Yes they do have to euthanize many animals, but as an enticement to folks to adopt, they offer lots of benefits with getting a shelter pet. For only $60 per head they give them all their beginning shots, spay or neuter them and microchip them. It's much more of a bargain than getting a 'free' kitten.

I miss having a kitty

Here are 3 kittens that were found as strays by our towns animal control. I just fell in love with them especially the calico in the back. They were in the found pages and have to stay there until they see if someone lost them. I really doubt someone 'lost' a litter of kittens so I thought I would check into them as Mike said it was time we got a kitty or two. It just so happens that an ex-coworker emailed everyone at the office yesterday and said she just got a new job as an Animal Care and Control worker - good job in PR or something...Anyway I emailed her yesterday about them and when I hadn't heard back I called this morning. The guy on the phone just wanted to get me off..." they are in foster care and aren't available for adoption" When I pressed him he said all I could do is call back or check the internet every day to see when they come up for adoption...15 minutes later my friend emailed me and asked if I would be interested in fostering...Later she emailed me an application, so I just signed up to be a foster mommy again! I am not sure I will get these kitties, but will probably get a couple or a few. Mike really doesn't want 3, but my one friend said she may take one of the kittens, maybe the one in the front, which is cool cuz I really like the calico and the siamese.

I miss Poncho, but I really need to have a kitty in my life. I have been wandering over to the neighbor lady's driveway, as she has 15 cats to try to get one of them to let me pet her...but they are pretty wild so I can't get my kitty fix. This is really been the first time since '93 I haven't had a kitty and then it was only a few months after my first kitty Iggy died. So really it has been since '85 since I didn't have a kitty in my life and home. I miss having a kitty.

Happy Mothers Day! << @ @ @>>

Mike got Jamie up and was changing her this morning, when I came in Jamie said 'Ha..y mdders AY!' Hee hee so sweet of Mike to prompt her with that greeting!
Then after breakfast (Mike cooked us French Toast - yum!) we spent a good part of the morning in the pool and had a great time despite alot of wind and an approaching storm.

Jamie wanted her 'Waddy' earlier when Daddy was cleaning up after breakfast and I was striping the beds and putting her clothes away. As we had the big bed stripped her Waddy was up on the tall dresser too high for her to reach. Waddy usually spends the day on our bed as Jamie doesn't get to bring Waddy downstairs. Waddy is excusively for napping and bedtime. It has become quite the cue to her to bring on sleepiness, fingers go in the mouth and she begins rubbing her eyes furiously once she 'assumes the position'.



Anyway she asked me more than once for Waddy while I was running around upstairs and I kept telling her 'not now sweetie', or 'it's not naptime yet' So next thing I know she went downstairs and got her little chair and dragged it up the stairs, took it to the high dresser where Waddy was and got him down! She's a smart one, maybe she will be an engineer! Uncle Bruce thinks so.

I want to get some sort of widget on the side that would let our friends know that we are in the pool and they are welcome to come by and join us. Any ideas? I thought I could post something during the week like: Tentative pool schedule for the upcoming weekend is 12:30 - 2:30 Saturday and 11-1pm on Sunday, come back and check the blog to see if we are in the pool! Then have the widget indicate that we are 'In the swim'. I don't want to use the Live Video function though I did think about it, as it is a bit of a pain to set up. I love to have people over to swim in the pool but if it is a formal affair it always involves a meal and I can't stay in the pool with the guests very much of the time - I have to be setting up the meal or cleaning up. So I was thinking I really like to just have people over to swim...this would allow me to enjoy the pool with my friends, then when I do have a Pool Party where a meal is involved it would be easier to tear myself away from the action.

___________________________________________________________


I was looking at my stat counter at the bottom, it gives me lots of info on where people are coming from who read my blog. I had some wierd 'come froms'

One of them is a search for 'Michigan lawn tractors on craigslist
another is a search for a bounce house on craigslist, ( I guess I do mention Craigslist now and then) but the oddest by far is a search for 'the pony went poop on the couch' Strange indeed. I did the search and we were 8 pages in and of course it was fragments of what I have posted in the past all strung together:

Jamie & Us Now and Forever He was in the kitchen when I cooked, on the couch or in my lap when I was on the .... And she Picked the pony ride. She cried a bit when we went to leave, ...

I don't see poop mentioned in this fragment, but know it has been mentioned on more than one occasion on this blog. :-)

__________________________________________________

A fellow blogger (Click on Leap of Faith on the right) got these shoes for Mothers Day today:


After going to the site and reading reviews I just had to have them! They are Crocs with a kick! So much cuter than the Caymens and one of the reviews I read said they are more comfortable than Birks!! They were $30, they didn't have the Khaki colored so I got black as I have been holding off buying the Black birks I want for the last 5 years! So I told Mike this was like saving $100~! How do you like my rationale?

Jamie & Friends - Ander and more