Holiday Season

I was planning on writing my resolutions and putting up some holiday photos around the New Year, but unfortunately I caught the stomach bug that has been going around.  I only was seriously nauseous for about 24 hours, but my stomach didn't feel right again for a week!  And then the next week I spent catching up on sleep.  Maybe I'm caught up now,  or maybe when you're pregnant/have a small child you never catch up; at any rate, I feel better.

Michelley helping test out the white lights that never went up!

Kong hanging out by the Christmas tree

 A family photo; there was a way better one but it was blurry!  Do you know how hard it is to get a picture with three cats!

 In case you were wondering, I'm still getting bigger.  Here I am at about 24 weeks.

I have, as have many others, been doing some New Year resolving lately.  I actually makes resolutions all the time; I try my best to keep them, but I usually don't.  They are more like goals I guess.  Someday I'll do it all!

Until then, here are my New Year's Goals:

General:

        1.  Have a baby!

Household:

        2.  Do everyday chores everyday- that way they don't become large cleaning jobs.

        3.  Stick to a better schedule for the large cleaning jobs.

Hobbies:

        4.  Actually finish projects.  I think I finished about half last year.  The rest are waiting to be completed, but then I got pregnant and can't fit any of them.  Oops.

        5.  Stop accruing endless amounts of fabric.  

        6.  Knit something.

        7.  Take more photographs.  The past couple of years I have hardly taken any, aside from trips.

Athletics/Fitness:

        8. Workout more consistently during pregnancy.  At least 5 days a week.

        9.  Stick to planned workout routine after pregnancy and run a race this summer.  6 days a week, cardio + lifting should add up to 60 minutes- basically getting back to pre-pregnancy routine.

        10. Fit into my normal work clothes when I go back to school in the fall.  Only having a few (lackluster) outfits to choose from is frustrating when you have nice clothes in the closet.

Garden:

        11. Plan my vegetables better- I had too much of some and not enough of others last year.

        12. Can more tomatoes!  Bread and butter pickles were a big hit too.

        13. Fill in more permanent landscaping in the flower gardens- especially trees and bushes.  We're looking at a new picket fence, some hydrangeas and rhododendrons and a magnolia tree.

13 goals from 2013.  That seems like enough!  None of them are hard or expensive, so we'll see how I do.

Summertime and the livin's easy!

 Summer's in full swing and we are doing our best to enjoy ourselves.  With all the hot weather, the number one priority has been staying cool!

The livin's always easy for these guys!

Janda rowed in the Seine boat races in Fiesta.  

Sadly his team was eliminated in the first round.  

A July 4th happy sandwich.

Staying cool in the Ipswich Bay on July 4th.

A few hours out on the water is just what we needed with the hot weather.

 Just enjoying the day.

 

Parked at Flat Rocks to go for a swim.

Heading home as the clouds start to move in.  We actually didn't get hit by all those storms that swept through last night. 

Enjoying the fruits (and vegetables) of my labor

Kohlribi Kohlrabi, Strike Peas, Strike Spinach and Romaine Lettuce

I've been eating peas and snow peas for a week or two now, but finally there was enough in the garden to pick and actually bring inside.  My first crop of lettuce and spinach didn't do so well and I have no idea why.  The second crop is growing nicely though, so pretty soon we'll have all the greens we can eat.  I also plucked the first kohlrabi and plan to try it out today.  

The tomato plants that I planted back in March are now sprouting buds.  Pretty soon there will be flowers and then in a while I'll actually get some tomatoes!  Can't wait.

 

 My big boy smushed himself into Michelley's bowl the other day and I had to snap a pic.  Doesn't he have the sweetest face?

Our new housemate

Since Christmas vacation we have had a new housemate living with us.

Jack, one of Girly-Girl's kittens

He gets along reasonably well with Kong and Michelley, but he really worships Janda. He spends most of his time lounging at Janda's feet, or getting a ride on his back!

Getting a lift

Helping with dinner

And in case you were worried, Emma is still as cute as ever.

Wearing Auntie's boots

Wearing Auntie's hat and gloves

Michelley and the mouse

Michelley, aka the Swiss Miss, is not fat and here is the main reason why: exercise.

My Fat Cat

It has come to my attention that little mister Kongy is starting to put on the chub-chub! Janda and I need a bigger house for him and his sister to run around in.

The 4th Kitten!

This afternoon we found the 4th kitten! The woman next door heard something and I coaxed the next one out by meowing- apparently my cat impression is pretty good. Unlike the other 3, this one isn't completely black, she's black and brown striped. After being without food for 48 hours and meeting people for the first time, she was in pretty good spirits.

The new kitten chasing my dad less than 2 hours after being rescued.



Girly-Girl washing the newest returnee.



The 4th kitten playing.



Me trying to hold all 4 kittens. They are a little squirmy.



The whole family.

3 Kittens

Girly-Girl and her 3 kittens are safe at my parents' house now. We originally thought that there were just 2, but luckily Janda heard the third one crying and brought it over to my parents' where it was joyfully brought back into the fold with a thorough cleaning and some food. Now all 3 kittens are running, jumping, eating and sleeping in my parents' kitchen and Girly-Girl is watching over them like a good mummy.

Three kitties playing

Girly-Girl's Kittens!

We finally spotted Girly-Girl's kittens! We're waiting to see how many kittens she has (we've seen either 2 or 3) and then we're going to bring them all to my parents' house so that I can take care of them there.

Girly-Girl eating under the porch with her kittens in the background.

Girly-Girl's kittens playing under the porch.

One little guy or girl.

Girly-Girl

On Wednesday morning I noticed a little cat on our back porch looking in our back door. Since I am a total cat-person and it's in my genetics (on my dad's side) to feed every cat that comes to my door, I brought this kitty a bowl of food. Now as you may or may not know, I have an 18 pound miniature horse that eats like a fiend. This tiny 5 pound cat easily out-ate my monster cat. She was so tiny and thin that I figured she must be a stray. She was super friendly though, so I wasn't sure. She came back to eat several times that day.

On Thursday morning she was back. We continued to feed her and keep her company. We were worried that she was a lost cat, so Janda checked the ads in the paper and he found one that might fit her. It was for a black and white cat who might be pregnant and who might be found in Gloucester or Rockport. We live pretty close to Rockport, but not that close, so we weren't too hopeful, but Janda left a message anyway. Before we went to the parade last night we fed her again and I christened her Girly-Girl.

This morning she was back. She is just a total sweetheart of a cat and she would eat an army's worth of food and then hang around with me or Janda for a while. Late this morning Janda got a phone call from the people who had placed the ad, Feline Rescue of Cape Ann. Apparently a very pregnant cat had escaped from its foster home on our very street! There was only one problem, this cat was now very thin. So we spent a couple of hours hunting for the kittens. We knew that Girly-Girl had found a dry place to hang out because after every rain storm she would saunter over to our porch completely dry, so that was a good hint. Janda found a broken window that lead into a teeny-tiny crawl space at our neighbor's house and Girly-Girl was very protective of that area, so we are almost sure that her kittens are somewhere in that crawl space, but we can't verify it because it is so small. Girly-Girl might also have an infection of some sort, so now we are feeding her, giving her medicine and hopefully creating some sort of shelter on our back porch that will make her want to bring the kittens to it when they are a little older.

The situation isn't exactly under control, but at least we know what's going on with Girly-Girl. We still can't be sure about her health or the health of any kittens, so please send Girly-Girl and her kittens your best wishes!