Whiskers on Kittens...

I am so far behind on this blog!!! The last post I had was three weeks ago, and that was the day after we brought Coala home. She is such a doll, but more on her later! On Tuesday, May 1, Kitty had five kittens, two male and three female!

   

Kitty wanted in the house and wouldn't leave me alone around 2PM. I put her in her box she likes and whenever she moved around I could see wet spots on the towels. Her water had broke and I called my mom. My mom said it could takes hours for Kitty to deliver since this was her first litter. I left Kitty in the basement where she was purring contently and went outside to do some yard work. When I went down to the basement a couple of hours later to check on her, I heard little mews coming from somewhere. I started calling Kitty who had a very low, guttural growl. She came up behind me and started rubbing against my legs. She was a mess! She was soaked and looked completely disheveled. I followed the sounds of the mews and found three kittens back behind our hot water tank. Kitty wouldn't go to them, so all I could do was put her in her box and hope she would know to move them with her. I went back upstairs and my heart was pounding thinking Kitty was going to abandon the kittens. I went back down and Kitty was in her box without the kittens. I grabbed a towel and picked up the kittens and moved them into the box with Kitty. I pet Kitty and she purred then growled once and the next thing I knew, a little purplish red sac appeared. She licked the sac profusely and a baby black kitten fell out. I was in awe. Of course I was texting all of my friends that we now had four kittens! I sat with Kitty while she cleaned up the newest kitten and the others started nursing. Within fifteen minutes another sac appeared and Kitty began cleaning the last kitten off. Five kittens!!! Kitty cleaned all the kittens up and let them all begin nursing. 

After about a week I began touching the kittens. Kitty let me hold them without hesitation and I decided to name them after spices! 

Jasmine is by far the smallest. All of the other kittens are crawling around and she doesn't yet. She also doesn't have a solid meow, it's more of a mew. All of the kittens have homes, except for the gray male Pepper. If anyone wants a kitten, let me know! There is no way we can keep him with Ryan's allergies. Kitty is bad enough!!

Jasmine- female (the runt)

Pepper and Paprika, male and female

Wasabi- Male

Basil- Female

As if things weren't crazy enough, a week ago my dad called and asked if I wanted a kitten. I thought he was surely joking, but he showed up holding a little male about 1 1/2 weeks older than Kitty's kittens. My parents were walking up to our house and heard something screaming in the field. My mom walked through the briars and about 10 feet off the road was a little kitten crying in a puddle of water. We decided to see if Kitty would accept him and she licked him off and laid down around him so he could nurse. So now we have six kittens!! I couldn't think of a name for him but when I saw him climbing the concrete wall in the basement trying to get out of the area we made for the kittens, it was clear. I told Ryan we should call him Spiderman and we named him Spidey.

Spidey- Male

I am obsessed with Spidey. He is the sweetest kitten! I saw him using the litter box and he just bobbles around. He wants to be held a lot and he is eating wet kitten food. I think Spidey is extremely lucky to be here with us. He definitely wouldn't have survived out in the field by himself. My best friend is planning on giving Spidey a forever home :o)

So that's the condensed story of the kittens! They opened their eyes around 10 days old and today is their three week birthday. They are amazing. Every day they are getting stronger and move active and looking more like kittens and less like aliens! I am so excited for them to get bigger and go to their new families. It will be a bit sad seeing them go, but a lot less crazy around here. Right now they are all being breastfed, but starting next week I will be introducing wet kitten food to them. Kitty is getting spayed so her milk will dry up and they will need to be weaned. It will be a full time job trying to get them all to eat and keeping Kitty away so they learn.  

As for my excuse for not updating recently...they say a picture is worth a thousand words...

How can I get work done with this?!

 

Rainy days & Mondays always get me down...

Happy Monday! What's the weather like where you are today? Here in SW PA it's raining and spitting snow. I can hardly believe it. Last month on this day it was 83 degrees and sunny. Mother Nature sure has some crazy hormonal swings!

Every week on Monday I will be beginning to post my previous week's daily food journal and exercise. You may not find this that interesting, especially because it had already happened, but to me publishing something online will hold me even more accountable for how I'm fueling my body. So I said earlier I eventually would like to weigh 115, preferably by our party in July. My first goal is going to be 122 lbs. I really enjoy reaching mini goals, and I find it way easier than pushing for losing 12 pounds right away. 

I read my friend's blog this morning (the one who encouraged me to join her 12 week challenge) and she mentioned in her recent entry that reading my blog has made her stop and think about her breaking point. For her, it was people at her wedding asking her husband how he lost weight and here, she had gained weight from the stress of planning a wedding and a sedative job. So here's a shout-out to you, Nicole. I know in the beginning it seems like it will be a long and hard climb, but as soon as those results start happening and you see them, you will want to power through. You know I'm here to support you as well!

Today also would have been my pap's 85th birthday. I can't believe it has been 8 years since he passed away. It is really strange sometimes when I find him sneaking across my mind. Ryan and I live in my grandparents' old house and we are completely remodeling it. When we first moved in a few freaky things happened (light switches turning on, doors open when we knew we had shut them) and we I was convinced my pap was still here. (My grandma is still living with my cousin and her family about an hour away.) Then I realized if he was here, why would I be afraid? He was someone I loved so much while he was living and surely he would be thrilled with the updates we are doing here. It's crazy, but if we were celebrating his 85th birthday, I would be right here in this house today anyways! It is days like this that give me reassurance that Ryan and I have made the right decision to choose to be here in this home.

I'm starting to really get anxious waiting for Kitty to have these kittens! She was at the vet 4 weeks ago on Wednesday and he said she was about halfway through her pregnancy. The average cat is pregnant for 63 days. Fingers crossed it will happen soon! 

If you have decided to make today the Monday you start changing your life, good for you! Any day is a good day to start. My anniversary is the 19th of every month and I look forward to that day to take some time and reflect from where I began and map out where I see my immediate future going. Hope you all have a great start to the week! 

Welcome!

Easter 2012

Hey everyone! I just started this blog! If you’ve just stumbled upon it, let me tell you a bit about me and why I am beginning to blog.

My name is Rebecca and I’m 26 years old. Happily married since November 2009 to my college sweetheart and we have two dogs Nittany and Luna. They are my babies! And we also currently have a pregnant cat, Kitty, who is ready to pop any day. Yay kittens!

I think I’m way behind on the blogging train! But, my computer skills aren’t exceptional and I think this will be a great learning tool for me. I really want to blog my everyday cooking and baking experiences, plus my new, healthier lifestyle.

I didn’t look quite anything at all like this 7 months ago! My husband Ryan and I went to a football game and I saw a picture of myself the next day. Needless to say, it wasn’t very flattering. I knew I had gained some weight, but I had no idea who the person standing next to Ryan even was. More than that, I didn’t like her. Physically and mentally.

I decided to take charge of my life and get healthy. At age 25 I had a BMI of 31.9. (That’s fat-ass obesity for those of you not familiar with the BMI calculations. A healthy range is between 18.5-24.9) I was wearing a size 14 and American Eagle doesn’t carry anything larger in their stores. I had a double chin, a flabby stomach and a very unhealthy diet and attitude.

By dieting and exercising, I have lost 53 pounds in the past 7 months. I ate everything I wanted in moderation and discovered I enjoy working out. I also have greatly improved my cooking and baking skills and have received many compliments.

This blog is a journey of where I’ve been and also where I hope to be. I will be posting many recipes of dinners I make, and of the baking I do, and also following my daily caloric intake and exercise regimen because I still would like to lose 15 pounds. I will also include quotes, photos, daily life, and things that keep me motivated!

Hope you stick around and enjoy. If I can inspire just one person to take charge of their life and make the decision to become healthy and happy, it will be well worth my time.