a new priority...

For the past month, yes it was 4 weeks to this day, my life has been pretty much centered around...

Kittens!

While horseback riding, DH found these kittens which had been dumped right off our road.

We live off a one way road, so the side is often used so oncoming cars can pass thru...so, we consider it real lucky that these kittens were not smushed.  Also, we have packs of dogs, hawks, coyotes...they would not have made it.  Dh admits, he debated letting me know...but he did and I went back with a box and picked them up.  He knew, that I would LOVE nuturing them...but also knows that letting go will be real hard for me.   There were 6, but my neighbor took 2...so that leaves me 4.  They were @ 2 to 3 weeks old when dh found them..so it did start out with bottle feedings.   And the first weekend was hard!  This is my first time bottle feeding kittens!   BUT we got through it, and we had flea baths that took over 4 hours on the 2nd day...thank God for dd...crazy. 

Up till last week I've had a kitten sitter while at work.  She has been invaluable...as she has done this before and can give me tips on the process.  They are now eating dry food, drinking some water...use their boxes and I am down to 2 feedings (no bottles) per day.  ALMOST at a 12 hour schedule, so they can stay home while I go to work...siiiiiiiiigh. 

4 weeks later and they are the most adorable kitties ever.  No, I'm not biased.   They are so playful, have their own fun personalities...and yes, I love them all.  I do have them signed up with a rescue, and in a couple more weeks they will be fixed and ready for adoption.   

I posted 4 pics cuz I wanted ya'll to see how HARD it is to get a group shot of these babies...omg...all those cartoons about people trying to herd kittens...yup.  

They have like 3 to 4 names each, yup, We started out with 6 kittens...so we gave them Stark kids names from Game of Thrones.   Then down to 4...then found out we had a couple of genders wrong...so, we chose a couple more Game of Thrones names.  BUT d-son in law, thinks the GOT names are stupid, so he gave them "Oklahoma" style cat names, names I call their 'Country Bumpkin' names...then dd decided we should do Hunger Game names...and I've given them names that I think fit their personalities...oh, and dgd has also chimed in...siiiigh....

This is our only girl...her original GOT name was Bran..but oops, she's a girl, so we changed it to Ygritte (after the wildling girl, cuz let's face it, this little girl is not one for tea and crumpets).  She is a very active little girl, but always the first to approach me when I enter the room for loves.  Her Country Bumpkin (CB) name is Scampy, Her Hunger Games (HG) name is Katniss...My name for her is Callie and dgd has chosen Lacey.

(of course I call her Callie)

This is our sealpoint boy, he is a little love...His original GOT name was Sansa, cuz he was so gentle during the bottle feedings.  but oops, he's a boy, so it got changed to Rheagar (the silver Targaryan with violet eyes)...CB name is Waffles, HG is Peeta, but I am calling him Oliver...and dgd calls him Tom-Tom

This is our big boy...He was the least affectionate, but I have made a point of giving him loves and now he does approach me and gives me 'motor' purrs.  He is a very active boy (even the kitten sitter called him 'the wild one')...GOT name is King Robb...when we first got them, he would pace the container we had them in...and 'make speeches'...very vocal.   CB name is Boo-Kitty, HG is Finnick...My name is Arnold (yes after Schwarzennegar...cuz when one of his brothers was misbehaving ...being possessive over a toy...Arnold leapt in and took care of business)  

This is my little cuddle bug, from the beginning when bottle feeding he would make eye contact and melt in my arms.  His GOT name is Rickon, CB is Bandana, HG is Haymitch...but mine is Arthur.  Because, I have a Winston and a Percy and IF I got to keep him, I think Arthur would fit right in.

BUT as of now, there is NO sign that DH is going to let me keep any of them.  To be honest, I love them all, and if he said okay to me keeping one, I would keep the one that does not get adopted.  

So, this has been my days for the past month.  I LOVE every moment of it, but it is driving dh a li'l crazy, he cannot wait till it is done and they have homes.  

I also got to go to a Crop Retreat on Mother's Day weekend. You should have seen the mad scramble to get kitten care...but with the help of a scrapbooking friend and her church, it happened.  But the retreat is for another post, another day.