Kitties!

Are y'all amazed that I'm writing again within a month of my last post? I am sitting at my desk watching a cat video and trying to get motivated to work on my dissertation. I have to proofread and format it, and then it will be ready to submit to my chair. I should be super motivated, but I'm not. I've just been too distracted with other things (kittens), and work wore me out this week. All I can say is that I am thankful for weekends!

In my last post, I included a picture of Charleigh, the kitten I was planning to bring home. A few days after I posted that picture, we went to meet the kittens, and April and I both fell in love with all the females. She was flip-flopping between the other two, whose names were Brie and Dumpling. She finally decided that she would just take them both, even though she was hesitant about caring for four cats, so I talked to Dan and he acquiesced and said I could bring two home (he's such a softie, lol). A few days later, Lexie, the lady from work, who lives in a strickly pet-free apartment, got found out, so April offered to take mama cat and kittens until they were weaned. Lexie quickly rehomed the boys even though they were a bit too young to be without mama, and April and I picked up mama and the three females on that Saturday evening. April kept her for about a week and half, and when mama cat stopped paying a lot of attention to the babies because she went into heat again, we took her back to Lexie so she can find her a new home.

Anyway, as we watched the kittens interact, we noticed that Dumpling and Brie were pretty much inseparable, and Eclair liked to be off by herself. I really had my heart set on Eclair, though, so April went back and forth trying to decide whether she wanted to keep Brie or Dumpling. She finally decided on Brie, but I realized that Eclair would probably do better without her sisters than either Dumpling or Brie, so last night April and I decided that I will take those two and she will keep Eclair. Here is a picture of my babies.

Dumpling and Eclair are very similar in that they are both tabbies, but Eclair is a little darker and has more or a tortie look to her while Dumpling is more striped. I haven't completely settled on names yet, but I am thinking Eloise (Ellie) for the tabby and Roxanne (Roxy) for the calico. I was going to name Dumpling Charleigh, but it just isn't sticking because Eclair is Charleigh. I had started calling her Ellie, so I think she is going to have to keep that name, and Brie does not look like a Charleigh (not that I really know what a Charleigh looks like). It is possible that I will bring them home today. I am pretty much ready for them, so I will let April decide when she thinks Charleigh (new name TBD) is ready to let her sisters go.

Today is the three year anniversary of moving into this house. A lot has happened in the last three years; hurricanes, remodels, losing pets, etc., but in spite of some sad months, I am still very happy to be here. Today Dan and Ben are going to the beach to talk. I ask for your prayers for Ben. He has gained a lot of weight and Dan wants to try to make him understand that his life is going to be very difficult if he does not get his diet under control. He has asthma and I worry because he is short of breath pretty frequently. As an asthmatic myself, I understand how carrying extra weight can make things worse, and that is part of the reason that I was determined to get rid of the 30 extra pounds I was carrying around. While they are out, I am going to April's house to help her clean, and I may be bringing kittens home with me. :) In the meantime, I am off to read a couple pages of my dissertation. I am contemplating taking a few days off work next week to try to finish (or nearly finish) the dissertation up.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!