No longer a baby...

I knew the time would come. The day that bottles no longer needed to be warmed up and fed. The end of schedules and bottom rubbing. I knew the time was close when he started using the litter box and eating dry kibble.

But it doesn't make it easier.

I think weaning from the bottle was hardest on me, to be honest. Now, don't get me wrong, Jasper still thinks he should have one every night before bed, and as tempted as I am, I must resist. So last week, on a Thursday, he suckled for the last time.

He is growing up so fast, and this little room barely holds him and his high strung energy anymore. He gets to meet the doctor this week, and hopefully all will check out and he can introduce himself to Belle soon. That will be so exciting, I am sure she is just thrilled. So thrilled, that I am willing to bet he has about 10 seconds before she bats him across the room. We shall soon see. She is old, and I doubt she will be patient. Regardless I am sure that he will love having full reign of the house to run in, and believe you me.... I am ready for a full nights sleep!!!

One thing I have noticed the most about Jasper in the last week or so is his eyes. He is so expressive. When he is in monster mode, he will arch his back and bow up to you, looking up through his eyes and you better watch out. He loves his squirrel. He chooses it above all other toys. He will carry it around like a security blanket, or run around in circles with it in his mouth. When he finally crashes, Mr Squirrel is usually right there next to him as he sunbathes! What a personality. It took me a week to get these shots. He knows what a camera is now, and when he sees it out, all he wants is to attack it.

He is still my baby boy though, he cuddles so sweetly and purrs like a race car. Yeah, he has his moments.... when the monster is tired, he is a lamb, always sweetest when he's asleep ;) Why do they have to grow up so fast. I wish they stayed so cute forever!!!

Halloween 08

For the first time in 20 some odd years, I celebrated Halloween. Well, I take that back. I didn't celebrate. Come to think of it, I didn't really participate either. But when you have a 7 year old, sometimes it is necessary to bite your tongue and deal. SO we did.

This was our first Halloween with Hunter in several years so we wanted to make it special. We ended up trick-or-treating in DeFuniak around the downtown area and lake yard. I think all of the kids in the north half of the county were there. We walked all the way around Historic Circle Lake, stopping everywhere that was giving handouts. The weather was beautiful, and it made for a nice evening.

All in all, Hunter got lots of candy and had a great time.

You will be missed =(

The McDonald's french fry...

Truly a food sent from the heavens. When fresh, possibly one of the best food groups E.V.E.R.! Well, maybe not the best, but close, especially when considering fast food!!! Hot, crispy and salty, enough to settle any craving, putting a smile on my face to last the day.

I must bid you adieu, my favorite snack. I may come for a visit once in a while. Just remember, this hurts me way more than it hurts you!

Oops, he did it again... and again!!!

You know... I knew that the bad feeling I had when Drew was plowing up my driveway was there for a reason. Yesterday, we left to go to town to run some errands. We had gotten about 2 1/2 inches of rain, and the weather was still pretty dreary. But, we took a chance. The last time it rained, our driveway was a mud hole, sucking the life out of any vehicle taken on it for several days. But Drew fixed it.

Or did he???

Back to the story. The weather was nasty, but we had some driving to do, so we took a chance on the driveway and took my little Escape. Surprisingly, it went the whole way out then back in without getting stuck!!! It was a bit slippery, but no tow rope was needed, so it was a success none the less!

Drew brought home his work truck the night before last, knowing that he had to make a trip to Andalusia for some tractor parts. After we returned from our errands, we loaded up in that big, ugly Dodge to head out. Halfway down the drive... you guessed it!

S.T.U.C.K.!

Right away, this pisses me off, which in turn pisses Drew off, throwing him into one of his award winning temper tantrums (one of these days I will video tape one, when he doesn't know what I am doing... such entertainment, but also the point where I shut up!!!), getting the truck stuck even deeper in the mud. He sets off for his 1/2 mile walk down the drive, back to the house, through the original mud hole (creek) which is REALLY deep right now, to get his truck. He comes spinning back, attaches the tow rope, and makes me pull him out. So now, we have 2 trucks in the middle of the drive... no... they aren't both stuck. We park the red Ford, and both get back into the work Dodge, and head off again. It wasn't 25 yards later... you guessed it... stuck AGAIN!!! Not once, but TWICE!!!! Hahaha!

By now, Drew is so mad I worry that his head might explode right off the top of his shoulders, and I am trying so hard not to laugh my ass off, because I know that if he sees how entertained that I am, I will end up dead in a ditch somewhere (only kidding!). Again, I am left in the truck while Drew goes to get the other one. Luckily, he doesn't have as far to walk this time, nor does he have to venture through the creek. Same deal, Drew comes back and I pull him out. By now, the driveway looks like a redneck mud slingin' hole. And now, the new rule is, if it is raining and slick, the work truck is no longer allowed on the drive. It is the only vehicle that gets stuck. Probably because it is a Dodge!!!!

We went to Andalusia, dropped the work truck off at the farm and came home. Nope, the other truck didn't get stuck, and we even tested it again last night when we went into town. Now Drew gets to fix the driveway again. I am so sure that he is looking forward to that task, but maybe the 3rd time is the charm.

Because I can't keep it a secret forever...

Drew and I have been trying to get pregnant for a year now. We have succeeded several times, but unfortunately my body has failed each time resulting in miscarriages. Just recently, my obstetrician sent me to a perinatologist, who ran some lab work.

The diagnosis? Insulin Resistant Diabetes due to underlying Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Bad... yeah. Except the insulin resistance is completely reversible. I have more blood work in a couple of weeks, and then I will start a medication called Metformin. If I don't do something about this, I run a very high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

What does this mean? TOTAL LIFESTYLE CHANGE!!! I will have to completely change the way I eat. Too many carbs mixed with Metformin can make me very sick. I need to lose some weight. I won't go into how many pounds that is... we have set a reasonable goal. I gained so much weight in the last 18 months, and now it has to come off. I hate looking in the mirror, and I am sure Drew is embarrassed by me, so by losing weight, everyone wins! I need to exercise more. The walking and playing with the ponies is no longer going to cut it. Now I have to get serious. Some friends of mine have recommended Jillian Michaels '30 Day Shred' to get me started. 30 minutes a day guaranteed to make me cry. I can't wait (uh huh).

So now you know. If you see me with potatoes or bread in my hands, call me on it!!! I may get mad, but I will thank you for it eventually!!! =)

updates...

It has been a week or so since I have updated. For that, I apologize. But what I can't help is nothing really interesting has happened lately. We met up with my sister and her husband on Saturday night at the Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival. We had a lot of fun. The people there are definitely worth watching! Such a drunk fest, and all those rednecks really start to lose whatever 'klass' that they might possess. One guy in particular for example. Drew and I were at a food vendor, waiting on fresh potatoes to be cooked, and this guy, severely inebriated popped up beside us. The vendor was working at the grill in front of giant turkey legs and meat kabobs. He was wobbly on his feet, making the scene even more comical.

Drunk dude: Can I taste the leg before I buy it?
Vendor guy: Uh, it kind of doesn't work that way...
Drunk dude: Why not?
Vendor guy: I can't really take a piece off of a whole turkey leg.
Drunk dude: Why not?

(by now, Drew has already walked away, laughing. I had to stick around to see what happened)

Drunk dude: Just a little piece of skin... come on man.
Vendor guy: Fine, this piece is over cooked anyway (and then he gives me a strange cross eyed look)

Drunk dude starts with cooking questions to Vendor guy.. How do you know when it is cooked? Are you the one who cooks it? So you are the grill guy? Is that what you do, grill? And it goes on and on, until finally he begins discussing`the chances of this vendor catering for him, and the vendor quickly sends him to a very large (and I do mean VERY) man in the back of the tent who is sitting at a table peeling potatoes. Can you say pass the buck? I don't blame him... but it gave us a giggle.

Also at the festival were some other vendors and booths. Someone was even trying to sell duct tape purses. Unfortunately I missed that one. The food was cold and overpriced, but tasty as far as fair food goes. The weather was awesome! All in all, a good time. I hadn't been in about 10 years, and if I don't go for another 10 years I think I will live, but it was so nice hanging out with my sister!

What else? Oh, the monster!!! Wow he is growing up fast. We officially named him 'Jasper', which seems to be good, considering he acts more vampiric by the day. He plays all of the time now, everyday figuring out something new. My peaceful nights are now long gone. Yesterday, he learned to climb onto the bed by himself, so about the time I doze off to sleep, he climbs up and starts playing with my face, or chewing on my toes. When I am wide awake, he plays for a bit, then curls up in a blanket and goes to sleep, leaving me alone, struggling to find sleep once more. Then play time starts up again about 4 a.m. I put him on the floor, he gets back up... over and over and over. He and Belle are still separated for a couple of more weeks, but one day, he just might be looking at a closed door at night!

He still drinks from a bottle twice a day. This isn't normal, but it makes me happy. He eats food by himself out of a bowl, but he refuses to drink water, so for now the bottle is necessary. He screams bloody murder and runs around chasing me when it is bottle time, assuming the position on my lap before attacking the bottle with such fervor that you would think his life depended on it. He chews on it and growls at it, and then sucks down about 40 cc's of formula (now mixed with water, ha ha) in about 15 seconds. Done, then a few big burps and he is off like a rocket to play land again. I have been trying to keep his growth progress with photos, but here the last few days, he moves too fast, making for a really blurry picture. So I get him mostly when he is down for a nap. Just in the last week, Jasper has grown into his head, so he no longer looks like a big headed alien. He is starting to mature into a cat. Oh it goes by so fast. Drew and I are planning on building him a kitty condo soon.
Not this one exactly, but something he can climb and scratch on, which will save furniture. Drew is good at stuff like this. A couple of years ago, he made a giant jungle gym out of PVC pipe for our bird Ivy. She loves it!!! We attach all kinds of toys for her, and I change them out so she doesn't get bored. Anything to keep a really loud bird occupied!

Nothing planned for this weekend as of yet. Maybe work on the front fence, maybe ride... who knows. It is supposed to rain tonight (YAY!!!) and we so desperately need it.

Such a little monster....

One thing about kittens is how fast they grow. It seems like every day they learn something new. Our little one is growing up. Not only has he doubled in size the last week, but he has gotten a lot of personality. Instead of wobbling around to get from point A to point B, now he hops. If it moves... he attacks it. If it doesn't move, he climbs it. He sucks on the bottle as if his life depends on it. Zero to 30 cc in 5.4 seconds. If he were a sports car, he would be a best seller! He crouches behind pillows in stealth mode and waves his tail back and forth like a panther hunting. It makes me smile.

I still haven't completely decided on a name. He still acts like a little vamp, he even bit my neck yesterday as he was curled up under my hair on my shoulder, which is now recently his favorite spot. I had been tossing the name Jasper around, but a friend of mine suggested a Volturi name, which might be a little more fitting... I will have to do some research. You know how people spend months naming their unborn child? Well, for me, naming a pet is sort of the same thing. Not an easy process. When a kitten is very very young, they just lay there. Then, as they get older, more and more personality surfaces and I can name them accordingly. Sure I could name it Fluffy or Tiger or something generic. But that isn't always the easiest thing to do. Better to let them earn a name I say.

Belle is starting to get curious about the baby now. Always lurking and waiting for her chance to get nose to nose (and then attack, I'm sure). I still have to keep the two separated. At least for another couple of weeks when I can have little one tested for the icky stuff, like Feline Leukemia and FIV. Both very nasty illnesses. If it turns out that Kitty has them, I won't toss in the towell. Nope, too late for that. But he will have to be a barn cat... granted a very spoiled one =).

He has learned to crawl out of his nest, not that he stays there a lot, but still making it difficult on me when he is. It's a pretty good set up if you ask me. A nice big laundry basket with a heating pad, soft towells, stuffed toys. But now he likes to crawl over the side. He wants next to his Mommy (me), and usually that is fine. But when I am cooking or cleaning he shouldn't be underfoot. I dreamed his tail got vacuumed off the other night. Popped of like a lizards tail. And as much as I would love him sleeping in the bed, he just isn't big enough yet (can you say steamroller!).

He can be so sweet one minute, and then a total terror the next. I think he has split personalities if you ask me. Sitting on my chest gazing lovingly one minute, then trying to eat my face the next. It was cute at first... then it started to hurt, so now I have to scold him. He will figure it out... eventually.

Next step... teaching to eat on his own and litter box training. So far, he isn't that bright. It should come natural, and he should be doing it already. Nope. Couldn't be so lucky. With this one it is going to take some work. I know a few tricks. This isn't my first time bottle raising a critter. I will just have to go to the back of my mind and dust off the cobwebs.
Nothing but cute, y'all. =)