Babies and Wedding Plans

Life- man does it move quickly!! It's so true that time slips away so much faster than when you're young. And I consider myself still young! I can only imagine how fast it will feel down the road. I love that things continue progressing and moving forward, but at the same time sometimes I just want to hit the brakes and enjoy the moment. For example, both of my nieces are at such a fun age. Harlee has just turned 2 and Mabry will be 2 in August. I was lucky to spend time with both Mabry and Harlee in the past week and those little girls give me so much joy. They are both happy and carefree and loving and it just makes my heart smile. And if I'm being totally honest, give me a little bit of baby fever. But no worries Mom and Peggy, one step at a time! ;)

Last weekend we celebrated Ted's 32nd birthday. He is one of my future brother-in-laws, but the only one that lives in Birmingham. He is one of Andrew's groomsman and an all around stand out guy. Watching him be as great of a father, husband, friend and brother as he is -- it's nice to see that such good people still exist. Sadly I have no pictures of him, but I do have some of his adorable daughter, Mabry, and myself.

This little angel is too sweet for words.

Every baby loves selfies. She took about 30 within a minute - they are all pretty much identical. haha

Also this week I got in some great, quality time with Ashland and Harlee. Harlee turned two on May 17 but because of dance recitals and general craziness, we are celebrating her birthday this weekend. Ashland needed some help getting supplies for the party, and I was eager to see the two of them since our interaction has been lessened since dance is over for the summer. I picked them up and we ran some errands, got some stuff, forgot other stuff, but had a nice time hanging out. After the running around we were all hungry and a handy-dandy coupon to Ruby Tuesday sounded like a great idea.

Now if you have kids or friends with kids, you know that a sit down dinner in a restaurant with a two year old is much easier to say than to do. Harlee was well tempered but non-stop throughout dinner. Staying in a high chair is way overrated, so there wasn't too much of that. Towards the end I got her to sit with me and take a couple of pictures. What started off as smiling, soon turned into total silliness. I love that baby so much. And, she has finally gotten down pronouncing my name. No longer am I Aunt Ka-shi. No more cereal name for this auntie.

Told ya, babies love selfies!

Good smiles!

Being silly, smashing her face to mine.

Silly girl!!

Aside from baby love, we've also been busy working on wedding plans. I've changed the centerpiece plan and we have a new agenda for the tables. Instead of buying 50+ terra cotta pots and painting them and worrying about finding flowers in bloom around the time of the wedding, we're going a more diy route. Cue Pinterest - the wedding planners best friend. There is a lot of stuff on Pinterest that is super cute, but way over done. We are not trying to be like everyone else. I did find a centerpiece idea that is really beautiful and it's a simple beauty, not gaudy or overdone. It also will allow us to use wooden pallets that we've collected for free, a few fairly inexpensive materials, and a lot of sweat and time. Yes, it will be fairly time consuming and require both mine and Andrew's TLC, but I think it'll turn out wonderful and look even better than the original idea for table toppers.

So this is pretty much exactly what we're going for (minus the dishware)

This was our loot after borrowing a friend's truck and asking very nicely of local business men for their pallets.

So we have about 10 pallets, but will probably end up needing more as not all of the boards are usable. Andrew will break them down to size, I'll sand, stain and prepare the wood, then he'll nail them together. I'm really excited about this and hopeful that they'll turn out as well as I'm expecting. Plus, it will be much cheaper than the pot plan. We'll be able to use the loose rose stems I'll be buying for flowers (diy bouquets and such) for the centerpieces instead of buying blooming flowers that are already potted.

I sent out save the dates last week, so it's becoming more and more real, and definitely getting closer. We're just past 5 months out and there's still so much to do, but I feel like we're staying on track pretty well. I hired a day of coordinator to help set up so I can relax, and I'm feeling pretty good about that. Next thing I know it'll be July and I'll have my first bridal shower. Eek!!

And now for a few obligatory pictures of cute animals :) Rico is getting so big and feisty. He was always feisty, but now he's all over and we cannot contain him. He has no fear of the dog, or the other cats. He figures he does what he wants, and if you don't like it he'll just bite you. He's a mess. But a super cute one, so he kind of gets away with it. Until he bites hard, then he is promptly pushed from the couch or set down from our arms.

Andrew sent me this picture while I was working one night. Happy Mommy!!

Hims so cute

The dog's cushion.

If he's tired, he needs someone to cuddle with. In my lap as usual.

And if you've seen me in the last few days, you may notice that I'm hobbling and walking around like I have many more years on me than I really do. Yea, I joined the local gym. I had a free session with a personal trainer as a new member perk and let's just say it was quite an experience. I seriously thought I was going to throw up before I left the gym. Then I got home and Andrew started asking about dinner...he was promptly told that he was on his own for dinner. There was no way I could even think about eating yet! We did 45 minutes of intense interval training and boy was it intense. I had noodle legs the rest of the night, and the two days following I have been so sore it's almost comical. Until I try to stand or walk or stretch, then it's not so funny. I sneezed this morning and felt my abs ripping apart!

I will say the routine seems to be very promising that it will do just what I need it to do. I'm counting calories to lose and with a work out like that I should be toning up pretty well. Hopefully from here on out I won't require so many days rest in between work outs! So if you see me, don't expect me to move very quickly.

That about covers us for now. Until next time!

Rico Roller

Things are going well out in the woods of Alabaster. We now have a full blown kitten on our hands with Rico. He's running, trying to jump, stumbling less and being generally cute. Except that he's feisty. And a biter. Like he wants to bite your face, or hands, or whatever he can get in his mouth. He doesn't know how to play nice I guess. He'll have to go have shots before too long, but not quite yet. I figure he's right at 6 weeks. We've been keeping him in the bedroom instead of the cat carrier anymore as he's outgrown it being comfortable for more than 20 minutes. He does pretty well except running underneath your feet every time you walk in the room. It's such a fun stage to just sit and watch him. Shinobi and he are making friends and starting to play. I'm slowly introducing Sidney, trying to make sure that they learn to play nicely. I want them to be friends but Sid gets pretty excited and just wants to lick the little guy to death.

Nobi and Rico getting to know each other.

Peek-a-boo!

Found a nice warm spot!

 Rico Roller!

 I can play whi chu?

Aside from kitten talk, things are in full swing at the studio gearing up for the recital in May. I'm doing a ballet dance to Evanescence's 'Secret Door' and a lyrical dance to a song called 'Shelter' by Birdy. Both are pretty intense so far and I'm doing my best to learn quickly and stay up with these younger girls. Definitely not as easy as it was 10 years ago!!

I also get some good Harlee time in when I'm at the studio. I can't believe she'll be two in less than a month!! Love that baby.

That's about it for this week. I got some good time with my niece, my animals crack me up, I always love my honey, and my girlfriend Beth and I got out for some girl time on Sunday. Dance again tonight, then a few days of work at the Outback. More stories later!

Cuddles and Lawn Care

 This week we got lots of cuddles from this little guy. How cute are they?

 

 Shinobi is finally feeling a little more comfortable and back to herself. She's been very interested in Rico the last few days. He's spending more time exploring and running/wobbling around and she stays within a few feet to keep close watch. She isn't 100% sold yet, but she's definitely coming around.

We had bad weather Thursday so the office closed down at 1:00. I took Sidney and Rico to Mom's for the evening while Andrew went to his parents when he left work since it was closer. The storm ended up being nothing more than a thunderstorm for Birmingham, but some other parts of state did get some very bad weather. Since the April 27 tornadoes two years ago we're all more cautious. Thankfully we were lucky and got some family visiting time. And Rico got to meet Grandma! ;)

The weather cleared up for Saturday and we got some beautiful weather. I spent a few hours in the yard trying to get it raked and ready for summer. A good half of the front yard hasn't been raked in probably 3 years, so I was eager to get that up and see if we can get some grass going! The pine straw I got up was so thick I had to use a hoe to break through it before my rake would even begin to pick it up. In the end I got a good chunk of the front cleared up! Some places are seeing sun for the first time in years. I'm not sure I got it cleared early enough in the season to get grass, but it looks better either way. I still have 2/3s of the front yard to go and about 1/3 of the back before it's fully raked and deleafed. Plus all the small to medium sized branches that have fallen from the numerous trees over the last 2-3 years. It wasonly about two hours worth of work, but it is tiring!!

The thick pine straw that was removed. Success! (this is the before picture). I didn't think about the after until it had started raining.

Front yard from the front door looking 

straight out. Lots of trees and leaves!

The side portion of the front yard from the front deck looking right. Still have to rake all that. Slight hill makes for an interesting lawn mower ride!

Overall it was a productive week including family time, a date night, a few dance lessons, a disc golf outing or two, lots of animal love and plenty of work. Can't complain!

Rico's Story

So this little cutie made his appearance almost a week ago. Last Saturday morning I woke up to get ready to go do Easter stuff with Andrew's family (he was working, so this was a solo trip) and I kept hearing a pitiful but strong 'mew, mew.' I could tell it was near the house, but at first I brushed it off thinking it was a bird. I went to Chelsea, visited, ate, hunted Easter eggs, had a great time and returned home to get ready to go to Outback for my shift. The 'mewing' was still there! It was obviously under the floor in the kitchen and the bedroom.

This is the back side of our trailer. The red circle shows a crawl space for workers to be able to get underneath the house if necessary. The mewing wouldn't stop, so I walked around back to check it out. The door to this crawl space was open!

I stuck my head in and called to the lost kitty and he meowed back! Trouble was, I couldn't see him. He was inside the insulation far out of reach. I could talk and call and yell and he'd respond, but there was no way he was making his way down. Disheartened, I had to leave for Outback. I worked my shift, came back and called a few more times. Left some stinky canned chicken for him hoping he'd make his way down. No luck. That night we went to sleep with the saddest sound of mewing coming through the floor boards.

Sunday was Easter. Andrew had to work, I had family stuff, we went off to do our seperate things, all the while the poor baby was just meowing away under the house. After a fun time at my Mom's house we came back and tried calling him again. No luck, but he was still alive and still there. At this point I'd pretty much accepted that we couldn't reach him and he was going to die under the house. Andrew thought otherwise. He decided he would go through the crawl space and try to reach the baby. He is much braver than me!

On the top is the door going in, and the bottom is the space under the house. He put on long sleeves, gloves and headed in. I was worried something would happen to him. I would sacrifice the kitten to keep Andrew safe, but he wasn't as worried as I was. If he was he sure hid it well. He went in, took a broom with him and started knocking around the insulation. Luck was with him because after a minute the kitten plopped out and onto the ground! However, he was still out of reach and the pipes under the house blocked Andrew from getting any closer. I figured, "Great, we're so close but can't reach him." The kitten was lost and confused and not coming to our voices. Smart thinking Andrew used to broom to sweep him over within reach, we pulled him out and sweet baby was free!!

I have never been more proud, impressed or in love with Andrew after seeing this. My heart melted in a whole new way. He was a little shaken, very dirty, but never more handsome in my eyes. I am so proud and thankful for the way he handled it. He was brave when I was not.

We got some kitten milk for the baby, started feeding him and realized that although he may have been stuck in insulation under the house for 36 hours, but he was not a weakling!! After a vet check and a clean bill of health we knew he was 4 ounces, about 3 weeks old, male and generally healthy. We don't know why the mother cat moved him or what may have happened to any siblings. I'm glad there was only one though!

We have agreed for now that we aren't positively keeping him, but we aren't saying no. He has a minimum of 4 weeks before he could be fully weaned, litter box trained and rehomed. We will take care of him in that time frame and make our decision then. I have a feeling that he won't be going anywhere though. I told Andrew it was up to him, he told me it was my decision. After the work he did to rescue him, and the bonding I am doing while bottle feeding, I think it'd be hard to let him go. He recognizes my voice and wakes up from a dead sleep if he hears me talking. It's so cute. He definitely knows who mom is!! That boy just wants to be held, loved on and fed. He's a sweet little thing.

So that is the story of how Rico came to us. Quite a harrowing experience for such a young guy, but it has not affected him one bit. If anything he is probably more loving because of it. He definitely gets plenty of attention! (we won't talk about how the existing pets are handling it, but they're coming around.)

I'll close with a couple of pictures of our newest cuddler. He's a great sleeping partner, except that he's pretty small and easy to roll over on!!