Keeping busy

Busy times around here!  Just a few pictures to update on what we've been doing:

The kittens are now 5 weeks old!  I'd like them to stay with their mama until they are 8 weeks, so we will see.  After that they will get altered and be up for adoption.  We named them after Gilligan's Island characters.  Clockwise, starting at the 12 o'clock position, we have Gilligan, Skipper, Mary Ann, and Ginger.  

And of course we have their sweet mom, who was already named Nellie.  My sister said she is the SS Minnow, since she brought them all here.  ;) 

This is a cat currently up for adoption at our humane society.  I'm in love with her mustache.  

My husband had shoulder surgery last week.  This was the first time ever, in almost 22 years, that he's ever purposefully taken off his wedding band.  (One time he was playing with it on his finger and it slipped off, but we don't count that. Ha)  He has had two surgeries before but declined to take it off, so they just put tape over it.  This time it wasn't an option.  They were doing cauterization and the pad they put under him could cause burns.  So off came the ring and I wore it until he was back in his room.  When I slipped it on his finger, he was still groggy but I told him "I still do."  

He took a week off work but is now back.  Yesterday was his first day back and he came home exhausted and in pain.  Today he took his sling with him so he has somewhere to rest his arm when it becomes too painful.  

We had our first ever "Reading to Rescues" at the humane society on Dr. Seuss's birthday.  We had a great turnout, including little kids plus students from a local university.  Most of the dogs and cats really enjoyed the attention.  We plan to make this a weekly event this summer.  

And the nephew had his birthday party a couple weeks after his actual birthday.  He wanted a skating party and several of his friends from school and some cousins were able to come.  

So that's what's going on around here lately!  Between caring for my husband, taking care of my nephew 1-2 evenings a week, kennel duty one evening a week, and Petsmart kennel duty 1-3 times a month, I am keeping very busy.  Mostly I enjoy it though, and I do find time to spend with the rest of my family too.  

Last week

.....this little guy turned 8!  We celebrated by going to his choice of restaurant for lunch, Steak and Shake, where I proceeded to have neither steak nor shake. I did, however, have a bowl of soup and some fries. 

...I came home from 2 days away to this little baby and his 3 siblings!   His mama, Nellie, came to us from a hoarder situation with 19 cats. The filth was unbelievable.  I brought her home because a shelter environment is not a good situation for newborn babies if it can be helped. Nellie gave birth the day that I left to go out of town. She had 3 overnight and one around 8 in the morning on February 10th. Thankfully my sister was here. I wouldn't have left Nellie alone, knowing she could give birth at any moment. So far all 4 kittens seem healthy and their eyes are beginning to open.  

...we discovered Ruby Tuesday will still make the spaghetti squash marinara for you, even though it's not on the menu anymore. At least one location in Missouri, that is. 

...we went out of town for this reason:  our nephew graduated from a combined basic training/AIT at Ft. Leonard Wood. We were able to join his grandma, and his dad and partner for the graduation and family day before. 

It was an eventful week, that's for sure!  

Cold January weekend

This weekend was a busy but mostly good one.  The bad part is my foster kitten was noticeably less active than the day before so I took her in to the vet and they are keeping her for the time being.  Her littermate died of FIP we we are crossing our fingers for little Frankie Frappuchino.  

The good parts though:  My great-aunt Louise is turning 80 this week and we had a surprise party for her on Saturday.  She has NEVER had a birthday party and was genuinely surprised and very pleased over the party in her honor.  In attendance were her son, a first cousin she grew up with and is very close with still, and multiple nieces/nephews, great-nieces/nephews, and one great-great nephew.   She is the last of my paternal grandfather's siblings.  Living in the same area as the past few generations of both sides of your family has big advantages, and one is that I got to know most of my great-aunts and uncles and multiple cousins.  

Sunday we drove to the next county over and saw the new Star Wars movie.  What did I think about it?  Eh.  My husband said it was basically the same storyline as the others, and I agree.  We had lunch out at Qdoba (veggie burrito and tortilla soup-yum) and shopped at Kroger.  Doesn't sound very exciting but it was time with just the two of us and we enjoyed it because of that.  It was freezing, with a "feels like" of 9°.  This is our typical weather this time of year, but I guess because we had a much warmer December it just feels extra bitter right now.