What?? No Walk??

We had to skip Adventures In Kitten Walking this morning as the Mother of all Mothers had an eye appointment.   The management were unimpressed to say the least.....

Adventures in Kitten Walking/ The Blue Streak......

As I write this Hektor and Achilles are alseep at the top of the cat tree, looking all fluffy and cute and all the rest of it.  It's all lies, peeps.  They're really small fat furry fiends and I live in a constant state of oh-my-god-what-have-they-done-now.  It's like raising identical twins on speed.   Their crowning achievement to date was last Thursday's epic toilet-diving extravaganza, resulting in two soggy blue rinsed moggies sitting atop the cat tree trying to look like nothing special was goin on.  Cue the Scooby-Doo style chase music, throw in twelve wet towels and you're pretty much living the Planet Hartwell Experience. 
Not to be confused with Adventures In Kitten Walking, now showing daily at a park at the bottom of my street.   The mother of all mothers refuses to acknowledge me as I truck the boys down the street in the lime green cat pram, fondly christened the Toxic Waster by my sons.  Thanks, guys.
  When we reach the park, she walks the dogs away from me as fast as she can so that no one realises she's related to the lunatic woman trying to leash walk two kittens full of redbull and no-doz down the path.  I've actually gathered a small but dedicated audience of superior dog walkers, who feel it's their job to stand on the far side of the road and point and laugh.  Just in case my mother wasn't doing it loudly enough.  Here, kitty kitty kitty......

Kindred Spirits.....

Kit and Hektor




what can I tell you....they speak the same language.

New Arrivals....

Planet Hartwell is at full capacity after both the weary travellers and the new additions arrived on Tuesday.

Both have been very sleepy.  But my boys woke up enough today to get some photos taken.....

Sebi and Achilles,  post nap, but too lazy to sit up.

Sebi and Hektor, contemplating another nap.....

Kit is working atm so I haven't had time to get any pix, but will post as soon as I do.

I'm ready...I'm ready...I'm ready...

WHY does time drag so much when you're hanging out for something good??? 
The house is spotless (even by nanna standards....impressive, no??)
The dogs are washed
The laundry is done
The lawn is mowed
The calf is fatted (only kidding, we're gonna have tuna mac....Sebi's fave)
and yet.....
it's still Saturday.
I hate waiting.

Catching up/ Counting down.

At last....the end is in sight.   I can honestly say that the last seven weeks have been harder than I would ever have imagined.   I've always been pretty hands on as a parent, and to have a massive part of my parenting disappear for months has been both a lesson in patience and a wake up call.   I've started looking into some of my "later" options in more detail.....you know, the things you plan to do when the kids are grown.  Although we're not at that stage yet, I can see it approaching, and I'm not going to sit in the middle of the empty space where the boys used to be, wondering what to do next.   I have plans, peeps.  The fact that I never thought I'd get to put them into gear is beside the point.  In ten years time,  I figure I'll be looking at some large gaps in my daily life, and I plan to fill them with all the things I planned to do before I did a crash course in Aspergers and full time parenting.   I'm really looking forward to it.  Time to be Kjirsten again.  But, not yet awhile.  First I have seven weeks of  second son's life to catch up on.  Starting with waiting impatiently at the international arrivals gate, with my heart on my sleeve and a song in my soul.   I have missed you, baby.

Happy 16th Birthday Kit

You're everything I could ever have asked for.  You're my pride and joy, the light of my life.  I love you more than I could ever have thought possible.  Happy Birthday Firstborn.
 Always and forever, love mum xox

The remains of the day.....

I'm feeling ever-so-slightly seedy this morning, but it was all in a good cause, and I blame Melissa for presenting me with a pint wine glass last night, which turned my two glasses of red into a bottle and then some.   FF cooked a superb pork roast with all the trimmings in the weber, plus an apple crumble to die for....*slurp*.   Got some lovely hand cream/body lotion from Levi xox , so all in all feeling very special and totally spoilt.  Just as it should be, lol.  My birthday experience was completed with the welcome news that Kit's on weekend shifts again this week, which means no death-defying mad rush to Loganholme after school for a 5pm start.  Woohoo!!!
We're well into the final countdown now, with Second Son and the mother of all mothers due home in 9 days....not that I'm counting!!  After many discussions on the best way to elevate a kitten on to Kit's 6 foot loft bed, FF threw in the towel and ordered a 6 foot cat tree thing to stand at the foot of the bed....now all we have to do is teach Hektor to climb it.  In the interests of not fuelling sibling rivalry (with the cats or the boys) we ordered another one for Sebi's room, so that Achilles doesn't pack his bags and move to a more feline friendly abode.   Sigh. 
Off to complete my indulgent weekend with a nanna nap before a late lunch and a dvd of my choice this afternoon.  Total blissdom has been achieved!!

Pension Party.

I'm gonna be 43 tomorrow.  Meh.
Do I feel it??  Sometimes.  Sometimes I feel 93.  
Does it bother me?   Nope.  Bigger and better things to obsess over.
Am I happy?  Vague question.   Mostly, I guess.
Am I where I want to be?   Absolutely.
Bring on the candles.

11 weeks/ The final countdown.

You might well look surprised!!

Things are finally starting to happen......by sheer co-incidence, Planet Hartwell will be receiving it's two latest members and welcoming home Second Son and the Mother of all Mothers on the same day....

Vera emailed me to say that the boys could be shipped on the 16th, which is two weeks today.  It means two trips to the airport, (not that I'm complaining) since the cat flight arrives midday-ish, and Second Son and Nanna come in the evening.  At last, a full house!! 

In case you're wondering, the top pic is Achilles @ 11 weeks and the bottom pic is Hektor, same age.