Hudson & Quinn Join the J-Ms!

Sunday we got two kittens! As if our life wasn’t crazy enough… we now have two 8-week-old kittens in the mix, making it just that much crazier.

It was time though. Our cat Cooper died almost a year ago, and his sister Ashley died three years before that. To be honest, it has been really nice not having any pets. Just one less thing in the equation has been nice. But at the same time we missed it—mostly, Braydon and I missed it for the kids; it just seems like the bambinos should have a pet! And the only pets we thought we could muster up the capacity to handle were cats. So, we’ve been looking for kittens.

The other day I saw a “Free Kittens” sign on the side of the road. I stopped, and sure enough, the folks brought out a litter of kittens which included two – I swear it – clones of Ashley and Cooper. All I could think was that there they were: Ashley and Cooper reincarnated, ready to come back and live with us again. I said, “We’ll take ‘em!” And we went to pick them up on Sunday afternoon.

It was a big event. As surely anyone reading this blog can just imagine. Big event. Big big big huge huge huge event for the bambinos.

On the ride home we named them Hudson (a boy), and Quinn (a girl). They are named after the Hudson River and Quinnipiac River— two rivers near us. [Cooper and Ashley, who Braydon and I got while we lived in Charleston, SC, were named after the Cooper River and Ashley River which frame the peninsula of Charleston.]

Upon arriving home the sweet little tiny kittens were played with, held, fed, handled, and generally over-stimulated more than any animal should ever have to be. And yet… these kittens?… they took it all in stride. It is as if these two were made for this crazy family they happened to have found their way into. Yes, it must have been meant to be. It seems they just fit right in.

By bedtime the first night, the kittens were exhausted and very happy for the calm of sitting on two very happy boys’ laps for bedtime books. 

And then?… those two kittens fell fast asleep.

When it was time to get into bed, Owen and Hudson climbed into Owen’s bed and Kyle and Quinn climbed into Kyle’s. No kidding. The kittens slept with them for the first part of the night… purring up a sweet little kitten storm… and making two boys the happiest two boys on the planet.  This nighttime routine of cat-naps-with-bedtime-books, followed by boys-and-kittens-sleeping-together has happened for all three nights in a row that we’ve had the kittens. Sweet sweet craziness!

As much as it is crazy to bring kittens into this fold, we are so happy to have them. They are just what we needed. Seriously! We needed these kittens to love and be loved by. Owen, especially, is absolutely enamored with the kittens and soaking up every second of the love. And he, especially, is heart-warming to watch with them.

Surely there will be plenty of Hudson and Quinn stories appearing in the days/weeks/years to come! In the meantime, Project #1 = Teach Meera Not To Strangle The Kittens. Fun times here in never-a-dull-moment-land!