500th POST!! PAWWWWW-TYYYYY!!

 "It's our 500th post!!  Everycat is invited over to

pawty until you nap!! (and then some!)"

 "So get your tails on over here!!"

 "We'll be keeping our eyes out for you!"

 "The Big Bowl is full of food for us all to share!"

 "See all of the nifty toys we can play with??"

 "This is a good one and mom put one of

those flashy light balls in one of them!"

 "This one is good for the kittens.

And when you're done playing I'll clean your ears."

-Zaphoid

 "Hey mom?  We'll want to use the box too."

 "I'm even going to share my hair bands!!"

 "We have a safe space for everycat who goes OUT and

everycat who doesn't can borrow my other leash."

"We're waiting!!  Hurry up and come over!!

The nip & valerian are waiting!!"

Love,

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde

No Arms or Legs Were Injured...

Yes, you guessed it!  I have a new camera!!  Under $30 and it has a flash, holds 100 photos, does video (once I figure out how to do that), can be a webcam, yada yada yada.  Have I tried it out??  What do you think??  ::weg::

 "I have got you in my pawer!  

You will put down more food from the Big Bowl!!"

"I sense that someone has been using his superpawers in here... 

but who could it be??"

"What?  Mom got a new camera??  Well, that explains the flashy thingee!"

"I have you in my pawer!!  You will take no more pictures tonight!

  You will go to sleep!!"

"Put that information down in the journal, okay?"   "Got it!"

Oh For a New Camera!!!

I'm going to have to get a new one today if I can find one with flash that doesn't cost an arm & a leg.  Thomas was just in the cutest pose!!  All of the cats in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde (the Trouble Brothers - Thomas & Zaphy, Ninja Cat - Star, and the Baby - Mister Kitten (who will be three this summer)) have been posing for me... and me with neither camera working!!!  Arrrrrgh!!  This means I'm having to work with the pictures I already have.  ::head:desk::  At any rate, Thomas was posing very similar to this pose of Star, except with the quilt rather than a pillow...

Star: "Love the pillow.  Crash on the pillow.  Pillow is Mine!"

Sad to say, wiith my kids at their father's house for the weekend and my husband not getting up early, I was treated to "Timmy's in the well, mom!" from Thomas around 0700.  Now Da Boys know my tradition.  If "Timmy's in the well" early in the morning, you have to wait until I'm done with my morning routine.  Once I was done with that I asked Thomas & Mister Kitten to "show me" what they needed.  Off we went to the kitchen where, lo and behold!, their cat food bowls had food in them.  Evidently, my walking them to the bowls was sufficient unto the day so that they realized that indeed they were not starving to death and their ribs were not about to show any second now.  After Thomas and Mister Kitten were done eating and I was done making coffee (we grind our own beans), into the kitchen sauntered Star.  He also needed me to walk him to the food bowls.  Zaphy showed up just as Star was beginning to eat and evidently Star eating was his cue that he wasn't going to starve to death.

BTW  Star is being a lovey-dove today, purring and asking for pettings (and also trying----- to help with the blog!).  This Ninja Kitty used to be more aloof, it's 632+ amazing what eat-trays can do!!  ::weg::

Star: "Dad is almost always like this and sometimes mom is too.

This points to the large mug that I think we should get

Dad for Christmas or his next birthday."

Star, the Baby, and the Big Bowl

Last night an old friend came to visit with her daughter and new grandson (three months old!).  Zaphy and Mister Kitten were brought out to meet the baby (Thomas was asleep on my bed).  They immediately went, "Oops!  Gotta go!  Something to do!!"  Star, however, was fascinated.  He watched as my children cooed and played "beep" with the baby.  He looked up while I was playing peek-a-boo, "Wow mom!  Look at that, that is so cool!"  When it was time for the baby to leave, he was very very tired.  And, as babies are wont to do, he didn't want to go to sleep and was crying.  Star immediately jumped up into my lap where I was sitting next to 'Gamma', who was holding the baby.  Purrrrrrrrrr, "Don't worry baby!  It's going to be okay.  I am sending you purrrrrs."  He was so cute! 

He reminded me of my late cat Christopher.  When my children were born I had my family cradle (which has been on rollers for years) by my bedside.  Of course we had already introduced all of the cats to the baby's scent.  We let them look at the baby while I was holding her/him and praised them.  The minute I put the baby in the cradle, Christopher jumped into the cradle and took up a spot at the end of the cradle, purring.  The other cats came to see what this new 'kitten' was lying down in my bedroom.  Christopher would let them look and take a sniff but the minute one put his paws on the edge, he would give them the 'Top Cat' stare, letting them know that this was his kitten and that he was protecting it.  He did this until the baby moved to a regular crib.

 "Okay mom!  I need to have a nap now!"

This morning, Star wandered into the kitchen.  He looked up at me and yawned.  He almost looked like he was about to ask for a cup of coffee!!  Then he trilled at me, "Mom?  It's time for breakfast!"  I walked him over to the food bowls and pointed out that there was already food in them.  He touched his nose to the Big Bowl (if you're not sure what that is, it's a locking lid garbage can bought for the purpose of holding cat food!).  "Star, there is already food in the bowls, it's perfectly fine."  He looked at the bowls, looked up at me with distain, and touched his nose to the Big Bowl again.  "No, mom.  I want fresh food.  Out of the Big Bowl!  Pleeeeease!"  ::rolls eyes::  "Okay Star." and I proceeded to give him a wee bit of fresh food on top of the old, which was really all he wanted.  I mean, how can you resist such a cute baby?!

It's just cupboard love!  ::grin:: (value t-shirt)

Why Are You All Looking At Me??

I woke up this morning, brushed my teeth, and came back into the bedroom to find all of the cats on the bed looking at me.  "Hey Mom.  We neeeeeeeeed something."  "You've already had treats."  "But we neeeeeeed something!!"  "You've already had treats."  "Mooooooooom!!"  "Boys."  "Meeeee-ooooom!!"   ::rolls eyes and heads to kitchen::  I am immediately followed by a cat parade of Thomas and Zaphoid.  Mister Kitten and StarWalker stayed in the bedroom doorway for a bit to play dominance games.  "See Mom!!  The dishes have only crumbs!!  We are going to starrrrrve to death!!  No, really!!  We's skin and bones!!"  ::sigh::  "Alright boys, breakfast is coming."  And the Big Bowl gets opened.  Mister Kitten teleports all sixteen pounds into the kitchen so as not to starve to death.

Making sure we don't starve to death!

After eating, Thomas and Mister Kitten had to go outside to check on the weather.  They then had to go back inside to let everyone know that it was raining and that the Changing of the Cat Guard would have to wait until the weather cleared up.

We would keep notes about when we goes

in and out but we can't write.  Mom??  Mom??

  Could you do that for us?  Meee-ooom??

Mom! Me-om!! Timmy's in the Well!!

Thomas has this habit of telling us "Timmy's in the well!  Hey!  Hey!  Come quick!  Come quick!!  No, really!!  Timmy's in the well!!"  Usually this means that another member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde needs to go outside or to come inside (I'm still not sure how he does this!).  Or it means that the bottom of one or more of the bowls is showing.  "Oh noes!!  Mom!  Me-om!!  Timmy's in the well!!  Quick, quick!  Open up the Big Bowl!!"  Now yesterday he did the latter about three times.  He only approached to taste the food once.  The other two times he was doing it for another cat.  Because, as you can see in the picture, Da Boys are just starving to death!!  Oh my!!  If the Big Bowl isn't opened they just might faint on the spot!!

This is, indeed, the order in which Da Boys usually eat.  As you might expect, it's the order of the pride, Thomas, Mister Kitten, Zaphoid, and Star.  This is a site you only see once a day.  Otherwise it's only a nibble here and there.  But the bottom of the bowls must not show least the Teenage Mutant Ninja Horde Starve!!

points to the large pet bowl... I'm about to go in and change the store

about so that the sections are by products... hopefully this won't change the link!!

Busy Day...

Yesterday I spent a lot of time putting in some graphics in the shop that I'd forgotten about making.  (oops!)  Fortunately my kids were home from school which meant that none of the boys were inconvenienced in being let in from outside.  By the end of the day, I was actually tired and ready to turn over and sleep when bedtime came.  Mister Kitten, on the other hand, had other ideas.  It's been a while since he's been able to be Flop Cat on me because of my total knee replacement back in January.  So last night, just as I'm getting ready to turn over, ker-plunk!!!  Yep!  Flop Cat.  I was heart broken.  On one hand, I didn't want to move because he was ever so proud of himself for waiting patiently until I was well enough to handle him.  On the other hand, I was tired!  I let him stay for a minute or two and then I tried very hard to get him to come get on the body pillow beside me.  Alas, neither he nor Star came.  ::sigh::

Today I'm feeling like I've overdone it a bit and I've been noticing Mister Kitten staring at me.  I think the next time that he does that I'll put down the laptop and let Flop Cat have his way.  Oh.  What was I putting in?  ::chuckle::  Most of it was nine different cats saying "Bipolar... Next Mood Change in 5...4...3...2..." I just had this evile thought about someone going to a party wearing more than one t-shirt.  Each t-shirt having a different cat on it and the person going off into a private room and removing a shirt every so often.  Can you just imagine other people at the party starting to go, "What a minute!  You weren't wearing that..."  heh  heh heh  The next thing I knew I had nine designs.  I am a bad bad woman. 

Ask my cats!   (sorry, had to stop and pet Thomas)  I am sooooo mean!  There are times when I just won't empty the food bowls and fill them up with uberfresh food from the Big Bowl!  Bad, bad Cat Mommy!!

Can I Have My Feet Back??

Thus far this morning I have:
1. Fed the cats, this entailed putting all of the perfectly good food which was left in their bowls back into the Big Bowl* and then refilling the bowls (primarily with the same food that was in them beforehand).  If I had not done this, the cats would have starved to death in a dramatic scene reminiscent of Shakespeare (we have very well-read cats).
2. Let Thomas out into The Snow because he is brave enough and tough enough to take it.
3. Let Thomas back in from The Snow because he's not that tough.
4. Watch Mister Kitten dart out into The Snow and wonder how long it will take him to realize that this was a Big Mistake.
5. Finally figure out which door Mister Kitten has deigned to dash into the house from The Snow; because he is so paranoid and there was no other cat out to dash ahead of into the house.
6. Have my feet quietly and softly attacked by a Ninja Kitty.

Can I have my feet back now??

*The Big Bowl contains the Real Food.  All other food is stale and suspicious.  There is no telling what it might contain.  Mister Kitten is sure that it might just be poisonious.  Ergo, if there is a human available, it is always best to have the bowls refilled or refreshed with food from the Big Bowl.

It's waaaaaaaay too late...

So why am I up??  Because when I checked my google stats there were referrals from Dr. Grumpy's blog.  Now, I didn't actually bounce up and down and go running up and down the block screaming at the top of my lungs about it because:

a. It would make my legs hurt.
b. The weather wasn't the world's best.
c. I had absolutely no idea how that happened.
d. I'm just not that kind of person.
e. All of the above.

But you have to understand that Dr. Grumpy's blog is one that was called to my attention by one of my very dearest friends (waves at Heather) who has even now decided to go back to school to see if she has what it takes to become a doctor herself.  I know that she already has both the empathy and the cutting wit (we've gotten drunk together at medieval events) so what she's got to figure out is if she can take the intense study and hours.  This blog kicks butt and takes name.  If you haven't read it yet, you should.  Go ahead.  I'll wait.  ::hums tunelessly::

Back yet??  Okay.  At any rate, all day this graphic has been rattling around in my head.  Although actually I would be more accurate in saying 'again', since I've had this idea before, but it was Winter Holiday time and I couldn't manage it then.  Family graphic interruptus and I stopped to work on the graphic below.  I'm in the middle of reorganizing the shop & putting up a new section for folx having babies.  No one ever writes, no one calls, no one comes to visit on Easter ::wipes tear::  well, the cats are always wanting food from the Big Bowl... but truthfully, keep an eye out and let me know what you think of how the categories are looking and if anything has been taken off that makes you go, "NoooOOOooo!  I was planning to get that when my paycheck comes in!!"  Vielen Dank!

 

White T-shirt (more items available!)

Whoot!  I can now take PayPal!!

Food... filling the Big Bowl™ followed by delivering the brown bag

First, my husband brought in the bag of cat food from the car.  None of the cats were around so it didn't get torn open, which is what normally happens.  First, I filled the Emergency Cat Food Container™.  This is a small plastic container with a tight lid that holds about two days worth of food (We buy Iams because it lasts long for us than the other brands... well Science Diet is good too but I digress).  We do this because we know that once the emergency food is opened and poured into the Big Bowl™, it is time to buy more cat food.

After that was done, I filled all of the bowls with the last of the cat food in the Big Bowl™.  Trust me, there's a reason for this.  This leaves the Big Bowl™ empty.  heh heh heh.  Then I fill up the Big Bowl™  with the fresh food.  I make a crater in the center of the food, pour the old cat food into it, and then stir it all up with the scoop.  muahahahahahahahahahaha!  Because when you do that, they think that all of the food coming out of the Big Bowl™ is fresh.  Fresh is goooooooood.

Then I got started on some bags for church.  I was too exhausted to make Eucharist, but today was the day for us to turn in our food bags so I wanted to make sure I got by there to drop off our bag of food.  I also had a bag of colored pencils and some arts & crafts things which might help for the Craft fair next week (Gee!  I'd better get busy!) and then go to the littles classes.  I also passed out a bunch of my cards.  I really really really really need to get some sales  from the shop.  ::sigh::  But the cool thing was that when I went to see our Priest (he was the last person I spoke to) he felt it was a fortuitous meeting.  It seems that St. Paul's Episcopal in Murfreesboro, TN is working on it's own CafePress Shop! (yes, I'll be nice and let you know when it's up and running!)  At any rate, I'm exhausted again so I'd better go lay down before Star comes up and forces me to go to bed!!  Now I just have to figure out what to read!