Quick Update!

 "You can barely see Nova but for the last two nights mom

has woken up so see us both laying on the bed beside her.

Of course, as soon as she does we have to hiss & growl

so she doesn't know we are beginning to like each other!!"

 "Yesterday I got a package from Noodle & Olive!!

What??  Oh.  Thanks Noodle & Olive!!"

 "They sent me TOYS!  And TREATS!!  And a water fountain

they didn't use.  Mom?  What's a water fountain?"

 "Oooooh!  Okay.  You might want to set that on

something to make it higher off the floor mom."

"Mom had two doctor's appointments yesterday which is why she didn't let us onto the 'puter to write.  Bad mommy!!  No biscuit!!"

Take a Break Mom!!!

"Mom just finished putting up the new products in some of the shops.  CafePress is now making long-sleeved baby shirts, hat, & a blanket.  They also have added a yoga mat, two sizes of stainless water bottles (rather than the ceramic ones), two Christmas stockings, and a iPhone 4 slider case.  So far they're up in Winter Holidays, Cat Fancy, Sleeping Kitties, Occupational Kats, & Smart Kitties.  More to come but if you need a particular image done in one of these products that isn't there yet, drop mom a line!"

Columbus Day Sale at Cafepress! (not just us!)

 "For once I have nothing to do with it.  Cafepress is offering

20% off if you use the Supr Sekrt Code."

 "It's for something called Columbus Day.

What do I care about that??  Mom is out of treats."

available in Winter Holidays in cards, other stuff, & clothing

"Harrumph!  Maybe if I tell you Santa will at least take away that dog.  So, any store in CafePress, use the Supr Sekrt Code 'Columbus20' today (without the ') and you get 20% off of your purchase.  So if you're planning on getting Halloween, or Breast Cancer, or Winter Holiday stuff from mom or someone else,

neow is probably a good time to get it."

What Are We Doing This Weekend??

"What Are We Doing This Weekend??"

"What Are We Doing This Weekend??"

"What Are We Doing This Weekend??"

"Meee-ooooom!!  What Are We Doing This Weekend??"

"Uh-oh, Maybe mom is bored too!

Should we get her something from here??"

Just So You Know...

It's my red-headed step-child's birthday so I'll just give you this confirmation and then the usual pic & click!!

"Bwahahahahaha!  My fabulous

Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty powers

have allowed me to fit into the sink!"

"Am I not stunning??"

"Behold the extreme cuteness that is me!!

(and no, you can't brush your teeth here right now.

you'll just have to use the other bathroom!"

"Mom hasn't split this section yet.

I'll get her to do it later... promise!!"

Kat Pile!!

I had trouble sleeping last night and finally got up for a bit.  When I came back to bed, I got mugged.  Star got onto my feet, Mister Kitten snugged onto my side, and Thomas just plain laid on my chest.  All so that I would lay down and rest.  ::grin::  Kat pile!!  We changed positions a bit but this went on until I finally made it to sleep.  I would like to thank all of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde members who made this possible.  You know who you are ::cough not Zaphy cough::  The fact that I got new eat-trays from the store yesterday had absolutely nothing to do with this!  ::whistles innocently and stares at ceiling whilst rocking back and forth with hands behind back::

Thomas: "You know, laying on mom is hard work!"

Mister Kitten:  "You're right!  I need a nap now."

Thomas: "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

Actually, all of Da Boys have abandoned me for the nonce.  ::sigh::  I am all alone in the bedroom.  This is probably due to the fact that a) it's a nice day b) they rested a lot last night and it's time for a bit of a romp and/or c) they've all had morning eat-trays so they don't need me at the moment!  Which reminds me, I wonder how long it will take before they learn pig latin??

heh heh heh!  points to the small pet bowl... Gray Cat Approved©!!

Mom, Why Is It Cold Again??

It's a lovely Spring day in Tennessee.  No, take that back.  The day before yesterday was a lovely Spring day in Tennessee!!  Yesterday it was rainy and turned cold.  Today it's in the 30's.  So while the flowers and trees are blooming and the kitty cats are wanting to frolic again in the warm air... well, it's turned cold again.  My son turns 14 on Wednesday and I recall the day he was born.  On the 18th I went into labor.  It was snowing.  In March in Tennessee it can well snow.  The day after being 65.  Actually, that's been known to occur in April as well.  Which is why the pools don't open until Memorial Day.

This also explains why my side of the bed had the heat turned on and most of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde spent the night on my side.  Now when I get up I have the habit of opening the shade of the window where the cat window perch resides.  It used to be in the kitchen but we only have one and they prefer the bedroom over all the other rooms.  They'd been avoiding it for awhile, cycling out toys and things as cats do (well except for their cat tree which is by the improvised cat window door).  But recently Zaphoid and Mister Kitten have decided that it is Rather a Good Thing.  Mister Kitten is on it now and he was looking pensively outside, feeling the window as if gauging the temperature.  He was sooooo cute.  Now he's napping with his arm hanging off of the perch.  Which reminds me, once I get a camera working again, I'll get a picture of Mister Kitten and Zaphoid hanging out together on the top level of the cat tree.  They are up there all the time, looking adorable!!

Mister Kitten chilling on the bed.

I linked this one to the infant bodysuit... it's just too cute!!

But there are all of the other products as well,

I had a hard time deciding, the teddy bear was

in the running as well, and the clock and and and

YES!!! I did it!!! (this means kitty pictures...)

After much work, and the help of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde as well as Amy & the House of Cats, the blog is up in three columns!!  Whoot!!  I still have to redo some things (there are some missing links... don't say it!) but for the most part, things are back in order.  I'm going to take a break now and rest after my labors.  Hmmmm, Zaphy & Mister Kitten are taking a catnap, I think I'll do the same.j

Belly UP!

Thomas & Star decided to do team Belly UP!  Both of them were lying on the bed in exactly the same position showing off their bellies.  Star showing his pretty belly star and Thomas just wanting someone to come rub his belly.  And here comes Mister Kitten to see what I'm doing and hoping that he can get in on the treats that Thomas and Star have already had this morning.  Now if I can just give them to him without two other boys mugging me!!  Yay!!  Thomas came up but when I told him these were for Mister Kitten he stopped and just sat.  Good boy!!  Corwyn just popped in to say, "Mister Kitten is my good boy!"

This means that I need to run and take Cordude to the doctor's office.  He's home from school today with a hurt knee.

 

 Doctor Cat will see you now.
And proceed to sit on your chest.

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.

Seven!!

Not flies, nor giants, nor dwarfs.  Nay!  It's seven new graphics in the shop!  Two of them went into Occupational Cats; Touch My Caffeine... and Exhausted & Overworked! 

Then I reopened Medical Expressions and revamped it.  I had already finished up 99% of the graphics for these when I was reading Doctor Grumpy in the House this morning.  Between blog & response I was inspired to draw just onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnne more graphic for this section.  ::stares innocently at the ceiling::  Actually, it's all Thomas' fault.  No, really!!  If he or Star had helped me get to sleep last night, I might not have been in this kind of mood all day!  Howsoever, should you happen to go look, I hope you enjoy.  Regardless of your opinion, I'd love to hear it!!

 

white t-shirt (more items available!)

Here, May I Get That For You?

Star likes doors.  No, I mean Star likes doors.  We don't have conventional door knobs on our doors, but rather door levers.  This makes it much easier for Ninja Kitties to open doors.  Howsoever, Star had been defeated by our closet door.  Alas & alack (with much heavy kitty sighing, putting up of kitty paw to kitty forehead, and throwing of kitty self onto kitty cast iron fainting couch), he had been unable to open our sliding closet door.

You notice that I use the word "had".  ::head:desk::  Yes, it's true.  Star has defeated the closet door.  He was scratching on it for some time but we would just tell him to stop and off he would bound (to return later... in secret).  But finally... one day... he hooked his paw just...so... and voilà!  The door was open!  He bounded into the closet!!  Only to be caught and thrown out ignominiously onto his face whilst being told, "NO Star!!"  This did not deter a healthy young ninja kitty.  Nor did it deter the humans occupying the room, especially late at night when the sound of a healthy young ninja kitty getting into the closet woke them up!  Finally a small folding chair was put on the side of the outside sliding door in hopes of preventing our explorer.

Crash!!  Bang!!  ::head:desk::  He's opened it again two or three times now and then stopped.  But last night I woke up to him acting like a tennis shoe of mine was a rabbit.  Funny.  I don't remember leaving that one out.

If all goes well, this should be up in the shop this afternoon or by tomorrow evening.  I'm thinking under Caring Cats.

Who's That Knocking at Our Window?

"He's furry and a big pain in the a**" is what my husband just sang.  This morning it was Thomas.  You see, our vociferous cats (yes, even Mister Kitten, even though he doesn't have the classic Siamese voice)  have been trained to "knock" at the windows and doors to get our attention when they want into the house rather than scratch on the screens.  Now granted that this doesn't always work, but they are getting better.  So when you hear knocking at the window at our house, you immediately check for errant cats.

This means that my husband had to slip downstairs (split-level house) to let whomever was out.  Being half-asleep he wasn't sure who did what, although he did know that Zaphoid went Out, and that the skunk smell was back.  Our street backs up to about ten to fifteen acres of farmland (okay, they just grow hay) so we have a lot of 'critters' around.  Oddly enough, we're also within walking distance of a Krogers shopping complex.  Go figure. 

Back to Zaphoid, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before or not, but Zaphoid doesn't care for kitty litter.  This means that we're constantly letting him in and out while we're awake.  This also means that he does his kitty best to hold it near our waking time so he can go to the "bathroom".  He has been known to wake me up for this purpose.  "Mom?  Mom?  Mom!  Mom!  Mooooo-ooooom!   Meeeeeee-oooooooom!  Gotta Go!" rather like a small child learning to potty.  Zaphoid is probably our most vocal cat so far as his own needs are concerned.

He is also known as Emo Kitty.  Poor Emo Kitty.  He often jumps up on the bed and when you ask him what he wants, he doesn't know.  He doesn't head out toward the food or the door.  He isn't making a "I'm sick, please take me to the vet." meow.  He talks and talks to you while you pet him until your arms fall off (and hopefully give him a good brushing as well).  Then he either gets up on one of the pillows or down at the end of the bed and lays with his head on his paw looking like a black poet.  I swear.  The picture of Emo Kitty comes straight from one of Zaphoid's favorite poses.

Sometimes I expect him to put on a black beret, start snapping his fingers or beating a drum, and reciting poetry about death, doom, and despair.  He lays his head over the side of the bed with the most worried look (and will purr if you pet him while he's doing this!).  When he first started doing this, I took him to the vet.  Nope!  Perfectly fine, absolutely gorgeous (all of my Tims can con the vet techs out of a gazillion treats! ::grin::), and completely healthy.  He's just our Emo Kitty.

 

journal (more items available)

wondering if I should switch this to b/w

FYI - "Family" in the Shop

Just a note to let you know that there is a new section up in the shop!  It's called Family and contains graphics for New Moms/Dads, Brothers/Sisters, It's a Boy/Girl, and tons of other things!  If you've got a new baby coming, here, or need a great shower/baby or big brother/sister gift then this is the place to go!  Now to figure out what I'm going to do next... but first... lunch!!

 

okay, here's the whole enchilada!

and the most humorous graphic of the bunch

Excuse Me, Whose Bed is This??

I like foot warmers, really I do, but last night was beyond ridiculous.  Every time I tried to stretch my legs out straight, and admittedly they are long, I kept finding obstructions which would not move.  These said obstructions were also made of lead.  No, really!  Every cat, except perhaps save Thomas, had decided to sleep at the bottom of our bed all in a row.  This forces my husband and I to sleep with our feet scrunched up.  Now normally this is not a problem for me as I've always tended to sleep in a semi-fetal position.  Howsoever, since my total knee replacement I've rather preferred to have that leg out straight at night.  HA!

As for Thomas, his role is to sleep in between my husband and I, rather like an errant toddler.  And like an errant toddler he stretches out.  A lot.  If you have children over the age of two, you are familiar with the ability of the child to knock you out of the bed.  Thomas behaves just like a two year old.  No, really!!  In fact, one night I just barely managed to catch myself before I hit the floor.  My husband has not been so lucky, but his daughter is 23, while my children are 16 & 13 (alright, he'll be 14 next month...where does the time go?!?).

I just wish my children, who love and adore the cats when they are awake, would just let them into their bedrooms.  It would significantly lessen my bed load at night.  Maybe we should look into that king size bed, regardless of size & monetary limitations!

 

mousepad (other items available)

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!!

You are Getting Sleepy... Very Sleepy...

My husband went to a friend's birthday party last night and returned around 11:00.  When he returned home he had two plates full of goodies for me, one of which was three different kinds of birthday cake.  He got into bed and immediately Thomas hopped up to perch on his tummy.  Suddenly, huge Siamese Cat eyes were staring into my husband's head. 
"You realize that Thomas is staring at you."
"I know that Thomas is staring at me." 
"I wonder what Thomas wants?" 
"It's Thomas, there is no telling what Thomas wants."

on the other side...

"You are getting sleepy... very sleepy...  
You will get up out of bed.
You will get the BBQ out of the refrigerator and put it down on the kitchen floor..."

 

BBQ apron! (other items available!)

Whoooooot!!!

CafePress is taking PayPal now!!!

Now available on all CafePress sites (US, UK, CA, AU) and CafePress shops, customers will be given the option to pay for their purchase using PayPal during check out.

I can't imagine why I might be excited about this!!! ::grin::

Ummm, Mom? That white stuff is still there!

While it was actively snowing, none of the cats would venture outside.   Instead, whenever anyone opened a door, they would stand before it in shock at the inconceivable change to their ordinary world.  The Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde was Not Happy.  It snowed from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon.  Four cats dug in on the bed in the master bedroom, sure that the storm would never be over!!  They only came out for occasional forays to eat, hit the kitty litter, and check the door from a suitable distance to see if, by some chance, the world had suddenly become sane.  Alas and alack, that was not to be.

I exaggerate.  Saturday afternoon it finally stopped snowing.  Now you have to understand that we live in Murfreesboro, TN.  We usually see snow once or twice a year.  Normally it's about an inch of snow and not 6 or more!  At any rate, kitties don't have to face evile snow & ice storms like this on a regular basis!  But once it stopped actively snowing, Thomas calmed down.  'Ah,' he said, 'I remember this.  This is that cold white stuff that gets in your paws!'  The first time Thomas came in, he was covered in snow.  Thomas likes to roll!

Once Thomas had conquered the snow, his brother Zaphoid decided that, perhaps, this change in the scenery might be safe after all.  He too went outside (but doesn't stay out as long as his brother!!).  Mister Kitten could not be outdone and thus also ventured outside.  Only one cat has stayed by my side.  The cat that, in the past, has always raced outside as fast as he could.  StarWalker BitCat the ComputerKitty.

Of course, I had my husband pick up some new kitty treats at the store the other day.

It must be cupboard love.