I forgot to breathe...

I've had an insanely busy 24 hours. Last night, at about this time, I realized that if I was going to pack for a week away, I had laundry that needed to be done. So, at about 11 pm on Saturday, I put the first of three loads of laundry in. The laundry wasn't 100% completed before I went to bed but I was down to only needing one transfered into the dryer when it was finished washing (Thanks Vic!...jealous much, my husband cooks, cleans, AND does laundry). When I stumbled back to bed at about 2:30 am, I set my alarm for 9. I figured the kids (at least the younger 2)&) would be up by then.

The one time in my life it would be helpful if they were up earlyish, they slept in. I put on a pot of coffee and sat down to read the news while it brewed. Gabe was up before the coffee was done and Joey wasn't two far behind. While they were waking up and eating breakfast, I folded 3 loads of laundry (whee fun...normally, Vic would fold it but they ha a really busy night at work) and knocked back my first cup of coffee. I started trying to wake Marty up at 10:30 so we could start packing for our trip out of town.The younger two and I got started picking out the clothes to bring with us and Marty finally dragged ass out of bed at about 11. God, I miss those teenage hours. I had the kids completely packed (clothes, electronic gadgets, chargers, Marty's school books, etc) by about 11:45. Now, I had to pack myself and get dressed. By 12:40, I was cleaned up, dressed and had my clothes and everyones toiletries and meds packed. By 1:20, I had all my work and projects I need to work on packed.

Did I mention that Gabe had a birthday party to go to that started at 2 and I still had to get to the store and pick up some things Vic was going to need over the course of the week? Yeah, since we were going to be gone, Vic picked up some overtime shifts and knew he wouldn't have time to get to the store so I had that to fit in too. Miraculously, Gabe and I walked into the party only 15 minutes after it started and he had a blast "skating". I say skating in quotes because, well, he is 6 and has only been on skates one other time. You can imagine how graceful he was. We left the party at 4:45 and I made it home in time to kiss my husband through his vehicle window as he left for work. At this point, I had 2 hours and 15 minutes to get everything wrapped up and get out the door so I could arrive at our destination in time (btw, our destination is an hour and 10 minutes away from my house).

In one hour, the kids and I loaded the van, tied two bikes to the top of the van, loaded the dish washer, made sure the dogs had been out, and got ourselves and both dogs in the van for the drive to my parents, house. I also broke up the hundred zillionth fight in 24 hours between my kids and threatened them with a complete ban on talking for the entire drive if they didn't reform themselves. We left the house at 5:45 and pulled into the parking lot of my mom's church at 6:55...with 5 minutes to spare. See, Gabe had an ice cream social for the day camp he will be attending this week. My parents met us in the parking lot and my Dad took my van, the dogs, and the two older kids back to their house. Gabe, my mom, and I went to his ice cream social. After the ice cream social which Gabe piggy backed onto birthday party food, we headed back to my parents'  house with a quick side trip to by sunscreen. Gabe proceded to spent the remainder of the evening eating his way through a large piece of pizza, about a pound of grapes, a few pieces of chocolate, a serving size container of pringles, and a granny smith apple. Gabe and Joey went to bed late. Marty is winding down for the night. Even the dogs are asleep. The quiet is calling to me and I'm about ready to go to sleep myself.

Oh shit, I think I hear Gabe calling bellowing for me...

I guess it's time to go again.

Tune in tomorrow for pictures of Joey's new haircut. You won't believe it.

I'm going crazy why don't you come along

*I'm going crazy why don't you come along
I'm going crazy just singing this song

• Day 20 of Marty's migraine, Day 2 of a 100 degree temp for me (thanks Gabe)...'nuf said

Once I had a little dog and all it ate was cans and when those little puppies came they came them pots and pans!

My old girl is more than a little spoiled. You'd think she was
allowed on the couch all the time. BTW, she loves the blanket
Michell aka BattyNurse made me.

I'm going crazy why don't you come along
I'm going crazy just singing this song

• Why is it you can dose a sick kid (Gabriel) with meds and they rebound and have energy to spare but give an adult the same cooties and we're dragging ass and feel like death warmed over.

Once I had a little cat and all it ate was yarn and when those little kittens came they came with sweaters on!

Joey's kitty, Butterball, fits right in with the family.
He's basically healthy but has medical quirks. The
seasonal fun of giving him allergy meds has begun.

I'm going crazy why don't you come along
I'm going crazy just singing this song

• I have projects galore, including moneymakers, that are waiting for me but I feel too damned crappy to do anything. It is driving me stir crazy.

When Mary had a little Lamb the doctor was surprised, when old McDonald had a farm the doctor nearly died!

• Doctors, doctors, doctors...I've had my fill of freaking doctors. We've spent more on co-pays and prescriptions and gas too and from in the past month than we did in the previous 3 months. I am done, done, done!

I'm going crazy why don't you come along
I'm going crazy just singing this song

What's driving you crazy? What's making you climb the walls? Share with me and make me feel a little more normal.


* The words in italics are the lyrics from a song we use to sing in Girl Scouts.

PS...sorry for all the bitching and moaning about sickness. I've just been feeling a bit overwhelmed.

A Few Nuggets Short of a Happy Meal

There are days I seriously wonder about the intelligence and general mental competence of our dog Jack. Well, it's not really his intelligence I wonder about but he definitely makes me shake my head at him on a frequent basis. Imagine a dog stuck permanently in his teenage years and you have Jack.

As sweet and kind and patient as he is, he is also scattered and spazzy and sometimes doesn't seem to have a clue. Tonight, he had one of those moment. We had let the dogs out and, as seems to be their MO, they started barking a short while later...let me in,let me in. Well, wouldn't you know it but about 10 minutes after that, Jack came over to me, dancing around like a visit outdoors was necessary, and demanded to go back out. So, after some bitching about his indecisiveness, I got up to let him out. Normally, all it takes when he's like that is for me to ask him "Do you want to go out?" and he is off like a shot to the back door. Not this time. He took off but then he stopped about halfway there. I kept walking and tried to get him to go out but he just kept giving me the "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about" look. As soon as I gave up and came back in to the living room to sit down, Jack started the dance and whine, I must go out routine. This time he really did go out but I came back in muttering about the damn dog being a few nuggets short of a Happy Meal or a few bricks shy of a load. Marty heard me and was vastly amused and that got me thinking.
What is your favorite funny way of saying someone is clueless?

So far I've come up with...

•  a few nuggets short of a Happy Meal
• a few cokes short of a six pack
• a few brick shy of a load
• a few ways short of a bulb

Furbabies

Marty titled this tableau "Crouching Butter, Hidden Freddy" and mad me laugh my ass off.

Invasion of the Four-footed Furry Wonders

This weekend is going to be a little crazy around the Cruz household. Yes, my friends, even crazier than usual. This weekend, we don't have just 2 dogs in our house. We don't have just 3 dogs. We have 4 dogs for the weekend...4 big furry crazy dogs. This weekend, my mom has a conference for church and my dad is driving to Charlotte, NC to meet up with his sister and her husband. So, we are playing host to both of my parents' dogs until Sunday. Thank goodness all the dogs get along enough to be mellow. The reality is that 4 dogs that are all between 60 and 80 lbs take up a LOT of space and if they didn't get along so well it would be insane.Without further ado, let me introduce the Four-footed Furry Wonders...

Chewy (my parents' dog) being served a meal by Gabe

Sam (my parents' dog) and Jack (our dog) hanging out together

Jolie (our dog) - the reigning queen

So, do you think I'm as crazy as I feel right now?

Animal crackers in my soup

Animal crackers in my soup
Monkeys and rabbits loop the loop
Gosh oh gee but I have fun
Swallowing animals one by one...

A is for animals and boy are our animals crackers, crazy, nutso. We have 2 dogs...Jack, half husky and half golden, and Jolie, border collie.  Both our dogs are characters but Jack is the one with the craziest stories. 

We use to live out in the country and we were so far out in the country that the dogs were allowed to run. We had 5 acres and literally no traffic on our road so it was safe. Needless to say, Jack wasn't that happy to have his running curtailed when we moved to town. Jack's solution to that is to escape an run through the neighborhood whenever he can. Luckily, he's a sucker for rides in the van. All I have to do is follow him in the van and eventually he gets tired of running and jumps in to go for a ride.  I can't decide if he's dumb to fall for the "Let's go for a ride" or if he's smart because he gets what he wants and then gets a ride home.

Jack's antics aren't restricted to his waking hours either. Lots of people have kids who talk or walk in their sleep.  I bet not many people have dogs who "talk" and walk in their sleep.  I know lots of dogs twitch or occasionally yip in their sleep but Jack doesn't stop there. Jack barks, growls and yips in his sleep. It's loud. It's distinct. And, somehow he does it all without opening his mouth. Those must be some hellacious dreams he has.

Jack decided it wasn't enough to dream about walking either. I'm sure lots of you have seen the video of the dog that was running in his sleep and he got up and ran into the wall. Well, last year, I saw that video and decided Vic had to see it too. The next night, we were sitting in the living room and the dogs were both sleeping. All of a sudden Jack jumped up and headed for the den.  He tripped over the bag of wooden blocks taking a face plant in the floor. But, that didn't stop him. He got up and kept going. He hit the stairs into the den and hit the floor. Jack just laid there shaking. I was getting a little worried and was thinking seizure or some other problem when, all of a sudden, he shook his head, looked around as if to say "how the hell did I get here", and woke all the way up. Yup, that's right. He crossed the room and tackled the stairs all in his sleep. Never a dull moment around here.

Check out some of the other A to Z bloggers.  The list of participating blogs has grown to almost 1000 blogs. There are sure to be some great posts out there.

Gratuitous Cuteness

I'm currently brain dead because Gabe has had a few rough nights sleepwise (I think he's hit a growth spurt). So, instead of trying to write coherently, here is some gratuitous cuteness...

laundry kitties...Butterball and Freddy

dismounting the balance beam at The Little Gym

upside down Gabe

Gabe the Bubble Boy

Perfect Moment Monday: Healthy and Happy

Welcome to Perfect Moment Monday sponsored by Lori over at Write Mind Open Heart (formerly Weebles Wobblog). Lori says that "Perfect Moment Monday is more about noticing a perfect moment than about creating one. Perfect moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between."

Last night, after the Super Bowl, I was trying to catch up on blogging. Our big orange goofball, Freddy, decided to keep me company.
He climbed up next to me, rubbed against the laptop a few times, curled up and settled in. Freddy was purring so loudly you could hear him from across the room. I have never known Freddy to purr that loudly but, for the past few weeks, he has started. I know some of you remember how sick poor Freddy was back in December. Well, Freddy has regained all the weight, he plays like a kitten, and he has become even more talkative than he was when we first got him. Let me tell you, nothing is quite as funny as seeing a 14 lb plus cat with his butt in the air, twitching and getting ready to take a flying leap to attack something. Since the vet treated Freddy and he recovered, Freddy's personality has really blossomed. It makes me wonder just how long that abscess was in there (2 months before we got him from the shelter, Freddy had something happen that caused the last 2 inches of his tail to be amputated) and  it makes me realize just how lucky we got. Seeing Freddy there so happy and healthy was truly perfect.

Go check out the other perfect moments at this week's Perfect Moment Monday on Write Mind Open Heart.

Random Wrap-up in Pictures

Hey y'all, I have a bunch of pics I meant to show you this month that I never quite got around to posting. So, I'm doing a December wrap-up in pictures.

All these pics are clickable and
a bigger version will open in another window.
I'm not sure what prompted this.
This rainbow was amazing. The complete arc was visible.


Butterball is growing so quickly.

Gabe and his dog Jack
Gabe's papier mache volcano...a Christmas present.
I got this adorable ornament from my pal in Wistful Girl's ornamentexchange. Sadly, I don't know who to thank. Can anyone help?
The tree and gifts
Ninja Bread Men courtesy of Marty and Joey
Gabe and me during our night out
Vic and Gabe during our night out

Gabe HighPants
Gabe can spell his name and a number of other words.
Freddy is healthy and thriving. He evengave us a Christmas present...a dead mousie.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A Cruz Christmas

I just realized that I haven't shown you pictures of my tree or any of the other fun holiday pictures I've taken. All these pics are clickable and will open in another window. I am thrilled with the way our tree turned out. It may not be a designer tree but each and every ornament on there means something to us.Santa Gabe
Santa Gabe, Santa Joey, and Butterball
Santa Marty places the angel
Santa Grinch and the Christmas balloon
Our tree in all its glory
our angel
our angel all lit up

Butterball couldn't resist the treeDo you have any pictures you would like to share? Leave a link, I'd love to check them out.

He's eating!!!

Our kitty, Freddy, is eating on his own. He beat the vet's goal by 24 hours. He might actually make it through this! I am so excited. Thank you for all the prayers and positive thoughts.

I have a new title...

For the next few days (at least), I have the job and title of kitty nurse. Marty's kitty, Freddy, our big orange goofball, is really sick.
I ended up taking him to the emergency vet tonight. Freddy was out of sorts for a while after Max died. He was mourning and not eating much. Then, he seemed to be back to normal but, I noticed he had lost a substantial amount of weight which I chalked up to him not eating while he was mourning.  A few days ago, he was back to hiding and being anti-social. When he was out, I noticed his eyes were a bit goopy and I thought he had caught a cold. A little research told me that when cats can't smell their food, they sometimes won't eat and, over a long enough period of time, that can cause liver problems. So, earlier this evening, I went on the hunt for Freddy because it had been almost a day since i saw him out and about. I was concerned about his lack of eating and figured I could syringe feed him some liquid kitten food. I was really alarmed when I found him because he seemed totally listless and I felt something weird on his neck when I tipped his head back to feed him. Off to the vets we went. Joey went with me (Marty stayed home because he doesn't deal well with things like that).

When we got to the vet's office, we found out the poor kitty had lost over 1/3 of his body weight and, yes, their was some sort of mass near the front of his throat. The vet was truly concerned if was a tumor or serious damage to his esophagus.  Best case scenario was that it was an abscess but she didn't think that was likely.  I honestly thought we might be looking at imminent euthanasia. Joey was in almost in tears. I was near tears. And, on top of that, I was panicking about the cost. I felt like shit worrying about the money but such is my reality. We were all thrilled that it turned out to be an abscess. The abscess was putting pressure on Freddy's throat and making him unwilling to eat or drink. Freddy still isn't out of the woods.  There is a chance the infection might have spread too far or that there is another cause but, we are hoping and praying the treatment for the abscess will allow him to recover. 

So, for the next few days, I am a full time kitty nurse.  I need to force feed him a 12 cc syringe filled with food at least 6 times a day. I also have to clean his abscess (eeeeeeewwwwww) and encourage it to drain a few times a day.  The vet says that hopefully in 2 to 3 days he will be starting to do better and, if not, there is something bigger and more serious going on and we may have to consider putting him down.  Please say a prayer for Marty's kitty.

My poor, poor boy...

Oh man, last night my heart was just breaking for Joey. On the way back from TKD, he was looking sad and I asked if he was ok. When I asked him, he said no and started crying about how much he missed Max. He then asked me what word I was using when I had explained why I thought Max had died. I was explaining that I said I thought he had a congenital defect in his brain that caused him to have a stroke basically a problem he was born with. Well, he managed to get his emotions under control and, when we got home, we put the lights on the tree. Then, around bedtime, Joey was having a "missing Max" moment right and ended up sobbing and sobbing.  Then he said, "Mom, two nights before he died, I was holding Max and bouncing him in my arms. When he jumped down, he hit his head hard on the shelf. I think I caused Max's death." My poor dear boy.  He has such a gentle soul and would never, ever willingly hurt someone and he's been thinking he contributed to his cat's death. That just breaks my heart.  I assured him that the type of bump a cat would have gotten from jumping out of someone's arms would never cause damage to the brain. Joey then said "But what if he did have a congenital problem...maybe that bump could have caused it to be a problem." I reassured him that to do that kind of damage to a cat;s brain that there would have probably been external damage.  I also told him that the fact that Max misjudged a jump so badly probably meant something was already going wrong and we just didn't realize it. Joey said he still felt like it was his fault. I asked him if he had regularly played with Max like that and he said yes. I also asked him if Max usually liked that play and if he had ever fallen or hit his head when Joey played with him like that before this time.  He said no. So, I told Joey that what he did caused no harm to Max and that his playing with Max probably made him feel loved and taken care of. Joey was still crying pretty badly so I asked him if hearing this all from Vic would help (because two people telling you something always makes it more legitimate). Hearing the same reassurances from Vic seemed to help and he calmed down enough to sleep.  I feel so bad for my poor sweet boy.

The Brat

Do you see this sweet, innocent face...
Behind that face hides a spoiled, rotten brat dog. Yesterday, I was on the phone with my friend Rys and it was getting close to 3:30, school pick-up time.  I started to say good-bye, explaining that I had to go.  As I was saying good-bye, I looked down and Jolie was standing there with her patented "Oooooh, we get to go  I get to go A ride, puhleeze" look on her face. I shook my head and said "You area brat, dog." Well, evidently, my acknowledging her presence translated into "You can come" in her doggy brain, so she headed for the door.  Jolie got about half-way there and stopped to look at me as if to say HURRY THE HELL UP.  So, I started singing "Jolie is a brat dog, a brat dog, a brat dog. Jolie is a brat dog..." and she interrupted with Arooorooorooo. I haven't decided if she was telling me to hurry up or if she was telling me to shut up and be nice.  Which do you think it was?

Return to the land of the living

Can any of you explain to me why the same cold that barely slowed Gabe down has been seriously kicking my ass? I think their must be a cosmic rule somewhere that says if a cold doesn't incapacitate a preschooler then it has to seriously beat down the adults. With massive amounts of sleep, a bit of theraflu, and a few days under my belt, I think I've recovered enough to return to my blogging adventure in full force.

Until today, I got very little done this weekend. Today, we did get out today and bought Gabe some much needed shoes (omg, he has grown so much) and bought our Christmas tree. I had planned on putting up our outdoor lights this weekend but the little bit of snow and the north wind that has been whipping today convinced me to wait a few days. We did get our tree up and we're giving it a day to let the branches settle out so we can fully cover it with ornaments.


Butterball has decided to help out a bit and is adding his minuscule weight to the job at hand...

I think this is going to be an interesting Christmas season and I hope we don't lose too many ornaments to the Butterball express.  So far he's been up the tree 3 times in just a few hours.

I also did one of my least favorite household tasks.  I sorted through Gabe's drawers and pulled out everything he had out grown and unpacked the clothes that are one size up. Most of his clothes are size 6s but that means he either has to have an adjustable waist or a belt. Hehehehe, even with an adjustable waist, one of his pairs of pants was almost still to big. You know how the adjustable waist pants have the elastic with button holes in it?  Well, I took it all the way in to the 11th button hole on the both sides.  There was still a little more give than completely necessary in that waistband. Speaking of Gabe, can y'all stop by the post below and wish him a happy birthday? It would mean a lot to me and it would just give him the biggest thrill to see all the birthday wishes.

So, have you decorated for the holidays? Have you finished your shopping? What's your favorite gift you've picked out for someone?  Inspire me please.

He's settled in and taken over...

Joey's little kitten, Butterball, has settled right in and he fits in with the crowd. He likes to watch video games...He tried to steal Gabe's chili from right out of his dinner bowl. And, he's already staked claim on a bed...Hehehehehe, Butterball's kitty bed supports a variety of sleep positions too.
It's a good thing Freddy is as mild mannered as he is because Butterball has adopted him and feels perfectly at ease in following him and climbing all over him.

Joey is doing better but we are still having moments when the loss of his Max hits him hard. It's nice to know my boy can love so deeply but it sucks seeing him in pain.

Happy Birthday Dear Joey

10 years ago today, I thought I had 4 weeks left until I welcomed my second son into the world. I was wrong. Joey had his own agenda and he decided he was ready to be born almost 4 weeks early. I have to say that despite the fact that puberty has reared its UGLY head, Joey has grown up to be an incredible young man.
Joey is having a great year in school and is really discovering that he can have likes and enjoyment that differ from his big brother. Joey has discovered that he is really good at math and seems to really enjoy it. His artistic skills are also flourishing. What is really fun to watch is how well Joey interacts with Gabe. Joey not only plays incredibly well and is very tolerant of his baby brother but, he will also get up with him on weekends and let me sleep in a bit. Can we say heaven? Joey is also learning to cook and does really well cooking sausage, eggs, and toast. He occasionally surprises us with breakfast in bed. Joey is kind and empathetic but he is also a really strong kiddo Vic and I are so lucky to have Joey as our son.

Happy Birthday Joey!

A terrible, horrible, no good , very bad day

Last night, Saturday night, while we all slept peacefully, our sweet, wonderful, weird kitty Max died. Max was actually Joey's kitty and all the kids are devastated. Hell, I'm pretty damned torn up over it too. Even now, almost a day later, I can't type this or look at his picture without starting to cry. I know it may seem weird to some of you that I'm getting this upset over a kitty's death but my animals are all part of my family and an unexpected death hurts. I was a little concerned about Max on Saturday night because he was walking weird but I thought he had just injured his leg. Now, despite his young age, I think maybe he had a stroke. When I got up this morning, I found Max lying on the floor right in front of the food and water bowls. When I saw him so still, I knew immediately he was gone. See, Max was never still. He was full of energy and even when he snuggled up for some petting and love, there was an ear twitching or you could hear him purring. I knew without considering it that Joey would just be crushed and I didn't want him to see Max sprawled out there. I also knew I couldn't hide Max away from him. So, I found a box and a towel and put him in there like he was sleeping. It was so very hard to go in and tell Joey what had happened. Seeing Joey's pain was just as hard as knowing a loved pet was gone. Since Max died peacefully, I asked the kids if they wanted to see him. Marty wanted to see him but couldn't handle being to close. Joey and Gabe both did. In fact, Joey wanted one last chance to hold and pet Max and to say goodbye. He was so torn apart by losing his kitty but it was so important to him to be able to say goodbye and to take care of Max one last time. And Gabe, poor Gabe was a mess.  I know he was aware of things when my FIL passed away 2 years ago but, for the first time, Gabe fully grasped what death means and it was so hard.


There were very few things I was glad about this morning but, there were a few. I was and am eternally thankful that Gabe and Joey did not get out of bed before me as they frequently do on weekends. I would not have wanted Joey to find his kitty. I was also very thankful that today was Joey's family party. It gave Joey something to look forward to despite him tearfully saying "I just don't feel like it's right to be happy or have fun today." The party also meant my parents were coming up and, that gave me an opportunity to help distract Joey from his grieving. See, Max came from my parents house (his mom was a stray that got dropped there) and there just happened to be a few kittens at their house currently who needed a home. Joey desperately wanted another cat immediately, not to replace Max but to give him a warm, fuzzy, kitty to love and pet. So, my parents brought Butterball up with them when they came for Joey's party...
So, although the tears still come and we all wish Max was still here with us, this cute little fuzzy guy is helping to distract us.

And, to add insult to an already shitty day, my BIL's father died this morning too. Due to a convoluted and screwed up family history, my sister Keri's husband John only found his father 3 years ago. Very recently, John's dad became extremely ill and John had flown out to California  to arrange for his dad to come back home with him. Sadly, John's dad died before he could ever make the trip east.  My heart is just breaking for Keri, John and their girls.

My doggie hurt herself *UPDATED*

After I drop Joey off at school, I'm taking my sweet Jolie girl to the vet.  She has done something (God only knows what) to her left hind paw.  One of the claws looks like it is twisted sideways.  I'm not sure if it's the claw or the toe.  Be back later with an update.

*Jolie is doing much better.  The only issue was with her claw.  For some unknown reason, that one particular claw grew too long and was twisting sideways.  A manicure cured the problem.  However, it was a good thing we went in because the poor girl had a UTI brewing and needed antibiotics.

Photo Friday: My 4-legged, Furry Family

Welcome to Photo Friday sponsored by the brilliant and beautiful Calliope of Creating Motherhood. This weeks theme is pets or, in the case of my pets, our 4-legged, furry family.

We have 5 furry family members - 2 dogs (one a pound puppy and one from my sister) and 3 cats (one pound kitty, one from my mom, and one inherited from a friend). Our animals are true personalities and can be almost as maddening as our kiddos. I'd like to introduce you to our furry family members...
Jolie and JackJolie is almost 10 1/2 and she is our pound puppy. Although we don't have papers to show it, we are almost 100% certain she is a pure bred border collie. She has almost all of the traits that breed is known for. Jolie has decided she is my dog. She ignores half of what Vic says and she pouts and sulks whenever I go out of town.
Jack is half husky and half golden retriever. He's about 6 yrs old and acts like a puppy. Even though he has his wild moments he is unfailingly patient with the kids. Gabe adores him and has decided Jack belongs to him.
Snoopy

FreddySnoopy and Freddy belong to Marty. Snoopy is also about 10 1/2 and, just like Jolie, we got him when he was about 1 1/2. We inherited him from a friend who was too sick to keep him anymore. Snoopy promptly attached himself to Marty. Lately, Snoopy has gotten stubborn and has decided he wants to live outdoors. Since Marty missed having an indoor cat, he used some birthday money and adopted Freddy from the pound. Freddy is polydactyl (one extra toe) on his front paws and is a very talkative kitty.
Max in the BoxMax is the youngest of our furry family. He is about 2.I really think that he doesn't believe he is only a house cat. I think the extra long tail has caused him to believe he is really a panther. Max is Joey's furry friend.

Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week...and, break out those cameras and participate next week.