Kittens 11 days old

They sure grow fast. I'm surprised by how big they are already

Their eyes are open!

Dog Scouts

Check out the Dog Scouts. This site has lots of fun information. There is even an article describing how to teach your dog to paint. I like the scent discrimination games. I think teaching the dog to find my kids will be useful. I've been on a "learning about dogs" kick ever since I saw a bloodhound track a baby that was inside a car and found her 20 miles away. That bloodhound knew which highway exit the would be thief had taken. Amazing. Then I learn of dogs that can smell cancer. Now that is awesome.
In a National Geographic show titled 'Dog Genius', an untrained juvenile bloodhound successfully tracked the suspect from a staged shooting who fled by vehicle through the city of Long Beach, CA by using nothing more than the scent from a bullet casing. In the experiment, the suspect was allowed to travel anywhere within a 3 mile radius. The dog was able to easily track the suspect through busy intersections, along a major highway, past numerous hot dogs placed on the ground as a diversion, and finished by singling out the correct person on a crowded beach.

Seven kittens born today!

Our cat with her seven kittens only hours old.
Here is the firstborn.

Here is the runt.


My cat went into labor at 3pm, in the middle of my dining room floor. I had to have the kids to Gymnastics at 3:30. Figures. I try to encourage her to have her kittens in the bathtub before
I left and although I hurried to drop them off and get back home, alas, I was too late. She was having her first kitten in the middle of my hallway on my white carpet. Figures. I was able to get a towel under her just as the second came out, then I scooped them all up and put them in the bathtub, where she was content to stay. She always did like sleeping in the bathtub. I'm not cruel, I did give her plenty of padding and towels this time and the tub was safer from the kids. She finished just after supper. The second to the last was huge, but the last one was a runt. I hope the runt makes it. Naomi loves the kittens, but she wouldn't stay while they were being born. Her response was "Ewww." Adora watched the first one born then lost interest. Sabian on the other hand I had to drag away. He thought the whole thing was awesome. When I was ready to reclaim my shower, I tried to move them out, but mama cat would have nothing to do with that, she wanted them right back in the tub. Oh, well. I tried. I'll have to use Andy's tub.

Muskrat anyone?

I was surprised to see the offering left for me on my front porch yesterday morning. I had no idea what it was. My dog is a good mouser and has made a habit of leaving mice on the porch, perhaps as a gift, perhaps simply to show us she earns her keep. This large rodent was no mouse. It was much bigger than a rat. My husband guessed a chinchilla or prairie dog, but the tail discounted that theory. The tail looked more like a possum, but the face didn't. After we both went to work and discussed what we thought we saw in the pitch black at 5 am, we thought we'd look up the muskrat. Definite match. I'd never seen one before, or if I had, I would have thought it a small beaver in the distance. I never thought my dog would be the first to find one for me. Wikipedia says trappers found their fur to be warm and of good quality and their meat tastes like rabbit or duck. Not a bad offering if we'd known what to do with it. Andy was happy it was not still there when we got home so he wouldn't have to deal with it. It did make for an interesting morning though.

Adora the unstoppable

Adora had a big day Saturday. I tried the potty training in a day method, but didn't get the full day without distractions, and though she has some trouble getting her pants pulled back up, she is doing very well. She tells me when she has to go if she needs help. I'm impressed for a 20 month old. She also learned to roller skate Saturday night. She only fell down once when she got excited over seeing grandma. She was willing to learn, started slow and improved in one night. She was having so much fun. She would look up at me and giggle as we skated together. She wanted to go out into the rink again and again. If only my back didn't ache from holding hands with a toddler, I think we would have kept skating non-stop. Sabian had fun too, but he never really tried. He didn't move his feet so much as letting us drag him, or he'd jump so we are suspending him. This method may have been fun when he had help, but when we left the rink, he'd try to go it on his own and biffed it several times. He had to take off his skates. Naomi was a railing dweller. She went around and around while holding onto the outside rail. She occasionally came out with us, but wasn't as happy about it. She learned to hold a pose while I pulled her around. We all had fun and got a good workout. Speaking of a workout, Andy has been going to the gym for 2-3 hours a day this last week. I think he is addicted. Just look at him.

Okay, so the photo isn't him. But he really is working out 2-3 hours each day. He signed up for the warrior leader training for the national guard so he could get promoted to a sargent and make more money. He wants to be sure he'll pass his fitness test. Hey, whatever motivates you, it's all good. :)