Day 83 - November 18, 2006

There is no entry for today as it is our daughter's birthday so I have not really been on the computer.

Day 82 - November 17, 2006

Peace and quiet reigns no more! Cointreau is in full blown call, yet again, and the screams are ear piercing. The poor girl is so confused by her hormones at the moment and when she isn't screaming, she is constantly grooming the Burps. The Burps have no idea what to make of this radical change in their mum and I don't think they are particularly pleased either with the frantic bathing. We've had a few water bowl accidents today. Honestly, you would think by now the Burps would be fully aware exactly where all the large bowls are downstairs, but so far, both Fanta and Sprite have both fallen into one of the bowls. It's not as if they actually fell from something into the bowls, instead, they were all playing chase when first of all Fanta just did not see the bowl in front of him and kept running, straight into the bowl! Poor Sprite's situation was a bit worse because he was actually next to the bowl, crouched down in pounce mode, watching Pepsi with a keen eye, when Coke ran up to him from the other side, scared the heck out of him and Sprite leapt straight up into the air and came down into the bowl. I was very good though, I didn't laugh at either baby, I merely dried them off and put them back on the floor to play. They are still being mothered by Amaretto and Amarula and they are loving every minute of it. Whenever any of the Burps wants some attention from a mummy, there is now always someone willing to provide which is quite sweet really. I was aiming to take individual photos of the Burps today, however it did not work out as Pepsi and Sprite refused to wake up, whereas Coke and Fanta wanted to play and not sit still.

Day 81 - November 16, 2006

There's no photos in any of the entries today due to lack of time, yet again.

The Burps are suddenly in Seventh Heaven as the saying goes. They now have a load of new mummies to groom them and look after them. I honestly do not know what is happening in our home at the moment but all of a sudden, Amaretto, Amarula and Tia Lusso have "adopted" the Burps. With Lusso it is to be expected as she has only recently had her honeymoon and may be expecting babies herself so for her to adopt the Burps is a natural thing. I can not say the same for Amaretto and Amarula though yet they are constantly following the Burps around, grooming them, trying to herd them back into bed, and when they are in bed with them, they let the Burps feed from them (not that they have any milk, it's a comfort thing), and they groom them and cuddle with them. We've never had this happen before with this many different girls all at once so it's all rather odd. I must say though that it does mean we currently have an extremely peaceful household with no little spats between hormonal queens which is rather nice.

Day 80 - November 15, 2006

Our Burps are just getting too uncontrollable I'm afraid to say. They are totally wearing me out now as they go into places they are supposed to be in, and I keep having to retrieve them. Honestly, if someone were trying to lose weight, then I would suggest you come and spend a week in our home and look after the Burps because when they are awake you don't get to sit still for more than 5 minutes. All I can say is that I hope their new families are prepared for total and utter chaos when the Burps move in with them. It really is just as well that they are equally as loveable as they are mischievous :) As I write this entry, all is quiet in the Schimmel home. Coke and Fanta are asleep on the other office chair, whereas Sprite and Pepsi are asleep in the cat bed, along with Ashanti, Cointreau, Amarula, Sage and Parsley. I've not even taken photos yet for today's diary entry because by the time I finished all the floors, the litter trays and the usual household chores, it was time to sit down and start writing the diaries. Right now though, I am off to put another load of washing in the drier, make a cup of coffee and pray that the Burps will remain asleep until I've at least had a chance to drink the coffee. But before I forget, I keep meaning to say that the Burps had no reactions at all to their first vaccination which is a tremendous relief.

Day 79 - November 14, 2006

Yesterday afternoon, the Burps had their first set of vaccinations and I was very pleased with how well they accepted it. They were much better with the needles than they were with the thermometer for obvious reasons :) I think that even Jo was surprised with how much they had grown and how much weight they had put on since she last saw them 2 weeks ago. I must admit that these 4 boys really do tuck into their food, as well as their dry biscuits. They have extremely healthy appetites bless them. Now that they have had their first set of jabs, I guess that I really must send in some paperwork to have them registered. At the moment, no names spring to mind so goodness only knows what they will end up being called. This morning the Burps spent over an hour tearing around, climbing on everything, and just getting underfoot in that special way that only young kittens can and I honestly do wish I had never let them meet Ashanti because up until they mixed with him, they were very good babies! Now, he has obviously taught them absolutely everything he knows. None of us can enter the kitchen at all while the Burps are awake because as soon as the door is opened, they are in like a shot, knowing full well they shouldn't be in there and I know that the only reason they do this is because that is what Ashanti does and he taught them to do it. The problem is of course, that they are such pretty babies so that when they do anything wrong, they just get picked up, cuddled, and kisses, so I guess it's no surprise that they are so mischievous. It is because they know they will always get away with it.

Day 78 - November 13, 2006

The Burps are totally delighted with their new playmates and spent a good part of the morning tearing up and down, playing chase with the Gamblers (and with Ashanti who doesn't understand the meaning of the word "rest") I was really pleased when 11am arrived and everyone started to settle down a bit because with all the babies tearing through the house it is like Pitt Street in Sydney! These children really need to be encouraged to go out in the cat run and play out there I think. It's not as cold today so the window leading into the run is fully open and even though Coke and Fanta have ventured onto the windowsill to have peer out, they still haven't decided whether or not they want to venture into the unknown. Must admit, I was tempted to give them just a little "push", but then though I had better not :) It's difficult to believe that our Burps are actually 11 weeks of age now although with the amount of food they are getting through on a daily basis, it is more like they are 15 weeks old. This afternoon, our Burps will be off to visit Jo, our vet, but there will be more on that tomorrow......................

Day 77 - November 12, 2006

No entry today as I had the day off :)