Time to breath!

It has been a crazy week.

Got back from playing flyball at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway - yea baby - on Monday.
Spent Tuesday morning at the dealership.
Since then, I have been working 12-13 hours days. Body/Mind is paying for it and now I can almost breath.

So let me update...
Yep, that is where the tournament was. Fly'N Aces put on their very first tournament. The way it ran, the amazing job they did, it was like they had been doing it forever! It was in a building right in the middle of the track. But that fact wasn't even the highlight...
Maybe this was it...
Or this... Fran belonging to Tracy and Leslie from Mad Dogs
Or Jake's smile at flyball (photo courtesy of Nicole Hrustyk)
Or was it seeing Blink run a new personal best?
Or River and Jana running a 3.976 - the first UTB dog EVER to run under 4 seconds?
Or taking 1st place in Division 3, which was full of heavy hitting teams (meaning really fast/competitive teams - still think they added wrong - LOL)
Or was it seeing good friends from Cali, making new friends, seeing teams we usually don't get to see run, hanging out with a great bunch of flyball peeps?
Or was it the support UTB got from all the various teams when we needed help?
Or seeing Touch N Go break their world record not once but TWICE! simply amazing

Plus - no toys as a prize! (hehe Jake isn't a toy dog - they always go home to the girls). This is what they awarded instead - pretty awesome!


I don't think I can pinpoint one thing as the highlight. It was just a great weekend full of all the above awesome things plus more... To me, the weekend flowed...

This is why I love flyball; what it is about to me. Good times, lots of laughs, great peeps, watching the dogs do what they love to do, seeing dogs/teams reach goals, everyone in sync together, everything/everyone falling into place.......

Ahhh - so when do we get to do it again?

WW - No; It should read "It's that 'GO-GO' Gal"

Growing Fast....

Kittens are growing so fast.
As of yesterday, everyone had their eyes open. They actually hear too!
When I talk they kind of move their heads in my directions.

To me, the orange are the strongest and most healthy. They seemed to advance first.
There is one black one that is crawling ALL over and if I make sounds - crawls to me. He is the only one that doesn't squeak when I pick them up.

I can't tell which are male or female. Billy said he can and rambled them all off to me. But at the same time, some he said were male looked just like the ones he said were female. I am going to keep looking and comparing to photos on line.

We cleaned up the area since Java has been so friendly. Since all the kittens are moving, and some faster than others, I was worried they would start to get lost. So, we bought a little baby pool yesterday and put them in.
I'm a sucker for the orange ones
And a sucker for the black ones
Heck - just I am just a sucker for all of them!

Billy really wants to keep one. Financially, we can't. If he wants to pay for food, litter, shots etc. - we can keep one. But, I have heard that story before and that isn't how it happens.

I made the mistake of telling Hadley about the kittens - who in turned told Dad about the kittens. He gave me a stern lecture last night before I went to bed. Funny, how even at 40, a harsh lecture from my dad can make me feel small and question/doubt decisions I make. How I feel after a conversation/lecture - well, no one can make you feel anything. I have to remember feelings aren't facts. I tossed and turned most of the night (not to mention getting whacked by Maddie's "cone of shame" every so often). So, I woke up feeling like someone hit me over the head with a hammer and really angry. Oh well, this too shall pass.

On the dog front, Maddie's spring time allergies returned - oh joy! So, she is in her lamp shade for the past week. I have been letting her sleep on bed with me (I know - bad bad bad) but she can't fit comfortably in the crate with it on. If I put her in there, she just cries and cries - which sends Jake and Sneek into a tizzy fit. Sleeping/Snuggling with Maddie is a lot different than the labs - she is always next to me and smothers me with bully kisses during the night.
Here is a pic of her in her cone and can't you just hear her saying "B*tch get this thing off me!"

One week

One Week old

Day 5
Day 4
Yesterday, was day 7 . Trying to get her to move the babies to a clean blanket. It's not happening. Billy is able to get close without her running away, and so am I. I sit out in the garage and watch the kittens - sometimes travel from one side of her to the other. Or watch her try and get comfortable so they each have a nipple. We watched a black one and the orange one fight for a nipple the other night. Their paws are so cute. I watched the lighter orange one try and get her nail out of the blanket to crawl over Java - squealing the whole time.

I am trying to figure out how to contain them once they are able to really move. Too many hiding spaces in the garage. I thought about an xpen - but I know Java will jump it - but maybe I can put a tarp on the top. I don't think a dog crate will be large enough for her, the litter box etc.

I feel bad Jinga has been vanished from the garage, especially with the heavy rain we had. We set up a crate on the front step with a tarp over it - but I don't think she is using it. I miss seeing her in the am and am worried she isn't eating properly, not that she can't stand to loss a few pounds. I see the neighbors cat at the porch food bowl more than I see Jinga.

I can't tell the difference between the 3 black ones. The orange kittens - one is darker and one is lighter so that is easy. The orange kittens seem much more active than the black; and talk much more. I am kind of smitten with them.

Watching them is actually very interesting to me - a wonder of life I have never seen. Billy is still a kid in a candy store with them - reading everything he can. He comes in telling me the latest info he finds via the net - suggestions, changes we will see, etc. Glad he is taking some responsibility raising them. With all that is going on, I am glad to have him help.

Java Crew Day 2 & 3

Java and Crew Day 2


Crew day 3

Day 3
Well, here we are at day 4. I am getting a little out of hand with the photos. But I can't help it. Sitting in garage and watching her amazes me. When one is out of the fold or on the opposite side of her nipples, they wiggle their way back; sometimes climbing over her back to get to the right side..

The orange ones are always squeaking - and I find it irresistible! They are little piggies - always looking for her nipple.

She doesn't run when I am out there. Unfortunately, she bolts whenever Billy comes out. i know it hurts him and he is trying to gain her trust. But, Java isn't there with him yet.
I have yet to touch the crew. Billy has handled the kittens. I try and tell him not to - but well, he is going to do what he is going to do. He is ultimately a cat person and is like a little kid in the candy store with the kittens. This is the man who saves baby birds and builds them boxes in trees and feeds them worms.

We are both a little obsessed with the little ones, and i think probably being too watchful. Java isn't eating her kibble so we are loading her up on wet food. Grammy and Grampy gave us some wet food their cats won't eat. So now we are just trying to find out a flavor she likes so I don't over buy on one she won't eat.

I put a clean blanket out in the garage, hoping she moves them but she hasn't yet. Good news is that she is using the litter box. I also put a box and a dog crate just in case she wants to move them.

So, that is the short version of what is going on.

More photos to come as they start to grow.

Words for a Wednesday...

"Talk doesn't cook rice'' (Chinese Proverb)

Surprise!

As part of my morning ritual, I visit the two cats that we feed in the garage, Jinga and Java .
Java didn't run this am - and as I looked closer - well this is what I saw once my eyes focused;
She later moved and I got a closer look;

Wonderful, I thought. I ran in to call Billy. We have tried to catch this little girl for the longest time. She is so skiddish and completely feral.

Neither of us have ever seen or taken care of newborn kittens. In speaking with friends, we will let Java do her job and try not to interfere. We won't be using the garage for a while, to hopefully keep her and her kittens safe.

I will try and blog the journey of Java and her kittens. I guess I should think of names while I am at it. Since mama is Java, guess the kids need coffee names. So far I have Verona, Sumatra, (don't like that one), Espresso, Pike, and Via. Hoping by time I come home, I won't need to find any more names ;-)