Dear Gracie the Cat,

(Gracie is the white cat. Jag is the black cat)

I know you are a great Huntress, I really do. But in the future, could we stick to 'hunting' stray rubber bands and dust bunnies within the confines of our home? I do not appreciate you trying to show off and "one up" LeRoy, (the friendly lizard who lives on our back patio and periodically runs out from beneath random patio fixtures, scaring us half to death).

Bringing him into the house this morning, clenched tightly within your jaws is not funny. To me, and certainly not to LeRoy. You're lucky I was enjoying my morning solitude and was still ignoring the babies in their cribs.

Further Gracie, let's talk about your listening skills. When I say, "GRACIE DROP IT! LET LEROY GO!" I mean drop him right there. If I had meant, "GRACIE, run through the kitchen, then down the hallway, then run up the stairs and THEN drop Leroy" then that's what I would've said.

Finally- and LeRoy, this part is for you. If you're dead, be dead. Don't be dead and THEN SUDDENLY ALIVE right by my bare feet! I realize that I am like, 400 times your size, but can't you tell by my soothing voice and friendly demeanor that I was NOT the one trying to eat you? I merely wanted you the hell outa my house.

Chasing you up and down the stairs, wildly thrusting random objects at you trying, again, NOT to kill you, but simply block your further forward progress up the stairs and possibly into my kids' room. When I say, "It's okay LeRoy. Just...be....still..." that means STOP FREAKING RUNNING so I can catch you and return you the great outdoors!

Did the two of you think it was funny that I nearly ran out into the backyard with a lizard in a tub still IN MY UNDERWEAR? Cuz I surely did not. Mostly because it meant I had to risk leaving you alone for a few more moments, risking your escape, while I ran to put on pants before greeting the neighbors.

Let's be very clear-Gracie, hunting is for outside. Do not bring me your treasures. LeRoy, you've been warned and you're welcome for returning you to the backyard. In the future, let's be paying better attention when fluffy white things lurk nearby.

Oh and Gracie, I now have a pretty good idea who left me a half eaten pack rat on the rug a few months ago. Stop trying to blame it on Jag. You're busted.

Love, Mom

This is LeRoy. Lucky dude.

My other three babies :)

Those 4 legged babies of ours are normally so fast footed that capturing them on film is nearly impossible. (Ok, that statement really only applies to the 2 cats. Piper is the most photo-cooperative dog you could imagine.)

However, lately they are more and more "present" even when they hear the tell-tale "chime" signaling that the camera has been turned on...perhaps they know that their lives are about to change dramatically and are savoring the last few moments of animal solitude in the Bunch House....just about everywhere I go, right behind me, my brood of beloved pets follows. Brian affectionately refers to my followers as my "wild kingdom." "There goes mommy and her wild kingdom!" he'll chirp, especially in the morning when we all wake up for the first time!

They're good pets and I'll do my darndest to make sure they continue to receive lots of love even after their babies arrive! So in honor of them, I thought I'd post some pictures of my 2 kitties, Jag and Gracie and my good ol' lab, Piper in their spoiled domain! :)

This is Jaguar (Jag), our overweight, and overlovable black kitty

This is princess Gracie, who can be found just about anytime of day, lounging on my bathroom counter awaiting anyone with thumbs who will turn on the faucet to a drip so she can drink from the sink! Spoiled? Yeah. I'd say so!

And then there's Piper...the true definition of loyalty. She does not leave my side all day long and has become very protective of mommy and her babies.

The cat hangout... If Gracie is not on the bathroom counter, then she's belly up somewhere else in the house! She's a cat who knows how to relax! Jag is steadfast howeverin his relaxation spot. If he's not beside me on the couch or bed, then he's perched on one of the stairway landings!
And Piper, thinking that she really is a human, has made it no secret that she feels she belongs on the opposite end of whatever couch I currently occupy. Poor Brian got pushed to the small couch so that Piper and I could share the big one.