Tuesday 28th February
I have let Lily go quietly into the lounge for a sleep in the sunshine while I write this. Her kittens are running riot through the hall, up the stairs, in the bathroom and on the landing, I have shut them out of here, so that I can write this without having to disentangle them from the pc as I write, as we all know, kittens love to be involved in everything that you are doing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to have to postpone their vaccinations until Friday now, as last night my washing machine decided that it was going to stop working......................11 kittens, 2 youngish boys and no washing machine, not my idea of fun. So I have someone coming out to look at it tomorrow, and fingers crossed he will get it sorted, otherwise I will have to go shopping for lots more towels and fresh bedding for the kittens ( the younger ones).
The photos that I have only just this minute taken, took a little while, as they were trying to destroy my bathroom, or me, while I was trying to work the camera!!!!!!

Monday 27th February
Well, it has been a long nasty winter for us, and I have poor Richard home from school, again!!! more temperature, more shivers etc. I have been feeling similar, but life has to go on, so I am trying to ignore it the best that I can!!! Tim is at school, but for how long!!! I have never known a winter with illness as bad as this, my kids have never had so much time off school!

Now for the cats. Poor Lily really is calling again, it is draining on our ear drums, and so not nice for her, but there is nothing I can do to help her at the moment, except cuddle her, and try to keep her calm. She really is not feeding her babies much at all, the odd couple manage to latch on, but I very rarely see her with all 6 kittens attached, in fact, I am not sure that I have recently. After giving me 2 very lovely, and large litters, I am thinking of having her spayed when her milk dries up. I just have this feeling, that she is ready just to be part of the family now, and help out the younger ones with rearing babies. Maybe it is selfish of me, but I just want to enjoy her as a pet now.

the kittens have been........NAUGHTY!!!!!! Last night, I was on to get into bed by midnight, WHEN......2 of the dissapeared.....you just kind of groan, as you try to work out where they could have escaped to, all the time just wanting to go to bed. Eventually, I found them in my room ( that I am not using at the mo) having a great game under the bed, phew. That meant that I could settle them down. I go into the bathroom, only to find one of them trying to toilet in the bath, a quick grab and plonked in the litter tray. This is the first time we have had an almost accident like this now for quite a few days.

This morning, trying to get Tim ready for school, proved quite a trial. If you can imagine, they want to get the other side of every closed door. Trying to get in and out of the rooms you don't want them in is really very hard. They wait right outside the door, so you open in a squeeze, put your food there, but you know you have no hope of getting out. So then starts the process of removing them from the room, as they look at you, I am sure with a laugh, and scarper!!! Lily, as I was needing to get the car out of the garage, decided to jump up at the handle, and open the lounge door, and I came by to find 6 kittens swarming into the lounge. Percy was still in there, he has not met the hooligans yet. He just kind of lay there by the radiator, not batting an eyelid. fortunately I got them out of the room before they got to him. Ohhh, they would have been overjoyed to explore him!!!

My house is a tip. I have to suppress the need to feel anxious about the total lack of tidying I am able to do. I have told myself that the place will be blitzed when the babies have moved on, to their exciting new homes.

I am going to write G's entry now, and then go and take some photos of the larger kittens, who are asleep in the bathroom, by the radiator, they love it in that place. My battery ran out last night, so I could not take any. So today's photos, will literally be just taken.

Sunday 26th February
I had a very sleepless night last night. Firstly, I stayed up with the children, to watch top 100 no ones, we got hooked on it, and didn't realise the time. So it was 2am before I even got into bed.

Expecting 'Galadriel' to settle down with the kittens, I snuggled down into bed. I was woken quite soon after, 'G' was being very noisy. She then kept moving the little sausages out of the box. This was not good news, i couldn't understand why she was doing this, and why she would not let me sleep. Time after time she woke me up, time after time I put a little one back in the box.

Just after 9am, I was woken up, and all became clear. I realised what I had done. I had shut G upstairs, in with Lily's kittens, and Lily down here with G's kittens.............................you can imagine what a twit I felt, and still do. Anyone who has visited, will appreciate, that they do look very much alike, and at 2 in the morning, I can kind of appreciate how I did it. G must have thought she was in Heaven, having the big kittens all to herself, and poor Lil, must have wondered what on earth I was doing, shutting her in the room like that with me and the babies. So this morning I feel suitable embarrassed.

Lily's kittens are all asleep now, after enjoying a night being spoilt by Galadriel! They are cosied up in the bathroom, by the radiator again. I will stop writing now, and attempt to attach the photos which were taken last night. I took me ages yesterday to get the software to co operate, so fingers crossed that it works better today!!

Saturday 25th February
Lily has been singing beautifully, if not rather piercingly, this morning. I cannot work out if she is calling AGAIN or just plain noisy at the moment!!

Her babies are GORGEOUS, but of course I am going to think this, because I am totally biased and love them to bits!!!

I have just been up to take some photos. I am totally behind today, even more so than normal. I was about to write this, when I remembered that I did not take any photos of Lil's babies last night. So what you will see, is them asleep, on the old scratching post, in the bathroom. This is where they sleep at night, and it is also where they are making for in the daytime. The reason being, as you will see from the photos, is that it is right next to a very warm radiator!!! So they are nicely cooking up there. The heating is on here all the time while I have kittens in the house, and while it is so cold outside.

You will see today, quite a few shots of the larger tabby girl, we are calling her Nianna at the moment, which is an elven name. As you may have realised from the last litter, we are great Tolkein fans here!!! Her ped name will probably be, Vanima Nianna, which stands for 'beautiful Nianna'. Anyhow, there are a few shots of her today. She is on the stool, next to Lil. I have not taken many shots of her so far, so as she was out on her own with her mum, it seemed like a good time.

Fluffy ( who will be known as, Calimo Eruanna ( Bright gift of God)), has developed this very cute habit. When she wants me to make her some milky cereal, she stands on the litter tray, but the guard to the kitchen, and YELLS at me. When she sees me climbing over, with plate in hand, she goes crazy!!! Then all the others come bombing down the stairs. dear little Spotty, who is going to be named, Tittalle, (little cutie), lives up to her name. She is beautiful, and so full of mischief.

I will tell you more about all the others tomorrow, as I am working on all their pedigree names now. I must send of their registrations next week. and now, I must go and write a little something about Galadriel.

Friday 24th February
Ahhh, my darling Lily is driving me nuts this morning!!! She has been noisy ALL morning, at least, that is how it feels. Everyone else is asleep here, kittens, G, and preferably me a little later, but she is running around, up and down the stairs, yelling at everyone!!! Hopefully she will go to sleep soon.

Her babies are asleep, half of them in the scratching post upstairs and the other half in their 'mouse' downstairs. Little Spotty is not so little now, and she really is becoming quite a little character. I made the mistake of calling her Arwen last night. Arwen was our baby in the last litter, and Spotty is the image of her, and rapidly developing the same character traits! She has lovely big blue eyes. Fluffy (once Hooligan girl) is no longer such a hooligan, and has become quite clingy towards the children. I have a feeling that she may have to be the kitten that stays, as I don't think the boys will let her go!!!! And I am not hard enough to cope with their tears if I upset them. The 2 tabby girls are lovely, as are the boys. I had been thinking about keeping one of the boys, as they are so cuddly, but I think my boys have made their choice!!! I took a few photos of one of the boys on the new scratching post last night. And then some others of Spotty asleep in the mouse. She seems to appear in lots of the photos!! Just like Arwen did, a year ago.

Thursday 23rd February
I have come in here for some tranquility, while the hooligans are going crazy out in the hallway. When I go out there, poor Lil looks at me, I know she is asking, 'how do I control this lot ??' Just trying to walk across the hallway floor I have kittens launching themselves at my trousers. Walking down the stairs is a very dangerous activity now, as they do not respect the rules of 'don't jump in front of my feet as I am walking down a step'.........the fact that I am still alive and not at the bottom of the stairs in a mangled heap is a minor miracle!!!!

it sounds like things are getting a little quieter outside now, hopefully that means that they are going back to sleep soon!!!

They have been trying to copy Lily leaping over the wooden barriers that we have up, to keep them out of certain rooms. Poor Spotty last night, she gave a wonderful jump, but landed with a bump right in the middle of it. She looked so funny as she tried to jump, and so cross that she had not made it!!!

It is hard to believe that they are 8 weeks old now....vaccinations next week, and before I know it, they will be leaving me, it is hard to believe just how fast it has gone!!!

Wednesday 22nd February
I seem to be feeling poorly again today, and have just crawled off the bed settee in here, to feed the older kittens, who I could hear, running up and down the stairs!!!!! They have all settled down now, so a brief moment for me to include some photos of the little ones.

I will just explain the photos. Last night, Richard went to bed, my 12 year old son. As I have mentioned before, trying to keep his room tidy, is not an easy thing. Well, he left his bedroom door open, and I went up to find him fast asleep, with the little terrors having a wonderful time amongst his things!!!! I will leave my diary at this for today, so that I can have some more rest, but here are the photos of them all running around Richard's bedroom!

Tuesday 21st February
I was right yesterday, Lily had let them into into Timothy's room, and they were having great fun among the lego! This morning, I came home from the school run, and shut myself in here, with G and her babies, leaving the 6 hooligans outside with their noisy mother. I was dimly aware of lots of thumping around as I dozed, and my subconscious began to tell me that they were not just in the hallway and stairs/landing. When I got up, I found that Lil had opened both children's bedroom doors and they were having great fun. You have to bear in mind that Rich is almost 13, and his room can be a bit of a health hazard at the best of times!!! Still, they have worn themselves out, so I get a little bit of peace now ( hopefully).

Monday 20th February
We have bought Lil's kittens a new play toy, they have been spoilt, new scratching post, new climbing mouse!!! It is a funny, large mouse, that they can climb and sleep inside, they seem to really like it, so it has featured in most of their photos today.

I won't write too much today, as it is first day back at school, so not much time, the morning has flown by already!!!

I am covered in scratches.....just about every part of my body is scratched, and this is before G's babies are on the move!!!

These kittens have also mastered the art, of knowing which room you are in when the door is shut, so when you try to come out, all 6 of them are waiting to make a mad dash inside. I often wonder how this inbuilt, blatant naughtiness is 'learnt'. They just seem to know, even at this young age, that they are not going to be allowed in, so they may as well make a break for it, and then dash under the bed so that I cannot get them out! Lil was naughty this morning. She kept opening my bedroom door, I would come upstairs, 6 kittens would look at me, and then dash under my bed. They KNEW they should not be in there, and they made it as hard as possible for me to get them out!!! I can hear them upstairs as I type, they sound suspiciously as if Lil has let then into Tim's room above me..................................... when I go upstairs, she will give me one of her looks, that say, 'well????'

Sunday 19th February
Lily is being sooooo demanding, and so vocal, and she is definitely losing interest in feeding her kittens in the day, so I have to make sure that I am feeding them enough and that they are not stealing G's milk. I spent quite a lot of time late yesterday afternoon/early evening, keeping Lil's kittens away from the lure of G's milk and a nice warm tummy!!!

Lil's kittens are so fully of energy and mischief when they are awake, having 2 scratching posts has been such a help, they do have plenty of places to climb and play on, which does help the furniture in the house. I remember being in a pet shop, about 6 months ago, listening to a member of the public, who was a dog owner only. He was looking at the scratching posts, commenting on how he thought it was ridiculous people buying them, surely the idea was to STOP cats scratching!! I listened for a while, until I had had enough, and then quietly explained that scratching was a very necessary part of their behaviour, and they do it for a variety of reasons. Having scratching posts mean they can indulge as much as they need, without damaging any furniture, and indeed it usually keeps them off the furniture. They also give them the necessary means of climbing and physically challenging their bodies, especially when they are indoor animals. So I believe that you cannot have too many of them. When I get my outside run together, I want to have a climbing area made of wood, so they can have further areas to climb and scratch.

The beauty of these cats, because they do not have long fur, is that you can see their muscle tone. It is beautiful to see how their muscles work as they are clambering right to the top of the post. I think Siamese have the most beautiful, strong profiles.

Anyhow, enough of all that, I will write Galadriel's diary, and then attempt to battle with my machine in order to attach the photos. I have taken all today's offerings, as Tim has been busy building some models.

Saturday 18th February
Lily seems to be showing less and less interest in feeding any of her kittens. Occasionally I will find her, lying somewhere on the floor, having been ambushed by her kittens, who are swarming over her feeding, and she just has that look on her face, it is a cross between, 'help', 'they got me mum' or 'please rescue me', or 'isn't it time they went to their new homes, they are getting rather big!!!'. I took a photo of them all like that on the halfway landing on the stairs last night.

She has been very wakeful ( Lily that is) all of the morning, she has been very vocal still, and I am looking forward to when she decides to go to sleep!!!!!

Her kittens are now developing quite distinct characters now, they are all different in the own little ways. One of the boys, the smaller one, has taken to she 'sausages' in a big way. Given the choice, he likes to be cuddled up by them, such a sweet face. We are hoping to keep one from this litter, and he seems to be weaving his way into our affections......Hooligan Girl, is not really so crazy now, she is much the same as the others now. She is a good size, very fluffy in appearance. Spotty is sweet, she is quite crazy also and is quite a little chatter box. HB and Spotty are currently asleep in the kitten box, cuddled up together.

Then there are the 2 boys, so like the 2 Tabby boys from the last litter. They are both soft and cuddly, and by the size of their paws, they will be big boys. Talking to Jo, who now owns Sabre from the last litter, he is a very big lad now. Then there are the 2 Tabby Girls, very different really. The larger one has a very round belly now, from eating heaps!!! And the little one is more feminine, needing feeding up, eating does not seem to be her favoured activity, and she needs encouraging and a little peace away from the others . She likes the Royal Canin Baby cat biccies, and the milky mix that I still make her, but she is not interested in anything else ( a bit like her mother and big 'sister' ).

The scene here is currently very noisy, both G and lil are tearing up and down the stairs, yelling at the tops of their voices, with 4 kittens joining in the mayhem!!!!

Friday 17th February
At last she is quietening down, her call is coming to an end, which is good, because I think by yesterday evening, we had all had enough!!! It felt as if she had been yelling for ever. She is still grumbling, but then she always does that when she has had enough of her kittens being awake. And I have to say that they seemed to have been awake ever since I woke them at 9am..........I am not aware of them actually stopping, and it is now gone 1pm. They managed to fight their way into Timothy's bedroom, well, I suspect that Lily was in one of her door opening modes, and actually let them in. They were having a party when I got up there anyhow. I thought I could hear lots of thumping above me, while I was on the pc earlier, I realised it meant they had fought their way in, but could not be bothered to go up to sort them out.

I set the bathroom up with, large older scratching post, box/bed, their igloo wicker basket, and lots of toys. When I opened the door this morning, they were all sat ( apart from Lily) on top of the post, looking at me, as if to say, 'about time too', and then they leapt out and have been wreaking havoc ever since. A couple of them have learnt to climb curtains, which is not good news, I had to peel a couple off last night.

It has suddenly all gone rather quiet, ...............having investigated, Lil has been ambushed on the landing by 5 kittens fighting for milk, the 6th is on the heat pad in the kitten box extension, phew.......that means a few minutes quiet!!

Wednesday 15th February
Lily is still calling, so she is pretty noisy still, and demanding heaps of fuss and cuddles and strokes. She has just settled down with her babies for a short while, so we have a little peace on the ears for a while!

Her kittens ( and we really ought to make more names for them!!!! Rich has named Hooligan girl, fluffy..............she seems rounder and more fluffy than the others, I am watching as they grow more attached to her, I am suspecting it may be hard to part with her as they keep trying to grovel with me to keep her.........Spotty is great, she is becoming just as crazy as ( who I will now refer to as fluffy, just to keep them happy) Fluffy, in fact, I would say that she has possibly over taken her in the mischief making stakes!!! My 2 Tabby boys are lovely, there is nothing really to tell them apart, except for a little bit of yellow food colouring. The boys from this litter, as the last, are very easy going. The 2 tabby girls are also very similar, they are saving their mischief making until they grow older I think. Tabbies are supposed to be more naughty, but so far, in the litters that I have had, as kittens, the solid points have been the more challenging! The only real difference between the 2 tabby girls, is that one is slightly larger than the other, due to her love of eating!!!!

Last night, I had been relaxing, it was just after midnight, all chores done, Percy settled in the lounge, rabbit settled, boys in bed. I was just getting ready to put the kittens to their 'bedroom', when I realised how quiet it had gone. Lil was asleep on the bed settee.......and NO sign of the kittens, they had vanished completely. Groan, I really did not want to be kitten hunting at this time of night. Lil had been refusing to feed them, so they had gone off somewhere to hide.......I found them eventually, all huddled in a corner under the chest of drawers. They provided quite a challenge to get all out!!!! I put them upstairs, to bed, and left Lil with them, to the sound of 6 kittens who sounded as if sleep was the last thing on their mind!!!!! it did seem to quieten down after about 10 minutes, clever little things, they do seem to appreciate what bed time means.