Thursday Thirteen # 19

To continue celebrating our daddy's birthday we dedicate this Thursday Thirteen to him. Here are our Thirteen Things we love about our Daddy...
1. Daddy is a wonderful man who gives us so much love and attention.
2. Every night when Daddy comes home, he puts his things down and lays on the ground to play with us. We really enjoy this time with him.
3. I, Mr. Chen, get very special time every night with Daddy where I make biscuits on his lap.
4. Our Daddy is very smart and knows a lot about computers. This is very important because it means that he has lots of computers for me, Ollie, to chew on his wires.
5. Daddy is very adamant that we eat nutritious and delicious food. He only likes to buy us the best foods possible.
6. Since mommy has had the blurpy thing in her tummy, Daddy has been cleaning our poops and buying our litter. Thanks Daddy!!
7. Daddy is very funny and makes us laugh and laugh. He makes up funny songs (and sometimes dances) for us.
8. Our Daddy used to be allergic to cats and never was really a "cat person". This all changed with our big brother Bingo who changed daddy into a cat person forever. We're very proud of Daddy for getting over his allergies and for coming around to see why CATS ROOL!
9. Daddy buys us little treats and toys whenever he is out or on vacation. He is always thinking about us.
10. Daddy really hates to leave us. When he is out or on a bean vacation, he gets very sad and misses us greatly. This is good because it means that he and mommy won't go away as much.
11. Sometimes Daddy likes to pick me, Ollie, up and sway me around and hug me. This is one of my favorite things to do!
12. Daddy is very artistic and creative. He takes very good photos of us!
13. If it weren't for Daddy, he and mommy probably were only going to come home from the shelter with just one kitty. Daddy really wanted two kitties though. Because of Daddy, we became brothers and best friends and got the best Daddy in the whole world together!

Daddy is one of our two favorite people in the whole wide world. We love you, Daddy!!

Tuesday with Mr. Chen and Happy Birthday to Daddy

Hi Everyone, Welcome to Tuesdays with Mr. Chen. Sometimes we just don't have a Toesies or a Tummies shot so for today it's just me and you. Guess what today is???? Today is our Daddy's Birthday! Happy Birthday Daddy! Ollie and I love you very much (so do Mommy and Sophie, too). Hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday - and hope Daddy has a wonderful birthday!!

Please don't forget to help spread the word about "Little". She needs a forever home - maybe you or someone you know could help give her that special gift??

Forever Homes Needed - Can You Help?

Hi Everyone,

Our Uncle Mike who works at at the University of Pennsylvania Veterniary Hospital in the ER just sent us details about a kitty and her kittens. We hope someone out there in the Cat Blogosphere might be able to find this sweet mamma kitty a forever home...

From Uncle Mike:

"I have a mother cat (about 8-10 months old) and 4 kittens (about 1 1/2 weeks old) who all need homes. Here is the story: "Little" came into Emergency having just had 4 kittens. She had a prolapsed uterus (uturus haning out of her V-jay jay) and another kitten stuck inside. Owners had never taken her to a vet- no vaccines, not spayed obviously. They had no money and they were going to put "Little" to sleep and try to hand raise the babies. I wouldn't let them and took all 5. The next day she went to Margaret's, who was wonderful enough to spay her right away. The kitten that was stuck was alive originally, but with all their best efforts, were unable to keep him alive. So, I sent you pictures of all in case any of your kitty blog people would be interested. I don't anticipate a problem finding the kittens a home, but I really want "Little" to get a good home. She is a wonderful mommy, and loves her babies. She is very protective of them, and does not like other cats around. But she loves people. She will get vaccinated. She and kittens may be ready for homes in about 4-5 weeks."

Is there anyone out there who can help Little??? Please let us know (either in a comment or send us email at chenandollie [at] gmail [dot] com) if you or anyone you know might be interested in giving this sweet girl or any of her kittens their forever home. Our mommy says she would love to take Little but with our new blurpy girl on the way, she just doesn't think she can handle a new kitty and a new baby in addition to the two of us right now. We sure hope there might be someone out there who would love to have Little and give her a forever home.

Super Saturday and a Meme

Hooray! It's Saturday and we got some extra long snuggle time in bed with mommy and daddy today (isn't that what Saturdays are all about?)

We got tagged for another meme by our bestest bud, Monty Q.!! It's the If I Could Get Away With It Meme...

The rules are: you have to post who tagged you and link back to them (thanks Monty).

Then you have to tag 3 other kitties, beans, woofies, or any other assorted animal.

What three things would you do that you have never done before, if you knew you wouldn't get caught, get in trouble, or suffer any consequences?

What would we do if I wouldn't get caught, get in trouble or suffer the consequences? Well, as you have seen lately, we actually get away with quite a lot lately (sitting on MacBook Pros, sitting on counters). Mom and Dad have been, well, let's just say a little preoccupied lately and we feel it's our duty to take advantage of it while we can!! (Only 9 more weeks till the blurpy thing gets here, Mom tells us). So, we have been getting away with quite a lot lately but here's the REALLY NAUGHTY stuff we'd do if we knew we wouldn't get caught.

We will offer what each of us would do here:

Mr. Chen
1. Scratch furniture with abandon.
2. Eat (or at least lick and sniff) lots of people food with abandon.
3. Lick butter!

Ollie
1. Go on a walk-about outside.
2. Chew Daddy's video game and computer wires with abandon.
3. Scratch the shower curtain with abandon.

Now, we tage the following kitties:
Adan
Kimo & Sabi

Or, anyone who hasn't been tagged yet and wants to play along.

Finally Friday and a Meme

This has been a tough week with losing so many dear friends. We continue to send our love to Princess and Rosemary and to Olympia's family and to the other families who have lost their furry loved ones this week.

Earlier this week we were tagged for a meme which we did not do sooner because of all the other sad things that we were upset about this week. Our good friends Hunter and Napoleon tagged us for a new meme created by Tigmuthep. It's an easy one, all you have to do is tell everyone 3 things that are new with you! Link it back to the kitty who gave it to you and Tigmuthep and pass it on to 3 more kitties you'd like to know more about!

Three things that are new with us:
1) Mr. Chen is newly obsessed with string. He freaks out everytime mommy or daddy goes into the drawer where the kitchen string is kept and you must cut him a new piece or he gives you sad, sad eyes and pathetic cries.
2) As with everything he loves dearly, Mr. Chen is also obsessed with putting his string pieces in his water bowl.
3) Ollie has been sitting on the couch with mommy and daddy at night a lot more lately. He used to do this a lot when he was young but had stopped for a long time. Mommy and Daddy are very happy that he is doing it again. Mr. Chen is ok with it too because while it means he has to share lap real estate sometimes, he also often likes to sit on the sofa ledge anyway.

Ok, now for the fun part!!! We tag the following three kitties to play along:
Derby
Merlin
Honey P

We hope every kitty has a fun, fabulous Friday!!! Remember to enjoy every second of every day - life is too precious to be grumpy!!

Goodbye Sweet Olympia

This has been a very tough week for today we lost another friend... Sweet Olympia was gently helped across the Rainbow Bridge today.

We have told you about Olympia before and what a strong and brave girl kitty she was. She turned 18 years old in August and led a very rich and full life. She so bravely battled cancer and diabetes and underwent many medicines and treatments and yet she was always so strong and her will to live was so powerful she simply never gave up. In 2001, Olympia was diagnosed with cancer after her daddy found a golf ball sized lump on her right shoulder. The lump was removed, as well as a good portion of her right shoulder and back muscle. She went through chemotherapy every two weeks for a few months, she lost a lot of weight, but pulled through with the help of her Mommy and Daddy and lots of support from her Grandma H.

After all that Olympia felt pretty good but she was then diagnosed with several other ailments including bladder stones and a gastro-intestinal disorder requiring her to take Pregnizone every day to keep her from throwing up. After that, she was also diagnosed with diabetes, so she had to have a shot of insulin twice a day.

Olympia was born in the mountains of Blacksburg, VA where her mommy went to school. After her Mommy graduated from Virginia Tech (Olympia was always so proud of her mommy for graduating) she spent some time in Charlotte, NC where she lived with her Grandma and Grandpa, and got to be spoiled and treated like the queen kitty she was. She got to eat tuna from the grill and was well-loved by her Grandma and Grandpa very much. Olympia got to fly many times (only in cargo once, and it was horrible for both her and her Mommy) and she got to be driven all up and down the east coast.

Olympia liked to join her mommy and daddy for vacation in Oak Island, NC and usually got to go there once or twice a year. When she was at the beach she loved to roam around the house, sleep in the sun and look out the windows at the big blue ocean. Olympia often got to feast on fresh fish, shrimp or crab at the beach, too!

She has been to Buffalo, NY a few times and got to visit with Bo the dog and Yoko the cat and remember times with Alex and Mandy the cats and Rocky the dog who aren't with us any more.

In Feburary 2004 Olympia's Mommy and Daddy brought home a surprise - a baby brother named Will. While she wasn't too happy about this at first, she got used to him and thought he was fun to have around. Will was a good brother to Olympia and was very gentle with her and liked to pet her. He also checked in on her and kept her dish full all of the time.

Olympia's Mommy and Daddy loved her so very much and had silly nicknames for her including "Goo", "Goose", and Big Earl. You might think these are not good names befitting a lovely girl cat like Olympia but they were meant in pure love and she knew it.

Although Olympia had more than her fair share of illness and troubles in life she never ever forgot how important family is, how much they care about you and what an important part of the family each and every loved kitty is. Olympia believed you could never understimate the power of positive thinking and she embodied that credo every day in her life until the very end of her glorious 18 and a half years.

We are all sending our deepest purrs and love to Olympia's Mommy and Daddy and her brother in this tough, tough time. We love you sweet Olympia and we will all see you again someday on the Rainbow Bridge...

Toesies Tuesday and an Award

Happy Toesies Tuesday to all! Please biggify to see two very important things about this photo: 1) my multi-color toesies 2) my "great truths" jar which reminds me and my brother Mr. Chen to lead examined lives and to remember to consider the great truths and mysteries of this precious thing we call life.

We were also recently awarded a "Thinking Blogger" award from our good friends Zevo Calamari, Miss Boo, and the Pooses For Peace. This is very humbling for us to receive this award from them because their blog definitely makes us think. Thank you Zevo and Miss Boo and the other Pooses!! We are very grateful and try to now carry this great honor forward for thinking kitties everywhere.


Here are the rules (as passed on from Zevo and crew):
1. You must write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.

2. Acknowledge this post.

3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.

4. Go tell your humans to fork over the treats!

While it is very tough to choose five other blogs that make us think out of all the wonderful blogs out there, we would like to award this to the following five kitties:
Karl because Karl and the entire Cat Realm always get us thinking, especially about issues of justice.
Dragonheart because Dragonheart teaches us so much about his breed and about tolerance for those who might not look like we do
Adan because Adan is always thinking and he and Michico teach us many things about Taiwanese culture and history
Chase for her amazing ability to transcend obstacles with positive thinking and service to others
Rocky and all the other staff at Artsy Catsy for nurturing the creative side

But really each and every kitty in the Cat Blogosphere makes us think and learn something new so thank you to all our dear friends for opening our eyes every day to your worlds. It makes us all better for sharing them with each other, don't you think?

Mancat Monday - for Sweet Ceasar

Yesterday our friend, Ceasar, went to the Rainbow Bridge in his sleep. We will miss our good buddy Ceasar so very much. We take comfort knowing he was with his sister Princess while he crossed to the Bridge and that we know we will all see him again someday. Our hearts and purrs go out to Princess and Ceasar's mommy and daddy and their whole family during this tough, tough time...

Fun, Free-Wheeling Friday

Hey Ollie...
Yeah, Chenny?
It's Friday! Guess what that means?
What Chenny?
Partytime!!!

Tummies Tuesday and a Great Award

(you might want to biggify to see how I'm putting the bitey on this mouse)

WOW! Our good buddy, Mickey, gave us the coolest awardie - the You Make My Day Award (which was given to him by Anita). Thanks Mickey!! This award makes us very happy because it is so great when your day is made by a good friend, isn't it? We're really honored!

We would like to now give this most happiest of awards to the following kitties. All of our friends in the blogosphere bring us so much joy but we'll give a special shout out to these kitties for always making our days:
Adan
Monty Q.
Jeter Harris
Daisy
Chase
The Ballicai

But it is so hard to pick some kitties because EVERYBODY in the Cat Blogosphere makes us feel happy about blogland! So, thanks everybody!!

Mancat Monday

Today is a happy day because Mao has returned home (he just wanted to go on a walk-about) and Annie has been sighted nearby her home. We are happy our friends in the Cat Blogosphere are ok!!

Saturday News and Events - both happy and sad

We are so excited to be a part of the Cat Blogosphere's baby shower for Kimo & Sabi's new blurpy thing, Kiera today!!

We're purring and praying for Skeezik's brother, Mao, to come home. He's been missing since Wed. and we're so sad to hear this but we will hope that he comes home soon.

We're also purring and praying for Annie to come home. She's been missing since Thursday night. So sad that two of our friends from the Cat Blogosphere are missing this week. We'll keep purrring and purring till they return.

On a happier note, Happy Belated Birthday to Miss Peach!! We are sorry we missed your bid day and the party, Peachy but we hope you had a wonderful day!!!!

Marshmallow Belly

Do you see why they call me marshmallow belly? (Do you think I need to lose some weight???)

Thursday Thirteen # 18

Thirteen Terrific Things You Can Do With A Great Tent

1. Taunt your brother by running through it.
2. Nap in it.
3. Claw at its insides.
4. Topple it over.
5. Bring your mousies in it to play in privacy.
6. Try to swat at anyone who dares puts his hand in it.
7. Pop mousies off the top of it.
8. Play with the dangly ribbons.
9. If mommy and daddy would get us another, we could connect them to make a tunnel!
10. Hide from the world.
11. Chase a ball through it.
12. Spaz out in it.
13. TENT WARS!!!

Wordless Wednesday and a Meme

Well, almost Wordless Wednesday... Wordless Wednesday and a Meme!!

We got tagged for a meme by our friends Adan and Chancy to reveal Seven Weird Things About Me. Thanks Adan and Chancy for thinking of us! Here we go:

Ollie
1. I have a very weird cry sometimes. It's very needy and demanding and makes mommy and daddy think there is something urgent that I need (Hee hee - it works to get their attention really quickly!)
2. I LOVE to be picked up and carried around like a baby. Mommy and Daddy used to have to do this all the time. Now, they still do it when I am crying for it.
3. When Daddy picks me up I must stare up at the ceiling. This is because one time early on when Daddy was holding me like this I saw a moth on the ceiling that was very riveting to me. Now, everytime Daddy picks me up, I look for moths because of that association.
4. I love the red dot almost more than anything else in life. Well, not more than mommy and daddy and certainly not more than sleeping but well, I love it A LOT!
5. My full name is Oliver Oliver Oxenford.
6. I don't like to smell or eat any people food. It's gross! One time I ate an olive - maybe that scarred me for life.
7. I DO like to eat Daddy's computer wires when he's listening to music and playing his XBox 360 to relax. Daddy gets very upset with me and does not seem so relaxed anymore. But, I can't help myself!

Mr. Chen
1. I eat the cardboard bits off my Big Mamma's Scratchy Box. If you do not have one of these to scratch and eat, I HIGHLY recommend you get one. Sometimes mommy thinks I like to eat the cardboard bits more than I like to scratch it. (Did I mention it's filled with nip???)
2. I like to pounce on things. I espeically like to try and pounce on mommy or daddy's leg when they're coming around a corner or down the stairs! It gives me so much joy. But, sometimes I will just pounce on a nip mouse or whatever other little thing I'm playing with at the moment. Pouncing is great fun!
3. When mommy and daddy first saw me, I was in the window at the Morris Animal shelter. I'm such a shy guy, mommy and daddy can't imagne that I enjoyed being in the window very much but alas, such is the life of a shelter kitty before he gets his forever home.
4. I like to hide under the covers. Actually, Ollie taught me this cuz I used to just lay on top while he hid underneath them but sleeping under the covers is really so much more fun.
5. The hot steam vaporizer mesmorizes me. I can stare at it for hours. Daddy calls it my Atlantis smoke machine.
6. I loathe being held. I am super cuddy and will make biscuits or lay in your lap but I really truly deeply hate being picked up or held.
7. I make a funny sound that is sort of a cross between a sigh of frustration and a cry. Mommy and daddy try to mimic it sometimes but they don't have it quite right. It sounds like a frustrated sigh but really it's a happy sound.

Thanks for tagging us Adan and Chancy! That was fun! We are probably some of the last kitties to play this meme (cuz mommy has been so busy still and not letting us get to much visiting). We tag any kitty who hasn't played yet and wants to play along!!

Mancat Monday

Real mancats aren't afraid to cuddle...

Sunday is Fun Day

Tent wars anyone??

Hope everykitty and their beans has a very happy Sunday!!

Recap of All the Holiday Visiting So Far

We told you we'd catch you up a bit on what happened after mommy and daddy got back from Ar-E-Zon-A, well after they got back they had Christmas at our house with Mommy's mommy's side of the family (see group shot below). I, Ollie, was quite the social butterfly and got some good snuggles in with Pop Pop. Mr. Chen wasn't quite so socialable but he did come downstairs occassionally to visit.


I also licked Uncle Jerry's buzz cut! When Daddy had a buzz cut, I licked his head too but since it's grown back in, I don't lick it anymore. It was nice to taste Uncle Jerrry's head flavor this time! Yummie!


Here is a photo below of mommy's daddy's side of the family at Christmas in Ar-E-Zon-A. We didn't get to fly out there (and that's ok with us) but mommy let us post these photos from their trip. Unfortunately, Mommy's grandpop went into the hospital on her birthday while they were out there visiting. Thankfully, he did get out the night before they left to come home but they did get some good visiting in with him and the rest of the family even in the hospital. In Ar-E-Zon-A, mommy and daddy got to spend some great times with our woofie cousin named Bandit. Bandit is a very sweet woofie who likes to play fetch in the house with her stuffed slipper and other toys. Mommy says that having Bandit around helped them to not miss us as much... Hrmph. We guess that's a good thing. Maybe you just shouldn't go away anymore, mommy, ok?




Then, mommy got sick again and everything kind of went back to our normal routine, thank goodness (not that we wish you were sick mommy...). Now, it's just ending a cold spell here in Philadelphia so we are enjoying any extra time cuddled up with mommy and daddy's in bed or the sofa.

We had nice visits but we're real happy it's back to business as usual again! Believe it or not, Mommy and Daddy still aren't caught up on their holiday visiting. They still have to see our Poppy and Nan (Daddy's side of the family) and Aunt Pat and Caely and Colin. And, they need to visit with their godbeans and best friends in Downingtown. Hopefully, they will see these friends and family soon! And, then the holidays can REALLY be over...

Ollie's Secret Paw

Finally!! Ollie got to open his Secret Paw tonight. It arrived while Mommy and Daddy were away in Ar-E-Zon-A and can jyou believe they made him wait until tonight to open it up???? Well, it was soooo worth the wait!! What a most fantabulous Secret Paw it was - insdie the box was a santa hat filled with treats and toys including this really cool catnip frog, a stuffed green mousie, a stuffed ed christmas tree light, this really neat tickle toy with a yellow feaver on it, some holiday satiny balls, and some crunch lovers Wiskas crunchie treats. PLUS, there were TWO cards - one from Suki with her beautiful photo on it and another very sweet card from Suki and her mom, Ruth. WOW! Thank you Suki! This was such a wonderful Secret Paws and actually Ollie liked that it extended the holidays even in to the New Year.

Here is a video of Ollie playing with the santa hat - he really loved it!

(Can you see how Mr. Chen is hiding in the tent cube that Skeeter and LC sent him at the end of this video?)

Secret Paws are so much fun! Not just because of the fun treats and toys that get sent from all around the country and the world but because we get to make such wonderful new friends like Suki and Jake and Bathsheba, and Hunter, Belle, Sebastian, Raowr, and Napoleon.

Happy 2008 to all our friends!

WOWIE! We can't believe it's 2008! We hope you all had a great New Year's Eve with lots of niptinis and good times. We can't believe we haven't blogged since Christmas Day but we've just been enjoying our time with Mommy and Daddy after they got back from Phoeniz, Ar-E-Zon-A and visiting with other family and freinds since they returned. We have so much to catch you all up on but for today, we will sleep... Wishing all of you and your beans happy, healthy 2008!