Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves

We are everything in that Cher song except tramps and thieves. Well, we're more like bedouins to be honest. We lived with my parents for a while and then we were asked by some friends to house sit while they were on vacation. It's been nice to have our own space for a while, but the animals that we're caring for are just a bit too much to handle, along with a baby.

There's a three year-old black lab, a seven year-old long haired chihuahua, two cats (one of which is completely nocturnal, more about this later), and two fish. Whew! The lab is lovely and we adore each other. The chihuahua has a Napoleon complex and he hates me. Meh. I always get him in trouble for barking at Little J (and chipmunks, and deer, and cars, and moths, etc) so he likes Josh a lot more. He's TERRIFIED of the baby. What a little wuss.

One cat is an attention sponge, and loves being brushed. He loves it so much that he yowls for it at 3 in the morning and Big J has to get up and brush the cat all bleary-eyed. And when we're not up brushing the cat, we're being jumped on in the bed by the other cat. He sleeps all day and then accosts us at night. That's fine if you don't have a baby that occasionally wakes up at night as well. So, long story short, not a lot of sleep is being gotten lately.

Our friends are coming home tomorrow, which is the same day that we're leaving to go visit my brother  in Washington State. So, we pack up everything onto the camel caravan, oops, I mean into the car, and move on to our next temporary home. I kind of like this way-faring style. I think it's hard on Little J sometimes, but it's also teaching him to be flexible. We keep the same routine no matter where we are, and I think that helps.

Here's an adorable clip of Little J and one of his namesakes walking off into the woods together: