Crazy (Furry) Kiddos

My kiddos are driving me crazy.  To clarify, I'm not talking about my human child (he is just precious and the opposite of annoying these days.) I'm talking about the furry ones.  Specifically, the furry ones who insist on being disruptive day in and day out while Mama tries to make a living.  (Remember, I work from home 100% of the time, minus when I travel.)

Let's start with these little ladies:

What?  We're helping you work.

• Lupe insists on being under the lamp on my desk most of the time, which means she's mere inches from my speaker phone and computer.  Her purring, snoring, and hissing are quite audible, and her rolly polly body manages to take over most of my mousepad as she stretches out in her sleep.
• Carmen loves to jump up on the desk at the most inopportune moments, and has a special knack for knowing when there is a cup of coffee or a bowl of cereal that is waiting to be spilled.  
• Although I've rarely seen the girls play together in their 8 years as sisters, they've become quite feisty in their old age.  On really important calls, they'll decide to start chasing and stalking and play fighting in the office.  Lovely.
• And when the other culprit - Enda - decides to join in the festivities, it's an all out war that usually leads to two cats on top of my desk, HISSING and SPITTING at their canine sister.  I have a big desk, but there is only so much room for chaos.  

Speaking of Enda:

• Enda really doesn't want to be with me in my office…unless I have closed the door for an important call. Then, she decides it's of the utmost importance that she be inside, scratching and whining and barking until I have to let her in.
• Since she became a Big Sister to JB, Enda is quite sure every noise in our house poses imminent danger to the family.  Even when she is resting or napping calmly in my office, most anything will set her off and result in crazy anxious barking as she runs to defend the homestead. 
• She has also realized that I (admittedly) eat in my office.  Because she's used to licking our empty yogurt containers (yes, it's true, don't judge) or snacking on things that fall to the floor, she will stare at me and drool until I give her some of whatever I'm eating.  If it's obvious I'm ignoring her, she'll do something (bark, whine, scratch at my feet) to remind me she's waiting.  Every time.  
• Even when I try to keep her calm with an empty jar of PB or frozen Kong, she still finds a way to be super noisy.  Can you imagine the noises a dog makes when she's slurping that last bit of peanut butter out of the bottom of the JIF jar?  Or when she starts to break through the plastic with her teeth?  I'm pretty sure my Colleagues can.

What?  What did I do?

Not sure why, but the kiddos have been exceptionally rowdy this week.  And I've been exceptionally sensitive to the fact that I want to maintain a completely professional presence in my home office.  Now, I've never been called out for the furry creatures (nor do I really think most people hear them or - at least - know that the noise is coming from me!), but it's just another added stressor.  

However, I love them, so I guess they get to stay and continue to wreck havoc on my work day.  :)