You Might Not Want to Call 911.

We got love you packages from our favorite Z.I.T. today and the fun has been boundless. Well, it was fun once I convinced Orangutan and Marmoset that they could wait until after bath to put on their new pajamas. That part wasn't so fun.

Now the empty boxes have been converted into cars and more specifically police cars complete with steering wheels and walkie talkies.

Orangutan took hers off for a minute so she could decorate it and the Security Dog tried to bite it. She used her best gruff officer voice and told him, "Do NOT eat the police car! If you eat a police car you will get a ticket and get thrown in jail and you will have to eat mashed potatoes for the rest of your life for breakfast and lunch and dinner and even for your snacks."

I asked her if that is what people in jail have to eat. "Well something like that anyway!"

Officer Rhino has been busy chasing down bad guys in his unmarked car (he didn't want to decorate his) and has so far found three stores that were being "battacked (that's not a typo) by ugly bad guys." Because apparently all bad guys are ugly.

Officer O drew a "12" on the back of her car. I asked her if it was her car number and she said, "Yes. And I'm car #12 because I have arrested 12 bad guys so far. " The Grand Keeper was on the phone at the time and asked what they had done to be arrested.

"Some were robbing purses, and some were sticking up people, and some were robbing the bank. Well, a lot were robbing the bank but I got them all!"

Look at me. Raising such upstanding citizens. Who apparently would rather live in Idaho.

The Rhino's Take on Recycling

I am pretty sure that you have all done it or are about to do it within the next 3-6 months. The dreaded Toy Sort. That fateful and horrible day when you try to go through you child's toys and get rid of (insert collective gasp and scream of terror here) the old, broken, never played with toys that are really just collecting dust and taking up space.

I "tried" to do this earlier this week. "How did it go?" you ask? Well, thank you for asking. It was interesting. I don't know how things go where you are but around here used stuffed animals cannot be donated to anyone or any organization because there is no way to safely sanitize them before they are given to another child. I was lamenting this fact on the phone to my sister because these little critters I was facing have a lot of love left in them. I just couldn't see the sense in sending them to the great landfill.

My genius sister (she reads the blog - I kinda have to!) had a truly inspired idea. Since "Santa" brought the kids a playhouse/puppet stand for Christmas, why not cut the critters open, take out their stuffing, and convert them into new puppets? I told you she's a genius!! So I faced the sort with a little less dread knowing that I could "save" some of these critters from a methane death.

As I went through Mount FluffyStuff, Rhino supervised my every move. "Nooooo, Mom! Please don't throw it out!" for every...single...animal. Finally I explained my three piles.

"Tuck, these guys are staying. These guys are going. And these are the ones we are going to make into puppets. We'll cut them open and take their fluff out and make them into puppets for the theater."

"You're gonna take their guts out?!"

"Yes."

I reached for the next toy, got the obligatory "Noooo, Mom!" and returned fire.

"Tuck, I can kill it or I can trash it."

"Alright Mom. Kill it!"

I have a lot of gutting to do now that he's done killing things. But at least we learned a lesson in recycling.

Mom Tip #56

Children make really GREAT teachers!

The Orangutan went back to OAT yesterday (Thank You Lord!!) so it was just me and the Rhino and Marmoset here at the Zoo. When Rhino came to me at 9:30 asking if we could go get O I knew he was bored and if left to his own devices would start to find the worst possible things to entertain himself. We were having company for dinner so that was THE LAST thing I wanted. So I started to scramble for some ideas.

We ran a few errands to kill the rest of the morning, came home for lunch, put the Marmoset down for a nap and then started a few little projects. When we moved into our house 3 years ago, we found an abandoned bird feeder in the garage. Tuck decided that maybe we should put it to use. So we filled it up with some different bird foods and put it out in the yard. My education on outdoor life was about to get a real boost.

When we went back into the house he quickly closed the door behind me and then ducked down between our chaise and the sliding glass door. "Mom! Shhh! And get down!! The birds won't come if they can see you!"

He stayed there for almost half an hour - no small feat for a 3 1/2 year old - and not a single bird came by. As we were packing up to go get O, he told me that while we were gone the squirrels would take care of things. "What?" "The squirrels, Mom. They'll make sure the birds have their glasses so they can see the food and they'll send letters to let the birds know it's here." You just can't respond to that!

I thought that was the end of the birdfeeder for the day but oh, how wrong could I be! We were sitting in the carpool line waiting our turn when a flock of sparrows launched from one of the trees along the driveway. I heard a gasp from the backseat and as I turned around to see what was wrong I got quite the announcement!

"Mom, did you see those birds? They are going straight to our house! It must be time for their lunch."

The things one can learn from their children!

They must have gotten the squirrels' invite.

The Blog Party!

Listen. I know I have already posted about the MomDot Christmas Blog Party but I have to tell you that if you aren't part of this - as blogger or spectator - you will miss out big time!

We got the list of topics early this week and there is soooo much blog fodder in this that I have already started working on my posts. People, I don't laugh at my own stuff often but even I think I am coming up with some real gems! And if that wasn't reason enough guess who gets to write a feature for the MomDot home page?

You may bow and peel grapes now. That's right Zoo Butts! I will be writing a feature and if the rough draft is any indication it could be a doozie!

Here. I'll give you a peek at the topic list.

*Traditions, what are some of your favorite family traditions? What are some traditions you want to begin?
*What is your favorite Holiday recipe, describe your Holiday table, biggest holiday cooking disaster (I'm tuning in for the disaster part myself!)
*Favorite holiday memory from YOUR childhood (RD, you better tune in for this one)
*Who’s on your naughty list? Who's on your nice list? Why? (Guess whose feature this is!!)
*Most unusual gift you have received? Best gift? Do you re-gift?
*If you could only eat ONE food on Thanksgiving Day, what would it be? Do you have a homecooked meal for Thanksgiving or do you go out to eat? Does your family dress up?

And that's only half of them! Now tell me that you don't want to get in on this. Think of the stress reliever this is going to be as you face the holiday stuff. I will be adding a Mr. Linky to each post so that folks can drop their posts off for you to visit.

And did I mention that participants can earn entries into a really awesome giveaway pull? So come on! Warm up those fingers and get ready to really have some fun this holiday season!

Motherhood Means...Creative!

It was cold so what better way to warm up the house than by baking!