Up Down Side

Since the Orangutan and Rhino have gone back to school, I've had a lot more time to lavish on Marmoset and she is loving life!

It has it's goods and bads. Now she thinks she HAS to be with me 24/7 and has started to meltdown anytime I have to go somewhere without her. It lasts for about 45 seconds but those 45 seconds are stinkin' loud!! I mean hear it in the car at the bottom of the drive way with all doors and windows closed and the radio on loud.

On the good side of the equation is the fact that I laugh. A lot! Take today for example. For a full hour we played "Up Down Side." Very simply put she has to be upside down (so now you get it, right?) and tickled. I can prop her up against the back of the couch, stand her on her head or just hold her by her ankles. She doesn't care - as long as she is "up down side." Her laugh is infectious and as soon as you put her down to catch her breath and get the blood circulating again she is begging for more.

It's awesome to be entertained by things so simple. I guess that's one of the gifts of parenting. May all grown ups revisit the laughter and enjoyment of Up Down Side on a regular basis.

Changing the World One Blog at a Time

If any of you are fans of my other blog The Bowl, you know how I feel about people helping people. The whole world would be a better place if people would look outside of themselves at least once a day and perform som act of random kindness.


Well, there is one team in particular that has accepted this mission is such a huge way that I think you all need to thank them. Over at MomDot, Trisha of MomDot, Kim of Accidental Mommies, and Jane of Mom Generations have teamed up to create Bloggers Give.


Bloggers Give is a way for bloggers to give back to society through their passion for blogging. Review bloggers and companies and bloggers who simply have boutiques or connections are collecting and donating goods to be used for various nonprofit and charitable organizations. Right now all donations are going to benefit Courageous Kids, a camp for children with disabilities to give them a chance to just be children without worries or cares about their challenges.


Any of you who knew me before children know that camp life is a HUGE part of my past. I dedicated seven summers to camp life and working with children of all colors, creeds, beliefs and backgrounds. There is nothing like giving a child unconditional love and fun for a week. Nothing.


This is an incredible opportunity to help a little corner of our world. If you are a blogger, a company, an individual. If you have a heart and a desire to help, check out Bloggers Give and do your part for some very deserving children.

A Letter from the Zookeeper

**This is actually two letters to different people but they're short so I'll put them together.**

Dear Small Exhibits,

I love you! I love that we had a wonderful two weeks of holiday celebrations. You did a wonderful job helping to decorate the Christmas tree and I was incredibly proud of your behavior at the Christmas Eve party. I was even more impressed with your desire to share on the big day itself. A million thank you's for being so well behaved while your Auntie B and Uncle N were here too. There is a chance now that you may eventually, one day in the distant future acquire some cousins. After Auntie B's last visit I was a bit worried.

That being said? It's time for Orangutan to go back to school....YESTERDAY!! I'm glad you enjoyed your time together but if I have to break up one more inter exhibit kicking, screaming, whining, scratching, hair pulling, knock down, drag out, war to end all wars - I will shut this Zoo down until you are all over the age of 25. I will not hang around to feed you, clean up after you or do your laundry so unless you have a undiscovered dream of being skinny, hungry, dirty, smelly and altogether disgusting, I suggest you take extra care to make sure that O gets up on time for school on Tuesday.

All my love, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Your Zookeeper.
********************************************************************

Dear Mrs. Claus,

I sincerely appreciate the attention you gave my list. You truly are your family's saint! The Ipod is being loaded as I write; the new bed set is incredibly beautiful as well as super snuggly; the new boots are incredibly stylish and the turtle neck is wonderfully versatile. The bonus pots and pans you threw in were perfect and the surprise gardening encyclopedia will be a great help in the spring when it's time to plant. You really are quite the miracle worker.

Now I know in all the hustle and bustle, you were bound to miss a few things so I thought I would let you know what was going on so you could address the problem with the problem departments before next year.

To your art department - NON washable markers and paints should be reserved for families in which ALL the children have stopped eating said art supplies. Or at least they should write the letter to the toddler Sunday School teacher explaining why her favorite student's beautiful dress was accompanied by teal teeth.

To your makeup department - all fingernail polish, makeup, lipstick and other facial acoutrements should also be reserved for familes with children in their teens. Or at least given to children who DO NOT think that the male dog would look good with purple toe nails - on the day I have cleaned the carpets.

To the Matchbox department - when giving a race track to a young boy please be sure to wrap up a box of patience for the father of said boy to be opened while they are trying to figure the blasted, too many parts, gotta have the precision timing of a NASCAR driver thing out.

Otherwise my dear, I would say you did a stellar job this year! Kudos and here's a glass of (heavily spiked) eggnog to you!

With my upmost respect,
The Zookeeper

There's a Reason They Wrap Them!

Ok. So I tried to spend the weekend catching up but the cyber lords were against me and crashed my computer. Can I just say that there are some really funny people out there? The take on some of these themes has been just to much fun! Did I say thank you to everyone who is participating yet? You guys have made this so much fun! But now it's time for the final push!

And now a little about the stuff that causes all the issues this time of year - the Gifts!

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Most unusual gift you have received? Best gift? Do you re-gift?

I should be grateful that nothing is rocketing to the front of my mind right? Then why am I so troubled by this?

I must be the most predictable person on the planet. People don’t get me off the wall gifts and if they are getting me a present they know me well enough to get something that fits. So sorry. No unusual gifts to be found here at the Zoo.

Oh but my best gift! Thank you L.M. Lion! I got the burgundy box. You are familiar with the burgundy box right? Well, just in case it is a regional thing, there is a jewelry store that packages in burgundy jewelry boxes. Mine just happened to hold some gorgeous pearl earrings with diamond accents. Unfortunately my children love pretties and are just now getting to the point where they don’t feel the need to pull on all things pretty that mom wears. I have not been able to wear them a lot but you can bet your buttons that I will be soon!

Re-gifting? I can’t say that I have (yet). But I have the perfect gift for the white elephant this year! I would post it but about the time I do the neighbors will start reading the blog on a regular basis and they will forbid me to bring it. Let’s just say elephant isn’t too far off. Holy ugliness! And my dad won it in a white elephant himself and felt the need to "give it to Mo since she loves elephants." Yeah right. That’s why you gave it to us.

Oh wait! Maybe I do have a most unusual!

Tissues Optional for Today's Post.

Ok. So yesterday I got scolded for not issuing a tissue warning before putting up my post. Today should be in the clear but keep them close just in case. Don't worry. Tomorrow is completely irreverent and ridiculous as you have come to expect from me. And now on with our show!!

**There are some technical issues over at MomDot so I can't give you the VIP's yet but I'll grab those as soon as I can!**

Sponsors: Flying Colors Baby, Uncommonly Cute and Lollipop book club

The question of the day:

Tell us about a favorite holiday memory from YOUR childhood.

There is a story that is told (entirely too often) in our house that stands out as a superstar memory from my childhood. My mother and father worked in a sewing factory when we were growing up - my mother as a seamstress and my father as the manager of the cutting room/master machine mechanic. I am sure that it goes without saying that the pay for those positions was not rock star pay. Did I know the difference? No. Did I care? No. I just knew that we had food to eat, a roof over our heads and a great community.

One Christmas in a budgeting strategy we can all take a lesson from nowadays, we had a full blown homemade Christmas. My father converted a refrigerator box into a puppet theater with some blue paint, a screen door spring and some cotton curtains. It was my sister’s present but I think it is safe to claim that we both played it to death. There were homemade Care Bears under the tree and there was a red and blue sleeping bag with a built in bear head pillow laid out on the couch.

I was just learning to read at the time. When we came down the stairs Christmas morning we sprinted to the puppet theater and I saw on the tag that there was a name that started with B. That was for my sister Beth. Then I saw the sleeping bag. That tag had a name that started with B too. Grudgingly I said, “Bethie this one is for you too! Wow! It’s really great!” And I was content to move to the rest of the presents under the tree to find a tag with an S name on it.

Then Mom said, “Sarah, look closer at that tag.” I was a huge fan of teddy bears at the time so I was known to family as Bear (something I have never confessed much less in such a public forum). Beth looked at the tag and said, “It doesn’t say Beth! It says Bear!” Before anyone could take it back I was in the sleeping bag and grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

We went home for my sister’s wedding in January 07. Beds were limited so my mom pulled out some tricks. There was an air mattress that Tuck slept on in Grammy and Poppie’s room. And Auntie B slept in Mommy’s old twin bed in her room. Daddy and I shared Auntie B’s full size bed in her room. Munch wasn’t here yet. And guess where Molly Magoo slept?

On the floor beside Auntie B in a very familiar old red and blue sleeping bag with a built in bear pillow.

Ahhh! The Gift of Giving Back!

Day 5! To those of you playing along, sorry I haven't been able to comment much this week. There's this whole thing about an Orangutan's birthday today? Yeah. It's kind of thrown me off a little! Happy Birthday Orangutan! Your Zookeeper loves you! I'll be back on track tomorrow after the chocolate cake wears off.

So now. On to Day 5!

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But that's not what you wanted to know is it? You want to know what the question is and how can this loony twist it up! Well, I'm not messing with it today (I don't think!).

Today, make a blog post about what you do to give back during the holidays. Do you volunteer your time? If so, please tell us where. What do you do to teach your children the true meaning of the holidays?

Our family does not formally donate our time to charities during the holidays. My children love to donate anything and anyway they can though. The magic sound of the Salvation Army bell brings little palms out of no where for any and all spare change we can find. The trip to the fire house is an annual highlight and every year before we leave, I choke up to hear them say Thank You. To their heroes.

I'm even more proud of them if we have a trip to the airport during the holiday seasons. They keep their eyes peeled for the ladies and gentlemen in the "polka dot" suits so that they can personally say Thank You. I can't even count the number of smiles that they have given out that way. And not just to the troops but to the people who see them doing so. Tucker makes it a point to find anyone in any kind of uniform - even the porters - and say thank you.

Molly goes through her toys every year looking for something to give to the “little boys and girls who don’t get Christmas.” This year she is already planning on weeding out her books. We also enjoy gathering gifts for Angel Tree families when we can and the Toys for Tots campaign is on our To Do list.

I am very proud of my children when it comes to the holiday spirit. They are always friendly and kind to people they meet but during the holiday season they seem to find extra smiles. And not because of the looming presence of Santa or the gifts. I seldom have to prompt them to use please’s and thank you’s. They just seem to pick up the spirit from people around them and bounce it back.

And now I have to go wipe my face and blow my nose. I never said I was above sentimentality!