They grow up so fast

Flash back to April 2007... Nana and Papa make a quick run to Rural King on Saturday morning and come home to tell Scott and I about these adorable baby bunnies that "the kids would just love!" So we loaded them up and headed over to "take a look." Two hours later we arrived home with two new additions to the family. Meet Hip and Hop.

















We started out using Creative C's rabbit hutch however by last winter it became apparent that, as luck would have it, we had brought home a male and female. We immediately got to work on a duplex and within ten days they love birds were separated. Did you know that bunnies can conceive within seven days of giving birth? So here's a look at Hip and Hop today...

Phase 2

Phase 2 has proven successful. Sassy not only tolerates the new sleeping quarters, she seems quite happy about the new arrangement. Next up a roof... Zman and I will start working on that this weekend. DitzyDanzer is quite impatient as we have given her free reign of the decorating once the project is complete. She's working on her color scheme now. Something fun but not tacky is what she working towards...

Cub Scouts... it's a family thing!

Once a month Cub Scouts has a full pack meeting. Tigers, Wolves, Bears and Webelos (and their families) descend upon the KC Hall (who generously donates their facility anytime their called upon). Our fearless cubmaster duo pack the next hour with all kinds of fun. The evening starts off with roll call where you will hear den chants ranging from "Bears in the house" to an indian war cry, followed by presentation of awards. As the boys earn their various badges, pins and belt loops, they are recognized publically for their achievements.

Last night we were honored to have a WWII veteran there to talk about his experience flying in a B52 bomber. Additionally he talked to the boys about being shot down and spending more than 14 months in various European prison camps. I don't know that I've ever been so proud of our boys... they sat in complete silence and listened intently as this man talked about the American flag and its importance as a symbol of our freedom.

Following our guest speaker the boys were awarded their prizes for their participation in this year's popcorn sale. As an added incentive to sell, the Golden Child offered up himself as a sacrifice. Any scout who sold $500 earned the privilege of "pieing" the cubmaster. Ten boys achieved this goal and last night Sassy Seamer and her girls put together 12 pies for the occasion.

Like a trooper the Golden Child sat in his place, trashing talking the boys as each took his turn hurling a pie at his head... ZMan and NoNonsense both enjoyed the opportunity more than words can imagine. In fact, DitzyDanzer wants to sell popcorn next year just so she can get a pie next year.

Under Construction...

Zachary and I have been hard at work this week on a little construction project for Sassy, our 9 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever. A little background information is probably necessary here. Sassy is a bit stubborn and quirky. Quirky in that she refuses to go in a dog house, stubborn in that she'll lay out in the rain on freezing concrete instead. Quite frankly she's not as spry as she once was and I've been very worried about her coming into the winter so I've come up with a little plan to trick her. We're going to put together a dog house for her in phases. Step 1: Several months ago we put a pallet in her kennel and she's grown quite used to sleeping on that (it at least has gotten her off the concrete). ACCOMPLISHED. Step 2: Zachary and I have built (yes, you read that right) three walls that we are going to add. After she gets used to the walls, we'll add a front and hopefully a roof someday. We're hoping that she'll adapt. Time will tell.

Some Things Never Change...

You know Ditzy Danzer is 14 now and spends most of her time thinking that I'm some sort of alien from another planet. There are very few moments when she can relate to me. However, there are those moments when she looks at me with different eyes. When she sees something other than MOM. For example, last Saturday night we hit the road about 6 pm on our way to St. Louis to spend Sunday with the Huschle family. Supafreak had headed down on Friday so it was just the kids and I in the car and they were completely absorbed in their movie and I was alone with my thoughts. Well that was entertaining for me for all of 10 minutes and I decided to make good use of my free weekend cell minutes and picked up the phone and dialed up an old friend. Amazingly, she was in the car traveling at the time also. My sisters can testify that Andy was huge part of my high school years, but somewhere along the line we lost touch and haven't spoken in more than ten years. Nonetheless, we giggled and gossiped like we were 17 again for almost two hours. When I hung up the phone Ditzy Danzer looked at me like she had no idea who I was. Apparently, she had been keenly aware of the time and content of my conversation and what I read in her eyes was..."OMG, she's a girl." Yes, Ditzy Danzer your mom is a girl at heart and I can only hope that you create friendships like those that I've been blessed with. Girlfriends who, no matter how long between phone calls, can still share your triumphs and tears. Those are friends that matter.

I shudder to think how many hundreds of hours were spent on the phone with these two girls. Ditzy Danzer, meet Mrs. Roth when she was just Teenie Weenie and Andy, the voice on the other end of my two hour phone call.

Cub Scout Mania

At the Golden Child's urging, ZMan joined Cub Scouts last year and after a "luke warm" year of scouting he was on the fence about joining again this year. But... when Rahel was coerced into taking over the job as den leader, ZMan was persuaded to give it another shot. Let's just say scouting for ZMan this year is a whole different ball game. He's exciting about his meetings and is expanding his horizons. For instance, Rahel decided the boys were old enough to learn chess. Well let's just say I had my doubts. In this world of techno entertainment, chess is, how shall we say, DULL! Let me just go on record as saying I was wrong. The boys love it. Not just ZMan but all of them. Rahel saves a few minutes at every meeting so they can get the boards out and take each other on. Its the first thing ZMan talks about when he gets home. Then there's respect. While he can't fully comprehend the sacrafices made by our men and women in the service, by attending and participating in the Veteran's Day ceremony, he understands the need to honor those people who keep us safe. I'm not sure the same can be said for most adults.

The boys "recruiting" at the Fall Festival parade.

B and ZMan ham it up for the camera the Popcorn Kickoff!

I'm still blogging

I haven't fallen off the planet, I've just been working feverishly on the new store design. I'm just about finished and with a little luck I can turn my focus back to the family blog in a couple of days. In the meantime, I'd love a little constructive critism. Take a look and let me know if have any comments or suggestions. Note, the Welcome page is not working as I am waiting for my domain name to transfer there.

The Next Best Thing

The greatest gift my parents gave to me was my sisters. As kids we fought like nobody's business but as adults they are my best friends. Creative C has a quote on her blog that I love...

"If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister more than herself and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child."

Linda Sunshine

Truer words were never spoken... (Can I get an amen from the Creative C and Bookworm!) The knowledge that Shelby will never experience that sometimes makes me sad. Then I run across a photograph and it reminds me... She's already got THE NEXT BEST THING!

Back when Aunt Carrie and Uncle Eric were cool...(aka pre-kids)

They are beautiful young ladies aren't they!

Whose Idea Is That Anyway?

I would like to know why it is that society "encourages" women to endure various forms of torture in order to look good for our men. For instance I spent an hour last night with my scalp on fire so that this morning I could wake up gray free. Now if that's all that was expected of us that might be tolerable let's talk about tweezing, waxing, shaving that's required. What about stilettos? Don't get me wrong I love my heels but let's get real, they were obviously invented by a man. How about the curling iron. Whose brilliant idea was it to scorch our hair into shapes that God never intended. Then there's makeup, deep cleansers, masks... none of which are actually pleasant. Anyone try the Biore nose strips? Can you say ouch!

Have You Cast your Ballot?

Wow, it’s been an incredible journey to this day. We are on the threshold of an historical election and I don’t know about you but I’m excited. For the first time in my adult life I was excited to get out of bed this morning and head off to the polls. I arrived at my polling place at 5:56 am to find a line of people waiting to get in the doors so obviously I’m not the only person who wants to make a difference. Regardless of your party or presidential preference no one can deny that these two men have brought our democracy back to the people. Through this process we have again begun to believe that we have a voice and that voice matters. Obama has been screaming “change” and whether or not you believe HE can make that happen, people are beginning to believe WE can make it happen. I don’t pretend to know who will be the best president, but thanks to this election I do know that our world doesn’t get any better until each of us gets up and gets involved.

What about you?

DitzyDanzer's Room

DitzyDanzer's room has presented many challenges. First and foremost she had no closets. Actually there were no closets anywhere in the house and that HAD to be addressed. So here's the progression of her room.

You'll notice the previous owners left us countless treasures.

Additionally, DitzyDanzer's room had a huge window on the north wall and another window on the east wall. After much discussion with my contractors, Scott and Rahel. I convinced them that wasn't going to work. The existing layout gave her absolutely no privacy in her room -- a necessity for a teenage girl. So the first priority was to remove and replace windows.

Once we started demolishing, nothing was safe.

But like everything else, it is finally starting to come together. DitzyDanzer is still concerned but I keep assuring her, Grandpa and Dad know what they are doing. It is somehow reassuring to keep saying it!