Let's just say Monkey Baby under glass and on the wall displeased little lord flaunty boy. So much, in fact, that he had to make a new drawing of the "babies" that would never, ever, ever, ever be protected from harm.
He likes them grubby.
And to make sure they wouldn't be seen as precious ...
once he'd finished painting them, he scrawled on their faces with pencil.
"FOUND. POMERANIAN. MAIN STREET. CALL blah, blah, blah"
The downturned smile is because she KNOWS this dog has an owner who misses her.
Homeless pomeranians are a rarity. Someone was bound to know to whom she belonged. All we needed to do was call around.
But having a dog for a few hours, feeding her steak and listening to her snore, was also a pretty good indicator that maybe it's time to start looking for our dog.
I got pneumonia. The kind that kneecaps you instead of letting you walk off scott free. And we'd planned a party for the Big 8 today that included -- as you might be able to surmise by the amount (and sizing) of the craft tables -- all of her classmates and a few extra friends from past classes.
1. Collect all those toys you've been stepping on. I used the holiday set from Playmobil that I bought last year, but any plastic toy will do.
2. Clean out some jars, make sure your toys fit inside. Ittybit helped with this. I couldn't for the life of me fit the snowman in the artichoke jar and was rummaging through the recycling for a bigger jar when she simply took off his hat. So. There.
3. Spray paint the lids to make them a uniformed color (you can cover them with fabric or leave them alone. It's fine for people to know you've sealed Frosty in an old artichoke bottle. You can also use bottle caps to act as pedestals if the jar is large and the toys are small.
4. Wait 24 hours for the lids to dry.
5. To make the trees I cut little bits of fake greenery off our garland, trimmed them a bit and stuck them in little slabs of cork I sawed into quarters. I punctured a little hole in the cork with the tip of a knife to make tree insertion easier.
6. Mix the epoxy and dab it onto the toys, press them on the inside of the lid and let dry for a couple of hours.
7. I added a half teaspoon or so of glitter to the jars and a dab of glycerine (seriously only about a dime-sized dab for the largest jar) and then filled them to the top with distilled water.
8. Over the sink, I inserted the lid scene and shut it as tightly as possible.
9. Of course it still leaks a little.
But look ...
So pretty.
Maybe ... if I ever do this again ... I'll try a silicone sealant on the lid.
Let's face it ... when you have kids to entertain, every little whim that materializes into hanging balls of glue and sparkle or stitched-together pieces of old pajama bottoms is like Christmas morning threw up a little in your house each and every day.
Might as well change the sheets before the place starts to stink.
Because you know, if you give twin Monkey Babies a bed, they're going to want a mattress. And if you give them a mattress, they'll want pillows. And if you give them pillows they'll want a blanket.
As I rustle through the stores this holiday season mulling the purchases that will either make Santa a hero or me a zero (because, lets face it, blaming the big guy for getting the wrong toy just isn't done) I thought I'd wander down Memory Lane and remember all the gifts that haven't been forgotten the second the wrapping paper had been cleared away:
We bought the 36-count set ions ago. Likely before The Champ was even born. We still have all 36 and all of them work. There is no substitute for good markers. And no end to how you can use them. This year we'll be making tie-dye shirts with permanent markers and rubbing alcohol.
It's not really a wonder … it's a binocular/compass combo that rarely gets used in our house for either of those functions. But this a $7 hunk of plastic (now missing the compass feature) has certainly repaid its price ten-times over … though I doubt I bought it. Honestly? I had no idea what this mystery gadget was. It just turned up one day and it's been an important tool for propping up toys, spying on sisters and viewing the opera from the living room ever since.
We call him “Monkey Baby” and The Champ won't leave home (or sleep) without him. Luckily (because of temporary misplacement) we have three of these babies. The “real” part of the monkey – chittering, snoring and squawking have all lost their appeal (not to mention battery juice). Even I must admit it's creepy how cute he is.
Santa brought a Sew Mini by Janome, ($60) which was handy and good for light-weight crafting, but ended up needing repairs after only a few months. Santa now recommends spending just a little more.
Their father had a small set … probably from the Brio company.
We went with Circo at Target. Got a 120-piece set for about $50. It's easy to assemble, fits with the old Brio set as well as another plastic model recently and lovingly handed down. I think the best part may be that it's a toy that won't end up in a yard sale.
Ittybit got her first Littlest Pet Shop when she was two. I got an apology from the benefactor. “They're like crack,” she whispered so that her own daughter wouldn't hear. Now we have more than a hundred of these little bobble headed things. Parents hate them. Kids love them. Can't win every battle.
