A few nights ago I had this great idea to help the kids get to bed. I named it the "Bunnified Bun Check". Sound complicated? It isn't really. Sound like it involves a bunny? You bet! I didn't think much about it when I started it I just thought it was a fun idea. Now it's a nightly thing. Both kids will actually run to their beds to get tucked in so that Baby Bear/Bun Solo/Ironbun/Atila the Bun (we haven't decided on a name) can happily hop around their bed "checking" for monsters. And hopefully not leaving anything behind, if you catch my drift. I knew how important this was the other night because we had allowed Honey to stay up late to watch wrestling (don't judge me). It was a holiday the next day so we didn't mind and we knew how excited it would make her. In all the confusion of the end of the event Baby Bear put himself in his cage and I closed the door. Uh-oh! Big Oops! Honey was so upset. I had to explain to her that Baby Bear was tired and would be more than happy to do the Bunnified Bun Check the next night. Then I proceeded to do the Bunnified Bun Check in his place. Not the same, but at least I got her giggling. Phew! (FYI Never try to be a bunny in a bunk bed. Ouch!) I have also, since the first night, had to use my "Baby Bear" voice whenever he is conducting his investigation. Oi! It's amazing because half the time I can't remember what I said or did, so my kids fill in the gaps for me. B-Man's favourite part is when he turns on his seahorse and calls it Baby Bear's butt music. I guess the first night Baby Bear turned it on himself and it startled him because there was music coming from his rear. Honey likes to pretend that Baby Bear doesn't know what stuffed animals are and can't figure them out. Which is more truth than pretend. It's fun making bedtime memories with my kids though. I hope that when they have kids they can do things like this too. It's the little things that make the most impact and, really, there is nothing better than listening to my kids giggle or seeing the huge smile on their face as I walk into their room carrying a 4 lb ball of fluff. It's just awesome! Do you have any bedtime memories from when you were a kid? How do you get your kids to bed without a fight?
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We did it! We adopted Baby Bear into the family. Sadly I haven't seen my cat since the day before yesterday, which honestly worries me. Especially since I heard a "commotion" outside last night. One I would rather not think about because it involved a distressed cat. Obviously I haven't said anything to my kids, or even my husband. Although I have to admit, I doubt he'd be overly concerned. I love animals, Aaron likes them but tolerates them mostly for me. Anyway, last night was Baby Bear's first night in his new home. Our golden retriever, Roland, was more than happy to welcome a new face in the house. Actually, he just enjoys welcoming anything that comes within 8' of him. Honestly, he's just loves love. So here's the low down of the first night. I coaxed Baby Bear out of his carrier with some greens and he seemed vey "chill" about the whole thing. Not what I imagined since you can actually scare a rabbit so bad it dies, but I thought a good start. Here's a picture of him actually stretched out in his crate with his feet way out behind him. Rabbits need a lot of room so we have a very large dog crate for him to hop around in. After the kids went to bed I put a blanket on the floor for him and let him out to adventure around. Roland was so interested in him and he wanted nothing to do with Roland at all! it was actually pretty pathetic. Baby Bear would hop over, sniff around Roland then flip around with his back to him and peek at him over one shoulder. Almost like a dare. We bonded for a bit on the couch where I petted him and he returned my pets with kisses then he hopped down and sat next to Roland on the blanket (pictured above). I continued watching TV, then I heard a "FLUMP!". OMGoodness! The dog just pawed at the rabbit, I thought. But no, I looked down and Baby Bear had done what's called a bunny flop. This is the ultimate show of relaxation on a bunnies part. The bunny actually flops over and kicks their feet out to the side. That was pretty awesome. All in all, a good first night I think. Okay, time for some truth. I am NOT a morning person. I never have been, I never will be. Well, there was that one time when I was like 3, but since then- nope, nada, not gonna happen. It doesn't matter what time I go to bed, I will still wake up looking like an episode of the Walking Dead. (I've actually never watched this show, so I'm just guessing. I really have no idea.) Such was the case this morning. My husband came down and asked me to get up and help with the kids.... MMMuuuuuggggghhhhhhh. Yeah, that's me... zombie-morning Andrea. I love my husband, but his morning wake-up tactics for trying to get me out bed suck. If he can't do it, send down the kids. There's nothing like bouncy, energized, screaming kids to wake you up. Alright, alright... so they were just talking. But it hurt my body, and I hadn't had any coffee yet. This particular morning my kids were playing "Bunny Rescue". See yesterday's post for a full understanding. Honey was playing as Sunflower, a cute little lop-eared bunny with splay-leg. That means that her front legs don't sit normally, they're separated. #BunnyEducation While B-Man was playing as my sweet, adorable Little Bo Peep. Hippity-hop into my room they came, Honey nudging my head and B-Man jumping everywhere. "We just want you to know that we want to adopt Little Bo Peep", B-Man said, "we talked it over." Bless them for realizing that Bo and I had bonded. Even though I'm not a morning person and I can be quite cranky BC (before coffee) my kids showed me this morning the lessons they are taking away from visiting Blackjack's Rabbit Rescue. Like Honey, who's showing compassion for the bunny that's slightly different from the other ones. Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree here, but it's just neat to see how they are interacting with each bunny and carrying life lessons away with them as well. Sometimes parenting can be so awesome... yes, even first thing in the morning. After a week away we were back at Blackjack's Rabbit Rescue to check in with the bunnies. Haven's babies are really growing! Plus, they're not as bouncy-all-over. Although it's still hard to catch them. They're super cute, and as you can tell, they don't mind sitting in someone's lap for some nice freshly cut grass. Peter was his usual super cute self, if a little rambunctious. He was enjoying some camomile tea in the hopes that it would calm him down a bit. I never knew you could give a rabbit camomile tea. I'm really learning a lot! He was giving his usual kisses and hopping all over his cage in excitement to see us. While I love Peter, he is a high maintenance bunny and I can understand why they want to use him for a therapy bunny. Everyone loves him! Last time I was there a beautiful grey bunny named Little Bo Peep (there's a children's story theme at the rabbit rescue) got acquainted. She was a very gentle girl who loved to be pet. Well... tonight I got to hold her. She was actually snuggling into me! It was like carrying around a real baby. We bonded for a while and eventually she started to give me kisses. I didn't know this, but apparently this is a big deal. It means that a rabbit feels very comfortable. I was on cloud nine! We left shortly after with promises of being back next week. It's something that the kids and I can look forward to. They are starting to take on responsibilities for the animals at home in the hopes of showing us that they can take care of a rabbit. Kids! They're always thinking! It's an exciting day for the kiddos today! Oh who am I kidding, I was just as excited We went to Blackjack's Rabbit Rescue to check out the bunnies! Since my 8 year old has been angling for a bunny I thought this would be a great idea. Get her introduced and help her learn how to care for a bunny. I like bunnies, they're cute. My husband is against it, naturally. But hey, as Sheldon Cooper says - what's life without whimsy? I'd never been to a rabbit rescue, but I was looking forward to it. When I walked in this handsome rabbit jumped over to the bars of his cage. Have you ever been kissed by a rabbit? I hadn't either, but Peter was amazing. I went into the designated visitor area with him and quickly learned that if you patted your legs and "Peter! Treats!" He would jump up, nibble on the greens, jump down when he was done and look for more and then there he was back on my lap again. Such a happy fellow, and oh so soft! I would have taken him home then... except
Over on the other side of the room my daughter had found a whole pen of baby bunnies, or kits, as they're called. I'm learning all kinds of things on this bunny venture. Oh my word!! They were like little balls of fluff just jumping around! Now honestly, who can say no to that!? We had so much fun feeding the rabbits greens and learning about rabbits. It was such an enlightening experience. I can't wait to go back next week! Thanks Blackjack's Rabbit Rescue for having us out! |
AndreaYou know the saying, the grass is always greener on the other side? This is my attempt to find greener grass right where I am in my life.
BTW - I'm the one on the right, just in case you didn't already know that. Categories
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