Bring It ON!

This is the Zoo's January 2012 calendar.  It does NOT include my teaching schedule for this semester ( 9 hours of teaching and a GRAND 13 hours of driving), nor does it include the Sunday afternoon soccer schedule for Heathen #3 as we haven't received it yet.  Sunday's also don't have Sunday School, Confirmation, or Service written in either.

The three Heathens are in the background.  I have the crown and scepter!

So far, this month is par for the course.  Let the Wild Rumpus...  I mean the New Year BEGIN!



A Man's Man

The Asst. Zookeeper and I often discuss other people - not in a mean, gossipy sort of way, more in a "what makes people tick" kind of way.  We enjoy the differences between people and how it affects their interactions.

He and I established YEARS ago that he (the Asst. Zookeeper) is a "guy."  He calls himself a "Man's Man."  He can fix jut about anything and he works with his hands.  There is very little softness about him - unless you bring children into the room.

This is one of my favorite photos of him as it shows his personality (and size!):

At almost 6'4", 220lbs, the Asst. Zookeeper is not a small man.  And he definitely does NOT have a small personality.  He's one of those guys that can fill a room by himself without making any effort.

All of this is build-up to the next two photos.  Last evening, I walked into the living room to discover this:

Before the Asst. Zookeeper
realized I was taking his photo.

The photo is not of the beer in his hand or the hat on his head.  It isn't even the contradiction of the clothing he's wearing and the chair he is sitting in.  Look at what crawled into his lap and made herself at home!

The 2-pound kitten, Sorcia, decided that he looked like a good lap to sit in.  She apparently crawled into his lap and then wiggled herself into his vest for her own cozy little spot.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but I'm pretty sure he was sitting there rubbing her paws.  He swears that "kitty paws" (as HE calls them) are the softest things ever.

The smirk on his face shows that
I was caught taking this photo!

I think I'll keep the Asst. Zookeeper.  Rough and tough, but still soft enough.  Love ya, Babe!

Christmas Tally COMPLETE

Another Christmas season is completed - and I "believe" I may have retained my sanity.  Maybe.  Still not sure.
It was definitely a busy season, and the Zoo wouldn't have it any other way.  Here are the totals:

Visitors to the Zoo:  42
Heathen visits outside of the Zoo:  3 houses for an additional 9 friends & family
Sleepovers: 2 (Heathen #1's friends were all out of town this year!)
Shared meals with family & friends (at the Zoo or elsewhere): 53

Here are some of the photos I snapped of the season:

Heathens 1, 3, and 2 (left to right)
taken BEFORE the presents were opened
all thinking: HURRY UP MOM!

Heathen #2 scored on the amount
of Duct Tape (both from Santa
and relatives).  Most of the 27 rolls
are already used up!

Heathen #3 unwraps a huge cardboard
house that is colorable.  Santa
forgot to check and see if it came
with markers!  Oops!

Heathen #1 was already plotting
to fly his plane an chucklin
about dive-bombing cows.
The Zookeeper promptly gave him
a dirty look.  :)

The Asst. Zookeeper is wearing his required
Santa hat as he watches the chaos and flying wrapping
paper in the room before him.  I think he might have
been sleeping with his eyes open - but he responded
appropriately when someone spoke to him!

No Christmas is complete without watching the children's Christmas pageant at church.  The oldest Heathen has moved from Sunday School to Confirmation and is no longer a part of it (much to my dismay). The younger two Heathens still participate.  It's one of my FAVORITE Sundays all year!

The younger Heathens ready for the
Christmas pageant to start!

During the March of the Christmas Children as the Heathens
and the rest of the children were moving through the Sanctuary.

Every year, the Sunday School children include the March of the Christmas Children at the end of their pageant.  They always move through the Sanctuary so that everyone can see their costumes and hear them sing.  If you have not heard this song, it is worth a few minutes to click on the link I've provided.  I watch the "Church Ladies" (as dubbed by the Heathens) cry and wipe their eyes as they have huge smiles on their faces every year.

Birthday Boy!

Aunt Dani got the honor of hosting Ozark's first birthday party here in PA. Although I know he had a party in TX and there is another planned for CA, it was still lots of fun!

In one house, we had people from CA, PA, OH, TX and a few other states if we count birth locations.  With a crew of approximately 20 family members, Ozark smashed cake and had a good time!

Ozark's personal cake.

The cake for the family.

He was so civilized to start - using a spoon.

The first taste of icing!

Civilization is over-rated.  He needs a drink to wash
down all the icing!

To Aunt Dani's delight: he had icing in his hair!

Opening presents with Mom and Dad.

Happy Birthday, Ozark!

To Ozark: Happy Birthday! I wish you lived closer, so I'll just have to steal the moments I can.

To Rhys and Michelle: Thanks for sharing him with me.  :)  I love birthday parties!  Congrats on surviving the first year of parenthood.  Just a few more years to go.

Newest Zoo Arrivals

All Zoos have a constant influx of animals.  Some arrive with planning on everyone's part.  Others arrive when the Zookeeper says, "Awwww! I want them!"

Thus, the arrival of Sorchia and Tucker, a set of litter mates.  Tucker (cream-colored) is male.  Sorchia (black & white) is female.  Both just over a pound when they arrived at the Zoo, they are ALMOST four pounds together at this point.  Although, from they way they eat, they should weigh a lot more.

They have spent the past few weeks playing in the end of the garlands in the hallway.  This was the latest "battle" that I witnessed.

Tucker says, "These are my garlands."
Sorchia says, "You think?"

Tucker says, "STOP looking at the garlands, they are mine!"
Sorchia says, "Eeeeek!"

Tucker says, "You can have them."
Sorchia says, "I knew they were mine anyway."

Replay this battle a minimum of 20 times a day.  You can put in your own conversation.  Alternate the winner about 50% of the time.

Welcome to life at the Zoo!

Icing & Sprinkles EVERYWHERE

Saturday, December 17th was a BUSY day at the Zoo!  I roused the Heathens out of bed "early" on a Saturday morning.  We had people to pick up and places to be!

First stop, picking up Noah Logan, Ili Grace, and Wyatt.  Turned out, Gertrude had spent the night at her house - I managed to pick up four kids instead of just three!  Second stop was to pick up Skinny Minnie.  By 8:45, I had a car full of 8 children (ages 13 to 3) and we were headed for breakfast with Santa.

Breakfast with Santa was great!  There was only one problem.  Santa's helper that day was Pappy.  As soon as the grandchildren heard his voice, their heads all snapped around and they narrowed their eyes at Santa.  Breakfast was finished with lots of sticky syrup for the pancakes and lots of suspicious looks at Santa.

While the younger 2 Heathens had final rehearsal for the Christmas pageant, I took the other 6 children to the grocery store to purchase more "decorations."  Although I had already been to the store, I knew I didn't have enough sprinkles, icing or "stuff" for them to put on their cookies.

Taking six children to the grocery store is interesting.  We went to the store where I normally shop with my three Heathens.  This time, I had twice as many kids and only 1 of them was mine.  After 20 minutes of shopping, we had Christmas M&Ms, marshmallows, sprinkles, and icing in multiple tubes and containers ready for checkout.  It was basically a big purchase of sugar in various forms.

We picked up the younger two Heathens and headed to the Zoo.  The kiddos all watched Rudolph while I made macaroni and cheese for lunch.  I thought water took forever to boil when there were three hungry Heathens.  It takes MUCH longer when there are 8 of the staring at the water in the pot!

Once fed, I separated the kiddos into two rooms for decorating.  The youngest three stayed in the kitchen, while the oldest five headed for the dining room.  Here are the kiddos with their favorite cookie they decorated:

Heathen #2

Skinny Minnie

Gertrude

Meatball

Ili Grace

Heathen #3

Heathen #1

Noah Logan

There were sprinkles and icing everywhere!  All things considered, the kiddos where unbelievably NEAT.  A quick wipe of the table and a swipe of the vacuum and everything was picked up!

The only casualty was a spilled glass of milk that found it's way into Skinny Minnie's lap.  She finished decorating in a pair of Heathen shorts while her jeans were in the washer.

Then (the best part), I packed up all the over-sugared kiddos, their cookie creations, and TOOK THEM HOME!

Collar Embarassment

The Dogs went to Petco for their monthly "spa" day.  I take them to Petco for two reasons.  First, the Dogs are both big enough to be a pain to bathe at home without making the whole Zoo smell like wet dog.  And second, I hate smelling like a wet dog after I finish bathing them!

"Spa" day is one of the Dogs favorites.  It combines some of their favorite pass times: car rides, water, attention, and snacks.  When I pull in at Petco, they start whimpering in the back because I won't take them inside fast enough.

This is what I found when I picked them up a few hours later:

Duchess

Bantley

They turned my Dogs into poodles!  Usually, the Dogs come home with a bandana tied around their necks.  The bandanas they love - if you take them off before they fall off, the Dogs will whimper.  The frilly collar was in place of the bandana for the holidays.

My Dogs look like lapdogs - but they love the collars!  Heathen #1 took it off Bantley, who promptly tried to stick his head back into it!

Here's the best part: instead of looking ferocious when they play, they look STUPID!

As each of the Heathens arrived home from school, I heard from the front door, "Momma, WHAT is on the dogs?"  Looks like I'm not the only one to think they look ridiculous.