Bunny Feet

I've heard of giving someone "bunny ears" in a picture, but this is going too far. Bunny feet? Bunny toes? Smelly head?

Oktoberfest

The parents came to visit today, with sis and her little dog too. We ate a heavenly brat lunch featuring two German potato salads and two saurkraut dishes. For entertainment, there was a trio consisting of an accordian, clarinet and tuba playing polka tunes and wearing traditional German clothing.

We were sad to not see the little German man who usually entertains, wearing his kelly green knickers and singing and playing accordian.

To say we were underage for the crowd would be an understatement.

Thank you St. John's Lutheran School. Thank you Mylanta Gas.

Malapropisms

Don't know what that means? Read on . . .

Boy: "Mom, I'm gonna pull the best FRANK on Dad!!!"

Mom: "Do you mean 'PRANK?' or are you talking about a hotdog?"

Boy: "Whatever! I was walking near the house with the trees in a line (I have no idea where he's talking about) and I saw a poor little cat that looked like he had been ADOPTED so I tried to pet him."

Mom: "ABANDONED? The cat appeared to have been neglected or poorly taken care of?"

Boy: "Yeah. ADOPTED cats are so cute. So I tried to take him up to the house with the trees in a line by the smooth road where my old teacher lived (Still no idea where he's talking about and wondering how he got so far from home without me knowing and why he's associating with mangy old cats.) . I rang the doorbell and asked them if this was their cat and they said yes and the cat ran inside."

Mom: "Thank you for caring about the cat, but don't go around ringing doorbells anymore. Now go wash your hands. It's time to eat."

Dad: (walking in the back door from work) "HEY!!! I'M HOME!!!!"

Boy: "Hey, Dad, are you ready for a good FRANK?"

Commentary: One never knows when early language delays will creep back to the surface.

Three in One

Most of us have heard the explanation of the Trinity in the apple analogy. Although the apple has three distinct parts (core, fruit, skin) it is one apple.

My pre-teen daughter thought of a new analogy that might be better understood by s her age. She said, "God is like shampoo - you know, the two-in-one kind. Shampoo is God the Father. Conditioner is God the Son."

"So (I had to ask), What about God the Holy Spirit?"

"Duh, Mom - hairspray!"

Bathroom Etiquette

So, I'm relaxing in the living room after a long day at school and I hear the toilet flush. That's OK. What puts the fear of God in me is the young boy dashing out of the bathroom screaming, "Run! Run! Run! Mo-o-o-o-o-o-om!"

At the time of this post, we keep a plunger in that bathroom. But, I still wonder who he was bidding to flee the vicinity.

I've heard of dropping friends off at the pool. . .

Zzzzzz

Should I wake him? He promised to do the dishes tonight. Perhaps I should mind the old saying and remember to let old dogs lie so he won't ask for tricks. . . . Good night!

Gerbils

This is Patches - or Nester - I've never quite figured that out. I do know that they are of the same (or sterile) because there have been no baby gerbils and we have owned them since Christmas.

We moved them from the boy's room to the garage to "freshen the air" in his room. That's code talk for, "the rodents really stink." Secretly, I have hoped for a raccoon to find its way in the garage and have a furry snack.

The weather is getting cooler and gerbils are arid creatures. Maybe the boy's teacher could use new class pets.

THE shelf suspended

Several of you have asked for pictures. I think the kids even used a small level during the project. I am impressed with the ingenuity. Who would have thought that a small stepstool could be modified to be used as a floating shelf?

The question still remains: Who wanted a floating shelf?

Martial Arts Ambition

Mr. Rellim bought the kids pocket knives without my knowledge and they have been working on 1/4 inch dowel rods, whittling them into small spears. I haven't asked the purpose of their project, but am happy that the long dowel rod is history.

Why?

Because last week, the boy was walking around the block brandishing the rod and practicing "cool moves" such as whipping the dowel loudly from side to side while shouting, "Yah! Yah! Yah!" and spinning randomly from left to right as his casted arm flung about.

I wonder what our neighbors think of us . . .

Suspended

What were the kids supposed to be doing? Picking up toys, making beds and staying out of trouble.

What did they do instead?

Dismantle a small stepstool and suspend it in the middle of the boy's bedroom using kite string, 2 nails and a mangled hanger.

Is this how MacGuyver got started?

Homework?!

"No, Mom, I didn't have time to do my homework tonight."

Why?

"Well, I had to make some ear warmers and a cape for Bambi. You know, it's getting cold at night and I don't want my rabbit to get too cold."

She fit her rabbit with winter wear instead of doing her homework. Do you think she could get some credit in her art class?

One More Week

The cast comes off in one week. Tonight Quinn was complaining because his arm was itching. "Man! I wish I hadn't put all that extra cotton in there!"

"What extra cotton?" said I.

"You know all the cotton that used to be in my cast around my fingers?"

("Uh, the cotton in your cast that's there to keep your fingers from getting sores?" thought I.)

"Well, I picked it all out and shoved it into the top of my cast and now my arm is itching!"

COMMENTARY: Hmm. I wonder what else he's shoved into his cast. It will be like the Giraldo Rivera show when he opened the supposed Al Capone treasure vault. Could be gold or dirt.

(Short Break)

I just answered my cell phone. It was Quinn calling me from his bedroom on his new Bart Simpson telephone (thanks, Great-Grandma M.). He wanted to remind me that his arm still itches and that he's hungry - so hungry, in fact that he's planning a sleeping strike unless he is fed.

COMMENTARY: What messed-up family has a Bart Simpson telephone? And what kind of world are we living in when an eight year old chooses to contact his mother by cell phone instead of hollering down the hallway to her?

Must go feed the child. I'm thinking graham ers, but will monitor for possible crumb cast-shoving.

and Smart

She chose her hairdo and lipgloss and t-shirt for her 5th grade pictures. It says, "Blonde and Smart." You gotta love her positive attitude!

4 pictures, 3 babies, 2 cousins, 1 new mother

New Mama Rellim with one of her three new babies.
One of the Rellim s holding a Rellim boy.
A close-up of the youngest Miss Rellim.
The young Mr. Rellim with the youngest Miss Rellim.

Relaxation at Last (To the tune of "Taps)

Day is done.
Hole is dug.
Pipe is laid.
Sod replaced.
Grass seed splayed.

"Come, rain, come!"
We will say
With no fear.
French Drain.

Howdy!

She really wants to be a farmer - when she's not busy painting her fingernails or salvaging trash to create artistic masterpieces or designing clothing from scrap material.

She especially wants to be anything that does not involve cleaning or organizing her bedroom.

Friends

Guess which one of us has a California tan? The same one who is becoming extremely busy at her new job. Say hello to Ahhnold for me!!

Thanks, PaPa Wayne!

The flooring looks great! We appreciate all the sweat equity and love you very much!

A Few Projects

After we got the bathtub tile taken care of, I talked Mr. Rellim into digging this trench. If we don't finish soon, I'm afraid we will have to have a moat instead of a french drain.

What's That Smell?!

Now the smell is fresh paint, wood flooring, ceramic adhesive and bathtub caulk.

The indoor projects are complete - until I can think up another one. The young Mr. Rellim has hardwood laminate flooring and new paint. The hallway has ZERO fingerprints. The bathroom has a new tub/shower fixture and ceramic tile. And the hall closet adjacent to the bath/shower no longer has THAT smell (of leaking water and rotting drywall).

Tonight we dug a trench along the west side of the house to place a french drainage system. I'll post pictures soon.