Sister Bunny Holler

Bunny has always been pretty serious about Jesus.

I can remember being young and thinking that most people were faking their faith.  I was skeptical at best and an Atheist on a bad day, bored in church and generally disbelieving.  As an adult I am still pretty uncertain about everything.  I just don't know what to believe and I don't ever pretend that I do.

Last night we had our last "First Holy Communion Meeting" of the year.  The girls received their first communion on May 5th and we needed to go over to the church, receive our certificates and eat some cake.

Religious education isn't something that I feel strongly about, but because we are in a Catholic school, the kids are getting a Catholic education.  Jay and I were both raised Catholic, so our families are both overjoyed, but we both dragged our feet on it.  I've been pleasantly surprised by the religious education at our church though.  All of the teachings have been based in kindness and love.  There has been no talk of Hell, punishment or of fearing the wrath of God.  Rather, it's about reflecting Jesus' love through kindness and joy and letting all of your actions encompass this love.  I can't see anything wrong with that!  Because we go to a Catholic School we've become part of the Catholic community and a lot of that happens at mass.  So, we do go to mass here and there, though my daughter would like to turn our visits into once or twice a week.

Before our meeting last night I was eating dinner with the kids.  Periodically I check in with them to see how they are feeling about religion.   Bunny has always been a believer, but Lila never has much to say.

Last night Lila said that she would believe it when she sees it.  She was like, "I just don't get it.  How can someone rise from the dead?  It doesn't make any sense.  I'm not saying that I don't think he was a person or something.  I just don't think anyone can rise from the dead. And if God made everything, who made God?"  That's sort of where I stand.  It's hard to suspend your disbelief, Lila.  I hear ya.  

  

But Bunny actually surprised me.  She said that she believes in God and specifically Jesus.  She said that she feels the love of Jesus all of the time and in everything that she does.  She said that she feels Jesus' presence and that he sometimes visits her in her dreams.  Her relationship with God seemed very personal and very real to me.

It was pretty clear to me that Bunny has true faith that doesn't come from school or church.  There's something inside of her that I don't quite get, but recognize as being very important.   Coming from our home, I don't see how she could feel so confident in this, yet she is.  I could see that it wasn't something that Bunny thought, instead it was something that she feels in her heart.  Bunny really "gets it."

Through the month of June the church is having evening bible study on Monday night and I have promised to take Bunny to them.  Also, she wants to go to bible school over the summer.  And I have agreed to start taking her to church EVERY Sunday.

Who knows, maybe we'll have a nun in the family.

Principal's Award

I'm having the most chaotic, brain-twisting day that I completely intend to complain about later... but I don't have any time for that right this second.   I will say that it is partially due to F#C%&(! snails.

For now, I just want to say that I'm super-proud of Bunny, who came home with the honor of a Principal's Award, which she received at mass and in front of the whole school.  She won it for environmental care!

Things That Bunny Will Wish I Hadn't Made Public Someday

This is probably worse than a naked baby picture.

This is the dinosaur that Bunny colored at school today

And this is what she named it.

Crooked House

I've been doing a lot of backyard pricing for my summer of sun and relaxation at home and one thing that has been bothering me is the quality of playhouse that we can afford.

Unfortunately, we don't have a thousand plus dollars to spend on a playhouse alone.  I sincerely wish that we did because I'd totally buy my girls a crazy, triple-decker, lofted, fully furnished playhouse that they could enjoy well into their teen years.

Jay and I have imagined having a playhouse where we could plaster children's artwork all over the walls and they could make a total mess of and never have to clean up.  So, I've been a little bit sad when researching what I can get for the money I have to spend.  With Lila going on 7 years old and Bunny 8 years old, they're far too big for the little playhouses that you can buy at a toy store.  Even some of the larger, log-cabin, type houses that are out of my budget are a poor investment.  I mean, even if we did splurge on one, they would likely only get a year or so of use out of it before they outgrow it entirely.

So, the wheels in my head began turning.  Why can't Jay and I build the kids a playhouse ourselves?  I mean, he's pretty great at putting things together and working with measurements and I'm pretty handy and creative.  It would be a super fun project to work on together, and with his new schedule at Twitter he has every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off and every other Saturday off too.  If we started building this summer, I'll bet that we could have it entirely built by the time spring rolls around.  I mean, we're in California, so we don't exactly have the weather restrictions that we did on the east coast. I've been looking at crooked houses and I'm certain that we could make one happen together!



I did some research and it looks like for between $20 and $80 we can get some pretty detailed instructions.  My friends Siet and Jenny built a whole tiny house out of almost all reclaimed free materials. I'm not suggesting that we could be that lucky, but I'll  bet with a bit of patience and some thorough investigation we could at least get a few great deals!

This is just a thought right now, but I think I'm going to do a lot of researching and thinking about it and I'm going to hold off on buying a playhouse for the time being.  Maybe we can start our building in July!

Not only will my girls have an awesome play space for years to come, but I get a bunch of non-technology saturated time with my husband.  Love that!!!!!

Happy Birthday Bunny Holler: Post 1

Each year for Bunny's birthday she and I seek out some cakestrosity that she thinks is extra special and she challenges me to make it for her class.  It's our tradition.  She selects the confection and I do my best as an amateur baker and craftstress to rise to the occasion.

This year, my friend who should be on  sweet genius Jennifer posted pictures of high heel cupcakes and I and Bunny went gaga for them.  We decided to make them blue so that the boys in her class wouldn't feel entirely Barbified.  I also wanted to challenge myself further by making the interior of the cupcake rainbow!  This is something that I have seen several times but haven't ever had occasion to try!  I think it will be a fun surprise for the kids when they bite into their cupcakes!

Here's the How To:

First, I chose decorative cupcake wrappers

Then, I made little bows out of fondant

Next, I mixed the cake batter, colored it, layered it in the cupcake wrappers and baked them!

I cut a small sliver out of each cupcake.   It's for the wide part of the graham cracker to rest on. 

While the cupcakes were baking, I cut my graham crackers and dipped them in candy coating.  Then I cut the heels for the shoes!

After dipping the graham crackers, make sure you stick them in the freezer for a few minutes after you dip each side.  And put them on parchment paper.

I let my cupcakes cool overnight before decorating them!

Frost the sliver that you left out of the cupcake white.  

Then frost the rest blue and cover it in sprinkles.

Glue the heel to the small end of the graham cracker using melted candy.

Put it all together!  Add the bow.  Pipe around the edges of the arch with frosting and use decorative candies to make it festive!

Because of the colors here I think that these would be perfect for a bridal shower!  I sort of wish I'd gone with yellows and greens, but all in all, I'm really thrilled by the way they turned out and I think that the kids will love them tomorrow.  

Bunny's 7th Birthday Pictures!

Unfortunately, some of these pictures are weird sizes and I'm too tired to fix them now! I had to download a few of them from Jay's facebook page and they saved in a weird size. But, you get the picture!!!!

A few Gifts!

These are handmade in Philadelphia from reclaimed sweater material and stuffed with bamboo. I had a difficult time deciding which one to go with, but finally took home the monkey.

Also, we grabbed two of Starlights as well! Bun has been very into her room lately and these are a great, colorful addition!

On Bunny's actual birthday we had a little cake for her and she opened her gifts!

This morning we woke up, had breakfast and headed to New York City. Our initial plan was to picnic in Central Park after going on a spree at the American Girl Store, but the weather thought differently. We were really fortunate to get a reservation at the American Girl Cafe and though I initially scoffed at the prices, I have to admit that I left impressed. The experience was wonderful!!!!!

They had a little box of questions sitting on the table and Bunny wowed me with her reading ability and comprehension!

Also, the food was delish!

And then we went to see the Imagination Movers. Thanks to my bestie Siet, the Movers left an autographed poster at will-call for Bunny that said, "Happy Birthday Bunny. Think Big!" And included all of their signatures! Bunny went nuts for it!

And Finally, we came home and Bunny was able to put on her pj's and match them with her new American Girl Doll Lisa.



This was such a fun birthday. Bunny says that it was way better than a party and I have to agree 100%. This year we were all really able to celebrate. There was no stress or running around. Just lots of fun and love.

Chickie Cake Pops

My friend Shannon suggested making cake pops, and I found this incredible recipe on Bakerella that I followed! Mine are not the perfect little spheres that they show on the website, but I think that they're just as cute!

If you're looking for a special holiday treat, this is definitely the direction to go! Mine are for Bunny's first grade birthday class celebration, but I think that they're a fantastic Easter sweet as well!

Here are some pictures from the project! I'll let them do the talkin', but if you have any questions just let me know. I was nervous about this project. Though it was time consuming, it was pretty easy and I love the way they turned out.

Happy Birthday Bunny Holler

I do not know how it's possible that Bunny is going to be seven years old tomorrow. In all seriousness, I am in disbelief that seven full years have passed from the day that I held her in my arms for the first time. I'll never forget when I saw her little, tiny, perfectly round, toothless mouth stretch open to yawn after just being born 2 or so hours before... and that little yawn was the most beautiful thing that I've ever seen.

This year we decided not to have a party. Tomorrow is Bunny's actual birthday and she's going to school. She'll have a special breakfast and I made chickie cake pops for her to share with her classmates. Then, I'm making her favorite dinner and she can open her gifts. On Tuesday, Jay and I took the day off of work and Lila is taking the day off of school. We're taking the girls into NYC to the American Girl store so that Bunny can choose a doll and some accessories. Then, we're picnicking in Central Park and heading to the Imagination Movers show at 4. I can not wait!!!!!!

Bunny Goes Gaga

Post About Nothin'

Originally those chips were going to be cropped and perched on top of my shoulder for another post, but they're just so cute that I wanted to use them for a happy post. I especially enjoy that the sour cream and onion chip is so stinky.

I am feeling pretty pleased lately.

It was really nice to go back to work (for real this time) yesterday. I had a productive day, but when I left it was even colder than it had been when I walked there in the morning. My hands and feet burned (even through my incredibly uncool/unhip/winter-man boots). By the time the girls came out of the school everyone was begging to grab a cab home (including me). I agreed and we walked and watched for taxis. Because of the unbearable conditions, all of the cabs that passed us were full. So, finally we ducked into the LaVa Cafe where the girls had bowls of warm soup, a lava cake and mama drank the best cup of coffee she's ever had. We waited there until Jay, like a brave knight, rode in on his minivan to save us from the elements and whisked us away to Best Buy where he picked up the Nexus One (I think) to play with. Honestly, it looks like an iphone, but not as nice. It looks like an iphone knock off, which I tend to think about every phone that isn't an iphone. For the record, I don't care about technology at all. I don't care about gadgets. I don't feel like they're status symbols and I think it's silly to walk around with three phones that together cost well over $1000. But, my husband loves these things. And I'm lucky that he does because if he didn't I wouldn't have an iphone. I wouldn't "get" why they're so wonderful. Now I am ruined from everything else, always. And I do not like the iphone 4 (or whatever it's called). I like the iphone 3, with the curvy edges and black back. Someday, this will be the most outdated phone in the world, and I'll still be trying to buy it on ebay (because I drop my phone all the time I have to replace it constantly. I'm not positive about this, but I'm pretty sure that the phone that I got for Christmas is my 4th 3rd generation iphone in about two years).

On an entirely different note, Bunny must be having some major growth spurt- both emotionally and physically. Very recently I've noticed that she looks very grown up. And she's really settling into her own personality, which is cool-and-aloof. When I see her around other children she's never vying for any one's attention. She's incredibly self-possessed, which I admire in her. She also doesn't try to command attention or boss people around. She just quietly does her dainty, little thing. And her personality is suddenly so adult. We are waking up and laying around and have on Playhouse Disney. She turned to me and said, "It's odd. I find this annoying and funny... all at the same time."

Okay, so this post is about nothing... but I don't have much going on right now. Which is always better, I think...

Ponytail

Bunny is just like me! Her hair grows like a weed!

A few months ago it was super-short and now she's able to get it back into a ponytail. I can't wait until her bangs are all grown out. Again, in true mama fashion, every couple of years she consistently wants bangs and then spends months clipping them back until the joyous day when they are finally long enough to tuck behind her ears.

Proud of my little Bunny

Generally the way Jay and I parent is to listen to our children and honor the boundaries they set for themselves. We don't force a lot. Obviously we force some things. When Bunny was having trouble with school we said, "I'm sorry but you HAVE to go..." But we try to respect them, even when we don't necessarily agree and even when it makes our lives more complicated.

For the most part this has worked for us. I think that our children are growing up to be fantastic people who have a great sense of who they are and ownership of their actions and bodies. They do things when they are ready and because they aren't forced, they are better able to determine when they are ready and when they feel comfortable. I also believe that they feel more valued. When you're a kid there's so little that you're in control of. I just want my kids to feel that they have some control over their lives.

So, for years... Bunny could not sleep on her own. She has never slept well. Not even as a newborn baby. As a toddler and even a small child, it would take her HOURS of my laying there for her to fall asleep. I tried to let her "cry it out," once and couldn't do it beyond that. My only saving grace was that Lila was so open to sleeping on her own. So, at night, I was able to give Bunny what she needed. My decision was to wait it out. Her fear of being alone at night was real. As she got older she would wake up several times during the night if I wasn't in the bed with her. She'd come find me and cry if I wouldn't crawl into bed with her. I'd be up five or six times in one night... never sure which bed I'd wake up in.

But Bunny is almost 7 years old. I had been struggling for awhile with the fact that she hadn't just naturally grown out of this. And at night, I didn't feel that she was fearful any longer. I just felt that my being in her bed was habitual.

One night I just had it. I had a long, firm talk with her about not laying down with her as she goes to sleep... EVER AGAIN. She will sleep in her own bed, by herself, all night... EVERY NIGHT.

And it was tough at first. She had a few nights when she stayed up and fought it for hours. After that, she started falling asleep so much easier. I'm convinced that my being in her bed was making everything worse for her. It's been over a week now and she's in her bed and actually asleep by about 7:45 every night. She sleeps through the night.... and for the first time in almost 7 years... SO DO I.

I'm so proud of her. Also, I take this as a lesson in parenting. Not that I'll change my general philosophy... but sometimes children don't know their boundaries and they need someone to help them. I think that we could have done this with Bunny sooner than we did, but I certainly wouldn't have done it when she showed true fear of being by herself. I understand that it's fine to do that. I've had pediatricians recommend it to me... so I'm not making any sort of judgement on anyone who chooses this as a way of forming routine. It just wasn't conducive to my parenting style. And you don't choose the sort of parent you are. It chooses you.

Solar Queen

Bunny lost a tooth yesterday and all she wanted from the ToothFairy was a solar queen.

She's been admiring the solar queen in the Big Green Earth Store for awhile but I haven't gotten it for her because it seemed like the kind of thing that she wouldn't actually want once she had it. I'm actually not sure why anyone likes these. You'd be shocked (or maybe you wouldn't) by the crowds of people who gather around the solar queen, giggling as she waves. We sell so many of them!!!!

This morning, when Bunny fished under her pillow and pulled out her very own, blue solar queen, I was surprised by her delight.

I was also surprised that she accused the ToothFairy of shoplifting when I said that I hadn't seen her buy it.

The Things We Learn From Bunny

Bunny's been coming home from school reciting the following "hand games." Watch till the end. Shame, Shame, Shame is my personal favorite. Especially the part that goes, "there's a big, fat police man at the door, door, door..."

My Child Does Not Eat

Bunny never eats breakfast. Try as I may, I can't ever get her eat before school.

This morning L had an egg-in- the-boat on multi-grain bread, a very small bowl of mini-wheats and a banana. I made the same exact thing for Bun, but she pushed it away with disgust. She agreed to eat an orange if I cut it up, but it's sitting in front of her and she's not touching it.

Each day I roll into school with a child who doesn't have a drop of food or beverage in her belly and I feel like a neglector.

The following seem to be the foods that Bun will agreeably eat in the morning: leftover pizza and egg drop soup. Clearly, we do not often have these at hand.

Does anyone know how to get my child to want to eat? She about 50 inches tall and barely 50 lbs. I feel like every time she goes to the dr. she's lost more weight.

Oh no! Lila is circling around Bunny's egg-in-the-boat like a little yellow headed vulture.