Meet the Guys Monday - Eeyore

(picture coming soon)
I have many, many Eeyores, I know, but this one's special. He was a Christmas present from my father, when he stayed with us for 3 months a few years back. My dad had actually told me beforehand what he had intended to buy for me for Christmas, but when Christmas morning came around I didn't see a small jewellery box anywhere, and was slightly surprised to see a lumpy, largeish parcel instead. And that was my dad's intention! He'd put the necklace around Eeyore's neck instead!

He wears a turquoise ribbon around his neck and wears a baseball jersey that N and I bought for him in New York from a Build-a-Bear store so he wouldn't feel left out that all the other Guys had clothes. There is a little baseball cap that goes along with it, but I'm not sure it fits or where it's at at the moment. I love Eeyore's eyes - they look like he's constantly watching or looking out for something. Nicknames include 'Donkey' and 'Donks'

Meet the Guys Monday

This will have to be quick today because I missed out on when I usually write my blog entries (when Elliot's taking his nap) and now I only have a limited time on my laptop until Elliot want to come play with the mouse or keyboard (we've set up a wiresless mouse and keyboard so I don't have to cramp my fingers using the laptop's).

Today's Meet the Guys Monday is dedicated to Jack! Everyone say hello to Jack. He's the largest of our guys and the oldest. N and his sister were both given bears, one large and one small. N got the small one, his sister got the large one. Each wanted the other, so they swapped (at least I think so) And so this adorable large bear lived on the N's parent's couch for 20 odd years until the arrival of a cute, charming American girl who swept in and decided that this large bear MUST not go another day without a name.

N and I do have a tendency to name our Guys after television/movie characters and you must be thinking 'Jack from 24? Jack from Lost?' Oh no, his name predates them both.. Jack is Jack simply because we liked the name and it seemed to fit him. Back when we were still living with my in-laws, I used to fall asleep cuddled with Jack. He originally had a sad little red ribbon around his neck. It just looked too pitiful, so we replaced it with a more vibrant purple ribbon. When we went to New York two years, ago, we brought back a children's t-shirt especially for our special Jack! Isn't he gorgeous? Don't you just want to give him a hug?

Meet the Guys Monday - Mimi

(Welcome to this week's edition of Meet the Guys Monday, today we have Mimi. Say hello to Mimi!)

Two years ago, N went on a business trip to Sweden (or was it Denmark?). It was unfortunate timing, as I found out I was pregnant whilst he was away, and I really wanted to tell him face-to-face. When he came back, and I was ready to tell him - N knew already. I couldn't believe it! Anyway, he brought back gifts, and there was a TON of presents. I was opening them in the living room, surrounded by The Guys and I didn't even realise I was thinking it, until I asked 'And did you bring anything back for The Guys?' He thought for a second, and said 'yes' He then pulled out this gorgeous creature with that beautiful, big heart. She's technically a keychain, but since N brought her home, she's been the cutest and smallest member of The Guys. She was already given the name Mimi, and in fact on her left paw it says 'Mimihopps' though we sometimes call her 'The Hopster' or just 'Hopps'

Elliot loves to play with Mimi. I don't know how he always manages to single Mimi out, but he does. And he's going through a phase of putting things into containers and so on. A few weeks ago we almost had a disastrous incident, where Elliot put Meems in the wastebin and she was almost thrown away!

Meet the Guys Monday - Jonah

Welcome to another edition of Meet the Guys Monday! Today features .. Jonah! (say hello to Jonah!) Isn't he the absolute cutest? N has a friend who lives in Canada, and we used to ship each other Christmas presents (before a child bankrupted us!) and one year, at Clintons or some other major greetings card shop, I fell in love with this adorable polar bear! I couldn't believe how much I coveted his scarf with the blue stars and the furry little balls at the ends. And his fur and paws are so soft, I wanted him. But at the time, N gave a reasonable sounding argument against buying one for ourselves and we walked out of the shop with just the one polar bear as a gift for Canada-girl. I felt a bit down. I fall in love very easily with stuffed animals, and this was love-at-first sight for me, I didn't walk away easily. Christmas came around, and I could tell N had some fun surprise for me... What he likes to do (but I try not to count on it!) is he'll spread my gifts (this happens at birthdays as well as Christmas) into .. installments, if you like. He'll give a few presents in the morning, maybe some more after we've gotten home from whatever we've done on the day, and then something (usually something extra-special, I'm so incredibly spoilt!) just before I fall asleep. And so, for Christmas forever ago, my extra-special Christmas gift was my Jonah. N named him (he names all The Guys except those who already had names) It was just a name we both really liked and it seemed to suit the extra-cute polar bear! Nicknames include: Jonah Lomu and Jonah Bearah.

Meet the Guys Monday - Sharif Atkins

Welcome to another edition of Meet the Guys Monday! Today, Sharif Atkins (everyone, say 'Hello Sharif'). In advance, I apologise if the following is confusing or hard to follow, I'm feeling a bit distracted at the moment. So, two years ago, N and I went to New York on holiday. We'd been meaning to go together for years, but hadn't gotten around to it. When we did go, we had just learned that I was pregnant. It was quite unfortunate for N really, he was so worried about me straining myself, he chose to carry ALL of our bags, everywhere. And we did buy quite a lot on that trip and did a LOT of walking. Seriously, all during pregnancy, I wasn't allowed to carry anything heavier than a loaf of bread.

But anyway, we're in New York and we're wondering around buying presents and souvenirs and things. Naturally, we stopped by FAO Schwarz. It'll be a friend's birthday sometime soon after we get back to England, and even though he's in his 30s (and straight), he likes cuddly toys. We'd already promised The Guys we wouldn't get anymore on holiday, because with a new baby coming, we know we won't be giving them as much attention in the near future. We find the most adorable, soft teddy bear wearing an FAO Schwarz t-shirt. He has cute little beans in his bum and is just the right amount of floppy for me. We buy it and swear he is solely meant as a gift for our friend and not as a Future-Guy. We have a great holiday and head home.

When we're unpacking, there's so little room in our old poky house that the bear could only end up on the sofa (with the rest of the Downstairs-Guys) and his cute little teddy bear-features win us over. There's no way we can give him up. We hastily make a trip to Toys-R-Us before our friend's birthday and buy him a different bear. The FAO Schwarz bear is here to stay. Now is the time to name him in our unusual way. I think you'll find that N and I find inspiration for a lot of The Guys' names from television and movies. Sharif (probably obviously) is no exception. We named him after Sharif Atkins, who for a few series was in the cast of ER (as Dr Michael Gallant). He was one of our favourite doctors and we were sad when he took the fall for a bad mistake and left the show (only to later come back to the show briefly and then be killed off). N has an affinity with unusual names, and it seemed to fit Sharif quite well. Isn't he cute with his big feet? :)

Meet the Guys Monday - Reuben

Everyone, say hello to Reuben! About two or three Christmases ago, I didn't have a clue as to what to get as a present for my husband, N. If you know anything about N, it should be that he's very creative and doesn't like to 'waste time' and is constantly multi-tasking. I thought a stitch-your-own robin would be a great stocking filler for him, and he could create a new friend whilst watching TV or whatever.

He turned out to quite like it, and so Reuben was born! Reuben got his name while N and I were watching 'Along Came Polly' - and loved Azaria's character ('are you for scuba?') and we sometimes pronounce 'Reuben' in a weird accent. On our last trip back from America (we went to New York when I was pregnant with Boy) we brought Reuben his bandana, which he wears proudly.

When Elliot was a very young baby, my mother-in-law would come over in the mornings and watch Boy while I caught up on my sleep. I'd sometimes hear her telling stories to Elliot and always wondered what was going on downstairs. One day she told me. She said 'Everytime Elliot sees your chicken, he smiles, so I use the chicken to tell Elliot nursery rhymes.' 'Ahhhhh...' I said in response. But wait, I don't have a chicken. She thought our poor Reuben the Robin was .. a chicken. Poor birdy.

Meet the Guys Monday - Charlie

Welcome to Meet the Guys Monday! I thought it appropriate to start off this new feature with my longest animal-buddy, Charlie. Everyone, say hello to Charlie:

Now, I'm not sure if the following story is true, or if I just made it up in my head, but here's how I think it happened. At Easter, when I was in the region of 3 years old, the Easter bunny was said to have left my friend on the porch of our house (in my head it's somewhere warm, like California, but from what I know we lived most of my young childhood in Alaska). I remember crawling into bed with my mother and discussing what said bunny should be named. Names are very important and we couldn't decide on one, until she had a good look at the rabbit and said 'How about Charlie?' and Charlie he has been ever since.

Here's where the story gets sad. My family has always been a little ... different. And in this case, I mean abusive. It's a complicated story and too much to go into in this post, but my dad has never been an easy person to live with. Even though my mother and I have always had an uneasy relationship, she did try when I was younger to do the right thing, however misguided. She used to take my brother and I and move somplace new. This might explain why I thought I found Charlie in California when we were supposed to be in Alaska, I don't think I'll ever know. We were 'taken' a countless number of times. When I tried to explain this to a friend, he said 'your mom KIDNAPPED you?' and it sounds bizarre, but I guess it's partly true. Whatever.

Whenever we were taken, my mom would somehow never think to bring Charlie along with us. Because we moved around so much already, I had no real friends. Charlie was my (only) confidante in all things little-girl. He really was my best friend, and she always left him behind. Whenever I next saw my father again (because he always found us) the first thing he did was take Charlie out from wherever he'd stash him and give Charlie to me, even before we hugged or said hello. He was the only person who knew how much that ragged old rabbit meant to me. And no matter what we've done to each other, I respect my father for that at the very least.

Charlie lives in a happier home now, surrounded by the rest of The Guys. He used to wear maroon overalls and have a little carrot in his back pocket, but the straps on his overalls tore off long ago, and I've never found his missing carrot. Because of old age, his fur has come out in orange patches, and the soft bits on his stomach and under his ears isn't as soft as it used to be, but I couldn't love him anymore than I do. N has extended his name, and sometimes calls him 'Charles Montgomery Brewster' - I guess he sees Charlie's inner-poshness.

Thanks for listening, and more next week...