The rabbit has a shiny nose as nature does intend, because it has a powder puff at the other end

The rhyme in the title is one that I learnt in childhood - before I moved on to more dubious playground rhymes! Judging by Robbie's recent difficulty when building the Lego figure in a rabbit suit, he probably didn't learn that little rhyme. 

One of our regular blog readers has asked for a picture of Robbie's version of the rabbit suit figure, so here it is. I am surprised that he didn't notice that the arms were on backwards, but more to the point what did he think the tail was? The bunny version of a fig leaf perhaps, or perhaps it was a Scottish rabbit with the bunny version of a sporran! 

Taking another look at this minifigure had made me wonder if someone at Lego has a slightly warped sense of humour, that rabbit is holding an implausibly large carrot, and the gorilla suit figure from a previous minifigure series is armed with a banana of equally magnificent proportions! 

Built for a kilt!

Robbie has been rather upset recently because he thinks someone has a grudge against him, in fact he thinks they are deliberately setting out to make him unhappy. At first I took no notice because, I thought he was making a big deal about it, but it does seem that he may have a point. So who is this terrible person that has a vendetta against Robbie? It's the 'Lego fairy'. Robbie thinks that whatever mechanism mixes up the minifigures in the boxes that Lego send out to shops is not working very well. Getting duplicates is just the luck of the draw, but ending up with quads when it is only a couple of weeks since the series was launched is a bit much.

So there was great excitement the other day when when he opened his latest minifigure and found one that he hadn't got. He sat in the corner with a look of deep concentration building his figure. It seemed to take an age so I asked what the problem was and he explained that it was the Scotsman but he was struggling with the kilt.  I was rather surprised because Robbie is not unfamiliar with kilts, but eventually he got it sorted and he proudly showed off his new minifigure. I couldn't resist taking a peek under the kilt, just in the spirit of extending my general knowledge! It was rather a disappointment, white Y fronts, what a turn off - Lego are spoilsports!!

Before I stray too far from the subject of 'under the kilt' I should also point out that when Robbie got the bunny suit man minifigure, I had to give him a lesson in basic anatomy. He had built the figure and proudly held it up to show it to me. I asked if he could see what was wrong with it, but he couldn't so I had to explain that a tail usually goes at the back! I don't know what he thought the white fluffy thing was, the modern day equivalent of a fig leaf to cover the rabbit's modesty perhaps. Finally the rabbit had all the right bits facing forward and it looked a lot better, it is a cute minifigure.

Letting the Cat Out of The Bag

As I walked into the kitchen the other day I saw a tail and a rear sticking up out of the bin. Oreo is as passionate about his food as Robbie and he hates the thought that any leftovers may get put in the bin when he would be happy to clear them up. I shouted his name and very slowly his rear end reversed out followed by a thick paper bag that had until that morning contained cat crunchies. It was now firmly stuck over Oreo's head, he reversed around the kitchen at increasing speed but the faster he went the faster the bag pursued him! I was helpless with laughter but eventually I recovered my composure sufficiently and released him from the bag. He shot off to hide from the wicked bin monster - his appetite is bigger than his brain!

Please Redesign the Reindeer

I have been busy with all those pre Christmas jobs that can't be put off any longer - writing cards, wrapping up presents and sorting out the decorations. As I have mentioned before, a bit of bad planning 12 years ago resulted in Sam having his birthday in the same week as Christmas, so I have to get ready for that too. In 2003 I took the children to Lapland for an extra special Christmas treat, it was a magical experience. Here are some extracts from my diary entry about the Lapland trip.

My favourite activity was the husky sleigh ride, getting in and out of the sleigh was not very dignified, and the speed was rather alarming at first, but the huskies were amazing. They are so full of energy and they really seem to enjoy working.

We walked into a snowy forest to visit Santa in his house, it was lovely as there were about 15 children in our group and they all had a personal chat with Santa. Samuel is a bit too sophisticated for that sort of thing now, but he wanted the present that Santa had for him so he grudgingly agreed totalk to him. Emily told Santa that she wanted a sheep for Christmas! That's one Christmas dream that will not come true.

We went on a snowmobile `safari' through a forest, it was a bit stressful at first, but I soon got used to driving the snowmobile and I really enjoyed it, Emily was a pillion passenger with Laura and Sam in a trailer behind.

Next came our reindeer sleigh ride. Sam and I went in one sleigh and Laura and Emily in another. Part way through the trip Sam announced that he thought horses were better designed for pulling than reindeer. I was about to explain that reindeer are better adapted for snow when Sam said "if you have to sit behind the animal like this it is better if they have a proper tail because the view from behind a reindeer is not too good". I am constantly amazed at how that boy's mind works!