Welcome to Our Jungle

Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun & games.  (I don't think there is anything wrong with a little G&R reference in a blog about kids toys...do you?)  As for the fun & games,  roll out the barrel baby 'cause we've got a barrel of sock monkeys!!! Technically a group of monkeys can be called a cartload, a tribe or a troop - but my favorite term is a barrel. A lot of the time that is what I think our house could be classified as - a big ole barrelful of monkeys. 

 

"Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun & games!"






Now when we have our big holiday family gatherings I can visualize the monkey in all of us. All the adults & children get so loud & rowdy that I get this mental image of cartoon-esque overactive primates - arms flailing, wildly screeching and swinging from the chandelier. What causes this I am unsure...maybe we are all undiagnosed hyperactive-hypoglycemics (or hyper-hypos for you Mike Myers/SNL fans)... maybe it's just the excitement of being together. Whatever...if the tail fits...

Since we've started making sock monkeys my kids have a really hard time letting them go to the craft sales & onto their forever homes. If they were allowed - my kids would keep every single one. I can't count how many times I've heard:

 

"Oh, mommy...I LOVE this monkey...can I keep it?"

I have a hard time saying no so I have let them keep SOME of our stuffed friends. There are ones they have become particularly attached to. Belle's first monkey is Strawberry. Strawberry has red rhinestone BLING attached to her & a pretty pink crocheted strawberry on her belly. Then she has Electra Leopard who is the opposite of Strawberry. One seems sweet & innocent ~ the other wild & mischievous. Then there is Splat who was a little camera shy (meaning lost in the melee of my girly's room). She is made from a black knee high sock so her arms, legs & tail are EXTRA long. The name Splat was inspired by the bright, rainbow coloured splotches all over her.

Ben on the other hand has Sockodile & Pete the Pirate. They are extremely unique & the first of their kind. He also has Steve (who is not pictured here). Steve is his absolute favorite & the sock monkey who started us on this crazy journey. He will be featured in his own blog post in the near future.

If you travel back to my first blog entry you will see baby Brynn's first sock monkey made for her by her Grammy. It is a tradition that little girls in our family get a pink stuffie when they are born. Since these critters usually end up with the name Pinkie, I'm guessing that is what the name will be. I can't wait until she begins to talk to find out what she will name her sock monkey or how many she will want to keep for herself like her older siblings.