"Pregnant Pause" or "Meet Eucalypptus Part 2"

Well, that was some pregnant pause. That's what happens when one is relying on two pregnant women to provide the details of Eucalypptus' creation.

Now, I believe we are aproaching the "fwuffing" station (Abbey's pronunciation). Abbey was all ready to take care of the fwuffing - she had done it before and knew how to do it just right. Well, Elisa thought maybe she should be the "fluffer." After all, she had never done this before. That's when Shannon chimed in that she had never been a fluffer before, either. Well, sensing she would not be the "fwuffer," Abbey scrambled to find a way to remain in charge. Ever quick on her feet she determined that she would be the one to "choose" the sister to be the honored fwuffer. Hmmm...I don't know what happened in the translation but it seems Abbey WAS the first one to fwuff and then Christopher wanted to fluff, too. So you can bet your stuffin' that Eucalypptus is one very fwuffed koala! (Whatever happened to our "newbies," Elisa and Shannon?)

Phew...the hard part is finished. Now we just have to choose clothing and accessories. AAACCCKKK!!!! Are you kidding? The other was nothing compared to this!

Each person had a (different) idea of what the bear should wear. To make matters even more difficult, these things were expensive! Let's see...shirt, shoes, pants, socks, glasses, hats, cell phones, etc. Oh no...I'll bet this involves pain.

Shannon found a cute dress. Abbey wanted it to have a High School Musical shirt. I'm guessing here but I'll bet Elisa was looking at the football uniforms. Darrell was searching aimlessly for video game theme outfits. Christopher was asking if mom would like to have a "camo bear." Matthew would have insisted it have a ball of some sort. Oh wait! Here, look at this. Scrubs! "Hey, are you thinking what I'm thinking? Mom's a 'GREY'S ANATOMY' Fanatic!" "Even better - this set comes with shoes and everything! Perfect!!!" They wanted to give her glasses but her ears were so high that the glasses wouldn't work. Then Shannon found the perfect accessory. So cute...and FREE! Little bows. Bows that fit on the bear's ears. After these final touches were added it was time to go to the computers to list the "particulars." The Birth Certificate!

Ok, here we go. First, bear's name. That was easy. Eucalyptus. Now, how is that spelled? Hey, ask Christopher - he's the spelling champ in the family. He didn't know. They tried sounding it out. That wasn't much help. Elisa called one of her hotel staffers to have them look it up. When they called her back and spelled it out she wrote it out on her hand. By the time this got to the computer they had an additional "p." Now, finished at the computers (thank goodness -that was stressful!). It's time to check out - "oh, you mean the end of the line is all the way over there?" Well, at least the kids all had "bonding" time . After (finally) paying for the bear and leaving, it occurred to Shannon that she didn't know where the birth certificate was. She thought it was still at the store. Elisa reassured her that it was in the box. Ok, we're good to go. "Merry Christmas, Mommy!"

And that's how I came about having the most beautiful, thoughtful koala bear in the whole world. "I love you Eucalypptus!"