Yay for Stuffed Camels!

Since the beginning of the year, my brother, uncle to the Dreamer and the Caveman, has been deployed in Afghanistan. We all miss him terribly and worry very much about his safety. We wear genuine replicas of his dog tags on necklaces and keychains and try to send him mail often.  The Dreamer usually spends an unreasonable amount of time elaborately decorating a page with swirls, designs, pictures, phonetically spelled sentiments, and a variety of glued objects such as pompoms, fabric scraps salvaged from beneath my sewing table, or single sticks of gum.  She is very serious about her creations and easily angered by any outside suggestion or interference.

The Caveman, on the other hand, always intrigued by demolition, usually opts for destructive projects. After scribbling like a madman for exactly 3 and 1/2 seconds, he takes scissors to his abstract artwork.  Beginning by cutting a decorative fringed edge in one corner of the paper, he slowly works his way around his paper before really digging in and finishing with a collected mess of personalized confetti that we zip up into a plastic sandwich bag and complete with a handwritten explanation in permanent marker that reads something similar to the following: 

            Paper Cuttings for you, 

        With love from the Caveman!

My poor brother has received more than a fair share of such offerings from my spawn during the duration of his deployment thus far, and he lovingly accepts them all, even sending some glorious surprises our way...

A large box addressed to the Dreamer and the Caveman was delivered to our doorstep by the mailman the other day, and when we read that it had travelled to us all of the way across the ocean from Afghanistan, the level of excitement was palpable. I quickly grabbed some kitchen shears and tore into the box to discover 2 very soft, furry, and marvelous plush camels! They donned military style camouflaged hats which were quickly discarded by the recipients who are huge fans of nudity not only when it comes to their toy community, but also themselves. They love their camels who are appropriately deemed Spitterson and Mr. Spits. 

                 Riding the camels

The spawn could not be more thrilled with the new stuffed family members. Receiving a special package from their wonderful uncle made for the perfect afternoon. We had a wonderful evening imagining life in the desert as opposed to here at home, in our lush green backyard where we spend our time searching for earthworms...