Monday Bunday: Sanctimommy- Bunny Edition

Sanctimommy
Definition: a mother who points out perceived faults in the parenting of others

I was judged by a mom today. I was asked questions, and I could tell in her eyes that she was just waiting for me to give the wrong answers. I'm sure she thought she was just being chatty, but I could feel the judgment radiating off of her. And the weird thing is, I don't even have kids!

I took the Buns to a SaveABunny event. They got their nails trimmed, and I got to talk to one of my fellow Crazy Bunny Lady friends. Her name is D, and she watches the Buns for us when we're out of town. We get our hay from her too. She is a Bunny Jedi, I swear! She is amazing.

Anyway, at this event, there was another Bunny loving lady. When I came in with my three buns, she walked over to me and started chatting me up. At first, it was fine. She asked if all the bunnies were mine, what their names are, how long I've had them. But then I noticed that she would narrow her eyes at me, and seemed to wait for me to answer just so she could pounce on me and ask more questions. "Are they all bonded? Are your rabbits fixed? How old are they? What do they eat? How often do they go to the vet?Do they live inside or outside? Did you adopt or buy? Do you live in an apartment or house? Do they go outside?" etc.

It quickly became obvious that she was not just curious. She was totally waiting for me to say something that she could judge and feel superior about! It was so funny to me that I couldn't even be upset. I felt the need to look around and see if we were at a local playground and I had forgotten my fair-trade, organic, locally and sustainably grown (or better yet, organic, home grown with all natural, bunny poop fertilzer), hemp wrapped cilantro and carrot-top snacks for my babies. It's absolutely hilarious, and pretty weird that there was an attempt to pull me into that crazy, judgy, mommy world, and I'm not even a parent! If that's just a little taste of what it's like, then maybe the whole taking care of a living human thing may not be the most nerve-racking part. Those other parents are certainly pretty scary too!

I do the best I can for my bunnies. I really do love them, and they are part of our family. It makes me so happy to have them in our lives. But I really don't have a need to feel superior to other bunny parents. And I reeeeeally don't want anyone using me to feel superior.

And with that, I'm off to play "Your Bunny Can Read" for Hef, Holly and Jude. Oh wait... I can't allow them to watch TV... we'll just have to listen to Bunny Mozart again instead. ::wink::

Sunday Bunday: my chocolate Buns

Oh my gosh. How cute is this?! Huz and I went shopping for stuff to put in our Godkids' Easter baskets. I got so excited when I found these:

No, that's not another picture of my Buns playing in the yard! That is a picture of some Easter candies we found! Mini chocolate Buns including a white bunny, a brown bunny, and a little black and white Dutch bunny- just like my Hef, Holly and Jude! I can not even stand the cuteness! I am so happy that we found these. They had super huge versions of them too, but I managed to not lose my mind and buy them just to buy them. I got the minis though, and put one of each in little plastic Easter eggs for the kids' baskets. I still have some leftover, so I absolutely must find another way to use them. I am in love! These sweet little buns were found at Target, and it was only 99 cents for a pack of about 15. Go ahead and buy them and remember to make yours chocolate!

Sunday Bunday: Bunnies and Easter

I love my Bunnies. And I really love Easter (there's probably a whole blog post dedicated to that coming up lol!). Now, I definitely don't think that bunnies are what Easter is about. But I do love all things cute and cuddly, and I love to spoil and celebrate my bunnies with all the super cute Easter Bunny stuff around this time. They get an Easter Basket, and pictures taken, and all kinds of treats and goodies. It's a lot of fun. And now, with Jude around, we get to have even more fun.

However, as I'm sure everyone knows, my bunnies are spoiled and really lucky. We adopted Hef after Easter one year, when the animal shelter was full of abandoned Buns. It was really, really sad. So, while I like to celebrate Easter with my Buns, I feel I have to speak out against people adopting bunnies for Easter. It's really not a good idea. I blogged about it last year, so rather than bore you again by saying the same exact thing, I'll link it: http://secretlifeofacrazybunnylady.blogspot.com/2010/03/real-bunnies-are-not-easter-toys.html

Please, if you or somebody you know is thinking about getting a rabbit for a child or anyone else for Easter, let them know it is not a good thing to do. If they've done the research and really want to open up their home and make a bunny a part of the family, I encourage them to wait until after Easter. It's at least a ten year commitment, and not one to make lightly. A rabbit is a real, breathing being, and deserves to be treated as such, and not like a disposable accessory to a gift.

Please see: http://rabbitron.com/ http://www.makeminechocolate.org/ http://www.therabbithaven.org/easter_030107.htm http://www.rabbit.org/ for more information.

Thank you so much!

Love, Hef, Holly, Jude and

Sunday Bunday: Toys

My rabbits have a really bad habit of eating their house. Okay, really only Hef does. The girls are pretty good. Hef is our little Houdini, and is always trying to escape, so I kind of think that's why he's always chewing. Anyway, their house is expensive, and I don't want them to ruin it. I'm almost out of ideas on how to make him stop chewing!

We buy them a crapload of toys, so they have something they're allowed to chew on/burrrow in/throw around without being destructive. Jude likes them okay, but most of the time, Hef and Holly would just push them out of the way until they chewed on their house enough to get our attention, so we'd give them a snack. It drove me crazy for a bit. Those fatties don't even want to play and have fun, they just want food.

I came up with the idea to "lace" their toys in grape juice. They love grapes! It's like candy, maybe even crack to them. So, we started rubbing down their toys with grape juice. It worked! They gnaw on their toys, trying to get the grape flavor! The cage was saved!

Except, now I think they're learning to just lick the juice off... ::sigh:: And they chew their cage to remind us to juice up their chew toys again.

Their hamburger chew toy, a stick ball thing, and some wooden blocks that I covered in juice.

Sunday Bunday: What do The Buns eat?

My fattie Buns would eat anything they could get their paws on if I let them. They have such a sweet tooth, and know how to beg with the best of them. They're curious, and always want in on whatever we're having. They're spoiled, so they have stuff that's appropriate for them, but we make sure they love it.

Our bunnies eat timothy hay and orchard grass, depeneding on what'd available. We get our grass by the trunkload from an even crazier bunny lady than I am. She is amazing. We buy hay from her at a waaaay better price than we get at a pet food store. It's great. We also give The Buns fresh greens. Sometimes it's broccoli, carrot or beet greens, sometimes cilantro or alfalfa, and sometimes it's lettuces. They can NOT have iceberg lettuce though. We don't even really keep it in the house. It doesn't have any nutrients for them. But dark leafy green or purple stuff is great!

We give them a treat or two in there too. This time it was grapes, but they love pieces of carrot, or banana, pears and strawberries- anything sweet. Huz has a food dehydrator, so he's going to try to dry fruit in there for us and The Buns. In the summer, we get to pick stuff for them fresh from our garden (they're very considerate sometimes, and don't want us to trouble ourselves, so they'll just help themselves... sneakly little buns!)

We give them fresh grass every day (sometimes twice a day depending on how active and hungry they are that day). They get greens most days, and love it. We try to keep the sweets and treats to a few times a week, and special occassions. They also have plenty of edible/chewable toys that they love. Like Huz and I, they love supper time, and appreciate a nice, homemade meal.

Doesn't this salad look delish?

Sunday Bunday: Mani/Pedi and Shopping with Jude

I'm thinking of doing a weekly Bunny specific post on Sundays. Sundays can be pretty hectic for us, so sometimes it may be a Monday Bunday post.

Today, I took Jude to get her nails did. Save A Bunny does free nail trims for Bunnys regularly, so I took her in and made a donation. I also got her a cute little carrier (smaller and with a messenger bag type strap) so I have the option to take her more places. It worked out really well. We met my aunt and cousin at Kohl's for a little shopping, and Jude went in with me in the tote. It was great!

At Kohl's, we found the CUTEST candle that incorporate two of my favorite things ever, Cupcakes and Bunnies! I bought this adorable little thing (on sale- woot!). I love the little white bunny on top. Totally reminds me of Hef! The colors match my kitchen perfectly. I'm really happy with my little purchase.

This concludes my first ever Sunday Bunday!