Resolutions and Bath Day!

Spaulding: There is this strange tradition peoples have when a new year starts called "making rez-o-lotions." Teddy: We knew nothing about it, until our Beary Buddies online asked what ours were. Spaulding: We consulted with Mommy. Teddy: "Consulted!" Good word! ::::::::::::::Both nod their heads in agreement. Spaulding: Mommy says it's like making a wish list, but only of things that we are able to do, should do, and think we really, really want to do at that moment anyway. Teddy: The idea is always to keep up the wish and the work throughout the year, in hopes that it becomes routine enough to not have to be something we forget all the time or hate doing. Spaulding: Now that sounded easy enough, until she added that is usually something we hate to do, but is good for us! Teddy: Yeah, we didn't understand either, until she gave examples. Spaulding: She said most peoples rez-sall to exercise or lose weight or to be nice to every body! Teddy: I think I know why we have such troubles figuring out people! They HAVE to rez-sall to be nice to peoples? Why isn't that something that they just do always anyway?! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Both shrug their shoulders:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Spaulding: We're just nice, so didn't have to even think about that one, so we're thinking about dieting and exercise. Teddy (after they wake up from their nap): To always be ready to take care of Mommy and Daddy, we always exercise all the time! Spaulding (with a sly little grin): Teddy loves to do his one arm push ups in front of Valentine. She thinks he is "soooooo strong--and good looking too" when he does that and, although he gets embarrased, he still likes her to notice. Teddy (blushing while studying his feet): I've seen Lady enjoying your performance as you dance to beary fast songs too! :::::::::::Both blush, and then laugh, knowing they like the gal's reaction.:::::::::::::::: Spaulding: As for dieting, we always worry about our weight, but even after eating two dozen hotdogs with all the works on them, when we get on the scale, we still weigh zero pounds! Teddy: So, we were back to being confused about rez-o-lotions and asked Mommy what ones she made. Spaulding: She said that in all the new years that she has had... Teddy: ...and she has had many, many, many.... Spaulding: ...she has only kept one! Teddy: She rez-salled to never, ever make another rez-o-lotion! Both: Kehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: Since we couldn't think of anything better, we rez-salled... Teddy: ...and Mommy says we have to rez-salled in a beary serious, somber way... Spaulding: ...so we took a nap first, thinking "somber" was the same thing as "slumber"... Teddy: ...but afterwards, after several failed tries... Spaulding: ...we tend to start giggling when we have to be serious... :::::::::::::Both get a bad case of the giggles, so run off to dance to their Teddy Bear anthem, "Bears Just Want to Have Fun!" before coming back to finish their journal entry.::::::::::::: Teddy: ...but FINALLY, we vowed... :::::::::::::::::::::Both suppress more giggles:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Spaulding: "We shall never, ever, make anymore rez-o-lotions!" :::::::::::Both fall on the floor, kicking up their paws in the air while holding onto their tummies as they have their required 15 minutes of hysterical laughter. After calming down, they climb back up to Mommy's lap to continue:::::::::::::::::: Teddy: Now the problem with Mommy is that just because she doesn't do year long rez-o-lotions that doesn't mean she doesn't rez-sall some things! Spaulding: She's been rez-salling one thing for a few months now that affects us! Teddy (with a shiver as he remembers his fear): Mommy rez-salled to make us clean! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Both shiver a little.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Spaulding: Two days after our beary special Christmas, Mommy announced that it was Bath Day for us! Teddy: She already grabbed us in her arms before telling us, so we couldn't hide! Spaulding: She also grabbed one of our brand new, given-at-Christmas books--The Pop-Up Peter Rabbit book! Teddy: I thought she meant to wash that too! Spaulding: Yeah, when Mommy gets to washing, you have to look out! Daddy has lost partial cups fo coffeecoffeecoffeecoffee and partial glasses of soda when Mommy decides to clean, because she thinks they are "old." ::::::::::::Both shug their shoulders, aware that they can never fully understand peoples, even if Mommy is one of them.::::::::::::::: Teddy: She took us into the bedroom... Spaulding: ...where she already had our Teddy Bear Cleaner, a bucket of hot water, many face clothes and a few towels... Teddy: ...took off our clothes and threw them in the dirty laundry basket... Spaulding: ...which made us so scared we started shivering.... Teddy: ...and then she did something weird!!! Spaulding: While all the cleaning stuff was right there in front of us... Teddy: ...so we couldn't forget what she would do to us.... Spaulding: ...she put us under the sheets and comforter... Teddy: ...covering us up to our necks... Spaulding: ...she started reading the book! Teddy: It had pop-up pages in it, so she would point out the different things as she read. Spaulding: She showed us Peter's sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail and showed us Mr. MacGregor! Teddy: She even showed us a mistake that the book people made! They said that Peter ate three kinds of vegetables... Spaulding: ...none of them was carrots... Teddy: ...but the picture showed Peter eating a carrot!!! Spaulding: We got so interested in the book that the cleaning stuff didn't scare us anymore! Teddy: Well, unrtil the end of the book anyway! Both: Kehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: She asked me to go first, to show Teddy what a brave big brother I am! Teddy: I was impressed how brave he was! Spaulding: I didn't feel brave, but smiled a little so you wouldn't be so a'scared! Teddy: Each time she rubbed you with the wet cloth, I got less and less a'scared! Spaulding: We have dried beans in parts of our bodies. I have them in my paws! Teddy: I have a few in my tush! Both: Kehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: We get really a'scared that water will make them wet and make them get bigger! Teddy: Before Spaulding was born out of that box, somehow he did get some water on his leg paw and his one foot is swollen for the rest of his life! Spaulding: Since it happened before I was born, I don't remember it, but Mommy often massages that foot to try to make the beans smaller. I limp on that foot a little, but it doesn't hurt! Teddy: So, not only are we like all boys, and don't like baths, we are also a'scared for a reason! Spaulding: Mommy started at my legs too, but wrapped my beans up, so she couldn't even accidentally make them wet! Teddy: She did the same thing for his arm paws too! Spaulding: But, by the time she got to my arm paws, I noticed something strange! Teddy: What?! Spaulding: I LIKED it--except that the water made me cold! It felt like a full body massage, and Mommy's good at giving massages! It felt like she was loving me on every inch of my body! It felt great--except the cold part! Teddy: After she was done, and she rubbed you down with that towel and then left you in it to keep warm, were you cold? Spaulding: No! And, because she wrapped the towel all around me while she rubbed me down, it felt even better!!! Teddy: Well, now that you are admitting that, I have to agree! Once she got past my bum, and I was sure she wasn't going to get my beans wet, I liked it too! Spaulding: Weren't you cold? Teddy: Yeah, I didn't like being cold either, but there is less of me then you, so I wasn't as cold as long as you! Spaulding: How about the rubbed down afterwards? Teddy: Even better, since it warmed me up and I like Mommy mussing my fur! Both: Kehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: I was worried about getting cold while we had to wait for our clothes to be done! Teddy: I didn't know, until then, that Mommy never puts our clothes in the dryer! Spaulding: She's afraid that they will shrink and not fit. She does that for all of their shirts and pants too! Teddy: The dryer was great fun! Spaulding: I'm glad Mommy let us lie on it while she or-gan-eyezed the laundry! Teddy: I'm glad she told us before we went down what she was doing and that the Need-To-Be-Adopted Bears wouldn't laugh at us, because we were bare! Spaulding: Sometimes it's hard to remember bears are supposed to be bare! Both: Kehehehehehehehehe Teddy: I never noticed how many Need-To-Be-Adopted Bears are bare! Spaulding: Many of our Internet Bear Buddies are bare too! Teddy: Oh, yeah! But, that's not why I liked the dryer ride! Spaulding: Our Bear Buddies go IN the dryer for their dryer ride! Teddy: NO?! Spaulding: Yes! Teddy: I just liked the way it made us move all around it, but in very tiny jiggles! Both: Kehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: Mommy calls that "VI-braid-ing!" I liked how warm it was! Teddy: And the smell of the warm clothes as Mommy opened it up! Spaulding: That was funny! Teddy: All 100 of us bears inhaling the smell at the same time?! Both: Kehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: But the warmest I liked it was when Mommy put us under the fur dryer! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::Mommy quietly "s'plains" something to them:::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Teddy (utterly shocked): NO?! :::::::::::::::::::::::::Mommy smiles and nods for emphasis:::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Spaulding (also shocked): Mommy says it's a HAIR dryer! Did you know that, Teddy?! Teddy: No! Why do we even have one?) :::::::::::::Mommy quietly reminds them how she and Daddy used to shower and dry their hair before going to work, but now, not in any rush anymore, they let nature dry their hair.::::::::::::::: Spaulding: That was JUST before we were born. :::::::::::::::::::::Both nod their heads in agreement.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Teddy (looking at Mommy): Can we call it our "fur dryer" now? ::::::::::::::::::Mommy nods in agreement.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Spaulding: Our "fur dryer" felt like getting another massage by someone with beary warm fingers! Teddy: It stopped the last lingering chill on our bodies! Spaulding: And you brushed my fur so beary well--as if you knew exactly how fur needed to be brushed! Both: Kehehehehehehehehe Teddy (pretending to be Bette Davis): You brush divinely too, my dear! Both: Kehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: You got to wear your sweater that Mommy made you, along with summer clothes until our clothes were dry! Teddy: Mommy is still making your sweater, but you got a great deal being held close to Mommy, underneath her blanky in your summer clothes too! Spaulding: And, since I sleep with Mommy, I stayed warm all night too! Teddy: Valentine kept me warm all night too! Both: Kehehehehehehehehe Spaulding: We never smelled, but, once dressed in our clean clothes and having had our bath yesterday, we smell so Spring Fresh! Both: Kehehehehehehehehe Teddy: We're never going to LIKE Bath Day, but, at least now, it doesn't a'scare us as much as it used to do. Spaulding: Do you think Mommy will ever read us a story and it NOT being Bath Day? ::::::::::::::::::::Both look at Mommy with their beary bestest sad eyes, with just the tiniest twinkle in their eyes. Mommy quietly tells them that she's up to a story time now, if they are done thier journal.:::::::::::::: Teddy: Soooooooo, until next time... Both: Kehehehehehehehehe