Camouflage

Touring through the zoo you can pretty much tell which animal is which. Some because of their longs necks or trunks and others because the sign tells you so. But some species you have to take a closer look. Cats for example, all look similar but an easy way to identify the differences are their coats. We all know when we see a cheetah print even if it's not being worn by the animal anymore!

We also learn the importance of the coloring of animals for disguise and ultimately survival. Without their fur their frozen and without their camouflage they're revealed for what they really are.

I've compared my kiddos to wild animals in many ways but this is one instance where there is little comparison. Nakedness is common in the wild so we would still fit in but I like to think of every animal having some sort of covering. I never initiated any formal rule but apparently for the kids in this jungle, proper clothing- if any at all is optional.

I remember my baby shower where everything was cute and orderly. Highly misleading I tell you! You can get matching outfits, an even amount of PAIRS of socks that fit the intended recipient but alas, freedom is a marvelous thing that will be embraced whether encouraged or not.

Rhino believes that shorts should be worn all day everyday and if it's cold outside, well then, that's why you have socks and snow boots. Naturally the cut off jeans are more preferred to the ones bought at that length and shirts should just barely fit to be comfortable. Church is despised because you are supposed to wear pants there and there is no limit on the number of times you can wear the same shorts as long as they're not wet.

Tiger- well- he's a very short order clothing catalog. Though unaware of the future he might have in PETA advertisements, Tiger prefers to rise above most and does not let clothing choices bother him. He prefers naked above all but has recently decided that if that is not an option, his knit pajamas will do. He'll wear the same pajamas until it wears holes and then he turns them around so he can't see the holes in the front anymore. To wash his beloved pajamas we must strip him in the night or attack him against his will. It may seem that Tiger is considerate and just doesn't want to create more laundry for me to have to do, and I might agree except that one if his favorite past times is emptying all of the closets, clothes hampers (dirty and clean) and mixing them altogether. Lately Tiger's newest fetish is costumes. He will rummage through the Halloween box, emptying it of course,and wear any and every type of costume- tutu's included. Should I not have a costume that fits his current demand, he will take matter into his own hands and start cutting clothes and taping them together until I can finally produce what it is he is looking for. Ketchup is worn daily, no matter how many times you remove it.

Naturally curly hair (which she gets from her dad) that is envious even when ratted after a hard days' play. Long eyelashes that accent her violet- tinted blue eyes and a thin body that could wear any amount of fluff that a dress could muster. This is my Puppy... who prefers wearing her brother's shirts, the plainest jeans you could find, tenny- shoes handed down from brother and hair tied back in a ponytail. Her knees are always holed because she cannot stay on her feet whether playing or just walking. Dirt is her favorite accessory.

Complete opposite of her older sister Monkey will wear the fluff of three dresses at once. But better take a picture quick because in five minutes she'll have changed her clothes... again. Call it imaginative or indecisive- whichever you wish but I call it madness. I myself am a jeans and t-shirt girl so all of this pink already has me bewildered but add the high heels and constant desire for more dresses and I am not sure how to raise this child. Luckily I have nieces I can learn from- and steal dresses from too. Of course I can handle the girly girl- and even find it adorable but it might be easier if she'd actually let me comb her hair. Bows and ribbons galore and then pulled out within seconds. She prances through the house as dainty as a princess and then the next second is attacking a tiger or puppy. With hair standing on edge, clothes torn and dirty from her last rumble she sits in time out and says, "I pretty". A lioness wearing monkey's clothing; Yes Monkey- you are a princess no one would dare argue with.

Mr. Zookeeper is not picky- he's just happy to wear whatever I manage to wash and fold for him and is extremely grateful when he has 2 matching socks to wear... even though he usually must retrieve them back from the kids who insist on wearing his socks over their own.

My choice of clothes? I prefer to be a human napkin and/ or tissue. Occasionally I dress up as a maid or plumber but most times am just happy to be dressed after getting a shower. I buy nice clothes, and sometimes i wear them- then I realize I want to keep them nice and revert back to the jeans and t-shirt.. there's something about scrubbing "things" out of floors and off of walls that makes me want to wear the clothes that i don't wear out on a date with Mr. Zookeeper.

So it goes. I wash, I pick it up off the floor and I wash it again, and then I enter the ring to dress my wild bunch. Most days they can have the outfit of their choice but there are occasions when, for the greater good of mankind we must reform. I insist that everyone wear clothing to church- even if it's not fully proper... anyone offended by the boy wearing jogging pants and headphones is invited over prior to leaving to assist me- please bring your protective gear. I set certain rules- such as no more dancing in front of the windows wearing only our underwear but other times I just accept that in many ways, fashion and clothes in general are overrated and I have other things to worry about (like pulling naked kids out of windows). So, when you come to my house to find clothing imitating the furniture and floor- you'll know I didn't win that day. And, when you pass by a family in the grocery store and see a shorts and snow boot wearing boy talking to himself while carrying a stick, a seven year old boy sporting pajamas and a superhero cape at 4:00 in the afternoon while chasing down a not-so-dainty princess that just beat him, an adorable little girl patiently staying by her mom- although at first glance could be mistaken given the boys' clothing and a mother who looks like she just got done volunteering at the waste deposit- don't be alarmed... it's just us without our camouflage on...