Recent Random Thoughts

Two random thoughts running around in my head recently:

1. Too much multi-tasking lately and not enough caffeine. I'm generally good at multitasking, in fact, I sometimes have trouble with single-tasking (have to "do" something while watching TV), but lately I'm either not getting enough caffeine or I'm just doing way too many things. Like entertaining the boys on a snow day while trying to do my full-time computer-intensive job from the dining room table. Or doing a testing process for said job between midnight and 1:30 a.m. while trying to decorate sugar cookies for the NFL party -- pipe icing here; check for autocapturing of user ID over there. Not a good plan.
2. If one prays to God asking for patience, she isn't the best person to be able to wait for God to answer that prayer in His own time. Certainly it's not for me to judge His plan, I'm just thinking it's a bit ironic.

Need to get back to this blog to get out some of the many other ideas running around in my head and maybe inspire me to get those ideas into the realm of reality. Ahh, for patience.

Things You Can Make with Tinker Toys

For Christmas last year, the boys got a barrel of Tinker Toys. These toys are frequently spread out on our floor as works in progress, and the boys create some pretty imaginative things. Here are just some of things you can create with Tinker Toys:

• an umbrella
• a steering wheel/ship's wheel
• a skyscraper
• a ferris wheel
• an arrow
• an "up 'n' down thing"
• an anchor
• a hand trolley
• a crutch
• a cane
• a key
• a hook

Love to see what these two will come up with next.

The Story Right Now

More inspiration from Camp Scrap over at Big Picture Scrapbooking. For a journaling prompt, May challenged campers to tell a story about something going on right now in our lives, some little slice of current life.

Since Joey's been singing "God Bless America" almost constantly lately, I picked that as my story. Given the July 4th holiday, it was an especially timely story to tell -- and a chance to use patriotic papers -- too. To make this layout even easier, the Ella blog had a great sketch posted by Donna Januzzi and using that made this digital page come together in no time. I was proud of myself for figuring out how to make a clipping mask for the word "sing" to be able to use the striped paper for the letters, and using a shape tool to be able to make a digital scalloped border.

Thank you to May and Donna for being my inspiration and for helping me get this sweet story captured. I love when I can finish a layout every few days, even in the face of work.

Enjoying Camp Scrap!

Last week I started May Flaum's Camp Scrap class at Big Picture Scrapbooking, and though I haven't gotten to spend as much time at camp as I'd like (darn that job!), I have already found lots of inspiration.

In her pre-class email, May (I hope it's ok to be on a first-name basis), challenged us to just get something scrapped, to get the creative spirit going. I pulled out the picture of Robby at Hampton Beach that I'd been holding on to for a year and just scrapped it. I didn't worry about having a "worthy" story or whether I should wait and get it enlarged or whatever usually stalls me. I just sat down and made a layout with it. I'm so glad I did -- I do love that photo because it looks like such a typical beach photo, but the facts give it a twist.

Then came the start of the class -- first the inspiration for texture and embellishment from May and Nic Howard, then a layout using strips of paper, and this layout with a photo I'd been holding on to for 2 years and some paper I've saved for almost as long:

You can't see from the photo, but I added a lot of texture to the edges of those strips -- punching, distressing, tearing and cutting fringe. Way more texture and patterned paper than I typically use. And another photo and story saved. Then when I added this one to my stack of new layouts, I was struck how similar I had unwittingly made them -- an unintentional scrap-lift of myself. Gave me a little chuckle.

I'm loving this camp -- if only it were sleep-away!

First Day of Summer!

Summer is here! Having just spent Sunday at the beach in Westbrook and celebrating Robby's pre-school graduation last Friday, I was really getting into the spirit of "summer vacation." With the boys being in day care full-time, they never get to enjoy the fun of summer vacation. With Robby starting kindergarten in September, this seems even more important this year.

So I've come up with a plan. We're establishing "Robby & Joey's Whole Lot of Stuff to Do Before School Starts This Fall List." Taking a cue from our friends Phinneas and Ferb, "we're gonna do it all" this summer. I've made a list -- so far I have 74 items on it -- of things we can do every day to make summer a little more fun. They range from things we can do on a weekday after school to ideas for weekend plans, from the silly to the ordinary, from things we're bound to do several times during summer to random things the boys ask to do.

I can't wait to get started on our own version of summer vacation!

10 Things Right Now about Us

1. We're 10 days away from leaving for Disney! We're all getting very excited and I love that Robby has started to understand the countdown chart I made -- he looks forward to moving "Mickey Robby" and "Mickey Joey" every day now.
2. Robby is wanting to know how to spell everything lately. I've had to spell words like: in, out, wizard, Professor McGonagall, yes -- your typical starter words and totally random Robby words. He's trying to read things now too. He can spell: no, stop, out, Robby, Joey, Mommy, Daddy, Nana, big.
3. Joey is doing great with his vocabulary, pronunciation and expanding sentences and putting sentences together. He gets most talkative at night when he's tired. It's like he winds down by talking up a storm. Very funny.
4. We had a broken valve on our furnace last night and had to get a plumber over here at 9:30 p.m. Fortunately it was a relatively minor expense ($190) -- we had feared some really big expense that would be hitting right before Disney.
5. Joey likes to request "For Boston" as a lullabye lately. He'll even sing it himself. It goes something like this: Hmm. For Boston. Hmm. For Boston. Hmmmm. Sing. Hmm. For Boston College. Robby on the other hand actually knows the whole song, which is more than I can say for myself, though some of his words are a little mispronounced. But that just makes it cuter.
6. I still can't get them (or more specifically Robby) to narrow down a Halloween costume decision.
7. I'm already starting to feel the holidays/end-of-year panic and stress. With this Disney trip in the middle of October, we'll be returning and getting ready for Halloween, and before you know it, it'll be Thanksgiving and Christmas. Aside from the baking, shopping and cleaning, there's all the projects to wrap up for the end of the year at work. Every year I promise myself I'll be organized and prepared but every year I'm running into the last minute on everything. Maybe this year will be different - haha.
8. We had a wonderful time at Devon and Derek's graduation party on Sunday, even if Bob was slightly hung over the wedding the night before. The DeMios are a very friendly bunch. It's still amazing to see Bob around people who really look like him. In a glance, I often mistake him for Doug or Richard. Doug and Bob agreed that the boys would call Doug "Grandpa Doug." Finally a big question answered and it takes some awkwardness away. It's fairly simple on the surface, but I think it represents a more clear definition of the whole relationship. It's clear Doug wants us to be part of his family and that Bob is comfortable with it. At the party, he was pointing out the boys to his friends/family as "my grandkids" and introduced Bob as his oldest. No more uncertainly about is he okay with us being part of his life now or is this was just a little get to know you, send a card at Christmas thing. I can't stop marveling at this whole story. I feel we are so very fortunate to have been readily accepted and welcomed. Fortunate that there is another group of people out there to love Bob and the boys. I have trouble even putting together the words to explain this. I can not look at this whole experience without seeing the hand of God in it someplace. We are truly blessed. The best way I can describe it is in the saying that when God closes a door, He always opens a window. I am very thankful for this window.
   
9. Planes, and specifically Doug's plane, are a big topic of conversation around here lately now that they boys had their first plane ride with Doug the other weekend. Joey says things like: Me pilot. Me ride plane. Me drive plane. Robby wants to know if he can ride in the front seat next time, if he can drive the plane (because he's "really good at driving") and is also interested in Doug's motor home.
10. Hmm... #10.... Did I mention Disney? It probably deserves 2 items -- there's the whole excitement and anticipation aspect and then the packing, lists and shopping that has to get done. We're driving (yes, I've been on Doug's plane too and the boys think they're mini-pilots, but I'm still not flying to FL yet), so I have to clean out the car, figure out how to fit everything, pack assorted entertainment for the boys and refreshments for all of us. Still, I think the excitement side wins. :)