day 12: Grampa's birthday, etc

Saturday we celebrated my dad's -or "Gramps" as Maddie lovingly calls him- birthday. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather, perfect blue sky.

First the girls had a bit of bubble blowing fun




then we had a little cook-out

then we had some gift giving. This is a classic Frank look for opening presents. I can't remember a time in my life without this face -at birthdays, christmas, & father's days....

always a gracious gift recipient, no matter what's inside the wrapping
and then a little miniature golf.
Lib preferred to hold the club like this & drive the ball in front of her
then they found a potato bug -of which we have none in CO, at least that I've ever seen
what intense concentration (let's hope she looks like this on exam days)
watch & learn, little sister, watch & learn

Fi thought her ball was "sent back to the girl in that house" & we didn't know what she was talking about. Really, she had just got to the place where you hit the ball into the hole & it drops down to the level below for further play.

the happiest girl was she who hit a hole in one -& through that little tunnel there! Perfect timing for lightening the typical Maddie "mood"

the playroom tornado, pt 55,395

Let me preface this by saying, if it weren't for so many people's generousity & thoughtfulness, I wouldn't be posting this. Really, you've been too kind in gifting the girls with so many things. Don't doubt for a minute that we appreciate deeply every gesture of affection for the girls. We could never repay your kindness.

That said, here is the latest saga. After 3 days, I can finally see the playroom floor again. Yes. 3 days. The last whirlwind of activity in there left me wondering if I even wanted to attempt cleaning. It seemed perhaps the best course of action would be to just bag EVERYTHING & start anew. Suffice it to say, I was so averse to the idea of cleaning the mass chaos that I put it off for 3 weeks. The girls would go in periodically & bring out something to play with &, at the end of the day, it was chucked back into the abyss.

This recent cleaning & sorting has led Garrett & me to establish some new toy parameters.

The girls have so much, so many toys. We're really trying to teach them to think about how our actions affect other people & the environment -i.e. plasic throw-away mentality, sweatshops, etc. -yes big concepts for little minds but we're working on how to best convey our concerns in an understandable to preschooler manner.

The Corbett-Martin new toy parameters:
*No battery operated toys.
*Minimal plastic, or none if at all possible.
*No Disney characters nor other cartoon characters.
*No more stuffies.
*No happy meal or dollar store toys. We're also trying to impress upon them the idea that quality is better than quantity & just because something is on sale, doesn't mean we should buy it.
*These girls LOVE paper & every time we go to the store they each want a new notebook. Right now we have journals to last a couple years.
*We actually prefer Bratz to Barbies, if that is a "must buy" plastic, because the accessories don't get lost as easily.
*No new babydolls. Babydoll clothes would be excellent!
*No junk books or dvd's -newberry & caldecott & other book award winners are okay, as are major motion pictures.
*Playdough is ALWAYS welcome -it's inexpensive & it needs constant replenishing.
*Art supplies we have in abundance, (until further notice -'cuz you know they run out eventually).
*Video games, gameboy games, etc are okay as they teach hand/eye coordination.
*AND finally, no duplicate toys -i.e. one for each girl- it's not necessary because they inevitably only want to play with what the other one has anyway and we're teaching them to share -at which they are surprisingly good, thank you...pat on the back for G & C.

It's not too much to ask, really. True, it may be a little more difficult to find other suitable toys, but it will be worth the effort knowing that the girls will be more appreciative in the end.

In all actuality, the girls don't really "need" more toys. Memberships are excellent as are contributions to lessons (they get to be costly & they ARE necessary; the girls may not appreciate the fact of who paid for it, but they do enjoy & will benefit from lessons, be they art, music, sports, whatever)(when it comes down to it, they don't really remember who buys what toys either). Life experiences are far greater memory makers than toys. Even better is your time spent with the girls. That happens too few & far between. How can they have fond memories of growing up with their favorite people if you don't help to make those memories??

We -and the girls- thank you for considering our family choices :)

from the mouth of a babe

So the girls are enrolled in swim lessons -Fi & Lib in the mornings, Madster after school. On the second day, I moved Lib over to the "big kids" class with Fi because she was bored with the "baby" (AKA parent-tot) class and because Fi was upset that she was the only girl (also with a male instructor) in her class. Fi was so upset that she spent the first class near tears & really didn't want to be there. Then again, that may not be the whole story...even after the 2nd class with Lib, Fi still insisted that she does not want to go to swim lessons anymore. Meanwhile, Lib is fine with being there. Go figure. Anyway. The second class started in the little pool & half way through the instructor took the class into the big pool. The girls got into the big pool while the instructor was busy with the boys. He turned around to see Lib & acting surprised, said, "where did you come from?" Lib, straight faced & to the point said, "from my mommy and daddy."

BREAKING NEWS - STEELER NATION

***Breaking News...
Cleveland, Ohio

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been arrested in Cleveland.

After the Michael Vick affair, the NFL and all local police agencies are
cracking down on dog-fighting and animal abuse.

In concordance with such policies, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been arrested
for beating 53 brown dogs.

The dogs seemed to have no ability to fight and as such, werethoroughly beaten
by the Steelers.

Authorities say the beating was so bad, the entire city of Cleveland may need
counseling.

There have been no remarks from the Steelers...


***thanks Angela!

a little bit of this, a little bit of that

or, what exactly have I been up to, creatively speaking? I had been participating in a few swaps on swap-bot. I forgot to get pictures of a few ATCs, dang it. And they were good too. I also did a couple ATC swaps with the Creative Mom Podcast group. I know I got a picture of the June card but I don't know where it is. It also turned out well.

CMP July ATC "Midsummer Night's Dream" theme

song lyric ATC -"Blackened" by Metallica; these two were made especially for a swap partner in Finland who is into goth/metal
song lyric theme ATC -"I Don't Like Mondays" by The Boomtown Rats

these are my very first ATCs. I made them for the "what's an ATC" theme swap.

dishcloths & more dishcloths. for every one I made for someone else, I also made one for myself. Did I tell you my goal of having only handmade dishcloths? I have a few now.



these were for my other song lyric ATC swap partner. Both Grateful Dead tunes "Standing on the Moon" and "Hell in a Bucket"

What do you think?

OMG I was soooooo stuck over the summer. I just couldn't pull a creative thought out of my head to save my life. I've just signed up for two swaps -one is a beer label ATC & the other is a Charles Rennie Mac ATC. I'm feeling the creative juices flowing now. Might as well jump on it while I can. I'm hoping I haven't been ostrasized from the CMP group. I'd like to see what the next theme is & make one up to send out but I haven't received a partner yet. Hmmmm. sigh.

day 11: day trip (& then some)

The Friday the girls & I drove down (& over) to a little town in PA near Altoona to visit my best friend from the Art Institute days -also my maid of honor & Nikki's Godmother- Laurie. We'd been out of contact since Maddie was born. We missed our exit so ended up taking the scenic route which, with construction, took us about 3 hours longer than anticipated. We did get to drive by THE Pennsylvania college football mecca -Beaver Stadium. It's freaking monstrous. I mean, I knew it was large (2nd largest in US) but to see it even from the road was unbelievable.

We hung out with Matt & Laurie & their littles. As to be expected, catching up & reminicsing. I even broke down & had a couple smokes just 'cuz that's what we used to do & it's funny how one's body just knows -even after 10 years.

Later that evening Laurie, Snick, Mad & I went to the local Barnes & Noble for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book release festivities. It was PACKED. Loads of costumes. Fun activites & giveaways. Maddie found a 'golden snitch' & got a prize for it. We left the bookstore around 1am. Left Laurie's around 1:30am. Yeah, we were about 15 minutes on the road & I was reminded of PA's immense deer population & just how dangerous it can be to drive late at night. I had half a thought to turn around to stay the night & drive in the daylight. Luckily we had no close up interactions. We arrived back at my parents about 4:30am. Tired -some sleeping- but happy.


fun in the bounce house

I love friendships that seem like not a day has passed, that just pick up right where they left off.



lip gloss -a sure fire way to make friends
everyone wants some
except Lib who likes to do her own thing

these cute little owl displays at B&N



We were a little sad to miss the final release at Bookies, but this was fun too. This is just a partial picture of one of the lines....
Snick had to text her friends who were having a Harry Potter party in CO...she did get to purchase & start reading 2 hours before them, after all.
does she look happy or what??? Of course she had to read it all the drive back to Strattanville. (good mom that I am for bringing the book light). & it only took the drive home to CO for her to read the whole thing. I think she finished somewhere near Sterling. Ahhhhh, now I know why she didn't comment on my choice of radio station until then.

22 Aug & 24 Aug...not in that order

the church down the street had on their marquee that there were free peaches in the trees along their driveway. We stopped after school so that everyone could participate in the picking. It was a good remedy for the "I'm starving!" comments I hear everyday.
Fi said "I LOVE this place!" Olivia has requested -every day since then- that she would like to "make" a peach tree in our backyard.

Notice the new kickers both girls are sporting? Purdy spiffy. Fi had been wearing a pair that Maddie wore in kindergarten. Fiona wore them OUT. So I promised her a new pair. Of course Lib wanted a pair also. What am I gonna say? no? They wear those boots just about every day. Actually, I don't think Fiona's worn a different pair of shoes since then. Lib will occasionally put something else on. I hadn't noticed the price tag on the pair that Fiona chose, just that they were probably the best looking pair in her size. Needless to say, thank God for the 30% off coupon at Shepler's.


Look how close our seats are! Many thanks to Bryan for always sharing with his friends. The girls all wore their Pittsburgh gear. Always wanting to be fair, Maddie ended up cheering for both teams.

We did NOT catch a ball this time. The girls were just a little disappointed in that. I can't complain considering we've gotten at least 3 balls at three separate Bucs/Rockies games in 3 different seasons. The light rail ride home was crowded & 2 gentlemen kindly offered their seats so the girls could sit down...Lib laid down, actually, while Maddie & Fi sat in front of her. The game was loooooooong. And it was the only game out of 4 that the bucs dropped to the rockies. dang it. Ah, next year. And maybe the girls will be a little better behaved, a little more into the game so that we can all enjoy it a little more. Maybe.

Surprisingly, nobody wanted their picture taken.

no first day of school jitters

this is the false start...we went to the school a day early...oops

It's the day Fiona has been waiting for...it is the reason she decided to quit wearing diapers...SCHOOL with the big kids, with Maddie

Day 10. just hanging around,etc

I got tired of leaving the house at noon everyday (teenager...argh)(and the littles were on mountain time the whole vacation so that they didn't fall asleep until 11 or 12 & then slept until 9 or 10) so I decided to drive down to the 'burgh & get a quick little tattoo...or two. I was finally able to get an appointment with my friend Rick. We've known Rick for a long time...since Nikki was a baby & Rick had the longest freakin' mullet I've ever seen. Well before he was doing tattoos. OMG & the floodgates of memory open wide...like Rick was in our wedding party. And I kinda sorta remember a night someone had a glock at our house. It was a first & last time event. Ages ago.

namaste

om shanti

It was a good visit. Too short. And no bike rides, unfortunately. Rick's Triumph is a one-seater. Sigh.

Anywho. The tattoos. Can't say it was painless but it did only take about an hour or so, what with getting the images the correct size & getting the color correct AND all the phone interruptions without a receptionist. I'd done the research on the sanskrit last year but didn't have time to get the work done. I was quite pleased with the results. These pics I took today. You can see where the color bled just a bit near the om. Not bad for the location, I think. Now I'm working on the next piece which will be either La Virgen de Guadalupe or some variation of the Virgin Mary. That will be next year & require a good bit more time as it is much larger & far more detailed.

The rest of the day...return to Clarion to meet my mom, Fi, Lib & Maddie in town. Fiona had gotten a haircut a couple weeks previous with Garrett. So Maddie, Lib & I all had our hair cut by Shawna who has been cutting my hair since I was about 16. A long time, indeed. She did my senior prom up-do. And the blood red tips on my bleached blonde graduation day hair. And my bleach jobs, for that matter. I cannot find a decent hairdresser out here in Colorado. It's just one more thing to do on my yearly trek to PA. We've never hung out, sadly...I think we'd have a blast. She is just a cool person.

Dinner was a special request voted on unanimously by everyone...beef roll-ups & spaetzle. Good day. Relaxing day.

day 9 cont. - Cook Forest fun

I just had a thought: my dad was the only male in a houseful -literally- of 7 females for 4 days. Poor man.


a rare smile
Snick skipped so many rocks she made her arm sore
another fabulous find -TADPOLES!



my 'rents AKA Oma & Grampa
is this what it means to "get a leg up"?