Family Fun

I was just closing down the many web pages I'd opened today and not closed and realized that I only seem to go to Family Fun on special days (like holidays); and that I should go there more often and set out to make every day a day of Family Fun.


Today I worked on a little row of Pumpkins (of my own spontaneous design). The faces are designed and ready to be appliqued on. It was fun and relaxing for me. I designed one pumpkin for each member of my family, then had my hubby and boys set down with their fabric pumpkin in front of them and a sheet of paper the same size for them to design the face for their pumpkin. It's much more random that I would do on my own, but it creates a fun snapshot in time. Just like a project I once did with a Jack-O-Lantern and instead of the "normal" face, I appliqued the face from the Jack-O-Lantern we carved on Frank's first Halloween. Now, I remember his first Jack-O-Lantern face forevermore. :D

I stopped the pumpkins faces in order to make a tote bag from the pattern I stumbled on My Many Colored Crayons (I was looking for a crayon roll tutorial - I found one I want to try at Skip to My Lou). I made this bag for Frank in well under an hour. He wanted to be the Transformer, Bumblebee for Halloween, but I've been quite sick for the past few weeks and couldn't make the costume happen for him. Today we were at Wal-Mart for the fusible for the pumpkin's faces, and we found the Transformer fabric which I got a yard of. I saved a piece for half a pillowcase (24"x22"), then cut the rest up and threw the bag together. It was a happy comprimise for both Frank and I; he had a trick-or-treat bag that he'll get to use again and again (we try to use fabric shopping bags) with the character he wanted, and I was able to make him something he enjoys. He also likes this bag because it "Transforms" from a little roll into a big bag he can carry stuff in. :D

Okay, I've totally been rambling without much thought. I'm listening to some Abraham via Esther Hicks on my iPod Shuffle, while typing, only half-thinking about either task. I'm tired. I think I'll rest.

Suzy :D

PS: We decorated pumpkin brownies today... I know the boys enjoyed all the sweets! :D

Vacation Wind Down

My road trip with boys is winding down, and as is so often the case, I'm looking forward to resting once we get home. I've definitly learned some things about coming "back home", where we have so many people and places we love to be with and see... namely to make a list of things to do and then to cut it in half! Also, to next time tell people "we'll be here at this place on this day, if you want to see us, please come to us!" We've traveled nearly 1,000 miles to get to Arizona, and once we got here, we kept driving, a lot! Not fun!

We have had fun... here's a great picture of the boys with their life-long (literally) friends at the zoo. They were all together again for the first time in four months (a VERY LONG time when you are two and (just turned) five!)

Suzy :D

Time for Reflection and Celebration

Frank celebrated his fifth birthday today. I could dwell on how fast time goes, but instead I'd rather say that we really enjoyed Frank today. Saturday we had some family over and a little party and we did the same thing today. We're going to do it again for the next two weeks while driving home and visiting friends and family. Tonight I sat watching him, wondering, as so many parents do, what kind of man he will become, and feeling sure that I'll be delighted with him.

I also decided that when there is a birthday in a family, all children under like five should also get presents along with the birthday celebrant. Poor Jack just couldn't understand why Frank kept receiving gifts and even though I had presents for Jack, they weren't the same or as fancy. Tom and I felt so bad for the big, gloppy tears Jack was crying by 5:00 pm... he wound up being rocked to sleep by his Daddy because he was so sad and tired. Why is it that often when one person is very happy another is very sad?

Today my grandparents came to visit. They were with me when Frank was born. They had three children, eight grandchildren, and now have twenty-five great-grandchildren. Frank was the tenth great-grandchild and is the only baby they've ever seen born (of course my GM saw her three, but GD didn't... just Frank.) I like to think this gives them a special bond. They actually waited for him to be born for about a month... they drove from WY to AZ, parked in our driveway and waited... playing Pinochle often... this was a very long time for them to be anywhere. They are usually only gone from home a week to ten days. I am still so grateful that they were there for us! Here's a picture of the boys with "Greybeard" (my Grandad, their Gread-GD). While they were here today, we surprised GD with a little gift (he turns 78 in exactly one week). Also, we got a card for Frank from GD's sister, Adeline. She turned 80 today... Frank was her BDay present on her 75th! :D

At bedtime, Frank got ready by himself - quickly! We think he was worn out from the day. I laid down next to him in his bed and told him about the day he was born and how we named him. He was delighted and I was so satisfied and pleased. As I was telling the story I mentioned he was all snuggled under a quilt I'd made him (on his first night with us) and I paused to go get the quilt. He's still snuggled under it and sleeping now. :D

Suzy :D