kick-butt-awesome-backpacks

My kiddos have been after me all summer... they need backpacks for school.  Now, we're not talking about normal kids needing normal backpacks...  I have sassy kids who prefer QUOTE... kick-butt-awesome-backpacks... END QUOTE.  Soooo... we can't just go BUY kick-butt backpacks.  (Can't you just picture me walking in and asking for a couple of those?)

When oldest kiddo started highschool, I offered to make her a bag.  She chose LOUD fabrics and quickly became known as the kid with the really cool bag.  Two years  later, she was *still* getting comments on that backpack.  But, alas, two years worth of heavy text books were taking a toll on the pack.  And... kiddos # 2 and #4 are both entering new schools this year.  Time for backpacks....

ANY GUESSES HOW LONG IT TAKES TO MAKE ONE OF THESE BUGGERS???  These aren't the little mini-packs like I carry.  These are the beasts of backpacks.  And we're making HOW MANY???  My feet were dragging a bit.  Enter helpful kids...  "Can WE make them?"  Yup... gotta recognize when it is time to surrender.  

Have I mentioned before that I have very patient parents?  (Good thing since they had to put up with me...)  Nana and Boppa offered to take the littler two kiddos for a couple of days so that the older girls and I could start working on those backpacks.

We are having a blast!!!  We started out with a trip to the awesome LOUD FABRIC store.  Then turned our livingroom into a whirlwind of cutting, ironing, sewing and LAUGHING!!!  Oh!  The stories these kids tell while working!  Poor hubby got home to a fabric-fiasco reaching from kitchen table to sewing machine... and kiddos that immediately said, "Mom!  Kick him out!  We're TALKING!"  (Apparently Dad is not privy to the latest girl-gossip...)

Oh!  If you read the "random dozen" post, I have to update the last time I laughed so hard I cried.  And I wasn't even tired and loopy yet!  We had a late dinner on the porch.  And the kids *did* allow Dad to join us for supper.  Dinner with two teens took on a whole new level of goofiness.  Wise cracks and highschool humor.  Rampant sarcasm and a comedy of innuendo.  Poor hubby finally had to give up on trying to control the ruckus and just laugh along with us!

Sooooo... today the sewing marathon continues.  Each of the kiddos formulated a plethora of ideas for decorating the packs as they worked last night.  So we'll be getting some colorful ribbons and chains today.  I can't wait to see these things!  Both kiddos' unique personalities sparkle through the choices they are making for their bags!  And we are working together on backpacks for the littler kiddos!  Soooo... I will not have to sit at the sewing machine for two solid weeks working on these kick-butt-awesome-backpacks!  Oh!  Life is good!

Have a wonderful day!         

 

More trombone sass...

Oldest kiddo and I had a concert tonight, so, of course, we were on our best behavior.  C'mon!  Did you really fall for that one???  We have these great red shirts that we wear for the summer season with a charming logo and the name of our band.  But our conductor gets a *special* shirt identifying him as the DIRECTOR.  Now wait a second!  Everybody knows the trombones are WAY special!  I mean, we can sorta read music and everything!  Pretty good at tipping over music stands, bonking people with our slides and generally annoying anyone in close proximity to us.  So... we decided we needed special shirts, too.

At our last concert, we were...

Tonight's concert got maybe a little closer to accurate...

We have two concerts left.  Any good ideas?

And, Lucie... WE MISS YOU!!!!  Hope you have some especially snarky (your word!) suggestions for naming this goofy crew for upcoming concerts :o)  Love ya!!!

Have a happy day!

Random Dozen...

Alright... I'm giving this a try.  Linda of  http://2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com/ posted a random dozen questions to blog about.  Dontcha just love that blog title???  I love starting my day with a cup of coffee, but the only time I indulge in a second cup is when I'm sharing one with a friend!  Soooo... I am finking out and not being very original today, but grab cup of joe and hang with me for a little bit! 

1. When was the last time you laughed until you cried?

Oh my gosh!  My funny bone is a tad ticklish!  Don't get me started...  Any time I'm tired I get a little loopy.  And loopy comes with that little bubble of laughter that fizzes right up from the belly and erupts into a peal of giggles that I can't stuff back into a polite grin.  I'm almost always loopy after 10 at night.  Sometimes after 8...  Ummm... it is not a good idea to serve as an Eucharistic Minister following an extended stretch of not sleeping well...  We are not really expected to giggle over the bread and wine.  Or laugh through the hymns...       


2. If you found $10 today, what would you do with it?

I would add it to the "summer incidentals fund"... a.k.a. my backpack.  The kids seem to think this is a magic bag.  "Mom!  We're near the icecream store!  You have your backpack with you!"  "Mom, can we get a movie?  You have your backpack with you!"   Today, I need to remember to take that backpack with me so that I can get some of that magic gas that keeps the kid-carrier running the roads of this little town...  So, I need to find three $10s....

3. Do you volunteer anywhere?

Nope.  Oh!  Wait!  I'm a youth group leader!  I hang out with a bunch of great teens, eat pizza, play games, chat for hours, laugh, work with a phenomenal group of pseudo-grown-ups (yeah... we have a chuckle every time the "grown ups" meet!), lead prayers, do a little planning, play more games, make cookies... and someone, somewhere decided to call me a volunteer!  WHAT WERE THEY THINKING????  These kids keep me young and laughing!    

4. What is your favorite summertime veggie or fruit, and how do you eat it?

Blueberries.  Oh!  Or maybe... blueberries.  Yup.  Definitely blueberries.  Right off the bush on a sunny day with all my kiddos with me is the best way to eat them!  

5. Is your social sphere (circle of friends) small, medium or large?

Oh!  I am so lucky!  Gotta say large on this one!  I am blessed by friends I can talk with about anything, goofy friends, friends that walk with me, lots of friends who make me laugh, chat-over-a-cup-of-coffee friends, kid friends, grown-up friends, fun-to-run-into-them-once-a-year friends, Facebook friends, friends that play in band, friends from church, family friends....  Yup.  Very blessed by friends! 

6. When was the last time you attended a family or school reunion? How did that go?

Our family reunions are always a blast!  We get 20-30 of us together several times a year.  Most recently in Maine where we had a murder mystery for 15!  (among other fun stuff!)  The last really big family reunion, ya know... breaking 300 or so, was a couple years ago.  We're all related to my grammie, so... yeah!  We had a blast!

7. When you're feeling blue, what is the best way someone can cheer you up?

If you can make me laugh, you have my heart for life!  Gee... and it is so exceedingly *not* difficult to make me laugh... 

8. Have you taken a vacation this summer?

Yup.  But I prefer home.

9. What is the most unnecessary item you carry with you all the time?

I'm sure that backpack has something unneccessary in it.  But about the time I decide something is not neccessary and take it out, gall-darned if I don't need it the next day! 

10. What is the best summer flick you have seen so far?

I don't very often sit still long enough to watch a whole movie.  But a total surprise to me was Tooth Fairy!  It was hilarious all the way through! 

11. Describe a perfect summer day.

Oooooh!  The kids would sleep late!  Like at least 7:00.  Breakfast, coffee and blogging for a solid hour, uninterupted :o)  Then head out with hiking shoes and a picnic to pick blueberries with the kiddos.  Stop at the pool on the way home.  My husband would cook.  And since this is a fanatasy day, he would actually cook fish...  Throw in band practice and it sounds like a pretty amazing day! 

12. Please a share a favorite photo from the summer so far!

Oh, this is soooooo cheating!  This one's already been up on the blog... 

Well... pretty random.  But, heck!  So is life!  Have a happy day!

Just a guess...

I'm thinking that the trombone players are the goofballs of every band.  The conductor of band #2 asked last night, "does anyone have any questions?  Trombones, do you have any questions?"  Incredulous looks all around our row.  TROMBONES???  ASK QUESTIONS??? 

One of the guys piped up, "we are issuing no statements at this time."  Oh, yeah!  Trombone sass!  (Being very new to this band, I am practicing good behavior for a little while.  Probably a very little while...)

Yup... so glad to be a goofball :o)

Have a happy day!

Check this out!

A friend of mine just started blogging!  Check out Lori's blog at http://itsthelittlethings-lori.blogspot.com/  :o)  Isn't her blog name great???  I know I'm looking forward to reading more of her work!

Have a happy day!

A random collection of little happy things....

Hmmmmm....  A mouthpiece and the phone?  (I guess, technically, you could call them both mouthpieces...)  I spent much of yesterday morning on the phone.  I caught up with a good friend whom I haven't seen for a while.  It was such a joy to hear her voice!  She is going through a lot right now, though.  When the call ended, that familiar crushing feeling of wishing I could wave my arms, call in a miracle, and go to band practice with her crashed into me.  Bittersweet.  But wonderful to hear her voice.  (You can read some of Lucie's writing at http://greenbananascancerblog.blogspot.com/  Her work is beautiful.)

When I hung up the phone, we had a message.  FROM MY BEST COLLEGE BUDDY!!!!!  Oh my gosh!!!!  We hear from each other a few times a year.  Well, I hear from her.  Ummmm... can we say I write her a whole lot of letters?  But somehow they manage to be mostly in my head?  And when I actually do put pen to paper, I usually manage to write a long chatty letter, gather a bunch of photos, and.... ummmm.... neglect to actually *mail* the darned thing.  Naughty, naughty me....  Oh!  And I lost her e-mail address a couple of years ago when we had no internet.  So she couldn't even follow our family on Facebook or by this blog.  Ooooops.

We talked for a couple of hours.  Just as easily as if we were back in college.  What a blessing to have a friendship that just picks right back up where we left off a couple of years ago!  (Ooooops... haven't seen her in... ummmmm... seven years....)  It was also funny to realize that there are still so many parallels in our lives!  In a nutshell, our kiddos are all in school now (one of hers is in college!) and we are at "career crossroads."  Our lives are wonderful.  Everything for which we've always hoped.  And we are wondering, what's next???  With the brunt of kid-raising done, we both have a little time and a lot of creativity.  In a funny twist, we both decided to start writing!  (Well... not that she would believe that I am in the habit of writing....)

Hmmm... did I mention that we still have a lot in common?  And that we made a date to get together again?  Yup.  Hopefully October!  And... ummm... I will mail those darned letters and the five-and-a-half-pound stack of pictures....  Tomorrow.  Or sometime....  Or maybe today....

Soooo... the other mouthpiece!  I have a humongous trombone.  Oh!  It is a beauty!

But it is maybe closer in size to a tuba.  With a slide.  The mouthpiece is gigantic.  I can play a few songs in the upper register, then my lips resort to quivering like jello for the rest of the night.  Not usually a problem.  I happily play second part which means most of my music is comfortably in the middle range.  But I've joined a second band.  And wound up with several first parts.  Oh dang!  What was the conductor thinking???  I brought my saggy-lip dilema to a friend of mine who actually knows something about trombones.  (I just happily and rather naively enjoy playing the thing.)  He loaned me a mouthpiece to try.  A smaller-sized mouthpiece with a built-up shank (the part that plugs into the rest of the trombone).  Did I mention that this trombone is enormous???  It could eat a regular mouthpiece for breakfast.  And suck my lips in for snack right afterwards.  I didn't have high hopes for that upper register.  No pun intended.  Well... maybe a little bit...

Yesterday afternoon, I popped the new mouthpiece in and ran through Band #2's music.  An hour later, I realized that my lips were still going strong.  Unbelievable!  Yup.  I'll be investing in a new mouthpiece.  And an interesting bit of trivia... I looked down the throats of the two mouthpieces (mine and the loaner).  The loaner is *much* smaller.  I guess I don't have such a big mouth after all :o)

(If you know me, you might be chuckling at *that* conclusion...) 

 

A couple more happy bits.  Our garden produced the first peppers and tomatoes of the season!  Sorry... the big, plump pepper and cheery red tomatoes were very pretty.  But we ate them.  Without taking photos first.  I am a *very bad* gardener.  I throw some seeds or plants into the ground, then mostly ignore them.  So I am disproportionately happy when they actually grow and produce something wonderful!

And, speaking of old friends that go back 20+ (cough! cough!) years, my husband's best friend from highschool visited with his family a couple of days ago.  As always, we had a wonderful time!  And we must have been infants in highschool since we could not possibly be a day over 20 yet!  Certainly not pushing 40.  Ouch!

And Dave's wife, Lori, will be getting her blog address to me soon so that I can link to *her* writing!  (Lori....Hint!  Hint!  Dust off that blog and start writing!  I'm looking forward to following!)

Ah!  A good couple of days!

Have a happy day!

 

   

Disney? Or a day of blueberry picking?

My husband and I took youngest kiddo to Disney last week.  Isn't Disney every kid's dream?  Not around our house.  I am soooooo glad to say that my sassy, independant kiddos have little desire to be sucked into one of America's biggest conglomerate businesses :o)  We visited for an afternoon.  That was plenty for all three of us!  I don't need chirpy music, constant parades and vacuous, cheery smiles to remind me that I'm happy.  Heck!  I only need to get up in the morning to have fun!  (Although a cup of coffee helps!)

Oh... not that Disney is all-bad.  We had a wonderful dinner with a friendly waiter and chef.  The chef came right out to talk with us about Shannon's allergies.  He made sure that the pasta was safe for her to eat.  What a treat!  This kiddo *almost never* gets to eat pasta in restaurants.  And there must be something to be said for all the wide smiles and piped in music.  Even in hour-and-a-half-long lines, the crowds waited patiently.  People smiled at each other.  And chatted. 

But, really, Disney is not my thing.  It's just so... fake.  I'll take good ole' New England any day.  We have blueberries.  And maple trees.  And cows.  And *home* :o)

Yup.  I'll take home.  No piped in music required for a good time.  We got back to a sunny, breezy, beautiful New England summer.  I did the responsible thing... and skipped unpacking and laundry to head out to the blueberry fields with the kids!  It was a day filled with laughter and very real smiles!  We picked 12.5 pounds of berries.  Well... we finished with that many.  Our blueberry bandit (daughter #3) filched berries from our buckets all afternoon!

Have a happy day!