I Need a Robotic Arm

Again, we schlepped over to the Tempe Historical Museum for their "Voyage to Mars" day. It was fun, a few activities were for older kids, but Ian really enjoyed the robotic arm and the crafts. The robotic arm had a remote control with several buttons to move different parts of the arm. Initially, I scoped out the buttons and showed Ian how they worked. With some coaching (but no actual hands on help from me), Ian picked up a little puff ball with the gripper, moved it and put it down. He really enjoyed that, so much that he cried leaving the museum because he wanted to keep using the arm.

I needed a robotic arm too. Ian was at a display pounding on buttons and we decided to walk on to the next room. I told Ian we were walking and for some reason, I thought he was walking alongside of me. When we got into the next room, I looked down and he wasn't there or anywhere close by me. The panic that set in my heart in that second was awful. My friend Jennifer went in one direction and I went back to the first room. There he was, a few steps away from the button display, crying his heart out. "Mommy, you lost me!"

Honestly, I hugged him and carried him into the next room and we talked about walking together and being lost and how it's scary for both of us. He felt better once he saw some fun things to do. I was calm on the outside and kicking myself on the inside. All those stories of kids being taken in seconds filled my thoughts in that one second of realizing he wasn't with me. Of course he is fine but you cannot be too careful.

Today in Phoenix, a 17 year-old girl was brutally killed by two 16 year-old friends in her home while her parents were not there. It is all over the news here and it is shocking and heartbreaking. Last night and today listening to this news and hearing the outcome has been eye-opening. How different life feels now from when I was home alone as a teenager. How we have to be vigilant in each part of our children's lives to keep them safe and alive. So while I was considering what the heck I will do when my boys are teenagers and hearing all the other parents weigh in, this little missing toddler moment seemed to impact me even more than it might have on another day.

To bring things back up to happy, I interviewed for an internship with the arts commission this afternoon. They would like me aboard, whatever hours I want to work. It is unpaid, so I talked to them about this and since the bulk of the work is research, they will work out a way for me to do work from home. However, I would still need to go in to the office for a bit too. Many of the interns go on from there to paying jobs in arts organizations or with the commission. There is a person leaving, who they are not replacing right away, but it is possible it will open up. So, I am hopeful to maybe make more connections in this field.

On to resting for a bit before the boys wake from naps.

Musician in the Making

Here's Ian singing "Route 66" from the Cars soundtrack. He definitely has some rhythm, wonder where that came from!?!? Plus, Connor adding his own little fun. I have to keep recording these songs that they are learning and loving. It is a lot of fun to have a singing buddy in the car.

Feast

I always see this on Michelle and Stacy's blogs but I never do them. So I thought I would add them in when I can.

Appetizer
Name a funny habit you have. I constantly rearrange purses, diaper bags, etc to fit my outing. I don't have just one pick up and go bag. So at least twice a day, I am fussing with the bags. I also have moments of putting everything in its place RIGHT THEN. Now, I have been much, much more relaxed since having two children, there is no time to organize all the details in my house. But, when I think it's time to organize, look out.

If you could instantly know how to play a musical instrument, which one would you pick? Hmmm, being a music teacher, I know A LOT of instruments. But the one I would love to play better is the guitar.

Salad
How long is your hair? Not quite to the shoulders. Honestly, I hate my hair with a capital hate. It is terribly fine, somewhat curly, turning gray and it just never washes and goes without cowlicks abounding all over. I would love long hair or longer hair, but every so often, I get compelled to cut it short and it is usually a mistake. However, I did color my hair this week to a slightly darker brown and I like it. It covers the grays and that makes me happy.

Main Course
When was the last time you forgave someone, and who was it? Probably my husband, he and I have this tendency to apologize for everything, including unnecessary sorrys. I think he was feeling a little crazy about the door (see previous post) but I wasn't even worried about it.

Dessert
What is your favorite kitchen appliance? I love my Kitchen Aid mixer (thanks to J&T, who probably have used ours more than we have). Ian loves it too. I would love to get the Kitchen Aid Mini Chopper someday because I am the worst manual chopper in the world. Yes, the world.

A "Three Hour" Project

Skipping back a few days to Father's Day, I had taken the boys out for the morning so Thomas could sleep in. When we returned, Tom had the front door off and was painting. Apparently, he figured on this job being a few hours and having some time to relax.

There was a slight problem with the primer not working well. So, instead he decided to strip the door paint and start over. One trip to Home Depot later, he added some crazy remover that became like gum. It wouldn't come off of the door.


Day Two. He goes back to Home Depot and gets much better advice and better toxic chemicals that burn your skin on contact. During naptime, the two of us were out in a million degree heat, scraping off paint with rubber gloves, scrubby sponges and scrapers. Finally, the door was down to the metal. We rinsed it and let it dry. Tom painted it with a better primer paint mix and it is back in place.




So, why don't I feature a nice picture of the freshly painted door, you ask? Well....the door is only painted on one side. The other side is still icky brown and Thomas is intending to finish the project next week. So, as incentive, I am going to blog on the completed door next week.

The painted portion looks great. I felt badly that the project took much longer than expected. Many of our projects seem to have that issue.

Circus Clown

We joined my friend Jennifer and her daughter and nieces for a morning at the Tempe Historical Museum. On Wednesdays, the museum has Wild Wednesdays with kids activities all day for free. The theme was circus and the museum had some super activities for the kids. Face painting, coloring, drawings for prizes (Ian won something, they called us yesterday) a clown making animal balloons, three different crafts, stories and a scavenger hunt. The only one who didn't enjoy it as much was Connor, who was stuck in the stroller for the majority of the time.

The clown was really fun, although she had the parents make the balloon animals. So I learned how to make a balloon dog, but I have an aversion to sudden, loud noises like popping balloons. So with much reassurance from the clown that the balloon would not pop when I twisted it, I finally figured out.

Ian enjoyed the craft room, where he made a clown hat, a lion puppet and a picture of a giraffe in a cage. He did all the glue sticking himself and enjoyed wearing his hat.

Jennifer and I made plans to return next Wednesday for "Vovage to Mars" day. Hey, a free museum with lots of fun things to do works for both of us.

Following the museum, we took a picnic over to Kiwanis park, which was pretty much deserted. Of course, the temperatures here in Phoenix are rising over 110 degrees, so the Phoenicians are becoming nocturnal. Next week, we are skipping the outside picnic portion of the trip.

Father's Day 2007

We had a quiet Father's Day. Tom's biggest request: to sleep in. So, I took the boys, including Trevor over to Cindy's to hang out. After we returned home, Tom had taken the front door off and was working on painting it. It didn't quite turned out as expected and didn't take the hour or two he had planned. (the door is still in process this morning -Monday)

He took the boys to the park, we ordered some pizza, had ice cream cones at home and basically did the normal routine. We also gave him the Dangerous Book of Boys at his request. For anyone that doesn't know about the book, check it out. It has everything boy-related: knots, dinosaurs, battles, Morse Code, insects, rules of soccer, etc.

The best part of the day for the boys was climb on Daddy, which is their favorite game. Although, lately it has morphed into Ian climbing on Daddy and Connor climbing on Ian.

Happy Father's Day Thomas! No worries about the door!

Daddy's Day

A Face A Mother Could Love

Thomas is right, I love the messy food pictures. Overall, I am not a big fan of messes, but when my boys are a sticky, goopy disaster, the camera comes out. Connor is sort of learning to eat with a spoon, but he gave up midway through his pudding and started using fingers. And had a grand time.

Today was mango fruit chiller ice pop in a cup, which was another sticky mess. You would think I would serve something cleaner, but he loves a good mess.

Frame the Shot

We were rearranging rooms yesterday at my request. As we were placing the dresser drawers, a few were sitting out. Connor fit perfectly standing up inside the drawer and played happily while we finished the rest of the drawers. He was talking and yelling, so Ian came in and decided he needed to try it out too. He didn't quite have the same fit as Connor, but apparently it was just as much fun.

Again, why do we spend money on toys, when they find their own entertainment? Now, as a disclaimer, we were there with the boys at all times. And after all the moving about, I decided that we should sell that dresser and get a lower, sturdier one.

On another note, Connor's outfit was chosen by my husband and I take no responsibility for the stripes and plaid combination. I hate to think what fashion faux pauxes (sp?) were committed in my absence last week. Connor adds his own teenage style sense by sticking his hand down the back of his pants and diaper so that a touch of cleavage shows. This happens routinely. Either I have a future teenager (pull up your pants, kid!) or a plumber.

A Closer Look

Well, to be very, very honest, I have been overextended so much this week that blogging has not been on my mind. Working on my photo challenge is in the back of my mind, since I have been taking photos of the festival all week. I am still working on downloading photos from my camera.

But, I had added a picture of Connor as my desktop and the computer cropped it. After seeing it for a few days, I decided to put the original and the cropped version together to see which one I liked. I'll let you see and decide for yourself.

This is little C at the park last weekend after our bike ride with Michael and Terri. He had a death grip on the pine cone. He even climbed the playground stairs standing up with the pine cone in hand (and Mommy right behind him in case he lost balance).


Here is my own up-close crop. I used Microsoft Photo Editor just to crop. I didn't do any other changes because I try really hard not fix things but just take a better picture from the start. I listened to a whole article on NPR about photographers changing and editing photos. Many of the photographers were okay with some use of Photoshop, but one made the point that the art is to get the photo right the first time. So, I think about that statement when I have my camera in hand.

All that being said, I liked the photo moved in and now I know for next time how I might like to frame this little face.


As an aside, the music festival has concluded and we are all about to put our feet up and enjoy an afternoon of "We're done!". Connections have been made and several major community members are interested in fund-raising and sponsoring the festival next year after seeing Maria's programming and how things were run.

The work was hard and I might not be paid for more than my expenses and travel this year. It put us in more of a precarious situation and I have to consider what my role will be in the future. Truthfully, I was losing steam this week because the newness of this project demanded so many last minute changes and errands that I felt pulled in a thousand directions.

But what made the difference were the musicians. It could not have been a nicer, more professional group of people. No divas, no looking down the nose. These people were here to play. The conversations were friendly and engaging and the music was great fun.

This week has taught me to look closely at myself. I know what I need to operate. I know that I need organization, schedule, focus. I know that without it, I feel like I cannot function. So, I am moving in a little closer to define my role in this organization and see if I can now put the organization, schedule and focus where it should be.

An Interesting Perspective

As part of the Chaparral MusicFest, Yavapai College hosted a series of master classes for musicians. My main task was to photograph and take short videos of the master classes in progress (luckily the rooms were not in very low light, so most pictures were okay). Anyway, I wandered out of the classroom for a bit to get some fresh air and found some sculptures along the walkway of the music building. This particular sculpture offered an interesting frame for the yucca (?) tree behind it. I was on the ground since the sculpture was rather small and low itself. Anyway, I thought it came out okay. Here is my photo of the day:

The Exception

Okay, this photo doesn't really fit in any of my photo challenges. So, I'll call it my exception. But I love it.

Working up in Prescott this week has been a nice change of pace. All three boys are home, doing wonderfully as expected. But, I am never the one away. I am always home and Tom is away. It is a strange feeling to be removed from my element. Of course, it is more relaxing and I am getting a decent night's sleep with a normal wake up time. (not 5:30am, thanks to our early bird Connor) But I think all day long- oh, it's 10:30am and Ian's at swim. Or it's 1pm and I wonder if the kids are taking a nap. Or it's 7pm and I figure the kids are getting ready for bed (I know better than to call!). Or it's 10pm and I think Tom is playing his video game uninterrupted with no one bugging him (me!). Or I wonder how late he stayed up and if the baby woke him early. My mind drifts to them a million times an hour, it seems. My life is wrapped up in what they do, no matter how apart I am from them.

Good thing they are coming to visit me tomorrow. I don't think I can wait until Sunday. No exceptions.

June 2-The Elusive Hummingbird

Well, Terri has taken this challenge to heart and gave me a hummingbird as a photo opp. They do have quite a few hummingbirds in their yard, which made this a tiny bit easier. After spotting this little one, I had quite a time keeping him in the viewfinder. A few shots included leaves, flowers and no hummingbird. Anyway, he moved along to the side of the house and I got one okay shot of him. I took two, I like the second one a little better, but neither are great. Setting up the frame of the shot was really difficult, I was basically snapping and hoping a hummingbird would appear in the picture. The first few were a blur of bird because I forgot to switch to the action setting.

June 1-Flower Frenzy!

My sister-in-law Suzie's idea is up first with flowers or plants. I honestly did look for plants, but the flowers were more fun to photograph.

Thomas, the boys and I went to the California Science Center today, which was filled to the brim with field trip students. We checked out the Air and Space Center, which Ian and Thomas enjoyed. Then, I requested a walk through the Rose Garden for photo ops.

Thank you to:
Ian for helping choose the flower colors.
Thomas for humoring me to walk in the Rose Garden. I know you didn't want to.
Michael for always being the honest photo critic. I know I always forget my camera settings and I am pretty sure he gives me the same information each time I see him.
Terri helping me choose the best photo for the blog.

Gearing up for June 2 photo.....more posting to come.