It's gonna be a hot one in Vegas today, tomorrow, and so on. I just checked and it's 90 degrees outside at 9AM! We'll be over 100 until Monday when it "cools off" to 99! I'm pretty sure we can officially declare that we've moved past spring........
I will spend most of the day in design. I am close, very close to finishing the puppy kit. I still need journalers, ricrak, and a few other things and I'm done with the puppy kit. Although I've had lots of compliments on my previews, I've never liked them much and I think this kit has been harder to build a preview I like than most. The kit now has an extra patterned paper and 86 elements! Then I suppose it will be time to a little bit of catch up work on kits that are "finished" and I will go back to the "collection" I've started.
I have no clue what I can get done around here. I have lost 9 hours in the past two days to driving around town and picking up grandchildren and delivering them to various destinations plus spending a few hours with them to make sure things at home go according to plan. I can't just knock off design and clean. I have to keep the design engine running........ So, maybe I'll get something done and maybe I'll just be crazy like I was yesterday.
Thank goodness, I don't feel any symptoms of whackiness at the moment. I certainly don't need another crazy day. However, in looking at the kit I'm working on, even in the middle of my crazies, I seem to have managed some design work yesterday.
One of the problems is that I seem to be pretty useless in the evenings when I get home. Tuesday night it was after 8:30PM when I made it home. Last night it was after 9:00PM when I made it home. And then, I mostly just sit here....... Spent from the heat, the drive in traffic, and that time of day when spending time with kids is the hardest. We all know that children are hot, hungry, and tired by the time the evening commute is over. They don't know they are hot, hungry, and tired. They just know that their world is a miserable place, they're miserable, and consequently they make life difficult for everyone around them. They're clingy, whiny, and unhappy little beings. So, yes, I come home and stare at the walls. Not very helpful!
When I was speaking with DGS1 about the state of the bedroom he shares with his little brother, one of his "reasons" was that he needs hangers. Well, Joe just loved those plastic hangers and I just hated them. But, if you remember that I took 9 garbage bags to the charity drop off with just Joe's clothes in them, you now can deduce that I have tons of plastic hangers. DGS1 also made a point of telling me that his mom needed hangers too. Well, when I left here yesterday, I took (guessing) 30-40 hangers with me. When I asked DGS1 to get the hangers out of the car, he picked up about 10 of them and said that was all he needed and started to walk away. I reminded him that he had told me his mom needed hangers so he finally picked up the rest and took them in and threw them on her bed (along with the baskets of undies). I hope she's not tired when she gets home because she can't go to bed til she finds it!
My DD may know how to sue school boards, but I'm not too bad in a pinch myself when it comes to defending the little ones. When I got to the Day Care yesterday, DGD had been outside playing in the water and the "teacher" had just lifted her up onto the changing table to put her back into her clothes. As soon as she saw me, she decided DGD must want Grandma to dress her, thereby delegating her job to me. So, I dressed DGD, helped her put on her cute little sandals, and, at last, I told her to gather up her things--lunch box and backpack--so we could go get her brother. I asked her if she had everything and she said "I want my bgtmfdisomw". "What?" I said. She repeated "I want my bgtmfdisomw." I had no clue what she wanted. I asked her if she could show me. There is a big plastic bin in the classroom which seems to be full of blankets. Maybe that's where they keep the things they use for nap??? Anyway, she marched straight over to the bin and stuck her little forefinger out and pointed. I dug. It wasn't this, and it wasn't that. Finally I pulled out something small. I didn't look at it closely but it seemed to be a stuffed frog with a bit of blanket attached. The blanket was blue satiny stuff on one side, pastel flannely green print on the other and the frog was covered in the flannely green print as well. So I handed it to her and we were ready to leave. At this point the "teacher" decided that she, personally, had no idea whether that belonged to DGD or not. So, she wasn't going to let us leave with it. Well, I wasn't certain either, but I was pretty sure DGD1 (age 12 and a great big brother) would know. So, I just basically told her we would check with DGD's older brother and if it wasn't hers, we'd bring it back in the morning. No, that wasn't acceptable. It might be Aubrey's. So she goes to the door of the classroom and yells outside for the other "teacher" and Aubrey. Then she tells me she needs to ask Aubrey if this little "lovey" is hers and "Aubrey wouldn't lie". We wait for Aubrey and the other teacher to wander from the far side of the property into the classroom. (In the meantime, I still have DGS2 to retrieve at the Day Care and DGS1 and "the girl" to pick up miles away, so I'm stewing.) When they finally get there, the "teacher" points at the toy DGD is holding and asks Aubrey if it is hers. Well, first of all, Aubrey isn't even looking at DGD. She is not looking where the "teacher" is pointing. And the "teacher" keeps asking "Is that yours, Aubrey?" Now that is just a stupid question to ask a Toddler. We've all seen those rules of Toddlerhood:
1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must NEVER appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine.
8. If I saw it first, it's mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically
becomes mine.
10. If it's broken, it's yours.
But, surprising to me, Aubrey says nothing, does nothing. Finally she turns and
pulls something similar to what DGD is holding from her little pigeon hole.
Difference is, hers is pink. So, finally, with the clock ticking and ticking and
ticking, I am allowed to leave the classroom with DGD and the "bgtmfdisomw".
And I am angry. The "Aubrey would't lie" thing is sticking in my craw. I go pick
up DGS2 and the three of us have to head past DGD's classroom. The "teacher"
comes out, stops us and asks DGS2 if the toy belongs to DGD. Now, DGS2 is 5.
He might know if the toy is DGD's and he might not. And, if accosted out of the
blue by a "teacher", he might not even respond. I had had enough. I looked the
b&%$( straight in the eye and said, "Of course it's hers. DGD (insert name)
wouldn't lie." I'm afraid I was VERY pointed in the way I said that. The whole
point of the "Aubrey wouldn't lie" statement, as far as I'm concerned, was to
imply that DGD WOULD lie. Torqued me off! The kids stop by the Administrator's
office every evening before they leave. She loves on them and everyone gets a
gummy bear and then they go home for the night. I had to have a little sit down
with her and tell her about my experience with that "teacher" and the implication
that DGD is a liar. Truth be told, at 2.5 years old, I am quite sure DGD doesn't
really know how to "lie", meaning purposely say something untrue with the
intent to deceive.
I have come to realize that I have only a little patience for truly stupid people.
What the woman SAID was stupid. Even worse, it (and her subsequent actions)
shows how very little she knows about the nature of toddlers with whom she
spends her day! Some parents would have been so offended, they would have
been out looking for a different day care today...........
Well, let's do eye candy. I need to get my mind off of "Aubrey doesn't lie"
before I get mad all over again!

Lori did this page with Looks Like Home, the kit of the week. She used one of
our word arts, created to go with this kit. I loved the cluster on this one which
balances the word are really well.

Jen, aka SarahWhithers, created this page. She used one of our templates and
one of the word arts as well. I like how she added the cat's names to the photos.
I also think it is just sweet that she felt she could use this word art with photos
of her pets. Shows me she really loves those kitties.

Christy created this page with Looks Like Home. I like the way she has all the
photos linked together with staples--sometimes its the little things on the page
that mean a lot. I also like the way she incorporated the cub scout/boy scout
insignia on the page. As a designer, I can't do a scouting kit and use those
insignia. They are copyrighted. But, she CAN, for her personal use on her
scrapbook page. It adds a lot of meaning on this particular page.
So, today, we've seen this kit used for a military/patriotic page, a cub
scouting page, and a page about kitties. Pretty darn versatile if you ask me.......
Gotta scoot. It's already 10:30. I need to get moving on something
besides this blog! YOU be BLESSED today!