Somehow all those days of relaxed and chilled laziness seem far far far far away and I am stuck in this nightmare swirl of what my live should be.

How far can one go in order to find the peace and the space that is more appropriate to him/herself than trying to connect with different peoples in an attempt of not ending up alone?

Today I was visiting the Day Nursery at the State Government Center to prepare for a special event we are doing tomorrow as a warm-up for the arrival of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus coming to town September 4th.  More about that tomorrow.  During my visit, I snapped this picture of 1-year-old Alex (isn't he cute??) having some fun outside.  He was sitting in the sun and some of his classmates were sitting in the shade. It reminded me how every moment with a young child is a "teachable" moment.   

Here’s an idea you and your toddler can explore together courtesy of Parent Central at NACCRRA.  The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies has a great website.  Parent Central is dedicated to helping parents access current information on children's issues as well as the most recent parenting resources. Their website offers information on child development, tips related to raising children, finding quality child care.

Set up two outside play areas on blankets, one in the sun and one in the shade. As the weather gets cooler, you can also set this up inside. Choose a sunny room and a shady room. Invite your toddler to play freely with favorite toys. When he is in the shade, talk about how the shade feels; when he is in the sun, talk about how the sun feels. Your toddler will feel the difference between cool and warm. Talk about how the sunny spot is bright and warm, and how the shady spot is cooler and darker.

• Let's put these toys in the shade.
• Where is the sun? Can you point up to the sky?
• Let's put these toys in the sun.

This helps your toddler begin to understand the concept of "same and different."  Check the blogroll to the right for a link to Parent Central.  I would encourage you to sign up for their emails.

Acu ceva timp propulsam un atac impotriva manelelor, ceea ce a dus la nimic, much ado about nothing. Si acuma o luam de la capat? Cui ii pasa ca in jurul blocurilor si magazinelor sunt haite intregi de caini turbati, cui ii pasa ca mijloacele de tranpsport in comun is jalnice si majoritatea co-cetatenilor mei nu cunosc ce e aceea deodorant? Important e sa acordam atentie unor "emo" ca sa nu ne deranjam creierasii cu probleme importante.

La urma urmei nu sunt deranjata. Am fost scarbita sa ma uit cu cat fas vorbeste cela de parca totul se invarte in jurul lor. Unde sunt discutiile despre oamenii obisnuiti care efectueaza zilnic miracole pentru a pune ceva pe masa si sa nu fie dati afara strada din casele lor?

Toate excentricitatile, toate extremitatile sunt discutate; sunt sau nu discriminate. Dar unde ramane patura groasa a societatii de oameni care platesc darile, muncesc si sunt absolut normali si banali? Ei nu conteaza, nu intereseaza? Nu, pentru ca nu au nimic senzational, nimic socant si nimic atragator.

Oare asta nu denota superficialitate? sau e numai un mod de exprimare a ceva mai usor de digerat decat sa atacam probleme spinoase care nu ar avea scapare?

Erdekesek a lampak itt Ujpesten. Vicces......

T_______________________________T R.I.P!
Kezdenem az elejerol... Ezt a szegeny joszagot, nevezzuk neven gyikot frontalis karambol erte RichardREAPER kezevel egy fenyes hetfoi napon.
NYUGALOM! A gyik igaz, hogy eletet vesztette de hosi halott valamint en ezert megutottem RichardREAPER fejet, tehat biztosan megbanta tettet.
Gyujtsunk gyertyat Sanyi a gyik emlekere, valamint egy perces csond.
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:
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Oke. Most mar azert konyebb.

Ehhez en nem fuzok kommantart csak annyit, hogy hajra TE aki minden boldog pillanatom oly letargikussa forditod at...

Ez csak..gyonyoru. Lass a kep moge es halld amit mond.
Attol, hogy elveszitesz valakit az elet megy tovabb. Ahogyan a hinta is mozog tovabb, miutan otthagyjak azt.
Ah mily melankolis. Csodalatos.
Nikszivel voltam a jatszoteren es akkor keszult ez a kep, valamint egy kisebb video is, amit szinten nem publikaltam.

Ajj...hat most olyan resz jon amit mindenki lefog nezni. =3
Oke. Nem volt kedvem Laptop-ozni mert az messze volt tolem en pedig egy masik gepnel ultem es ott neztem filmet.
Aztan talaltam egy PSP-t es beallitottam rajta netet es azon msn-eztem... igen a kepen eppen lathato, hogy Cupp-al.
Nem volt kedvem gepen bejelentkezni, szoval ott maradtam azon es kozben filmeztem.
Cupp elment mert probaja lesz ma reggel, szoval en is kijelentkeztem MSN-rol ezek utan.
Errol jut eszembe, hogy Cupp-rol akartam feltenni egy kepet, amit almaeves kozben sikerult keszitenem.
De nem volt idom megkerdezni, igy ugy dontottem, hogy mind emiatt, mind a szemelyi jogok miatt nem rakom fel Cupp, az MTV sztarjanak a kepet.

Nos, elfogytak a kepek vagy csak lehet, hogy nem akarok megosztani tobbet.
A lenyeg. Rakerestem magamra Google-be, mert igen nem volt jobb idotoltesem.
Kihozott sok uj oldalt amit meg nem is lattam... eloszor is egy blogon akadt fent a szemem.
Nem talaltam negativnak (amennyit elolvastam belole), gondoltam belinkelem.
Itt olvashato!
A masik egy kisse meglepo HotDog profil.
Hirtelen nem is tudom hova tenni... 8D Katt!
Es most pedig megyek aludni es almodok egy szebb jovot, ahol elerem azt amirol most meg csak almodnom szabad.

Habakkuk 3:2 I have heard all about you, Lord. I am filled with awe by Your amazing works.

Proverbs 3: 1-2 My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this,you will live many years and your life will be satisfying.

To open up public space for playing, Bryan hung a swing in a London bus stop. Remarkable that it is most utilized by adults... And not too difficult to put up. Watch:

Let's start with Lily's adventure and back up to Sadie's. There is no telling why Lily decided that she wanted to cross one of Philadelphia's busiest streets. On the side across Kelly Drive from the playground is a walk/bike/roll/run path that is used by hundreds of exercisers each day. What happens on the path is always interesting to Lily.  There are lots of people moving quickly on bikes and skates. Many dogs are running partners with their humans. Children are strolled. Lately, some artists have set up easels to paint the scenes and landscapes. Families and friends hold picnics. Couples take walks hand in hand.

We are always mindful of Lily's interest in the activities of the path. Yesterday, something caught Lily's attention and drew her in. She ran full throttle towards Kelly Drive. Everyone gasped as Lily sped closer to the edge of the road. It is not clear what she saw or why she stopped. Little Sadie was chasing with all her speed to catch up and coax Lily to rejoin the other dogs. Dillan chased Sadie. Mini chased Dillan. Lily finally did return when she finally heard her name called. She walked back slowly and lounged the rest of the evening with the other dogs.

Sadie's adventure involved play with Mini, a mini-poodle/mini-schnauzer mix about her size and color. Sadie and Mini share something important in common. They both live with Boxers. Mini's boxer is named Cassius. He is about a year old, cute as can be, and sparkly in personality. Like Sadie and Lily, Mini and Cassius are best buddies. They do everything together. They love Sadie and Lily. Sadie and Mini were playing with a beagle puppy when another dog busted onto the playground. He immediately went for Sadie and within seconds she was lying on her back, paws kicking, whimpering. The other dog had pinned her and had her in a neck choke with his mouth. Cassius and Mini were barking and trying to get the other dog to back down. The people ran from every direction to separate the dogs. Sadie was quickly freed and the other dog shooed away. Eventually Sadie and her attacker made up and played together for the rest of the evening. But Sadie's vulnerability reminded us that even though her personality is large and her heart and spirit even larger, she is still a 13 pound squirt of a dog.

We are happy to report that little Sadie and Tiger Lily are safe and sound after the evening adventures.

Sadie relaxes after her adventure on the playground

MM and RY 2008

The girls and I have been taking a tour of the local playgrounds.  We've been to four different ones this past week. 

I found myself feeling young, feeling like there were no cares in the world.  I found myself floating.  All because the girls were being little girls and the somehow grabbed my heart and allowed it to follow them.

And grounded again.  Back to the world.  With a new sense of summer.  Of beauty.  Of youth.  Ahhh summer, the time for little girls to come out and play and big girls to forget being big.  Thank you summer.  I enjoy the playground tour.

And speaking of Webster's Pages... I got a chance to play with some of my new paper from my goody box last night.  Our local Paper-Playground kit club group held our monthly crop, which is always a lot of fun.  I don't know about you all, but I'm never super productive at a crop.  Given the chance to socialize, I tend to run my mouth more than get any serious work done.  Oh, and I end up spending quite a bit of time up at the buffet table, too! ;) (but that's just between you and me!)  Even so, I did work on a cute card project for the Sketch This blog that I'm excited about.  I think Terri Conrad's papers make such beautiful cards. It might also have something to do with the new journaling cards, too.  I will share that project with you as soon as I can.  I also worked on my Random Chaos page for tomorrow's challenge.  Wait till you see it.  You guys are going to laugh at me!  Come back tomorrow and you'll see what I'm talking about.

And now for the rest of today, I am just going to kick back and relax and get myself in vacation mode.  Watch some Olympics.  It hasn't really sunk in that we don't have to get up and go to school tomorrow.  Sigh........we can stay up late.....no homework.......sleep in.  What bliss!

Have a great day everyone!

If you haven't seen the kit yet, here it is.  We still have some available if you'd like to get one.

Here are a couple more projects I made with this kit.

Made this card for my good friend and business partner.  These colors make me think of her.  Bright and sunshiny!  Happy Birthday, Kathie!!

Also made this fun page of my son, Pete, from our beach trip last May.

I knew when I saw that Bazzill stitching template that it would be perfect for making waves.  And the white-cored cardstock that comes in the kit is fabulous for tearing.  Love, also, how the foiled papers seem to reflect the "water" in this page.  Be sure to check out the Paper-Playground gallery for more great ideas using this month's kit.

Well, I'm off to the school now to do some volunteering.  My daughter's class is actually holding a fall festival today.  Fall????????  Why not summer????  My job is to do the pumpkin toss.  Think we're actually using ping-pong balls painted as pumpkins, as it's a bit early to get the real thing.

Have a great day everyone!

They are all awesome! I just went to see what their party was like and they were there! It was so cool!

Posted by: Cool Boy 714 @ 5:48 pm

Now we carefully let go for a moment here and there.

It seems like only yesterday he was afraid of falling down.

Now he has no problem going down over and over and over again (and even climbing up the toys meant for only going down, to go yet again).

It seems like only yesterday, we were teaching this little boy to climb the stairs.

Now he conquers mountains with just a bit of assistance.

It seems like only yesterday, we carried this little boy every step of the way.

Now he carries himself - horizontally and vertically.

What happened to yesterday?

(We had a lot of fun spending family time at one of our local parks this past weekend! It is difficult to keep up with Little Dude, these days, as he will try just about anything.)

P.S.  Nu ma ascund in spatele zodiei, gresit. O folosesc ca pe o explicatie pentru ca multe dintre trasaturi sunt admirabil si confortabil de prezente in tot ceea ce fac.

Thank you everyone for all your well wishes. It was just one of THOSE days yesterday where nothing was going right. Even this trip to the playground was stressful. But editing these pics of the boys really cheered me up today. As crazy as life can be, I am so thankful to have 3 healthy and happy boys.

Another plus... I think I got my one year shot of Cale. Although its a month and a few days away, I need to get things going now. Matt always took pics of each boy around 11 mos. and I would send those wallets to family and friends around their first birthday. One of my goals, when I started learning photography at the beginning of this year, was to be able to send out MY own pic of Cale. Whatcha think?