the back page - little monkeys

Last night, the boys were all excited about the election. Our precinct votes at their elementary school, so they’ve had lots of hubbub disrupting the normal flow around school. We don’t watch a lot of broadcast television in our house, mostly Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network/Boomerang (gotta love those old cartoons!) but there was still enough filtering through on the election that it was up for discussion. Mostly, they wanted to know who I voted for. I told them I didn’t have to say who I voted for, that’s one of our rights. Oh, the torture!! ha They didn’t have any idea of one versus the other - it was just the excitement and the wonder. So neat to see their excitement. Puts things in perspective. Whether or not you’re happy with the results, this whole election business is a big, exciting deal! In the case of elections, America wins! Doesn’t matter the results (ok, it does matter, but you know what I mean), we all get a chance to voice our opinion - how cool, how cool!

Picking the Design Monkeys team was lots harder than I imagined. Up there with coming up with the whole Store More Stamps thing in the first place! ha! We had no clue what to expect as far as number of submissions & we received TONS! Surely the big names get tons more (and soon we’ll be in that group, too! ) so I can just imagine how much harder it is for them to choose. It was starting to seem like the only way to choose was to draw circles on the ground, throw the papers in the air and see who landed in the circle. LOL Not what we ended up doing, but the idea was there…

Next most impossible thing was sending messages to each person that submitted to let them know either way, and I’m not talking about the sheer quantity of the messages in case that’s what you’re thinking. All of the submissions were amazing and selections were based on the group of submissions as a whole, so passing on the news to those not selected was very difficult. Getting to know each of you through your submissions was awesome and made the process really exciting. I looked forward to seeing the submissions come in and finding the different things that make you ‘you’. I miss that part already! I can keep up with everyone at least a little, though, since I know where to find you. hehe I can’t wait to seeing and hearing more from each of you.

So, now that we’ve made it this far, I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing the Design Monkeys in action. I can’t wait to see everyone’s different style shine through and inspire us all! You might find them sharing their news one by one, but we will wait to announce the full team until the Little Monkeys Turns One Celebration. Lots to do between now and then to get ready to introduce the full group - better get movin’!

In case you didn’t know, today is Talk Like a Pirate Day!  Argh!  Just what everyone needs to kick off the weekend in the proper spirit!    Got any plans to celebrate?  lol

Well, we got lots of wind, not so much in the rain department.  We had a cold front (cool front to those of you up North!) that was pushing against Hurricane Ike and it seems the cold front won and the hurricane turned to go into the middle states.  Sorry for all those that then got pounded up there, that’s for sure!  We could have used more rain and there’s lots of places already soaked that got tons more.  The boys ended up playing “Library” while they were cooped up - pushing around rolling carts, passing out books to anyone sitting still.  You had to read fast, though, because it didn’t take long for them to start the rounds to pick up books and pass out new ones!  hehe  My middle sister and I used to play “Town” and this brought back so many memories!  Those kiddos really do get some stuff through their genes. 

On the Design Monkeys front, we’re working through the submissions and will be contacting everyone THIS WEEK!!  We won’t release too many details before the official introductions, but we will contact everyone that submitted soon. 

Tonight is my Stamp Club and I’m really excited!  Love seeing what new projects Kris has dreamed up for us! Oh, and I just read she’s getting Chick-fil-a trays - even better! LOL  Wonder what my boys will have tonight?  Peanut butter sandwiches sound good…ha

The hurricane is almost here. Well, I guess it probably already is with all the wind and everything. Kind of think of a hurricane as being more about rain, though, and that’s not quite here. Thinking of a hurricane as just rain can get people in trouble. Things around here have been very hurricane oriented the last several days. Evacuations along the Texas coast, extra people in town waiting out the storm, worrying about family and friends, checking in w/everyone, even changing schedules to accommodate the coming storm. We missed most of our local high school football game last night because they started early so everyone that had to travel could get home before any bad weather hit. Lots going on and we’re not even all that close to things. It’s just getting light, so we’ll start finding out what happened in Galveston overnight. Doesn’t sound good, though. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected.

For us, today will be focused on thinking of ways to entertain four wiggly boys all cooped up inside. Sounds like fun times. Maybe if I get them started on a project, I can take advantage of the inside time and do some scrapbooking! Oh, sounds like a plan! What to give them to do? Hmmm… Got any suggestions for indoor boy activities for 2 1/2 - 7 year olds? ha!