Random summer thoughts

There are many ideas for blog posts flitting around in my head like so many dragonflies. I doubt I'll have time to post them very soon.
So, how does a random post suit you?

The weather has been terribly hot here lately. I know many people in many places have hotter weather, but a forecast of 99 degrees with 80%+ humidity is plenty hot for me. Summer is my favorite season, but this is too hot to be any fun.

Unless you're swimming. Which is what we are doing later on this morning. The aforementioned, ever-generous friend has offered again to have the whole gang over to swim. I plan on being back indoors by 11:00 a.m. when the day really starts to heat up!

My baby is going to be one year old this month! I'm in shock! I know, I know, you've all heard how fast the first year flies. BELIEVE IT!

Also in the time-flies category, I can't believe that school is starting again already! Since I don't have any school-aged kids, this really surprised me. Weren't summer vacations pretty long when you were in school? The idea of back to school clothes in 100 degree heat is especially unappealing.

One positive of school starting is that I can now hear the high school band practicing when the wind is right. Mostly, I can just hear the quads, but it still gives me a warm fuzzy to hear them. I think I'm going to take my daughter to our local invitational this year. Anyone know of good hearing protection for three year olds? She loves music and hates loud things!

Does anyone else out there have great memories from being in marching band? Easily, all of my best high school memories involve band or band trips. I may have to break out my saxophone later today, I'm getting so nostalgic. Maybe I won't since the last time I played for Stinkerbaby, she cried.

Well, it's time to start getting the swimming gear together and to have another cup of coffee.

Please post any band memories you care to share.

I'll go first, it was so hot for band camp my freshman year, the tread melted off my tennis shoes from standing on the pavement.
No, I'm not exaggerating.
Good times.

-Susan

Thinking of music

I've been thinking of music a lot lately. Music has always been a huge part of my life, but like many other things, that changed when I had kids. Some of the music I wanted to listen to was, um, not appropriate for children. Sometimes, after all the fussing in the car, I just wanted quiet and didn't want to run the risk of waking my dear child /children. I haven't had a decent audio player for home in many years. And if all that weren't enough, the radio in my car (which already had a broken cd player) stopped working last year. My MP3 player was given to my husband a couple of years ago when his stopped working. I'm not intending to whine, but I miss my music!

I borrowed my mom's car yesterday and got to listen to the radio! It was quite a treat! I do listen to music some on my computer, but many times, Stinkerbaby complains until I turn it off. I know, I'm letting her have her way, but music loses something when there is whining and crying in the background. She can usually get Bonus crying, too. He's so attached to his big sister that he can hardly see her cry without crying, too. Oh, joy!

So, now I'm looking for another MP3 player. I object to iPods due to the proprietary nature of Apple products. But, I have two friends who have ipod Touches who say they are the best thing since sliced bread. One of the main appeals to a Touch is the ability to read one handed in the dark. This would be especially nice since I'm still frequently sitting and nursing for relatively long periods of time. Some of the software available for the iPod sounds good, too. I really like the idea of being able to quickly and easily track my grocery spending.

To further complicate matters, I run Linux Mint, so some players may not work properly. I'm half a mind to forget the reader aspect and get a "straight" MP3 player, like my hubby's Sansa clip which I know will work with Linux.

What kind of player do you have? Do you love it? What about applications for reading books? Or home organization? What other great apps do you have?
What do you think I should get?

All this talk about music has me humming this song. This also a nice tie-in to my bumblebee moth pictures, too. The song is Bee of the Bird of the Moth by They Might Be Giants. It's a favorite of mine and the kids.

For future reference, I will not ever force you to listen to music by having it load when my page loads. Since I find that irritating, I won't subject you, my guests, to that. Even if you happen to like the same music I do, which is pretty unlikely, I don't know if you're at work or nursing a baby to sleep when you visit.

Introduction

Well, I suppose I have gotten the cart before the horse, so to speak.

So, let me introduce myself. I'm Susan, a stay-at-home mother of two wonderful, exhausting children, Stinkerbaby and Bonus. I have an awesome husband who is my tech support guy.

My interests are many:
family activities

cooking, especially baking
real food and traditional eating
natural, attachment parenting
babywearing
cloth diapering
breastfeeding
vintage sewing machines
repurposing, primarily clothing
sewing in general
taking pictures of kids and things in the natural world
being outdoors
gardening
thrift shopping
music

That is a partial list, of course. It's difficult to describe myself. If I've missed something, ask. I'll probably even answer!

-Susan