New Year Noahism…
We plied Eve with 2 tsp. of Advil and she and Noah went down to watch Dr. Who. About an hour later Noah came into the room and very matter of factly said,
"Hey dad, the way I see it ...if a guy takes out one of your eyes and you take out one of his eyes eventually all you will get is a lot of blind people!"
Michael asked Noah to come over and stand by him because he wanted to show him something on his laptop. Michael pulled up this quote by Gandhi, "An eye for an eye, only ends up with the whole world blind."
Hear, Hear!
Happy New Year!!!
The Heart of the TARDIS is…
made of yellow cake, marble cake, and buttercream frosting. Who knew?
 |
| Time And Relative Dimension In Space |
 |
| Michael uses a square fondant cutter to make the windows of the police box. |
 |
| He places the window panes of white fondant into the blue walls. |
 |
| Rachel observes her dad's handiwork. |
 | ||
I printed the Police Box signs on my computer. |
I suppose we could have done a cake to look like fishsticks and custard, but we nixed that idea in favor of the big blue box.
Happy 13th Birthday, Rachel!...and many more!!!
ExterminEIGHT!
Yep! I, purposely, misspelled exterminate.
Eve requested Chinese food for dinner, so we went to Hunan's on Chamblee Tucker. The owner is such a cut up. He brought Eve some fried pineapple for dessert and led us in singing in a birthday song. Eve, especially, loved the spring rolls and moo goo gai pan. She kept hunting for more water chestnuts.
::::::::::::::Morning Silliness::::::::
This morning Rachel and Noah had a lip-sync contest when Word Girl came on PBS. They were hilarious. Rachel declared victory, but Noah did not acquiesce.
:::::::::Cool Kid Podcasts::::::
Aaron's World
I love that Aaron and his helpful computer do the talking in this informative podcast about dinosaurs. The episodes are just over 5 minutes and Aaron's approach to learning and teaching others is engaging.
:::::::::::::::Bee Cake Pops::::::
Well I am off to make cake pops with the Beehives at church. Check www.Bakerella.com to see what I mean.
Later, gators.
What’s Up?
:::::::Zoo Trip from Last Week:::::
:::Book Reviews::::
Some bizarre and interesting facts mixed with some conjecture about creatures we live with on Earth. Some amazing adaptations and some that are rather freaky make me think that being human is not to shabby.
A sad, but necessary cautionary tale of human intervention in Florida has to do with people putting an abundance of bird seed out to encourage birds to visit their gardens, but it causes the birds to produce young too early. The adults can eat the seeds, but the hatchlings need grubs and larvae, so they often die of malnutrition.
One of my favorite stories was about the male lyrebird from Australia. The lyrebird's ability to mimic sound has me in awe!
Another great story is about sheep not being all that dumb. There are sheep in Yorkshire, England who would run and then tuck and roll to get over the cattle grates to raid the farmers gardens.
Another interesting fact that no eels have been witnessing reproducing in captivity. Eels...who would have thought they would be the masters of restraint?
A quick and enjoyable read.
::::::
Paul Yeager injects a lot of personality along with his informative book about weather. He dispels many weather inspired myths and clears up many queries on why the weather does what it does. He explains that though we Southerners perceive humid air as heavy it is actually lighter than dry air. He states, "It just feels heavier because we feel warm, clammy, and disgusting." (He speaks the truth about that perception, indeed). He also dispels the myth about "heat lightning"...(hint: there is no such thing). A great gardening tip from p. 198, "water the garden after it rains". This promotes deep root growth and conserves water. Yeager states that if you are certain on a light rain will fall you can water while it is still raining, "Ont only will it have the same effect on the garden, but it will give the neighbors something to talk about." A wonderful book for understanding our world.
:::::::::Piano Lessons:::
Eve is enjoying her piano lessons. She is experiencing some frustration with reading the notes consistently. The pattern is the same as we see with her with reading books. I have taken to sitting with her during her practices and trying some different strategies. I have her tell me what note she sees. I have her tell me what notes to play. Then she plays the piece. She goes through it about 3 times to play it consistently. Part of her reading problem has her recognizing the note immediately, then forgetting the same note a few measures over. I think it is part confidence part developmental delay. She gets claps, hugs and kisses with each success. I am having to remember the lessons I had as a kid. I could never get my left hand to play staccato correctly with my right, so I gave up lessons. Michael is our fallback since he reads music.
Eve also picks up Aaron's guitar... (it is a lonely guitar and likes the gentle stroking). Michael and I plan to trade it in and get a 3/4th size guitar for Eve as a Christmas present.
:::::::::::Dr. Who::::::::
Just wanted to give a shout out to Matt Smith for being, yet another, enjoyable Dr. Who. His take on the Dr. is pretty cool. Our entire family like his portrayal. We also like his companion, Amy Pond. Their was a collective sigh of sadness when Rory was absorbed into the crack in space.
Later, gators!
Save the Drama for Your Mama…
...at least this kind is fun!
::::::::Drama Camp:::
The theme for this year was Myths, Legend, Monsters & Heros. The title of Rachel's skit was, "The Golden Apple".
It's Basically a mixed up version of the Story of the Golden Apple. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite are attending their friend Thereus's wedding when Eris the Goddess of Discord throws an apple at Thereus's head. Written in it's skin are the words: For the Fairest. The three Goddesses fight over the apple and turn to Zeus. Zeus doesn't want to be given the responsibility of choosing the fairest amongst his family so he gives the burden to a handsome sheep herder named Paris. Who is tricked by Eris to pick her as the fairest causing Aphrodite the one with the biggest ego of the three stays behind crying. Thereus comes in and tells Aphrodite that life isn't fair.
~Rachel Taylor
Rachel T.:Hera, Julia B.: Narrator, Thereus, Brenna M., Charles: Paris, Camille G.: Eris, Sabrina F.: Athena, Lydia P.: Aphrodite, Lauren S.: Jupiter. Counselors: John Fiscian, Alexis Osenga.
Rachel, Alexis, and Brenna:
Rachel and Lydia:
Julia and Rachel:
Sabrina, Rachel, Lydia, Lauren, and Brenna:
The finale:
Aaron congratulates Alexis on a good performance:
Michael having fun behind Rachel's back:
Alexis teases Noah:
We drove to Steak and Shake for a celebratory lunch. Rachel got chili cheese fries. Noah loved his chicken tenders and wanted to order more, but we said no. On the way home he was playing his dsi in the back seat. When we pulled into the driveway he got out of the car went up on the porch, turned around a puked over the railing. He had gotten car sick. He is so calm when he is sick. My other kids cry out, not Noah. He is rather matter of fact about things. He was able to rest up before cub scout camp. He had a great time. Lesson learned for the day...Noah can't read or play games in the car without it making him sick.
I love reading this series out loud to my family. It is a great one to read to yourself, as well. Michael Buckley's flawed heroines and hero, two young girls and a funky (I mean smelly) boy fairy take the reader on quite a bumpy ride through the Book of Everafter to save the girls' baby brother. There are fairytales familiar and unfamiliar, but different characters are called on to explain each tale so no one is left in the proverbial dark. There is even a scrapbooking reference that I found hilarious. The dialogue is quick and clever and the descriptions of the settings and characters are rich. I was so happy to see the phrase "...to be continued" at the end of the book. YEAH!
::::::::::Plans for Saturday:::::::
I hope to be able to give blood tomorrow. If you would like to donate and live near Tucker send me an e-mail and I can get you the details to donate too.
Smiles!
