CelestialFamily

No fireworks, or potato salad for our 4th of July holiday. I spent my celebration of freedom peeling wallpaper from some stubborn walls at my parent's house. It is a funny thing that I, mostly, enjoyed the experience. I had several opportunities to talk with my mom and step dad, Jim, while we scraped away...well it was really banter. Silly jokes and going over old memories in a confined space isn't so bad when there is free ice cream in the pantry fridge. I would take a break and read my book about the Epidemic Investigative Service, so when I went back to scraping the wallpaper (just 2 layers worth) I created a story that I was releasing some toxic spores from the 70's. Depending on the validity of that story and differing periods of incubation I might be looking for a doctor and attorney in about 5 days to 10 years...


My parents have been taking care of the neighbor's house while her father is in hospice. They have been paying Aaron to cut her grass to earn money for Philmont this month. They also paid Aaron and his friend Alex to paint her shutters, front door and garage door. My mom has to break the news that termites are eating the wood on either side of her garage door. Mom and Jim would fix that too if they could. They are great examples of good neighbors.
:::::::::Noahism:::::::::


While I was stripping the wallpaper Noah ran by to ask my mom for something out of the pantry. So I asked him what he was foraging for (he loves to eat junk)in the pantry. He said: "Rachel wants some Pops."

Me: "What, are her legs broken?"

Noah: "No. Why am I getting them. She threatened to lick me, or she said she would give me a lickin'. There isn't much difference."

Noah is our germaphobe, so Rachel's threat to lick him was tantamount to a beat down.


Now...to help Michael fix some sheetrock at our house.

:::::::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!

...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!

Eve and Noah were arguing, Eve at the base of the stairs and Noah in his bedroom. From what I could tell Noah refused to help Eve find a website on the computer downstairs. She was trying to harangue him until he helped her. Then I heard in a whiny, shrill voice, "MOM, Noah called me a brat!"

Noah yelled from upstairs, "I said it loud enough so mom can hear!"

Well...so much for blackmailing the older brother!

::::::::::::They Might Be Giants::::

I just got the cd & DVD of "Here Comes Science". I'll let you know what I think after I finish listening to it. My, preliminary, guess is that it will be pretty cool.


Smiles!

Mommy is Great <<<<<-----------

Eve asked to frost the cake I had in the refrigerator and I said for her to have at it! She asked me to help her frost it. I showed her the scoop and plop method, which gives you a lot of frosting to move around. She had no problems after that demonstration.

Noah demonstrates his Puss in Boots imitation from Shrek 2:




If you are unfamiliar with the title's reference check out this sketch by Bill Cosby. Michael and I love it:



Smiles!

Noahism


As I waited with Noah and Eve for their school bus I asked Noah if he was sure he had all of his school work ready for the day. With Michael being sick helping everyone with homework was put on the back burner for the evening. He recalled that he hadn't finished his spelling homework.

me: "So, Noah did you get all of your homework done?"

Noah: "Oh...I forgot to do my pioneer spelling words, but it's okay I have a homework pass."

me: "So, because you didn't plan properly you are just going to fall back and turn in the homework pass?"

Noah: "Yeah, that's how I roll!"

I went to school a bit later to help the kids mix some corn muffin mix and blueberry muffin mix in preparation for Pioneer Day. I related this story to Noah's teacher who replied, "Dude, that's what they're for." She totally gets Noah, which is so comforting.

This story reminds me of an earlier argument between Noah and Rachel. At some point, over breakfast, I brought up that I was going to school to help Noah's class with the Pioneer Day baking. Rachel and Sabrina reminisced about the tasty corn muffins. Noah interjected, "They are called Johnny Cakes."
Rachel testily replied, "They are still corn muffins." Noah repeated his first statement. Which made me imagine out loud what it might be like when Noah is older and pulled over by a police officer:

Noah: "I was actually going 67 miles an hour, which would be exactly 12 miles over the speed limit."

Officer: "Thank you for that information, sir. I will duly note that on your ticket, which should cost you about $200.00 more. If you continue talking we can discuss this down at the jail."

Noah: "It should be called a Correction Facility."

If you have met Noah you are aware this scenario might actually occur.

Smiles!

Michael and I are nursery leaders in our ward. We have 12 kids, usually, and they consist of kids who are potty training. I have taken on the duty of helping the little ones go potty and I come up with the art project ideas. Michael helps with crowd control, funny faces, singing in key, and making the art projects actually work. I have a fingerprint tile Aaron did back in 2002 and it hangs in the kitchen. I decided I wanted to have the kids in nursery make them for Mother's Day gifts a week in advance. I grabbed my
1.Ed Emberley's Complete Funprint Drawing Book

2. white 4.5 x 4.5 white tiles from Lowe's
3. acrylic paint
4. black Sharpie
5. wet wipes
6. Acrylic spray sealer
7. apron
8. 3x5 cards (to write down the page number and animal/animals the kids wanted)
9. and two additional people to help (Thanks, Deborah P., and Brother Howick)
10. felt for the backing
11. ribbon for hanging
12. liquid nails for interiors

Here is what the kids stamped with their fingers, then Michael sketched in what they wanted. I sealed them, cut the felt and glued the ribbon and felt to the back. It was a team effort.



I had the "brilliant" idea to use some paper bags and some construction paper to make puppets that looked like the moms for an additional Mother's Day craft. Michael cut out red construction paper lips and black paper became hair, along with yellow, and off white. The off white paper was colored brown by the kids. We had a few kids dissolve into sobs as they had to wait for lips to be glued, or the crayon they wanted. Michael rolls his eyes and perseveres with my impromptu ideas. He had to console one particular child because we didn't have purple construction paper for lips. He gets next week off, but I can't promise that after that I won't have another harebrained craft idea to pursue. Oh yeah...Father's Day is coming up. Toss any ideas my way.


::::::::::::Teacher Appreciation Week:
One of my favorite websites is Bakerella.com. Her cake pops are a total hoot. I decided to make the apple version for teacher gifts at the kids' elementary school

(This template is by 3 Paper Peonies)



Eve helped me make smiley faces for my mother-in-law, Sydney.
(This template is by Christine Newman)

Must go. Peace out, my friends!

At the behest of my 9 year-old and a good review from another friend I read The 39 Clues. Well, the good part first. I found the historical clues interesting. That being said, Rick Riordan has underwhelmed me again with his abilities to develop characters that I want to root for, or find interesting. The protagonists are being raised by a string of Au Pairs, but mostly left to their own devices since the death of their parents. I found the children grated on my nerves and the antagonists (there are several) were comical and grating in their overblown characterizations. The scavenger hunt that takes place in this book reminds me of the 1979 movie *Scavenger Hunt. During the book I felt like Richard Mulligan's character that kept getting run over as he sought the treasure. In this circumstance I feel like I'm Richard Mulligan and I keep getting run over by Rick Riordan as his unsympathetic characters. A possible silver lining is that there are different authors for the various books. Noah explained this to me when I told him the only character I cared for at all was Nellie, the Au Pair.

Overall, the book is an okay read for the historical information. There, apparently, is hope that the writing will improve in the subsequent books. So, give this one a try. It is a quick read and you don't have to become emotionally invested in any of the characters.

***I would like to note that I do like the movie Scavenger Hunt.


I hope y'all have a great day!

Welcome to the first Eveism:

This morning while helping the kids get ready for school:

Noah: "Hey, mom did they have the Pink Panther when you were a kid?

me: "Yes."

Eve: "Wow, it's really old then."



A few minutes later Noah and Rachel got into an argument because Rachel kicked him in the butt. He was howling that it really hurt, so Rachel came down to explain how hard she had actually kicked him. She was Air Butt Kicking (kind of like Air Guitar) to show that Noah was exaggerating. I was brushing Eve's hair at the time and she piped up happily, "Use me, Use me. I need someone to kick my butt in the morning!" (Truer words, people).