CelestialFamily

:::::::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.

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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!

This song was mentioned several times in the book, so I thought I would include it with my review:



A glimpse into the life of the "Weird" Watsons from Flint, Michigan. Told from the perspective of the 10 year-old son, Kenny. Kenny tells us his experiences of dealing with his delinquent bullying brother Byron and his rule following, kind-hearted sister Joetta (Joey). Kenny's parents are finally pushed to follow through with the threat to take Byron to stay with his strict grandmother in Birmingham, Alabama. The family takes a trip to the South with the families old car, "The Brown Bomber" and momma's notebook laying out their itinerary in detail. Once in Alabama the children are introduced to the sultry nights and oppressive heat of the day... and the oppressive hatred that is punctuated by a bombing at the Sunday School.

The first several chapters describing the family and the actions of Byron and his bullying were off putting. The author doesn't let Byron become a one dimensional character. The incident with the bird shows a sad, but redeeming quality in Bryron. The book hit its stride once the Weird Watson's hit the road. I have traveled enough with road trips with my family and seen that clinched jaw and wild eyed star on my husband to get connected with the family. The part where Byron says, "No cars, no cow, but I counted yo' momma six times already." Then Kenny replies, "That's your momma too, stupid!" makes me think of several conversations among my kids in the car and at the breakfast table. Byron's character at the end is fully redeemed by helping Kenny through the aftermath of the bombing. I like that the characters are all a shade of gray.
The epilogue was a great addition to the book and one of my favorite parts said, "They are the people who believe that as long as one person is being treated unfairly, we all are. These are our heroes, and they still walk among us today."
Definitely give this book a read. This would offer a wonderful springboard to a family discussion on Civil Rights, bullying, road trips, and life in different parts of the country.

:::::::::::Shrek Forever After

I took Eve to see Shrek on Thursday afternoon to keep a promise I made last month. The message of the movie, to appreciate your life, was a great. The alternate reality was hilarious. The interaction between Rumplestiltskin and the witches was a hoot. Donkey and Puss were their crazy, reluctant, side-kick selves. The site gags with Puss sliding down the ropes was too funny. We had a great time singing too.

Here is a great site for finding all of the songs in the movie in order of their appearance.
I have enjoyed all of the soundtracks from the Shrek movies. I have this image in my head that somehow I went to school with the folks selecting the music because I enjoy them all so much. I thought this new song was amazing "Darling I Do" by Landon Pigg and Lucy Schwartz:


I'm one of those folks that sits and reads the credits to films and this song by Maxine Nightingale that I fondly remember from the late 70's was fun to sing along:



::::::::::Robin Hood:::::::


Last week, my mom and I got to use our free movie tickets to see Robin Hood. Michael and Aaron had gone earlier in the day and gave it a positive review. I already like Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe, so I was game to go to see the film. This telling of the Robin Hood story was well done. Russell Crowe plays Robin Longstride who makes a promise to Robert Loxley's sword to his father to make amends for taking it and going to battle. Reluctlantly Robin agrees, but has to make a minor stop to return the crown of the dead king first. When Robin gets to Nottingham he is asked by Loxley's father to pretend to his dead son, so that his daughter-in-law, Marian, will not lose the family estate.
Cate Blanchett as Marian is a strong woman (I love strong woman characters)who defends her family and land against the smarmy Sheriff of Nottingham played by Matthew McFadyen (who was made not dreamy like he was as Mr. Darcy for this film), then the forces led by the evil Godfrey. Russell Crowe has the presences in each film that he is given a leadership role to pull it off convincingly. I loved him in Master and Commander and in Gladiator too.
The fight sequences are many, but suprisingly, not gory. The bloodiest part of the film is in the credits and is done in life action with a watercolor overlay. Totally funky effect to have the credits using the watercolor. This is a quintessentially cool date movie. It has action, drama, romance, history and a plot (some movies never get around to the plot part...or good actors...). The scenery is magnificent, as well. Check this one out.

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!

Surreal Moment of the Day:

I tried to open my front door by pressing the door open button on my key ring. It only took a split second for that Duh moment to pass, but I may want to check into getting a sonic screwdiver.



These pages are from an event in February:
One of the moms made a comment that our troop is the F Troop of Girl Scouts. I had a good laugh at that one. Our girls love to put on skits and they call themselves the Drama Queens. We are a diverse and quirky bunch. I have a great time with them.





My Flick Pick of the Day:

A blast from the, not too distant, past is the hilarious movie Jimmy Neutron. There are so many things to enjoy with this movie. Sheen and Carl are the best, mostly clueless, friends of Jimmy Neutron the boy genius. The evil aliens voiced by Patrick Stewart and Martin Short keep me laughing with their pomposity (is that a new word?). Jimmy and his friends build spaceships to reclaim their abducted parents when they realize they do, indeed, miss them. The sound track is fun to sing and dance to even if your kids try to physically restrain you from doing both (yes, that happened to me only this morning!). So, if you are looking for a fun family flick for Friday (oohhh, that was cool) try this one:



So much time and so little to do!

A big thank you to my mom and Jim for inviting some awesome friends to partake in some tasty Mexican food, yummy cake and some good natured ribbing. I stole this photo from Jim's blog because I love my friend, Althea's, laugh. Hey, if any of you fly Delta she is one of the best flight attendants around. Another friend, Elizabeth, just moved back to Georgia and is working at Emory so look for great stuff there...but I hope you won't need the services. Suzanne and Jason are great neighbors to my mom and friends. Lani and Guy...thanks for the cool pinwheel (it is in the front yard) and Eve has claimed the balloons. Carol...thanks for the cute card! Charlene...thanks for driving Lani and me places when we were kids. Thank you mom and Jim for the cool presents and always helping with my kiddos. To my dear husband who went shopping with me for my 5th smoothie maker...you are a patient man! It was a truly fun day!


A torrential downpour to start the week. MMMmmm the smell of runoff in the morning!


Need an inexpensive adventure...try the library:




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Autonomatonophobia is the fear of ventriloquists' dummies, animatronic creatures or wax statues -- anything that falsely represents a sentient being.

I actually think ventriliquism is pretty cool, but that is as long as the ventriliquist and dummy are on television. I really liked Willie Tyler and Lester in the early 70s so my mom was so cool to get me a Lester doll. Lester stared at me all the time, so I put him in my toy box. I wasn't sure if that was good enough, so I put my bag full of Barbies on top of that. Still I wasn't sure if he might get out and kill me, so I wedged my Barbie airplane and any other firm items on top of the toy box just to be sure. I eventually donated Lester to someone with more sense. Some unknown person mind you, but probably with more sense. I also feared my wicker chair, the space under my bed and leaving my closet open. Rachel finds it amusing that I would hit my bed after a dead run and a leap to make sure nothing could grab me a night. I know I'm not alone in these fears because I saw Poltergeist and who ever wrote the script for that listened to my nightmares, or had the same ones. Clowns are evil, people! Do I realize these are unfounded...yes...do I still get creeped out...yes!
One of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes is with Tele Savalas and Talking Tina:




http://whatafind-antiques-collectibles.blogspot.com/2009/01/eg-goldberger-willie-tyler-lester.html

So long Lester...I hope you are safely resting in a place far, far away!

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).

Spring has sprung and an opportunity to get together with aunts and cousins. Michael and I took the kids down to my dad and Alice's house for Easter. Saturday, the girls helped me bake and decorate a cake for my sister, Tracy's, birthday, the kids hunted eggs, and my dad grilled hamburgers and hotdogs on the Big Green Egg.


Here are Rachel and Haley's toes after a spring inspired pedicure:


Haley and Rachel made and decorated cupcakes for Easter:

They also decorated some hard boiled eggs:

Rachel and Haley hanging out:


Rachel and Haley help me make fondant decorations for Tracy's birthday cake:
Me coloring some fondant:

Rachel and Haley cut fondant to make decorative spheres:

Here are some fondant flowers drying:

Here is the strawberry and devil's food cake frosted with chocolate:

Here is Tracy's birthday cake:





Michael blows bubbles waiting for the kids to start hunting eggs:

Michael snuggles up to my dad:

Dad, you aren't uncomfortable...are you?


Aaron isn't hunting eggs, so he poses with a plate of chili. Noah, Haley, Rachel, Eve, and Tyler are ready to go:
Aaron gets whacked with a confetti egg:




Haley:




Rachel runs away from Aaron:



Tracy and Tyler with the cake:


Dig in:


Happy, slightly early, Birthday, Tracy! Happy Easter, everyone!