Six years ago today.....

Alexander was born! It was a difficult birth - water broke 3 1/2 weeks early, it was Labour Day weekend but labour didn't progress, had pitocin, had to start and stop pushing since the OB had to leave (twice)for emergencies, epidural wore off, suction birth, he had jaundice, etc. Wow, I'd actually forgotten some of those details.
Birthday#1 - cowboy theme
Birthday #2 - ElmoBirthday #3 - Thomas the Tank Engine themeBirthday #4 - farm themeBirthday #5 - zoo/safari themeI can't believe my little guy is going to school on Tuesday! For the whole day, every day! I don't think it has really hit me yet.
Yes, he loves his water. :) No big party this week. We're postponing it until September and people are back from vacation. He will however, be receiving a present that he's been asking for since oh, 2006. We're such sucker parents that way. :)Pin It

Desert Island blogs

I read too many blogs. Well, I used to, that is. I won't tell you how many are in my feed reader. Its a big number. I need to spend less time on the computer. Who doesn't?!

There is a radio station I enjoy called The Mountain and they often feature "desert island discs" where people pick just a few albums they would listen to if stranded on a desert island. So, I decided it would be fun to pick my desert island blogs. The ones that I would read if I could only read a few. Yeah, yeah, there wouldn't be internet access on the desert island, I know! Just roll with it, OK? :) Now, I didn't include friends' blogs because that would just be cruel to pick amongst those!

Here are my favourite blogs, the ones I could *never* give up reading:

1. Mommy Life - Barbara Curtis has an amazing story. I can't do it justice. Go read it! She is the mom of 12 and she writes about politics, her family, the arts, children with Down Syndrome, and many more topics.

2. Amy's Humble Musings - Amy has the best links. She loves Glenn Beck, her husband is a rocket scientist, she has 6 kids and a terrific sense of humour. She really is humble, too.

3. The Crafty Crow - this blog posts links every day to amazing kid crafts and activities from all different blogs. Eye candy and sometimes we actually make a craft inspired by CC.

4. Mommy Brain/Books and Movies - Carrie loves books and movies and she is a terrific reviewer. I will pick a movie based on her recommendation and I don't think she has ever steered me wrong. ;)

5. Kids Lit - a children's librarian posts reviews of books for young children as well as books for teens. I love to learn about newly released childrens books.

6. The Flourishing Mother - Andrea is very cool and inspiring. I don't know what else to say. She loves Fernando Ortega and Led Zeppelin. Need I say more? She just had baby #4 so she's taking a little break from blogging right now.

Honourable mention: (see how hard this is?)
- Muses of Megret
- The Mother Load
- Make and Takes
- Jennifer's Favorite LinksPin It

Beaches and blueberries

We're squeezing every last drop out of summer that we can - school starts September 1st for my oldest and September 14th for my youngest (preschool).

Yesterday we went to the beach with Colette and her kids and Sarah and her girls. At first I thought it would be too cloudy and cool since it rained just slightly in the morning but it turned out to be perfect weather for hanging out. No worries about sunscreen and the temperature was just fine.

Here are some photos:
My son introducing his friend to the joys of maps. :)Earlier in the week we went blueberry picking with another friend and her kids. I was surprised to see how many blueberries are still ready for picking.The farm also had gorgeous sunflowers:
Another outing this week was the beach at sunset (for kite flying and roasting marshmallows).Guess who ate too many marshmallows?Pin It

Links for Monday

As usual, I have too many tabs open! Time to share some links!

I've been slowly working through my mental list of fun things to do this summer. Yesterday it was paddle boats on Green Lake and on Saturday we went to Mt. Rainier. I love these great big list of things to do in the summer. Here's one from Chocolate on my Cranium and one from I Never Grew Up and a photo list from The Mother Load.

I don't think I've written about JellyTelly here on my blog. My boys love it and I don't mind them spending a little time on the computer if they go there. It was created by Phil Vischer, aka, Bob the Tomato of Veggie Tales. God Rocks! is a Christian music group featured frequently. Jelly Telly also has funny stories with a message done by puppets. Check it out if you have a preschooler or slightly older child.

Have a wasp problem? Here are some tips for getting rid of them from Tip Nut

I've been *slowly* sprucing up my deck aka my back porch. This article is inspiring!

WORLD magazine is something that I love to read but the subscription price is a little high. They are, however, currently having a special right now - 8 issues for $8!! I can't recommend this magazine highly enough - skip Newsweek, Time or the like, and read WORLD!

I've got to remember to make this Chicken Avocado Salad someday.

8 ways to find motivation at home - a great article for stay at home moms.

Some really cool ideas for what to do with your digital photos.

Jane Austen fans will enjoy this link (thanks to Carrie) - How Wealthy is Mr. Darcy - Really?

And finally, a serious article. Are we sanitizing the suffering right out of our lives?Pin It

Free slurpies at 7-Eleven tomorrow! (July 11, 2009)

Details here!Pin It

Wonder Pets birthday party!

Yes, I'm *finally* getting around to blogging about this! (The party was in early June.)

C said that he wanted a "rodent" party this year. Hmmmm. That's a tough one! He does, however, like Wonder Pets and they have a guinea pig character so, that's what I picked. Unfortunately, there isn't much available with that theme, except for online places like Birthday Express, Birthday in a Box, etc.

Games - we played Pin the Tail on the Mouse and Rescue the Animals. For rescue the animals, my Dad and Hubby hid all kinds of plastic animals around the back yard. Some were very hard to get to! For some you had to hit them with a stick to get them to fall down!

Decorations: I found a huge Wonder Pets colouring book and I used pages from that to make decorations.

I also bought some Wonder Pets stuffed animals and they were a tablecentre.Partyware: I ordered a table cloth and plates from Birthday Express and I got primary coloured stuff for the rest.

Goody bags I used plain blue ones and found printable stickers on the Wonder Pets website to decorate the bags. Contents: bubble solution, WP stickers, a small bag of M&Ms, WP finger puppets (printed from the WP website), WP mask.

Cake/cupcakes: I found directions for making guinea pig cupcakes on the Nick Jr. website. Voila!
We also bought an ice cream cake so C could blow out some candles.
Digging into the presents.
Here are the party goers!Pin It

Randomness

In book news, Jennifer Weiner (author of Certain Girls) has a new book out called Best Friends Forever. I'm #105 on the waiting list at the library. :)

I'm loving the free programs offered by the Sno-Isle Library. Today was watercolour painting along with a read aloud and a song.

My boys started swimming lessons for the first time yesterday. I was worried about my oldest actually making it into the pool. He was afraid of the whole thing and thought he'd be thrown into the deep end! :) He's in the "Tadpole" class which is pretty low key and in very shallow water. Hopefully he will eventually enjoy it. My youngest loves it. I didn't bring my camera, obviously.

I did some scrapbooking this past week. I made a friends album for the mom of the best friend of my oldest son (got that?). Their family is moving out of state and we've know them since A was a newborn (2003). Here's the cover and a sample page:
We went strawberry picking in Arlington this past weekend. The berries were pretty small but still yummy.I made strawberry compote yesterday. Now I need to make some scones, too.

What have you been doing lately?Pin It

Simple recipe - Smoked Sausage Skillet

I don't usually post recipes on my blog but I decided to share this one since it is such a great last minute, quick and healthy one pot meal.
I can't claim credit for creating, however. I found it on MommyChef's blog but I can't seem to find it in her archives. I have tweaked her recipe somewhat.

Smoked Sausage Skillet

1 pound beef smoked sausage, sliced 1/2 inch thick (I usually use turkey kielbasa to lower the fat and cholesterol)
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
1 green or red pepper, cut into strips
1 medium onion, cut into strips (or diced)
1/4 cup water

Directions:
In a large skillet on medium high, brown the potatoes using a little bit of olive oil. Add the sausage and brown. Add the onions and water and lower heat to medium. Cover and simmer 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the green pepper and cook an additional 2 minutes until potatoes and onion are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Servings: 4.

My boys eat this up!Pin It

Frugal Father's Day gift - a craft tutorial

Wouldn't Dad love a photo of his family to show off at work? I've had the supplies for this craft for probably a year so I'm happy to report that I have made finally completed a project! ;)

Supplies:
- 5 or 6 photos cut to the size of the cube's sides (4 by 4 inches for my cube) Michael's carries these but I found mine at Ben Franklin's - a local craft store.
- wood cube - I used a 4 inch size, you could do one slightly smaller.
- Modge Podge
- foam brush
- acylic paint - optional
- patterned paper - cut to 4 by 4 - optional

Directions:
1. collect your photos. If you don't want a photo on the bottom of the cube, you only need 5.
2. trim the photos to size.
3. paint all sides of the cube - this give a nice background and looks better than just wood. I used black paint but you can pick any colour. You don't need to paint in the middle of the side because these will be covered with photos. I just painted about an inch in from the edge. Allow to dry.
4. cover one side of the cube with Modge Podge and place your photo on top.
5. allow to dry. Wax paper is a good surface to set it on.
6. continue gluing photos on all sides of the cube.
7. If you like, you can put one piece of patterned paper on the bottom of the cube.
8. Once it is completely dry, paint each side with Modge Podge for fingerprint protection. This cube is going to be handled a lot!Pin It

Summer reading list & summer reading programs

My boys will be participating in several summer reading programs, just like last summer. We've already signed up for the King County Library one, next week we'll sign up at Sno-Isle Library (which offers free tickets to an Aquasox baseball game) and I think we'll also do the one at Barnes and Noble. All of them offer various prizes. Half Price Books has a program but it only offers a $3 dollar coupon and required the child to read every day. Borders has a program as well. I think 3 will be enough for us!

Since we are homeschooling, I developed my own book list to keep him motivated and challenged. Some of these books may be better suited to his little brother who also reads but at a level 1.

1. Snipp Snapp Snurr and the Yellow Sled
2. Snipp Snapp Snurr and the Big Farm
3. Snipp Snapp Snurr and the Gingerbread
4. Snipp Snapp Snurr and the Buttered Bread
5. Caves (non-fiction)
6. Franklin Rides a Bike
7. Astronauts are Sleeping
8. The Chicken Sisters
9. James and Giant Peach
10. The Lighthouse Family, The Octopus by Cynthia Rylant
11. The Lighthouse Family, The Eagle by Cynthia Rylant
12. The Lighthouse Family, The Whale by C. Rylant
13. The Lighthouse Family, The Storm (1st in the series)
14. Is A Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There is? by Robert E. Wells
15. A Collection for Kate
16. Quack and Count
17. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
18. The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
19. Eating Fractions
20. The Best Vacation Ever (math)
21. Toby Counts His Marbles
22. Nine O'Clock Lullaby (time zones)
23. The Phantom Tollbooth (not sure if he's ready for this one)
24. Diary of a Spider
25. Corduroy's Hike
26. Why? The Best Ever Question and Answer Book about Nature, Science and the World Around You
27. Flick a Switch: How Electricity Gets to Your Home
28. Owls in the Family
29. Oliver Pig and the best fort ever
30. Maybelle the Cable Car
31. Lost by David McPhail
32. Mole Music by David McPhail
33. The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge

I found this great list of fiction books that teach math.

These are a mixture of books at his reading level and books below his level. Please add your suggestions, if you have them. My oldest son reads at a Grade 3 or 4 level but he is 5 1/2. My youngest just turned four and reads at a K to Grade 1 level.Pin It

Planning our Seattle summer fun

Summer is here, at least unofficially. The last week or so, we've had exceptionally warm weather for this part of the world.

I thought it would be fun to brainstorm about all the fun things going on around Puget Sound. Some we'll participate in, some I'm just listing to help you plan your days.

1. Free movies. Regal theatres has free kids movies on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings starting on June 23rd. Mr. Bean's Holiday and Space Chimps are ones that my boys would probably enjoy. More info here. My link is for Washington state but this is going on around the US.

2. Festivals. There is a festival going on every single weekend! Here is a good list of those in the Seattle area. The Milk Carton derby at Green Lake is fun to watch. We love to hear the roar of the Blue Angels in August.

3. Target's Wonderstage in Lynnwood. We have gone to this several times in previous years. Free entertainment at noon followed by free popsicles. Our favourite was Brothers From Different Mothers - a juggling act. You do need to get there early to get a good seat.

4. Petting farm at Forest Park in Everett. My kids are getting a bit old for this (sniff, sniff) but I recommend it. It used to be free but I notice they are now asking for donations to help with the costs of upkeep. $1 per child is pretty reasonable! This is open weekends starting June 6th until the end of June and then weekdays until August 16th.

5. Spray parks. I just heard that the water has been turned on so that is great news. Willis Tucker Park in suburban Snohomish is a great place to get wet (with guaranteed clean water) and has a fun playground, too.

6. Picking berries. We are a crazy fruit pickin' family. :) First come the strawberries which we used to pick from Beringer Farms in Marysville. They've now moved to Arlington so we're not sure if we'll drive that far this year. Second is raspberries which we like to pick in Monroe, followed by blueberries. A good resource for finding U-Pick farms is Puget Fresh's website. Blackberries complete our summer and we like to find those in the wild, for free. :)

7. The fountain at the Seattle Center. I want to do this some day!

8. An oldie but a goodie - the Woodland Park Zoo. We were there last week and enjoyed seeing the new penguin exhibit.

9. Jetty Island - Everett. There is a free ferry ride to this 2 mile long island with shallow water surrounding. We haven't been yet but hope to go this summer.

10. Farmers markets - our favourite is the Edmonds one. My boys love the kettle corn and I love the jewelry and art, if they'll let me look at it! :)

11. Paddle boats on Green Lake - I don't want to forget to do this!

12. Vacation Bible School - we're going to 2 this year - our own church's and an "all the bells and whistles" one at a big church. :) I'll be teaching at our church's VBS. We still need teachers so I'm putting in a plug here for those of you who need to sign up. :) Daniel Henry is the director this year.

13. Summer reading programs. Last year both of my boys (then 3 and 4 1/2) participated in programs at 2 libraries - Sno-Isle and King County. They both completed the programs (with either me reading to them or reading independently) and received some cool prizes - a book, binoculars and tickets to see a minor league baseball game. I know that Barnes and Noble has a program but last year my son wasn't old enough.

14. Train rides. In the past, we've gone to Snoqualmie and ridden the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad. This year we would like to go to the Kitsap Steamers in Port Orchard. Another one I just heard of is the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad which looks fantastic but a wee bit too far of a drive. :)

Whew! That was a long list. We're getting a new blow up pool since a nasty raccoon destroyed our beautiful pool which we enjoyed last year. Hopefully it will come soon - the weather forecast is for 84, two days this week!Pin It

San Diego Vacation

Last week, our family went on a 5 day vacation to San Diego to beat the crowds and take advantage of the flexibility of homeschooling. I have uploaded a whole bunch of our photos to Shutterfly which lets you make a blog page. http://sandiegovacationmay2009.shutterfly.com/

Please leave some comments either here or there, OK?

I'll get around to some commentary one of these days! :)Pin It

Need ideas for the weekends?

I subscribe a few email newsletters that list events going on around Puget Sound for parents and kids.

Parent Map

GoCityKids Seattle

Red Tricycle - note: they will also send you e mails about children's stores and products (usually very high priced ones) but I delete those ones.

Last weekend we attended a Punch and Judy puppet show in West Seattle. I heard about it from one of these newsletters. My boys loved it!Pin It

Mazes

Do your kids like mazes? Mine do. When my oldest was about 3 1/2 he went through book after book of mazes. After a long time away from mazes, today he asked for some challenging mazes to do and little brother got into it as well.

Here are some sources for free printable mazes (great handwriting practice for preschoolers):

Papa Jan - lots of easier mazes here.

Krazy Dad - Challenging mazes and animal mazes

Christian themed mazes

Print Activities

KaboosePin It

Wow, has it been over a month???

I've really been a bad blogger lately. Sorry about that. I've probably lost all my readers by now! :)

Here's me at the Seattle Tea Party rally on April 15th.
I'm not actually holding 2 signs at once. :) My photo (well, one of my homemade sign) ended up on the blog of a local conservative talk show host. The link isn't working but its David Boze of KTTH for anyone local.

My father in law was visiting us for a week. Here is us on Easter Sunday.
We enjoyed GrandDad being here. We went to the Arboretum, the Aquarium and did a boat tour of the Seattle waterfront.

Yesterday I took the boys up to the Tulip Festival - an hour's drive away. By myself! I'm so proud. I don't usually do road trips without Hubby. I think it is getting easier now that C is potty trained (did you catch that good news?) and I don't need to use the stroller much. It was a gorgeous day - it got up to 70 degrees! Its about time. Our "spring" has been pretty pathetic so far.

Well, that's all for now.Pin It

Belated St. Patrick's Day fun

Pin It

Book meme

Hello, poor neglected blog. I've been cheating on you with Twitter and Facebook, it's true.

How about a meme, to get re-aquainted.

So apparently, the BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
2) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (*) those you plan on reading.


1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen X +
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte X +
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee *
6 The Bible - parts
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte - I'm not sure
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell X
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott X
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy - I'm not sure, maybe as a teenager?
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (Though I've read the trilogy in whole)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger X
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot - started but didn't finish
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell X
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens *
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh - currently reading
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia X
34 Emma - Jane Austen X
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen X
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (Isn't this sort of a repeat of 33?)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden X
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne X
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell X
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins *
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery - X +
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan X
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen X
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding X
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson *
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath X
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray X
80 Possession - AS Byatt X
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery *
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare X
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo *

I've read 19 give or take a couple - not too bad. This list was kinda dry, imho.Pin It

Homeschooling helps, beginner Spanish and healthy food

I found a cute idea for encouraging kids to try different, healthy foods. The Tasty Tasty Club (via Flip Flops and Applesauce with the original idea from Through a Mother's Eye). I'm happy that tonight my boys ate a plate full of mango and also had quinoa chili for supper.

I love book lists. Here are 100 books every child should read (hear?) before kindergarten. I would add that these are just one person's opinion and many on this list are better suited to 5 or 6 year olds than under 5s.

One website that I would like to recommend for homeschoolers is Apples 4 the Teacher. I especially appreciate the book lists for the various holidays.

My friend Colette told me about about this website - Sheppard Software. Lots of free educational games.

I'm loving these books for teaching my boys about the many winter holidays. Rookie Read About Books. They also have a huge list of science picture books. Our library has many titles. Note: I have linked to a Canadian site but these books are available in the US, as well.

While reading the many blogs I follow, I saw this game recommended.
I bought it for our family and it is a big hit. Very fast and fun. My 5 year old can play it without any problem. My 3 1/2 year old can play it with help. Reading is not required.

I've started incorporating Spanish into our homeschooling. Just beginner for now. We are borrowing this book and CD

from the library and my son has really taken to it. I found a couple good websites for beginner stuff.
- Learn for Good
- 123 Teach Me
If you know of any resources for teaching Spanish at home, I would love to hear about them. I know absolutely no Spanish since I grew up in Canada in a very white city. :)

Would you like to make your own flash cards? Memory cards? This is a really cool site that helps you do that.Pin It

Oops, he did it again!

Yes, C cut his own hair again. I thought he learned his lesson
last time (in October), but apparently not.

Sigh. This time, he cut all the way to the scalp. He may have to have a buzz cut. Stay tuned.Pin It

Valentine's Day crafts, books and printables

Valentine's Day is one of my favourite holidays. I think because pink is my favourite colour. :)

First, books. I prefer non-fiction holiday books for my boys. I like them to know the history and meaning of the holidays. Rookie Read About Holiday books are great. Lots of pictures and good content. I also like The Story of ..... books.



There are so many fantastic Valentine's Day craft ideas out in the blogosphere that is hard to pick just a few.

* Stained Glass valentines from Smart-Bottom Enterprises (what a funny name for a blog!)

* I get a fantastic newletter by e mail - Kid Craft Weekly. It is full of great ideas for kids under 6. My boys loved the sponge heart idea.

* A simple and easy garland from Delightful Home.

* Salt dough conversation hearts from Kiddio.

* Make animals from heart shapes. Ordinary Life Magic.

* A simple heart bookmark using a popsicle stick, from Free Preschool Crafts.

* A beautiful and cute conversation heart garland from Skip to My Lou.

I found a great craft book at the library - 175 Easy to do Valentine crafts.

Finally, a whole bunch of printable valetines of various styles - which can really save money if you have a lot to send.Pin It

Quick update on my mom

She is home from the hospital and feeling fine. Thank you to all who prayed. It was pretty scary for a while and hard to be away from her. I'm very thankful for the excellent medical care she received and how helpful the staff was to me (over the phone, noless).Pin It

Please pray for my mom

My mom caught a bad virus that lead to severe dehydration then infection and kidney malfunction. She's currently in the hospital and will be there for a few days (in Victoria, BC). Please pray that she will recover completely. She is 81. It is hard to be away from her during this. I spoke to one of the doctors this morning and she advised no visitors right now since the virus (Norwalk) is so contagious.Pin It

Our family's first pet!

Say hello to the new member of the family! He doesn't have a name yet. We're working on it and we are open to suggestions. He is a baby guinea pig and (on advice from the pet store) is still in his bonding/adjusting time so we don't take him out of his cage much. I think he is still afraid of the boys and their noise. :)
Here is A reading him a book that features mice. I've put a bunch of books featuring guinea pigs on hold at the library.

I haven't had a pet since I was 10 so this is quite momentous for me, too!Pin It

I'm sure many of my American friends haven't seen these classic videos

Thinking about Canadians and Americans this week.

This is classic Canadian comedy at the expense of Americans. Circa the year 2000, Comic Rick Mercer went south and was able to get Americans both "man on the street" and Harvard professors, etc. to say the most outrageous things. The smartest person was a little boy who realized his mom was being hoodwinked. More info here.





Part 3 of 4, Part 4 of 4.

(I'm dodging the flying tomatoes today!)Pin It

Links time - a bit of a winter theme, homeschooling

Lazy blogger? Yes. :)

Fantastic healthy banana muffins. You could even replace a bit of the whole wheat flour for regular, if you like. I ground up the pecans myself (well, hubby did).

Some fun winter lesson plans (for kindergarten). Scroll down to find the snowman name graph that we did. I think it works better with children who have shorter names. ;)

Snowflake patterns - super easy. Just play with the size when you do print preview, if you want to make it bigger and not waste half a sheet of paper.
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5

More paper snowflake patterns - a bit tricky.

20 Ways to entertain your kids in the winter. I don't believe in "entertaining" my children but this was a good list.

Feeling burned out from homeschooling? I admit that I'm feeling a bit that way, but I just started! :) I enjoyed this encouraging article.Pin It

This got my kids up and dancing

Recommended CD.
We found it at our library.



It was fun to teach them how to do "The Twist" and it was good exercise, too.Pin It

Mosaic Meme

I found this fun idea for a meme on Carrie's blog.

Here's how it works.
1. Type your answers to each of the questions below into the Flickr search engine (www.flickr.com)
2. Pick an image from the first page only.
3. Copy and Paste the URLs for each image into Mosaic Maker (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php)
4. Save your mosaic to your computer and upload it into your own post.
5. Don’t forget to credit the photographers!

QUESTIONS:
1. What is your first name? (Sheila)
2. What is your favorite food? (BBQ Salmon)
3. What high school did you go to? (Sir Winston Churchill)
4. What is your favorite color? (pink)
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (James McAvoy but I also like George Clooney and Hugh Grant!)
6. What is your favorite drink? (cinnamon dolce latte)
7. What is your dream vacation? (Santorini, Greece)
8. What is your favorite dessert? (pumpkin cheesecake, so hard to choose)
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? (nature or travel photographer)
10. What do you love most in life? (my family)
11. What is one word to describe you? (thinker)
12. What is your flickr name? I had to fudge this a bit. My flickr name didn't come up with anything so I put in the name of my blog.
Photo Credits:
1. blossom heart... (for my friend Sheila), 2. Salmon on the Barbie!, 3. Success is never final. Failure is never fatal., 4. vintage tea set with cupcake, 5. OUT965669, 6. Cinnamon Dolce Creme Latte - 3, 7. Santorini - Σαντορίνη, 8. Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust, 9. photog in the flowers, 10. bless from above, 11. thinking up a storm, 12. Rainy Arbor Path

I wish I could get the photos bigger but that's probably a Blogger issue. (rolling eyes)Pin It

Christmas photos and a bit of a recap

A about to decorate the tree.Our higgledy piggledy tree.
We made a gingerbread house this year for the first time. I found a kit at Target.

The icing tasted terrible and so did the gingerbread. Maybe next year I'll make it from scratch, that is, if we want to actually eat it! :)
My oldest was misbehaving so he isn't in this "family photo."
(Christmas Morning) Oh that they would always get along this well.C and his new mailbox. It says on it "OPEN QUIETLY! Please don't wake the mail." He likes that.

Warning, scary no-makeup photos of me coming.
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Christmas dinner - notice the mismatched placemats. The Martha in me cringes.We try to do Christmas crackers every year. It is an English tradition that I learned from my husband's family. Each cracker contains a paper crown.

My parents were able to visit us for a few days. Travel in the winter is difficult since they live on Vancouver Island plus my parents are both over 70. They came in the middle of Seattle's "Snopocalypse." We were very thankful to have them with us for Christmas. Last year they weren't able to come.

Well, the photos aren't fantastic but I guess that doesn't matter too much.
I read so many blogs that have gorgeous photos that it is hard not to be jealous and feel inadequate when I look at my own attempts.Pin It

Happy 2009!

Pessimistic

OptimisticPin It

Books read in 2008

Its always fun to look back on the year and see what was accomplished (or not). :)

Here are the books I read this year.

Atonement by Ian McEwan (first book read of 2008)
The Awakening by Kate Chopin (I hated this)
The Beauty Prescription by Debra Lufton
Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith
Bono on Bono: Conversations with Michka Assayas
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans
A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (I didn't like this)
Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller
Escape by Carolyn Jessop
The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner
I Feel Bad about My Neck by Nora Ephron
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith
In this Mountain by Jan Karon
The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
Light From Heaven by Jan Karon
Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (I hated this book)
A New Song by Jan Karon
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory(last book read of 2008)
Out to Canaan by Jan Karon
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts by Haven Kimmel
The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares
Spin Sisters: How the Women of the Media Sell Unhappiness .... by Myrna Blyth
The Spy Wore Red by Aline Countess Romanones
Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart
The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith(I didn't like this book)
Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
What is the What by Dave Eggers
What to Read: The Essential Guide for Reading Group Members by Mickey Pearlman
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Not included in this list are a bunch of non-fiction books, mainly on homeschooling, cooking or parenting, which probably total 15.

Grand total: 50ish. I think that is pretty good, an average of a book a week.

books that I started but didn't finish:
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
Middlemarch by George Eliot

I'm surprised how little reading that I did - apart from the #1 Ladies Detective series and the Mitford series. I kept with the tried and true this year! My favourites (that weren't series books) were She Got Up Off the Couch and The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio. Both were funny and inspiring. I was surpised by how many books were memoirs.

A short list of some books I'd like to read in 2009:
- Zookeeper's Wife (the January pick for bookclub)
- Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
- The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory
- something by David McCullough (this Canadian needs to learn more American history for homeschooling!)

I'd love to hear about the books you read this year and what you enjoyed or didn't enjoy.

Happy New Year!Pin It

Christmas reading and Christmas music

I gathered up all our Christmas books and put them under the Christmas tree. (We don't have any present there yet!)

As an aside, we also have 2 nativity sets under the tree - both unbreakable - one vintage cardboard and one is Little People. I ordered this one from Oriental Trading to add to our collection.

My 3 year old's favourite Christmas book is

This book is gorgeous!

I love Golden Books, espcially vintage ones. This one is new but illustrated but one of my favourites - Eloise Wilkins.

I requested a whole bunch of Christmas-themed books from our library. Probably too many! :)

Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend


The Legend of St. Nicholas: A Story of Christmas Giving. I read about this book at Christian Children's Book Review blog where it was highly recommended.


God Gave Us Christmas - another recommendation from Christian Children's Book Review blog.


The Candymaker's Gift: A Legend of the Candy Cane


The Legend of the Poinsettia

The Stable Where Jesus Was Born


The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree


We are reading through Getting Ready for Christmas (almost every day, that is!)


We took this book out of the library last year. It is a bit unusual. I liked it but the book actually freaked A out! He didn't want it in his room at night. I'll let you read the description.


We have a bunch of board books about Christmas too.


I've made a list of books I want to request from the library next year!
- Lucy and Tom's Christmas by Shirley Hughes
- Advent Storybook by Antonie Schneider
- The Christmas Star by Marcus Pfister
- This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten
- Little Porcupine's Christmas by Joseph Slate
- Home for Christmas (Toot and Puddle) by Holly Hobbie
- The Christmas Humbugs
- If You Take a Mouse to the Movies

Where do I come up with my book list? Well, I read a LOT of blogs and whenever I see a book recommended, I research it a bit and then (more than likely) put it on hold at my library!

Here are some albums I've been listening to this Christmas season.


By the way, I'm now an "Amazon Associate" so you can purchase books, music, etc. directly from my blog! I get a very small percentage in return.

Do you have a favourite childrens' Christmas book? What about Christmas music? I'd love to hear what you enjoy this time of year.Pin It

Elbow update

I met with an orthopedic surgeon today regarding my elbow tendinitis (chronic pain and limited use). He recommend against surgery. It would take away the pain but wouldn't help me get better range of motion. He said I could have LESS range of motion in my arm! A bummer but I'm impressed with his integrity. I have to live with the pain. I think I need a month in the tropics with nothing to do but signal the poolside waiter. That would heal me, wouldn't it?Pin It

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you are enjoying your day with family and friends.

To my Canadian friends, well, do you have your Christmas shopping done? :)Pin It

Weekly homeschool notes

Math - Saxon Math is chugging along. I'm busy making lots of fact cards. :)

Phonics - A is on a break from Explode the Code. We started using The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading and we are currently on the consonant sound g. He was *way* ahead of that in ETC. I just want them to be somewhat in sync. OPGTR is going just fine. I think using the CD with it is good supplement. I wish we had started the program a bit sooner, though.

Reading - some recent favourites are A Toad for Tuesday and The Enormous Crocodile.

Poetry - a great fun book is Zoo Doings which we borrowed from the library. A said "I like short poems!" Ah, what a homeschool mom loves to hear.

Science - Sonlight Science. The activities are (sometimes) fun. We bought some tiny plants and created a terrarium. A great thing for winter! As for the curriculum, I'm not sure if answering the questions on the activity sheets is the best way for him to learn. I think it gets dangerously close to "rote" learning, just spitting out the "correct" answer without really knowing it. I'm open to suggestions, modifications.

Handwriting - A Reason for Handwriting is a big success! I'm so happy I bought this for A. I can't believe how many pages he did (without me asking him)!

History - we have read a whole bunch of books about Thanksgiving. More details here.

Art - on November 11th we went on our first field trip with our (large) homeschool group to the Seattle Art Museum. I'm not sure how much A liked the tour but he really enjoyed the craft project portion - he made a stand up giraffe (his favourite animal.)

Bible - we continue to go through Leading Little Ones to God. My only complaint about this book is the hymn at the end of each sections. There have been *so* many that I don't know and I grew up with a lot of hymns. I have searching to find mp3 and midis (yuck) to help me out. I think they should update the book with hymns that are more commonly known.

Physical Activity - A continues with his gymnastics class. I bought an old video called Mommy and Me workout. It is pretty cheesy but fun for the boys and surprisingly good at getting your heart rate going.

Crafts - we made a gratitude can, Thanksgiving corn and an Indian headress. Maybe we'll squeeze in the traditional handprint turkey tomorrow.Pin It

Free song for Ray Lamontagne fans

I picked up a "Pick of the Week" free iTunes download card from Starbucks today. It is for Ray Lamontagne, a new favourite of mine. The song is You Are the Best Thing. Love it. If you have an iTunes account, the code is 6KKKR6KPH3MA.

Now, I just need to actually *use* my mp3 player! I end up using Pandora more since it is so easy.Pin It