Kids Book Corner

  • Goose Girl
  • Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of NIMH
  • Peter and The Shadow Thieves
  • Peter and The Star Catchers
  • Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper
  • Stella Brite and The Dark Matter Myster
  • The Island of The Blue Dolphins
  • The Phantom Toll Booth
  • The School Library Journal
  • The Sisters Grimm
  • Tuck Everlasting

Labels

Monday, December 29, 2008

Being Rachel




That is a common description around our house and it is defined as: Someone who goes directly to their room, grabs a book and precedes to read for hours. The only time one stops reading is for a quick bathroom break and to force food down one's gullet, then run back up stairs to complete the book.

This phrase came about a couple of months ago and like Webster's Dictionary it became so commonplace that everyone new the definition and could apply it to others in the family not just Rachel. Rachel is very pleased that she has her own definition in the family annals. So, if you get bored today and need something to do why don't you try "Being Rachel".
(This lap desk is a gift from Laura and Marcus):



Rachel is in complete disagreement on this bit o'Flair. She thinks Time Lords and vampires coexist on an equal plane. The kids have enjoyed watching Dr. Who Season Four
and The Sarah Jane Adventures
. Eve was so excited to get her own K9
My mother feeds the childrens' science fiction fetishes.

::::::::::::My Own Time Lord in Miniature...

asked his almost daily query: "Mom, why does space exist? Why does time exist and why do we exist?"
He was asking me this while promising not to blow up the his electronics learning lab that Michael bought him for Christmas. Those photos are still on the camera. I'll try to pull these photos on to show you. Did I mention I need an external hard drive?

*Take care...I'm going to try and take a walk and hope the kids don't kill each other while I'm gone.

*post edited to say the walk was successful and the children are ALIVE! (I also added the pics of Rachel).

Saturday, December 20, 2008

A Couple of Funny Things:

:::::::::Indexed is too cool:






::::::::::::My Crazy Kids:::::::

Breakfast with the Taylor kids on school mornings is loud, and usually includes an argument between Aaron and Noah. On Friday it was no different at the beginning, then Rachel started crying. I heard snippets of Aaron and Noah's banter, so I figured out what upset her so much. Aaron was trying to determine how easy it would be to throw a grappling hook and grab Noah's arm, then use the hook to rip his arm off. Rachel was absolutely disgusted and came running to me with tears streaming down her face. Since she declared she could no longer eat I sent her to brush her teeth. Eve joined her sister, while I told the boys they were using inappropriate conversation at the table. A few minutes later Eve and Rachel came back down stairs where upon Eve declared:

"I lost my appetite because of them! (complete with hands on hips).

Then, she did a slight turn of her head and asked, "Does anyone know what appetite is?"

Rachel and I got a good laugh out of that question.

Merry Christmas...soon!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Fleece Navidad





Rachel participated in a 5th grade tradition at her school called "Snow Village". Her take on the project was to create "The Out Inn". She loved her play on words and her inn looked very cozy and inviting.


Eve created a graham cracker gingerbread house after eating a lot of frosting.


Rachel made this cool fish mosaic in her art class last month.


My sister-in-law, Melissa, gave this hoodie to me for my Christmas present. The hoodie says "Smile. Here comes the yearbook lady". So funny.



::::::::::::::The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Perilous Journey

This continuation of The Mysterious Benedict Society was quite a romp around the world with the children trying to find a kidnapped Mr. Benedict. I want let any more of the plot out, but we enjoyed the story.

:::::::::::::::::Attack of the Volcano Monkeys

The story is a fast-paced tale about Basil and Louise's adventures on Monkey Island. The kids hate when I stop reading, especially Noah. The illustrations are fantastic and a couple are creepy cool. We are half way through and enjoying the story unfold.

:::::::I still need to get some photos from Michael about Rachel's performance. Hopefully tonight.

Smiles and take care!

Friday, December 12, 2008

What You Will Find My Mom Doing in A Few Years...



:::::::::::Santa's Frosty Follies

Rachel performed with her 5th grade class, today. She had such fun and I will post pictures soon. Eve was able to watch her performance.

I have a great time visiting the Rachel's class. The boys and girls are polite and love to tell me what is going on with their day.


I'm off to finish several tasks! Smiles and hugs to all of you! :)

Friday, December 05, 2008

I Don't Know If I Like Them...


I think I'll have to eat another few boxes, just to be sure. Thanks to my friend, Carol, in Australia my family has been converted to the love of Tim Tams. I purchased the originals and the caramel centered ones. Noah has declared his love for the Tim Tam on a couple of occassions. Rachel says the caramel ones are her favorite. Michael says he thinks he doesn't like them, but to be sure I need to buy him several more boxes of each. I think the caramel ones are my favorites, too. The caramel is not runny like on the package photo, but firm and chewy. Chocolate and caramel are a heavenly mix. I want to have an Australian themed food night when I buy more of the Tim Tams and start off with a Shepherd's Pie, which approximates a Meat Pie. Thanks, Carol for the calories, I mean, the recommendation!

::::::::::::
I saw this on Marcus' blog, so here is my outcome:

Your rainbow is shaded violet.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

What is says about you: You are a creative person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.


:::::::::::::Snacks

My neighbor, Kristen, invited us over for snacks. It was a ploy for her to get her tasty, high calorie treats out of her house. I am now experiencing the sugar rush that comes from partaking of bar treats.

:::::::::::::Brisk and Breezy

I did 6 miles at the park this morning. The wind was so cold. The Canada Geese have left copious amounts of ecoli mines around the lake. I avoid those.
Yesterday, Michael used a vacation day to help at the elementary school, so he went for a walk before we had to leave. I'm used to listening to Mara Davis, so I'm surprised I didn't try to make him come up with songs to a particular theme while we were walking. Maybe next time.

:::::::::::::Snow Village

Michael got to use exacto knives to cut out house from cardboard with Rachel's class. I got to be hot glue girl with our neighbor Kristen. Kristen's daughter, Lydia, is in Rachel's class. Michael took some photos for me, too. I got hugs from a couple of the kids. They tell me I'm just like Rachel. HMMM...


:::::::::::::I Still have Christmas presents to get, so maybe I will be able to do this like Buddy the Elf:

Take care! :)

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Good to the Last Drop...


Another Tag--6 Random Things About Me

The rules are:


* Link to the person who tagged you (Kim)
*Post the rules on your blog
*Write six random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself
* Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
* Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog
* Let the tagger know when your entry is posted


(I could do more than 6... I guess we are all quirky!)




1. The title of the blog, "Good to the Last Drop", isn't about coffee, but how I am with liquid products. When most of the bottle is used up and most folks may throw it out. I prop bottles upside down to make sure I get the last drop out. This habit goes for detergent, hand soap, oil, o.j., and honey.

2. I roll my eyes a lot. There is usually something, daily, that I find ludicrous. It is so ingrained that I don't notice it much, but everyone does feel the need to tell me to stop it. I would...if they would stop being ludicrous.

3. I mix my food. I think why not use the mashed potatoes to collect other food bits...it makes things a bit more simple to gather. One of my favorite treats to "Mix Up" is vanilla bean ice cream, a little bit of milk and a generous spoonful of malt. Ample stirring and voila...a cold, creamy treat.

4. I like to read 2 to 3 books during the same time period. It is part of my scattered-random nature.

5. When I'm hungry I ask Michael to think of places to go eat. I shoot them down, one by one, until he comes up with that my stomach seems to agree on. It's one of those things that I don't know what I want exactly, until I hear it. He still gets miffed that I do this, but I have learned to tell him up front that I'm doing this, so it seems to ameliorate him a tad.

6. There is a huge bag of socks hanging by the dryer. I have this insane notion that I will find mates to each of them. I have this guilt about some poor person suffering because I was so wasteful as to throw away a perfectly good single sock because I couldn't find its mate.



That is one of my favorite Christmas songs.

Take care! :)