Testing, Testing 1,2,3...

::::::::::::::::Testing, Testing, and More Testing:::::

Noah, Rachel and Aaron are all testing this week for CRCT. Aaron's test site is close to the house, so that is nice. The check-in, yesterday, was unncessarily, confusing. It all worked out on time and then Aaron said he had to wait 45 minutes before the test started. He said he made friends with 3 of the boys at his table, so he was pleased.


::::::::::::::::Nim's Island::::::::

We just finished reading Nim's Island and the kids really enjoyed the story. It is a bit different from the movie, which we happened to see first. The kids really like Nim's friends who happen to be a sea lion, marine iguana and a sea turtle. They also like how self-sufficient the character is, but that she has such a loving relationship with her dad, Jack. Overall, this is a cute story.

::::::::::::::::Apheresis:::::

Michael went for his tri-weekly apheresis appointment. They took a triple product from him because they have so few donors. He came home absolutely exhausted.

::::::::::::::::Slideshow:::::

No photos of anything for the blog because I'm working on a slideshow for the Court of Honor on Wednesday night. It was presented to me on Wednesday, last week, then my computer crashed and after fixing it...a bit...I still can't access some music files and the computer error message says it doesn't know why it can't access them either. So, I'm doing a crippled effort for the slideshow, so I hope it works out any way.


:::::::::::::::::Ballet Recital:::::::::

Eve and her ballet friends were practicing their recital in the hall where they will actually perform. When I walked in to pick her up the girls had just finished dancing and Eve was crying. I saw Ms. Brooke comforting her. One of Eve's friends explained that Eve was nervous. Ms. Brooke sat down with the girls and told them that she would get nervous when she was little too and that it was okay. She also reminded all the girls that people who loved them would be the audience. Ms. Brooke is a fantastic instructor and I thought the other girls worrying about Eve was so sweet. Eve seemed to feel much better after a few minutes.

::::::::::::::::::Walking:::::::::::::

When I went walking, yesterday, I borrowed the headphones my mom got for free from Delta. You just, gently, clip them over your ears, which is better than the ear buds. Ear buds...HURT me! Michael loaded "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" on the mp3 player and I laughed the entire time to the park and back home. That show is a riot.

Smiles!

Who Needs Low Flow When You Can Get...

,No FLOW?!


Family vacations often take us to interesting places and some a bit more mundane. The kids thought the "No Flow" toilet at the public gaol in Williamsburg, VA was pretty fascinating. Aaron did the classic "man pose" of reading while sitting. You would think Eve was doing an Olan Mills photo shoot. I think she was bit confused. So this is my, tongue-in-cheek, rendering of our silly, historical stop.:)


_{Credits: Background by Christina Renee,
Book and pressed flower from Needful Things by Sausan Designs, Vintage frames by Nancy Comelab and Christina Renee, Numbers by Vanilla Hush for CR, Sassy glitter by CR,
Overlay by Lorie Davison from her Brownie Collection, black brush frame from O.N. Designs for CR, Catrine's Laura alpha, Michelle Coleman's HandStamped Alpha, Star Bazaar by Linda Gill Bildal, Font: DJB LIZ by Darcy Baldwin at The Digichick}


::::::::::::::::Vimeo:::::::::::
I saw a link to them at Heather Ann Melzer's site. They are a great video site with family-friendly rules for uploading and sharing. Here is one of Noah working on his Pinewood Derby popsicle car:


Untitled from Victoria Taylor on Vimeo.

::::::::::::::::::::::Up Early::::::::::::

this morning and already been to the vet for Jasper. Jasper is old in ferret years. We found him as a stray, so can't determine his actual age. He is, at least, 4 years old and is suffering from a common ferret problem. He has adrenal disease. He had a shot of Lupron to see if it might help. Aaron and Eve played with him until he went back for his shot between the shoulder blades. It was funny at check out because the thumbnail of Jasper on the vet records is a cute photo of Aaron and Jasper cheek to cheek.

::::::::::::::::::::::Art Show and Book Fair::::

It was the Book Fair Shake Down by my kids. They know I love books and I love them to read, so the begging commenced quite early. I bought several books and one that had to be put on order. I'll have to look up the title and list it here. It looked like a really cool book. Then, we went to the gymnasium and purchased Rachel and Noah's paintings with a portion of the proceeds to the art department. My kids love Mr. Mazzata, the art teacher, so it was a good investment on two levels. We listened to the violin class play a short recital, then home for homework, chicken soup (homemade by Michael) and baths.

:::::::::::::::::Platelets:::::::::

Michael came home and made, aforementioned, chicken soup after giving a triple product of blood for The Red Cross. There are never many folks when he goes to donate. It is so wonderful that he makes it a matter of habit and unselfish love for his fellow man.

Later, gators! :)

Crazy Conversations and Funny Relatives!

I have so many cool nieces and nephews! Here are a couple of layouts using pictures provided by their mom, Melissa.





My niece, Kendall, dressed up as the Wicked Stepmother. She had to remember to stop skipping and singing because she was supposed to be "evil".

_{Darcy Baldwin: DJB GINAE, Stickbet Alpha at The Digichick
Sausan Designs: Oogelie Booglie kit, Needful Thing book, brush it alpha
Emily Merritt: Stitched Starburst, Tile Alpha
Weeds and Wildflowers: Layered Alpha doodle frame, Doodled Alpha star paint splatter
Catrine: Chalked Alpha
ELMD: Doodled alpha freebie
Michelle Coleman: Hand Stamped Alpha
Ida: Star Doodle
Mo Jackson: Moodle frame}


::::::::::::::::::::Some One Had A Baby, so...::::

that means LASAGNA, salad and French bread. Well, at our house, anyway! Aaron helped me gather the ingredients at the grocery store. Then, he helped me cook and assemble the meal. He, Michael and Rachel went to visit this very adorable baby to deliver the meal to his parents. I stayed home with my cold and Eve and Noah.

::::::::::::::::::::Dentist Welfare Fund::::::::

has been established. The Taylor Foundation has been asked to fork over their quarterly contribution to the Dentist Welfare Fund of Georgia. It appears that Eve has cavities between two sets of molars. This will require two separate visits, numbing medication and x-rays. Noah, fortunately, had a clean bill of dental health. I figure that .50 cents from the Tooth Fairy was well spent. Michael still has to make the appointment to have Aaron's tooth pulled. YIKES!

Rachel was supposed to get her braces off today, but the orthodonists father passed away and he will be out all week. She took the news in stride. So, next week she gets her braces off, then gets her teeth cleaned the day after. The week afer that she gets her retainer. And for good measure she gets her eyes checked on Friday after school. She says things are getting blurry, again!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::Book Fair:::::::::

is coming to the local school. Noah has supplied me with his list of demands requests. He said they only cost $12.99 each. There is a book about Transformers and a couple of other things. Rachel had one book she was interested in, but I misplaced the slip of paper. She has a great memory so I'm safe.

::::::::::::::::::::::::Conversations with Eve::::::::

I was driving Eve to school this morning and she told me about a girl in her class who kept scooting her floor mat away from the girl next to her. Eve told that she raised her hand and informed the teacher about this situation. So, I said: "You mean you were paying attention to what someone else was doing and not listening to the story?"

Eve: "I was listening to the story."

Mom: "How could you be listening to the story when you were busy paying attention to what everybody else is doing?"

Eve: "I have Two Eyes! I can do both at the same time!"

Well, boy howdy! Thanks for the information update!

Off to get Eveybug!

Later, gators!

Book Worms R US

:::::::::::::Saturday:::::::
Michael and I took our book worm, Rachel, to the book festival being held in downtown Decatur. One of the events was making your own paper. Rachel was able to swish her hand in the tub of water and cotton fibers, then use the screen to create her paper. The drying, blotting and ironing process took about 10 minutes.

What stopped at one of the tents and grabbed a couple of Mad Libs and a book on how to draw fairies and mermaids for Evey.
We also stopped by this shop:
Little Shop of Stories. This place was a recommendation from our friend and Master Book Worm, Kim. Rachel had fun looking at all the books and was a bit crestfallen that we couldn't buy all of them. The store has an adjacent ice cream shop and comfy couches for relaxing.

:::::::::::::::::Labor Day Activities::::::::

Please check out my son, Aaron, climbing "Easy Crack" (a 5.8 climb) at Boat Rock. Michael has the video on his blog.

:::::::::::::::::Resistant Ear Infection:::::

Rachel still has significant pain in her ear. It has been almost a month now. She has taken two antibiotics. The first one, amoxicillan, got rid of the strep throat. I have a couple of emails to the doctor that I hope will help figure out what is going on with her ear.

:::::::::::::::::First Day of School:::::::::

Eve is excited to start Pre-K, today! Her bags are packed with the requested school supplies and she has a great attitude. I'll try to post a photo of her later.

Aaron starts Georgia Virtual Academy today. The company accidently shipped one of the items incorrectly, so instead of Life Science I have music on tape. I'm waiting to hear back from them on correcting the mix-up.

Later, gators!

Life's an Adventure With You

Life's an Adventure With You


Text: Eve you make me laugh when you choose to eat regular sized carrots that you call "Mommy Carrots", so you can have a treat. You love to pretend you are a horse, a lion or a house cat. You love to get your photo taken. You could play at the park all day, but if you are told you have to walk somewhere you protest. In the morning you call my name and when I go to check on you you are hiding under the covers. You giggle as I "look" for you and give me a big hug when I find you.



::::::::::::::::::::Mad Libs:::::::::::



As a kid I always looked forward to book fair time. My parents didn't have a lot of money, but I would be able to at least get one book and a Mad Lib. I would have hours of fun with my family and friends asking them to come up with adjectives, nouns, names of body parts, verbs, colors and names of places. So, it was funny for me when we went for lunch at Arby's and the kid's meals came with a Mad Lib booklet and one Mad Lib printed on the bag. Invariably, the word "butt" is used as a body part and the kids snicker and giggle.
Aaron and Rachel stayed up last night laughing over the Mad Libs they were coming up with using the little booklet. I suppose I will need to make a run to a book store and grab a couple of these for the trip.

Mad Libs as described by Wikipedia.

Here is an on-line version that is similar: Wacky Web Tales

Here is another site: Madlibs.org

Here is another Mad Lib generator from a teaching site.
::::::::::::::::::::Earache::::::::::::

My ear still hurts and I think it is getting worse. I suppose I'll call for a doctor's appointment if it doesn't improve by tonight. JOY!

:::::::::::::::::::::Carol has done it again!::::::::

For a side-splitting laugh...this really is a good thing...think of all of the endorphins and life extending qualities of a good laugh!...check out her newest layout of things that never really happened: Carol's Blog




Have a great day! Smiles!

Do you suffer from...

Photo Anxiety Disorder Or Photograph Avoidance Syndrome?


Do you suffer from
P.A.D., or P.A.S.?
Don't be discouraged! Millions of people have experienced pronounced episodes of the same problem. Photograph Anxiety Disorder and its close relative, Photograph Avoidance Syndrome can be overcome.
Here are a few ways to relieve some of the stress:
1. Relax...at least the person taking the picture thinks you are interesting enough to photograph.
2. before going in public make sure that you aren't wearing anything you would find embarrasing.
3. check your face for any stray bits and things.
4. if the feelings of anxiety become to intense point out any nearby "adorable" children, which usually will distract the photographer long enough for a get away.
5. Buy your own camera and don't be afraid to use it!


Side-effects: You might end up with a really cool picture you like, Family members that live far away will get to put a name to a face, you might end up laughing or smiling. You might find your self looking through scrapbooks for pictures of yourself, not just your cute nieces, nephews, cousins, grandkids and others.
_{Papers and Inked edge from Studio Chic by the Shabby Princess, Polariod by Canay, Arrow dooles from Brushy Sketched Arrows by Cindy Irvine, Designer Digitals chat freebie by sketched corners, Question mark by Jack Eckles, Paper Curls by Anna Aspnes, Doodle line by Amy Martin, Font: DB Michael}

:::::::The person in the layout is one of my brother-in-laws, Reuben. All of my BILs are funny guys. Reuben and I are the same age and have needled each other since Sunday School.


:::::::::::::Art Show and Book Fair:::::::::
Michael and I took Rachel, Noah and Eve to the school art show and book fair last night. Aaron was playing with his friend Jacob after running club. We purchased the framed artwork created by Rachel and Noah, then went to the chaotic book event. I made a list of books to purchase on Wednesday because our neighbor will be working the book fair and can get us 10% discount. The kids also want to each donate a book to their class, so I included those extra books on my list.

::::::::::::::Excerpt from The Phantom Tollbooth::::

..."There were great crowds of people rushing along with their heads down, and they all appeared to know exactley where they were going as they darted down and around the nonexistent streets and in and out of the missing buildings.
"I don't see any city," said Milo very softly.
"Neither do they," Alec remarked sadly, "but it hardly matters, for they don't miss it at all."
...
"Many years ago, on this very spot, there was a beautiful city of fine housed and inviting spaces, and no one who lived here was ever in a hurry. The streets were full of wonderful things to see and the people would often stop to look at them."
"Didn't they have any place to go?" asked Milo.
"To be sure," continued Alec; "but, as you know, the most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between, and they took great pleasure in doing just that. Then one day someone discovered that if you walked as fast as possible and looked at nothing but you shoes yhou would arrive at your destination much more quickly. Soon everyone was doing it. They all rushed down the avenues and hurried along the boulevards seeing nothing of the wonder and beauties of their city as they went."...
"No one paid any attention to how things looked, and as they moved faster and faster everything grew uglier and dirtier, and as everything grew uglier and dirtier they moved faster and faster, and at last a very strange thing began to happen. Because nobody cared, the city slowly began to disappear. Day by day the buildings grew fainter and fainter, and the streets faded away, until at last it was entirerly invisible. There was nothing to see at all."


::::::::I'm Off:::::
(there never was a truer statement!)...to work on a last minute request for a 10 minute slideshow for the Boy Scout Court of Honor tomorrow. A 10 Minute video takes awhile to make. I'm hoping for some inspiration on a song to use with the canoe pictures. So far I'm using 2 Jack Johnson songs: The 3'Rs (for a clean-up service project) and Upside Down (A love the Calypso rhythmn). I'm also going to grab a portion of Elevation by U2 for several pictures of the boys on top of Mount Yonah in North Georgia. I'm taking about a 10 second sample of the song Mr. Big Stuff by Jean Knight for one of the scouts who loves to show his arm "muscles". He loves to take of his shirt and is a super ham.

See ya later alligators!

School, Books Finished and Books to Read:

Next week public school starts here and I will keep Aaron's home school schedule the same as their schedule. Aaron has a certain idea as to what is "FAIR", and any deviation from what his siblings are doing is "NOT FAIR"...can you just hear the whining echoing out of your computer speakers? Rachel will be a third grader and Noah will be in First grade. Noah's class is one that is really a readiness class, but since that category is not funded the school integrated this slowed down class into the regular first grade. They will be required to learn the same things, but on a slower pace. Noah still can't read or write very well, but his retention of math and science facts are exceptional. Eve will stay home with Aaron and me and go to preschool next year.
As far as, home school I think we are going to have to go back over Latin fundamentals because the declensions just weren't retained. I need to find a science program I like, but I will be requesting all the History Channel, WGBH, and NOVA programs I can get my hands on for supplemental information. I have some watercolors and acrylics for art projects. I signed Aaron and Eve up for a group that will have him working on the Presidential Fitness Program and they will regularly work on running and cycling. We will continue the home school bowling league, too. I am looking into a Fencing program, but their schedule is not up yet. I would like to get them all into swimming, but that money tree I planted appears to have dried up and died...BOO HOO!
::::

I just finished reading The Thirteen Gun Salute by Patrick O'Brian. This series simply flows due to excellent character and plot development. Capt. Aubrey and Dr. Maturin are stranded on an uncharted rocky island in the South China Sea at the end of this book and I am anxious to see what happens next. I went down stairs and placed an on-line request with the public library for the next book A Nutmeg of Consolation.

My mom loaned me a couple of grammar books...which you can probably tell I haven't read, yet. The books are by Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves and Talk to The Hand. Maybe, after reading these books, my entries will be more coherent...just, MAYBE!