Hey, You Bought A Bunch of Milk...Why Not Order...

Some Girl Scout Cookies to go with it. And if you buy Girl Scout cookies it will make you want to walk off the calories. If you walk off the calories you will feel good about yourself. If you feel good about yourself you will want to help others. If you want to help others you think about organizations that inspire people. When you think about organizations that inspire people you might think about young girls. If you think about young girls, you may think about being a kid yourself. If you think about being a kid yourself you may have fond memories of milk and cookies. If you have fond memories of milk and cookies you may think about Girl Scout cookies.

If any of these are you, please consider ordering Girl Scout cookies from Rachel, or some other fantastic girl.






Trying to stay safe and warm this chilly evening and I hope y'all are too!

Thursday

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!

School Is Out For Summer

We just hung out today. Nothing exciting. Lots and lots of rain...all day.

Here is a layout for the Kindergarten book I'm working on for Evey:



Here are some layouts of Rachel's Bridging Ceremony:









I'm going to go read for a while. Smiles!

Breakfast Conversation...

...in the Taylor house is a little different. This morning Rachel was arguing with Noah (I know this part may not be too different from other kids in the morning). She asked him, "Hey Noah, do you always have to be right?"

Noah replied, "Well, I don't know String Theory."

I'm not sure how many 8 year-olds that use this in an argument, or show any concern that they don't understand a theory that know one else has a firm grasp on anyway.


:::::::::::::::::::Another Noah Story::::::::::


To preface this story you have to know that the basic Krystal hamburger is always made with diced onions, a dollop of plain yellow mustard (the best condiment ever, in my opinion) and a slice of pickle. Now to our story:

After picking strawberries on Tuesday the kids voted to stop at Krystal's (actually, everyone, but Noah who has lost ALL voting rights to places to stop for food since all he will order is chicken nuggets with ketchup). We ordered 12 Krystal burgers, 2 small plain pups, and two cheese pups. Everyone got Sprite to drink and before we had even said the blessing on the food, Noah had spilled his drink on the floor because he kept gesturing with his arms to explain a joke to Michael that Michael told him he already understood. Noah and I cleaned up the mess and he got a new soda, then I asked Aaron to say a blessing on the food.

Aaron: "Dear Heavenly Father thank you for this food...
Noah: "Hey, there is a pickle on my sandwich!"
Aaron: "...please bless it to nourish...
Noah: "Did you know they put onions on this thing?!"
Aaron finishes the prayer and we all stare at Noah and Michael says, "NOAH, Aaron was saying the prayer. Why did you keep asking about your hamburger?"

Aaron translated Noah's remarks, as follows: "What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill me?!!"

Noah gave his hamburger to Michael and set to eating his fries. About 5 minutes later he is fussing with Eve over the amount of fries she ate.
Noah, "She ate 60% of the fries!" Eve says, "No I didn't!"

Noah: "Well you ate 20% of the 40%." And we said that would make half of the fries. Making up fractions and calculations of all kinds is a Noah thing.


:::::::::::::Some Atlanta Zoo Layouts::::::


::::::::::::::::Strawberry Farm Layouts:::::::::::






Noah getting a noogie from Aaron:


::::::::::::::::::In-Gathering::::::::::

Rachel and I had fun with her troop at In-gathering. I will make some layouts to post soon. Our troop won the "Drama Queen" award for our fantastic skit. It was fun to create and practice with the girls.
We also got to climb the Alpine Tower before the rains hit. I was so proud of Rachel for reaching the top and for the girls that were afraid who tried to go up. The girls also made fleece pillows for a service project that would go to the children's cancer center.
When I got home Michael had detailed my minivan and cleaned the kitchen. Good stuff!

I need to go finish some crocheted socks for one of Rachel's classmate's mother who had a baby girl.

Later, gators! :)

Watch Out for Parked Trucks!

I told Rachel I would take her book back to the library for her. As I was walking to the library, via the park, I started reading the first few pages. Admittedly, I am a fan of smart girl books. I love books about Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden, so This spy girl book piqued my interest. I had the cd copy of Matilda to reaturn, too. I dropped the cd off and kept the book. I was, surprisingly, able to avoid trees, tripping on roots or rocks. I even found another walker's car keys in the mulch on the wooded path. I caught up to her coming back to figure out where she had dropped them. I can't drive and read without feeling like I have to puke, but walking and reading...not so bad.

Some reading and walking tips:

1. walk on familiar terrain
2. always stop reading and pay attention in cross walks
3. if you are walking around a pond that often has Canada Geese check for goose poop as you walk
4. Don't be so engrossed in the book that you miss opportunities to find coins left on the ground (I didn't find any today, but you never know. Also, if you might find someone else's keys and you can be a good samaritan and return them).
5. When walking back home from the park watch out for parked trucks that weren't there when you were walking to the park (That happened to me, but I saw it just in time).
6. Don't get too frustrated reading the same few sentences about 3 times if you are walking through a rather curvy section of the park path.

After 6.5 miles of walking at a nice pace I am half way through the book. I told Rachel when she got home from school. She is so proud of me. I'll try and finish soon. She wants to go to the library to pick up the sequel that I told her about...insert Girl Squeal!

:::::::::::::::Family Camping:::::::

We took our family to Hard Labor Creek State Park for Family Camping with Eve's Girl Scout troop. Michael took us on a Geocaching expedition. The kids love to Geocache. The kids shared a tent and we tented right next to them. Eve adored the smores I helped her make. She let me have a bite. She helped her troop do the dinner dishes. The girls looked like an assembly line of Cinderellas.
The next day we went fishing. I used Rachel's pole to catch our only fish, so she said it was her catch...hmmmm... After lunch we took a nature walk on Brantley Trail. Rachel and Eve led the group to the Geocache and explained how it worked. Aaron wasn't feeling well, so Michael stayed with him while the girls and I went on the walk. Shortly after we got back Aaron threw up out of the car window. This is better placement than he usually makes. I got him a jr. Tylenol and something to drink. He rested for a bit. We cut things short after Eve, Noah and Rachel took the wagon ride around the park. Noah immediately declared the ride to be "BORING". The girls concurred. The kids are used to audio tours, or people who are historical reinactors like at Colonial Williamsburg. Being towed around by a pickup truck just doesn't make the grade.
Aaron did fine on the way home and was the first in the tub.

Photos to come. Smiles!

Trying to Catch Up

Yes, if you are desirous of Girl Scout cookie goodness. Let me know and I'll try and hook you up.

::::::::::::: www.indexed.blogspot.com

This is so true:



:::::::::::::Another Page for Rachel:::::


I have the completed page with journaling, but don't want to have all the kids' names on-line.

::::::::::::Photos from my Mom's Surprise Party::::::

I made 45 royal icing violets and Eve made me use them all. She also showed me where she wanted them place on the cake. She kept telling me that symmetry was what's all about.

My mom gave me some silcone cupcake molds, but I couldn't figure out a great way to display them, so I crisscrossed some toothpicks to keep them upright on their small bases.

Great Mom and Great Pop Towhey brought some super tasty pretzel bites. Just a bit of mustard and they are bits o'heaven!
Mom with my nutty family:

Mom with Nan and Jim:
Mom with Melinda, Jason and Suzanne:

Tweedle Guy and Tweedle Jim with mom and Lani:
Mom, Carol and Debbie:
Debbie and Terry:
Aaron:


:::::::::::::::::There has been so much sad news on the animal front:::::::::::
Please:


Take Care!!!!!!!

The New Year Begins...

Yes, folks! The time of year for Girl Scouts selling their cookie wares has arrived:


If anyone is interested in placing an order, please email me. This is the first year that Daisy Girl Scouts are selling, so Eve is included in this Public Service Announcement.

Let Them Eat (Little) Cake!

The neatest trick was learning to make flowers on the flat end of a bamboo skewer, then poking the sharp end through the petit four and through the base leaving a rose on top.
::::::::::::::::::::Daisy Days::::::::::::

A layout of Eve using Rachel Young designs from Scrapartist:


:::::::::::::::::Tagged:::::::::::::

Seven random facts:

1. I think 3/4 length sleeves are one of the coolest designs in clothing. If I had great upper arms I would say capped sleeves were the coolest.

2. I think walking 2 miles to get a malt that has more calories than the actual walk burns off is still way worth the trip!

3. I am always looking for something when I take photos that I can't explain, but know when I see it.

4. When I see a bluebird fly by it really makes me happy!

5. I wonder why people find it hard to make eye contact with people and smile.

6. I have plantars fascitis in my right foot, so I walk slow as Christmas.

7. I watched a cool video about a tribe where the men paint their faces and do wild expressions to impress the woman. I ask Michael to do the facial expressions, sans face paint, and he obliges sometimes. He is a hoot!

Dillweed Advice?

Text: "Perched upon the stack of plastic lawn chairs, Noah felt the full measure of the power he would weald for the day. Next on his list of acquisitions, a paper crown from Burger King!"
_{Credits: Astrid kit from Catscrap, Journaling spots, Pauline Alpha by Catrine, frame overlays by Favreau, font: typewriter and DJB Juliana in a Hurry by Darcy Baldwin at The Sweet Shoppe.}
:::::::::::::::::Book Review:::::::::::


I cryed, laughed, cryed, tore bits of paper as bookmarks, and thought about the different points made by Dr. Randy Pausch. He has past away after his fight with pancreatic cancer, a cancer that claimed both of my maternal grandparents. Here are some of the passages that stuck out to me:

1. "When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you."
2. "You can always change your plan, but only if you have one."
3. "Earnest is better than hip."..."When I think of someone who is earnest, I think of a Boy Scout who works hard and becomes an Eagle Scout...I knew there had to be an earnestness about him that outweighed any superficial urges toward hipness."
..."Think about it. Becoming an Eagle Scout is just about the only thing you can put on your resume at age fifty that you did at age fourteen-and it still impresses."

Pausch stated that even though he was a very earnest person he did not achieve Eagle Scout, but he did make special consideration for all Eagle Scouters that sent an application to join his program at Carnegie Mellon University.

4. "Too many people go through life complaining about their problems. I've always believed that if you took one-tenth the energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, you'd be surprised by how well things can work out."

5. The Seneca quote he liked, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
6. Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer." I liked his analogy of being the "First Penguin", who is the one that is the first to leap in the water knowing that predators are waiting.

7. Hand written thank you notes, "I still try to hand write notes when it's important to do so. It's just he nice thing to do And you never know what magic might happen after it arrives in someone's mailbox."
8. Be a Communitarian. "We've placed a lot of emphasis in this country on the idea of people's rights. That's how it should be, but it makes no sense to talk about rights without also talking about responsibilities." He goes on to remark that his students don't get the concept of giving back to the community in return. He goes on to give this example: "We all believe we have a right to a jury trial. And yet many people go to great lengths to get out of jury duty."
Overall, the message this book gave me was to share with your children the things that make them special to you and leave them memories of how you interacted with them. I know in an extension of that my kids have memories (that keep getting reinforced) of making grits and biscuits with Granny Sue, making Grandpa Jim's special pancakes, and Eve going to Home Depot build days with Grandpa. Michael and I try to take the kids on special vacations, read to them 5 days a week, as a family, I scrapbook the crazy things we do together and separately. I just need to throw me into the mix more often. This was a very thoughtful read and one I highly recommend.

The next books I have on my list are:




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

On mile 3 I saw one of my friends Karen, from Girl Scouts and school, so she tagged up with me and we talked about upcoming plans for the troop. We walked a couple of miles together and had a fun time.
One of my new favorite walking songs is "Shake It" by Metro Station. Their video harks back to some 80's style videos with the break dancing style dance moves. I think if I tried any of those moves I would be in traction.

::::::::::::::Nap, Eve?...PLEASE!!!

Oh, the wee Kindergartner is in full whine mode. She needs a nap, desperately. One may be imposed if she keeps up her current modus operandi! I asked Noah for some advice to get Eve to stop her whining ways he responded with, "Just yell at her." Thanks, Noah!
This tete a tete made me wonder...if the advice you get is not "Sage" advice is it possibly... Dillweed advice, hmmm?
On that note...the brownies I baked are nice a warm...that I believe means an extra mile. Tenditinitis...thy name is one too many brownies!

Take Care!