Nostalgia: Flip Over Pets

YAPPY DOG!

I had one of these as a kid. I loved it! When we moved, it mysteriously disappeared. I later told my Mom I had missed it. She found this one for me and gave it to me as a surprise gift. Believe it or not, I was thrilled with the trip down memory lane and my oldest son was a toddler at the time. So I set it up and he was tickled. I almost enjoyed his extreme laughter of pure amusement every time it flipped over more than my own memories.

So my husband, highly amused by my exuberance over the most annoying toy in the universe, and probably worried about my sanity, showed me this comic:

http://wondermark.com/guest-carly/

I think this is how he expected me to react in my adult human form.

The sad thing is I have patience for annoying things like this, and I can tolerate the yapping a lot longer than most adults. So I was still smiling at my son's enjoyment, and my own memories, long after he was pulling out his hair and yelling , "Ok, OK! Shut it OFF! NOW!"

Silly Hubby, flippy dog is for kids!

Book Review

picture by Amazon

I finished Crushed this week. And let me tell you, I liked it better than Zipped. This book mixes high school love triangles, high school cliques, mystery, physics, German, French, and economics all into one! It was intelligently and masterfully pieced together. I knew when I set the goal to finish this book, I was going to read straight through the end, and left myself a whole Sunday evening.

I love that you learn something when you read their books. This one is especially chock full of facts and details. They also know their cars!

I love that each chapter has a creative title, though not as creative as Zipped.

I love the intricacies of the characters. Each one is round, complete with secrets. If you pay attention, you can solve the mystery in the story way before the protagonist does, however it took me a little longer to pick up on the clues this time. Which made for a better read, actually. A predictable book is a turn-off.

Here is a much better review with a summary attached for you to peruse if you are interested in this book. I am not a very good book reviewer because I hate to give ANYTHING away, so my review is quite lacking in facts.

Now I'm on to something else on my shelf!

Ficly Poem: Size Matters

If I were taller..

I could reach the second shelf in the cabinets
I could dunk a basketball
I could write at the top of the chalkboard

I could hoist a child on my shoulders for a better view
I could shop in the Misses section
I could drive all models of vehicles comfortably

But I’d have a good view of the dirt on top of the fridge
I’d have to duck under low door frames
And people would always ask me to get things down

I would miss being able to rescue a terrified kid from the McDonald’s Playland
I would miss reaching into small spaces
I would miss climbing onto the roof of the van to strap down luggage

I couldn’t rest my head on my hubby’s chest near his heart
I couldn’t fit in the tent with my kids
I couldn’t grow anymore anyway, so I guess,

I’ll stay short

Doodle the Moon

The boys and I sat down to draw. I was inspired by artquiltmaker's challenge: moon.
I don't have the shading right at all. I admit that. But hey, I tried. :) I also added some color to it for emphasis. It adds to the fire, and I kind of like the colored letters, however they could be darker. I put in the words so I could visually 'hear' my picture. Can you spot the owl? Can you hear it?

Book Review 'Zipped'

I have read Zipped by Laura and Tom McNeal. I picked it up on the clearance rack along with another of the duo's books, Crushed which I am reading now. I picked them up on a whim, but have not been disappointed.

Zipped is about Mick, a teenage boy who has a great step-mom, who he soon finds out is having an affair. Feeling betrayed, he seeks solace in an unusual place, a college girl. He also gets a job where his crush also works. Lisa soon realizes she has feelings for Mick that are a cool simmer compared to the flame she holds for the inaccessible Mormon hottie, Elder Keesler. To add to this twisted tale, we have Lisa's best friend who falls for the two-faced manager at the kids' work. This is a tale of love, trust, and betrayal. When the plot heated up and the secrets unraveled, I couldn't put this book down. It was suspenseful, only I found the greatest mystery a bit predictable; there were many great clues along the way. So I give it a 4 1/2 of 5 stars on the chick lit scale. The best parts, however, were the chapter headings!

doodle

I drew my turtles today. I'm hoping you can click on this and enlarge it. My littlest was amused by this and had me draw him a turtle in his sketchbook too. The oldest was already doing a swimming pool scene in his sketchbook, so he added a turtle to his picture. Yes, I bought us matching sketchbooks so we could all sketch in peace with no jealous screams. :)

A Ficly

Helen's Sunday

She’d visited the cemetery every Sunday after church. It was right across the road. The grass had grown in this spring over the turned earth. She’d told him all about Clyde Wilcox making eyes at her during service and complimenting her dress.

She rode back to her home in Margie’s car.

“Come with me to Bingo, Helen! You need to get out of that house more than twice a week.”

“Marge. I don’t feel like it. Not yet. I don’t want their eyes on me.”
Margie sighed and gave up this time.

Helen climbed her front steps slowly and unlocked the door to a stale house. A small mewing made her stop. A tiny kitten clung to a branch of one of her tall bushes.

She took it inside and gave it a dish of milk. “Where’s your family, huh?” she sighed.
“You need someone to look after you for a while.” The kitten licked its face and then curled up in her lap for a nap. The soft purring soothed Helen’s loneliness.

“You’re quite a charmer, much better than Clyde!” she joked. Her heart warmed a little. She thought about Bingo.

I ran out of room to elaborate on her thought at the end. But I think I got my point across.

Creative Classroom

I find this inspiring!
My son's kindergarten teacher transforms her classroom into a Caribbean Vacation for the last two weeks of school. Combined volunteer hours on this project was 40. And she stores all the table cloths, decorations, and umbrellas in totes. My pictures don't do it justice! The lights are covered in different swags of color, fish hang from the ceiling, tropical table cloths are stapled on the walls like wall paper.These pictures were taken during a parent's visit time, can you tell?

The pirate ship was my favorite part. This area of the room is already a play area. She just covered the railings with brown paper. The toy pirate ship and shark are a nice touch!This was the water area, a favorite among the students. It was dyed blue. She also had a market with real Caribbean money, a sand station, and many others. The tables were pushed together and covered with carpet so that a "stage" was made. There was a child-size table with umbrella and chairs up there, the kind for outdoors. They learned beach songs and memorized lines for a little show. It was adorable!

Now, wouldn't you love to do something like this?