Walk the Dinosaur!

*Scroll to the bottom to start my playlist before reading for the full effect

I lead a Carole Marsh book club for some of the local homeschool kids. We are in our second year of this book club. Before this bookclub, I led a Magic Tree House book club for over 3 years. When we read the Magic Tree House books, we read them in consecutive order, starting with book 1 and ending with book 40, which was the most current book written at that time by the author, Mary Pope Osborne. When we started the Carole Marsh series, I followed a suggested reading club list for the first year just to make it easier for me. I had not had time to research all of the Carole Marsh Mystery Series books (there are quite a lot!) and needed to get my list together quickly. As we approached year two of this book club, I began researching the books and putting our reading list together for this year. Having a better feel of who our regularly attending kids are to the club helped me in my decision and of course, the Tiaras had their opinions as well. Imagine!

Tiara 2 is a huge fan of our (very) old friend, the dinosaur. Besides dancing on Broadway, she wants to be an archaeologist and a paleontologist when she grows up. (She also wants to live at home and sees no problem with the fact that we live nowhere close to NY. She plans to commute, so she says.) So her choice for our book club this year was The Mystery of the Missing Dinosaurs. She has been looking forward to the meeting for this book since I initially put the reading list together last fall. And finally, this Thursday (day AFTER tomorrow!), we will be meeting to discuss HER book choice!

The kids normally do a journal entry each month which can be a craft, a written paper or even a drawing from the story. Anything they choose. After we discuss the book, they stand in front of the other kids and share their journal. (They also write two questions from assigned chapters which they ask in front of the other kids during discussion. They enjoy this aspect of being in control of the club and they gain public speaking skills as well which is HUGE!). For this month's meeting, I asked them all to make a dinosaur in place of their normal journal work. They were told they could make it out of paper, clay, salt dough, paper mache, etc. But they are all supposed to make a dinosaur for our meeting. Can't wait to see how well they all do!

The Tiaras have been anticipating the day we made our dinosaurs and today was THE day! The Tiaras both chose to make their dinosaurs out of Crayola's Model Magic which is an awesome product! It hardens like a clay but is a foamy texture while being formed which makes it very fun for the Tiaras. And it is not messy which makes it very fun for me!

So Tiara 1 decided on a Brachiosauras (one of the longnecks). She went with a baby Brachi cracking out of her egg and Tiara 1 decided she didn't want the baby dino to look scary at all. She definitely succeeded and her baby turned out quite well!



Tiara 2 decided on a Triceratops since she received a Webkinz Triceratops for her birthday. Her dino turned out very well also!


Tiara 2 finished her dinosaur long before Tiara 1 so she decided to excavate a Triceratops fossil using her Dinosaur Expedition kit she received for Christmas from her Aunt Jess.

Safety glasses were recommended and since we have no safety glasses, we improvised. And since we homeschool, most days the Tiaras do school in their pajamas. Might as well be as comfortable as possible while learning! We didn't complete our "dig" today but I'm sure we will by Thursday!

Love Bugs Annual Visit on Valentine's Day !

So a few years back, the Tiaras read about Love Bugs in a book. The story mentioned that if you built a home for the Love Bugs, they would visit and possibly even take up permanent residence. You know the old adage, Build it and they will come? Immediately, the Tiaras set about building their Love Bug abode. They started with a shoebox and with the assistance of Daddy, they built two Love Bug beds out of scrap wood. They hand-stitched bed spreads using scrap cloth and stuffed the bedding with cotton balls. The Love Bugs landed last February 1st of 2009 and stayed with us through that Valentine's Day.

For Christmas of 2008, Tiara 2 wanted mailboxes for all four of our family members. She enjoys leaving notes for all of us and the mailboxes were very high on her list. Daddy set about making mailboxes and each of the Tiaras have one outside of their bedroom doors while ours sits just inside our bedroom door.




So the Love Bugs must have discovered our mailboxes because last February they began leaving small pieces of candy, one a day, in the Tiaras mailboxes. They always left the flag up, signaling the Tiaras that they had a treat each morning. And on Valentines Day, the Love Bugs left a larger sweet treat and a small gift. The Tiaras were SO excited that they decided to leave the Love Bugs home permanently out on our hutch, and continued to add on. Over the next year, the Tiaras added a chimney, a shingled roof, wallpaper, two tables and a mailbox, all made of recycled materials.

When the Jonas Brothers released their song, Lovebug, there was even discussion in our home that the JoBros must have their own Love Bug visitors. (Scroll to the bottom and wait on my playlist to load to hear the JoBros singing Lovebug.)

Well, the Love Bugs returned this year and the girls again had SO much fun receiving their treats every morning. On Valentines Day, they awoke to find rice krispie treats dipped in red chocolate with sprinkles on lollipop sticks and felt flower hair accessory craft kits.

The girls had a fabulous Valentines Day...

A Little of This, A Little of That

So we were originally planning to go to our Kaya club meeting this afternoon at another homeschool family's home. We are alternating the monthly meetings between the homes of three different families this year. The club is focusing on Kaya (American Girl) of the Nez Perce tribe in 1764. The Tiaras and I will be going quite in depth this year with our Native American studies. I have many stories, autobiographies, History Pockets and other crafts / activities planned for our year.

In preparation for the meeting, the Tiaras both painted a picture of their favorite part of the Kaya story.

Tiara 2 painted Kaya , Kaya's tepee and fire and the skewer that held the salmon while it was cooked over the fire.



Tiara 1 painted the river, 2 salmon jumping out of the river, two tepees and Kaya. And a bright green heart. (Tiara 1 likes loves hearts.)




Each month, the Tiaras will be painting a scene related to that month's story. And those paintings will be stored in these.

Tiara 2's journal:


Tiara 1's journal: (Notice the heart?)



As it turned out, our club meeting was postponed until tomorrow due to one of the kiddos having dental issues. So after school work today, the girls spent the remainder of the day doing more of what they love best...

Trying to move forward...

September 24, 1995 - August 20, 2008

Exactly two weeks ago today, our family experienced a tragedy that will remain with my Tiaras forever. We had to put our 13 year old kitty cat, Weenie, to rest. She was in acute renal failure and I helped her until I could help her no more. She was not in pain and continued to purr until her heart beat for the last time.

This cat, accused by many as being an attack cat, was the purest source of unconditional love that you could ever hope for. I bought her (and her sister) from a pet store in 1995 when they were a mere 3 weeks old. I bottle fed them both but Itsy Bitsy (her sister) did not survive beyond a week at home while (Teeny) Weenie continued to thrive until she was a healthy 21 pounds. I had her longer than I've had T-Bone. In fact, I had to warn him about her the first time he came to my apartment as she was known to attack.

She traveled with me in the car from Indiana to Las Vegas (staying at the Mirage), on to California to live, back to Indiana to live, on to New York to live, back to Indiana to live and then finally to Georgia to live. She LOVED riding in the car and she LOVED drive-thru's! She would get right up to my driver's side window and stretch her neck out, hoping that the worker at the fast food window would give her something to eat. She was truly a mess!

She greeted us at the door every time we came home. She didn't like laps but loved to give kisses. She loved getting baths every morning with a sopping wet washcloth. She was an avid tuna lover and would wake me each and every morning as she only had tuna for breakfast. When T-Bone and I went away for short trips, I had friends who would come over every morning to feed Weenie her tuna. And Weenie, being the sweet and gracious kitty that she was, managed to trap one of our friends in the bathroom. Our friend, Alison, could not get Weenie to move from the threshold of the bathroom. Weenie had this horrible hiss and scream that she would let out when she was upset (which was usually any time someone was in our home other than us). Alison, not knowing what to do, grabbed the hand towel from the towel rack and began swatting it at Weenie. As you can guess, that was not effective and Weenie only became more mad. Now Weenie didn't have front claws but she honestly did appear vicious when she was upset. So Alison used her cell phone to call another friend to our apartment. He arrived, distracted Weenie when he opened the front door and Alison was able to escape.

When I was pregnant with Tiara 1, everyone kept telling me that we needed to get rid of Weenie. They were certain she would be mean to the baby. But I knew she would love and accept the baby just as she did. When I was pregnant with both Tiaras, Weenie would lay against my huge belly and wait on the babies to kick. When the babies kicked, Weenie would paw at my belly playfully. She truly loved the Tiaras.

As the girls have grown, Weenie spent more time with them in their rooms. She would take turns sleeping on their beds during the night. She would wait on Tiara 2's pillow every night for the bedtime story. She really loved them. And they loved her.

Weenie loved to get into paper bags or the smallest boxes she could find. Remember, she was 20+ pounds so she really had to work to get her many rolls into small spaces. But she always managed. She gave us so many good laughs.

And two weeks ago today, we had to say goodbye. I'm still grieving but holding it inside as much as possible for the girls. Tiara 1 was rather matter of fact about the situation after the first day but in the last few days, she has really finally faced the reality that Weenie won't be back. She has cried so much in the past few days that her eyes are swollen. Tiara 2 grieved heavily for the first week. Then I found a stuffed animal cat in her closet that looks nothing like Weenie BUT Tiara 2 has named it Weenie anyway and it goes EVERYWHERE with her now. Tiara 1 tonight, between the tears, asked if she too could have a stuffed animal cat for her room. So if any of you know where I can purchase a stuffed animal cat that is a dark gray tabby color, please let me know. Tiara 1 would really appreciate it. And if it's overstuffed and comes in a box too small for it, that's even better.

And Weenie, thanks for the unconditional love and the wonderful memories. We'll always miss you, Beans.....

We went to the animal fair...

The birds and the bees (and the deer, goats, porcupine, geese, peafowl, donkeys, sheep, pigs, bears, chickens, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, foxes, bison, turkeys) were there. The big baboon (or potbelly pig, rather), by the light of the moon, was combing his auburn (ish) hair (and snorting peanuts)......



Actually, we went to the Yellow River Game Ranch which is down the road from T-Bone's old growin' up and stompin' around grounds. He loved visiting the game ranch as a child (and still does) and the girls LOVE going there now too! Actually we all do!

The sheep always look so sweet and gentle...



The deer run freely throughout the woods and the walking paths...


And some are extremely tame.....




This guy was really happy when we made it to the barn to feed him....


You know, goats always seem to be hungry and they eat absolutely anything .....



This guy NEVER moved from his spot. You literally had to throw the peanut into his mouth. Many peanuts bounced off his head and he didn't care; he merely waited for the next one to be thrown. You can see the peanuts at his feet. He would not even bend his head down to pick them up!


T.Bone (the squirrel whisperer) even made a new friend...



Yellow River is the home of Beauregard E. Lee, Georgia's official weather prognosticator and internationally recognized furry groundhog.



He has his own groundhog-sized antebellum home on the ranch. Tiara 2 celebrates her birthday on Groundhog Day so she really enjoys visiting Beau.


It was a wonderful time spent by all!

Taco Loco? Tiara 1 Loco!

So today, after sleeping in (much needed, I might add), we ran some errands and decided on Mexican fare for dinner. Tiara 1 has been venturing from the children's menu at times, slowly wading into the adult menu, cautiously but excitedly at the same time. For dinner tonight, she opted for a choice from the "non-kids" menu, ordering the Taco Loco. I don't think she realized what she had gotten herself into until it's arrival.





She gave it a go.....

but in the end, Taco Loco won.

So Little Time and So Much to Do...

Tomorrow is Tiara 1's 8th birthday party. We are having a tie-dye party so it will be outside in the mid-July Georgia heat. I have so much left to do in preparation for the party tomorrow. I have lots of photos to post and I'm sure there will be many more after tomorrow.
Next week is dance camp and then soccer camp the following week. Hopefully, I will be able to get a few things caught up while the tiaras are at camp. More later...

One down, four to go...

Day one of VBS was enjoyed by both girls. They learned new songs, memorized a new verse, painted, had cake (eeks!) at 10am and made new friends. I ran errands and watched a little friend of theirs at our house while her mom went on an appointment.

This afternoon we ran to the dance studio, picked up the recital photos and came back home. The girls' photos are incredible this year!

Tiara 1 sat down when we returned home and completed all of her schoolwork in record time. She did very well on all of it as well. I'm seriously going to have to re-think a lot of my curriculum choices for her. She may need to be bumped ahead in a few of the subjects.

Tiara 2 and I didn't do any school work today but she made me promise that we would do some tomorrow. After VBS tomorrow, the girls both have art class so hopefully we will have time in the evening to do some school work.....