If it's Tuesday, it must be time for a Book Post!

We picked up a pile of fun reads the last time we stopped at the library.
ZAT CAT! by Chesley McLaren
is a funny story about a scruffy stray cat tossed into the world of
haute couture in Paris! He accidentally becomes a star.
Princess loved the illustrations and since this has been the week of "le chat"
around here, it really fit.

Annie's Chair by Deborah Niland
is about a little girl who allows no one to sit in her favorite chair
until her dog refuses to give it up and she learns how to share.
Fun illustrations.

Princesses Are Not Quitters by Kate Lum and Sue Hellard
tells a story about three bored Princesses who wish they were "free"
to work like the servant girls.They decide to switch places and learn
how hard it is to be servants.Princess really enjoyed it.

Clorinda by Robert Kinerk and Steven Kellogg
was our favorite.Funny and sweet, this book tells the tale of
a cow who stumbles into a ballet while looking for the ballot box
and finds her life's passion. Dance. With the help of a farmhand,
she practices and then leaves for Manhattan where she faces rejection after rejection
and works as a waitress where she gets her big break.
She fails dismally, and returns to the farm where the stage her farmhand built her awaits.
Great lesson about trying...sometimes you fail.

Nothing To Do by Douglas Wood and Wendy Anderson Halperin
is a terrific book about how sometimes,doing nothing is the most important
thing to do.Great book for the over scheduled!Although they probably won't have time to look for this at the library, let alone read it to or with their kids.

We also picked up some with a little more "substance", and I will post on those on Thursday or Friday.
I will also post a craft idea or two.

Pumpkin update

Princess spent a good part of today doing puzzles with Pumpkin on her lap.
She is not holding him there, he would not leave.





Alley has decided she will ignore Pumpkin
unless he comes near her dish while she is eating
or tries to follow her down to the basement.
We have a litter box down there and a couch
she likes to nap on during the day.
He spends most of his time with Princess or myself
or napping half under the chair in the living room.
He likes to leave half of his body sticking out..not sure why.
The pink kitty bed (in earlier pictures)was originally purchased for Alley by our Goddaughter
(she is a manager at a Claire's) but Alley does not like to sleep in it.
Pumpkin likes it...I don't think he knows it's very pink and girlie.


Another note, I will be watching our friend's little boy during the week while she is at work.
He is almost 2 and Princess enjoys him (most of the time).We will be doing the bulk of our
"school work" in the afternoons after he leaves, which is Princess's preference anyway.
I think she will enjoy having a "part time" sibling.I will enjoy having a bit of income again.
He adores Princess a lot, so I'm pretty sure he'll enjoy the arrangement.
Wish me luck!

Group Pumpkin Project

It's Monday, so it's time to unplug your kids!

The project this week was to use paint,paintbrushes and pumpkins
and let your kids decorate it! Princess had a small pumpkin from the Autumn Festival we
attended last weekend, so she painted that.
Here are some pictures:
Just a reminder to anyone who may have missed it last week, the "Monday Book Post" has been moved to Tuesday so we can take part in the group project at Unplug your kids.

Simply Sunday

Alley and Pumpkin got a bit more used to each other today. Pumpkin slept with Princess
last night and they spent the first part of the morning playing together in her room.
He spent some of the day under our bed, and then decided to face off with Alley for
his right to move about the house freely.This was a bloodless test of wills.A stand off
under the dining room table.
Today our Goddaughter turned 20!
She was heading down to see her Mom, so
we had her stop off to meet Pumpkin first, and Farmer Dad
went to pick up "Birthday Donuts" to celebrate with her.
Naturally we put a candle in and sang to her.
Princess decided to go with her to lunch, so we didn't go
to the Library's "Healthy Halloween" celebration.
Not a big deal to me. I stayed home and watched the Giants
win :-)and Smoke lose :-(
and snuggled with Pumpkin instead of vacuuming,
or doing the laundry.Farmer Dad went to his friend's house to play guitar for
a bit. I decided not to feel guilty for not getting anything done during my alone time.

Welcome Home Pumpkin!

We finally got the call that Pumpkin could come home.
He is so cute and so sweet!He is in his "safe room"
right now awaiting his full "move in".
Alley doesn't seem to care that he is here.
She came out to see him in his (hers really)
cat carrier and walked away without a peep.
Here are some pictures......

Thursday at the House of Chuck.....

also known as Chuck E. Cheese.We met Princess's very good friend
and his Mom (also my friend) there to play and eat crummy pizza.
They had a great time so it was worth it.
The nice thing was that we had the place to ourselves for three hours!
princess continued her good behavior by leaving with a smile and a wave
instead of a fit and scream. Friday we hung out reading and playing several board games.
Farmer Dad took the afternoon off from work so we hung out with him and did a bit of school in the afternoon.
Mostly math and reading. I went out in the afternoon to a Pampered Chef demo at my friend's house, and Princess went to McDonald's with her Dad for dinner and to play with lots of children.On my way I stopped off at the library to return a couple of books and I picked up some great new books. I will blog about them on Tuesday.
Today we are hanging out inside as it is raining outside.
We will play many more games and read many more books and drink hot tea and maybe make more cookies
or bread..or both.I will try to post photos a bit later..right now Princess wants to get on the computer to play a
bit of Rollercoaster Tycoon.

Homeschool Park Play Date

We were finally able to join some of our "Science Playgroup"
friends for a park play date.The five girls got along really well and
it was nice to spend time with Moms who are like minded.
We met at a park not too far away from us, and the girls played
on the swings etc and then we took a nature walk. Princess really enjoyed
crossing a stream via some large rocks.
We opened some seed pods to see what lurked inside
and the girls took turns singing and dancing for the Moms.
Princess was even cooperative when it was time to leave (very unusual)
and we stopped home for lunch before heading over to meet "Pumpkin".
It was a nice day. We celebrated after dinner by taking Princess to the library
for her very own library card! She was over the moon. She picked out some books
to take out and one of the librarians gave her a poster with "Ariel" on it that they received
with a book order that day.We played a "Little Bear" game on the computer and then headed home.
Today we will be watching our friends little boy for a bit again. Princess is enjoying "teaching" him
right now. It is rainy here, and we can only hope it rains in California soon as well.
Our thoughts are with all of you who are in the area or have friends and family there.

Meet Pumpkin...

We are adopting a new kitty.
His name is Pumpkin and he will be joining our clan
as soon as they get him neutered.
It could be as soon as Thursday or as late as Saturday.
Princess is very excited to have a kitten of her own!
He fell asleep on my lap while we were getting acquainted...so sweet.

BOOKS on a Tuesday

Please Bury Me in the Library By J. Patrick Lewis
This is a book of delightful poems billed as a "kid friendly homage to reading".

We have been howling over it for hours !I have also posted a link for the author's web site.

FOLD ME A POEM by Kristin O'Connell George and Illustrated by Lauren Stringer
is another book of poetry,this time about origami.We are going to have to learn how to do this,
Princess was enthralled.If you go to the author's site, she has directions for and links for other sites with directions for origami.I see many hours of fun with this book!

A KICK IN THE HEAD an Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms selected by Paul B.Janeczko
and illustrated by Chris Rasschka.29 poetic forms are explained along with wonderful examples of each.
Princess has been enjoying both the poems and the really cool artwork.

I must warn you all that going to these author sites can start a whole other library list of must reads!!
Just a heads up for anyone who may care:
I'm going to do my book posts on Tuesday to make participation in the Unplug Your Kids group project
easier.

Baking with my baby...

Farmer Dad had a vacation day today, and our day started
with Princess joining him in the front yard to rake leaves
and then we went out back to look for items to "paint with".
We hung out and read and played on the porch.
Because Princess loves to bake,today we baked cookies.
We also put a roll of dough in the freezer for future baking
days.It was all very quiet, very peaceful.
Then I'm online trying one more time to upload photos
when Farmer Dad comes out of our bedroom telling
Princess not to play with the phone anymore.
Fortunately,I asked what had happened.
He tells me that Princess accidentally called 911 while trying to use the
and he spoke to them when they called back and he walks away.
Good thing I asked, as I was in
my pajamas and I knew the police would be at our house shortly.
(This just happened to my girlfriend the day before in a nearby town.
Her daughter is only a little bit over a year old! )
As I pulled something with more coverage on, I looked out the window and saw
the police car pulling in our driveway. I opened the door as he came onto our porch,
and explained to him that everything was fine and that my 5 year old daughter had dialed 911 accidentally.
He was very nice and he just said hello to her and left, but I was freaking out.
Here are some pictures from our baking episode...didn't get one with the policeman.

Unplug Your Kids Group Project

Today we took part in the group project over at Unplug Your Kids.
The idea was to take your kid(s) outside and pick up some natural materials
to bring in and combine with paint to make art.
We brought a basket outside first thing in the morning and picked some acorns,
leaves,and various seed pods from around our yard.
Princess had a lot of fun with this project (we do this pretty regularly)
and naturally ended by painting her hands. The bath was our next step.:-)
Here are some pictures.

Autumn Festival

After helping Farmer Dad set up the fish tank for the new fish
they picked out together on Saturday,my sister and I took Princess to an Autumn Festival
today at Terhune Orchards in Princeton.
It was awesome. We went on a hay ride
and picked pumpkins and did the corn maze and Princess
went on her first pony ride!
She also listened to a wonderful band, learned about the history of corn,
how to milk a cow and tried to drive a tractor.We also came home with a candy apple
which she has been asking us to get her for weeks!!
Then we played with some children at McDonald's where we stopped for lunch
and then found the sister shop to Princess's favorite ice cream place (it closes after summer).
This location has an inside, so we hung out while she played on a big wooden train they have there.
It was a very nice day out.